Work Week 5/27 & 30

Monday was a holiday, but 3 of us were able to work in the garden. Becky Lewis worked on some large roses (Robustas) with aphid problems (pruning, systemic, and feeding), while I pruned and fed many others surrounding the rose garden walkway and the fenced garden entrance. We have about 14 of the more than 40 roses done, which means we have many more to work on on Thursday. Nancy Palmer hung another birdhouse on the trellis and planted all the annual pots for the Faerie Garden. After placing them near sprayers we turned on the irrigation to see if they were getting wet.

Faerie Garden turtle pot - photo by Loni Shapiro

 I also watered the front beds not on irrigation, the new plantings, and seedlings, and planted some annuals in the Sensory-Visual/Color Pot. With just a crew of three we managed to get a great deal done. I picked lettuce and mustard for the first crop for the house - enough for maybe 2 to have salad for dinner.

On Thursday we had a very busy day with a large crew. Becky Lewis headed up a crew of 4 to care for the roses. Katarina Karjala, Rebecca Davis, and Sue Ordway all pruned, removed mulch, fed, and watered them. Becky gave many of them a Neem oil treatment. Betty Marcus did her usual watering of the beds not on irrigation. Lori Tamblingson a new master gardener spent her time weeding the north inferno and some beds across from that bed. Carol Hudenko feed and watered the birds and planted some annuals and perennials. Crys Wells helped me to move the whiskey barrel to the native bed and planted some annuals in the tea garden. Kay Balzer returned for the season and worked on the two front beds. She also planted a replacement Knockout Rose. Joe Harte cemented in our mailbox.

New in the garden:
Whiskey barrel for the native garden bed.
Miss Kim Korean Lilac planted by Jane Reukema for her dad.

New blooms:
Austrian Copper Roses and many more colors of iris.

Photos by Betty Marcus

Plans for next  few weeks:
Weeding - bed south of gazebo, including removing woods rose
Watering
Check irrigation dripper placement
Finish planting pots (send a crew to the office, back patio)
Finish rose care
Bring out geraniums and clean the sun room
Plant a shrub - Elderberry
Plants pots outside the Northland office
Begin creating a new area in the native garden, including moving sandstone for a pathway
Clean gazebo area (seedlings in bricks, bird droppings, etc.)
Remove dead tree from north Inferno
Adjust fencing and walkway (sandstone entrance)
Resand the north patio
Move a cement bench from under a tree off the back patio

Upcoming:
June 2    10am-3pm    CMGA Plant & Garden Sale
                                   We will have a table with garden sale items. If you can help contact me.
June 13  1015am        Weeds in Switzer Canyon - Dorothy Lamm
June 15  9am-12pm    Monthly Saturday Workday
                                   Scout Trellis Project
July 13    9am-5pm     Warner's 10% of Proceeds Day

"In June, as many as a dozen species may burst their buds on a single day.  No man can heed all of these anniversaries; no man can ignore all of them."  
-  Aldo Leopold

Hope to see you this week.
Loni

Work Week of 5/20 & 23

I took a couple of days off this week with some health issues and on Monday Betty Marcus filled in for me. Betty made sure everything was watered while I was off. Crys Wells stopped by to bring a bench she is donating to the Native Garden bed.

On Thursday, we had another busy workday. The first of the Girls for Good volunteers came and filled bird feeders and baths. They will help us for the summer. Betty Marcus and Marilynn VonWaggoner both watered. Rebecca Davis worked on beginning to plant our annual pots. Linda Guarino spent her time on checking dripper placements in the garden. Becky Lewis and Christine Orr finished weeding the north bed in front of the house. Leslie Stone worked on putting up a fence surrounding our vegetable raised bed.

Many of the tops of the root vegetables had been eaten - probably rock squirrel or chipmunks as they were not pulled out (what deer usually do). Hattie Braun came and gave a talk on rose pruning followed by pruning roses in the garden.She found many roses stressed by the winter weather. The Robustas are already filled with aphids as well as the iris and some conifer. Becky Lewis  has assumed care for the roses this year.  She will begin treating the roses and finishing pruning with our crew on Monday. We will use a systemic for the roses effected by aphids, and begin feeding the rest. If you are interested in being a regular Rose Garden helper let Becky know. I spent my time helping with planting, fencing, and bringing out some more hardscape.

Thanks to Christine Orr for some healthy snacks, Betty for filling in while I took some time off, and to Hattie Braun for updating some more gardeners on roses.

Blooming in garden:
Many iris (mostly purple & white), Golden Banner, Snow in Summer, Allium, Chinese Mountain Stonecrop, and 1 Daylily.

New in the garden:
Many annual pots, hanging baskets in the gazebo, a beautiful new bench from Crys Wells, fencing around the ground raised bed, more vegetable (tomatoes, sugar snap peas).

Plans for next  few weeks:
Weeding
Watering
Pruning and feeding roses
Planting pots
Planting a shrub
Begin creating a new area in the native garden
Clean gazebo area
Remove dead tree
Begin moving sandstone for a pathway
Adjust fencing and walkway entrance
Cement mailbox in place
Prune Blaze Maple

Upcoming:
June 2    10am-3pm    CMGA Plant & Garden Sale
                                   We will have a table with garden sale items. If you can help contact me.
June 13  1015am        Weeds in Switzer Canyon - Dorothy Lamm
June 15  9am-12pm    Monthly Saturday Workday
                                   Scout Trellis Project
July 13    9am-5pm     Warner's 10% of Proceeds Day

How often it is that a garden, beautiful though it be, will seem
sad and dreary and lacking in one of its most gracious
features, if it has no water.   
-   Pierre Husson

Thanks for all the help this week,
Loni shapiro

Workdays 5/13 & 16, 2013

Monday brought another beautiful day in the garden. Betty Marcus spent her time watering as the irrigation is still off. I transplanted some small shrubs and herbs, watered the new plantings in front, and cleaned the children's area on the sun porch. Julie Holmes came and filled all the bird feeders and sanded the north patio. We had a new master garden Carol Hudenko who I put to work thinning out some of the bell flower in the main garden. Brandon stopped by to let us know he has found some help for caring for the birds. The Girls for Good will come by twice a week on our garden days to do the work starting on May 20th. This is the group that helped us last year with cleaning pine needles from the canyon. Dave Hill brought out many residents and took a couple 1/2 way up Turquoise on the new trail. Tomorrow, I am meeting with the Eagle scouts regarding the garden projects which may begin next week. On Thursday, we will celebrate Dave's birthday (it was last week but we didn't know) with a cake and ice cream. Come join us.

On Tuesday, I met with the scouts and their families. We will begin the scout projects on Monday, May 20, at 4pm.  There will be 2 projects. One will be in the shed area. Leslie Stone's son, Carson, will be work on a screen trellis and a trellis on the west side of the shed. He will have help from his dad and scout troop. The 2nd project is to recreate the rock trail from Turquoise to Switzer. This should make garden access there easier and make getting from parking at the church to the garden shorter. I sent out an e-mail looking for help with supervising these projects. Contact me if your interested. They will be at least 2 days, and our primary role is to make sure they can find the equipment in the garden they need, provide supervision, and water and snacks. They will work from 4pm to dusk. Projects postponed until June!

Thursday was a busy workday with many volunteers. Betty Marcus did her usual watering, Judith Chaddock worked on the plants inside the house and cleaning the sun porch. Whitney Fessler planted some replacement plants in the Faerie Garden, and filled bird feeders. Katrina Karjala spent her time moving our hose bib by the birdhouse trellis and removing Mexican Hat from our planned trail. She had to trim a tree branch that hung over the new bib area. Leslie Stone moved several daylilies and transplanted a rose that was being overtaken by a shrub. It should do better with more sun. In the process she had to take out a large area of bell flowers which had spread significantly. They can become invasive. Speaking of bell flowers, Carol Hudenko spent her time thinning out areas of bell flower and lambs ear. Becky Lewis worked on transplanting a barbary shrub to replace a loss in the 1/2 circle. She also began weeding the bed on the north end of the house along Switzer Canyon. This is a 2nd round for this bed which tends to be weedy as it is on the edge of the open space. I spent my time planting a Hopi - corn, bean, & squash bed and preparing soil for planting tomatoes later this week. Last of all Jane Reukema came and planted a new Flowering Quince to honor her mother.

At break time we enjoyed cake and ice cream to honor Dave Hill for his birthday which was last Thursday. It was the perfect day for cake and ice cream even if it was only 1030 in the morning. Many residents visited  the gardens today with Dave & Murphy.

On Friday, Betty Marcus came and watered while I worked on planting our tomatoes and an egg plant. Both are covered with frost cloth until the weather is more stable.

Upcoming:
Thursday, May 23, 10am, Hattie Braun pruning roses (brief lecture followed by pruning)
Sunday, June 2, 10am-3pm, CMGA Plant & Garden sale
Thursday, June 13, 1015am, Dorothy Lamm on local weeds (brief lecture followed by weeding)
Saturday, July 13, 9am-5pm Warner's 10% of Proceeds Day

New blooms:
Fire Spinner Ice Plant - gardens in front of the house

One of many iris in the garden.                Purple alliums.
Photos by Betty Marcus

Work for the week:
Water
Weed
Plant pots throughout the garden
Transplant rose
Gather rock for a rock garden in the Native Garden
Clean gazebo area (weeds in floor, vines surrounding)
Remove dead tree
Prune and feed roses
Fill bird feeders and baths - possible help from Girls for Good
Move bench
Breaktime lecture and rose pruning - Hattie Braun

Thanks,
Loni

Workdays 5/6 and 9, 2013

On Monday 3 volunteers came and worked in the garden. Betty Marcus got things started and watered while Julie Holmes did some weeding/dead heading, and Laura Davis worked in the MMG.

Thursday we had a big crew working throughout the garden (11 volunteers). Foxglove Gardening continued to explore leaks in the irrigation system so it will be off until they figure it out. Betty Marcus continued to hand water the beds working on the south inferno and corner as well as the main garden. Linda Guarino worked on the compost, helped problem solving the irrigation, and re-potted some sensory pots that had crack after 7 years. She also did an inservice on the Compost and Irrigation in the garden.  If you are interested in what we compost and how to prepare materials please check with Linda. I will also ask her to write up a brief note on compost and irrigation and e-mail to all. Rebecca Davis also re-potted a sensory pot, helped Joe with the standing raised bed, and added mulch to some of the gardens. Joe Harte worked on the standing raised bed, rain barrel (which filled after the recent rain), and replaced the mailbox. Becky Lewis and Christine Orr cleaned and weeded the north Native Bed. Christine also helped with adding mulch to some of our beds. Crys Wells helped spread compost material, Judith Chaddock watered the indoor plants, helped clean the Faerie Garden, and spread mulch. Whitney Fessler worked with Judith on cleaning the Faerie Garden. Laura Davis came and worked in the MMG. I spent my time working on plantings from the CSA, helping others find work to do, and got out more hardscape.

New Blooms:
Sand Cherry and Flowering Quince look particularly beautiful this spring, and a few more iris have opened.

Work for next week:
Watering
Weeding
Transplanting shrub
Planting 3 shrubs and a few more vegetables
Getting tomato pots ready for planting
Mail box cementing (?)
Continue spreading mulch
Remove dead tree from Inferno I
Feeding and watering the birds
Sand NE patio and Native Garden walkway,  where we have loose sandstone
Brief In-service at break on soil prep for containers which will happen in a couple of weeks.

Future happenings:
2nd Orientation - May 4, 10am-12pm
Eagle Scout projects in the garden (trellis and pathways) - dates TBA
Warner's 10% of Proceeds Day - Saturday, July 13 - 9am-3pm

 Gardening Amorisms - The Garden Way
An important gardening judgment -  When to Do Nothing! 

Thanks,
Loni

Workdays 4/29-30, 5/2 & 4

On Monday /Tuesday Betty Marcus and I finished getting the garden watered for the week. The irrigation was worked on by a plumber (BFP) and repaired for turning on on Thursday. On Monday Julie Holmes came and worked on deadheading and weeding in the gardens south of the gazebo. I brought out some hardscape, and added a couple of hummingbird feeders. The house reported sightings this week. I also spent time beginning to deadhead and weed the south inferno. It is really a mess from the winter snow, with lots of cinders and fewer plants due to the use of salt and chemicals. This bed will be extended this spring to the corner.

Thanks to all who came on Thursday despite the awful wind. Linda Guarino came and worked on the irrigation, checking each bed for leaks. Even in the cold she was able to use a hair dryer from the house to make several repairs. Master Gardeners are so creative. She also managed to get the new compost into the bins. Joe Harte came to repair the mailbox and when the cement was removed it appeared that there was a major leak in the front 1/2 circle. We had a large crew to look at it including Foxglove Gardening who will continue to problem solve the leak. In the meantime there is no mailbox up. At 5pm, after looking at the water filled hole for sometime I decided it was time to go home. In the long day, I managed to get lots of weeding done - it can be relaxing! Rebecca Davis came and worked on deadheading and weeding several areas. We are almost caught up with deadheading and cleaning up beds. Next week we will work on the Native Garden. Crys Wells worked on the corner garden, and Betty Marcus deadheaded iris and watered some new plantings. We also had Tori from NAU for the day and she filled bird feeders and baths, and then fertilized most of our trees and some new shrubs.

On Monday, I will be out of town and Betty Marcus will coordinate the workday. She will  be there from 9am-12pm. On Thursday next week we will be back to our regular schedule beginning at 8am.

Linda Guarino will update on the irrigation and compost during our break at about 10am.

Blooming in the garden this week:

Spreading Sand Cherry, violas, not-fruiting strawberries and a couple of iris.

Planted:

Onions, beets and kohlrabi seeds and pea seeds.