Hi All,
It was a beautiful morning for our first week together caring for the PGG! The temperature was 63-degrees and a calm breeze. We did not have our rain gauges outdoors, so we’ll begin measuring the weekly rain amount next week. We had a long list of chores to tackle, but first it was time to say hello to our gardening friends! As I mentioned when we gathered together in the parking lot, it seemed like the first day of school. There were lots of smiling faces and a few hugs to get us started. There were twelve gardeners in attendance for week #1. Here is the list of our 2024 Project GREEN volunteers: Mary Laughlin, Monica Hoherz, Jim Peters, Dan Mascal, Rina Sjolund, Sue Terveer-Mullins, Lisa Haverkamp, Jo Pattschull, Cindy Parsons, Evelyn Frey, Hetty Hall, and moi. Our official time together was 9 – 11 a.m., but many arrived early and got to work and many stayed later, leaving around noon. Let’s count our volunteer time as three hours for the twelve in attendance. Welcome to our newest volunteer, Dan Mascal!
Thanks to Pat Yeggy who has volunteered to create our 2024 PGG Volunteer Directory. We plan to keep things simple, collecting each volunteer’s name, email, and cell phone number. If a volunteer does not have a cell phone a house phone number will do. Pat and I will do our best to keep the directory up-to-date. Please let one of us know of any errors or changes.
Volunteers got to work pulling garlic mustard, sweeping or blowing clean sidewalks, clearing flowerbeds of sticks, branches, and of course, weeds. We used tarps to pull our debris to the end of the long driveway or where the sidewalk to the house meets the parking lot:
It’s fun to walk around the PGG and see how trees have grown! Here are a few pictures of trees showing off their springtime beauty. Pictured first is a Flowering Dogwood, followed by a 2018 “Fifty Trees for Fifty Years” Purple Leaf Beech tree located next to the Ashton House. The third picture shows a mature Purple Leaf Beech tree located at the south east section of the parking lot. Lastly is ‘Fort McNair” Red Horsechestnut tree, also planted in 2018 as part of the “Fifty Trees for Fifty Years” Project GREEN celebration:
We have had a yearly challenge keeping our Jack in the Pulpit where it belongs on the west side of the sidewalk leading to the Ashton House. Every year volunteers will bring a new “Jack” to place next to its marker telling its official name and genus. This year, Jack has appeared in its own spot and it will not need to be replanted this year!
There are a few new “artsy” additions to the north side of the Ashton House garage. Mark your calendar for the Saturday, May 18 Native Plant Sale at the PGG! Troutleaf will be selling plants at the Ashton House patio from 9 a.m. – noon. Project GREEN will also be selling “artsy” garden art like these two treasures.
Here are the numbers after week one at the PGG! Pre-season hours with OPN Architects + Week 1 volunteers = 4 hours + 36 hours=
= 40 hours donated by Project GREEN volunteers! Many thanks to all.
Our next work session will be Monday, May 13, from 9 – 11 a.m. Our goal will be to plant canna lilies and a few elephant ears down the center of the triangle bed and other places around the PGG. Fun! We will also continue preparing beds for the annual plants which will arrive the week of May 20. Wishing everyone a good week! Happy gardening, Diane