SAND N SEEDS. Green Valley Gardeners. February, A Service Club made up of Gardeners. MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Chuck Parsons

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1 February, 2014 SAND N SEEDS Green Valley Gardeners A Service Club made up of Gardeners MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Chuck Parsons Thank you for your membership renewal and if you are a new member, welcome to the garden club. Our club continues to attract a high percentage of renewals and continues to grow over time. I think those are signs of good health for our organization. This month I give special thanks to Judy Christensen our new membership chair and to Raydine Taber our treasurer they both put in lots of hours as we go through membership renewal. The next three months are among the most active for the club, as it is for our community in general a high correlation to winter resident population! We have our fall plant sale early next month, a couple weeks later is the Spring Fair with Tucson Cactus & Succulent Society, and then a couple weeks after that we do the annual garden tour. In the meantime, we continue with our seminars each week, planning the seminar schedule for next season and we have a few member activities planned. And, the weather is perfect for gardening! Lots of activity is taking place in all our community projects the Arid Garden and Community Garden, the Historic Canoa Ranch, the median and Casa gardens, and now the new Desert Meadows Park. On the membership application Judy Christensen defined the various volunteer opportunities. I hope you took advantage of this new format to make your interests known. This week Judy will be providing the committee chairs with this information. Expect to be contacted in the near future. As you read the Sand n Seeds and find that a project is of interest, but you had not checked it off on the membership form please let us know you d like to be added to that committee. Most committee chairs send out communications about the activities, tasks needing to be done, upcoming events, etc. If you have an interest, you ll want to be on the distribution list. Thanks to all that make this organization so dynamic! DESERT MEADOWS PARK - Chuck Parsons January was our first official month of working on this project. I am really pleased with the enthusiasm for this project. That is especially evident in those who have volunteered this past month, worked on the site and can begin to see the tremendous potential. While working on the property, we can see all the various ways the park is already in use by Green Valley residents it s amazing! Not a whole lot is visible for our efforts this first month, but I will say a lot has been accomplished. Over 160 volunteer hours were provided in January. We are getting water service re-established, have done the preparation for an off-street parking lot, placed new signs, flagged the perimeter of the community garden and the new trail, and begun to do some major property clean-up. We ve sent 4 large loads of debris to the dump so far. Volunteers meet on Wednesday mornings with rakes, loppers, gloves, etc. to do general 1 P a g e

2 grounds maintenance. There are lots of trees and shrubs that need the tender loving care of a gardener! If Wednesday does not work for you, but you would like to contribute to this effort please contact me there are lots of tasks that can be done when you have a few minutes to spare. The big news is that we submitted an application for the special White Elephant 50 th anniversary Game Changer Grant a one-time $100,000 grant that will be awarded in October. Thanks to all that participated in the writing of this document! We mailed our application in on Tuesday, January 28 th the deadline was Friday. In the paper we learned that there were only 70 organizations eligible to apply. I like the odds! We now have brochures on this project. These are available in the lobby at seminars. ARID GARDEN GREETINGS - Mary Kidnocker Winter trimming has begun at the garden. We have started with the many autumn sages being cut back to approximately 6 inches. Some are still loaded with bright flowers, but to ensure later bushiness and more bloom, they should be cut now. Since these tough plants are cold hardy to at least 15-degrees F, they should withstand any later cold spells. The so (-) far mild winter has allowed continued green foliage and flowering by a number of plants. Among those that would normally be damaged by now but are still blooming are: Cape honeysuckle, Mexican bird-of-paradise, gauras, lion's tail, Mexican honeysuckle, and chuparosas. Thanks to Byron Hinton and his "hefty helpers" the Mexican Palo Verde tree is no more. It had some dead limbs, always a concern during heavy winds, and 2 P a g e

3 was also high-maintenance -- constantly shedding its straw-like leaves. The little shade it provided will not be missed. Visitor count is increasing with the arrival of winter visitors. Stop by the garden and enjoy the warm, sunny afternoons. The garden mascot, Josephina Javelina, preparing for Valentine's Day (courtesy of neighbor Marcia Rediger who changes its wardrobe seasonally! have not had the opportunity to attend a tour. These initial efforts may well morph into small garden educational programs for other GVG members and the public in the planning and maintenance of small home type gardens. A separate has also recently been sent to GVG members who have expressed interest in volunteering in order to determine their continued desire to participate in the HCR garden projects. Although response has been slow due to the holidays, a number of new and former volunteers have sent responses. If there are GVG members who did not receive this , they are encouraged to contact Jack Davis at jlaytond@mtdig.net with a copy to Raydine Taber at rs_taber@msn.com. If you would like further information, feel free to contact Jack at or Raydine at Those members who have responded to the will be contacted for scheduling. Tours are ongoing at the HCR on Tuesdays and Saturdays and some special tours on Wednesdays. The special GVG member volunteer garden education would be held by grouping a few volunteers on tour days and is expected to extend into late February. HISTORIC CANOA RANCH (HCR) GARDENS Jack Davis The article (01/05/14) on the front page of the GV News and subsequent articles have certainly indicated that changes are forthcoming in the upper level of oversight of HCR beyond the project management level by Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation (NRPR). It is doubtful that these changes will affect our GVG garden projects. At this point, we have been assured that we will continue to work with NRPR on plans currently on the drawing boards. Since the harvest and replanting of cool season vegetables/herbs in early November, all are slowly maturing without problems. Planning has continued with Robert Vaughn, HCR project director, with a target of establishing several gardens adjacent to the Grijalva House sometime in February. In the interim, an has been sent to a core of seasoned volunteers to elicit their opinions and desire to participate in educational programs designed for new volunteers about HCR gardens care. These short informal classes could be held in conjunction with formal docent led HCR tours if they SPRING PLANT SALE Chuck Parsons & Thom Metcalf Mark your calendar the Spring Plant Sale will be March 6, 7 & 8 th. In the next couple of weeks we will be gearing up for the Spring Plant Sale. If you have indicated an interest in volunteering for this activity, you will be getting an soon. We will be looking for volunteers to work the sale, prepare plants and the sidewalk for the sale, and for the various tasks leading up to the sale including making labels, visiting growers, buying the plants, etc. If you have interest in helping with the overall coordination, please contact Thom Metcalf or Chuck Parsons MEMBERS ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE (MAC) - Leslie Campbell and Pat Pearson MAC volunteers are busy with spring events. Our next meeting is 2/10/14 if you wish to join us; 2pm at La Posada Java. 3 P a g e

4 Our registration is filled for the February 20 th GVG tour at Walking J Farm. Mark your calendars if you are interested in our Biosphere 2 tour just for GVG members. We are carpooling from Green Valley, so you don t have to drive! NOTE: The tour will require the ability to walk up and down around 150 stairs, distance of about 1 ½ miles, and stand for over one hour during the 1 ½ hour tour. When: Thursday, March 20, 2014 Time: 12:00 Noon for Lunch and our Tour at 1:30 PM Where: Biosphere 2 located at S Biosphere Rd, Oracle, AZ Signup by: March 6, 2014 Tour cost is $20 and we ll have a catered light lunch with cost between $6.14 and $8.27 (tax included)! Interested parties should contact Jeanette Hinton at or at bmhinton1@msn.com. A flyer with menu options will be out later in February at the Thursday seminars, along with sign-up sheets. MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE Judy Christensen (Judy@greenvalleygardeners.com) Welcome New Members This season we are happy to welcome 33 new members. Thanks for joining our club. We hope you learn a lot and support our mission to promote gardening education and related environmental issues to our membership and the gardening public through educational and charitable means. Please welcome our new members: Sandy Barnard, Joseph Benati, Charlie and Dona Butz, Rosalie Cassiday, Denny Clouse, Dorothy and Ray Cohen, Diane Combs, Jeff and Sharon Farnham, David and Joyce Gay, Jeannie and Erwin Greven, Jim Haynes, Carol Lambert, Barbara Martin and Don Lovely, Cathy- Lynn and Michael McGinley, Carolyn Morley, Rebecca Parton, Marita Ramsay, Fair Sobel, John and Kirsten Sparks, Gloria Stephens, Larry Warnick, Pris and Al Weston, Dara Widner, Katie Yeager, and Arlene Zaloznik We also welcome 5 new members from the households of current club members. Mary Anderson (Phil), Gary Campbell (Leslie), Sharon Carroll (Carol Kay), Tressa Coss (Louise Mabry) and Debby Curley (Tom). Dues Reminder If you haven't paid your annual membership dues, please download and print the membership form found on our website under Membership: Mail the completed form with your check made out to GVG to P.O. Box 86, Green Valley, AZ before the end of February. Thanks. Membership Directory The annual directory will be available about mid- February. As an alternative this year, it will be available as an electronic file. It will be an Adobe Reader (.pdf) document you could print at home or at the library on standard 8.5 x 11 inch paper. If you would like this format for your directory, please send me an with DIRECTORY in the subject field. The directory will be sent to you via your . If you don t send me an , a hard copy with your name on it will be available for pick-up at the February 20 th members-only tour of the Walking-J Ranch or at February 27 th seminar at Desert Hills. Directories remaining will be sent by snail (-) mail. SPRING GARDEN TOUR Co-Chairs, Bill Berdine and Gene Van Dyken The Green Valley Gardeners' 34th annual Garden Tour will be held on Saturday, April 12th. Five great gardens have been identified and the homeowners are excited to be on the Tour. All gardens will be in the west Esperanza (Desert Bell and Camino Portillo) area, which will make visiting the gardens easy for guests. Volunteer opportunities abound for this event, one of GVG s primary fund raisers for the year. More information will be sent soon by the Co-Chairs, but if you want to assure a spot as greeter, ticket sales, poster distribution or other duties, please contact Bill and/or Gene directly. Bill: whberdine@roadrunner.com and Gene: Eugenevandyken@gmail.com 4 P a g e

5 THIRD ANNUAL SPRING FAIR Peggy Cederstrom & Chuck Parsons Gardeners' Spring Fair with Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society, Sunday, March 23. We are collaborating with TCSS to bring a mini-version of their 3-day Expo to Green Valley. Mark your calendars for a day filled with demonstrations, lectures, and gardenrelated sales at The Courtyard in Continental Mall. Lectures are open to the public, no charge, limited seating. More detail will be in the March newsletter. EVENT REMINDERS: FEBRUARY 13 Sandy Reith, Pima County Natural Resources, Parks & Recreation The Wonderful World of Bats Desert Hills FEBRUARY 20 MEMBERS ONLY EVENT Tour of Walking J Farm Amado FEBRUARY 27 Gail Sutton, Tucson Master Gardener Herbs & Gardening for Nutritional Value Desert Hills MARCH 6 Alex Shipley Civano Nursery Featured plants being sold at the GVG Plant Sale Desert Hills MARCH 6, 7, & 8 SPRING PLANT SALE Continental Shopping Plaza 9 am to 5 pm daily MARCH 13 Ries Lindley Arizona Native Plant Society Arizona Plants: What s Not to Like? Desert Hills MARCH 20 MEMBERS ONLY EVENT Biosphere tour See above for all the information. The mission of The Green Valley Gardeners shall be to promote gardening education and related environmental issues to its membership and the gardening public through educational and charitable means. 5 P a g e