2019 Tour of Artful Gardens

Last weekend I attended the Tour of Artful Gardens as I do every year. Each year Colleen Tucker and Jennifer Quarterman make it better. I enjoyed this one so much because of all the art. Each garden was different in how they incorporated it with their plants. Whatever they did it worked. Talk about recycling - I saw so many things that most people throw in the trash. However, how they did it showed artistic talent and accented so many of the beautiful flower choices. Below is at least one photo I chose from each. It was very difficult to choose. I also included some from Jeff Best.

1.  We started in Mountainaire at Pat and Joe Policastro. This hillside garden featured a huge planter with a stand of aspens, a lovely outdoor living area, and loads of garden art. Below is my favorite piece incorporated into their water feature.

2.  The 2nd garden in Mountainaire was at Alice Hill's home. This cottage style garden has hilly meandering paths that wind through many types of pollinating flowers, and inviting outdoor seating area, and loads of garden art. The garden was teeming in pollinators. She included several pollinator hotels. One of the pictures I am including is a hotel sitting on some logs which are also great for pollinator habitat.

Photo by Jeff Best

               
3.  Our 3rd stop was in Kachina Village at Lorrie & Frank Bain's. Completely designed and built by the homeowners, this garden features many Malpais rock borders that surround beds of native plant, herbs, vegetables, raspberries, with lots of annual and perennial color. They had many hens and chicks and had several on sale for those who were interested in growing them.

 4.  The 4th stop we made was our 1st in Flagstaff at the home of Kathy Crowfoot. This colorful Western themed garden is a combination of large containers interspersed with fountains and interesting found art. It received the Flagstaff Xeriscape Award in 2008.

Photo by Jeff Best

After a lovely lunch at Little America's restaurant with a beautiful view of their gardens we started again.

5.  The gardens of Martha and Judy O'dea were first on our afternoon list. This small but intimate backyard has multiple flower beds of varying heights, cozy seating areas, and a cascading waterfall they call the Salmon Run. Their dog and cat were both present to greet everyone.

6.  The last garden was a shady sanctuary garden that has pops of color provided by a mixture of shade loving perennials accent plants, highlighted by whimsical glass and metal. It is the home of Jeanne and Eddie Baker.

Photo by Jeff Best

Enjoy and think about entering your garden next year. This was a fundraiser and the proceeds will help fund our grants for next year. In the spring a call will go out for non-profits interested in receiving grants for gardens with educational purposes. Watch the blog. Sorry if you missed the tours this year. It is a great tour for ideas for incorporating art and plant combinations that work at high elevations.

News from the Native Plant Society

At our meeting last night, Ariel Leonard gave a great presentation on how to use i-phones to take pictures for iNaturalist. She said the forest service would like to have volunteers to take pictures of certain plants and upload them so the data is available to help make land use decisions. If you would like to help with endeavor, contact Ariel at
ariel.leonard@usda.gov.

Botany Bill Suporters

Hello Botany Bill Supporters!!

Quick update! The Botany Bill number is moving forward and we need your help!

A hearing in the House of Representatives Natural Resources Public Lands Subcommittee is scheduled for 10am Thursday, July 18th!

Please sign the letter of support by TOMORROW, Wednesday July 17th at 5:00EST!

We hope to gather 1,000 signatures by the deadline!

Help spread the word!

Please take a minute to forward this email to like-minded friends, colleagues and professional acquaintances and visit the Botany Bill website for more information & helpful resources on increasing bipartisan cosponsorship of this bill!

Many thanks for your interest and support!!

 - Kay Havens, Andrea Kramer, and Krissa Skogen

 

Above from Sue Holiday

Native Plant Society Monthly Meeting

Tuesday, August 20: Ahsa Jensen, Grand Canyon’s Federally-Listed Endangered Plant, Sentry Milk- Vetch

Grand Canyon has one federally-listed endangered plant, the sentry milkvetch (Astragalus cremnophylax var. cremnophylax). The sentry milk-vetch is endemic to Grand Canyon and is only found in soil pockets located in the Kaibab Limestone, on the edge of the canyon. With limited populations, the park’s Science and Resource Management Division has partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Arboretum at Flagstaff, and the Grand Canyon Conservancy to implement a recovery plan that includes reintroduction sites to remove the plant from the federal list of Threatened and Endangered Species.
Ahsa Jensen is Grand Canyon’s Native Plant Nursery Manager and has worked with the propagation, outplanting, and monitoring of the sentry milk-vetch for the last six years. She will present on the park’s reintroduction efforts for sites on the south rim of Grand Canyon.

Flagstaff Tour of Artful Gardens

 Poster to print for the 2019 Flagstaff Tour of Artful Gardens
July 20, 2019, 10am-3pm
LINK

Flagstaff Climate Leaders Course

Flagstaff Climate Leaders Course

Do you want to ignite climate action in your community? Register for the NEW Climate Leader course offered this fall through the City of Flagstaff Sustainability Program. This 8-week course will teach you how to initiate positive climate conversations and actions, and make Flagstaff more sustainable.

Course Details:

What: Eight-week course and 30-hour volunteer program.

Participants will receive information on climate change in Flagstaff, the recently adopted Flagstaff Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, how to engage in positive climate change conversations, and how to initiate climate action from local community leaders. Each session will feature guest speakers from academic, government, and community organizations with expertise in climate science, climate communication, and climate action leadership. Upon completion, participants commit to completing 30 hours of climate-related volunteerism within a year (and are encouraged to continue volunteering!).

When: August 7^th – September 25^th

Eight Wednesday night sessions, 5:30 – 8:30 pm

Plus: several optional Saturday field trips (dates and times TBD)

Where: Murdoch Community Center, 203 E Brannen Ave., Flagstaff, AZ 86001

Cost: FREE! Volunteer hours are expected. Snacks will be provided each week.

Learn more about the course HERE, and register directly HERE.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Lee Bryant (lee.bryant@flagstaffaz.gov, 928-213-2156).

__________

Lee Bryant | Climate Education VISTA

City of Flagstaff Sustainability Program

AmeriCorps VISTA

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

(928) 213-2156

Lee.Bryant@flagstaffaz.gov

www.flagstaff.az.gov/sustainable | www.facebook.com/FlagstaffSustainabilityProgram 

www.twitter.com/SustainFLG | www.instagram.com/FLGSustain

Rocky Mountain Seed School

Did you know that our six-day Seed School costs between $12,000 and $15,000 to produce?  This includes fair pay for our awesome teachers, organic meals for usually up to 30 people for six days (guests, teachers, staff, etc.), transportation, lodging, facility rental, admin and updating and creation of the program itself. 

Tuition for Seed School is $700 for the general public, $560 for a RMSA member. Class size is generally around 20. We find scholarships are essential! Our experience has taught us to expect no more than 50% of the total possible tuition for any given class due to helping those in need.  If you do the math, you may be startled. RMSA may bring in upwards around $7,000 to cover a potential $15,000 expense! 

This is why grants, ongoing monthly contributions, larger donations (from those who can afford it) and periodic campaigns are essential to our ability to sustain ourselves. Currently, we are in the midst of our summer campaign and want to reach a goal of $15,000 in donations.

What will we do with $15,000?  Well, you already know it supports our ground-breaking Seed School program (more than 1,000 people trained since 2010). It also underwrites our Grain Trials program, Grain School, Seed Stewards, Seed Summit, Curriculum Development, Media Outreach, and simply just running our small non-profit of parttime people dedicated to changing the agricultural paradigm one backyard at a time. 

Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance is passionate about keeping seeds in the hands of the people by inspiring, educating, and networking like-minded individuals to come together, empower each other and create seed sovereignty everywhere.

Our work is not possible without your support. Please make a donation to our Summer Campaign today. You, your family, and future generations will reap the benefits!

With Appreciation,
RMSA Staff

P.S. – Are you a farmer or gardener using local seeds? Let your friends, neighbors, or customers know that your hardy, delicious heirloom crops are Grown with Local Seeds! Order these special stickers from RMSA to proudly label your produce and make a statement about the food system you want to create. Thank you!

CMGA Meeting Agenda

Coconino Master Gardener Meeting Agenda

Thursday, July 11, 2019 at 6:30pm

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church—Benson Hall

1601 N. San Francisco, Flagstaff, AZ 86001

6:30-6:35pm       Welcome-Kari Usher, Vice President     

6:35-6:40pm       Introduction of Speakers—Hattie Braun

6:40-7:45pm       Education: Emily Melhorn/Vertical Gardening                  

(15 minute break with refreshments)

7:45-8:00pm      Raffle Prize Drawing – $1 each or 6 for $5 - Must be present to win

8:00-8:25pm       Business Meeting

Art-full Summer Garden Tours/July 20—Everything is set up for the Summer Garden Tours.  Any questions, ask Colleen Tucker at (928) 853-0315 or Jennifer Quarterman at (720) 560-7575.  

Summer Plant Sale/June15—Judy Springer will attend and update the membership on the plant sale.

MG Coordinator Happenings—Hattie Braun

§  New editors for the Garden Etcetera column in the Daily Sun, Cindy Murray and Jackee Alston.

§  Bus Stop Garden MG is looking good—irrigation in and plants doing well.

§  Master Gardener Hotline will begin when staff and volunteers are available.  Help Desk Coordinator and other volunteers needed.

§  Master Gardener Class in Page will begin this Fall with 8 classes by Hattie or other Master Gardeners and 8 classes online.

Financial Report—Jeff Best, Treasurer will report