Coconino Master Gardener Association: November 2023

CMGA General Info

Species tulips planted in fall. These appear in early spring. Olivia White Hospice Garden.
Photo by Loni Shapiro.

Welcome to the Coconino County Master Gardeners Association blog. The mission of the Master Gardener Program is to create a corps of well-informed volunteers, and to deliver quality horticultural education programs adapted to our regional high elevation environment. The purpose of the association is to provide support for those volunteers and Master Gardener graduates, continuing education, and opportunities to participate in community programs that increase the visibility and participation in the Master Gardener Program.

The Coconino Master Gardener Association (2009) began in 2009. This blog contains information on:

-How to become a member

-Volunteer and Education hours reporting

-Calendar of Events

-General gardening information articles

-Master Gardener Association Documents and forms

-References and Resources

-Interesting Websites and Blogs

-Old Gardening Etcetera columns

-Recipes

-Book Reviews

-How to contact Board or Committee Members

Meetings are held monthly on the 2nd Thursday from 600pm - 8;30pm. We meet at the Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church at 1601 N. San Francisco. This includes continuing education and a business meeting.

Reporting Master Gardener Hours

All master gardener trainees and certified master gardeners need to report their hours.
Beginning in 2010 certified master gardeners need to have 6 Education hours and 12 Volunteer hours in order to maintain certification.The on line reporting system allows you to report Education or Volunteer hours. You can sign in to record hours in the right hand column under Recording Volunteer and Education Hours. Just click on the U. of A.
If you have any questions or concerns about the new reporting system, please contact Brenda Smith (A - M) or Sue Madden (N - Z). Their contacts are listed at the bottom of the blog under Contacts.

Ideas for hours------
--Attend monthly meetings
--Work on an association committee
--Work at an informational booth for the Master Gardeners
--Be a speaker about gardening topics at a variety of venues
--Host a garden tour
--Work at a fundraising event (Plant Sale - Garden Tour).
--Work at a MG site (Olivia White Hospice, the Arboretum, Riordan Mansion, or school gardens (many others)). Check out the Assoc. Doc. & Forms under Volunteer Sites.
--Work in the Extension office
--Write an article for the newspaper column -Gardening Etcetera
-Volunteer with the Seed Library
Be creative! There are many ways to fulfill your hours. Just remember for volunteering it needs to be a non-profit endeavor or an approved for profit site.

Thursday, November 23, 2023

Master Gardener In-Person Class

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

11/9 Meeting and Election

For those who missed a great meal/snack we had a large crowd for Frank Branham’s – Cooking from the Garden on Thursday evening. In addition to the wonderful food we got cooking ideas and recipes which I will put on the blog for those who could not attend. I will add the recipes next week.

Frank has been our leader (CMGA) for the last 3 years and with the help of Nancy has made a big difference in our marketing and fundraising capabilities for garden grants. They were crowned King and Queen of gardening, cooking, and fund raising at the meeting for the association. Over the last 3 years we had 2 successful Plant Sales, and 3 years of Garden Tours. In addition to those we have beautiful cups, t-shirts, and aprons to sell. Cheryl Bloom helped to develop that area of fundraising with Frank’s encouragement.

The elected officers for 2024 are,

Cheryl Blume President

Holly Button Vice President

Andrea Guerette Treasurer

Marilyn Canteloupe Secretary

We also have many new chairs of committees. These will appear at the bottom of the blog starting on January 1, 2024.

On a personal note I want to than Frank for his work on food, and gardening in the Flagstaff area. The first restaurant my realtor took me to in 1997 was the Cottage Place. From there everything else was downhill. My family spent many evenings celebrating special occasions there, from holidays to anniversaries, birthdays, and even experiencing the food of Flagstaff’s history during a special event. I attended many of his cooking classes and brought the recipes home. He offered much to those who like to cook and those who want to make a living from it with teaching. He always supported the gardening community by purchasing as much local as he could or growing it himself. After taking the Master Gardener class he began volunteering at Olivia White Hospice Garden adding more food to the garden and protecting it from critters. In retirement he continues to help at the Flagstaff Family Food Kitchen.

Thank you Frank (and Nancy) for all you do for the Flagstaff community gardeners and cooks!

Loni Shapiro

CMGA Holiday Party

Remembering Beverly 1928-2016

On Monday, Aug. 8, 2016, Beverly Jean MacAllister passed away fully lucid and comfortably in Santa Cruz, CA, at home and in the presence of her daughters, just three days after her 88th birthday. For many months she sought a way out of or around a severe lung infection. She was a Master Gardener and tended 12 vegetable and flower beds at her home in Timberline. She supported the master gardener program in many ways - providing consult to a local fire department to grow vegetables for food, assisting with regional conferences, and helping each year with the Coconino County Fair in the agriculture building. In addition for several years she worked as a Senior Companion with 5 clients that she helped with aging issues. A celebration of Bev’s life will be held at 11 am on Saturday, Sept. 17, at Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 510 N. Leroux St. Memorial gifts in her name may be made to Poore Medical Clinic, 120 W. Fine Ave., Flagstaff, AZ 86001; or Bonny Doon Fire Safe Council, 150 McGivern Way, Santa Cruz, CA 95060.
I will personally miss her guidance on aging well. The photo above is from a Christmas card I received from her. On the back it says "Kindness is a language we can all understand. The blind can see it and the deaf can hear it. Thank someone who has touched your life today. Thank you for being part of my life. Bev." Loni Shapiro

Dana Prom Smith 1927-2015

On Sunday, Jun 28th, Dana Prom Smith passed away from a
heart attack at the age of 88. Dana was a long time supporter of the Master Gardener program and association . He was certified as a master gardener in 2007. He worked on his own garden at home, and since then has shared his wealth of knowledge and creative writing skills to write and edit weekly columns for the AZ Daily Sun -Gardening Etcetera. We will miss learning more about life and gardening and the humor with which he presented it.

On August 24th, a Blaze Maple was planted at Olivia White Hospice Garden by his gardening friends in rememberance.

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” ― Marcus Tullius Cicero

Coconino Master Gardener Association