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April 18, 2009
Greetings, Flagstaff Gardeners!
Master Gardener Column 4/18/09
As gardeners looking forward to the coming season in your gardens, the Arizona Native Plant Society and the Flagstaff Xeriscape Council encourages you to enter the 2009 Flagstaff Garden Competition. Three awards will be given this year, but for most people the event is more about sharing their gardens with the community than about winning a contest.
The highlight of the competition will be the tour of all garden entries on July 26. It's so much fun to show others what your enthusiasm and creativity have made of your garden! Fellow gardeners appreciate what you've accomplished, seek your advice, and often tell you a bit about their own favorite plants and their strategies for nurturing them through Flagstaff's ever-surprising seasons. It can be an especially helpful opportunity for newcomers from other parts of the country to understand what is likely to flourish here and how to avoid frustration, disappointment, and unnecessary expense.
We invite you to enter one of three categories: Best Native Plant Garden, Best Water-Wise Garden, and new this year: Best Special Interest Garden. Possibilities for the third category include children's gardens, artists' gardens, Southwest heritage gardens, and so forth.
The winner in each category receives either a gift certificate from a local nursery or a year's membership with The Arboretum at Flagstaff. The Arizona Native Plant Society will also present small gifts of appreciation to all entrants at the 2009 Flagstaff Garden Extravaganza, a reception on the evening of Tuesday, July 21, in the community hall at the Federated Church. This reception -- free and open to the public -- will feature refreshments, a slideshow preview of delightful local gardens, and lots of horticultural camaraderie.
Judges will visit the gardens during the weekend of July 11 and 12. For the Best Native Plant Garden, they will be looking for a majority of plants being native to the Flagstaff area with particular attention to pollinator-friendly and wildlife-friendly plants. They will also consider the aesthetics and practicality of paths and hardscaping as well as features such as ponds, birdbaths, and shelter for wildlife. The goal is to encourage gardens that nourish and provide habitat for native plants and their pollinators as well as for birds and other creatures.
The judges will expect gardens entered in the "Water-Wise" category to demonstrate strategies for using a minimum of potable water. These methods range from choosing drought tolerant plants and alternatives to turf, grouping plants according to their water requirements, capturing rainwater in containers and/or channeling it to where it is needed, and the proper use of soil amendments and mulch. Use of these strategies can vary according to location. "Xeriscape" is no longer synonymous with "gravel." Instead, the key idea is to establish a garden that can be sustained without the use of drinking water.
2009 is the first year for entries in the "Special Interest Garden" category. This is intended for gardens that defy the other two categories. Flagstaff has some wonderful gardens that express the talent and devotion of their gardeners but aren't necessarily focused on native plants or water-wise principles. This award has its origins in last year's competition, when the volunteers who tend the exquisite tranquility garden at Olivia White Hospice received recognition for providing residents and visitors there with a lovely setting of blossoms and birdsong.
Overall, judges are looking for attractive gardens that suit their particular locations. Obviously, different kinds of gardens are appropriate for different parts of Flagstaff. A garden in the relatively rich soil of the shady downtown floodplain should likely be very different from one in the sunny, cindery soil of Doney Park. Gardeners will have the opportunity to explain their choice of plants and their reasons for the design of their gardens.
The deadline for entries is Wednesday, July 1. For more information, stop by the main branch of the Flagstaff Public Library during the month of April and take a look at the exhibits about gardening in Flagstaff by Dorothy Lamm of the Arizona Native Plant Society. To enter the competition, contact Jessa Fisher at nightbloomingcactus@yahoo.com.
Susan Lamb Bean is a member of the Flagstaff Chapter of the Arizona Native Plant Society. Dana Prom Smith, a Master Gardener volunteer and coordinating editor of the Master Gardener Column for Coconino County Cooperative Extension, can be contacted at stpauls@npgcable.com. For more information about the Master Gardener Program, call Hattie Braun, Coordinator of the Master Gardener Program, at 774-1868 ext.17 or visit our Web Site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.)
Posted by maxmaddy at April 18, 2009 4:35 PM