The Gardeners Advocate

Transcription

1 The Gardeners Advocate Massachusetts Master Gardener Association, Inc. Growing Together Every Day! September 2015 Volume 1, Issue 2, Part 1 Letter from the President Wow! What a year. We had 205 people contributing over 12,000 hours of volunteering! Take a minute to think about that. That s simply amazing. We made changes to focus this fantastic energy on projects that are closer to our homes and more personally relevant by creating five regions that can work together to influence what projects are supported in their local communities. All told, there were outreach and gardening efforts at 45 locations. We started a soil testing program and a school gardens program. We also approved work on a Junior Master Gardener program to be held at Mass Audubon sites. We had a prominent presence at the 2015 Boston Flower Show answering questions on a wide range of topics for those attending. A host of wonderful events were organized to enhance our horticultural knowledge. To reinforce how important we feel this is to our Master Gardener program, we are increasing our emphasis on Continuing Education by allowing additional CE hours to count toward active status. And, while it didn t achieve CE status, we added speakers to the Associates meetings to enhance our knowledge about the projects we do and the organizations we work with on those projects. We heard from John Forti, Director of Horticulture for Mass Hort and Mark Richardson, Director of Horticulture for the New England Wild Flower Society. And, we had Project Spotlight presentations on the MHS Veggie Garden and the MHS Trial Garden. Stay tuned for more to come on this in the coming year. We heard the feedback that you want more social connection and added a summer picnic under the trees in the Crockett Garden. We put renewed emphasis into our Facebook page as well. Check it frequently for interesting articles and to see what s going on. We made changes throughout the year on our website to make it easier to find relevant information. To make the management of events possible and to make the opportunities easier to find, we are trying to consolidate all signups into one of three places: Education events and meetings in the calendar on the member landing page. Approved gardening in the calendar under Master Gardener Volunteering. Outreach and admin opportunities under Sign Up Genius - All MMGA Sign Ups. To complete that process, we re in the final stages of a webpage revamp for both the public site and the members only site. Stay tuned for an unveiling shortly. We also increased our efforts on PR for our organization, activities, grants program, Home Horticulture program and MG Training class. (continued0 IN THIS ISSUE PART 1 - MMGA Awards Grant to Veasey Park... 2 Why Mulch?... 4 Pictorial Visit to Naumkeag & Berkshire Botanical Garden...5 PART 2 - Working to Stimulate Change... 6 Getting to Know You - Meet Sheela Venkatesh... 8

2 Letter from the President (cont.) We remain on secure financial footing earning revenue from the MG Training class, the Speakers Bureau and the Home Horticulture class. To further increase our revenue, we are embarking on our first Symposium to be held on October 1, Because of this, we were able to pilot a grants program giving out over $5,000 to 6 lucky organizations in the first year. In short, it was a terrific year! I want to thank all the members of our board for their efforts to improve our organization. It was a pleasure to see the team in action. And, I want to thank all of you for all of those 12,000+ hours you spent helping grow our organization and on enhancing your knowledge and sharing that knowledge with the public. Ruth Shelley include woods, ponds, walking trails and rental facilities.! I am fortunate to be part of the Grants Committee, and on behalf of the committee made a visit to this garden on August 7, 2015, where I met Dianne Plantamura, a master gardener who was inspired to start the garden. Claire Walsh, Chair of the Friends of Veasey Memorial Park, joined us; she also cares for the garden. Judi Lafferty of Groveland, another master gardener For a list of upcoming events, please check the Calendar on our website at If you have any issues accessing the Members page of the website, communication@massmastergardeners.org MMGA Awards Grant to Veasey Park Monica Foley In April of 2015, the Grants Committee of the MMGA awarded five grants to deserving organizations that are caring for gardens in various stages of development. The Friends of Veasey Park was awarded a grant to be used for the Veasey Park Native Plant and Bird Habitat Hilltop Garden. It is part of the Veasey Memorial Park in Groveland, MA, with 47.5 acres that From left: Claire Walsh, Judi Lafferty, Dianne Plantamura who has worked to maintain the garden, was there as well.! We discussed the origin of the garden. Dianne had heard several years ago, at one of the meetings of the Groveland Garden Club, that Leo Blanchette, owner of Blanchette Gardens sometimes volunteers his time to help design gardens. With the help of her husband Larry, Dianne measured the hilltop garden space and then met with Leo to get his input on its design, the focus of which is on native plants that provide fruit and seeds to support the birds and wildlife of Veasey Park.

3 Opuntia in the garden. Before: Lots of weeds and overgrown vegetation. Since 2011, Dianne and other volunteers have worked on the garden in stages, removing old vegetation and weeds, improving the soil, adding compost and mulch, putting in plants and watching it grow each year. While some funds were donated by the Groveland Garden Club and others groups, the grant from the MMGA provided Veasey with a significant boost. The money from the grant allowed them to purchase plants, compost, mulch and other needed supplies.! The hilltop and open meadows are important nesting sites for bobolinks, bluebirds and swallows. Eagles have been sighted flying from their nests on the Merrimack River. The garden is filled with plants that offer berries for some of the birds and animals in the area, including two important native plants high-bush blueberry and high-bush cranberry. The garden is about 12 feet by 70 feet not huge, but it has a big impact on the visitors to the park. Oftentimes, when the park facilities are rented out for a wedding, the hosts set the tent near the hilltop garden. What a perfect setting for a wedding! The MMGA can be proud that we are able to support gardens throughout Massachusetts through the efforts of the MMGA Grants Committee.! If you are ever in Groveland be sure to visit the Veasey Park Native Plant and Bird Habitat Hilltop Garden to see how a small group of gardeners are paying it forward so others may enjoy the park. After: A much improved garden. NOTE: We would like to invite interested MGs to join the MMGA Grants Committee. Contact April Daley at grants@massmaster.org if you are interested. We meet monthly, usually the second Wednesday of the month, at 6:30 PM at Stonybrook. Our next meeting is October 14th.

4 Why Mulch? A Refresher! The following is an edited excerpt from a tweet I received recently from Considering the prolonged drought we experienced, I thought it was a good reminder for us all. -dl. Mulch is an unsung hero, a hidden mighty miracle maker. It s the living sponge in our landscape that saves water during the dry months and captures rainwater during the rainy season. If we mulched every yard, we could conserve a tremendous amount of precious water. Nature makes no mistakes! Fallen leaves, branches and bark accumulate to form a permeable layer on the ground mulch. The mulch enriches soil with nutrients as it breaks down, and acts a sponge helping the soil absorb and hold water while nurturing plants and important microorganisms and creatures living in it. Mulch also prevents soil from becoming compacted, which prevents runoff. In April of 2013, the Center for Food Safety published a list of common home and garden products containing neonicotinoids, toxic to bees and other pollinators. For this list, google pesticide_list_final_59620.pdf. [Thank you to Mary Arnberg for the pointer. -dl] The Education Committee has put together a number of wonderful opportunities for MMGA members. Photos of the recent trip to the Berkshire Botanical Garden and Naumkeag follow. Photos provided by Mary Arnberg. How much do I need? 1. Measure the width and length (in feet) of the space you d like to mulch. 2. Determine the area by multiplying the width by the length. 3. Multiply the area by.25 to estimate the cubic feet. 4. Divide the cubic feet by 27, to figure out the cubic yards. Purchased mulch chips should range between 1 and 3 in size. Avoid sawdust or wood shavings; they do not allow soil to breathe. Or, make your own mulch! Use a chipper to grind the waste from your pruned trees. It s a great way to reduce and reuse in your own yard. Naumkeag

5 Berkshire Botanical Garden NEWSLETTER CONTINUES - SEE PART 2