pg 1 May 2013 ISU Polk County Extension 1625 Adventureland Drive, Altoona, Iowa Phone 515-957-5760 Visit the website While driving to Des Moines on I 80 I no ced a hillside awash with conifers of different ages and sizes. It reminded me of a conifer we ba led on our farm. It is the Eastern Red Cedar, Juniperus virginiana, var. virginiana. This long lived tree can be to be 450 years old and survives in a large number of environments from Nova Sco a to Texas and Northern Great Plains. The seeds are spread by birds and small mammals and will be o en found near the tree line. They will germinate in one to two years and send up a conical shaped sprout. They can invade grasslands and abandoned farms with great success. They tolerate a range of ph and do well in alkaline thin soils. As gardeners in Iowa, we will o en find them as small sprigs in a variety of gardens. They can tolerate shade for a short period of me and grow slowly. They can be dug and transplanted to sunnier locales. The young trees maintain a conical shape un l 15 to 25 years at which me they will form a wide spreading growth pa ern at the top of the tree. They can be trimmed to maintain a be er shape although gardeners might reconsider growing them near apple trees since they serve as hosts for apple scab. The wood resists bores and other insect damage and, therefore, is used for fence posts. The aroma deters moths which makes their wood perfect for chests. There is also some evidence that seeds can deter the germina on of other seeds under the tree line. These hardy and adaptable trees that we o en see in our landscape may be a good choice to recover destroyed environments such as strip mines. They also seem to be controllable by fire so they are rarely found in managed landscapes like prairies. Even though we called it a "weed tree" in our pastures, it could be valuable used the correct way. I will always remember the aroma of Christmas in our Kansas farmhouse since we used the Eastern Red Cedar as our Christmas tree. Jerry Ferrell, Steering Commi ee Chairman 314 6632 ferrell45@msn.com A er the cold Spring we've had, we're all looking forward to the opening of the Downtown Farmers' Market next week. Master Gardeners will staff the PCMG booth at the Market on May 18 and on subsequent third Saturdays June through September. We have a full complement of PCMG volunteers for the May gig, where we'll be ge ng MASTER GARDENER VOLUNTEER HOURS CREDIT for answering ques ons about "Planning Vegetable and Flower Beds" and responding to other gardening queries from market patrons. We s ll need volunteers for both early (6:45 9:45) and late (9:30 12:15) shi s on our subsequent dates at the Market (June 15, July 20, August 17 and September 21). We'll feature new gardening topics on each of those dates stay tuned. If you'd like to volunteer, please email Ma Dore (ma.dore@drake.edu), Sherri Soich (sherrisoich@q.com) or Randy Campbell (campbellrd@mchsi.com). Ma, 274 3292, Sherri, 277 1213, Randy, 265 7074
pg 2 The PCMG Garden Tour is on June 22, 9am 4pm. Tickets are on sale beginning May 22. Volunteer Opportuni es: The day of the tour, volunteers are needed to assist the host gardeners by answering ques ons about the garden and direc ng tour a endees. When you sign up to volunteer on tour day, you get to a end a special showing of all of the gardens on Saturday morning, June 15. To volunteer on tour day, contact Virginia Hunnell, vihunnell@yahoo.com, vhunnell@iastate.edu. Help publicize the Garden Tour by hanging a garden tour poster at 10 different locally owned businesses in Polk County (you choose). Time spent hanging posters counts as volunteer me! Contact Tami Fletcher, fletcher.tami@gmail.com. Garden Previews: This garden shows that crea ve use of space and careful plant selec on is the key to making the most of a small yard. A dry berm in the front yard is planted with a collec on of succulents, including hardy cactus, sempervivum (hen and chicks), Jovibarba (rolly polly plants), and Lewisia (bi ersweet). Ornamental Grasses are cleverly used to hide the in ground u li es. The back yard features raised vegetable beds planted in modified square food gardening technique. Along the south side of the home you will find a dry stream, and dry pool for drainage, na ve plants, water garden, stone bridges and pathways. The area between the street and the sidewalk are planted with tough perennials and easy care annuals. You will find lots and lots of containers terraco a pots, glazed po ery, plas c pots, metal pots, baskets, old birdbaths, metal milk crates, old casserole dishes, teapots, teacups, etc...planted with annuals, perennials, succulents and cactus. In the beginning of this garden there was grass and many dying scotch pines. A er removing the trees and building a fence to keep the deer out and the dogs in, the garden was planned. A large paver pa o with a rock wall went in and then the beds were planned. Inspired by Patricia Lanza's book "Lasagna Gardening" our beds were done by layering newspaper over the grass and weeds, then that was topped with compost and mulch. When you wander the paths of this co age style garden you will see roses, hydrangea, hostas, ferns, and many more perrenials and shrubs. A weeping white spruce is a favorite! The front garden is planted with deer proof plants. Carl Forester grass, shrub roses, knockout roses, dwarf barberry and more. Ticket Outlets: Tour ckets available at the following loca ons beginning May 22: Earl May Garden Centers (Polk County loca ons) Goode Greenhouse Grounds for Celebra on (Beaverdale, Windsor Heights & West Des Moines) Herndon's Des Moines Seed & Nursery Iowa Outdoor Products Piney Ridge Greenhouse Renes Greenhouse The Woodsmith Store We have a very full bus going to Madison. If people are interested in ge ng on the wai ng list, they can send a check and registra on form to Jeri and she will let them know if someone has to cancel before we leave. Lauri Barrick, chair barrick8792@msn.com
pg 3 https://ui.constantcontact.com/visualeditor/visual_editor_preview.jsp?age... It Will Soon be Moving Day! Here's the MOVING SCHEDULE: Based on availability of volunteers and equipment, here is the schedule we will use to move inventory and furniture from Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden greenhouses 4 & 5 to Victorian Acres. Monday, May 6 meet at 9:00 AM at the current greenhouse. Our objec ve that day will be to move the benches from greenhouse 4 and flats to the new loca on. Wednesday, May 8 meet at 9:00 AM at the current greenhouse to dismantle and move the cage to the new loca on. Saturday, May 11 meet at 1:00 PM at the current greenhouse to move all remaining furniture and inventory to the new greenhouse. On May 6 and May 11, we will need folks at both loca ons to help load and unload. If you have a preference, let us know. Alda will be coordina ng the unload effort at the new loca on. To everyone who has already volunteered but whose schedule doesn't find our plan, thank you for the effort. We have lots to do to get ready for 2014 and we will be sending out requests for more volunteers a er the move. Here's our contact info: Alda and Bob Helvey (o) 515 224 6424 bob@tsmcgrp.com Bob Helvey (o) 515 224 6424 bob@tsmcgrp.com Our Annual Arbor Day Celebra on was held on April 27th. We had a terrific turnout from the community, as well as the large group of Girl Scouts and 5th Grade students from Altoona Elementary School. A big THANK YOU for everyone that was involved the planning of the celebra on as well as everyone that helped to get the garden looking in p top shape. Our volunteers make it happen! Regular work nights at the Enabling Garden are on Tuesdays. Plan to join us on Tuesday, May 7th and then each Tuesday night star ng around 4:00PM, weather permi ng. Please join us for fun, food and fellowship in the garden. Plan ng in the garden will begin as soon as the tender plants from the MG greenhouse are hardened off and we move past the average Central Iowa frost free date. (Although I am not sure what we would consider "average" this year!) We will begin to plant our annuals on Tuesday, May 7th and Saturday, May 11th, weather permi ng. Our Season of Learning starts this month with our special guest, PCMG Chris ne Flickenger, who will be speaking about Honeybees & Our Na ve Pollinators. Chris ne brings a wealth of garden knowledge with her; her beau ful garden has been on the garden tour and she is into sustainable gardening. Please join us at 7:00PM on Tuesday, May 28th to hear what all of the "buzz" is about. EG Co Chairs: Chris ne Barker, Sandie Hamilton, Paula Winslow & Paul Wilkens.
pg 4 By the me you read this I am confident Spring will have sprung! We had a great spring cleanup on Saturday, April 21. Thanks so much to all who helped out! And speaking of which, we have plenty of opportuni es for that. Please see the a ached Job Descrip ons for opportuni es, both inside and outside, for hours at the Demonstra on Garden. If you have any par cular interest, please no fy Margaret Spikes (margaretspikes@wellsfargo.com). Mark your calendars for: 1. Work nights: these are Mondays and Thursdays (un l classes start on Thursday, June 13). We start at 5:30 and you are welcome to hang around as li le or as long as you want. We will be concentra ng on plan ng the first few work nights. The first work night is Monday, May 13. 2. Pedals to Petals: The Botanical Garden is planning to have a second annual Pedal to Petals bike ride on Sunday, June 9, 2012. They have 2 des na on gardens selected in Johnston and have added a third: Master Gardeners' Demonstra on Garden in Urbandale. Riders would be arriving between 10 AM and 1 PM. The biking group will have a table there with refreshments and snacks for the riders. We need volunteers to show guests around. 3. Garden Tour: As you know, this is Saturday, June 22. While volunteers are needed for this, you should plan to volunteer through the Garden Tour Commi ee. Finally, a few big thank you's: First, to Ruth Doxon for ge ng the seed orders managed from 'cradle to grave' working with the Garden Leads to get their seeds ordered all the way to coordina ng the pickup at the greenhouse this week. Major kudos Ruth! It's a big job! Also, thanks to Kathy Winter for coordina ng all the speakers for the summer garden talks at the Demonstra on Garden. Details can be found in the a ached flyer. See you all in the gardens! Margaret Spikes margaretspikes@wellsfargo.com The Garden has been cleaned and everyone has picked up their plants from the Green House. Our thanks to Ruth Doxon for coordina ng the whole process. It is a huge undertaking but with Ruth's planning and direc on it went smoothly. Our thanks also to the Green House commi ee and the interns for their work in growing and caring for the plants. Cheree, Patrick, and I a ended the intern gradua on potluck and got reacquainted with some of the interns and met other class members. One of the interns helped with clean up so we are happy to have her join us. I think Spring has finally arrived so now we can really start to garden. Plan ng, at the Discovery Garden, will be Wednesday, May 15. This is weather permi ng, rain date is Saturday, May 18th. Co chairs; Jean, Cheree, Dean and Patrick Judy Elings has a new email elingsje@gmail.com Jennifer Hilmes is now using jjhilmes@gmail.com
pg 5 Checks can be made out to PCMG with a note on the memo line that this is for Greenhouse Building Fund. Mail to the Polk County Extension Office, A n: Mary Farlow, 1625 Adventureland Dr., Suite A, Altoona, IA 50009. The Show House had a great turn out for the Botanical Garden's Earth Day ac vi es about 900 visitors came through. Kids came to the Show House to play yard games like c tac toe and hopscotch. A great big THANK YOU to all the volunteers who gave their me and talent for this event. Needed: one more person or display team to help with our "Children's Gardens" exhibit in September. Also, we could use a few more people to design and install our very first Garden Railway in mid November. This is a fun, flexible, and crea ve way to get volunteer hours, and it is easy to work around involvement in the other MG public gardens and summer events. Even though the Botanical Garden will be closed in July and August, we will have access to the facility to work on our exhibits, and to maintain the plants and collec ons in the Show House. Our Tuesday and Saturday work days will remain the same. Finally, we will be working with the Botanical Garden staff as we plan our 2014 exhibits. We will be brainstorming ideas at our next planning mee ng on May 20th, at 6:30, in the Swartz Room at the Garden. All are welcome to a end. Mary Howell Williams 556 3684 mhwphoto@mchsi.com Ann Goecke: 277 4632 goeckeae@aol.com VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR THE GARDEN TOUR SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2013 S ll looking for volunteers for both shi s 8:00 noon and noon 4:00 p.m. This is a great way to get some of those 12 volunteer hours that you need this year. You are also able to go on the Pretour on Saturday, June 15, 2013, star ng at 8:00 a.m. and running un l noon to see all of the gardens before they are open to the public. If you are interested, please email Virginia at vhunnell@iastate.edu and indicate what shi, a.m. or p.m. and if you want to work at a par cular garden. Community Requests Linda Wilkinson has been a volunteer in the Beacon of Life women's shelter for many years. "On Saturday, May 19, I will need help in plan ng 7 flats of flowers at the Beacon of Life women's shelter. It is a house across the street from Cafe de Scala on Woodland in Des Moines. The residents will help as best they can, but they need lots of help and supervision. It takes about 3 hours if we have lots of gardeners. I will be there to supervise, but have had a knee injury so am limited. I have worked the garden for several years so I do not want the garden to go to weeds. The residents keep up the watering. Contact me if you can help. Linda Wilkinson 224 0258 lindafrankw@gmail.com City of Des Moines will be accep ng perennials at the Maury Street greenhouse star ng on May 16, that they can share with city parks, schools, etc. on May 18. Linda W will take any perennials le from plant sale to them.
pg 6 The Gardeners of America/Men's Garden Clubs of America requests some assistance in maintaining the grounds at their headquarters at 5560 Merle Hay Road, Johnston, IA. We need help in plan ng of the annuals/perennials; watering and general cleanup and maintenance of the grounds. Our volunteers work on Wednesday mornings for 2 4 hours, but if that day doesn't work, arrangements can be made for other mes. For more informa on, please contact TGOA/MGCA headquarters at 515 278 0295. May 3 5:30 to 7 pm, PCMG only plant sale, GDMBG greenhouse. May 4 8 un l 4 PCMG Plant Sale open to public. May 5 Noon to 4 PCMG Plant Sale open to public. May 6 9:00 Move equipment and supplies not being used to Altoona. May 8 9:00 Move more equipment and supplies not being used to Altoona. May 10 5:30 to 7 Possible PCMG Post Sale open to public. (If we s ll have plants to sell) May 11 9 to 11 Disperse le over plants to Community Gardens. May 11 1:00 move any remaining tables, equipment from GDMBG to Victorian Acres. May 18 7 Noon First PCMG Farmer's Market appearance. Recurring MG Calendar! Monday evening work nights at Demonstra on Garden, Urbandale. Done for 2012 Tuesday & Saturday mornings Botanical Center Gardeners Show House work sessions. Tuesday evening work nights at Enabling Garden, Altoona. Done for 2012 Wednesday and Saturday mornings at PCMG greenhouse. See you in Feb. 2013 Wednesday evening work nights at Discovery Garden at the Iowa State Fairgrounds Done for 2012 Friday morning work session at BC River Walk, suspended un l construc on is finished. Cathy Simon, Hor culture Educa on Coordinator in Dallas, Madison, and Warren coun es, shares that Winterset as a Farmer's Market on Saturday morning May 18th from 7:30 AM to 11:30 AM on the town square, just one block from the library. Also many shopping and ea ng opportuni es around the square. Make a day of it. Michelle Walke says: "If anyone wants to make a planter out of a wood pale e like the one that was on display at the Show House, I have a wood pale e to give away. Anyone who is interested can email me at mwalkedesign@mac.com. "
pg 7 PM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From Denny Schrock, Ph.D. Comple on of the Illinois online IPM modules will be counted as educa on hours. When someone successfully completes a module they should be able to print out their cer ficate of comple on as proof that they have completed the course. This can be done for individual modules, not necessarily for the en re course. Carol Leech tells my the link is The link is: h p://mg.cropsci.illinois.edu/h p: //mg.cropsci.illinois.edu/
pg 8 Please check out our Facebook page and give us the " green thumbs up"! Jen Jenkins has set up a Facebook page that on which we can post informa on and answer ques ons. Extension programs are available to all without regard to race, color, na onal origin, religion, sex, age, or disability.