Hi All,
What a crazy week for Project GREEN volunteers! Our normal Monday meeting date was cancelled with Tuesday rain forecast as well. By early Monday afternoon our Week #3 meeting time was changed to Thursday, May 23. It turned out to be a good plan! Then our weather interfered once again. Read on…
Sunday, May 19: Plants delivered and gorgeous.
With severe weather predicted Cindy Parsons, Larry Allen, and I met at the Ashton House Tuesday, May 21 moving all our newly delivered and beautiful annual plants into the garage for safety against high winds, heavy rains, and possible hail. This took an hour and possibly saved our plants.
Tuesday, May 21: Moved plants to safety in garage.
Wednesday, May 22: Chris Ostrander, Mary Laughlin, Cindy Parsons, Pat Yeggy and I met at the Project GREEN Gardens to relocate the annual plants from the Ashton House garage to the driveway. These volunteers worked from 9 a.m. to noon or longer. Monica Hoherz came by at 1:30 p.m. and worked until 4 p.m. planting annual plants into Dashes 1 – 7.
Thursday, May 23: Larry and I got to the Project GREEN Gardens by 8 a.m. to transport the annuals to plant. We were able to get this accomplished by the time our Project GREEN volunteers arrived at 9 a.m. Thursday’s goal was to plant these beds: Triangle, Quilt, and Evelyn’s Corner. Volunteers noticed many of our annual plants were soaking wet and declining quickly. We did not plant the zinnias and marigolds that were in the worst shape. Volunteers in attendance were: Nick Goergen, Evelyn Frey, Mary Laughlin, Rina Sjolund, Cindy Parsons, Lynn Giles, and moi. Most volunteers stayed until noon and four volunteers continued working a couple more hours. Our last volunteer left after 2:30 watering every plant we’d put into the ground Thursday morning. Thankfully, our planting goals were accomplished.
Friday, May 24: Cindy Parsons dropped by the Gardens to evaluate our plants and remaining two beds to plant. We decided to cancel planting Saturday, May 25 as the beds were soaking wet and unfit for planting.
Saturday, May 25: Cindy Parsons, Laura Hawks, and I met at 9 a.m. to evaluate our remaining plants that had been sitting on concrete since Sunday (except for a dry overnight Tuesday in the garage). All these plants were in trouble needing sunlight, a light breeze, and their pot bottoms above the driveway surface. The three of us spent 3 hours each separating the plants, trimming flowers, and placing plants above the concrete. There was a lot of critical thinking and imagination going on to accommodate our plants’ needs. It was hard to leave our defenseless plants waiting their turn to be planted.
Here are the numbers after our crazy Week #3. Weeks 1 – 2 + Week 3 = 86 hours + 56 1/2 hours = 142 1/2 hours
after three weeks at the Project GREEN Gardens! We did our best, who can ask for more?
Let’s plan to meet Tuesday, May 28 at 9 a.m. We will plant Mary’s Tree and the Circle. Also, Rina is ready to fill her containers and 2 red wagons with flowers and elephant ears. We will dig 3 fountain grasses into the bed in front of the Ashton House entrance.
The “Party in the Park” committee will meet Wednesday, May 29, 9 a.m. at the Ashton House first floor.
Let’s hope for a calmer Week #4 at the Project GREEN Gardens! See you Tuesday morning. Until then, happy gardening! Diane