Roots & Shoots June / July 2010 June 1, 2010 @ 6:30pm MGSOC General Society Meeting & Location Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church 5631 North Adams Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304 Speaker : Peggy Kernstock and Dan Draves of the Dahlia Hill Society of Midland –Education: “Planting, Growing and Caring for Dahlias” A business meeting will take place, prior to the start of our Educational Program. July 6, 2010 @ 6:30pm MGSOC General Society Meeting & Location Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church 5631 North Adams Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304 Speaker : Janet Macunovich, garden writer and professional gardener –Education: “Landscaping to Delight the Eye for All Four Seasons” A business meeting will take place, prior to the start of our Educational Program. August 3, 2010 @ 6:30pm MGSOC General Society Meeting & Location Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church 5631 North Adams Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304 Speaker : Ruth Vrbensky, owner of Oakland Wildflower Farm –Education: “Native Plants to Attract Wildlife’” A business meeting will take place, prior to the start of our Educational Program. Carol’s Corner I would like to build a library of “MGV’s in action” photos to use on our website, brochures, etc. In order for us to be able to use photos of you we need to have a photo release form on file for you. Please go to our website www.msue.msu.edu/oakland. Scroll down to “horticulture and gardening” and then go to “MG Forms”. Please download and print out the media release form and send it to us. While you’re at it email me some “digital” photos! As I write this, our annual recognition banquet is a week away. As you read this it will be a fond memory! The last award given is Master Gardener of the Year. This is something I agonize over because so many of you are so deserving of this and I don’t want anyone to think they are not good enough. This years’ award went to Wayne Lapinski! Wayne has been a standout from day one. He volunteers for many different things including taking over the leadership of the Bower Farm gardens. Whenever I call on him for anything he’s there! Next time you see Wayne, give him a hearty congratulations!! Our County Extension Director, Beverly Terry, will be retiring on June 24. If you know Bev and would like to come to her Retirement Open House, it will be in our Lower Level classroom on June 24 from 2:00pm to 4:00pm. Bev has been a great asset for us and we will truly miss her. Part of the MSUE Restructure is that we will no longer have County Extension Directors. We are going to District Coordinators with our District is Oakland, Wayne County and Macomb County and our Coordinator will be Marie Rumenapp. We are hoping she will be in our office at least two days week to ensure administrative functions continue to run smoothly. Please join me in wishing Marie luck in her new position. There really isn’t much more I can tell you about the restructuring right now. MSUE will be divided into 4 Institutes and we are not sure which the MGVP will fall into. I know that you are concerned and I can tell you that we have been assured that the MGVP will remain intact, but there are lots of questions and few answers at this point. This summer at the Oakland County Fair in Davisburg (7/13-18) we are going to have a container vegetable gardening display in out tent and all our departments will do programming around this display. The beauty of the vegetable garden is that is crosses all program areas from food safety and nutrition to youth development and everything in between. We will have our Master Gardener afternoon on Thursday July 15 from 2:00pm-4:00pm. If anyone has any ideas of specific programming you’d like to see us do around this let me know. We’ll have our usual information table everyday from 12:30-4:00. Look for the advertisement for volunteers in an upcoming Oakland Gardener. Reminder: The grace period for late dues payment expired March 1st, 2010. If you have not paid your dues for this year, a guest fee of $3.00 is required for attendance at the monthly Master Gardener Society of Oakland County meetings. If you wish to renew your membership at the next meeting and have been recertified by submitting your volunteer and education hours to the Extension office, applications are available at the Hospitality desk. Dues are $15.00, payable by cash or check. Peak Oil, the Food Supply and Home Gardening Everyone agrees that we will reach peak oil, a time when the world’s oil production will begin to decline; the only controversy is when, if, indeed, it has not happened already. What role does oil play in our food supply and how will declining oil production affect agriculture? These were the topics addressed by Master Gardener Peter Bray at our April membership meeting. The output of individual oil wells follows a bell-shaped curve, and the production of oil in the United States did the same and peaked in the 1970’s. Just as the oil supply could start to decline, the world’s demand for oil is increasing, especially as India and China and other developing nations aspire to the energy-hungry lifestyle of the West. According to economists, demand for oil is inelastic, meaning that demand will not decrease as supply dwindles and prices increase. Our methods of agricultural production are hugely dependent on an adequate supply of oil: fertilizer, farm machinery, irrigation, pesticides and transportation of products all require oil. The three-fold increase in US agricultural production in the 50 years following World War II was largely due to the use of petroleum-based nitrogen fertilizers and the use of more and more mechanized methods of planting, watering, harvesting and pest control. Our food travels an average of 1500 miles before reaching our dinner tables. It takes 400 gallons of oil per year to feed each person in the US. So how will we cope with this dilemma? Peter suggested the following thoughtful guesses. Local production will increase markedly, and some Michigan farmland will be returned to food production. The fertilizer problem will be solved by growing legumes (which fix nitrogen) as food and cover crops and by having mixed farms that raise both animals and crops. Now we separate by great distances growing corn and soybeans for feed and the animals themselves, thus creating a manure pollution problem where the feedlots are and a soil fertility problem where we grow the crops. (Who thought up this crazy system anyway?) We will use crop residues and cover crops to add to the organic matter in the soil, now quite depleted. We will learn to eat seasonally, go back to old ways of preserving food and figure out non-energy-consuming creative ways to extend our season with hoophouses, greenhouses and geo-thermal heat. Customers and farmers will interact more as they do now at farmers’ markets and in community supported agriculture operations. Older varieties of vegetables that were bred over long periods of time to grow well in local conditions, diseases and pests, rainfall and soil fertility, will come back into favor. More intensive cultivation will require more labor, and smaller farms will be the norm. Animals will be pasture-fed, thus improving animal health. Urban farming and community gardening will play a larger role, and lots more people will be growing vegetables in their back yards. So, master gardeners, your skills will be well used in the new millennium. —Submitted by Jean Gramlich Pruning Techniques, Mulch and Compost Our May speakers were Jan Bills and Dawna Tennant, refugees from corporate America, who do business as Two Women and a Hoe. They are both certified landscape designers and master gardeners, and Dawna is also a master composter. They emphasized the cardinal principle of design that can make the gardener’s life much easier: the right plant in the right place at the right time. If we follow this dictum, we will not have to do a lot of pruning because our plants will be the right size for their spot in the landscape. They demonstrated proper pruning techniques including the 3 cut technique for cutting a heavy tree limb, cutting out crossing branches, and thinning congested branches. Never remove more than 1/3 of the plant in any one year. Boxwoods trimmed with hand hedge shears look much more natural than those given a buzz-cut with motorized shears. They advocate mulching heavily to retain moisture, stifle weeds and fertilize the soil (Editor’s note: Though organic mulch will add fertility to the soil as it decomposes it should not be considered as a replacement for fertilizer. Mulch depths greater than 3 inches will impede the movement of water and oxygen through the soil.). They emphasized that the mulch “volcanoes” often seen around trees are an invitation to disease because the bark should be exposed to air. New beds can be started by flipping the sod, laying down newspapers, wetting them and then putting on mulch. They suggest using compost in large amounts. They invite butterflies, bees and birds to their yards, so they do not spray pesticides. They pick Japanese beetles early in the morning when they are lethargic. If a particular plant is plagued with pests, they prefer to remove the plant rather than spray poisons. In general, plastic is not a recommended weed barrier. Eventually weeds break through landscape fabric, and it is really difficult to remove them. They advocated a technique called solarizing to remove very stubborn weeds, e.g., bindweed. Plastic is laid on the ground for a long time, and the summer sun essentially cooks the weeds. A questioner from the audience pointed out that this technique would also kill the microorganisms that are so important for healthy plants. They said that adding compost to the soil after the weeds are all killed would restore that balance. —Submitted by Jean Gramlich Someone / Somewhere “THE ONE WITH THE MOST TOOLS WINS” This is what is written on the shop apron of Leo Kisell. I believe he is the winner. Many years ago, Leo built a barn for his beef cattle, goats, chickens, and rabbits. The barn is now Leo’s workshop. As a child, he was always interested in woodworking. Now he makes trellises, rocking horses, miniature wheelbarrows for flowers, doll beds, tool chests, and many other items. He makes these for his family and friends, as well as donating many of his projects to the Master Gardener Volunteer Banquet for door prizes, such as the beautiful trellis that someone took home this year. Leo is a special man with very special tools to help him with his projects. Leo started losing his sight in his 20’s. This did not stop him from going to Wayne State University to get his teaching degree in Special Education. This did not stop him from getting married and having a family. This did not stop him from having a 20-acre farm with animals and gardens. And, when Leo became a widower, this did not stop him from marrying Kay. Even though Leo’s eyesight became worse about seven years ago with macular degeneration, he is not a man to be stopped from doing what he wants. Leo wanted to continue his woodworking hobby, so he attended the woodshop class at a school for the blind in Kalamazoo. Having a hip replacement last May only slowed him down for a while. Leo is still a man on the go with many projects ahead of him. Leo met Kay at a Halloween dance. There were 29 women and 2 men at the dance, and Leo danced with every woman there. However, Kay was the one who won his heart and they have been dancing together for the past 19 years. Kay had five children and became a widow when the children were older. Like Leo, she is a woman with “Get Up and Go”. After she married Leo, she had a medical transcription service at home. Kay spent many hours typing cardiology and orthopedic reports. When all the children and grandchildren visit, it is always a busy and happy time. Some of the walls in Leo and Kay’s home are filled with wonderful works of art done by their children and grandchildren. If the artwork wins a prize, then it is good enough to go on the wall. Leo planted all of the apple, plum, peach, pecan and evergreen trees on their farm. Below is a picture of the lovely magnolia tree he planted. When Leo had animals on the farm, he grew hay to feed them. They have downsized to a 70’ x 70’ farming area with eight raised beds. Four beds are used for vegetables, which include tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, peas, carrots, 8’ high corn, and other things. The other four are used for flowers. There are about four trellises in this garden area, ready for climbing berries and other goodies. At the top of one trellis, hangs the bell from Brandon School in Ortonville, where Leo taught for 34 years before retiring. He helped tear down the school and was able to keep the bell. If you come over to visit and it’s your birthday, you get to ring the bell. Naturally, this delicious garden has to be fenced in because of the deer. Even though the deer try to eat their vegetables and flowers, it’s nice to see the fawns when they are born and start walking around the yard. There is also another large area with pumpkins and gourds for the grandchildren to come and pick out their Halloween pumpkins. Many of the gourds are made into birdhouses. Leo and Kay have plenty of old trees to make their own woodchips and their 40-year-old leaf shredder still makes good mulch. The pick-your-own strawberry fields of long-ago are gone, replaced by grass, which Kay happily mows. The rabbits are also gone. Kay said that after naming and cuddling the bunnies, it was too hard to eat them or sell them to others. Kay and Leo both grew up in Detroit, so farming experiences were not part of their childhood background. Their farming skills came later. Leo enjoyed taking a compost class, which was very helpful. They both received their Master Gardener and Advanced Master Gardner certificate in 2003. They have earned their volunteer hours in many ways. At State Fairs, they have been judges. Leo interviewed the children, while Kay measured the vegetables for the biggest and tallest. At the farm markets, they answer questions at the “Ask a Master Gardener” table. They have also volunteered at Bittersweet Farm and Bowers Farm. One year, Kay entered a tomato contest at Goldner Walsh. Her “First Lady Tomato” won First Prize. Kay enjoys growing poppies, peonies, tulips, and coneflowers. This is the fourth year for Kay to work with the Master Gardener Volunteer Banquet Committee. Her job includes soliciting for donations, helping to set up the banquet, and giving ideas for the table decorations. The idea for this year’s volunteer banquet table setting, “Michigan Bounty”, recognizing the farmers and growers in our area, came from Kay. Our thanks for the wonderful and memorable banquet goes to Kay and the rest of the Banquet Committee. Leo’s son and family, Kay’s three daughters, son, former son-in-law and wife, and grandchildren love to come over and visit. Is life slower for the two of them? Well, maybe not slower, but different. They are busy with Master Gardener meetings, earning volunteer hours, visiting and helping at a nursing home, Knights of Columbus meetings, tending to their gardens and flowers, and living the good life. There is a song by Alan Jay Lerner, that says, “On a clear day, you can see forever”. However, as Leo says, it doesn’t have to be a clear day, “I can close my eyes and see color and beauty everywhere.” —Submitted by Sylvia A. Schult Lincoln Park Conservatory My best friend teaches at the University of Kentucky. The University was on spring break and he asked if I would like to meet him in Chicago. He had some personal business to conduct and then we would be able to spend two days in the city. Always up for a good time, I readily agreed. Spring in Chicago is rather dicey but the forecast was relatively warm, clear skies with no precipitation. He had a list of activities but placed one at the top – the Spring Flower Show at the Lincoln Park Conservatory. This was a genius move. The Lincoln Park Conservatory is part of the Chicago Park District and is a sister facility of the Garfield Park Conservatory (see Feb/March 2010 Roots & Shoots edition). Located in North Chicago in trendy Lincoln Park, it was constructed between 1890 and 1895 as a showcase for exotic plants as well as a location to grow plants for the city parks. The Conservatory is not as large as Garfield Park. However, it has plenty to see with four rooms – Palm House, Fern Room, Orchid House, and the Show House. There is also a Conifer Garden outside but not much was happening at this time. We came primarily for the Spring Flower Show (located in the Show House) but you need to walk through the Palm House to get there. The temperature was very warm in the Conservatory which I certainly didn’t mind. There are more than two dozen different types of palms, including some rare ones (Fiji Fan and Bottle palms). As you may suspect, there were also citrus trees (grapefruits, oranges), coffee plants, papaya, and yes, one of the crowd favorites, bananas. I didn’t spot any bananas on the trees. Some of these trees were topping up near the roof of the Conservatory dome – I wouldn’t want to trim these. I noticed a lovely Tricolor Hawaiian Ti plant. Don’t miss the African Sausage Tree, which was fruiting during our visit. Fruits can weigh close to 20 pounds each, measuring as large as 2.5 feet in length. We then wandered into the Show House. It was ablaze with sensational colors and tantalizing scents. Brilliant azaleas greeted you as you entered the room. They were red, purple, white and variegated. It conjured up memories of the Masters, the South, even the Belle Isle Easter Show that I went to as a kid. As a novice Master Gardener, I am used to only seeing white Camellias but was pleasantly surprised to see Camellias other than white. I easily found a beautiful red one (one of my favorite colors). At this time I struck up a conversation with a caretaker and she showed me a pink one as well as a variegated one. The caretaker was removing some spent tulips. She mentioned there were tons of spring flowers that were awaiting placement in the show. She thought the spring show was perhaps one of the best, if not the best, of the different seasonal events. In the back of the Show House there was a small pond or water feature, surrounded with countless azaleas and other gorgeous flowers. The trail led from the water feature into the Orchid House. After recently seeing the Orchid Show at the US Botanic Garden, I was a bit spoiled. However, it was a very nice exhibit. I think there were plenty of different orchids to please even a particular orchid fancier. Mixed in with the orchids were numerous bromeliads and a few tropical carnivorous plants. My favorites were Moth Orchid Phalaenopsis Hybrid Orchidaceae, Potinara Brassavola, Cymbidium Hybrid Orchidaceae, and Phalaenopsis Brecko Elfin Frost. I even found one that had a slight fragrance, I think emanating from the host plant. I met another caretaker in this room and had a nice orchid discussion. He made some recommendations on books for growing orchids. The trail next went into the Fern Room. It was shaped like a lazy eight, with water features on both sides. I noticed some cycads. The literature says they are closely related to conifers and the ginkgo tree. What I think are the showcase plants in the Fern Room are a huge Staghorn Fern and a Birds Nest Fern next to it. It’s a Kodak picture moment. I spotted a Crocodile Fern (looks like scales), a Rabbit’s Foot Fern (for good luck), and a walking iris plant. The trail then led back into the Palm House where the walk starts. As I reflect on my visit, I would make a change. As I begin my tour, I would veer to the right in the Palm House and enter the Fern Room next. It would then lead to the beautiful Orchid Room, which leaves pleasant memories but acts as a tease for the next room, the spectacular Show House. There is a website www.chicagoparkdistrict.com that contains all the pertinent information such as hours, tours, programs, and shows. Admission is free unless otherwise noted. We were able to take a Chicago Transit Authority bus and walk a relatively short distance through the neighborhood to get to the Conservatory. It also appears that there was sufficient parking near the Conservatory but check with the Conservatory. Call 312-742-7736 for general information. (As an aside, there is also a Spring Flower Show at the Garfield Park Conservatory). Here are some pictures from my visit: —Submitted by Jim Oldani University of Kentucky Arboretum What do these words conjure up – Blue Grass Stakes, Wildcats basketball, bourbon, Henry Clay, Daniel Boone? Hopefully, your mind didn’t recall a bad hangover from bourbon. The best response would be Kentucky, specifically Lexington, Kentucky. Many of us Michiganders (or is it Michiganians) head south to Florida down the I-75 corridor. Along the way you travel through the Bluegrass country and slide along the eastern rim of Lexington. There is much to be said for the second largest city in Kentucky besides horse farms. It is the home to a very good public university, the University of Kentucky. Besides having one of the most successful basketball programs in the country (aside from Michigan State University), it has a fine agricultural college. And that brings us to our main topic – the UK Arboretum or the State Botanical Garden of Kentucky. I have traveled to Lexington for many years, averaging about twice a year. In addition I have guest lectured at UK so I have become somewhat intimate with the University and the Arboretum. Considered one of the gems of UK, the Arboretum was established in 1991 as a joint effort between the University and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. Located northeast of Commonwealth Stadium, it has over 100 acres of gardens, trees, trails, fountains and a fish pond. There are seven major gardens – rose, annual, perennial, herb, fragrance, butterfly, and vegetable. There is also a Children’s garden to delight and captivate the young ones. The Arboretum boasts a 16 acre inner bluegrass woodland, featuring plants from every region of Kentucky. As for additional statistics, there are (a) more than 80 species of native trees (b) more than 70 species of native shrubs (c) over 100 species of native wildflowers and (d) over 30 species of native grasses and sedges. If you get past the gardens, the Arboretum features a Walk Across Kentucky which is a two mile paved pathway that guides a walker or jogger through seven simulated regional Kentucky landscapes. I was impressed when I read that the Walk has over 1,200 trees and shrubs and more than 20,000 wildflowers and grasses. I must admit that one of the prime times to visit is during mid summer or early fall when all the roses, annual, vegetable and perennial gardens are in bloom. However, late spring is just fine. As one enters the garden area, you come directly upon a gazebo topped with vines (my wife admired this very much). From there you wander past two fountain and sculpture areas on either side of the trail. Next to one of the fountain areas is the Butterfly garden. After you leave the Butterfly garden, you rejoin the trail and encounter the Herb garden which is approximately in the center of the entire garden space. Fanned out behind the Herb garden are the Annual and Children’s gardens along with some Vegetable plots. Once you exit out of the Herb garden, you wander past the Fish pond and Perennial garden. As you continue to follow the trail, you will discover the Fragrance garden. A small walk beyond this is a stone fence which separates two sections of Rose garden. My favorite garden is the Rose garden which also happens to be the largest of the gardens. Arranged in a semi-circular or horse-shoe pattern (apropos for Lexington), it is further segregated by rows of roses, largely grouped by color. Interspaced within the rows are benches which allow visitors to just sit and contemplate the beauty that surrounds them as well as to take in the fragrance. During a previous visit, I noticed that roses were located in two different areas of the gardens. Recently it appears they were consolidated into one location (the Rose garden). As a result, not all of the roses had identification tags. For you rose aficionados, this is a minor inconvenience. However, for us rose rookies, it posed a slight problem which I am certain will soon be rectified. Interspaced within the rose plot were peonies. There was quite a selection to admire but I am particularly fond of red ones. It made a nice contrast as some were butted up against a wooden fence. Of particular note in the Rose garden is a stone fence, typical of those found in the Bluegrass along any of the Kentucky Bluegrass byways. These stone fences were used by the early settlers as property demarcation lines. They are quite picturesque. I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the area that contains fountains and sculpture. There are several sculptures but I especially preferred the small pond, replete with gold carp and some flowing water. Simple in design, it was less crowded and offered reflection time. Near one of the sculptures was the Herb garden which was tenderly cared for by Kentucky Volunteer Master Gardeners. In fact many of the gardens are tended by volunteers of all types. As was my luck, my wife found a plant with pretty flowers that she admired and came to me, the flower seer, to inquire as to its name. She showed me the plant; I contemplated, and then looked under the plant for the identification tag. It was a Scotch Broom. I agreed with her that it was indeed quite showy. Later I performed an internet search and discovered that in some circles it is considered an invasive plant with details on how to eradicate it. Oh well…… While this may sound like heresy to a gardener, there is more to life than flowers. To quench your thirst and appetite after viewing the Arboretum and Gardens, I would recommend the following and they are near the UK campus: (1) Billy’s Bar-B-Q (Cochran Rd) for the best West Kentucky style BBQ in Lexington; Pazzo’s Pizza Pub (S Limestone) for a very good pizza and a large selection of libations; and finally Lynagh’s Irish Pub & Grill (Woodland Ave) for great burgers. The UK Arboretum is open 365 days a year from dawn to dusk. Don’t forget to check out the Dorotha Smith Oatts Visitor Center, which is open Monday – Friday from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. More information can be obtained from the Arboretum’s website at http://www.ca.uky.edu/arboretum/ Here are some pictures from the gardens: —Submitted by Jim Oldani Notes From Nutcase Nursery I can’t possibly be the only gardener in the world who feels behind schedule before the snow even melts. Though I have none but the best intentions, I have to face the fact that the list of things-to-do trumps the stamina of the list maker every time. The faster we age the slower we get. There is just too much to get done while trying to fit the work in Mother Nature’s windows. And not that I’m ungrateful for the many weather bullets we dodged this past winter, the cat-and-mouse weather games in April nearly drove me to drink. It’s time to stop the madness. It’s time to apply those decluttering principles we hear so much about to the outside instead of the inside for a change. And who wants to be inside anyway? Remember the saying,”Old gardeners never die, they just throw in the trowel”? It’s not always true. Some old gardeners have to have the trowels pried from their cold dead hands or be buried with them. That’s how I figure I’ll go. My hori-hori knife will be in my clenched fist, if I don’t lose it again, and since they won’t be able to close the casket with it sticking up they can just toss me in the compost pile. I am trying to work smarter and not harder but it’s impossible to stop a grower from doing what comes naturally. After all, this is a nursery. I can only cull so many plants and then I start potting them. Intellectually I understand that paring down begins with a single slice. I just find it very difficult to practice what I preach when everything just looks so darned charming in spring. Unfortunately by the 4th of July I want to torch it or move. One of the most important tactics for paring down in the spring is ridding yourself of as many weeds as you can. Everyone has different priorities but Master Gardeners know about degree days. The trick to weed control is not so much killing everything green that deviates from our standard, but rather preventing the progeny of such. The application of something that inhibits their seed from sprouting is a good, long-term strategy (unless you’re planting seed) for minimizing the excessive spread of seed- producing enemies. Since soil temperature is one of the big factors in when seeds choose to sprout, timing is everything. A lot of gardeners use the old landscape stalwart, Forsythia, to gage when to apply corn gluten or other types of treatments that do their best to thwart the weeds’ coming out parties. This year, thanks to the relatively long stretch of warm weather we had in April, my Forsythias acted like they were off their meds. The one in the west-facing garden was in full bloom before I ever noticed it, while the others in different sites were barely breaking bud. Rats! Was I too late for applying my weed control? I did it anyway and hoped for the best. It’s all an experiment, right? That’s why, when I’m feeling overwhelmed, I serenade myself with the only line I know from the chorus of that old country favorite, “I Don’t Know Whether to Kill Myself or Go Bowling.” I wish I knew all of the words. I think the neighbors wish I didn’t know any of them. As I lurch from chore to chore, every time I confront something else that required attention earlier than now, I burst into my one-line mantra attempting to reach some kind of inner peace. The bottom line is that there really is a lot to do and each year I do try to keep it all under control. For instance, eight years ago I decided that the length of grass on the north side of the vegetable patch was extraneous and a pain to cut. So I shaved it bald, wallpapered it with six month’s worth of wet newspaper and covered it with mulch. I so enjoyed having less lawn to cut I decided the space should have shrubs as a reward. It was cathartic. I felt I had reached some new stage in my life. I realized I was now into what is known as the “woodies” stage of gardening maturity. Nutcase Nursery, like Nature, abhors a vacuum but rather than filling willing spaces with perennials, woodies sounded like a less labor-intensive way to go. Little pruning is needed to shape the juvenile plants for the first several years. (Of course I still buy perennials. Like I’ve admitted before, we don’t call this place Nutcase Nursery for nothin’.) Just remember not to turn your back on woodies. Some woodies are seriously sneaky, and before you suspect a thing, the itea has meandered out of the bed and the forsythia is stuck in the fence. The unruly quince will eat your favorite gardening shirt and the flowering currant is so stealthy it can sprout new bushes five feet away. But by cutting back on plant material I have more time to actually cut back the plant material. This year’s major enemy is Adenophora or Ladybells, a campanula relative intent on world domination. What started out as a well-behaved plant in dry, crummy soil has turned into a villainess. She spreads by runners and seed, a veritable double-edged sword. And she is teaching me a serious lesson on lessening. It is not necessary for me to grow everything. But in spring there doesn’t seem to be enough time to lessen the weeds let alone the overly aggressive plants. (We sell the Ladybells but not until after the potential buyer completely understands the nature of the plant.) Perhaps I should have them sign some sort of affidavit or disclaimer just to be safe. They are moving fast and so is the season. Too much to do, too little time. We needed help. So, after some consideration, we decided to assume the responsibility for a disadvantaged brother-and- sister team of interns to help out at the Nursery. They were quickly maturing out of the foster care system and needed a place to be. The girl came to live at the nursery first. We hadn’t planned on two helpers but someone decided it would be a shame to separate the young relatives. Her brother arrived eleven days later. They both seemed eager to familiarize themselves with the grounds, even though there was plenty of snow to traipse through. The girl had already been at work in the vegetable garden removing the vestiges of last year’s broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprout stalks. She quickly engaged her brother to help and even though the ground was pretty frozen when they started the job, they managed to eliminate everything but the old turnips in just a few weeks. Sometimes I was surprised by their initiative. Sometimes I was horrified by it. Without asking for guidance of any kind, they pruned all of the raspberries, a hydrangea, and a viburnum. They even pruned the dead branches I was using to mark the newest additions to the asparagus patch. When faced with an ornamental grass, they tackled it to the ground but were only able to pull out a few stubbly pieces at a time. Of course, I normally prune them with hedge trimmers, which is not so easy when all the stems are lying flat. Live and learn. They did a splendid job reshredding the leaves covering the vegetable garden. For a while we thought we might not even need to till. And they also tried to turn the compost pile before it had thawed. Though partially frozen, they never gave up and it eventually became fairly fluffy. Again without be asked, they began working on the bags of leaves stored on the side of the garage. I had planned on using these later in the season but “addled essences” thought they needed attention now. They quickly learned how difficult it is to open those plastic bags after they’ve been percolating for months and months. They were not deterred by knotted garbage bags though and ripped them open with abandon. I would have been happier if they had cleaned up all the shreds of plastic that flew before some poor bird got tangled in it but you have to choose your battles. Another problem I discovered after the kids worked the beds was that at least half of the plant markers were missing. Apparently they just got in the way. Being familiar with all of the plant material here I was able to replace the ones I found. Unfortunately you can’t tell a daylily variety by its leaf structure. Luckily, I have blueprints for most of the daylilies so in my spare time I will replace the tags. Sure I will. In my spare time. Heck, the ground will be frozen by then. But back to paring down, uncluttering, and working smarter. Whether you face it now or face it later, you cannot escape it unless you move. It’s just one of the subtle hazards of gardening. I think the best approach to it is to cultivate an emotional detachment. For example, consider that pruning is just another aspect of dealing with florific excess. I find it easier to prune something that belongs to someone else rather than my own stuff. For starters, I tend to finish other people’s jobs while my own dangle undone. I have a half-pruned euonymus that I can’t blame anyone else for but myself. It’s not like years ago, when my hair wound up crooked, I would tell my hairdresser that the kids cut it while I was sleeping. It eventually dawned on her that I didn’t have kids. But I’m thinking that if anyone mentions the tacky shrub, I’ll just blame that on the new kids and easily get away with it. Normally I would use the experiment explanation but I have a feeling that this season I could be wearing that excuse out by July at the rate I’m going. So here are a few suggestions for approaching the eventual necessary reduction of landscape. First, accept the fact that people already know you’re weird because they see you standing in one position for several minutes at a time doing absolutely nothing but an imitation of a statue, and then moving to another angle and performing a similar pose there. And then again. So keep doing it! Exercise that critical eye you used when you began to notice other gardens and beds way back before you were hooked. Look at the scape as though you were advising a friend. It’s a good way to develop confident pruning ability. Like late last year, I finally got the chance to deal with an area that had been ravaged by a storm. A large blue spruce upended and left a big vacancy and some embarrassingly scrawny yews. After digging up roots and carting buckets and buckets of river rock, I was too wasted to even consider digging out the ugly little bushes. So I grabbed the loppers and decapitated almost every branch down to nothing. I started the job looking for the little green growth nerts to decide where to cut but there weren’t any that far down the trunk. So I just chopped away. A few days ago I noticed them covered with new growth and golden shiny tips looking like a bleach-blond beach boy. They’re gorgeous! Now I want to go after the other yews that guard the property line. I am armed and dangerous. The loppers have been cleaned and sharpened. I’ll have to add it to the list. There’s no way I’ll be letting the interns anywhere near my tools and those yews. Or anything else for that matter. Some Information You Should Know MGSOOC Board Members President: Christine Covell………………...…….(248)852-1890 Vice President: John Grant……………………….(248)852-3758 Secretary: Ruth Vrbensky ……………………….(248)969-6904 Treasurer: Jean Gramlich …………………..….. (810)714-2343 Team Administrator: Susan McLarty ……… (248)673-8092 MSU Extension Oakland County Coordinator Advisor: Carol Lenchek ………………………… (248)858-0900 lenchekc@oakgov.com Team Coordinators Bowers Farm: Wayne Lapinski……………….(248)391-6269 Project Support: Susan McLarty …………… (248)673-8092 Hospitality: Mary Golla………………….…..(248) 371-0476 Membership: Julie Kowalk …………..………(810)655-2228 Programs: DeeAnn Bauer ……………..….(248)828-7385 Door prize Coordinator: Janie Grissom…..(248)887-6096 Trips & Tours: Sandie Parrott ………….….....(248)394-1532 Corresponding Secretary: Margy Truza…… mat4744@aol.com Roots & Shoots Editor: Dick Wanat………...(248)644-5699 Web Site Address: www.mgsoc.org Webmaster: Sheri Trout sheri@oaklandweb.com Web Site Calendar: Chris Wilder cwilder@wowway.com Currently Available Opportunities: Communications, Education, Project Support, Volunteer Activities North Office Building, #26 East Carol Lenchek…248-858-0900 1200 N. Telegraph Road Extension Educator~Master Gardener Program Pontiac, MI 48341 Email: lenchekc@oakgov.com Office Hours: M- F 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Linda Smith…248-858-0887 Beverly Terry…248-858-0885 Horticulture Office Assistant County Extension Director Email: smithlin@oakgov.com Email: terryb@oakgov.com Cathy Morris…248-858-1639 Lois Thieleke…248-858-0888 Clerk & Contact for Certification of Volunteer Extension Educator~Food & Nutrition & Education Hours Email: thielekel@oakgov.com Email: morrisc@oakgov.com Charlene Molnar…248-858-0902 Bindu Bhakta…248-858-5198 Horticulture Advisor Extension Educator~Water Quality Plant & Pest Hotline Email: bhaktabi@msu.edu Hours of operation vary seasonally Saneya Hamler…248-452-9726 Robin Danto…248-858-0904 Extension Educator~Children, Youth & Family Extension Educator~Food Safety Email: hamlersa@msu.edu Email: dantor@oakgov.com Tom Schneider…248-858-0905 Eva Poole…248-858-1993 Extension Educator~4-H Youth Programs Extension Educator~Children, Youth & Family Email: schneidert@oakgov.com Email: ander204@msu.edu - 1 - Michigan State University Extension- Oakland County “Bringing Knowledge to Life”