Desert Botanical Garden January Events

Itching to get your winter plant fix. Head down to the Desert Botanical Garden.  www.dbg.org   480-941-1225

Now - May 27, 2013

exhibit

WHISPERS OF A NEW WORLD: SCULPTURE BY CAROLINA ESCOBAR

Using vibrant colors and shapes inspired by nature, Escobar works with steel, copper screen and resined cloth to create organic sculptures. Included with paid Garden admission.

Now - April 28, 2013

art at the garden

PHILIP HAAS: THE FOUR SEASONS

This fall, the Desert Botanical Garden will debut American artist and filmmaker Philip Haas’ monumental work, The Four Seasons. Haas was inspired by the 16th century Italian artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo.

Now - December 30, 2012

las noches de las luminarias, presented by the arizona republic

LAS NOCHES DE LAS LUMINARIAS

Las Noches de las Luminarias offers guests a truly unique holiday celebration for 21 nights in December.

Cochise County Master Gardener Conference

Subject: High Desert Gardening & Landscaping Conference

The Cochise County Master Gardeners Association is planning their 20th annual High Desert Gardening & Landscaping Conference to be held February 14 & 15, 2013, at the Windemere Hotel & Conference Center in Sierra Vista. The website is up with conference program and registration information at http://ag.arizona.edu/cochise/mg/HighDesertConf/ConfHomePage.html. Due to the facility the conference is limited to 180 participants. We have a special speaker Friday morning in honor of this being the 20^th anniversary - Jeff Gillman is a professor of horticulture at the University of Minnesota and author of The Truth about Garden Remedies and The Truth about Organic Gardening. Plus, as you will see we have a lot of other great speakers.

Please share the link above with any of your Master Gardeners that may be interested in attending.

Thanks,

Susan

---------------------------------------------------

Susan Pater
University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Cochise County
County Director, Extension Agent 4-H Youth Development
450 S. Haskell Ave., Willcox AZ 85643
office: 520.766.3601 | fax: 520.384.3681 | cell: 520.507.5939
email:  spater@ag.arizona.edu

http://extension.arizona.edu/cochise

First Coconino Master Gardener Association talk of 2013 - Start your year off right!

Start the new year right by attending the upcoming Coconino Master Gardener Association talk followed by a business meeting.  Don’t forget, attending both will earn you one continuing education hour and one volunteer hour.

Gardening without Pesticides

Learn how you can use non-toxic alternatives to keep your landscape looking great. Paul Gazda will share what he has discovered in his personal experience and as leader of the Sustainable Landscape Maintenance project at Northern Arizona University. Stay after the talk for refreshments and for the Master Gardener Association meeting. Non-members welcome.

Coconino Master Gardener Association Meeting

Thursday, January 10

6:30pm – 8:30pm

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church

1601 N. San Francisco St.

Flagstaff, AZ 86001

Winter Garden Open House

Todd Cisco is holding an open house of his garden on Dec. 13.  Anyone that heard him speak at the Arizona Highlands Garden Conference will surely want to attend.  And even if you didn’t have an opportunity, this is a garden visit not to miss.  He has many ideas for 4-season gardening.  Here’s some information about the open house.

I will be hosting a follow-up open house to the 4-season gardening seminar I did at your annual meeting on Thursday, December 13th from 9AM until dark. The address is 2645 E. Matterhorn Drive, in the Swiss Manor neighborhood.

I look forward to you attending and would also like to extend a warm welcome to anyone else who may be interested.

In summary, folks who stop by can see first-hand simple, inexpensive, usable techniques that can make 4-season gardening possible, and, view the progress of this winters crops right before the Solstice. As Peggy Pollack, senior lecturer at NAU's biology department stated after visiting the site of the tour, that actually seeing the techniques in person was the best confirmation of the information recently given during the presentation to her sustainability class on 4-season gardening.

Several FUSD and NAU classes will be attending in addition to community leaders, students, business owners, Master Gardeners and Flagstaff residents of the Winter Gardening Seminars given this past summer.

Please forward to anyone who you feel may find this tour interesting and I look forward to meeting anyone interested in learning how to grow- 4-season- more veggies in their backyard, or commercial techniques that can be garnered from the experience this type of growing has unveiled.

Hattie Braun

University of Arizona

Master Gardener Program Coordinator

Coconino County Cooperative Extension

2304 N. 3rd St.

Flagstaff, AZ  86004

Phone:  928-774-1868  x 170

FAX:  928-774-1860

Bee Talk at MNA

MNA’s Science Cafe

Wednesday, December 12th., 7-830pm  FREE! The Buzz on Native Bees Dr. Kristen Potter, insect physiologist and MNA volunteer Our approximately 4000 native bee species come in a wide array of sizes, shapes, and colors. These efficient bees are typically non-aggressive and have pollinated our continent’s flowering plants since long before the arrival of honey bees. Unfortunately, our native bee species are declining, but there are many ways we can help them. We will discuss the importance of native bees in our ecosystems, identify simple (and fun) ways you can help native bees, and learn how they will improve the health of your yard and garden. Join us for a short presentation followed by lively discussion and Q&A.

Master Gardener Meeting Minutes 11/8/2012

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Master Gardener Meeting Minutes 11/8/2012

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church

1601 N. San Francisco

Continuing Education

                                                      Fire, Flood, and Forest Recovery: The Science of Habitat Restoration

                                                      Schultz Fire

                                                      Dr. Kris Haskins, the Arboretum at Flagstaff

Dr. Haskins gave an overview of the Schultz Fire and the effects on the burned and surrounding areas.  The fire burned about 15,000 acres and the flooding caused by the runoff from the monsoon rains resulted in massive erosion and incredible damage to homes and property.  While some native species have started to re-colonize the area, non-native weeds have become a major problem in both the burned and in the affected population areas.  The Arboretum at Flagstaff, the Museum of Northern Arizona, Arizona Forestry and the United States Forest Service, have been studying the issues and working on restoration of the affected areas.  The restoration efforts include: mechanical removal like mowing, grazing by sheep or goats, pulling, mulching, use of herbicides, burning, encouraging competition and biocontrol.  Unfortunately, mowing only works in areas that can be reached by machines, many weeds are not palatable to animals, pulling and mulching is very labor intensive, herbicides can negatively affect more than the weeds, some weeds grow best after a fire and competition and biocontrol require patience.  If you remove the weeds and then plant natives, the natives can shade out the invasive weeds. There is a study in progress to determine the most effective ways to re-introduce natives to an area.  Biocontrol, the use of a natural predator like a beetle specific to a particular weed, can reduce or eliminate the weed in a particular area but it takes time and can be expensive.  For example, the beetle for Dalmation Toadflax costs $.77 per beetle and thousands are needed to treat a relatively small area. 

If you live in an area affected by the Schultz Fire, you can contact Dr. Haskins at research@thearb.org, about the Private Landholders Assessment Program.  The program will work with the homeowners to examine weed issues, develop a plan for weed removal and assistance, determine options for restoration and monitor the progress of the actions taken.

Thanks to Laura Parker, Andrea and Galen Guerette and Ann Eagan for the refreshments.

Business Meeting

Northern AZ Native Plant Society Happenings

Hi, Everyone, 

Here is the final information about the last AZNPS talk and walk of 2012.  Please note that the walk is on SATURDAY, not Sunday, and it will start 1 1/2 hours earlier than usual.   

Tuesday, October 16 Laura Moser, Botanist & Invasive Plant Specialist and Pesticide-use Coordinator, Coconino National Forest,will be giving a talk on some of the invasive species introduced to the Verde Valley, the impacts they have on our native species and watershed health and what the Forest Service and the Verde Watershed Restoration Coalition is doing.  This meeting will be in Room 328 of the Biology Building at NAU at 7:00 pm.

Saturday, October 20 Laura Moser will be guiding a hike to the Sycamore Creek confluence with the Verde River and the Packard Ranch, a historic ranch at this site.  The hike will focus on identifying non-native species in this area and applying a quick risk-rating system to determine their potential invasiveness.  The area can still be warm at this time of year so bring plenty of water, sack lunch, hat, sunscreen, and sturdy walking shoes. 

We will be meeting in Flagstaff at 8:30 in the AZ Credit Union parking lot on Beaver St. and Butler Ave, OR  at 10:00 at the Sycamore Rd. just past the Tuzigoot Bridge near Clarkdale. This secondary meeting location is to meet up with other AZNPS members from Verde Valley and perhaps Prescott.  There is a pull off on Sycamore Canyon Road just after you turn off of Tuzigoot road. Depending on how many of us there are, we'll then carpool or take our own vehicles down a graded, although sometimes bumpy, dirt road for approximately 10 miles to the Sycamore Canyon trailhead.

Contact info for  Laura Moser:

lmoser@fs.fed.us
office: 928-527-3423

Cell 928-607-6040)

Posted by Dorothy Lamm - Hope to see you. 

CMGA Meeting Minutes 10/11/12

Master Gardener Meeting Minutes 10/11/2012

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church

1601 N. San Francisco

6:30pm-6:40pm                Welcome – Agenda - Debi Stalvey

                                          Brief review of agenda for the evening

                                          Introduction of speaker

6:40pm-7:45pm                Continuing Education

                                          Northern Arizona Native, Invasive and Ornamental Grasses

                                          Jan Busco

Grasses don’t have petals and they are wind pollinated. Jan talked about Grasses, Sedges, and Rushes native to the Flagstaff area. She brought many samples so that the audience could begin to identify grasses, which is more difficult than flowers.  Grasses are beneficial for holding soil, food for animals, breaking up soil, holding down dust, and soaking up excess water. Some tricks to help with identification were that grasses come with two edges and have nodes, sedges have edges (3), and rushes are round. Annuals have short roots and can easily be pulled out of the ground; perennials have deeper and more complicated roots. Grasses can be sod or grow in bunches. Grasses can be cool or warm season and Jan covered several of each.

Cool Season/Spring to early summer – Mutton Grass (similar to Kentucky Bluegrass), June Grass (shines), Indian Rice Grass (very draught tolerant), AZ Fescue (cooler places, needlelike bunch grass). Identification is easier with timing/succession – Mutton Grass first.

Warm Season/Monsoon to autumn – Blue Grama (turf grass), Side Oats Grama (one side inflorescence), Deer Grass/Spike Muhly and Mt. Muhly (bunch grasses with a spike), Pinedrop Seed (red color in stem), other drop seeds (black, Alkali sacaton, sand), Purple 3-awn, Little bluestem (red in the fall). Jan also discussed sedges which do well in shade, and invasive such as cheatgrass which does not do well in shade and pampas grasses which can colonize.

Growing is easy from seed. It is similar to planting wildflowers. Just loosen soil with a rake, mix seed with a little soil or sand and spread, tamp down and water until seed established.

Jim Mast presented Jan with a calendar and some liquid fertilizer from the conference.

               

7:45pm-8:00pm                Refreshments

Thanks to the conference committee for bringing leftover cookies and lemonade.

Highlands Garden Conference

For all those who did not attend you missed a great show by our local master gardeners. This was the 12th Annual Highlands Garden Conference and Coconino County was the host. The speakers were excellent, the food tasty, and the venue comfortable. The crowd numbered 200 and all enjoyed socializing and taking in the many vendors who had come to share there wares or information. Special thanks to Hattie Braun and Ann Eagan for coordinating this conference.
To me one of the best parts of these conferences is connecting with old friends and gardeners from Coconino, Yavapai, Gila, and Navajo counties.
The keynotes were especially good this year. David Salman, the owner of High Country Gardens/Santa Fe Nursery opened the show with a talk on attracting bees to your garden. It was interesting, as usuual useful, and packed with lots of information on bees and what to grow to attract them. If you are interested in a list of bee attracting plants and what vegetables/fruit trees need pollinators check out this web site highcountrygardens.com/AHGC.  My choice for the breakout session following was Frank Branham our local chef and owner of the Cottage Place. He did a great job connecting gardening to cooking. Because of costs at the Community Market he has begun growing some of his own food at home (tomatoes, squash, etc.). He also made a delicious Squash Soup for tasting, shared other tips/recipes, and sold his 1st book. If you are interested in cooking classes or his book contact the cottageplace.com. After lunch there was another keynote by noted author and radio personality, Charlie Nardozzi, on growing food among your other plants. He reviewed a long list of edible shrubs/trees/vines/and plants, while entertaining all who came. He also did a breakout session on growing/cooking  an Italian garden. For more info about him check out his web site CharlieNardozzi.com. The afternoon also brought 2 choices for breakout sessions. My choices were Patty West from NAU, on foraging (gathering and preparing native plants). She often does foraging walks in Coconino and Yavapai counties. She talked about precautions, let us sample a few, and covered  how to prepare some foods such as Prickly Pear buds. For more info on foraging you can contact Patty West at Patty.West@nau.edu. The second session I attended was Todd Cislo on Extreme Gardening. He gardens in the Banana Belt of Flagstaff, but had many tips that will work even in Baderville.  It was a great session on winter vegetable gardening. He talked about how to build a simple row cover and gave us a list of vegetables recommended locally. There were many other sessions available that I missed (3 for each breakout), so I will have to share notes with other gardeners.
Overall for the price ($75) it was a steal. Watch the fall gardening calendars in 2013 for the next conference which will be in Gila County.

Loni Shapiro
Co-secretary CMGA

Thanks and Volunteering 9/29

This is from Jessica Gist at AZ Game and Fish.   

Hello volunteers,

From all of us at Centennial Forest, Arizona Game & Fish, Arizona Wildlife Federation, and Arizona State Land Department, we want to thank all of the volunteers who came out to clean up Budweiser Tank on Saturday. We managed to fill two 20-yard dumpsters and several more garbage bags full of trash from the tank area, makeshift camp sites, and three illegal shooting sites. Great work!

For those interested in helping out with our final work day of the season, we will meet at the Arboretum on Woody Mountain Road at 8AM this Saturday, September 29^th. We will repair over one mile of fencing around the Arboretum property. Learn how proper fencing techniques can minimize the negative impacts of wildlife and allow animals safe passage in and out of the meadow. This project will improve more of the Woody Ridge Wildlife Corridor, Coconino County’s most critical movement area for wildlife. We will provide tools, work gloves, and materials. Please bring a lunch, water, sunscreen, and bug spray (if desired). Long pants and sturdy shoes are essential. To reach the Arboretum, drive west on Route 66 from town and turn left (south) on Woody Mountain Rd. Signs indicate the Arboretum is 4 miles down Woody Mountain Road.

Again thank you all for participating in the Woody Ridge Wildlife Corridor improvement project this summer. We hope you will spread the word for this final event and join us if you are able.

Sincerely,

Jessica Gist

Wildlife Biologist

Arizona Game and Fish Department, Region II

3500 S. Lake Mary Rd

Flagstaff, AZ 86001

office: (928) 214-1274

cell: (831) 521-7916

jgist@azgfd.gov

Your Resource to the Outdoors

 http://www.azgfd.gov/h_f/getoutside.shtml

AZ Native Plant Society Happenings

Greetings, friends,  Here are four items for your consideration:   

1.  There will not be the usual monthly meeting at the Deaver Herbarium on Tuesday, September 18.  Instead, there will be a planning meeting at 7:00pm at the Campus Coffee Bean to brainstorm ideas for talks/walks/events/etc. for 2013.  If you are not able to come, please respond to this email with any thoughts/ideas/wishes/etc. that you may have for the chapter, and I will present them at the Campus Coffee Bean.    

2.  Also, please let me know if you would like to join the planning committee for the annual Garden Showcase by responding to this email.  I will be leaving the committee this year, and many hands are needed to make light work, as the old expression goes.  It's a fabulous event, and this year we raised $475 for the chapter.    

3.  Sunday, September 30, 2012  (Please note the date - one week later than the usual Sunday walk)

Moss Walk: Join Theresa Clark for a walk to fabulous Viet Springs off the Snowbowl Road to learn field identification of common genera and species of mosses in the Mixed Conifer forest on the San Francisco Peaks. Theresa Clark recently graduated with her Master's in biology at NAU and is a fascinating instructor. Her thesis focused on the flora and ecology of bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) in Grand Canyon National Park.  As usual, we will meet at the Credit Union on the corner of Butler and Beaver on Sunday morning at 10AM and carpool.  Bring a bag lunch, 1-2 L of water, a 10x -15x hand lens, and a permanent marker to write on collection baggies, which will be provided. Learning each taxon will be done as a group and elaborated with brief lessons about morphology and taxonomy on a dry-erase board. Lastly, Theresa will explain proper storage of moss collections (for later use in her moss workshop in 2013), which can be easily completed at home after specimens have fully dried. Bryologists don't travel very far or very quickly, so we won't expect to travel much more than 1 mile and the plan is to head home in the afternoon.  4.  Tuesday, October 16, 2012  (This is the last AZNPS talk of the 2012 season.)   Laura Moser, Botanist and Pesticide Coordinator with the Coconino National Forest, will explain the challenges of treating invasive plants such as salt cedar and giant reed along the Verde River. A field trip in the Verde Valley will later demonstrate some of the invasives and the restoration opportunities there. More details to follow.   Posted by Dorothy Lamm

Make a Difference Day Volunteer Project

The Little Rio de Flag

Revitalization and Restoration Project

National Make a Difference Day

Saturday, October 27th, 2012 8:00 am - 1:30 pm

Organized by the Flagstaff Area Stream Team F.A.S.T.

Our Make A Difference Day FAST-sponsored project this year is The Little Rio de Flag at the confluence of Rio de Flag and Sinclair Wash (Lonetree and O’Leary). This community-based project is focused on revitalizing and restoring a very important part of our Flagstaff watershed. The selected area was inventoried and had a high ranking for restoration and maintenance.

Please contact Kyle Brown to get on the team of your choice: kbrown@flagstaffaz.gov

So far the project includes:

· Tree Trimming and Chipping

· Community Outreach

· Fence Construction

· Invasive species removal (weeds)

· Trash Removal

· Planting/Seeding/Soil Amendment

· FREE FOOD and a FREE RAFFLE!!!

Pioneer Museum Weed Eradication

I just took a look around the Pioneer Museum grounds to be sure there hasn't been a resurgence of Diffuse knapweed there since our last weed-out in June, and I was rewarded with a profusion of native Four O'clocks and native Cosmos, plus all kinds of other natives that will be blossoming again next year. What a delight.  
 
The hard work of Master Gardeners, members of the Native Plant Society, Grand Canyon Trust volunteers, and Pioneer Museum volunteers has paid off.  Many, many thanks to all the volunteers who have worked so faithfully and hard to make this amazing transformation at the Pioneer Museum!!  
 
It would be wonderful to have one more weed-out this season to get the few remaining Diffuse knapweed and those nasty annuals that have come up since the monsoons.  Please join us on Friday, September 21 from 8 until noon.  Come when you can, stay as long as you like.  Most of our work will be easy hand pulling.  You'll need the usual items:  water, sunscreen, sturdy shoes, long sleeved shirt, gloves, snacks, and your favorite hand tools, such as snippers.  We'll provide plastic bags and shovels, which will probably not see much use.  
 
Dorothy Lamm 

Fall Master Gardener Class

The 2012 fall Master Gardener class will start on September 19 and run thru December 12.  It will be held Wednesday evenings from 5:30 to 8:30 at the East Flagstaff Community Library.   The cost for the class is $200.  This does not include the AZ Manual Gardener Manual as it is available online.  I can place orders for anyone that wants a hard copy.  If you are interested in the class, call or e-mail Hattie ASAP as we have 23 already signup for the class.

(928)774-1868 ext. 170

hbraun@cals.arizona.edu

Highland Garden Conference

The regional annual Highlands Garden Conference in being held in Flagstaff this year. The theme is "Gardening in Light Air". It will be held over 2  days, October 5th & 6th. The first day includes tours of gardens and the second an array of speakers at Dubois Auditorium at NAU. It is a great opportunity to learn from national as well as local garden experts. If you are interested in more information or registering follow this link.  Reminder - early registration ($75) ends on Sept. 14, so get your registration in. If you are interested in helping with the conference contact Ann Eagan - ann.eagan@nau.edu.

Loni Shapiro
Co-secretary CMGA

Volunteer Restoration Activities

Fun volunteer opportunities with Game and Fish:  

Hi everyone,

We have scheduled two work days in September (probably the last for this grant project) for the Woody Ridge Wildlife Corridor Restoration project, funded by National Forest Foundation, Arizona Wildlife Federation, and Coconino Sportsmen. Please mark your calendars and spread the word. Flyers to come shortly – sorry for any redundant emails coming your way!

Saturday, Sept 22^nd 8AM – 4PM: Clean up Budweiser Tank! This should be a fun, all-day affair with groups from NAU Forestry, Wildlife Society, and more. We will remove trash and rehab sites that have been badly degraded by off-roading and target shooting. We hope this will launch a conversation about long-term stewardship for this site. Getting there: (GoogleMaps recognizes Budweiser Tank) Bud Tank is ~9miles from downtown Flagstaff. Travel West on Old Rt 66, turn right onto West Naval Observatory Rd, continue onto Observatory Access Rd. We will sign the work site.

Saturday, Sept 29^th 8AM – 4PM: Wildlife-friendly fence repair at the Arboretum. We will repair approximately 1.5 miles of fencing and add wildlife jumps, making it permeable to elk, deer, pronghorn, and other species. The Festival of Science will be in full swing, so come learn and volunteer at the same time. Signs near the Arb entrance will guide you to parking.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have.

Jessica Gist

Wildlife Biologist

Arizona Game and Fish Department, Region II

3500 S. Lake Mary Rd

Flagstaff, AZ 86001

office: (928) 214-1274

cell: (831) 521-7916

jgist@azgfd.gov

Your Resource to the Outdoors

 http://www.azgfd.gov/h_f/getoutside.shtml

Volunteer Opportunity with the Flagstaff Ranger District

Flagstaff Ranger District seeks volunteers for tree planting events

Flagstaff, AZ – The Flagstaff Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest is seeking volunteers to help replant the Schultz burn and White Vulcan Mine areas this October.

Volunteers will plant approximately 5,000 ponderosa pine seedling in the Schultz Fire burn area as well as the reclaimed White Vulcan Mine, which is within the Schultz Fire perimeter north of Flagstaff.  The mine ceased operating two years ago and the surface has been reclaimed and restored to natural contours and was seeded with grasses and forbs. Replanting efforts will continue the rehabilitation of the mine site. 

Each event will begin with a safety briefing and planting demonstration at 8:30 am, and will end early afternoon.

Saturday, October 6 – White Vulcan Mine

Saturday, October 13 – Schultz Fire burn area

Saturday, October 20– Schultz Fire burn area

Volunteers must wear long pants and sturdy shoes, and should bring gloves, hard hat or bicycle helmet, water, snacks and lunch. Some gloves and hard hats will be available to borrow.

Participants of all ages are encouraged to join; minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Space is limited to 50 volunteers per event. Please register by contacting Justin Loxley at the Flagstaff Ranger District by calling 928-527-8212 or emailing jdloxley@fs.fed.us. Directions, parking information, and additional details will be provided upon registration.

   

Master Gardener 5th Annual Recognition Picnic

Please come join us for the event. Contact Hattie Braun at hbraun@cals.arizona.edu.

Riordan Workdays for the Remainder of the Year

Hi everyone,

Below is listed the remaining work days scheduled for the Riordan Gardens for this year.  We have had a great year and accomplished a lot. Thanks for all your dedicated work. Please mark your calendars for those days that you can join us.  

The Riordan has shovels and rakes that we can use but if a large number of us turns out on a work day there is not enough for all of us so please bring your shovel and rake plus your clippers and any other tools (with your names written on them) you think you may need. Also, don't forget your water bottle, a snack and your gloves.  I will bring a large container of ice water to refill your water bottles when needed through out the day.  All the work days start at 9:00 and we will work until 1:30 or so. However, if you can't come for the full time you can come and help for however much time you can donate between 9 and 1:30.

Volunteer Opportunity

Volunteer Opportunity

Assist the Native Plant Materials Program with an Invasive Weed and Revegetation Project in the Schultz Burn Area.

The Arboretum of Flagstaff and Museum of Northern Arizona are studying the effects of invasive weed management and revegetation after a fire. This part of the project will entail planting and seeding native plant materials into experimental plots. The plots are located along Forest Road 420 (Schultz Pass Road) in the Schultz burn area.

When: Wednesday, August 29th from 9:00am-2:00pm.

Where: Volunteers will meet Connie Cowan at the USFS Flagstaff Ranger District Station parking lot by the Visitors Center at 9:00am. This is located across Hwy 89 from the Flagstaff Mall on the east side of town and car pool to the sites.  

What to Bring: Everyone will need gloves, water, lunch, hat, sunscreen, long pants, and good work shoes. 

 RSVP: I would like to know how many individuals to expect, so anyone interested in assisting should contact Connie atccowan@mna.mus.az.us or 928-774-5211 ext 216. Please let me know if there are any questions.

Connie Cowan

Native Plant Materials Program

Museum of Northern Arizona

3101 N. Fort Valley Road

Flagstaff, AZ, 86001

Garden Visits July 21-August 25, 2012

Garden Visit 10 a.m. Saturday, August 25

Who: Our hosts are Fred aka Fast Fred and Dale Taunton

Where: Doney Park, 5420 Forest Drive

Description: On a vacant 2.25 acre field, beginning 15 years ago Fred and Dale have built a riverbed, three waterfalls and a large pond.  Two underground cisterns catch rain and snow water from rain gutters to use for irrigation and filling the pond.  The landscape includes native plants, large Moenkopi sandstone boulders, river rock and flagstone.  A vegetable garden “is enjoyed by the squirrels and birds”

Directions:  Hwy 89 North past the Flagstaff Mall, approx. 4 miles, go left on Sunset Dr. (across from Titan Propane), turn right onto Silver Saddle Dr., then left onto Forest Dr., almost to the end.  Look for a raised sandstone boulder driveway on the left side of the road with a bridge over the wash in front.  We’ll put some balloons on the mail box!

Phone: 928 606 9863

Thanks to Steve Huffman for arranging this invitation

Monthly CMGA Meeting Minutes 8/9/12

Master Gardener Meeting Minutes 8/9/2012

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church

1601 N. San Francisco

6:30pm-6:35pm                Welcome – Agenda - Debi Stalvey

                         Brief review of agenda for the evening

                                               

6:35pm-6:45pm                Introduction of speakers - Debi Stalvey

6:45pm-7:45pm                Continuing Education

Thank you to both speakers for presenting material they prepared for the Flagstaff Home and Garden Show.

Propagation from Stem Cuttings – Linda Guarino                                            You can find the PowerPoint for this talk on the Coconino County Extension Web Site.http://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/resourcefile/resource/jbarcellano/hspropagatingstemcuttings.pdf

and

                                    Season Extenders – Ann Eagan

                      PowerPoint for Ann’s talk can also be found on the site.
 http://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/resourcefile/resource/jbarcellano/hsseasonexteners.pdf

               

7:45pm-8:00pm                Refreshments – Thanks to Linda Guarino

8:00pm - 8:25pm              Business Meeting – Debi Stalvey

Overview of recent Executive Meeting – Debi Stalvey

Debi outlined the upcoming elections (Nov.) for new officers. She and Ann would like to stay on as Pres. and Secy. The VP and Treasurer are leaving. All officers are up for re-election. Crys Wells and Linda Guarino expressed interest in co-running for Treasurer and Charlotte Dodgson for V. Pres. Think about running and we will bring this up at the next meeting in October. We also need committee chairs for 2013 – Calendar Project, MG Projects, Community Markets, and the Speakers Bureau. These are appointed by the President. Let Debi know if you are interested.

The Christmas Party will be held on December 13^th at Molly Larsen’s home. Details will be e-mailed to the listserv.

Loni Shapiro is researching having a Plant and Garden Sale next year in conjunction with the Arboretum. It would include seedlings and gently used garden equipment/art. She will be talking with the Arboretum director (Lynne Nemeth) this week and report back at the next meeting of the Executive Board. The goal for earning more money would be to increase grants and purchase AV equipment/camera for the CMGA. Loni would like to start small and see what works. She will need at least 4 additional committee members to help do this project. Contact her if you are interested.

                                                Financial report – Ed Skiba

Ed reports we are now at 60 members. Our current balance in our account is 731.74. Those funds will be

used for the final calendar payment and the church. Ed has the accounts set up on Quicken and working

for the next treasurer.

                                               

                                                MG Program Happenings (Classes, Conference) – 
Hattie Braun/Ann Eagan

The MG class is going to happen in the fall. It will be held this year at Flagstaff Middle School. Details will

be on the extension site and/or come from Hattie by e-mail.

The conference is set for Oct. 6. So far, there are about 20 registrations.

There was a discussion on scholarships. Ann Eagan mentioned students, and Christine Orr suggested

 they be offered to the Flagstaff Community Garden coordinators. Loni Shapiro suggested that the

 availability be announced to all MGs – listserv or other list Hattie may have so all have a chance. There

 has been over $700 collected and participants will be asked to contribute some funds.

                                                                               

                Committee Reports:

                                                Continuing Education – Loni Shapiro

Loni will be leaving the education position next year. She will survey the listserv for ideas for next year’s

speakers in September and has one to add (speaker on Bees from the Mountain Living Mag.). She emphasized that this is not a difficult job for a volunteer. The survey and the Executive Board can help with ideas, and all just need to be contacted. We now have a speaker guideline form that can be sent.

Speakers are added to the AZ Daily Sun calendar one week prior to the meeting. Dana Prom Smith is open to articles to be published one week prior to the meeting. These must be sent in at least a month in advance to him for editing.

2012 has 2 remaining speakers. See bottom for schedule.                                            

                                                Community Programs

                                                                Community Market – Julie Holmes

Julie needs people for September for 2 markets on Sunday. Contact her if you are interested. Andrea and Galen Guerrette will work one, not sure yet which. Julie and Molly will be leaving this committee next year and need a replacement to schedule markets. Loni Shapiro suggested that this become a requirement for master gardener certification. When she did her requirements she had to do some hours with the hot line which is no longer used. This could be a requirement instead and help us to fill the slots. Any newbie would work with a certified Master Gardener. The market on Silver Saddle and highway 89A has asked us to man a booth there. The info was passed on to Debi Stalvey to check out.

                                                                Speakers Bureau – Bea Cooley

Bea talked about the calendar which will be arriving in another week. It will be sold at the fall conference and any place else we are involved in, including the market, and the Recognition Picnic. She also talked about the Speaker’s Bureau and read a list of ideas to encourage people to participate. We all have something to share about gardening.

                                                Volunteer Support/Social – Hattie Braun and Crys Wells

Crys reported recorded hours for the month –

442.25 Volunteer

  57.5   Education

There were several questions about what can be used for Education hours. Reading is not an option unless it is prep time for a talk. Please refer to the guidelines for Volunteer and Education Hours on the blog – Documents & Forms area.

                                               

New Business:                  Need a digital photographer for photos for the blog and publicity. The association is thinking of buying a camera when funds allow, but we need someone to do this for adding to the blog and other publicity. This is separate from the historian who also takes archival photos.

                                                               

8:25pm – 8:30pm             Gardening Questions?

Andrea Guerrette asked for ID for a flower. It was identified as a campanula (Bell Flower) and several suggested to remove it from her yard. It travels by rhizome and can be very invasive and difficult to get rid of.

Julie Holmes asked about blackspot on her Amur Maple. People were uncertain about the cause but suggested she take a branch to Warners.

Susan Thompson (susan421@npgcable.com) asked about an evergreen shrub to replace a juniper she is removing. Any suggestions should be sent to her as there were not many other than something in the same family as holly.

Debi Stalvey brought up something that Jean Hockman had told her. If your plants are not surviving you might check to see if your water is connected to the water softener. If you have a water softener it is most likely connected unless it is a newer home. The softener provides too much salt to your plants.

                                               

Next meeting:                  September 9, 2012

                                                Annual Recognition Picnic

                                                Fort Tuthill (details to follow)

Future meetings:

*Oct. 11 – Landscaping with Native Grasses – Jan Busco

Nov. 8 – Pending – Tam Nguyen – topic TBA

Those starred are confirmed

** Even though great care has been taken to maintain the accuracy of any material and information presented at our meetings, the CMGA does not give any warranty or other assurance as to the content, accuracy, completeness, timelessness, or fitness for any particular purpose. General guidelines for speakers can be found on our blog under documents and forms.