Week 20, Sept 12, 2023 Ashton House Project GREEN Gardens

Hi All,

We were blessed with RAIN last Monday, Sept 11.  With two rain gauges we noted in the front yard at the AHPGG we had .9 inches and back yard .8 inches.  After a few Happy Dances we emptied the gauges and made them ready for our next rain.  Sadly, rain hasn’t happened, YET. 

There were nine volunteers who worked Week 20 at the AHPGG.  One volunteer worked Sunday afternoon (Sept 10) for 2 1/2 hours.  Since our group had their Monday date rained out, eight volunteers worked Tuesday, Sept 12 for two hours each.  One volunteer worked an extra 1 1/2 hours and another worked an extra hour.  Those in attendance were: Bill Blair, Mary Laughlin, Mary McCarthy, Hetty Hall, Pat Yeggy, Monica Hoherz, Lynne Giles, Linda Schreiber, and moi.  

Everyone was grateful no watering with hoses was necessary.  We did water all six front containers with our Miracle Grow fertilizer.  A box of donated daffodils were planted.  Donated iris were planted.  Volunteers gave opinions about where to plant boxwood.  Weeding was continued on the east and west side of the Ashton House.  It’s easy to understand why our time together goes quickly!

Enjoy our Week 20 photo album!

Bill Blair spent his Sunday afternoon clearing invasive growth from the north end of the AHPGG. His goal is to remove all invasives before the snow flies. Thankfully all the debris piles were removed Monday, 9-11 by Steve Erickson and crew. This picture shows how dry the ground is at the Gardens. Please join me in an early 2024 Rain Dance!
Project GREEN volunteers have spent MANY hours watering and caring for locations around the AHPGG. The left picture shows a lush entrance into the Ashton House. The middle picture shows part of Ligularia Dell. These plants are blooming now and thanks to our recent rainfall look very content in their home along the west side of the sidewalk leading to the house. The right picture shows Dashes 1 – 7 along the hiking/biking trail. Each Dash has different plantings dependent upon the daily sunshine. There are benches along the trail between Dashes to enjoy the meandering Iowa River view. It’s an easy walk to see each Dash beginning with Dash 1 closest to Park Road or Dash 7 closest to Normandy Drive.
The left picture shows an area east of the Ashton House. The cleared location is filled with daffodils now. Look for the yellow flags and relish a spring vision of 10 blooming daffodils emerging from each flagged spot. Ahh… The right picture is located at the southwest corner of the Park Road parking lot. Iris were dug into this lovely spot we call “Evelyn’s Corner.” The tops of rhizomes show locations for white, peach, and apricot iris. This will be a spectacular sight in spring 2024. As you can see Project GREEN volunteers spend lots of time on their knees when planting.
The Circle is filled with annual salvia and famously in the center, Voodoo Lilies. Red, white, and dark purple salvia pieces are each separated by a line of blue salvia. This bed is located directly to the west of the Ashton House patio.
The Quilt is ready for visitors to see along the hiking/biking trail close to Park Road. Project GREEN volunteers are pleased with the bright, tangerine marigold border around the inner quadrants of coleus. With careful pruning the coleus are nearly the same height and allow imaginations to enjoy covering themselves while viewing the Quilt.
The Triangle is Project GREEN’s first flowerbed to fill with annuals. This bed was named after its shape thanks to Project GREEN volunteer, Mary Laughlin. Beginning at the Little Free Library (LFL) created, installed, and maintained by Roger Swartz are tall white and gold marigolds. Traveling counterclockwise from the LFL is red salvia, followed by Sahara Strawberry profusion zinnia, Citrus Blend lantana, and ending with pink amaranth. We added along the center of this gigantic flowerbed canna lilies, elephant ears, cleome, purple fountain grasses, and more. It’s worth the trip to see this spectacular sight along the hiking/biking trail closest to Park Road. By the way, our LFL is in need of books and magazines. Anyone wanting to donate please leave your bag of items next to the Ashton House garage. Many thanks!
We are looking for locations to plant 30 boxwood. Pictured are West Ovals which can be seen from the hiking/biking trail. It’s possible groups of three boxwood would make the ovals more attractive for viewers passing by. We would also use boxwood in Evelyn’s Corner and along the entrance to the parking lot.

Here are the numbers after Week 20 at the AHPGG.  Weeks 1 – 19 + Week 20 = 734 1/2 hours + 21 hours = 755 1/2 hours for Project GREEN 2023 volunteers!  Project GREEN volunteers are fantastic gardeners and very important to our community.     

Our Week 21 work session will be Monday, September 18 from 9 – 11 a.m.   Until then, happy gardening!  -Diane

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