The Tollgate Farm News

Transcription

1 The Tollgate Farm News Volume 19 Issue 7 July 2013 MSU Tollgate Gardens Volunteer General Meeting in the Conference Center Thursday, July 18, 7:00 PM History of the Rouge River Watershed On Thursday, July 18, Orin Gelderloos, Ph.D., will discuss the formation of the Rouge River Watershed, the current condition of the river, and the efforts to clean it up. Dr. Gelderloos is the founder and former director of the Natural Areas Department and the Environmental Interpretive Center at the University of Michigan Dearborn, where he is a Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies. Since 1975, he has advised students on environmental studies degree programs that combine courses in natural, behavioral and social sciences, as well as education and business. He earned his Ph.D. in environmental physiology at Northwestern University. Dr. G a passionate life-long conservationist has been recognized with many awards including UM-D Regents Award in 1996 for Distinguished Public Service, Detroit Audubon Society 1999 Conservationist of the Year, Governor s Service Award in 2000 for Service- Learning Educator, the 2012 U of M inaugural Eugene Arden Interdisciplinary Research/Teaching Award given to honor a record of excellence in interdisciplinary research and teaching. In 2010, Dr. G was featured in the Detroit Free Press as a Michigan Green Leader, article/ /green01/ /orin- Gelderloos Tollgate Open House Art in the Gardens Saturday, July 20th 10:00 am to 3:00 pm Tollgate Garden Volunteer Important Dates and Events July Meetings Aug Activities 18 TGV General Meeting 7:00 PM 3 Pond and Activity Center 9:00 AM 10 Entrance/Dry Shade/Farmhouse 9:00 AM July Activities 17 Xeriscape/Office Gardens 9:00 AM 13 Open House Clean-up 9:00 AM 24 Rose, Heritage, Rock Ledge Gardens 9:00 AM 20 Tollgate Open House 10:00 AM Sept Meetings 27 Children s Garden and Nursery 9:00 AM 3 TGAC Meeting 7:00 PM 10 Fall Fair Meeting 7:00 PM Aug Meetings 19 TGV General Meeting 7:00 PM 6 TGAC Meeting 7:00 PM Sept Activities 13 Fall Fair Meeting 7:00 PM 7 Hosta and Children s Gardens 9:00 AM 15 TGV General Meeting 7:00 PM 14 Fall Fair Clean-up 9:00 AM 20 Fall Fair Set-up 9:00 AM 21 Fall Fair 10:00 Page AM

2 GREETINGS Greetings All, from the Tollgate Farm Manager Roy Prentice As hot and dry as last year was, this year is hot and wet. The weather has made it tough to get in the hay crop, but the wet sure has kept the gardens looking good! Although there has been a good crop of weeds in the gardens, good turn-outs on work days have kept us ahead of them. I really appreciate all of our long-time and new garden volunteers that have helped keep the gardens looking so good. Ginger Meyer Award: I am accepting nominations for the 2013 Ginger Meyer Award. The recipient of this award is the Tollgate Volunteer that has done the most for Tollgate over the years. I would be happy to send a form to anyone that would like one. However, you are welcome to just send me your nomination in an . Simply indicate who you feel has contributed the most to Tollgate over the years and why. This is your chance to help us recognize those in our midst that have really given of themselves so that we can all enjoy the site more. See you soon around the farm! Children s Garden Gets Edgy Open House Prep: Please help us get ready for the upcoming open house hosted at Tollgate on July 20th. Although the gardens look really good, there are still weeds that need to be pulled, flowers that need to be deadheaded, mulching, and other activities to get the gardens looking their best for our visitors. This event will not include quilts this year. The day will have a different focus. Along with the beautiful gardens, we will be sharing artists and musicians on the grounds. Even if you are unable to volunteer on the day of the open house, please plan to join us and stroll the grounds and take in the day. Quilt Raffle: We will again be conducting the raffle drawing on the day of the open house. The quilt has been made by Tollgate s own quilting bees as a fundraiser for the gardens. There will be opportunities to purchase tickets for the raffle at our upcoming Tollgate volunteer meeting and on the day of the Open House. Please purchase often, it all goes to support the gardens. I just know that the winning ticket is still out there! Have you seen the new look in the Children s Garden? Thanks to the work of Eagle Candidate, John Heslop and his industrious crew, the Children s Garden at Tollgate now has a new brick border. The border not only gives the garden a new, distinctive look, it serves to repel pesky grass that is always trying to invade the garden. Great work John! Photos by Darretta Ferasin Page 2

3 Notes from the President All gardeners are artists, and it s a bit of a mystery the way we can start with the same materials seeds, plants, and soil yet the results are always different. Ellen Ecker Ogden Sign-up for the 2013 Tollgate Open House Art in the Gardens! There are plenty of ways to contribute to this event. We still need: Finger food snack donations for our guests; cookies, brownies, tarts fit on a napkin type treats (no nuts please) Garden guides for all shifts to meet and greet guests and floaters to cover breaks Friday set-up crew for tables, tents, signage Parking assistants to direct traffic Vending assistant to take large purchases back to vehicle area Volunteers for the vendor/volunteer lunch set-up If you have not yet signed up please contact me ASAP by rmcottrell4@att.net or phone ( ). We will have artists and musicians in the garden as well as the return of our educational topics, walking tours and garden related plant/product vendors! Please join us for an event to educate and entertain as well as we introduce more people in the community to our wonderful site. The gardens are looking great with the ample rain, and the weeds have prospered as well. We have a scheduled clean-up of the site scheduled prior to the Open House but feel free to come out during the week and spruce up the site for our guests. The nursery is still looking for team members to manage a row or two and participate in some renovation. See the Nursery Notes on page 5. It is time again to place your nominations for the Ginger Meyer Award. This award is presented at the end of the year at the recognition dinner. Please honor a fellow Tollgate gardener(s) who has demonstrated their knowledge, commitment and willingness to share their love of gardening. Nomination form is attached to this newsletter and available at meetings or online. As Always, Thank you for being a Tollgate Garden Volunteer. Renee Cottrell, President Tollgate Volunteers Pond Views by Renee Cottrell Page 3

4 Workday Activities... Workday Activities Photos by Darretta Ferasin Page 4

5 NURSERY NOTES A lot of volunteer time and energy is needed to keep the nursery full, presentable and a healthy growing environment. We would like to have a team of multiple volunteers that are willing to do small portions of the maintenance to contribute to the overall management of the Nursery. Many hands would make this quicker work. The plans are there, we just need the volunteer help. If you are more of a computer whiz and prefer just to do the plant research, we can use that kind of help as well. Call me if interested. Renee or rmcottrell4@att.net Here is an overview to some of the tasks and opportunities: Photos by Renee Cottrell Each volunteer takes on a row or two to manage - weeding, digging in plants as needed, and keeping plant tags visible/legible. Plant rows are about 30 inches wide to accommodate three pots in a row of the most common sizes we use. Plants are grouped with like varieties together, shade plants in the shade structure and others in the open sun area. Plastic tags are in a container on the potting bench, pencil graphite is the longest lasting marker and these are in the container as well. Pots need to be weeded for best health of specimens, and in the fall cut back to minimize debris. The mulched paths are 36 inches wide. Row managers get familiar with the plant material and work with Renee to prepare informational handouts/pictures etc. of each plant to use on plant sale day - a great way to enhance your plant knowledge of sun and shade perennials. You can use references from books, the web etc... to gather basic plant descriptions and needs. Most plants have already been marked, and logged as to how many remained after plant sale. This helps to determine good sellers, pull together wish list plants and make division plans. Planned project of adding in rows of in ground planted iris and possibly daylilies - this project would include pictures for identification of bloom color and replenishing the growing clumps after the plant sale dig Now is the time to capture the bloom colors of the daylily that are on site. Vole/mole deterrent caging to protect hosta roots in the shade area is also planned-so if you are handy with tools, this might be a project for you. Team members to assist with spring and fall divisions/work days, creating wish lists, potting and labeling, and plant sale prep activities. Page 5

6 around the farm... around the farm Photos by Mike Janczarek Page 6

7 around the farm... around the farm Student Bee Hives Children s Shade Garden Hosta Garden Rock Ledge Garden Office Gardens Photos by Renee Cottrell and Darretta Children s Pizza Garden Children s Peter Rabbit Garden Page 7

8 Fall Fair Fair Photos Submitted by Dennis Roggers by Renee Cottrell Hard to believe it is July already, it is amazing how quickly the summer goes. The Fall Fair is only about 10 weeks away but we are ready for it. All the planning is done and it is time for our one and only craft preparation workday. On Tuesday, July 7:00 PM we are hoping to be in the Activity Center to cut and prep some of the crafts and maybe wash a rock or two. We sure can use your help and hope to see you there. At this time we are done collecting ALL supplies for the fair. Thank you for all your help in collecting these important building materials for the children s crafts. We are still collecting returnable bottles and cans. Please leave these in the box next to the fridge in the Volunteer Communication Center (VCC). Betsy Wilds will be handling the volunteer sign-up this year. Look to your for further announcements as to the start of volunteer sign-up for the fair. This is a great way to get those volunteer hours without getting your hands dirty and we know that all of our guests really appreciate the effort that you put forth at each fair. Thanks for all you do! Dennis Roggers fallfair@sup-mac.com Notable Notations from Nancy If you were at the June volunteer meeting on Hostas with Ralph Heiden, you heard him mention a several products that can be used to keep deer at bay from eating your plants. The only problem is that you have to keep reapplying them after rains and possibly your watering system may also rinse off the repellent. I have used a product for many years that is called Deer Away Deer and Rabbit Repellent. It is egg based with a latex binder. This product does not wash off. It is my experience that it is effective for 3 months. It can also be used in the winter months on yews and arborvitaes that the deer find so attractive. Though it sprays on white, to show you where you have sprayed, it dries clear. Another nice thing about Deer Away is that it has no odor that humans can detect. I found this product online at Nancy Roggers OPEN HOUSE BAKERS NEEDED Our Open House is coming and we need your baked goods. Please drop them off early on Saturday morning, July 20th at the Conference Center. No treats with nuts, please. Thanks, Yvonne. Mainwoods@gmail.com Page 8

9 New Entrance Garden There are many changes happening in the Tollgate gardens these days. One of the most dramatic is the new entrance garden. Last year saw the development of the hardscaping. This year s addition has been an irrigation system and a great selection of plants. Thanks to the hard work of Renee Cottrell and Area Garden Leader, Laurey Konjarevich, the entrance garden is really taking shape. Please plan to check out this beautiful new Tollgate landscape. LAST CALL Amazing Star The 2013 Tollgate Quilt Purchase your raffle tickets at the TGV General Meeting, from the Tollgate Quilting Bees, from Roy or on the day of the drawing at the raffle table. Raffle tickets can be purchased up until the drawing during the 2013 Tollgate Open House, Art in the Gardens, on July 20th. The pattern is Amazing Star. The quilt measures 77 x 78 in. Raffle Tickets are $2.00 each or 3 tickets for $5.00 Page 9

10 Tollgate Volunteer Information Activity Days Activity day hours are 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM unless otherwise noted on the Tollgate Garden Volunteer Important Dates and Events listed on the first page of the Tollgate Farm News or by the Area Garden Leader (AGL). Lunch will be provided - veggie alternatives are available upon request. If you aren t getting The Tollgate Farm News , Check your SPAM folder This schedule does not exclude you from working independently on the site. However, on non-scheduled days, your efforts will need to be selfdirected with guidance from the garden area clipboards located in the Volunteer Communication Center. Volunteer Activity Day and Meetings Information ext. 400 Garden Tools Available for Use at Tollgate List of Suggested Gardening Implements to Bring from Home as Needed Spades Garden Rakes Brooms Wheel Barrels Weed Buckets Leaf Rakes Garden Hoe Long Handled Garden Forks Trowel Hand Pruners Loppers Garden Scissors Your Favorite Weeding Implement Hand Saw Plant Division Forks Shrub Rake Sun Screen Gloves Knee Pads Insect Repellant Tollgate Garden Advisory Council Farm Manager Roy Prentice ext prentic1@msu.edu President... Renee Cottrell Vice President... Peg Palmer Secretary... Dave Komraus Treasurer... Sue Janczarek Membership... Nancy Roggers PR... Yvonne DeMattos Fall Fair... Dennis Roggers Programs... Jackie Stengel Hospitality... Yvonne DeMattos Farm News Editor... Darretta Ferasin For membership questions or to update your current membership information send to: tollgatemembership@gmail.com MSU Tollgate Gardens Volunteers For general information and questions Contact Roy Prentice The Tollgate Gardens Advisory Council next meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 6, 2013 at 7:00 PM in the Tollgate Office Building. All Tollgate Gardens Volunteer members are welcome to attend. Listings to contact individual Council Members and Area Garden Leaders are available at all general meetings and in the Volunteer Communication Center. Tollgate Volunteer Membership is renewed annually. The 2012 Tollgate Garden Volunteers membership is from December 1, 2012 to November 30, THE TOLLGATE FARM NEWS Tollgate Gardens Volunteer Office Meadowbrook Novi, MI, Page 10

11 Ginger Meyer Award Nomination Form The Ginger Meyer Award was initiated in 2003 by the family of Mrs. Meyer to recognize the Tollgate Volunteer who shares some of the treasured qualities of Ginger Meyer. The Tollgate Garden Volunteer members will nominate candidates, with a list then compiled by TGAC for presentation to the Americana Foundation for final award selection. Please make the nomination on this form or submit a short paragraph describing each of the following qualities of the nominee: Name of Nominee: 1. This member has shown a commitment to the Tollgate Garden Volunteers by: 2. This member has demonstrated a love and knowledge of gardening by: 3. This member has demonstrated a willingness to share gardening knowledge with others by: