Hi All,
Has anyone noticed how quickly the corn is growing??? Nothing like hot, humid and now rainy weather to help Iowa’s corn grow, “Knee high by the Fourth of July.”!
Our week 9 at the Gardens began at 9 a.m. with 77 degrees and ended at 11 a.m. with 81 degrees. The air quality was 39, rated “Good” with our June rain at the Gardens totaling 2.18 inches. All good. As usual, many volunteers started early and ended later than our stated times. Everyone was able to include their individual times for me to estimate the volunteer hours spent at the Gardens. Thanks so much!
Lots of extra time was spent at the Gardens for week 8. Open Gardens Weekend (those in attendance: Saturday, June 28 Larry Allen, Evelyn Frey, Rina Sjolund, Nick Goergen, Cindy Parsons, and Diane Allen & Sunday, June 29: Jim Peters, Lisa Haverkamp, Nick Goergen, Cindy Parsons, Sue Mullins, Pat Yeggy, and Diane Allen) garnered 41 volunteer hours by welcoming guests, handing out maps to OGW garden hosts, giving tours, and providing cold water and pretzels for all. Time went quickly as we handed out nearly 150 maps. Whew! Jim Peters spent 2 hours June 19, Sue Mullins spent 3 extra week 8 hours, and Susan Ahrens added 1/2 extra hour working at the Gardens. Our Monday morning week 9 Project GREEN volunteers were: Mary Laughlin, Jim Peters (3 hours), Rina Sjolund, Dhyana Kaufman (3 hours) Susan Ahrens, Lisa Haverkamp, Sue Mullins (4 hours), Monica Hoherz, Evelyn Frey (3 hours), Chris Ostrander (3 hours), and Diane Allen (4 hours). My goodness, time goes quickly at the Gardens!
The following pictures tell our week 9 story:
Work continues on the west side of the ramp leading to the house. Jim Peters has taken on clearing weeds and over-grown Fragrant Sumac from this area. Thanks, Jim! Can you see the blooming Elder bush-tree on the left side of the picture? Pollinators are busy with the flowers helping each to develop into a small, purple-black, sour berry that will ripen from late-summer to fall.
Check out the Elder bush-tree at:
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/a-z-of-british-trees/elder/
Here is information from: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ardr3
10 Benefits of Having a Gasteria ‘Green Dragon’
🍃 Air-purifying and stress-reducing, for a healthier, calmer home environment.
💧 Drought-tolerant and low-maintenance, perfect for the forgetful plant parent.
🌱 Symbolizes resilience, adds unique aesthetic and conversational value. 
Here is info about these beautiful bushes from The Arbor Day Foundation:
The Ann magnolia is a delightful hybrid shrub form. The hardy specimen puts on a show in mid- to late March, with a profusion of deep purple-red blooms that resemble tulips. As a shrub border or specimen plant, the Ann magnolia will brighten any landscape.
Produces impressive deep purple-red blooms that resemble tulips
Blooms mid- to late March, with some blossoms reappearing in the summer
Can be trained to grow as either a shrub or small tree
The NW corner of the parking lot is the “Welcome to the Project GREEN Gardens” flowerbed. This year the bed has been created and maintained by Sue Mullins. Each week the annual and perennial plants grow and fill the space wonderfully.
In the center is a new, dwarf 2025 ginkgo tree. This past winter a deer raked the previous tree. Ed Rinderspacher, PG’s project manager, planted this replacement tree early spring. Notice the fencing around it, which will deter the deer. If it is not labeled, Pat Yeggy, our PG label maker and installer, will get it identified soon. A label will quickly follow.
Project GREEN would like an aerial picture of the 8+ acre park site. On it we could label named flowerbeds, etc. for visitors to locate and enjoy. This “Welcome to the Project GREEN Gardens” flowerbed would be a nice location to have maps inside a weather-safe container for visitors to take. Anyone wanting to take on this idea?? Please let me know!
Here’s why:
“Why is Milkweed Important for Monarchs? Monarch caterpillars are picky eaters. They can only eat one thing: milkweed. Milkweed is what we call their “host plant”, meaning that the caterpillar depends on it as a food source and cannot survive without it.” Check out the milkweed plant by typing “Milkweed” as the Google search subject.
This flowerbed will be a PG volunteer bed. We will fill it with donated variegated Solomon’s seal. Any PG volunteer past or present will have their name placed on a metal label like we use for plant IDs and included in this bed. This bed’s size can be increased allowing for more variegated Solomon’s seal and PG volunteer names.
The above picture shows variegated Solomon’s seal. If any volunteer would like to be in charge of this bed, please let me know.
Why variegated Solomon’s seal? According to: U of A Division of Agriculture Logo Cooperative Extension Service:
The name “Solomon’s Seal” is taken from the shape of the scar on the rhizome where the stem attaches. In some species this scar takes the shape of two overlapped triangles, which is the symbol King Solomon, ruler of Israel from 961 to 931 BC, took to symbolize the union of body and soul.” Also: “It also does well on the north side of a house if no shade trees are available. While quite tolerant of drought once established, the plants should be watered their first year after planting to ensure good establishment. It makes an excellent companion plant with Hosta and other shade perennials. Be patient with this beauty because it may take several years for the colony to form sufficient size to show the beauty the plant has to provide.
Also it is deer resistant, so far…
Here are the numbers after 9 weeks caring for the PGG. Weeks 1 – 8 + Week 9 = 436 1/2 hours + 76 1/2 hours
= 513 Hours for Project GREEN volunteers after 9 weeks at the Project GREEN Gardens! Congratulations to each and everyone of you! You are special and gifted gardeners.
Thankfully we had rain late yesterday afternoon (Saturday) through early (Sunday) morning. It’ll be fun to see how much rain was collected in our rain gauges this past week! Our week 10 work session will be Monday, July 7 from 9 – 11 a.m. We will continue our quest to beautify the Gardens, not an easy, but rewarding task. Hope to see lots of PG volunteers Monday morning. Until then, happy gardening! Diane