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July 22, 2007
Front Yards: The Eyes of the Soul
Master Gardener Column 7/21/07
“You don’t know everything,” were the words with which meine Überfrau greeted me as I stepped out of the shower, naked as a jay bird and dripping wet. Cornered, as I was, in the shower stall, we were discussing fertilizer for the dinky, grub-shaped patch of grass in our backyard. Green grass is her “remembrance of things past,” (Shakespeare, Sonnet 30). She wanted me to use the fertilizer her father used for his large spread of Kentucky blue grass (Poa pratensis) on her Illinois childhood’s black loam prairie. I wanted to go organic, using vintage chicken manure on the general theory of nutrient relativity that anything that stinks is good manure. I reminded her that I’m an ordained clergyman and was, therefore, an expert on manure along with many other things. “Fat chance,” she snorted, her hair flaming out, her heels sparking, as she left the bathroom, trailing puffs of smoke. I was left groping, blinded by soapy eyes, for a towel.
Our patch of green grass is a token of “things past,” lovely, great spreading lawns being an anathema on the parched Colorado Plateau. Ironically, many water-efficient grasses are far more interesting than the water-guzzlers with their buzz cuts commonly used to cover front yards. Some avoid the grass problem altogether with the horticultural antimatter of gravel which heats up yard and house. A gravel pit for a front yard is a landscaping black hole. Better au naturel. Given the astronomical price of land in Flagstaff, one wonders the reasons for plastering pricey real estate with gravel, creating a kind of yuppie yard. Sloth comes to mind. Some cry penury, but a bag of grass seed and a couple of bales of steer manure cost a lot less than a truck load of gravel.
Most people don’t enjoy their front yards. Seldom do they look at them, except when they’re backing their cars out of the garage. Front yards are useless for many save as a buffer to keep neighbors and passersby at bay, something like the drill ground of a military disciplinary stockade. However, front yards are eyes into the souls of those who live in the houses behind them. Sadly, gravel front yards are “weary, flat, stale, and unprofitable.”
For those who wish to put their front yards to good use, water-efficient grasses and shorter showers are more important than they once were now that Flagstaff has notched up on the global warming meter.
Robert Browning’s phrase, “less is more,” from his poem Andrea del Sarto, might well be the motto for high country gardeners because it focuses, not on excess, but on beauty through limitations. If, as Browning suggests, limitations stimulate creativity and imagination, then less water can mean a more beguiling beauty. Wordsworth hit the nail on the head in his Ode on Intimations of Immortality when he wrote of the spiritual significance grass and flowers, “Of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower.” There’s not much splendor or glory in gravel.
One such water-efficient grass is blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis), the ancient sod of the Great Plains stemming from the end of the Ice Age. John Muir might’ve said, “the auld lang syne of grasses.” Blue grama was the sod of the sod busters and was often used to build huts, called soddies. Willa Cather’s My Antonía details life in a soddy. Blue grama seldom dies in a drought but rather goes dormant, just like many people. Depending on whether it is sown or plugged, it can be turfed or clumped.
Another water-efficient, Great Plains native is buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides), getting its name from the animals it fed. Spread by runners, it is best planted with plugs. Low, slow growing but chancy in Flagstaff’s colder neighborhoods, it needs mowing only twice a year and with its sage-green color is useful for a front yard. Blue grama and buffalograss need 12 inches of water a year while Kentucky bluegrass needs 60 inches a year.
Two colorful water-efficient Southwestern grasses are Elijah Blue fescue (Festuca cinerea ‘Elijah Blue’) and blue fescue (Festuca ovina ‘Glauca’). A good water-efficient grass for shady places is creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra). A dark green grass which mounds, lies flat, and whorls is sheep fescue (Festuca ovina) and can be turfed or clumped by sowing or plugging. Even meine Überfrau, a Martha Stewart wannabe, thinks our front-yard sheep fescue is “soft and beautiful, like a down comforter.”
Water-efficient grasses are simultaneous triple threats, allowing the prudential virtue of water-efficiency, the enjoyable vice of sloth, and a beauty both intriguing and beguiling.
By Dana Prom Smith
The author is a Master Gardener volunteer for Coconino County Cooperative Extension. If you have a gardening question, call the Master Gardener hotline at 774-1868 ext. 19 or visit our Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at 4:57 AM
July 17, 2007
Native Plant Garden Competition 2007 - Flagstaff
Tuesday, August 21, 7-9 p.m. NAU Biological Sciences Building, AZ Native Plant Society, Flagstaff Chapter will present the best native plant gardens judged among area entries in the "Native Plant Garden Competition 2007" sponsored by AZNPS. Photos of the gardens will be shown and described by the judges and the gardeners. Awards will be presented. Proclamations will be read by Mayor Donaldson and the Coconino County Board of Supervisors proclaiming August 21 to be "Native Plant Gardening Day" and the month of August as "Native Plant Gardening Month", respectively.
Sunday, August 26, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.. AZ Native Plant Society, Flagstaff Chapter, together with the Flagstaff Xeriscape Council, has arranged a tour of gardens entered in both the native plant and the xeriscape gardens competition. Maps indicating garden locations may be picked up at the city Visitors' Center and the two library branches. Persons interested in visiting the gardens may do so at their convenience between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday, August 26.
During the month of September, photos of the native plant and the xeriscape gardens will be on display at the main branch of the library. They also can be viewed in the Floriculture Building during the Coconino County Fair over Labor Day weekend.
Posted by maxmaddy at 7:43 PM
July 14, 2007
Dealing with Deer
Master Gardener Column 7/14/07
At the Olivia White Hospice Home Garden, deer are frequent visitors to the delight of the residents and dismay of the gardeners. Most of the damage caused by deer has been to the roses, but deer have killed a red-osier dogwood and have severely damaged an aspen tree. We have tried many remedies and most were successful for only a short time. I recently attended a lecture by Lucinda Reynolds from Missouri, at the International Master Gardener Conference, and learned much about tackling deer problems, and also found out why some of our remedies don’t work very well.
Deer can do considerable damage to plants. Browsing and hoof damage are the most common injuries, but deer will also rub their antlers on branches and trunks removing bark. Reynolds had many tips on how to deal with deer. Keep in mind that this information is for deer only. Elk are another story and will often eat anything and cause major hoof and antler damage.
Use deer deterrents BEFORE you see deer damage, not when half the rose bush is gone. Late winter is often the time to start control practices.
Damage varies with the time of the year but most occurs when forage is low. May and June are particularly dry months in Flagstaff and deer often browse gardens looking for something with moisture.
Make visiting your garden an unpleasant experience. Nothing is more attractive to deer than the hospice garden which is quiet, serene and full of wonderful food.
Vary and rotate repellents and tactics BEFORE deer become used to them. I think this was one of the big mistakes at the hospice garden. We would use something and expect it to last for the whole season.
Fences need to be at least 8 feet tall and without large holes to be effective. Deer can squeeze through holes as small as 8 inches across.
Lists of plants/shrubs and trees are fine but when food is scarce, deer will eat most anything, even plants that they won’t normally touch. Use lists as guidelines.
Last of all, avoid remedies that are unproven. You can get information from your local extension office on what has been shown to work in your region.
Reynolds mentioned several deterrents that have some proven success. Try placing bars of Irish Spring Soap on trees by treading a rope into each bar and hanging one every 3 feet. Avoid soaps made with edible oils.
Put human hair in pantyhose and hang on trees and shrubs that deer seem to prefer.
Motion-detectors that make noise can work but usually for just a short time. Deer will eventually acclimate to the noise.
Shiny strips of foil hung from trees will scare deer away. We have been using this method on the trees near the roses and so far it is working. But it is time to add another tactic before the deer get used to these.
Reynolds pointed out that many deer repellent products will work, at least for a while. All natural Deer Out has a strong, minty odor to stop animals from browsing. Deer Off and Deerbusters contain concentrated egg solids, hot pepper and garlic to deter deer by both odor and taste. Liquid Fence also relies on egg and garlic to create very strong odor and is likewise environmentally safe. Hinder which is registered to use on edibles repels with an ammonia odor. Cooperative extension does not endorse these products. Naming of a product is not an endorsement by county extension.
There are several websites with excellent information on deer-resistant plants, deterrents and repellents. Rutgers University (www.rce.rutgers.edu/deerresistance) rates plants according to their resistance to deer damage. The National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/deercontrol.html) has an extensive publication with various management practices for preventing or controlling deer damage and lists many links and references. Finally, a list of deer resistant plants is available from the University of Arizona at ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1237.pdf.
By Loni Shapiro
The author is a Master Gardener volunteer for Coconino County Cooperative Extension. If you have a gardening question, call 774-1868, Ext. 19 or visit our Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at 7:49 PM
Olivia White Hospice Garden Project Workday 7/12/07
On Thursday our crew of regular volunteers (David Hockman, Laura Davis, Karen Kent, Elsie Ellis, Marcia Lamkin, Evelyn Haven and Leslie Penick) completed most of the tasks on our list for the day. David did his usual digging (new shrubs and moving others as usual). Laura worked on the Tea Garden adding some new plants (comfrey, chocolate mint, sage, lemon balm) and making it look wonderful (teapots in the beds).
Elsie cleaned and filled the birdbaths, deadheaded and watered. Karen deadheaded and began tagging some of our roses, shrubs, and trees. Marcia worked on the Faerie Garden and has added a children's bench and more shade plants (cora bells and hosta), along with a delightful faerie house. Evelyn and Leslie did some much needed weeding with the recent rains. I spent my time planting 4 new hanging pots for the gazebo.
We had a little cloud cover to cut the heat of the sun, but the humidity was definitely up and the plants like it. Our vegetables are finally beginning to bear fruit. Speaking of fruit, we had a robin visiting our chokecherry trying to get some food. I wish my camera battery had not died. We laughed while watching him trying to land on a branch to be able to pick off a cherry. The branches are still very young and weak and wouldn't support his weight. He finally accomplished what he set out to do, and then proceded to clean himself off in the birdbath just below.
Thank-yous this week to:
Our regular crew - Karen Kent, Evelyn Haven, Leslie Penick, Marcia Lamkin, David Hockman, Laura Davis, Elsie Ellis and David and Zane.
New plantings:
Rugosa Rose, Canyon Grape, Cutleaf Coneflower, Little Leaf Pussytoe, Dianthus, Hanging baskets in Gazebo (Penta, Sweet Potato Vine, Geranium, Vinca).
Zinnia Garden in rememberance of Stella Lipinski.
Plans for 7/19/07
Moving some abundant yarrow to other dry areas of the garden
Planting some perennials
Continue work on the Tea /Faerie Gardens
Clean and fill birdbaths
Weeding as needed
Watering mostly new plants
Brief meeting at 11am - 10% day/Planning for Americorp Day next week
July 2 - Paintings on display at the Artists Gallery for the month. Stop by on the 1st Friday Artwalk to see them.
July 21 - Warner's 10% day
July 26 - Americorp Workday
August 18 - Garden Tea - Auction/Raffle at Olivia White Hospice Garden
2:30-4:30 pm in the garden
Tours, food, music, and raffle-auction at 3:30pm
Parking at the 1st Congregational Church
Fundraising
We do have note cards (prints of the paintings of the garden) and raffle tickets for 2 of the paintings available for sale at the Northland Hospice Office, the Olivia White Hospice Home, and Hodge Podge. The cards come in a package of 4 for $10. The raffle tickets for original watercolors by Mary Swanson and Lynn Overend are $3 each or 6 for $15. The paintings by Roberta Rogers and Catherine Sickafoose will be auctioned at our tea in August. Tickets are available through Northland Hospice.
We still have photo note cards and bookmarks with flowers from the garden available at the Northland Hospice office. Profits from all items are used for creating our beautiful gardens.
Get out in your garden or find one to visit or help in.
Come join us next week and/or drop by and purchase tickets for our summer Tea.
Thanks, Loni Shapiro
Posted by maxmaddy at 3:59 AM
July 13, 2007
Garden Club meets July 28
Join The Garden Club in a visit to the garden of Hazel Clark and Tom Martin on Saturday July 28 at 10 a.m. This inviting 'backyard garden' is designed in a formal English style using native and xeric plants.
Address: 419 W. Navajo
Driving Directions: At the top of Humphreys Street turn left onto Fort Valley Rd, Highway 180. Start blinking left immediately. There is a turn lane onto West Navajo, the first street after Mrs. Brown's Burger Bar.
Hazel and Tom live in the eleventh house on the left which is brown with white trim. Note that when you leave, you cannot turn left back onto Fort Valley Rd from West Navajo. You can only turn right. You'll need to go around the block to one of the parallel streets to turn.
Posted by hockmanj at 10:09 AM
Olivia White Garden Project Workday 8/2
On Thursday afternoon we had a crew of 8 AmeriCorp volunteers from throughout Arizona helping with large projects in the garden. Several of our regular crew came to help and supervise (Leslie Penick, Evelyn Haven, Marcia Lamkin and Nancy Palmer). Nancy and Doug Grant, the volunteer coordinator, helped with transporting them from NAU.
One project worked on was weeding and terracing the Faerie Garden. Surprisingly the soil looks good there, unlike other parts of the garden. Because of all the rain we actually had a running stream just below the garden. This garden is finally coming together after a couple of years work. Last year AmeriCorp actually got us started by clearing out weeds and moving large rocks to circle the garden.
Several others worked on beginning to create a brick pathway on the north end of the house. They were able to finish about 1/3 of it and managed to get the hard part done - the beginning curve. We will continue to work laying brick on this path for several weeks.
A couple of volunteers worked on tree well improvement for watering and planting a few perennials. Leslie and Evelyn both worked on Norm Erickson's bind weed on the Switzer Canyon bed. All in all it was a very productive day.
Thank-yous this week to:
Our regular crew - Evelyn Haven, Leslie Penick, Marcia Lamkin, Nancy Palmer & Doug Grant
8 AmeriCorp volunteers
New blooms:
White bellflower, new rose (Rockin Robin), Whipple's penstemon & daylilies
New plantings:
More Munstead lavender and another unusual dark pink double coneflower (Razzmatazz).
Plans for 7/26/07
Weeding a small area south of Faerie Garden and planting some hollyhocks
Working on the back pathway at the north end of the house
Moving more yarrow to dry parts of the garden
Continued work on the Faerie Garden
Harvesting some greens and veggies
Cleaning and refilling bird baths - feeders
Weeding as needed with all the wonderful rains
July 2 - Paintings on display at the Artists Gallery for the month. Stop by on the 1st Friday Artwalk to see them.
August 18 - Garden Tea - Auction/Raffle at Olivia White Hospice Garden
2:30-4:30 pm in the garden
Tours, food, music, and raffle-auction at 3:30pm
Parking at the 1st Congregational Church
Fundraising
We do have note cards (prints of the paintings of the garden) and raffle tickets for 2 of the paintings available for sale at the Northland Hospice Office and Hodge Podge. The cards come in a package of 4 for $10. The raffle tickets for original watercolors by Mary Swanson and Lynn Overend are $3 each or 6 for $15. The paintings by Roberta Rogers and Catherine Sickafoose will be auctioned at our tea in August. Tickets are available through Northland Hospice.
We still have photo note cards and bookmarks with flowers from the garden available at the Northland Hospice office. Profits from all items are used for creating our beautiful gardens.
Get out in your garden or find one to visit or help in.
Come join us next week and/or drop by and purchase tickets for our summer Tea.
Thanks, Loni Shapiro
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:51 AM
Olivia White Garden Project Workday 7/26
On Thursday our regular crew (Cynthia Katte, Nancy Palmer, Marcia Lamkin, Evelyn Haven, Leslie Penick, Elsie Ellis and David Hockman) worked in the hospice garden. In addition Cynthia had her mapping crew (Erin Fink & ) working on finishing touches for the new garden map. As usual much was accomplished in 3-4 hours. David did his usual digging and managed to plant 5 new roses. He also worked at repairing one of our paths that had sunk during the rain. Cynthia worked with the mapping crew. Elsie cleaned all the bird baths. Maybe now that the rain has begun the crows will stop washing their food in them. Evelyn and Leslie did some weeding and planting in the Inferno Strip. Marcia worked on the fairy garden, stopping occasionally to feed some baby birds that she is rescuing.
Nancy planted some new perennials, worked with the mapping crew, and did some planning with Marcia. I spent my time helping David and transplanting yarrow.
Thank-yous this week to:
Our regular crew - Evelyn Haven, Leslie Penick, Marcia Lamkin, David Hockman, Nancy Palmer, Elsie Ellis and David and Zane.
Mapping crew - Cynthia Katte, Erin Fink and Kathy Pate
New blooms:
Purple coneflower, Hummingbird Trumpet (Zauschneria), and many more Shasta daisy.
New plantings:
4 Carpet roses and one miniture rose, several new salvias and artemisia, cora bell, fireweed, mountain pea, orange agastache, new variety of yarrow, Maltese cross and vinca.
Plans for 7/26/07
We have a crew of Americorp volunteers coming so we will work on some large projects
Weeding a small area south of Faerie Garden and planting some hollyhocks
Begin re-staining the gazebo
Begin pathway on north end of house
Assist Marcia & Nancy with creating beds in the Faerie Garden
July 2 - Paintings on display at the Artists Gallery for the month. Stop by on the 1st Friday Artwalk to see them.
July 26 - Americorp Workday
August 18 - Garden Tea - Auction/Raffle at Olivia White Hospice Garden
2:30-4:30 pm in the garden
Tours, food, music, and raffle-auction at 3:30pm
Parking at the 1st Congregational Church
Fundraising
We do have note cards (prints of the paintings of the garden) and raffle tickets for 2 of the paintings available for sale at the Northland Hospice Office, the Olivia White Hospice Home, and Hodge Podge. The cards come in a package of 4 for $10. The raffle tickets for original watercolors by Mary Swanson and Lynn Overend are $3 each or 6 for $15. The paintings by Roberta Rogers and Catherine Sickafoose will be auctioned at our tea in August. Tickets are available through Northland Hospice.
We still have photo note cards and bookmarks with flowers from the garden available at the Northland Hospice office. Profits from all items are used for creating our beautiful gardens.
Get out in your garden or find one to visit or help in.
Come join us next week and/or drop by and purchase tickets for our summer Tea.
Thanks, Loni Shapiro
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:19 AM
July 12, 2007
Volunteers Needed at the Celtic Festival
Volunteers are needed for the Northern Arizona Celtic Heritage Society's 10th Annual Arizona Highland Celtic Festival.
When: July 21 & 22, 2007
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Saturday and 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Sunday
Where: Foxglenn Park in Flagstaff
Master Gardeners are needed to staff the Plants of the Celtic Region booth that will offer plants for sale. The Celtic Society has done some research and put together informative handouts explaining the Celtic history/use of each plant for sale. If interested, please contact: Brenda @ 928-526-3278.
The festival needs volunteers for many other jobs.
More info on the festival can be found at www.nachs.info
Posted by hbraun at 8:35 AM
Warner's Nursery - 10% Day for Olivia White Hospice Garden
Waiting for those monsoons to arrive? Come and buy your plants and garden needs after the monsoons while supporting the gardens at Olivia White Hospice Home. Warner' Nursery's 4th Annual - 10% Day for Olivia White Hospice Garden is on July 21st this year. 10% of all their proceeds on that day will be donated to Northland Hospice for the gardens at Olivia White. We will have our usual information table set-up in the nursery. The table will have information about the garden and Northland Hospice. It will be hosted by Northland Hospice volunteers and staff along with master gardeners to answer any of those burning gardening questions. We will be there from 7am to 5pm. At 11am, we will provide a free lecture/activity for children hosted by Willow Bend Environmental Education Center/Emily Musta. The activity will include a scavenger hunt and flower planting. It will be limited to 20 children so please call and reserve a space or arrive early - 779-1227. At 100pm Hattie Braun the Coordinator for the Coconino County Extension Master Gardener Program will talk about Flowering Shrubs appropriate for Flagstaff. Please come and join us for this annual event.
Loni Shapiro
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:33 AM
July 8, 2007
Lush Xeriscape
Master Gardener Column 7/7/07
The word “xeriscape” has a harsh, Puritanical ring to it, indicating bans and curbs rather than opportunities and possibilities. Sad it is, but some purist xeriscapers smack of a dismal self-righteousness that loves to say “no,” whose horticultural ethics are anti-excess rather than pro-beauty. Actually, xeriscape simply means dry landscape or a garden congenial to Coconino County and the Colorado Plateau, a real simpatico for the sere of the Southwest.
The real issue is the means to lush, beautiful gardens on less water than a tropical rain forest, something like a water budget. The vice against which purist xeriscapers rail is excess, and, indeed, excess is a threat to a budget. Also, excess is bad taste. G. K. Chesterton observed that art is what people do with their limitations. So how do we spend less and have more beauty? What it takes is imagination!
Happily, God has given us imagination and the Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima), a gardener’s delight. Its leaves are so fine they sometimes tangle, but sadly not a tangle with which to dally. Yielding to a breeze with the grace of a ballet dancer it does a light fandango with castanets and in triple time in a good wind, a blessing which Flagstaff has in excess (no smog.) Its tall (2ft to 3ft), light green set amongst the lower blue green of a blue fescue (Festuca ovina ‘Glauca’) make an beguiling accompaniment to a small cluster of bearded iris (Iris germanica). As in all forms of art, gardening, especially landscaping, is compare and contrast.
All of these survive, even prevail, on budgeted water, needing water only during dry spells. They can make it on water from dishpans or washing machines. The blue fescue gets even bluer with less water. The voluptuous blooms of the bearded iris are one of the few beauties of the world who flourish on benign neglect and low maintenance. Of course, benign neglect doesn’t mean abuse. They need some water and appropriate nutrients. Some bearded irides (plural for iris amongst Hellenistic purists) also come as rebloomers, blooming again in the summer and sometimes in the fall.
The word “iris” is a Greek word meaning “rainbow” or metaphorically “halo.” The unknown John of the Apocalypse writes a lovely verse using iris, “Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs pillars of fire (10:1.)” The setting reads like a thunderstorm over the peaks with flashes of lightning, a rainbow threading its way in and out of a virga, and the brilliance of the sun blazing through gaps in the clouds. All of the colors in that scene can be found in irides whose beauty can become, as the Book of Common Prayer reads, “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.”
Perennial grasses are available for gardeners on a water budget. Unless a lawn serves as a playing field, a golf course, or a place for children’s play, grasses suitable to the sere of the Southwest offer an intriguing texture. Creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra), a finely-textured, dark green grass, does well out of the sun, forming lazy whorls in the shade. Sheep fescue (Festuca ovina), a dark green, lies flat and in mounds in various patterns and needs mowing with a weed-whacker a couple of times a year. Both of these need only 12 inches of rain annually.
Many bulbs, rhizomes and perennials love gardens on a water budget. A lushly xeriscaped garden can have color spring, summer, and fall. Beginning with Wordsworth’s “fluttering and dancing daffodils” (Narcissus) and tulips (Tulipa) in late winter and early spring, the list continues through the bearded iris and western blue flag (Iris missouriensis) and perennials such as firewheel (Gaillardia pulchella), blanket flower (Gaillardia aristata) and various penstemon such as Red Rocks penstemon (Penstemon x mexicale 'Red Rocks'), Rocky Mountain penstemon (Penstemon strictus), and pineleaf penstemon (Penstemon pinifolius). The drought tolerant geranium-leaf larkspur (Delphinium geraniifolium) is a long-blooming perennial as is Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) and that old favorite of country gardens, hollyhock (Althaea rosea). The list is extensive. A good resource is Janice Busco and Nancy R. Morin’s Native Plants for High-Elevation Western Gardens. Bon sec jardinage.
By Dana Prom Smith
The author is a Master Gardener volunteer for Coconino County Cooperative Extension. If you have a gardening question, call the Master Gardener hotline at 774-1868 ext. 19 or visit our Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:24 AM
July 7, 2007
Forth Annual Penstemon Festival and Sale
The Arboretum at Flagstaff
Saturday, July 14, 2007
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The event is free with the regular admission fee
The South has its azaleas. The Midwest has its corn. Maine has the maple, and Portland, Oregon has its roses. Flagstaff? Why not the mighty penstemon?
Penstemons are the largest genus of flowering plants endemic to North America, and more varieties grow around Flagstaff than just about anywhere else. Botanists have classified 272 species throughout the continent, with dozens occurring in the Flagstaff area. So it makes sense that The Arboretum should be the place to honor this uniquely American wildflower.
The highlight of the event will be displays of blooming penstemons in our Courtyard Garden throughout the day. Many of them will be for sale. We will also have special tours of the garden, focusing on our penstemon collection, at 9:00 and 11:00 a.m., and 1:00 p.m. Children’s activities will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., including penstemon-themed face painting. The Porchlights, a local duo, will also be performing live music while delicious mint sun-tea will be available for guests to enjoy. The festival is free with general admission or an Arboretum membership. For more information, call (928) 774-1442.
Scheduled Activities:
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. * Wheelbarrow Art displays for sale throughout the gardens
9:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. Penstemon Sales in Courtyard Garden
9:00, 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. Gardens tours, focusing on penstemons and their specific pollinators
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Riparian Ramada - Local duo, The Porchlights, performs live music while guests sip delicious mint sun-tea
10:00 a.m - 2:00 p.m.
Herb Garden - Children's penstemon face painting table
12:00 & 2:00 p.m. Live Birds of Prey Programs
3:00 p.m. Penstemon Planting demonstration and discussion
* In partnership with the Artists' Coalition of Flagstaff and The Arboretum, local artists are invited to display decorated wheelbarrows during the festival. There will be an official judging and prizes, and all wheelbarrows will be for sale. To enter your wheelbarrow art in the competition, click here.
More about Penstemons
Posted by maxmaddy at 3:38 PM
July 6, 2007
Native Plant Garden Contest
Master Gardener Column 5/19/07
It can be challenging for some gardeners to visualize a personal garden beyond the image of cultivated lilacs, hybrid tea roses and rhododendrons, but native plant substitutions are available which are not only attractive in the garden but much more adaptable to Flagstaff soil and microclimates. With drought, blasting wind, and extreme temperature fluctuations so common, gardeners can enjoy a flourishing garden within our stress and expense tolerances by working with native plants.
To inspire a creative surge for climate compatibility within the plant world, the Arizona Native Plant Society (AZNPS) Flagstaff Chapter is sponsoring a native plant garden competition within the Greater Flagstaff area for the 2007 gardening year.
Let's face it; our high desert community is a harsh land, but native plants allow the most climate distressed gardener to have a beautiful and satisfying garden. Plants native to this area are not weeds. Many are as glamorous as any found elsewhere on the planet, and they live and thrive here. Leave the wagonloads of English, South African and Australian dainties in the green houses and begin to think native.
The contest does not demand a total native planting. The intent is to encourage demonstration of how plants native to the Colorado Plateau can best be used in a garden setting. Judges would like to see a majority of native plants; however, adaptive plants are permitted.
When native plants are considered, one might envision brilliant blue spires of delphinium, and carpets of red-gold gallardia and sun-yellow coreopsis. A card table sized candelabra of sacred datura offering its white fragrant trumpets to the stars would be stunning at the end of a border bed.
Use the architectural drama of sword-leafed agaves and yucca which burst open each year in cascades of pendulant bells. Masses of white, pink and yellow evening primrose can colorfully fill in bedding gaps.
White blackfoot daisy in spring, deep pink four o'clock in summer and clouds of purple aster in fall will color a landscape all season. And expect oohs and ahs from penstemon's glorious presence.
Compliment these with clumps of native grasses such as blue fescue, eyelash-winking blue grama, and flag-waving muhlenbergia.
Selections of native trees and shrubs abound: conifer, gambel oak, cottonwood, aspen, locust, velvet ash, serviceberry, sumac, apache plume, fern bush, desert olive, barberry, and currant. Many of these provide spring bloom and autumn fruit and foliage color.
Applications for the contest can be picked up at the downtown public library, at Flagstaff Native Plant and Seed, and Warners' Nursery, or taken from the AZ Native Plant Society website: www.aznps.org. Additional information is available by calling (928)527-3702.
The gardens will be judged between July 15 and August 15, 2007. Convenient visitation times will be scheduled for judging. First place winners in the categories of non-professional and professional gardens will be awarded a plaque. All entrants will receive a poster of Northern Arizona native wildflowers. Winners will be announced at the August 21st AZNPS program meeting. Photos of the garden entries will be displayed at the Flagstaff Public Library during September.
The Arizona Native Plant Society supports education about the use of native plants in residential and commercial landscapes and works to develop strategies for protecting rare species and their habitats. The society also maintains a website with information and links to like sites. Monthly program meetings and field trips are held throughout the state and are free and open to the public. A nominal membership fee provides a quarterly "Happenings" publication, and a biannual scientific journal "The Plant Press."
The Flagstaff Chapter hosts monthly program meetings March thru October on the third Tuesday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in Room 313 of the NAU Biological Sciences Building with a related field trip the following Sunday.
By Elaine Ferris
The author is a Master Gardener volunteer for Coconino County Cooperative Extension. If you have a gardening question, call the Master Gardener hotline at 774-1868 ext. 19 or visit our Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at 2:40 PM
The 2007 Flagstaff Xeriscape Contest
Master Gardener Column 6/9/07
Xeriscape sounds so prickly. These four words from garden columnist Cindy McNatt say a lot about why homeowners may be reluctant to consider this low-water method of landscaping for their properties.
The word Xeriscape itself is uninviting. Aside from sounding like zero-scape, it continues to conjure up a xer-ick landscape consisting of wall-to-wall gravel with a few spiky plants.
But numerous examples of attractive, lush Xeriscapes abound and many were entered in the 2006 Flagstaff Xeriscape contest. Any landscape can be a Xeriscape as long as water conservation is part of the design.Consider the garden of last year’s contest winner Jon Stinson. His low-water landscape mimicked a lush mountain meadow flowing with native grasses including Arizona fescue, blue grama grass, western wheat grass and spike muhly.
Stephanie Galloway developed a completely different yet equally xeric yard by planting a mix of native and adapted low-water shrubs to create an attractive and abundant hedge that screened her home from the street.
Anne Vonesh fashioned an inviting lawn by thickly seeding low-water blue grama grass. This contrasted nicely with the wildflowers and other native grasses growing at the back of her property. Closer to the house, flagstone provided a nice contrast to the bright green of the lawn.
A collection of long-blooming flowers including daisy, gaillardia, shrubby potentilla, scabiosa, snow-in-summer and hollyhock are part of the colorful borders designed and maintained by Joan Abbott of Foxglove Gardening, demonstrating that Xeriscape can be beautiful.
Skye Sieber received an honorable mention in the contest for her appealing but low-cost garden that featured many low-water perennials such as Russian sage, hummingbird mint, Artemisia, catmint, creeping thyme and purple coneflower.
And prickly? A well-designed Xeriscape has room for prickly plants such as yucca and juniper if these are the plants that you desire. Contest entrant Ray Jordan planted his sloping front yard with shrubby potentilla, hardy yucca, juniper and showy goldeneye adding color and texture to a difficult landscaping situation. He softened the look by growing native clematis on the stonework at the entrance to his home.
You can still view pictures of the winning gardens and other excellent Xeriscapes on the Master Gardener web blog at: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu. Do a search for ‘Xeriscape contest.”
Due to the overwhelming success of the last year’s contest, the City of Flagstaff Water Conservation Office and the Flagstaff Xeriscape Council are offering the contest again. The goal is to highlight beautiful and water-efficient landscapes in our community and to encourage the use of water-efficient landscaping practices.
The contest is open to landscape projects within Flagstaff city limits.
There are three contest categories: residential landscapes installed by the homeowner, residential landscapes professionally installed, and commercial properties. First place winners in each category will receive gift certificates to Flagstaff Native Plant and Seed and Warner’s Nursery, and a one-year membership to the Arboretum at Flagstaff.
Awards will be based on attractive designs that conserve water and utilize the principles of Xeriscape. Criteria include overall planning and design, the use of native and adapted low-water plants, reduced or eliminated turf areas, the appropriate use of mulches, and appropriate and efficient irrigation. The incorporation of water harvesting systems will also be considered. You need not meet every criterion to enter and win the contest.
To enter, pick up a contest brochure at most local nurseries. You can call Ellen Ryan at 213-4827 to receive a brochure by mail, or e-mail her at eryan@ci.flagstaff.az.us. The deadline to enter is July 15, 2007. Judging will take place the first week of August.
Please submit completed entry form to: City of Flagstaff Water Conservation Office, 211 West Aspen Ave., Flagstaff, AZ 86001.
By Hattie Braun
The author is the Master Gardener Program Coordinator for Coconino Cooperative Extension. If you have a gardening question, call the Master Gardener hotline at (928)774-1868 ext. 19.
Posted by hbraun at 8:53 AM
Olivia White Hospice Garden Project 7/5/07
On Thursday, July 5, we had our regular crew (Karen Kent, Marcia Lamkin, David Hockman,Cynthia Katte, Elsie Ellis, Evelyn Haven and Leslie Penick) working hard early because of the heat. Evelyn our expert weeder cleaned out the north end of the property in preparation for the crew from Americorp scheduled for July 26th. Elsie worked on our birdbaths which contain many special gifts from the crows - corn cobs, peanut shells, salmon, bones, etc. - and watered. It seems they like to wash their food before eating. David brought his golden shovel and put in a pole to change the direction of one of our fruit trees. He and Cynthia moved a couple of shrubs that were blocking the entrance to the new greenhouse. Cynthia also got all the drip equipment back in the greenhouse. Karen began tagging the roses and cut some flowers to press, while managing to do her usual deadheading. Marcia and Leslie did some much needed watering in this heat. Leslie also added mulch to some of our recent plantings. I did my usual wandering around helping where I could, and finding jobs for people.
When we had enough of the sun we took shelter and had a meeting to discuss the 10% day at Warners' and the August Tea, while enjoying one of our occasional potluck lunches.
Thank-yous this week to:
Our regular crew - Karen Kent, Evelyn Haven, Leslie Penick, Marcia Lamkin, David Hockman, Cynthia Katte, Elsie Ellis and David and Zane.
New blooms this week:
More Shasta daisy, checker mallow, roses (Carefree Sunshine), moonshine yarrow. We also finally saw a bloom on our Salvia dorrii planted last year. It is a subshrub native to Arizona. If you were passing by the bed you probably wouldn't notice it, but it is a special plant for us in our drought tolerant bed. This one was purchased from High Country Gardens. Also pictured is a native of Mt. Eldon - Mountain Spray - with an interesting scientific name - Holodiscus dumosus. Because of the heat flowers throughout the garden are coming and going fast this season. It has been difficult to keep them moist enough for extended blooming.
New perennials:
Spiderwort, Hosta 'Night Before Christmas', Gloriosa Daisy "Irish Eyes' & 'Toto Gold', Coreopsis 'Autumn Blush' 'Limerrock Ruby', White Baby's Breath
Plans for 7/12/07
Moving some abundant yarrow to other dry areas of the garden
Plant more hanging baskets for the gazebo
Replacing a lost canyon grape and rose near the gazebo
Continue work on the Tea /Faerie Gardens
Clean and fill birdbaths
Weeding as needed
Watering mostly new plants
Brief meeting at 11am - prizes for tea.
July 2 - Paintings on display at the Artists Gallery for the month. Stop by on the 1st Friday Artwalk to see them.
July 21 - Warner's 10% day
August 18 - Garden Tea - Auction/Raffle at Olivia White Hospice Garden
2:30-4:30 pm in the garden
Tours, food, music, and raffle-auction at 3:30pm
Parking at the 1st Congregational Church
Fundraising
We do have note cards (prints of the paintings of the garden) and raffle tickets for 2 of the paintings available for sale at the Northland Hospice Office, the Olivia White Hospice Home, and Hodge Podge. The cards come in a package of 4 for $10. The raffle tickets for original watercolors by Mary Swanson and Lynn Overend are $3 each or 6 for $15. The paintings by Roberta Rogers and Catherine Sickafoose will be auctioned at our tea in August.
We still have photo note cards and bookmarks with flowers from the garden available at the Northland Hospice office. Profits from all items are used for creating our beautiful gardens.
Get out in your garden or find one to visit or help in.
Come join us next week and/or drop by and purchase some cards to benefit the garden.
Thanks, Loni Shapiro
Posted by maxmaddy at 4:37 AM
July 2, 2007
July Mt. Meadow Farm Tours and Sales
Mountain Meadow Farm Tours
Friday, July 6, 5:30 – 6:15 p.m.
Saturday, July 7, 9 – 10a.m.
See and hear how our farm uses the permaculture design system. Wherever you live, permaculture can assist you create a more sustainable future with your gardening, landscaping, farming or construction. The Saturday farm tour includes a 10 minute bee-keeping intro by local bee-keeper and educator, Patrick Pynes. A $5.00-$10,000 (but not more than that) per person donation to benefit Flagstaff Foodlink and Flagstaff Youth Gardens is requested. No one will be turned away due to lack of funds.
Farm Products Sales Event
Friday, July 6, 5 - 7p.m.
Saturday, July 7, 8a.m. – 1p.m.
Sales at the Farm feature farm-grown native plants, herb and vegetable starts, plus newly harvested garlic. Native and edible perennial plants from Jan Busco's nursery and composting red worms are for sale.
A listing of plants (subject to availability) is on our web site at Mt. Meadow Farm. Advance orders welcome.
Directions: Rt 66 to Locket (turn north at the "76" station), immediate right onto Kasper to N Mt Meadow Dr. We are at the end of the street at the base of Mt Elden. Direction/map at: Directions to Mt. Meadow Farm
At the Farm, 100% of tour donations and 20% of plant sales benefit Flagstaff Foodlink and Flagstaff Youth Gardens.
Posted by hbraun at 12:40 PM
July 1, 2007
New Plant Hardiness Map
Master Gardener Column 6/30/07
For the last fourteen years, I have planned and shopped for plants knowing that my garden lies well in zone 5 of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Most of Flagstaff lies in this zone where the average minimum low temperature lies between minus 10 and minus 20 degrees.
Hardiness zones were first developed by the USDA as a guide for selecting appropriate plants for a particular location. It is based on the lowest sustained temperature that a plant can endure.
In response to requests for better plant hardiness guidelines, the hardiness map has been updated, not by the USDA but rather the National Arbor Day Foundation. This new map is based on the most recent 15 years of data from 5,000 climate data stations across the United States.
The ‘2006 arborday.org Hardiness Zone Map’ reflects what has been suspected; many areas have become warmer since 1990 when the last USDA hardiness zone map was published. Most of Flagstaff is now classified as a balmy zone 6. This means that the average minimum low temperature is between 0 and minus 10 degrees. Lower elevation areas in Coconino County are now labeled zone 7 with minimum winter temperatures not dropping below zero.
The new map is viewable at www.arborday.org/media/Zones.cfm. You can type in your zip code to find your zone, down load a high resolution map, and see a map that highlights zone changes from 1990 to 2006. The latter map shows that over half the United States is at least one zone warmer. The new map is not surprising as the ten warmest years on record have occurred since 1990.
Zone 6 may seem like good news to many gardeners as this zone brings many more plant options. Who wouldn’t want to successfully grow a smoketree, hydrangea or a musk rose? Many plants grow well in a range of hardiness zones so higher temperatures will likely not affect many of our popular ornamental species such as maple, crabapple, spirea, and lilac.
But warmer temperatures may also mean drier times and with water a limited resource, selecting an appropriate plant should be based on more than just hardiness.
The goal of the new hardiness zone map is not to speculate why the climate has warmed but rather to provide gardeners with better information for tree selection. The National Arbor Day Foundation supports planting trees and they view tree planting as a positive action that people can take to counteract global warming.
Should we change our plant selections based on the new map? When selecting perennials and smaller shrubs, experiment and see what works. Utilizing the microclimates on your property may even allow you to dip in the vast list of zone 7 plants.
It’s different for trees and larger shrubs. These plants are long-lived, more valuable and have a greater place in the landscape. It may take only one below normal weekend to cause considerable damage or even kill a plant that has been around for decades. Being zone conservation is wise when choosing trees and large shrubs, especially for those that provide structure to your landscape.
The USDA is currently revising their map using a 30-year data set. They plan to include other factors that influence plant success such as humidity and heat adaptation.
Knowing that a plant's performance is governed by many factors including length of growing season, timing and amount of rainfall, elevation, wind patterns, the influence of large bodies of water, summer highs, and humidity, Sunset Garden has incorporated all of these factors in their complex climate zone map. Their map is available on the web at www.sunset.com/garden, and updated zone information can be found in their recently released 8th edition of the ‘Western Garden Book.’ Unfortunately, few nurseries and plant guides utilize these helpful garden climate zones.
By Hattie Braun
The author is the Master Gardener program coordinator for Coconino County Cooperative Extension. If you have a gardening question, call the Master Gardener hotline at 774-1868 ext. 19 or visit our Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at 6:05 AM