« October 2005 | Main | December 2005 »
November 29, 2005
Mountain Meadow Farm Tour
Next tour of Mountain Meadow Farm Saturday, December 10, 2005, 10a.m. (For a preview, visit our farm online at Flagstaffpermaculture.org).
Come join us to see what we're doing with permaculture, indoors and out, and how you can incorporate sustainable systems to accomplish your own food production and landscaping goals. We will have Cristin's dried herbs and Jan's Nursery plants for sale -- all are grown at the Farm without petrochemical pesticides or fertilizers, using locally available and directly recycled materials whenever possible, harvested rain water and water conserving production methods and returning gray water to surrounding landscape.
Suggested admission fee $5.00. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Directions are available at
http://www.flagstaffpermaculture.org/VisitMountainMeadowFarm.htm
Jan Busco
for Mountain Meadow Farm
928 527-0986
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:16 AM
November 25, 2005
Master Gardener Class Syllabus
Posted by hbraun at 9:57 AM
November 15, 2005
Arizona Horticultural Therapy Association Annual Conference
AzHTA Arizona Horticultural Therapy Association
At the recent AZ HIghlands Conference in October in Flagstaff, several topics were presented related to Horticultural Therapy (HT). Because of the interest of many participants I am reporting on recent information presented at the state HT Conference.
On November 5, the Arizona Horticultural Therapy Association held their 3rd annual conference at Mesa Community College, titled "Cultivating Awareness". The keynote speaker was Teresia Hazen, M.Ed, HTR, QMHP from Legacy Helath Systems in Portland, OR. Ms Hazen works in a large health care facility in Oregon that has Horticultural Therapy as an important part of patient/family healing. The national HT Conference will be held at Legacy in 2006 from June 14-16. The theme is Gardens in Healthcare: Restoring Health and Wellness. There willl also be some pre/post conference special events. If you are interested in attending information is posted on their web site - www.ahta.org. The conference agenda will not be finalized until spring as the deadline for presentation submissions is January 5.
In her keynote, Teresia outlined 3 benefits of gardening in healthcare. The benefits included decreasing patient stress, improving satisfaction of patients and staff, and improvement in retaining staff. The 5 characteristics of therapeutic gardens included: scheduled and programmed activities, garden features modified to improve accessibility, a profusion of plants and people/plant interactions, a safe, secure and comfortable setting for people, and gardens designed for the convenience and enjoyment of people with the widest possible range of disabling conditions. She also outlined a research study that promotes support for gardens in healthcare by Roger S. Ulrich, "View through a window may influence recovery from surgery." Science. 224 (April 1984): 420-1. Last of all she outlined a best practice model for an interdisciplinary garden design team for developing a healthcare garden.
The second speaker was Cindy Odgers, MS, Chair Dept. of Agriculture and Technology at Mesa Community College. Her topic was Propagation Techniques. She outlined the basic types of propagation techiques, demonsstrated methods for determining seed viability, and outlined techiques for taking cuttings from stock plant of herbaceous perennials.
The third speaker was Carole Palmer, MG, from Navajo County who works with children in the St. Michael's Association for Special Education. She talked about adaptive tools for gardening and gave resources for obtaining manufactured tools and ideas for making your own.
Last of all was Max Miller, PhD, and member of the Phoenix Bonsai Society. He talked about the history of Bonsai (Art & Craft), gave a demonstration of how to create and care for Bonsai (tools & techniques), and suggested how it could be used to teach a marketable skill and teach patience. After seeing all that Bonsai involves, I have decided that at much as I admire it, I don't think I have the patience for it, but many people love it.
Each year this conference brings in local and national talent to help those working in Horticultural Therapy or learning about the field, to learn techniques for working with special populations and improving hortiultural techniques. Next year we hope to hold the conference in Flagstaff sometime in August. It is open to all who are interested, not just those trained in Horticultural Therapy.
In addition to attending the conference in Mesa, I checked out two garden centers that local HTs gave me. One was Tera's Garden, which is in downtown Phoenix (606 N. 4th Avenue). Tera's is a unique garden center. She has many plants, but the fun part of her home/store are the unique pots and garden art. I purchased a plant stake with a butterfly on top that has a small solar panel that makes the butterfly glow at night. It is hard to describe her store, but it and she are magical. Try it on your next trip to the valley.
The second store I went to was Southwest Garden Arts. They have 2 stores - one in Mesa (8213 E. Main) and one in Phoenix. If you are looking for a water feature it is a must stop for ideas. I have never seen so many fountains and such variety in garden art. It is a huge store. I was looking for of all things a flamingo - yes a flamingo. It was for a resident of the Hospice Home who insisted we have a flamingo in the garden. I found a wonderful plant stake with a flamingo that has a gazing ball for a body. I could have spent days just looking around their yard. Some things about the valley are fun!
If you want further information on AHTA check out their web sites or e-mail/call me for a brochure.
Loni Shapiro
Member AzHTA
928-522-8635 maxmaddy@infomagic.net
Posted by maxmaddy at 8:23 PM
November 11, 2005
Last Regular Workday for Hospice Garden 11/17/05
We had a small crew this week but managed to plant more than 200 bulbs, and mulch the roses. The picture is one of the early bloomers we planted - Siberian Squill. Surprisingly, many flowers continue to bloom. Will winter ever come? Yet, we are anxious for Spring with all the bulbs planted.
Our last regular week in the garden will be on Thursday, November 17th from 8am-12pm - weather permitting. We may still schedule a special workday to work on the irrigation system - weather permitting, so keep checking the site.
Thank-yous this week:
Karen Kent for mulching the rose garden.
Norm Erickson for purchase of many tulips/daffodils.
Activities for the last week:
Planting a few remaing tulip bulbs.
Finishing mulching roses in the rest of the garden.
Mulching trees and improving tree rings that have eroded with watering.
Weatherproofing two of our benches.
Placing a beautiful new trellis.
Moving the raised bed onto the patio.
Spreading compost in the north garden.
Cleaning the shed for winter.
Come join us if you can. As you can see we still have much to do to close the garden for the winter, and little time to get it done. We will be in the garden from 8a-12p on Thursday. If you come early, dress warm as it has been cold. I was there on Sunday and wore wool gloves under my garden gloves.
Hope to see you Thursday.
Thanks, Loni Shapiro
Posted by maxmaddy at 4:59 AM
November 6, 2005
Upcoming Garden Workday 11/10/05
Marcia Lamkin planted our first climbing rose for the gazebo a couple of weeks ago. It seems to be very happy in the spot chosen. My broken camera has finally returned so enjoy a couple of recent gazebo photos. It is done - just waiting for seating and plants around it.
Clean-up in the garden continued last week. Karen Kent deadhead roses and other still blooming flowers in the garden. Laura and I watered while cleaning up the iris beds throughout the garden. Pots were moved to the indoor sun room. We received a big fern from the Arboretum greenhouse which will also live in the sun room overlooking the garden. One of the nurses loved it and decided we should name it "Phil Fern."
Work to be done:
A few bulbs to plant
More mulching throughout the garden
Filling in compost at the north end of the house (Native bed)
If time allows, we will create a path across the north end of the house with aggregate
Weather proofing the bench near the gazebo
Mulch and cover raised bed for the season
Mulch pots and sheep trough with garlic
We will be at the garden on Thursday from 9am-12pm. Come help us finish clean-up and winterizing the garden.
Loni Shapiro
Posted by maxmaddy at 2:40 PM