July 3, 2009
2009 Ethnobotany Walks
Dear Friends of the AERA,
Hello and Blessings from the Arizona Ethnobotanical Research Association (AERA)! We hope you are having a wonderful and fulfilling summer so far. Summer means its that time again....for plant walks, led by Phyllis Hogan and Jessa Fisher and guests! So get out your walking stick and join us for one or all of our upcoming walks.
Thursday, July 9th 6 pm Mt. Elden, Pipe Line Trail
Saturday, July 25th 8 am Griffith Springs, off 89-A
Sunday, Aug 2nd 8 am Grasshopper Point, Sedona
Wednesday, Aug 12th 6 pm Off of Herald Ranch Road
Tuesday, Sept 8th 6 pm Rio de Flag, off Lone Tree
* Easy- Moderate hiking *Plan on 2 (weekday)- 4 (weekend) hours * Bring clothes for the weather, water, snacks and/ or a lunch * A $10 (weekday) or $20 (weekend) donation to our non-profit organization greatly appreciated- sliding scale * Carpool meeting place announced with registration. To register or for more info, call Winter Sun at 774-2884 or email azethnobotany@hotmail.com
Thank you so much for supporting the AERA throughout the years, and we hope to see you soon. There is so much to learn from the plants, we can't wait to be out there with them and you!
Take care,
Phyllis Hogan, Executive Director, AERA
Jessa Fisher, Herbarium Curator, AERA
Posted by maxmaddy at 2:55 PM
2009 Flagstaff Garden Extravaganza (July 21) and Garden Tour (July 26)
Please plan to attend the Flagstaff Garden Extravaganza honoring the gardens of the 2009 Flagstaff Garden Competition on Tuesday, July 21 at Flagstaff Federated Church (400 W. Aspen, next to downtown library). The evening's festivities will begin with an optional potuck at 6pm (Bring a dish!), followed at 7p.m. by A Virtual Tour of all of the gardens and awards to this years winners.
The Self-Guided Tour of All of the Gardens will be held on Sunday, July 26th from 10a.m. to 2pm. Garden tour maps will be available starting July 20 0nline at www.thearb.org. Paper copies will be available at both Flagstaff City libraries and at Flagstaff City Hall.
The Garden competition features local water-wise gardens where you will be inspired with beautiful native and locally-adapted plants and innovative gardening solutions that harmonize with their surroundings, welcome pollinators and make for a more beautiful world! The competition is sponsored by Arizona Naitve Plant Society, Flagstaff Xeriscape Council, The Arboretum at Flagstaff, Flagstaff Native Plant and Seed and Warner's Nursery. For more information, contact Jessa Fisher: nightbloomingcactus@yahoo.com
Posted by buscoj at 8:17 AM
Olivia White Hospice Project Workday 7/2/09
We had a large crew on Thursday and much was accomplished due to the light rain and cloud cover. Karen Kent worked on the compost pile and moved some rocks and found a few new projects for others to work on. She also continued to work on rocks in the Rock Garden. Laura Davis and David Hockman worked on planting a new rose in the Tea Garden and finally planted a Sand Cherry that has been in a pot for sometime. Laura continued to work on enlarging the Tea Garden. Nancy Palmer and Marcia Lamkin added a new caboose to the birdhouse trellis and planted the last pot for the entrance to the home. They also managed to find time to work on the Faerie Garden. Barb Phillips and LInda Guarino worked on taming the wild clematis next to the gazebo. They also tied up the grape so it can climb the gazebo and dug up some germander. If anyone needs germander, give us a call or e-mail. There are many places we can dig up for gallon pots if you want some. It is a mint afterall, but very beautiful. LInda also worked on a couple of leaks in the drip - a never ending job. Carol Lease stained another bench for us - only 4 left. Julie Holmes weeded in the Switzer Canyon beds. Leslie Penick came late but she brought a truckload of mulch that she got from the dump.
During our break we had a little excitment. The fire department was on the property to take down some very large snags. We got to watch from a distance. Either one of the snags they took down could have flattened the house or garden.
Continue reading "Olivia White Hospice Project Workday 7/2/09"
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:31 AM
Flagstaff Community Market
Flagstaff Community Market is now twice a week. Regular hours are on Sundays from 8am-12pm next to city hall.
Come out and support the new mid week farmers market starting this Wednesday (July 8)4-7PM at St. Pius X parking lot. Enjoy fresh local produce at a new location on a different day. The 'Gran Fiesta" kickoff market will feature live music by Sambutuque, community health and nutrition information, cooking demos and more! The Sunnyside Community Market will will also be the pick up site for the K&B Farms Summer CSA. For info on the CSA, please call 928 774-7781.
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:14 AM
July 1, 2009
Arboretum 24th Annual Plant Sale and Penstemon Festival
Friday, July 17 (Members Only)
2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Presentation by horticulturists and vendors featuring plants for various microclimates in your garden.
3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Members get first pick of the best penstemons and other plants available this season.
Saturday, July 18 (Open to the public)
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
For members and the public. Local growers from Warner's Nursery and Flagstaff Native Plant & Seed will have a wide selection of specimens to choose from. There will also be home-grown species of penstemons, as well as plants from Mountain States Nursery in Phoenix. Members from the Audubon Society will be tagging bird-friendly plants that are for sale.
In addition to the plant sale, enjoy our selection of Arboretum-themed merchandise and gardening books. Face painting will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
(Posting from the Arboretum web site at www.thearb.org)
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:26 AM
June 28, 2009
Lethargic, Slothful Gardener
Master Gardener Column 6/27/09
While waving a wooden spoon at me, my great aunt Marie Aslaakson said, "Never put off to tomorrow what you can do today." As a boy, I thought "Auntie" was slightly amiss, believing, as I did, that mañana offered more opportunities than today, freeing today from irksome entanglements, as in "You'll never know what's going to turn up." Tomorrow opens new possibilities that weren't imaginable yesterday. Sloth is a vice with rewards.
Sadly, with procrastination tomorrows snowball as postponed tasks accumulate even though some are winnowed by time into insignificance. Procrastination in gardening is folly because gardening requires lock-step obedience to a euphemism, "the rhythms of nature," especially in the restricted climatic confines of the Colorado Plateau. With no "Long, Hot Summer" in which to dally, Flagstaff doesn't even have the "dog days of summer." With dusk's short twilights, there aren't any lingering days of summer. Slam, bang. The hymn reads, "Fast falls the eventide." So does the growing season.
What to do for the lethargic, slothful gardener who hasn't gotten around to timely planting?
Continue reading "Lethargic, Slothful Gardener"
Posted by maxmaddy at 7:25 PM
June 27, 2009
Olivia White Hospice Home Project Workday 6/25/09
Upward Bound came again this week on Tues/Thurs and weeded, filled bird baths and feeders, stained a bench, moved furniture in the garage, and watered. They will be back for one more day on Tuesday afternoon next week. They have accomplished much in their month with us. Weeding on the corner of Switzer and Turquise and staining half of our benches has made a big difference in what our regular crew was able to get done.
Our regular crew came on Thursday morning. Al Katte was the 1st to arrive and he fixed a mailbox, fixed some irrigation line in the gazebo, cut some fencing around the aspens so we could weed under them and still keep the deer out. He and Karen Kent got rocks from our corner stash - Karen selected and Al moved them - to put in the beds in front of the home. In the winter this bed often gets run over with high snow. The rocks not only look wonderful but should help deter the plows and vehicles. Nancy Palmer planted some color in the front beds around the rock - gallardia, coreopsis, penstemon, pin cushion flower, and a purple suculent. I spent my time watering, weeding, and planting a few left over plants. Carol Lease stained a bench and supervised the staining of another by our Upward Bound crew. Crys Wells weeded and Neemed several roses that were covered with aphids. They are early this year. They don't usually arrive until the monsoons. Barb Phillips thoroughly watered the back beds. Marcia Lamkin worked in the Faerie Garden and weeded the front beds. Laura Davis came later in the week and planted a new area in the Tea Garden - stevia, coneflower, and mints.
We had our first pot luck of the season - chili, salad from our greens, ramen salad, corn bread, raspberry torte and lemon cookies. We have all decided it is much better than local restaurants.
Continue reading "Olivia White Hospice Home Project Workday 6/25/09"
Posted by maxmaddy at 4:29 PM
June 22, 2009
Olivia White Hospice Garden Project Workday 6/18/09
On Thursday morning we had a small crew. Karen Kent and Linda Guarino worked on creating a new rock garden. They had a few new plants but most of the plant material came from other parts of the garden. The plants include a variety of sedums, bell flower, snow in summer, penstemons, mexican hat, moonshine yarrow, thyme, and Russian sage. Carol Lease and I worked on weeding in the front beds. I planted a few more annuals for color and some of the CSA plants received last week. We have more coming tomorrow. Nancy Palmer worked on the Faerie Garden and watered the east beds behind the house. We had a new Master Gardener volunteer, Charlotte, who watered the front beds and stopped by on Friday to keep the rock garden wet. Laura Davis stopped by and worked on the Tea Garden.
On Saturday I had one volunteer Master Gardener who weeded, deadheaded iris, and fed some trees. I planted a hanging tomato. Tried this last year with limited success, but thought I would give it one more try. The problem as I see it is getting sun on the plant. Tomatoes like wet roots but they like hot sunny tops. I have had much better success with Gardener's Supplies self watering containers and Earthboxes, but because I teach container gardening I felt I needed to try this new gimick again.
Continue reading "Olivia White Hospice Garden Project Workday 6/18/09"
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:20 AM
June 21, 2009
Noses, plants must 'go'
Master Gardener Column 6/20/09
"She should've kept her old nose," meine Überfrau opined as she inspected photographs of her fellow retired flight attendants from the glory "champagne and chateaubriand" days of first-class on TWA. When asked what she meant, she said, "She went too far." Apparently, the poor woman in her zeal for a pert, upturned nose ended up with a flute too small for her face, a puny button on a fine, full-figured, glamorous Mediterranean mug. "It's too bad. She was really a beautiful woman." So much for rhinoplasty.
H.L. Mencken, the Sage of Baltimore of several generations past, made the same point in The American Language about the Anglo-Saxon dominance of American culture, only about first names instead of noses, such as Wendy Liebowitz, Eric Balabanian, and Chauncey Gallucci, but not Ermentrude Smith or Yankel Johnson. The theory behind the Anglo-Saxon cultural dominance is that immigrants, after the arrival of the initial British immigrants, wanted to fit in and tried to adopt the facial characteristics and names of the first-arrived, adapting by adopting. Ironically, we now have a mixed race president with three non-Anglo-Saxon names who speaks in elegant English and thinks with the sophisticated complexity of an Oxford don.
Continue reading "Noses, plants must 'go'"
Posted by maxmaddy at 7:48 PM
June 20, 2009
Red Rock Farms Annual Lavender Festival
Last year I wrote a Master Gardener column about this festival. These are the 2009 dates. Don't miss this wonderful event - Loni Shapiro
Thurs. June 25
Fri. June 26
Sat. June 27
Sun. June 28
Thurs. July 2
Fri. July 3
Open 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
~ NO RESERVATIONS NECESSARY ~
Festival Activities
•Lavender Tours at 9:00 am, 11:00 am and 1:00 pm
•U-Cut Lavender - $5.00 per Bundle
•Cooking with Lavender at 10:30 am and 12:30 pm
•Lavender Craft Demonstrations
•Lavender Products for Sale at the Farm Store
•Lavender Plants for Sale
•Ask the Expert for Lavender Growing Advice
•Lavender Essential Oil Distillation
•Refreshments
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE LAVENDER FESTIVAL
The cost is $5.00 per person. It is a walking tour so we suggest you wear comfortable shoes & bring a hat for the sun. Please park your vehicle outside the main gate. Bring a lunch to picnic on the grounds. Recommended lodging near Concho is Pinetop/Lakeside or Show Low.
No Pets Allowed.
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Continue reading "Red Rock Farms Annual Lavender Festival"
Posted by maxmaddy at 3:01 PM
June 19, 2009
Arboriculture with Altitude
Arboriculture with Altitude - International Society of Arboriculture Conference
Friday, June 26, 2009
Northern Arizona University - Forest Science Complex
Flagstaff, Arizona
Located in the heart of the world's largest contiguous Ponderosa Pine forest, this conference has a wide array of offerings for arborists and green industry professionals of all backgrounds. A special track for landscape designers, workers, and horticultural specialists has been added. From cutting edge research to time-tested business principles, this one-day conference is packed with a wealth of educational and networking opportunities.
For registration information and the schedule of talks, go to: Arboriculture with Altitude
Posted by hbraun at 10:42 AM
June 18, 2009
Flagstaff Garden Club
All visits are Saturday at 10 a.m.
ADDITIONS TO SCHEDULE: SUNDAY,JUNE 28 AND SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 .
JUNE 28, SUNDAY TWO (2) P.M. Vern Zarlingo has invited us to discuss vermiculture, look at his greenhouse and if time permits also discuss llamas and packing with llamas.
Vern raises llamas and uses their totally organic manure to grow earthworms for castings (the process of vermiculture). He also has a large greenhouse.
Vern currently has approximately 1400 pounds of screened earthworm castings packaged in 25 pound bags which he offers for sale at $8 a bag. We may purchase bags on June 28 or you may contact Vern directly at 928 6335 2327.
Where: 604 E. Warm Springs Rd, Williams AZ
Driving Directions: I-40 to Williams. Exit left (south) on Fourth Street and go approximately 3 miles to Warm Springs Rd. (White and green sign at cluster mailboxes). Turn left (east) on Warm Springs Rd to first house on right.
Note: Those of us who want to car pool will leave Flagstaff PROMPTLY at 12:45 p.m.. We will meet at the Credit Union Building at the corner of Beulah and Woodlands Village blvd. That's across from the Big Five store and near Wal-Mart.
Phone: 928 635 2327
______________________________________________________________________
June 28 SUNDAY TWO (2) p.m. Vern Zarlingo in Williams Arizona (vermiculture, greenhouse and llamas)
July 11: Bev (B.J. MacAllister
July 26: The Xeric Garden Tour sponsored by the Flagstaff Xeriscape Council and the Arizona Native Plant Society.
August 15: Kathryn and Floyd Nelson
August 22: Karen Myers
August 29: Julie McDonald
September: 4-7 Coconino County Fair
September 12: Norm and Shari Wiessman (flower arranging)
September 19: The 10th Annual Arizona Highlands Garden Conference at the duBois Conference Center at NAU. Details at http://blog.ltc.arizona.edu/highelevationgardening/
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Continue reading "Flagstaff Garden Club"
Posted by maxmaddy at 7:36 PM
June 17, 2009
Arizona Highlands Garden Conference
The 10th annual Arizona Highlands Garden Conference returns to Coconino County on September 19, 2009 at the du Bois Conference Center on the Northern Arizona University campus. Hosted by Coconino County Master Gardeners, this conference will feature two nationally known keynote speakers: Jeff Lowenfels Jeff Lowenfels and Brad Lancaster Brad Lancaster as well as 9 regional gardening experts including Jim Mast, Tom DeGomez, Steve Yoder, Kim and Joe Costion, Terra Crampton, and Patrick Pynes. Registration and a complete schedule of speakers will be available in late June. If you would like to be added to our conference mailing list, please contact Hattie Braun or call 774-1868 ext. 17.
Posted by hbraun at 9:40 AM
June 16, 2009
Coconino County Master Gardener Association Meeting
On Thursday evening at 6:30pm the 2nd meeting of the Coconino County Master Gardeners Association will be held. The meetings include a business meeting for planning for the new association, an opportunity for discussing garden problems, a speaker, and time for socializing with other gardeners.
The business meeting will provide the opportunity for committees to meet and elect a leader and set goals for the year.
The topic for the 18th is Permaculture and our speaker is Lindsey Langsdale who moved here from Reno and is heading up the Community Garden this year.
Come join us to help this association get off the ground and to learn more about Permaculture.
Who: All Coconino County Master Gardeners (certified or not)
Where: Ponderosa Room, 2625 N. King St, (County Health Department)
When: Thursday, June 18th, 2009 at 6:30pm
Speaker: Lindsey Langsdale on Permaculture
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:32 AM
June 14, 2009
Medicinal Gardening
Master Gardener Colulmn 6/13/09
Most gardeners think of beautiful flowers and fresh fruits and vegetables when they garden, but that's only part of the story. Attractive annuals and perennials are more than decorative, they're can be medicinal as well.
The purple cone flower grows in Flagstaff and makes a wonderful herbal medicine called echinasea. Another growing nearby in the hills is milk thistle which makes a wonderful liver tonic among its many uses. Growing vigorously in many gardens, yarrow has been used since Achilles for healing soldiers' wounds.
Continue reading "Medicinal Gardening"
Posted by maxmaddy at 6:02 AM
Olivia White Hospice Garden Workday 6/11/09
This week was a busy one in the garden. On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons we continued to have a group of young people from Upward Bound. They watered, filled bird baths and feeders, planted, weeded, and stain one of our benches.
On Thursday morning our regular workday many of our regulars came. Karen Kent was the first to arrive and she worked on compost, added irrigation lines to some new roses, and she and Linda Guarino worked on a couple of shrubs that had damage over the winter. Linda also weeded, finshed feeding roses and planted some annual pots. Leslie Penick fed roses and weeded. Gus Delgadillo came and filled the birdbaths and feeders and did some general clean-up. Nancy Palmer did some repairs to the trellis and planted all the annual pots in the Faerie Garden. I planted another pot of tomatoes, some veggies from the CSA, and added some annuals to our sensory pots.
On Saturday, the Mountain Morning Soroptomists, Justine Filleman and JoAnn Mickleson came to dedicate their arbor bench with walkway. Many of the people who donated bricks also came to see them and to visit the garden. It was a very successful collaboration resulting in creating a much needed accessible, quiet, bench to contemplate the Rose and Moon Gardens.
Continue reading "Olivia White Hospice Garden Workday 6/11/09"
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:19 AM
June 9, 2009
Flagstaff Community Market
The Flagstaff Community Market for 2009 began on Sunday, June 7th. The hours are from 8am-12pm every Sunday until October 11th. Come visit their new location at city hall.
The Flagstaff Community Market (FCM) is a regional producers market that operates for growers and producers of agricultural and related products. The primary purpose of the Market is to support small and medium sized independent growers and producers by providing citizens with a local alternative to corporate and globalized food production.
It is our intent to connect growers and consumers and encourage people, both urban and rural, in growing more of their own food. A secondary purpose is to provide an outlet for small-scale producers of value added food products, local artisans, and community and sustainable agricultural groups.
Additionally, it is the purpose of the Community Farmers Market to provide a Community gathering space for residents and visitors to Flagstaff to mix in a relaxed, educational, and fun environment.
Flagstaff Community Markets are designed to provide unique and fun market events for the Flagstaff community. Here you can view vendor information, our photo gallery, or you can contact us.
Posted by maxmaddy at 4:57 AM
June 7, 2009
Gardening in the Depths
Master Gardener Column 6/6/09
My grandfather, Brynjolf Prom, was a Norwegian ship's master who left the sea after his brother was washed overboard during a Caribbean hurricane. Using his skills as a navigator in the late 1800's, he surveyed the route for the Great Northern Railway across the northern plains through the Rockies and Cascades to the Pacific.
I remember him vividly when he was about my age. On a family vacation to Lake Arrowhead, he watched me swim. I stayed in the shallows, telling him that I felt safer when I could touch bottom. Under a thicket of eyebrows his deeply set, steel-blue eyes fixed me with a laser-like gaze. The old Viking said, "Ach, Dana, you'll only be safe when you can't touch bottom, when you're beyond your depth, else you'll run aground and founder."
On hearing my account of the day, my mother said, "Poppa, you'll only be teaching Dana to swim, not circumnavigate the globe." He replied, "Well, do you want the lad to play in the shallows the whole of his life." At that she touched him on the arm, "No, I don't, but he's just learning." The next day under his fixed gaze I swam beyond my depth.
Gardening in the High Country is not for those who want to garden in the shallows at gravel depth. It's for those who want to go beyond their comfort zones, who see challenges as times of opportunity, and adversities as occasions for ingenuity. If the growing season is too short, extend it. If water is scarce, save it. If the soil is inhospitable, enrich it.
Continue reading "Gardening in the Depths"
Posted by maxmaddy at 8:01 PM