November 2014 ISU Polk County Extension 1625 Adventureland Drive, Ste A, Altoona, Iowa Phone 515-957-5760 The October 23 Fall Harvest Dinner marked the beginning of a new administra ve year for Polk County Master Gardener projects, including the Steering Commi ee. I have the honor of chairing the Steering Commi ee for the coming year. As a member of the Master Gardener class of 2012, I did not exactly assume the Chair posi on based on a résumé of lengthy experience so wish me luck in this endeavor! But I am confident that our organiza on will enjoy another successful year. That success will come from the collec ve efforts of the 530 ac ve Master Gardeners who bring the various Polk County Master Gardener projects to life. Over the past year, former Chair Alda Helvey used her monthly column to highlight the extraordinary contribu ons of about a dozen Master Gardeners who par cipate in a wide variety of Master Gardner ac vi es. But Alda would be the first to tell you that there isn't enough space in the newsle er to recognize all the Master Gardeners who deserve special men on. You know who you are. And please keep it up! Special thanks to Alda for all of her hard work this past year, not only as Steering Commi ee Chair but also as a key player in the Polk County Master Gardener Greenhouse project over the past few years. All Polk County Master Gardeners will reap the fruits of the new Master Gardener Greenhouses for years to come. As we approach the holidays, and the various Master Gardener projects are being put to bed for winter, new ideas and plans for next year are star ng to take root. If you are not already involved with the Master Gardener Greenhouses, the Plant Sale, one of our three showcase Gardens, the training of new Interns, the Garden Tour, and/or the Farmers' Market Booth, please give some thought to where you'll spend your volunteer me next year. It's all good! And remember to do some planning for next year's home garden while the results of this year's efforts good or bad are s ll fresh in your mind. The best gardens I've ever grown are the ones I intend to plant next year, even though many of those efforts usually don't get past the planning stage. I'll close with a gardening quote from Bri sh writer Sam Llewelyn: In gardens, beauty is a by-product. The main business is sex and death. ~~ Ma Ma hew Dore, Steering Commi ee Chair, ma.dore@drake.edu If you are not already on the list, go to h p://www.mastergardener.iastate.edu/news.html, open the latest edi on and find the "join our list" link on the le side. This will send you news of MG events around the state each month. Of note in October, a reminder of the hours required to become and stay cer fied.
This year has gone by rather quickly. I remember contempla ng my decision to step aside as Demonstra on Garden chair as a very difficult decision, but a necessary one. My memory is one of those things that had faded in the last 13 years, but I do recall receiving enthusias c guidance from Mary Ann devries back in 2001. She was a great leader for Master Gardeners and her influence may not be as no ceable but has s ll been impac ul. The Demonstra on Garden has been a lovely place to visit, but over the years as become even more beau ful with countless hours from dedicated gardeners making a huge impact. The transi on over the years has been interes ng, experimen ng with hothouses, welcoming Boy Scout projects, including Eagle Scouts Ben Day's 90 foot brick path, the new shed back in 2006, and arbors built by Jerry Ferrell. Many of you may not remember the 'fragrant' Hawthorne tree that reminded us a few weeks each year that not all of nature's blessings were 'scentsa onal'. But the Hawthorne tree was somewhat of a marker for our old 'watering distribu on center'. Having hoses drug across the street to connect to the fire hydrant was not the most efficient way of watering the Demonstra on Garden, but thanks to the City of Urbandale, it worked and the price was right! The mission of the Demonstra on Garden has been to teach and demonstrate to home gardeners, and besides classes every summer, the demonstra ng was about the various beds that were tried and/or re red the na ve grass boxes, the 3 ered aluminum circle bed, demonstra ng sedum and varie es of annuals, the 'scentsa onal' garden which displayed fragrant flowers and plants, and the ever changing theme bed. From the Wizard of Oz to Harry Po er, to ABC Kinder Garden, to AAS 'Basket', the Character Count Pillars and the more recent themes, the Theme Garden has been one of my favorite parts of the Demonstra on Garden because of the variety and crea vity of the Master Gardeners. The same can be said of the other gardens, as the leads have worked hard to add crea vity and ideas for garden visitors to take home. Even though some of the plants don't change from year to year, the garden leads have put together some amazing themes for the individual beds. And one of the cri cal points of the Demonstra on Garden has been to get a focus and even more crea ve plan. When the Opera ons Commi ee started out in 2006, we talked about what the garden wanted vs. what it needed. Thankfully, Kent Zarley came to our rescue and helped us with an overall plan to give us a direc on that has mostly been implemented over the years. The 'three year plan' turned into a 'five year plan' which turned into a 'long term plan'. Cu ng down some of the bushes and trees and moving and adding berms and mounds of soil have been a good learning, but mostly amazing, experience. Taking down a tall, older mugho pine for example, made me really nervous...i can't put it back! But trus ng Kent's vision was the right thing to do, and has been very gra fying. Following the plan has brought us to the wonderful pathways that have been installed. And those couldn't have happened without a lot of help and funding from the City of Urbandale, Country Landscaping and a few others over the years. I have a lot of people to thank for running the Demonstra on Garden over the years, and keeping me on track. Most of you know who you are, and I hope I have expressed my gra tude. It has truly been a wonderful ride, and I have enjoyed the friendships, the learning, the help, the crea vity and hard work. Thanks to all of you who have made the Demonstra on Garden go from good to great! I'm not very good at stepping aside and handing over the reins, but since I like to learn new things, I will try to do this one with as much skill as I can! I appreciate Diane Ackerman, Ruth Doxon and Susan Travis for stepping up and taking over to lead the Demonstra on Garden. I have promised them that I will s ll be around to hand off some of the items that I'm sure this brain didn't capture. They will have a lot of Master Gardeners who will also be maintaining and helping. I an cipate just another version of 'Team Demonstra on Garden' evolving. What I've especially learned is that others have had ideas about things that were ones I hadn't thought of and in my opinion were much be er than mine...so I'm looking for more of that happening, only three fold! Garden season 2015 will be here before you know it! Margaret Spikes, chair, mhspikes@gmail.com
We had a successful clean up date on October 18 th, despite cool weather and a breeze from the Northwest. Thanks for everyone who made me to come out and help! The work goes much faster and is more fun when you have the help of a good group of talented gardeners. The Arbor Garden on the south end of the garden has nearly been completed and the co chairs would like to thank the following volunteers that really went the extra mile to get that project completed: Gary & Marlene Olson, Paula Winslow, and Paul Wilkens. Thank you for all of your me and exper se. It is very beau ful. Addi onally, the EG co chairs would like to give thanks for all of our volunteers who par cipated in the Enabling Garden this year. Thank you for being there to plant annuals, pull weeds, water, donate goodies, fund raise, and most importantly, bring treats to work night! These contribu ons are what make a volunteer organiza on work! Thank you and have wonderful Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving. EG Co Chairs: Chris ne Barker, Sandie Hamilton, & Sharon Schoonover The garden has been cleaned, seeds and plant items have been ordered for next year, November means res ng me for the Garden. It is also me to be thankful for all of the freedoms we enjoy in America and to honor Veterans on the 11th, by thanking them for their service or flying a flag, or both. It is also Elec on Day, so this is a gentle reminder to get out and vote for your favorite candidate. We are thankful for all of the volunteers that have made the Discovery Garden such a wonderful spot this year, without your help, none of this would have been possible. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Co Chairs: Dean Brand drbrand@mediacombb.net tel:515 360 0774, Jean Roe ljroe@q.com tel:515.205.8706 Patrick Schmi schmi patrickj@gmail.com tel:515.279.9645, Cheree Tilton ltoncm@gmail.com tel:515.262.0488 We are ge ng ready for our final exhibit of the year! The Show House holiday railway will be up and chugging along on November 15th. We have expanded the layout to fill most of the Show House, and will be crea ng four different landscapes with three levels of track (and three trains!). This exhibit is being done in partnership with the Central Iowa Garden Railway Society, and Botanical Garden staff. The trains will run through the first week of January there will be plenty of me to visit. Bring your kids and grandkids! Contact Mary Howell Williams 556 3684 mhwphoto@mchsi.com Ann Goecke: 277 4632 goeckeae@aol.com if you want to find out more.
Yes, even the latest directory needs an update. Corrected phone numbers for Rosemary Surber 641 521 1628 (cell) and Marje Turnquist (515) 422 7571 (cell) We have set the dates for the 2015 Greenhouse Lab at 1/24/15, 1/28/15, and 1/31/15. Next year we will need 10 educa on hours to recer fy. The lab provides two of those hours. We have 96 slots over the three days and mandatory a endance for 45 Interns. That leaves 51 slots to be filled by PCMG and then Interns from Warren Madison Dallas coun es. If you want to a end one of the labs send me an email (bob@tsmcgrp.com) priori zing your date availability. Don't omit a date. If you are unavailable any of those dates indicate that in your email. The cutoff date to apply is 12 15 14. Interns, ignore this and respond to the email you were sent about labs on 10 21 14. Alda & Bob Helvey (o) 515 224 6424 bob@tsmcgrp.com The Greater Des Moines Garden Club welcomes all visitors and the following two programs should provide one hour of Master Gardener educa onal credit. November 20, 2014, 1:00 p.m. Lorin Knapp will present a program on Prairie and Na ve Flowers Mee ngs are held at 1:00 pm in Westminster Hall at Westminster Presbyterian Church on Beaver and Franklin in Des Moines. Like to have you visit, Love to have you Join! Jean Schweizer Thursday, October 23, 2014 Passing the trowel 2014 Chair Alda Helvey to 2015 Chair Ma Dore
500 Hours of Service Chris ne Barker, Will Farlow, Isabella Hurless Banks, Fred Stemler, John Zou e Not in photo, Kathleen DeCarlo, Nancy Dunbar, Judy Elings, Ann Goecke, Cathie Law, Eddie Robinson, Bruce Travis, Dennis Zaabel 1000 Hours of Service Shelley Bain, Ruth Doxon, Pat Reeves Not in photo, Stephen Perrin, Mary Lou Woods 3000 Hours of Service Paula Winslow
Fall 2013 Class Master Gardeners. Front row, Eric Hand, Jodie Hand, Emily Swales, Wanda Snyder, Anne Van Ryswyk, Kathleen Trujillo Roush Back row, Nancy Milton, Sue Wi, Randy Gordon, Ashleigh Armstrong, Carolyn Burt, Ellen Claypool, Barbe Fye, Ewa Pra, Rex Batson, Butch Snyder, Annie Ullman Not in photo, Chris Cyran Spring 2014 Class Master Gardeners Front row, Pa y Wright, Kathleen Jones, Ike Eichmann Back row, Vicki Tow, Sherry Swihart, Kay Oliver, Deb Carlson, Paul Friedrickson, Carol Grant, Ralph Chiodo Not in photo, Tom Ballard, Ernest Brees, Kelly Crane, Dawn Kaso a For more photos, see the PCMG Facebook page at facebook.com/iapcmg Thanks everyone for a great year!! Extension programs are available to all without regard to race, color, na onal origin, religion, sex, age, or disability.