March 2020
Established in 1980
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In this issue you will find:
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Spring is here! |
- Message from the President
- Upcoming Events
- Seminars
- Member Tours & Events
- Spring Garden Tour
- Art-In-The-Park
- Work Calendar
- Plant Sale
- Feature Articles
- "In Your Plot"
- Make a Donation to GVG via AmazonSmile
- Expectations of the Board of Directors
- Project Updates
- Allen J. Ogden Community Garden
- Arid Garden
- Desert Meadows Park
- GVG Gardens at Historic Canoa Ranch
- Elementary Schools
- 40th Anniversary Project
- Committee Updates
- Member Photos
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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
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I had a great time going on the field trip to Mission Gardens February 20. It is a wonderful historical garden and well worth the trip. We were introduced to white pomegranate and sweet limes. The Mission Gardens has a breakfast every other Saturday from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. and a produce sale. The next event will be February 29. Just a note to my carpool buddies: the flowers at the East Center are in fact African Daisies as you all thought.
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19 people attended the Mission Garden tour
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We have a busy time coming up this month with the plant sale and preparation for Art-in-the-Park and the Garden Tour. The plant sale is Wednesday March 18 for club members then March 19, 20 and 21 for all. This is one of our biggest fundraisers. There are so many people necessary to make all these special events a success and everything runs so smoothly you wouldn't know all the work that goes on behind the scenes. For Art-in-the-Park alone there are 9 chairpersons who direct all the necessary volunteers. The Garden Tour coming up has two terrific chairpersons who have been working on this event since last year's Garden Tour and have a group of volunteers who are well prepared to host and greet. The plant sale has two chairpersons along with a whole list of volunteers. These events work so well because of some very committed people who make it a success. Then of course we have buyers of plants.
While thinking of the projects going on at any given time, I also thought of a couple people who work behind the scenes. They don't get praised enough and probably some people don't even know who they are. Diane Carley is our club treasurer. She works silently keeping up with our ever changing needs to add new projects. I am sure it is like having unruly kids sometimes because we all want what we want and somehow Diane makes it happen. She has to remind us we have a budget to adhere to, which sometimes is a challenge. Then we have Marilee Crumley who is the club secretary. If you haven't been a club secretary you wouldn't know how hard it is to take the minutes while paying attention to the board meeting. Then she goes home and deciphers what we said and types up the minutes. Marilee is also in charge of the food trucks for Art-in-the-Park, no easy assignment.
So, I want to express my gratitude to all who make our club great. It makes my job much easier.
Email to: pats@greenvalleygardeners.com
Patricia Simpson, President
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March Seminars are as follows:
3/5/2020 "Planting and Care of Spring Perennials and Annuals " Roger Putney will discuss the care of plants chosen for the Plant Sale from Green Things Nursery,
3/12/2020 "Plant Sale Preview" Alex Shipley will discuss the planting and care of plants from Civano Nursery.
3/26/2020 "Landscape and Garden Horticulture in Southern Arizona" Bob Webb will try to answer some common questions about landscaping in this region using succulents.
The committee has posted Debbie Mounce's "Bulletproof Plants" presentation on GVG's website.
The seminars will be held at Green Valley Recreation Desert Hills auditorium, 2980 South Camino del Sol.They start at 9:30 and end at 10:30. Come as early as 9:00 to be assured of a seat and for coffee, goodies and socializing.
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MEMBER ACTIVITIES
by Marita Ramsay
Upcoming Member Tour:
Along with George Stone, we are having an open house at Ogden Garden and providing sandwiches and cookies. George Jr., the bunnies and the chickens are ready for guests. The hummingbirds will be there too.
Thursday, March 5th at noon.
No tour in March as the date will fall on the first day of the plant sale.
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Spring Garden Tour
by Cynthia Surprise and Stacie Meyer
Come enjoy the arrival of spring with the Green Valley Gardeners Spring Celebration to be held April 4, 2020 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Part of the celebration includes a self-guided tour of 5 private and unique gardens in our area. The gardens range in size, style and types of plantings with something to please everyone - cactus and succulents, container gardening, colorful flowering perennials, artwork, rocks and minerals, musicians and even a working model train. The plants will be labeled and there will be knowledgeable hosts present to answer your questions. Get inspiration for your own garden, learn about some different plants or just enjoy the beauty of the gardens.
Tickets are $12.00 and will go on sale March 2 online at www.greenvalleygardeners.com and at the Chamber of Commerce, Desert Bloom Nursery, Nancy Pantz, Native Gardens Nursery and The Happy Quail. GVG members may buy tickets before and after the Thursday seminars beginning March 5 for a member price of $10.00. They will also be available to purchase during the GVG Spring Plant Sale for the member's price. On the day of the tour, tickets will be available for purchase from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. in the parking lot of the United Methodist Church, 300 W Esperanza Blvd (Corner of La Canada and Esperanza Blvd ) and at Desert Meadows Park.
Contact: Stacie Meyer at staciemeyer24@gmail.com or Cynthia Surprise at cjsurprise@verizon.net
See you in the gardens!
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Art in the Park
April 4, 2020
Donations and Volunteers Needed
GARDEN CLUB BOOTH
GVG will have its own booth at Art in the Park, selling donated plants and other garden related items. You can help us raise funds for the Club by donating any of the following items:
- Plants
- Decorative pots
- Garden/yard art and decor
- Gardening tools, supplies and accessories
Donations can be left in the Desert Meadows Park greenhouse, starting now. Please contact
Elissa Dearing
if you have any questions. Elissa can be reached at 520-268-2725.
All items should be in usable condition and fit for sale. Unsold items (other than plants) will be donated to the White Elephant.
SILENT AUCTION
We need a chair or co-chairs to oversee the solicitation of auction items.
Geneva Halliday has volunteered to prepare bid sheets, organize the event and conduct the auction. We will need some volunteers to help set-up and close out the auction. Information needed by Geneva for the bid sheet ~ donor's name and contact information, artist name, name of piece if any, history if pertinent, a minimum bid if one is recommended by the donor.
Are you a member of a GVR club? Especially interested in Camera Club, Clay Studio, Ceramic Studio, Art Clubs, Gourd Club ~ would you be willing to donate a piece to the auction? Do you know another club member that would donate a piece to the auction?
Do you have a piece of pottery, garden art, art piece, etc. that you no longer need. Perhaps it would make an excellent auction item?
If you have an item to donate or are willing to help, please contact
Judy Christensen: judycpharmd@gmail.com or call or text 231-499-8794
. Judy also says she can pick up items or you can leave at Chuck's house the week before the auction.
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SPRING PLANT SALE
The Spring Plant Sale is scheduled for March 19, 20 & 21. We will be setting up March 18 early in the day and will again have our Members only sale in the afternoon from 1 to 3:30pm. Please wear your name tag to the Members only sale so we know you are a member.
(The Members only sale is your reward for being a member.)
Cash, check and credit cards will be accepted.
Alex Shipley, from Civano, will give us a plant sale preview at the
March 12 seminar.
Again this year:
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Vegetable starters will be available for sale.
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The Master Gardeners will have a table and will be selling shade cloth, frost cloth and compost etc. They will also be available to answer your gardening and drip system questions.
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As in past years, we will again have orphans for sale.
Please come out and support your club.
We will be located at Continental Shopping Center
Contact Christa Ryan chrstrn4@cox.net for more information
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"IN YOUR PLOT"
by Lorna Mitchell
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Our plots are full of cool season vegetables giving plentiful harvests - cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, carrots, chard, collards, beets, fennel, parsley, kale, and lettuce. Onions are growing beautifully and they will start to bulb according to day length as spring comes on, and it won't be long.
March/April is our big planting time for summer veggies so now is a good time to dig in composted steer manure, mushroom compost, and granulated fertilizer. Examine irrigation systems and plan for water delivery to new plantings. Consider a splitter coming off the faucet so you can work two clocks with different settings; perhaps one to onions and mature Brussels sprouts and another to rows of beans, zucchini, cantaloupe seeds, etc. that go in soon. Visually inspect batteries in clocks to make sure they are not corroded. Also, clean out the washer screens that protect the clocks from debris in the water and check fittings for leaks and drip emitters for volume as they easily plug up with our hard water. Keep coverings on faucets and clocks as freezing nights can still come upon us in March.
If you have started your own tomato, eggplant, and peppers for transplanting give them as much full sun outside as temperatures above 60°F allow. Continue to move them inside at night and in cool weather or when winds could damage them.
If you buy plants look for vigorously growing ones that are not root bound. Inspect them carefully and remove any hitchhiking pests. For tomatoes decide if you want indeterminate (main stem continues to elongate bearing new fruit all season) or determinate (growth stops and all fruit ripens about the same time). Tomatoes can go into the garden after the middle of March if there are no frosts predicted. As you put them in the ground bury the stem up to the first true leaves and it will grow new roots. Consider providing a cover which allows light transmission (such as a gallon milk carton with bottom and cap removed) for a couple of weeks to ease the transition. Black plastic laid on the soil around the plants can warm the soil making for more root growth. Be sure water is getting under the plastic, and remove the plastic by the end of April. Eggplant and peppers like warmer temperatures so wait at least until the middle of April to transplant those.
Many summer crops can be directly seeded into the garden mid-month and later: beans, corn, summer squash, melons, chard, radishes, and leafy greens. Some like warm soil and prefer to wait till next month like hard squash, okra, and cucumbers. Seeds will germinate faster if soaked in water overnight before planting. A covering of light weight cloth that allows light and water to penetrate may protect seedlings from predators and moderately cool nights.
Those are my plot thoughts for now.
Happy Gardening,
Lorna Mitchell
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Shop AmazonSmile and Benefit the Garden Club
Green Valley Gardeners is now listed on AmazonSmile. When you shop Amazon, log into AmazonSmile, use your existing personal account login information, select Green Valley Gardeners as your non-profit of choice. The club will receive a small donation for each qualifying purchase you make. Thank you!
To shop AmazonSmile go to
http://smile.amazon.com/
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Through Amazon Smile, the GVG has earned $97.12 this year. Thank you all for the support!
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Allen J. Ogden Community Garden
b
y Erin Walker
We sure did have an interesting month with the first ever union of matrimony of any of our critters with Turbo and Snow tying the knot on February 2nd. The ceremony was officiated by George Stone with "Love is in the Air" by John Paul Young playing in the background. They enjoyed a nice honeymoon over at Turbo's place and early March we shall all know if he and Snow will be parents. Stay tuned next month for news.
On February after temperatures dipped well below freezing, the garden experienced a considerable water line break resulting in partial flooding of the east parking lot. Luckily repairs were effectuated with little effort and water was restored to all the plots within a week, but it is becoming clear that replacing the 20-year-old irrigation system will soon be a priority.
SAFETY NOTICE:
George Stone was witness to a potentially tragic event on February 12th. While following a young woman in a red pickup turning left at Sahuarita Rd from Santa Rita Rd a large truck traveling westbound Sahuarita Rd nearly struck her. Her little truck would have been no match for the large truck. I myself have had a couple stressful situations at that particular intersection, especially mid-day Sundays when the church across the way has just let out. Sometimes it can be difficult to see what is coming from the east over the median and hill. Please be careful at this intersection if your travels take you to it. Turn right and make a U-turn if need be to be the safest. Ok, I'm done Mother Henning.
AN UPDATE:
As of February 22nd our onions have been in the ground for 13 weeks and looking great, although we need help keeping the weeds at bay. If you could take 10 minutes or so each time you're checking on your plot to pull some of the weeds, that would be a huge help. For those that have been helping, you are very much appreciated. Just a reminder the annual onion sale had to be pushed forward 3 weeks due to late delivery. It will now be held May 28-30th at Desert Meadow Park in Green Valley, from 10 AM to 2 PM. Remember, this is the biggest fundraiser Ogden has all year and it allows us to get new and nice things, and even be able to make prompt repairs when disaster strikes. Volunteers will be needed, so please look ahead and put it on the calendar. Email me to sign up at erinflanery82@gmail.com.
Happy Gardening!
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Arid Garden
by Mary Kidnocker
If you visit us soon, don't be surprised if the garden looks a bit like a war zone. Bill Carley, Dave Duffy, Mike Jensen, and Jerry Sampson are in the process of removing the old and installing a new, upgraded irrigation system throughout. This is a long, arduous job and we thank these gentlemen for sharing their hours with the garden.
Did you know that garden brochures (with map) are available at the Chamber of Commerce? We periodically check and replenish the supply to be sure we are well-represented for area visitors and newcomers.
This looks much like "Year of the Desert Lupine" in and around the garden. Some of these wildflowers show up each spring, but they are now appearing in larger numbers about everywhere. They are not in flower yet, but we are protecting the small, very-recognizable plants. We are looking forward to lots of purple blooms to contrast with the many pink Parry Penstemon in the garden.
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| New irrigation line going in |
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Verbena gooddingii blooming; 37 degrees F when photographed
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Footnote
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"When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant!"
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Desert Meadows Park
by Chuck Parsons
Warm weather brings lots of folks to the park! It is always a pleasure to see our project being appreciated by so many folks. Noticeable this year is an increase in young families walking the park. Last year with the completion of the Anza Trail through the valley we saw an increase in joggers and bicyclers. Seniors walking dogs continues to be the primary use ~ both benefitting from the exercise and socialization. Wildflowers are popping. From now on each week should get more colorful through spring. Rains have been good, and the wildflowers are showing their appreciation! Cameras are becoming more evident in the park.
Backroads Utah is a firm that organizes and conducts tours all over the world. This year they offered a new bicycling tour in our area ~ a 5-day desert tour in and around Tucson. On day one of the tour they leave San Xavier mission and peddle to Tumacacori stopping at Desert Meadows Park for lunch in our Barrio Garden. Tours are scheduled each week February through April ~ using the park on Sundays.
Backroads arrives
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Backroads at the Barrio for lunch
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The month of March at Desert Meadows Park will be devoted to preparing for Art-in-the-Park 2020 (AITP). We anticipate expansion from previous years. Probably 20 more artisans and 2 more food trucks than last year. To alleviate some of the traffic, we will be offering shuttle service from the north parking lot of the United Methodist Church. Next month Sand'n'Seeds will have more information for you about the participating artisans and shuttle service.
We are recruiting AITP volunteers now, most for Friday, April 3rd, to set up for the event and for the day of the event Saturday, April 4th. If you can help in the following, please contact us:
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Wednesday, April 1 through Friday April 3, various times, preparation/layout the parking lot at Prestige
- Mike Jensen Team Leader ~ jensenm@aol.com or 520-648-7889
- 8 to 10 volunteers
- Friday, April 3, 2 hours about 2 p.m., mark artisan sites, install signs around park
- Chuck Parsons ~ chuckp.dana@gmail.com or 520-904-9020
- 4 volunteers
- Saturday, April 4, 7:30 to 9 a.m., misc. set up tasks and help for artisan unloading/setup
- Chuck Parsons or Jerry Sampson ~ jrsampson@comcast.net
- 10 volunteers
- Saturday, April 4, parking lot assistance, Mike Jensen ~ jensenm@aol.com or 520-648-7889
- Early shift, 7 to 9 a.m., parking for artisans, 3 volunteers
- First shift, 9 a.m. to noon, parking coordination, 4 volunteers
- Final shift, 3 to 4:30 p.m., remove signs/barriers, cleanup, 6 volunteers
- Saturday, April 4, 3 to 4:30 p.m., help for artisans to close/load and park cleanup
- Chuck Parsons or Jerry Sampson
- 10 volunteers
More volunteers will be requested in an eblast during March for plant sales at the event and for Silent Auction preparation, set up and closure.
We appreciate your help!
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GVG Gardens at
Historic Canoa Ranch (HCR)
Another sign of spring! While giving the February, Gardens of Canoa Tour, several of these little guys were running around the orchard. Did not appear to be afraid of all the people. They were so cute and they distracted everyone's attention away from trees, plants and history and onto watching them scamper about. So far, they have left our trees and plants alone.
In the orchard, we are seeing the first blossoms of the year. Both, of the new apple trees, are showing off their spring colors.
Plants being considered for this year's vegetables in the Grijalva House Courtyard, are sweet corn, Jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, summer squash, bush beans, pinto beans, amaranth and sugar cane. Going for the "three sisters" and a few of their friends. The cool weather crop did exceptionally well. After the Heritage Day event, they will be harvested, removed and the warm weather veggies will be planted. For the first time, we are going to start some of them from seed. The raised beds will continue to be used for herbs and smaller growing veggies.
Want to thank Jerry Sampson for designing and making two Mason Bee houses for the orchard. Increasing the pollinators should help to produce more fruit per tree. THANK YOU, JERRY. Additionally, we want to thank the rest of our special volunteers for all the work they do. Could not do it without you. THANK YOU!!!!
Not sure when it will be completed but there is a lot of work being done on the Tradesman's House Courtyard. Electricity has been pulled in for the building and irrigation is being laid out. Stucco work is being done on Grijalva House and once it is completed, they will begin stucco on the Tradesman's House. In time, for Heritage Day, the ramada platform for entertainment and speakers should have been poured. We have had preliminary discussions concerning the landscaping, trees, plants, gardens and potted plants. All the main lines for irrigation and faucets for hose connections have been completed. Emitters will be added as the courtyard is planted. This would be an ideal place to plant the butterfly garden plants that were removed from the Grijalva House for the stucco work.
Additions to the Manning Junior House are small (3 inch), Mexican design pots with succulents. These will be placed on the window sills throughout the house. This should add some color to all that white. For Heritage Day, we will add spring blooming flowers to the window box.
We participated in two of the School Programs with, at least four more scheduled: Prehistoric Peoples of the Southwest and Life on the Ranch. Elementary grades levels 3-6. The Peoples of the SW is all about life centuries ago and how the native peoples lived and survived. Our participation included the ethnobiology part of the event discussing edible and useful plants. The children are even given several samples of edible, native plants. Life on the Ranch covers many facets of the children's life on a working ranch late 1800-1950s. This includes branding, cattle roping, history of the ranch, growing and preparing foods and daily chores. They are also introduced to popular children's games such as "Jacks" and "Marbles". We will continue to participate in the children's events for the remaining school year.
Ongoing tours at Historic Canoa Ranch
Birding 8:30a - 10:30 a Every Saturday
Historic Tours 9:30 a.-11a Every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday
Anza Tour - Second Wednesday of the month (Mar. 11) 10 a - 11 a
Gardens of Canoa Tour - Third Wednesday of the month (Mar. 18) 10 a - 11:30a
March Events
Heritage Fair - Sat., March 7, 9a-3p
Hawks Migration Week, Mar. 12-16, 10a-1p
Wondering about Wild Things-Southern Arizona's Spring Wildflowers, Fri., Mar. 20, 6-8p
Stargazing Party, Fri., March 20, lecture 6-7p, stargazing 7-9-p
Antique & Vintage Fair, Sat., Mar. 21, 9a-1p
Country Market Every Thurs. 9a - 1p
Events Upcoming in April
Stargazing Party, Fri., April 24th
Historic Canoa Ranch offers an enormous assortment of gardening venues. If you are interested in, want to learn about or are you an expert with vegetables, ornamental plants, indoor plants, herbs, cacti, native plants, succulents, plants for the pollinators and/or fruit trees, then, for you, Historic Canoa Ranch is the right venue. We have a variety of plants and gardens to meet everyone's preference. You can choose to work on all the gardens or just the one you prefer. Want to be a part of our project team? J
oin us, on Tuesday's, to play in the dirt, meet gardening friends, learn something new, have some gardening adventures and be a part of restoring Canoa Ranch to its past splendor. Our early birds arrive around 7:30 a.m., at the Sr. House, Herb Garden. You are welcome, at any time, to join us.
HCR Project Manager: Raydine Taber and Jack Davis (Emeritus)
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ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
by Steve Curtis
Steve Curtis, Chuck Parsons and Patricia Simpson were invited to attend a judging of the Copperview Elementary School for certification as an A+ school. It was inspiring to hear the parents present the school and tell how great it is. Kelly Strahen guided us on a tour of the gardens that Steve and Chuck have helped to establish. This is one of our projects to educate children about gardening. Kelly tells us this summer there will be a new sidewalk installed to enable children in wheelchairs to move from the gate to the gardens.
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40th ANNIVERSARY PROJECTS
MEDIAN GREEN PROJECT
I'm sure there is a saying that covers how slowly the wheels of government turn, and in the case of our median project it certainly applies. We submitted our plans as has always been done and after a week received notice that the county now requires everything to be done electronically. Not really a surprise, but we lost a week. We then did as they requested and included the art work proposed for two of the medians, a big mistake. There is a separate and rather elaborate procedure for installing art work and we had not followed procedures. That paperwork (electronic) has now been submitted and once again we wait.
In the mean time we have been busy collecting donated plants, making arrangements for barricades, checking on prices for possible machine rental, etc. We are very grateful for those of you who have donated plants and to Jerry Sampson for volunteering his time and muscle to collecting and digging up the donated plants. If you find a spare plant or two that you wish to donate, give us a call and we will check to see if they meet our requirements. We will then make arrangements to come and pick them up. Ruth Tamminga: 708-334-6911 or Phyllis Barboza: 503-515-3483.
We are hoping to have this all come together the third week of March. Keep your fingers crossed.
by Ruth Tamminga and Phyllis Barboza
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| A completed median project on LaCanada |
FLOAT IN THE WHITE ELEPHANT PARADE PROJECT
To help celebrate the Green Valley Gardeners' 40 years of community service, the club plans to participate in one of Green Valley's biggest community events: the annual White Elephant Parade held on the last Saturday in October.
Many volunteers are needed to plan and work on our entry and to march or ride with us in the parade. There's a lot of excitement about this new project and we hope you will join in the fun.
The committee held its first meeting in February and came up with a general plan. Our goal is to increase public awareness of the club and what we do for the community. Our entry will consist of a pickup truck decorated to represent the club as a whole and four golf carts decorated to represent Ogden Garden, Arid Garden, Desert Meadows Park and the GVG gardens at Historic Canoa Ranch. Walkers will carry signs to let people know about all of the club's projects. We will be holding the next meeting soon and will form groups to work on specific areas of the plan.
If you are interested in joining the Parade Committee, please contact the co-chairs: Cynthia Surprise (857-209-1978 or cjsurprise@verizon.net) or Marita Ramsay (208-290-7770 or maritasandpoint@yahoo.com).
by Cynthia Surprise and Marita Ramsay
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Membership
by Mark Thompson
January and February have continued to be a busy months for membership. In addition to sending out renewal notices to 2019 members, we have welcomed 31 new members into the gardeners since the beginning of the year. All of them are eager to learn about their new gardening realities and get their hands dirty.
Sue Egerton
Patti Carrell
Jim and Charlotte Kirby
Jerry Harris
Karen Dougherty
Susan Martindale
Carolyn Haas
Lois Rose
Warene Hopson
Susan Miller
Louise Lamp
Steven Miller
Barbara and Norbert Welch
Laurie and Ashley Vigorito
Heidi Hoffmann
Theresa Gempel
Diane Farrell
Marie LeRoy
Deborah Bougie
Jerry Cuffe
Bob Lane
Kathryn Sleeper
Jim Luhring
Doug and Nancy Does
Lynn Ocone
Mike MacCaskey
Susan Ready
I'm sure we will see all of these new members at the members only plant sale on Wednesday the 18th. Don't forget to wear you name tags and bring your credit cards to this special membership only event. And, remember to go to our website to check out how to order your GVG logo clothing.
The end of February marks the end of our membership renewal campaign. In accordance with our By-Laws, any member not renewing by March 1 will be removed from our rolls. See you at the plant sale
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If you have some favorite photos you've taken at one of the club's projects, please submit them prior to the 28th of the month to be included in the newsletter for all to enjoy.
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| Photo courtesy of Vicki Rapp Gabrielson taken at the Mission Garden Field Trip |
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| Photo courtesy of Raydine Taber at Canoa Ranch-Orchid |
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