Maquoketa River Botanist Newsletter of the Delaware County Master Gardeners Published each even numbered month

Transcription

1 December 2016 Maquoketa River Botanist Newsletter of the Delaware County Master Gardeners Published each even numbered month DELAWARE COUNTY 1417 N. Franklin Street P.O. Box 336 Manchester, IA PH: FAX: Wow, winter is imminent and the recent bit of snow has caught me a little off guard. I had all fall to clear my gardens, but alas I ve waited too long and now I m calling it winter interest instead! For some the winter blues are a certainty, but for me winter has just started and I couldn t be more excited! My version of the winter blues consist of warmer than usual temps that melt the snow too soon or getting little to no snow at all! I want the snow measured in feet, not just inches! Okay, okay...why am I so excited for winter? The long, dark cold days of the Midwest? Well... I m not that excited about the cold but I ll manage. Our ever-changing weather and the challenge of winter conditions just speak to my competitive nature I suppose. It s all about changing my mindset, turning those blues into my own rays of golden sunshine! Here s a few of my mindset ideas to get you started. 2. Snow. There better be lots of it! I believe the snow is an important part of my garden, a nice chill blanket to keep my plants cozy until spring. It s a good thing...as long as I m not driving somewhere. 3. Weeds. Ha! Finally, they don t stand a chance against all of mother nature s winter conditions. I can finally go for hikes in the woods without being paranoid about where the evil poison ivy is hiding, awaiting it s chance to sneak upon my skin, clothing, shoes, or anything within a 10 yard radius. Instead of succumbing to the winter blues, I hope you can find the good in this time of year, even in the small things. Winter won t get me down! Happy Holidays! -Hannah Childs 1. So, it s freezing outside...naw, it s just free refrigeration/freezer for a few months! CHECK IT OUT! facebook.com/delawarecountymastergardeners Extension programs are available to all without regard of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, or disability.

2 Master Gardener Trainees! Master Gardeners, we now have among us a special (and I do mean special) group. Our new MG trainees have at this time completed their classes and fulfilled the related requirements. Below you can get to know them via their bios. Please welcome them into our family. They bring new interests to our club, new vitality, and incredible enthusiasm. Get to know them. Allow them to get to know you. This new group will enhance who we are and what we do. We are honored to now call these trainees Master Gardener Family. Marilyn Cunningham My spouse Ron and I live 4 miles NW of Masonville on an acreage. As our parents, we enjoy gardening, even with our two children grown we still produce a large garden. We have four grandchildren that enjoy picking, and eating produce from the garden. Their favorites would be corn on the cob and watermelon. I enjoy canning, my personal salsa recipe is a family favorite. I go to the garden or to my flower bed to pull weeds. I call it my therapy session, it is relaxing and rewarding. I have also worked as a nurse at Regional Medical Center in the Home Care and Hospice area for 34 years. I became interested in Master Gardeners, first by attending the perennial plant sale in May for several years. I loved to see what I had purchased every year as it comes alive in my flower beds. This past year, Ed Poynor talked about all of the projects that the Master Gardeners were involved in within the community and he mentioned becoming a Master Gardener, now here I am. I cannot believe all there is to learn, Ed said it is more than pulling weeds, I agree, but I still like to pull weeds!

3 Mary Ann Lov I grew up on farms in the Garber and Colesburg area, graduated from Ed-Co High School and went on to get a nursing degree from Finley Hospital in Dubuque. I specialized in Operating Room Nursing, and lived and worked in states around the Great Lakes before moving to Atlanta, GA, where I have lived for the past 40 years. After retiring a year ago, I wanted to return to Iowa and am happy that I chose Manchester to call my home. Wanting to become involved in my new community, I chose to become a Master Gardener to get to know more people here and to give back to others. I have always enjoyed planting and caring for flowers, having a vegetable gardern for fresh produce, as well as canning and freezing fruits and vegetables for future use. Now I want to share my knowledge with others and help our beautiful city. I have a son, Jason, living in the Atlanta area, and a wonderful granddaughter, Lilly who lives in Alabama. I have three sisters who live here in Iowa, as well as many nieces and nephews. Deann Struble From a large family, gardening was a great need. All of our garden care was completed by Mom, Dad, and Kids from weeding to canning. I am married to Ron Struble, and the mother of three adult children. We have eight grandchildren. I have always loved house plants, then began with perennials and annuals, after building a new home. I find gardening a wonderful stress reliever and form of exercise. Master Gardening and volunteering will by my fix since retiring from cosmetology is soon.

4 Janelle Tucker I'm excited to finally be involved in the Delaware County Master Gardeners! I grew up helping my mom in the garden, but never had much of an interest in it until I bought my house five years ago. It was a new lot and blank slate, so I had to start completely from scratch... which led me to do a lot of researching on landscaping and plants and spending a lot of time in lots of greenhouses across the area. I discovered I had a passion for gardening that I never knew was there! In the past five years, I have incorporated around 100 plants in my little quarter of an acre landscape in Dyersville (most of that work came this summer) and I hope to finish up the majority of my landscaping next year once my patio is built. I really love the design aspect of landscaping - and once my plants get a little larger, I think my backyard will be a beautiful enclosed little piece of paradise. My favorite plants are the Easy Elegance fuschia pink "My Girl" roses and Redtwig Dogwoods, but I'm starting to love perennial grasses too. I grew up in Dyersville and graduated from Beckman in 1997 and Iowa State University in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and Mass Communications with a minor in Meteorology. After completing an internship in the weather lab at KCRG-TV9, I decided to head into radio instead of TV so I could still live in the Dyersville/Delaware County area. I was hired as the News Director at KMCH Radio in Manchester in and that's where I've been ever since! In addition to my news duties, I'm also the on-air personality from 9 am to 1 pm each weekday and serve as the station's Assistant Program Director and Farm Director. I absolutely love my job! I was active in Delaware County 4-H growing up and am grateful to still be involved with the program today as a co-leader of the 4-H County Council. I also serve on the Iowa Broadcast News Association Board of Directors, serve as a trained weather spotter for the National Weather Service and am involved with the National Association of Farm Broadcasters, Manchester Lions Club, Manchester Sesquicentennial Committee, Manchester Rotary Club and Manchester Chamber Ambassadors. I'm looking forward to being a Master Gardener and have learned so much already!

5 Our face-to-face Master Gardener class presentations were Hannah Childs and Sam Childs who shared their expansive knowledge of perennials. Sig Bonebrake fascinated us with his awareness and background with growing vegetables, and we ve all profited by his sharing of heirloom tomato seedlings. Mary Knipper, Susanne Reiter, and Barb Recker presented on houseplants. Their program was informative, engaging, and lots of fun! The success of this group has also been assisted by our unseen but certainly vital MG Coordinator, Jade Hargrafen and assistant Master Gardeners. Sig Bonebrake Sig is the head coordinator of this class. He faithfully opened up the building on class nights, guided the group thru the quiz questions, and structured the overall classes. Barbara Feeney Barb was our capable techie. She called up our website and successfully dealt with any and all computer problems. Barb also readily enjoyed the review of all of the class material. Barb has previously taken the MG classes but wanted to retrain and commit to more active involvement within the MG program. I have included her bio also! My name is Barbara Scanlan Feeney. I was born and raised in Delaware County, on a farm 3 miles west of Manchester. My parents were Charline and Forrest Scanlan. I graduated from West Delaware in 1975 and enjoyed being in 4-H. The love for the outdoors and plants was something I enjoyed as a youngster and even today, it is a relaxing hobby. Prairie management of 20 acres is a project I am active with, utilizing the assistance of the Pheasants Forever group and the Iowa DNR. I am married to Ken Feeney and we currently reside at the Scanlan Farmstead. My husband is a rural mail carrier and I currently work at Kwik Star in Manchester. We have been married over 30 years and have 2 boys, now grown with families of their own outside of the state. We have seven grandchildren. Several years ago, I took the Master Gardener Course and enjoyed it very much. After Charline passed away last December, I have time to recycle her old flowerbeds and the yard. A refresher on the lectures seemed prudent, so I have taken the classes again, updating what I learned several years ago, and getting some volunteer hours in. My goal is to share my knowledge with the community and continue to improve the grounds where I live. My interests are in hybrid roses, apple orchards, landscaping, and vegetable gardening. We line in a vibrant area. To share what we learn will improve and benefit everyone!

6 Carol McNamara Carol assisted with everything. She was a faithful attendee and in my own personal opinion she was the glue within the group, immediately connecting with the new members and anticipating their needs. There was one other MG attendee, me, Ed Poynor. I was there in body, mind, and soul. loved watching Sig, Bar, and Carol coordinate the learning experience of our trainees. I delighted in seeing our students grow in knowledge, their close friendships develop, and their enthusiasm for learning bloom. I watched over the class. I took pride in the class. I learned too, in so many ways. What a special group we have! - Ed Poynor

7 A member recommended plant: this is the American Beauty bush. It develops lovely magenta berries in late summer that are retained after leaf drop. It dies back occasionally after a severe winter but sends up new shoots. I have it growing in semi-shade where it is thriving. Susanne Reiter. My Ruby Spider daylily putting on a show in late June. Susanne Reiter Don t forget to log your hours! Thanks to those of you who have been reporting your volunteer and continuing education hours throughout the year. As of mid-november, Iowa Master Gardeners have logged 71,930 hours of volunteer service, worth more than $1.6 million. That's the equivalent of 34.5 full-time Extension Educators! Great work everyone! All volunteer and continuing education hours for the 2016 year are due by December 31st. Thank you for submitting your hours on the mastergardenerhours.hort.iastate.edu