A Successful Plant Sale! May 19, 2018

A slightly cool, cloudy day but it was perfect for our plant sale fund raising event.   There were so many beautiful plants.  And this year there was yard art featured!   Many of our members participated in the setup, the sale and the cleanup efforts.

This is a fun way to work together, meet the people in our community and fund the projects we believe are important.

Rock Garden Clean Up Day - May 4, 2018

On Friday, May 4, several members met at the rock garden to do spring cleanup.   With so many in attendance the work went quickly and resulted in around 15 leaf bags full of leaves and debris along with a large stack of branches.

Our weekly maintenance schedule is posted and reminders will be going out to members as their week approaches.   Together we show our expertise and our commitment to the beauty of our community.

Our Plant Sale is Saturday, May 19, 2018!

April 11 Pruning Landscape Plants

Dr. Jeffrey Johnson, Landscape Gardener, University of Minnesota Arboretum, presented information about the how, why and when for pruning trees and shrubs in the landscape.  Understanding how the plant grows and how old it is factors in greatly to what is done.  The season of the year and how the plant grows and flowers are two very key components to ensuring plants are given the best chance to stay healthy while providing the function we want in our landscapes.

Jeffrey welcomes questions and can be reached via email at johns345@umn.edu

March 14 Propagating Succulents

Succulent Propagation presented and demonstrated by Vickie Kittilson. 

Members were able to participate and transfer starts to smaller containers for starting. 

A drawing was held and 4 lucky members went home with a starter succulent set.

February 14 Covering Ground

Nona Cummings presented information and examples of alternatives to rock, mulch, turf and other traditional landscaping options.  

Nona is the owner/designer of DIY Landscape Designs. Nona has a Bachelor of Science degree in Horticultural Plant Science from the University of Wisconsin and studied Landscape Design at the University of Minnesota. She's also an active Master Gardener for the University of Minnesota serving in her 25th year. 

Using her own property as a living laboratory, she discovered another way to design a more sustainable landscape. As she experimented with many different plant species over the years she determined that Mother Nature really does know best. 

Nona stressed that it is important for all homeowners to become better stewards of their property by conserving resources, reducing their use of chemicals, using more native plants and reducing their turf area.

Nona can be reached via e-mail at nona.cummings@comcast.net

Her website is:  http://www.diylandscape.net

January 10 Flowers for Pollinators

For our January 10, 2018 meeting, Judy Koster and Anna Barker presented on behalf of the University of Minnesota Extension Washington County Master Gardeners to bring information about the types of flowers that bring pollinators to the garden.   The information included how to identify the pollinators and develop an understanding of the threat they face in our communities.  The goal was to educate, empower and inspire us all to create pollinator-friendly habitats  to help pollinators thrive in the  community.