Work the Week of 9/23

On Monday, we had a good sized crew. Betty Marcus spent her time helping me take down the tomatoes after a frost on Sunday. She also gathered wildflower seeds for scattering and cleaned up some of our hummingbird feeders and seed feeders for the season. I put out some suet feeders for the winter since we will only be in the garden for another 6 weeks. Katarina Karjala spent her time weeding the north Switzer beds. She is still working with a special boot on her left leg. Carol Hudenko and her husband, Julie Holmes, Lori Tamblingson, and Leslie Stone planted the plants removed from the inferno strip a couple of weeks ago throughout the garden. The city crew has not been here since last Thursday and they are not finished with the work. Once they are done we will need to clean-up the bed, remove rock and put in some new soil. The bed will not be replanted until spring. I have submitted a bill to Russ Anderson (Northland CFO) to present to the city, for plants, soil, and irrigation repair by Foxglove Landscaping. I have also asked him what he wants us to do with the small rock that needs to be removed. Julie and Lori also gathered lavender for drying.

Thursday brought another good sized crew. Rebecca Davis came for a short time and gathered tea pots for washing and moved the shelving to the sun room area. Betty Marcus watered the Inferno and gathered seeds for replanting. Sue Ordway transplanted some of our frost sensitive herbs into pots for the sunroom, helped Judith Chaddock clean and rearrange the area, and deadheaded some lavender. Judith reorganized the sun room and brought in some of our geraniums from outdoors. Becky Lewis deadheaded roses, spayed some for aphids, and moved sandstone to our paver area. Crys Wells gathered lavender for drying. Joe Harte trimmed some limbs shading shrubs, cut down elms, and planted a shrub. I spent my time watering, cleaning tomato pots and tea pots to put away for the winter.

Work by the city continued on Wed. this week. No word on when we can began to clean up the Inferno Strip and reconnect the irrigation. Frost has hit our vegetables and some annuals already but it has been mild so far. All frost sensitive herbs and geraniums have been moved into the sun room.  Judith will need help this winter for indoor watering. We need a few more people to have background checks to help her with watering. All vegetables have been harvested except the corn which has not ripened as yet. I am still collecting red runner bean seed. If anyone wants some for their gardens next year let me know. The city weed whacked all along the FUTS trail so in the next few weeks we will scatter some of our collected seed.

New blooms:
The Moon Garden has come alive again. The white phlox are blooming and the new white clematis (Toki) purchased earlier this year.

Work for the next couple of weeks:
Watering as needed indoors/outdoors
1 pot remaining from Inferno to replant
Irrigation repair outside of sunroom
Continue to remove seed feeders as they empty and replace with suet
Remove rock from Inferno Strip when the city has completed their work
Add soil/compost to that bed in prep for spring planting
Get a load of compost to sit for the winter
Winterize roses - cut off roses, and add ground protection
Continue to deadhead lavender
Clean large shed and garage in prep for winter

Upcoming:
Oct. 26, 9am-12pm, Girls for Good, Garden Clean-up

Ah! the list doesn't seem to get any shorter. Come whenever you can to help.
I am saving some tasks for the Girls for Good in October - canyon pine needle pick-up, washing pots, cleaning the small shed, and putting away some of the small hardscape. I don't plan to plant any bulbs this year. Last spring we seemed to have enough throughout the garden, but you might consider doing it again next fall, depending on survival rate. I am beginning to harvest the red runner beans. We have an abundance this year with two trellises of them. If you want any for your gardens for next year let me know.

Hope to see you next week!

Thanks,
Loni

Workdays Week of 9/16

On Monday, Carol Hudenko and her husband worked on the corner - cleaning pine needles and weeding. Carol also dug up some iris and replanted them on the corner. Julie Holmes came and cleaned the birdbaths. They were very dirty because they have not been cleaned well this season with all the rain. I am sure the birds will appreciate the work. Joe Harte came and drilled holes in our whiskey barrel planter. I spent my time weeding, deadheading, making new soil for the whiskey barrel and cleaning up (mostly sweeping). The street work continues and they are getting close to the cut in area. On Thursday we will have our annual Fall Harvest Potluck in the garden at noon.

Thursday we had many volunteers for the workday with our annual Fall Harvest Potluck schedule after the workday. Many worked on deadheading, weeding and watering - Rebecca Davis, Carol Lease, Carol Hudenko, Whitney Fessler, Marilynn VanWaggoner, Betty Marcus, Jeanette Sletton, and Katarina Karjala. Crys Wells and Julie Holmes came late and helped to get the potluck organized. Katarina received her 2 year apron. She returned to the garden with her special boot after fracturing her leg. At noon we stopped to eat some of the harvest. We had brats, dogs, potato salad, bean salad, fruit salad, kohlrabi slaw, grape salad, broccoli casserole, desserts, condiments, tableware, and drinks. Josh Bangle, Sierra Gadberry, Russ Anderson and Tracy Whiting. joined us from Northland Hospice.

The city finished digging on Switzer Canyon Dr. and we will begin to return plantings to other parts of the garden on Monday. Work on the Inferno will be to restore the soil in prep for planting in the spring of 2014. The bed is currently full of small rock.
Other activities include:
Rose care - getting ready for winter, spraying for aphids
Continue seed gathering for scattering for fall
Grasshog work on the FUTS trail in preparation for scattering wildflower seeds
Move sandstone below main north garden
Clean large shed and garage in prep for winter
Begin cleaning and putting away bird feeders (seed and hummingbird) and taking out suet feeders
Begin bringing frost tender plants indoors (geraniums)

New blooms:
I was deadheading come coreopsis and found these beautiful morning glories wound around them:

Upcoming:
October 26, 9am-12pm, Girls for Good, clean-up day

For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together.  For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad."-   Edwin Way Teale

Thanks,
Loni

Work the Week of Sept. 9

On Monday I arrived early at 7am in hopes that I could beat the rain. I was already raining so I offered to walk a dog for the staff. The city's work crews were not out yet, and they never arrived. Many of my loyal volunteers did come even though it was raining. I began by removing some iris and by the time I finished the crew began arriving - Betty and Ed Marcus, Carol Hudenko and her husband, Crys Wells, and Jeanette Holmes. We removed one large shrub, many small ones, and a few ground covers and grasses. Ed dug out the irrigation line along the street, cut it and clipped it off. The south portion was pulled out about 6 feet. All plant material was placed in temporary pots and will be replaced when the city work is completed - hopefully this week. The irrigation is off with all the rain.

Inferno before digging

Thursday, the city resumed work on the water lines. We had a large crew and most worked on weeding and deadheading. Rebecca Davis was the 1st to arrive and she worked under the aspen trees weeding. Leslie Stone, Sue Ordway, and Carol Hudenko all weeded and deadheaded in the main garden. We have begun to cut back iris and lavender as well as many other flowers. Lori Tamblingson worked on the corner weeds and Whitney Fessler worked on deadheading. Carol Lease worked on staining the 2 remaining redwood benches. I spent my time working on a whiskey barrel that I neglected to put holes in.  The plants were floating so I removed them, the water, and the soil. Joe Harte came and worked on the locust again and will come on Monday to put holes in the whiskey barrel. Peggy Sheldon-Scurlock filled in for Judith and watered all the indoor plants. Rebecca filled bird feeders with the last of the food. Next week we will begin adding suet feeders and removing other feeders as they are empty. Most of the hummingbirds are gone.

New Blooms:
Fall aster (purple and white), red leaves on the Virginia creeper, Maximillion's sunflower,and some re-blooms on many perennials.

                      Fall Aster                                                   Maximillion Sunflower
Plans for the next week:
Thin a few more iris
Weed and deadhead
Re-plant the whiskey barrel and the inferno
Put out suet feeds and begin to clean seed feeders for winter
Clean bird baths

Upcoming:
Annual Harvest Festival Potluck- Thurs. 9/17 at noon
Make a Difference Day - Sat. , Oct. 26, 9am-12pm, Girls for Good
Last day in the garden for 2013 - TBA (weather permitting)

"Even the smallest landscape can offer pride of ownership not only to its inhabitants but to its neighbors. The world delights in a garden.... Creating any garden, big or small, is, in the end, all about joy."-  Julie Moir Messervy

Thanks,
Loni

Workdays the Week of Sept. 2

Because Monday was a holiday the only two who worked were Becky Lewis and me. We had to make another round of looking at roses and it was a good day with few distractions. I watered a few pots and new plantings as we have not had rain for several days, and Becky did some deadheading.The irrigation was turned back on.

Thursday was an especially busy day at the garden. The tree purchased for me by the volunteers was looking a bit stressed. The root was bound tightly and it was not holding water even when watered daily, so we began to look for a place to get it planted. The first area tried was the Rose Garden. Rebecca Davis and Jeanette Sletten began digging in the only spot available and soon discovered we were over a main irrigation line that goes through the middle of the garden. Joe Harte and Carol Lease repaired the lines which were leaking from work last week removing iris. We began work on the 2nd option, between the 2 apple trees south of the gazebo. This required Joe and Rebecca digging out a large lilac that has not been thriving. It will be moved elsewhere.



After much work the tree was planted while all gathered around to watch. The area was a good choice. It fills in a blank spot where the lilac sheltered the view from north and south. The tree is an Amur Maple which will have good fall color once established.

Jeanette cleaned up the area in the Rose Garden and removed some more iris. Yellow iris were planted after the area was thinned and cleaned.  Carol worked on plant labels and irrigation repairs. Becky Lewis worked on moving a rose in the garden. Whitney Fessler filled bird feeders and made some hummingbird food. Carol Hudenko and Lori Tamblingson continued work on weeding on the corner and planted some seed for next year. It is mostly bunch grasses (blue grama and sheep fescue) with some added perennial wildflowers. Marilynn VonWaggoner watered some of the pots since we haven't had rain in 3 days. Betty Marcus came and deadheaded and swept up debris from the tree planting.

We cut our workday short and headed up to Joe Harte's garden to see what he does in his spare time. His property is up on a hill and required much work to get raised beds established. We ooed and ahhed about all the wonderful vegetables and his prize winning sweet peas. He has a large pumpkin patch with most of the pumpkins marked by the neighborhood kids. Great idea!

On Thursday evening many of us gathered at the Woodland's Hotel for the annual volunteer recognition. This one was very special - 30th Anniversary of Northland Hospice. Marilyn Pate was present along with many old friends. We all enjoyed a great dinner, speeches, raffles, and gifts to take home. Thanks to Diana Watt and staff for a wonderful evening!

Next week will be interesting with the city's road work reaching our area. There will be no parking at the house for anyone due to construction. All must park at the church next week - including me and Joe. Along with Russ Anderson, I talked to the work crew chief and city coordinator. Russ and I tried to talk them into moving the cut in to the property to just south of the driveway. We may lose some juniper - what a shame - but the other option goes through many other shubs and plants. We will hear their decision on Friday. If they choose the latter we will need to dig up 2 shubs and some plants on Monday. I would appreciate help if I can get it.

Update:
The city work crew decided on an entry through the middle of the Inferno Strip to avoid cutting into the sidewalk. The area has 1 large shrub and several small ones, but many of the other plantings can easily be replaced from other parts of the garden. We tried to work yesterday to remove the shrubs but the rain was too heavy most of the day. We will try again on Monday morning for anyone who wants to join us.

Area on Inferno for cut in (cinquefoil, lavendar, sage and some grasses and snow in summer.

Upcoming:
Fall Harvest Potluck - Sept. 19, 12pm in the garden (details to follow)
Girls for Good - clean-up workday - October 26, 9am-12pm
Last workday - who knows?

Thanks,
Loni