Workdays 7/18/11 & 7/21/11

On Monday we had a small crew watering, weeding, and doing general clean up.
On Thursday, Laura Davis, Rebecca Moore and Marcia Lamkin worked on the MMG. Linda Guarino continued to add to the drip in the gardens and spruced up the rock garden in preparation for Sunday's judging. Al Katte built some shelves in the greenhouse and made changes in the arbor construction. Cynthia Katte worked on the compost and deadheaded some plants. Gail Reed planted some house plants, and watered the back gardens and the sun porch. Betty Marcus worked on watering along with me. David Hockman and Joe Harte worked on transplanting a Starburst locust. Joe also brought some soil from the Landscape Connection. With all the heat Betty came on Saturday and help me water one more time plants not on the drip. On Sunday the Native Plant Society came for judging the Moon and Rock gardens.


While we were in the garden we spotted a strange beelike insect on the Shasta daisy, and it was acting and looking like a hawk moth. Rebecca Moore found this photo that seems to look like what we saw. It is called a Bumblebee Moth and it has a long proboscis to suck nectar from the flowers. She also spotted one at the arboretum.

New in the garden:
Shelving in the greenhouse thanks to Al Katte
A weed whacker and birdhouse from the Paul Montoya family

New blooms:
Shasta Daisy throughout the garden, more roses, all the yarrows, hollyhock

Upcoming:
Arboretum Docent Visit - August 2, 930am
Senior Companion Program Visit - August 5, 11am
Native Plant Society Extravaganza - August 10
Native Plant Society Garden Tours - August 14
Monthly Saturday Workday - August 20, 9am-12pm
"Hello Dolly" with David Hockman - watch for dates in September

Plans for this week include our yearly help from AmeriCorp
Creating a pet memorial area
Revamping the compost area (weeding, weedcloth and maybe pavers)
Weeding (several areas on the property)
Pot washing and putting away for the year
Cleaning the sun porch
MMG - several activities
Tree moving - digging and replanting
Extras - garbage on Turquoise, lavender bundles, flower pressing, watering as needed

Did you know that Victorians used plants and plantings to create a special language in the garden? Two that I thought you might find interesting are symbols of humility - morning glory and bindweed. I must say that symbol is appropriate as I work along the Inferno Strip. Lavender has several symbols - memory and peace - also appropriate. The smell seems to sharpen the mind (wakes you up) and leaves you in a peaceful state.

Thanks,
Loni

Workdays 7/11-14-16.2011

Old shed with new pavers for entrance.

Thursday was another beautiful and productive day in the gardens at Olivia White. Julie Holmes stopped by to deliver some sign-in records for Northland Hospice and she filled the bird feeders before leaving. Laura Davis came and worked on the Michael Moore Garden which now has many new plants. Carol Lease worked on two paver pathways for the sheds. This will allow entry without dragging in all the dirt. Carol also managed to clean the water feature which was full of pine pollen. Gail Reed planted some of our leftover plant sale plants, watered and weeded. Becky Lewis re-sanded the back patio and the new north pathway. David Hockman repaired one of our redwood gliders and weeded. Betty Marcus watered and deadheaded. Marilynn VanWagner watered and again picked lettuce for the house. Jim Woods weeded the south rockwall area - steep incline and nasty weeds. Marcia Lamkin came by and swept and watered indoors. I spent most of my time finding work for others in between washing pots.

On Saturday, Laura Davis supervised and worked on the vines in the gazebo, Betty Marcus watered, and Debbie Crisp worked on sanding the walkways and planting some new hens and chicks.

Thanks to:
Pats Shriver for making a beautiful cushion for our bentwood bench with a cover to protect it from the sap and rain.

Betty Marcus and Becky Lewis for treats. Becky brought some of her homemade goat's milk cheese (yum).
Val Bryant for the donation of some hens and chicks.
Laura Davis for supervising the Saturday workday.
Becky Lewis, Joe Harte,and Marillynn Van Wagner for working the 10% day at Warners.



New blooms:
Coreopsis, coneflower, more roses

New plantings:
Licorace Mint, Mountain Hollyhock, Penstemon Barbatos, Calliroe (Wine Cup)

Upcoming:
Native Plant Society Contest Judging - July 24 or 25
Arboretum Docent Visit - August 2, 930am
Senior Companion Program Visit - August 5, 11am
Native Plant Society Garden Tours - August 14
Monthly Saturday Workday - August 20, 9am-12pm
"Hello Dolly" with David Hockman - watch for dates in September

"More things grow in the garden than the gardener sows" Spanish Proverb

I have noticed that we have many purple flowers in the garden - more than any other color. From the book "A Garden of Love and Healing" - the symbolism of the color purple (intuition, idealism, self-sacrifice, inspiration, kindness, spirituality). Lamb's Ear, which we have an abundance of, symbolizes healing. Thank you for all you do!

Loni

10% Day at Warner's Landscape and Nursery

One of our sensory pots for residents from 2010

What: 10% of the proceeds at the nursery will benefit the gardens at Olivia White Hospice Home
When: Saturday, July 16, from 9am-5pm
Where: Warner's Landscape and Nursery

Stop by the nursery and purchase your 2011 garden plants and materials. It is a great time to plant. With the monsoons in full force they will all get a great start with little effort on your part.
Representatives from the regular garden crew will be available for questions.
If you have not visited the gardens at Olivia White Home there will be an opportunity on Sunday, August 14. We will be on the Native Plant Contest yearly garden tours.

Thanks,
Loni Shapiro
Volunteer Garden Coordinator
Olivia White Hospice Home

Workday 7/7/11

Thursday was a warm, humid workday, with many clouds threatening but no rain. We again had a large crew working throughout the garden. Carol Lease cleaned out the garage shelving, putting many things in our sheds. Kay Balzer did some work on the new 1/2 circle and added soil to cover the drip in our north pathway. Gail Reed did many small tasks, watering, weeding, feeding some trees and the birds. Char Wallace worked on adding stone to the back of our new tree, and helped with unloading some soil. Joe Harte brought some soil for the MMG and trimmed a few trees. Laura Davis and Nancy Palmer worked on the the MMG. Becky Lewis and David Hockman planted some new shrubs/plants and weeded some grasses around the planting area. David also repaired a couple of our bench pads. Betty Marcus and Marilynn Van Wagner watered since we did not have rain. Linda Guarino finished the drip along the north beds and set the timers. All that is left is the east beds behind the house for drip, and with the monsoons there is not as much urgency.

Most of our large projects are winding down. Over the next couple of weeks we will work on spiffing up the Moon and Rock Gardens for the Native Plant Contest, removing some nasty weeds, and finishing the drip. We will also work on general clean up and deadheading with many visitors in August. Monday is the anniversary of the loss of Olivia White and we may see her family in the gardens then or maybe this weekend. I will put some flowers out today.

Upcoming:
July 16 - Warner's 10% Day
July 25 or 26 - Native Plant Contest Judging
July 28 - AmeriCorps help in the garden 830am-1130am
August 2 - Arboretum Docents
August 5 - Senior Companion/Foster Grandparent Program
August 14 - Native Plant Contest Garden Tours

Thanks you:
Joe Harte for hauling more dirt to the garden
Linda Guarino for all her expertise and hard work on the drip

"Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination."
Mrs. C. W. Earle Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden 1897

Thanks,
Loni

Workdays 6/27/11 & 6/30/11

On Monday we had a small crew. Betty Marcus and Char Wallace watered, and I worked on putting together a new rack for the shed. Nancy Palmer & Laura Davis watered in the MMG. Several people stopped by and purchased leftover plants from our sale.

On Thursday, most of our regulars came, we had a visit from Carol Leases's daughter, and we managed to finish several projects. Shoppers continued to purchase and our intake has now exceeded last year and is almost at a $1000 for our 2nd Annual Plant and Garden Sale.


Carol and her daughter Lori spent their time organizing the sheds. Another crew worked on the half circle garden - first weeding, then adding rock mulch, and finally adding a few more grasses. That crew included Becky Lewis, Gail Reed, Kay Balzer and Linda Guarino who transported the rock in her truck. The new garden looks great and is ready for impending monsoons.


Susan Thompson and Gail weeded the north bed along Switzer Canyon. Betty Marcus made sure all dry pots and new plantings were watered. Joe Harte trimmed some trees and planted our new flowering plum with the help of Gail and myself. Vicki Goodwin finally got our trees boosted with fertilizer and gave them all a long drink. Judith Chaddock did her usual deadheading and watering the sun porch. Crys Wells came and also helped with the deadheading. The MMG had it's usual crew of volunteers watering and weeding - Laura Davis, Nancy Palmer, Rebecca Moore and Marcia Lamkin back from vacation.

Special thanks to:
Kay Balzer for the rock mulch
Linda Guarino for the use of her truck again
All the gardeners who purchased plants even though they planted many of them
Rebecca and Carol for the snack
Joe Harte for caring for our trees including planting one today
Crys Wells bloodgrass for the 1/2 circle garden

New in the garden:
We are trying rock mulch for the first time
2 sheds neatly organized by Carol Lease & her daughter
A flowering plum (Thundercloud)
New frogs and a bed and chair for the Faerie Garden





New blooms this week:
Daylilies, more roses and lamb's ear, sulfer buckwheat, native primrose volunteers

Next workday Thurs. July 7, 8am-12pm - no work on July 4
Saturday workday for July, the 16th from 9am-12pm
Warner's 10% Day, July 16th, 9am-5pm

"Under that heat haze the great garden lived like a happy beast, released from the world, far from everything, freed from everything."
Emile Zola The Faute de L'Abbe Mouret 1875

Thanks,
Loni

Workdays 6/20-23-25/11

On Monday, Laura Davis and Rebecca Moore worked in the MMG. Char Wallace, Kay Balzer, Al Katte, and I were busy in the main garden and Linda Guarino stopped by to check on the new drip in the 1/2 circle. Char and I watered the front and back gardens and removed some excess mulch mostly from the rose garden. I also worked on cleaning up some plants for the sale. I finally have all the plants from the front beds identified. Kay worked on the 1/2 circle and divided some daylilies. Al finished the shed so it is ready to load. All the annuals are planted. Thanks to Al Katte and Jim Woods for getting our new shed up and the old one moved. They had help from Cynthia Katte, David Hockman, and Vicki Goodwin in preparing the ground.

On Thursday we had a big crew again to help get ready for the plant sale. Judith Chaddock and Cynthia Katte priced the gently used items. Cynthia also reorganized the compost and Judith the sun porch plants. Gail Reed and Susan added plant tags and did other small tasks to get ready for Saturday, Vicki Goodwin and Gail potted some plants, and Vicki watered the front gardens. Linda Guarino and Dave Hockman worked on edging the back pathways. Linda also transported some soil for the MMG. Betty Marcus watered several areas. Char Wallace deadheaded iris and help with plant sale preparation. It was a busy day but we manage to get all plants and sale items ready for Saturday. Several areas had to be watered more than once due to the temperatures and the wind. Nancy Palmer and Laura Davis worked on the Michael Moore Garden. Crys Wells brought us some tables for the plant sale and watered some thirsty plants in the front 1/2 circle.

On Plant Sale day we had many of our regulars helping in the garden: Nancy Palmer, Cynthia Katte, Rebecca Moore, Gail Reed, Judith Chaddock, Vicki Goodwin, Marilynn VanWagner, Carol Lease, Jim Wood, Crys Wells, Maret Mitchell, Betty Marcus, Char Wallace and Julie Holmes. We had a small crowd of shoppers, but managed to make over $500 for the garden. It was a warm, windy day but people from the garden club came for both tours. We had lots of yummy refreshments, cookies/fruit/ and herbal teas for people to taste while shopping. The raffle for 2 items was won by Christine Orr and Char Wallace.

We still have many plants available for sale, so will have them available for the next couple of weeks on our workdays. What is not sold will be replanted in the garden on the corner after the FUTS trail is completed.

Special thanks to:
Rachel Edelstein for collecting many of our gently used items for the plant sale.
Linda Guarino for bringing many loads of soil in her truck this year, working every week on the drip, compost, and helping with the 1/2 circle garden project.

Upcoming:
July 9 - Kitchen Herb Class through CCC, 9am-12pm
July 16 - Saturday workday for July 9am-12pm
July 16 - Warner's Annual 10% day for Northland Hospice - 10% of all purchases benefit the garden

New blooms in the garden:
Bell flower, sulfer buckwheat, some roses, New Mexican locust (north side of house)

It take's a village. Thank you to all who make our gardens beautiful with their time or donations. The garden is truly a community effort.

Thanks,
Loni

Workdays 6/13,16,18/2011

Monday was another beautiful warm day in the the garden. We had a small crew. Nancy Palmer came and watered the MMG and the south Inferno Strip. Kay Balzer continued to work on the front 1/2 circle. She brought some plants from home, planted a couple of shrubs and some grasses from Crys Wells, and moved some plants from other parts of the garden. Char Wallace came and watered the dry beds in back of the house and some of our sale pots. I worked on planting some more annuals, watering, and putting out some signs.

Wow! Each week I think we have such a long list of tasks, and we will never get them done, but we always manage to do them and more. It was a beautiful day this Thursday, despite all the pine pollen blowing about. We had a large crew that worked primarily on two tasks - getting ready for the plant sale and putting in our new shed. Judith Chaddock, Becky Lewis, Julie Holmes, Susan, and Marilynn VanWagner all worked on getting plants ready for the sale (clean-up and tagging). Cynthia and Al Katte, Jim Woods, Dave Hockman, and Vicki Goodwin moved the old shed including leveling the ground, and put in the foundation for the new shed. David also managed to plant a Coloradao Blue spruce recently donated. Laura Davis and Rebecca Moore weeded and began planting in the Michael Moore Garden. Kay Balzer and Linda Guarino worked in the front half-circle, watering and getting in the drip system. Carol Lease helped repair the drip and helped me hang the baskets in the gazebo - a sure sign of summer. Betty Marcus and Char Wallace came late and stayed late to make sure all gardens were watered. Laura, Char and I cleaned up the pot area in prep for moving things into the sheds next week. Joe Harte came and worked on the trees. He also did a pruning demonstration with ponderosa and crab-apple.

On Saturday we had a small crew but managed to get many things done. Cynthia Katte, Debbie Crisp, and I planted the last of the annuals, perennials and worked on the plant sale pots. Al Katte and Jim Woods finished putting up the new shed and re-building the old shed on a new site. Al still has some tweaks but we should be able to get items in the sheds next week.

Rachel Edelstein and her husband Bob dropped by a bunch of items for our Plant and Garden Sale. Thanks to Rachel for collecting them thoughout the year for us.

New blooms in the garden:
Locust tree, sulfer buckwheat, native gaura (some pulled due to too many this year), lambs ear and cinquefoil(in the sun. A new plant in the Faerie Garden that seeds were planted for last year - Love in the Mist - a donation from Roabie Johnson's garden.

Special thanks to:
Al Katte and his crew for getting our new shed up and running.
Joe Harte for educating us about tree pruning
Judith Chaddock and her crew for plant sale preparation

Garden visitors:
Dave Hill and Murphy with many of the residents.
Dana Prom Smith

Upcoming:
Saturday, June 18, 9am-12pm workday
Mon. & Thurs., June 20-23 8am-12pm workdays
Saturday, June 25, 11am-2pm Plant & Garden Sale
Saturday, July 16, 9am-5pm Warner's 10% Day

Come join us for any of our workdays. Work over the next week will be primarily on finishing planting and getting ready for our plant sale on June 25 (clean-up/tagging plants).

"Those who labour in the earth are the chosen people of God, if he ever had chosen people." Thomas Jefferson Notes on the State of Virginia (1787)

Thanks,
Loni