the lowdown - washington state university · 4/4/2019 · book review 4 book review 6 self-study...
TRANSCRIPT
The Lowdown
WSU Spokane County Extension Master Gardeners April 2019 The Lowdown
Inside this issue:
Foundation News 2
Book Review 4
Book Review 6
Self-study Quiz 8
Upcoming Events 10
Extension Information
Tim Kohlhauff 477-2172
Horticulture Program Coordinator
Anna Kestell 477-2195
Food Preservation/Safety
Jackie Sykes 477-2193
Clinic Coordinator
Master Gardener County Site
http://extension.wsu.edu/spokane/
master-gardener-program
Master Gardener Foundation of
Spokane County
http://www.mgfsc.org/
WSU Master Gardener Site
http://mastergardener.wsu.edu/
HortSense Fact Sheets
http://hortsense.cahnrs.wsu.edu/
Home/HortsenseHome.aspx
On Line Timelog Reporting:
http://ext.wsu.edu/Volunteers/
logon.aspx
Garden Fair 2019
Volunteering for Garden Fair
By Tim Stiess
Garden Fair is the Foundation/Program’s biggest event of the year. It is also
logistically challenging as we have to set up everything at the extension office
in just a couple of days AND THEN have a five hour sale that serves well over
one thousand people. To make this happen we need the pro-active sup-
port of all the Master Gardener Volunteers.
If you have yet to sign up for volunteer positions please do so – either in the
on-line Garden Fair volunteer guide:
https://1drv.ms/w/s!Aob6ph1bnIECgrxTk-nukAa7Q-9AHA or contact me, Tim Stiess, at 540-557-7992 or [email protected].
We still have plenty of volunteer opportunities.
The on-line volunteer guide also contains lists of specific needs for the event
that you may be able to contribute or loan, such as tables, canopies, and spe-
cialty items.
(continued on page 3)
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Foundation News By Cathi Lamoreux
As I write this at the end of March, the spring equinox has arrived, the weather is vacillating between warm spring sun and welcome spring rain. The tempera-tures are rising rapidly after our cold and snowy February and early March. In my yard, the south facing portion has lost most of the snow. The north facing portion – still a way to go! The quail are back in record numbers walking on top of the snow and poking around the garden. The Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel) is blooming but the Hamamelis ‘Diane’ is still snoozing. I also saw my first hellebore buds up near the house. I’m still waiting for that first spring bulb to pop out, but it isn’t going to be long now!
Fortunately for all of us, there are two MG gardening events happening at this time of the year. The 10th anniversary edition of Cabin Fever was held on March 30. It was a rousing success with strong attendance. The Foundation thanks Vivian Powers for all her hard work over the years on this event. It has grown into ‘the place to be’ in March in Spokane. We also extend a big round of applause to Vivi-an and her crew for planning and executing a great day! Thanks to everyone who volunteered, spoke, and attended. We could not have done it without you.
Next up is the Garden Fair & Plant Sale to be held on Saturday, April 27. It will be here before you know it! This is our biggest fundraiser of the year. To hold a suc-cessful event, everyone needs to be involved. Tim Stiess is once again leading Gar-den Fair. He has developed a slick online sign-up sheet that can be found at https://bit.ly/2FpAHn6. Please click on the link and sign up for a job or two or three!
The Foundation Board of Directors welcomed this year’s trainee/intern class non-voting member, Jo-anne Haase at our March meeting. She will represent the new class all year on the board. If you are a member of the class and have a question about the Foundation, take it to Joanne and she will bring it to the board. She will also be sharing information from the Foundation with the trainee/intern class.
We are pleased to share the news that we awarded our first Educational Grant! We set up the program to support your opportunities to attend educational offer-ings that enrich your MG knowledge base. Please remember that this fund is avail-able and take advantage of this opportunity.
By the time you read this the Foundation Board Of Directors will have held their third-annual Strategic Planning Retreat. We spend all day together looking at the bigger picture and planning for the future so that the Program and the Foundation remain on sound footing.
Enjoy the spring weather!
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We are so glad you are with us!
Garden Fair Volunteers Needed
Schedule of events: Thursday, April 25 Set-up 9-5
Friday, April 26 Set-up 9-5
Saturday, April 27 6 am open for vendors to set up
6 –9 am final set up of Garden Fair
9 am gates open to the public
2 pm Garden Fair ends and clean up begins
5 pm DONE
Logistics: Set-up on Thursday, Friday, and before 9 am on Saturday is loosely organized.
*There is always a lot to do. Show up whenever will work for you.
*Be ready to take on a variety of tasks.
*We’ll be moving the plants to the Extension Center on both Thursday and Friday before GF.
*We’ll also need volunteers to receive the plants, stage them by type of plant, tidy them up, and clean the pots at the Extension Center.
More information to follow.
Thank you!
Janice Sather 4/8
Ryan Herring 4/9
Pat Munts 4/12
Beverly Hisaw 4/18
Marilyn Lloyd 4/20
Marilyn Wadsworth 4/20
Jill Ferguson 4/25
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Book review by Susan Mulvihill
Buffalo-Style Gardens by Sally Cunningham & Jim Charlier
(St. Lynn’s Press, 2019, 224 pp., $24.95)
As soon as I heard Buffalo-Style Gardens would be coming out, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on
a copy. Why?
In 2017, the annual garden writer’s conference was held in Buffalo, NY. My colleagues and I were giv-en the opportunity to visit several gardens that had been a part of Garden Walk. It’s no exaggeration to say we were all bowled over by the caliber of each one.
If you’ve never heard of Garden Walk -- and don’t feel badly because I hadn’t either, prior to the con-ference -- it’s well worth attending. Garden Walk takes place each year in late July and features 400 gardens. What’s more, this is a free, self-guided tour, with free shuttles to boot.
What struck me most about the gardens was how unique and creative each one was -- even the tini-est of gardens.
As the authors write, “The common design thread connecting the hundreds of gardens of Garden Walk Buffalo is the individual artistic sense of the gardens, their way of personalizing an outdoor space, their love of the objects and plants they bring to it.”
We’ve all gone on garden tours and encountered a garden that resonates with us, right? We usually study it while trying to determine how we can achieve that same feeling in our own space.
What the authors set out to do in Buffalo-Style Gardens is to illustrate good garden design by us-
ing examples of fabulous Buffalo gardens. And even though these gardens are a world away from many of us, the point is that we can all learn valuable lessons from them. This book is packed with eye-catching photographs of these gardens to underscore why they stand out.
(continued on page 5)
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(continued from page 4)
While discussing important elements of garden design, Cunningham and Charlier provide a gardener self-assessment to help the reader focus on what’s most important (and doable) to them. They also highlight design elements that raise a garden from just okay to knockout.
Other design concepts, such as personalizing a space with furniture or collections, are included. Later in the book, Cunningham highlights plants that really earn their real estate in the garden.
The final chapter explores the positive impact gardening has both on individuals and their community. The authors provide the resources needed to spread the concept of Garden Walk in other locations. How I’d love to see this idea snatched up by cities across the country!
Buffalo-Style Gardens truly captures the essence of what it takes to create a garden that reflects the
personality of the homeowner and is brimming with take-home ideas. I’m glad Sally Cunningham and Jim Charlier took the time to share this with us.
New Fact Sheets Available!
Just in time for the gardening season (he typed while watching the snow plow clear the Extension parking lot on March 13). We have a couple of new fact sheets to add to our resources:
Garden Fertilizer Calculator FS324 Have you struggled with the idea of how much fertilizer-
whether organic or synthetic- to apply to your garden? Retired WSU soil scientist Craig Cogger just re-
leased this fact sheet (available on the http://gardening.wsu.edu/ website) that takes you through the
calculations for determining how much fertilizer to apply to a given area (lawn, garden bed) or plant(s), like a row of raspberries or a pot of ornamentals. At the end of the fact sheet are links to take you to online calculators that assist you through the process. It’s a big help for people looking to avoid math, or people standing in the aisle at the store, trying to figure how much of a product to buy.
On the flip side of gardening, Janice Sather has been working hard to update our lists of Native Plants for
the Inland Northwest. Look for the newly updated version of “Native Conifer Trees” C206 on our website
soon. Thank you Janice!!
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Book Review by Mary Beth Shinn
Lab Girl
by Hope Jahren
Penguin Random House, $26.95
Lab Girl is a memoir with a fair amount of botany and soil science instruction. It
is also a love story (actually two unlikely love stories). Hope Jahren is not only a
brilliant scientist; she is also a gifted writer, so the reader is delighted to absorb
her lectures to gain more insight into the passions of this amazing woman. Her
sense of humor is disarming and often unexpected. Here's an excerpt from chap-
ter 3: "You may think a mushroom is a fungus. This is exactly like believing that a
penis is a man. Every toadstool, from the deliciously edible to the deathly poison-
ous, is merely a sex organ that is attached to something more whole, complex,
and hidden." Now if that doesn't make you laugh, well…
I can't resist quoting from another lesson on roots and leaves: "Leaves make
sugar. Plants are the only things in the universe that can make sugar out of
nonliving inorganic matter. All the sugar that you have ever eaten was first
made within a leaf. Without a constant supply of glucose to your brain, you
will die. Period."
Amy Stewart of the Washington Post writes: Lab Girl is the story of a girl who becomes a scientist.
It’s also the story of a career and the endless struggles over funding, recognition, and politics that get
in the way. It’s the story of the plants and soil she studies. But — and this is the weirdest, coolest part
about this book — it is really the story of two lab partners and their uncommon bond.
Hope and Bill meet on a soil taxonomy field trip, where students are told to dig holes and document
what they find. Bill moves away from the group to dig his own series of holes. When Hope asks him if
he’s off by himself looking for gold, he answers: “No. I just like to dig. I used to live in a hole.”
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(continued from page 6)
Jahren deals with the topics of crushing mental illness, uncompromising honesty, and unconditional love.
There were times when I envied Professor Jahren, admired so many of her strong character traits, but was
thankful I wasn't anything like her. I am, at the same time, extremely grateful that women like Jahren are
making the world a better place for women scientists.
The book's main love story would never become a Hallmark movie. It's sometimes hard to recognize for its
lack of superficial tenderness and sentimentality. This love is more about silence than speaking, more
about loyalty and interdependence than attraction, and exceptional because both individuals accept its
many limits and boundaries.
Jahren earned her Ph.D. in 1996 at the University of California, Berkeley in the field of soil science. She ac-
cepted her first faculty and research position at Georgia Tech. After several years she accepted an offer
from Johns Hopkins University where her research finally began to receive the reputation it deserved. She
was then offered a full professorship at the University of Hawaii, a great place to research both plants and
soil. Currently, Jahren and her family live in Norway where she is on the faculty of the University of Oslo.
It's not until the epilogue that the author gives us her frightening warning about our
failed stewardship of plants and the living soil that is the foundation for life. She offers
us a small but significant suggestion to offset our "taking" from these resources —
plant a tree!
Lab Girl is the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award.
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April 2019 Quiz
1. When is Garden Fair and who can you contact to volunteer?
2. How long is Garden Fair and how many MGs are needed to make it a suc-
cess?
3. Besides your time, what can you donate to help Garden Fair be successful?
4. What is the scientific name for witch hazel?
5. Who led the group that put Cabin Fever together so successfully?
6. How many years has Cabin Fever been presented?
7. Name the training/intern who represents this year’s class on the MGFSC Board of Directors.
8. Who spends an entire day each year looking at the bigger picture and planning for the future so
that the Program and the Foundation remain on sound footing?
9. When does set up begin for Garden Fair? When does clean up end for Garden Fair?
10. What tasks are included in Garden Fair set up? Which ones will you complete?
11. Which New York city is part of a book title that addresses garden styles?
12. Which book can help you learn to personalize your garden in a way that will bring you the feeling
of ‘your space?’
13. Which new information source is available to assist with fertilizer questions?
14. Janice Sather has been updating which publication to help Inland Northwest property owners
learn about their tree options?
15. Is a mushroom a fungus according to a book reviewed by Mary Beth Shinn?
16. All of the sugar you have ever eaten was made inside a what?
17. What is Hope Jahren’s small but significant suggestion to offset our "taking" from the earth’s re-
sources?
18. When is the April MGFSC Board meeting?
19. When is the May MG Program Board meeting?
20. Which community gardening event takes place in May at Spokane Community College?
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March 2019 Quiz Answers
1. New Educational Grant
2. No
3. Cabin Fever
4. March 30, 2019, at CenterPlace in the Spokane Valley
5. Advertise them to friends and neighbors and bring them to the events
6. $25
7. MGs can get the discount card for local garden-related businesses
8. Matt Velasco
9. On the password-protected, members-only section of the Foundation webpage
10. The Budget-Wise Gardener
11. “My job as your tutor is to build you into a sophisticated plant geek able to track down elusive deals
while getting the highest quality for your money.”
12. Kerry Ann Mendez
13. By using mixes of drought-tolerant groundcovers blended with annuals and/or bulbs
14. Gardens where one uses vines for more than just vertical interest
15. Our limited space
16. In member’s homes and gardens
17. Two (or more)
18. This answer should be a resounding ‘Yes!’ if you want the event to be a success
19. Educational enrichment of MG staff and volunteers
20. Get approval from the MG Program for the educational activity, then complete and submit the applica-
tion form 30 days before the activity registration date.
21. On the Master Gardener Foundation of Spokane County website
(MGFSC.ORG)
Extension programs and policies are consistent with federal and state laws and regulations on nondiscrimination regarding race, sex, religion, age, color, creed, national or ethnic origin; physical, mental, or sensory disability; marital status, sexual orientation, or status as a Vietnam-era or disabled veteran. Evidence of noncompliance may be reported through your local Extension office.
Calendar of Events
Thursday 4 ‘Plant Problem Diagnosis’ 9am—noon, Classrooms
Monday 8 MG Foundation Board Meeting, 10 am, Extension Classroom E
Tuesday 9 MG Program Board Meeting, 3 pm, Extension Conference Room
Thursday 25 Garden Fair Set Up, 9am—5pm
Friday 26 Garden Fair Set Up, 9am—5pm
Saturday 27 Garden Fair & Plant Sale, 9am—2 pm
Saturday 27 Garden Fair Clean Up, 2 pm until finished (need volunteers!)
Monday 29 Plant ID Session, 3:30-5pm in the Plant Clinic
Monday 29 PCS Meeting, 5:30-7pm, Extension Classrooms
Saturday 11 TIEG Garden Expo, 9am—4pm, Spokane Community College
Monday 13 MG Foundation Board Meeting, 10 am, Extension Classroom E
Tuesday 14 MG Program Board Meeting, 3 pm, Extension Conference Room
Monday 20 Plant ID Session, 3:30-5pm in the Plant Clinic
Monday 20 PCS Meeting, 5:30-7pm, Extension Classrooms
Saturday 25 Plant Clinic Closed (holiday)
Monday 27 Memorial Day