Hi All,
We had a wonderful day of gardening this past Monday, which began week #5 at the Gardens. June 2nd at 9 a.m. had 69-degree temps with air quality 53, described as moderate. The Canadian fires continue to burn which fill our Iowa skies with smoke. I plan to keep track of Iowa City’s rainfall monthly this season. There were 0-inches of Iowa City rain for the month of 2025, June.
Our coffee group met at 8:30 a.m. and the 1/2 hour together was delightful. Please consider joining our group this next Monday morning at 8:30. I’ll be bringing donuts to celebrate my June 7 birthday. Remember to bring your own coffee/drink. There are two picnic tables at the Ashton House patio, so plenty of room for all!
Here are our goals for week #5. The Dashes needed to be watered. We do not have enough hose lengths or muscle strength to get water to each of the 7 Dashes. Fortunately we have Fern! It was so much easier to fill many gallon containers on the backend of Fern to transport to each of the Dashes for healthy drinks. Voilà and whoopee! Our second goal was to get all the remaining flats of annuals and a few perennials planted. Peonies and Iris were deadheaded. Weeding and planting on the “Front Porch” was continued and lots of watering for flowerbeds. I will explain why the plantings along the Park Road north sidewalk are called the “Front Porch” next week and get pictures.
Volunteers who worked extra hours since week #4 are: Diane and Larry Allen each watered 3 1/2 hours on Friday, May 30, Cindy Parsons watered 2 hours on Saturday, May 31 and Nick Goergen helped with the water system 1 hour on Friday, May 30. Many thanks to each of these volunteers for going “above and beyond” our usual weekly 2 hours. Remember to record any extra Project GREEN Gardens work on our sign-in sheet.
Volunteers in attendance for week #5 were: Diane Allen (4 hours), Nick Goergen, Rina Sjolund, Monica Hoherz (4 hours), Jim Peters (4 hours), Pat Yeggy, Susan Ahrens, Evelyn Frey.
Here are the numbers after week #5 at the Project GREEN Gardens. Weeks 1 – 4 + Week 5 = 289 1/2 hours + 32 hours
= 321 1/2 hours for 2025 Project GREEN Gardens volunteers!
Congratulations and many thanks to each of you. Our efforts to make the Gardens a special and beautiful place to pass through or sit and stay a while make a huge difference in our Iowa City community. It’s a treat to work with each and everyone of you.
Please mark Saturday, June 28 (4 – 8 p.m.) and Sunday, June 29 (10 a.m. – 2 p.m.) on your calendars for Project GREEN’s 2025 Open Gardens Weekend. Project GREEN Gardens will once again be the headquarters for this event. I will have a sign-up sheet next week for any volunteers who are able to help during part or all of these two days. It’s a fun time to be together and welcome visitors to the Gardens. We will hand out maps showing our eight sponsors and over 20 private gardens to visit. Project GREEN volunteers will give guided tours of our Gardens to groups.
Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend! Hope to see lots of volunteers at our next work session, Monday June 9 from 9 – 11 a.m. Until then, happy gardening! Diane