Roots & Shoots October / November 2011 October 4 , 2011 @ 6:30pm MGSOC General Society Meeting & Location Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church 5631 North Adams Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304 Speaker : Joe Peterson, over 20+ experience growing Orchids Education: “Growing and Caring for Orchids” A business meeting will take place, prior to the start of our Educational Program. November 1 , 2011 @ 6:30pm MGSOC General Society Meeting & Location Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church 5631 North Adams Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304 Speaker : Deb Hall Education: “Found Art” A business meeting will take place, prior to the start of our Educational Program. December 13 , 2011 @ 6:30pm MGSOC General Society Meeting & Location Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church 5631 North Adams Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304 Holiday Potluck Carol’s Corner Rumors have been flying around on the fate of the Michigan MGVP and I’d like to take a moment to address them. As you know, budget cuts have been rampant in the last few years. While we in Oakland County continue to enjoy, and be grateful, for local (Oakland County) support, this is not the case elsewhere in the state or at MSU. MSUE is undergoing a statewide re-organization, in part to increase efficiencies. We have been assured that the MGVP program will continue to exist but there will be changes. It may look very different by this time next year. As soon as information is available, it will be passed along to you. Hopefully this will be sooner rather than later. I have been assured that once this major MGVP revamp has been finalized, you will be informed. On a brighter note, I want to thank all of you for giving so much of yourself to the residents of Oakland County! Ruth Parulis needs a special shout-out for her work in scheduling for all the Farmers Market information booths. The team leaders for each market: Carla Spradlin, Laura Jury, Teresa Ververis, Kathy Connolly, Chris Lamb, Suzanne Huening, Paul Lukasiewicz, Judy Roeser, and Mary Schwark.We could not have a presence at all these markets without their help and this year ran smoother than most! Thanks to all of you who staffed all of our information tables this year. In addition to putting a face on the MGVP and MSUE, you helped so many people with their yard and garden problems. Now that it is officially autumn and the growing season winds down, volunteer opportunities also diminish greatly. If you’ve been meaning to put some volunteer hours in but haven’t found the time…the time has come for you to get serious. Remember you cannot be a member of the Society if you don’t re-certify. The deadline for submitting 2011 Re-Certification Volunteer and Education hours is December 31, 2011. Instead of waiting until the end of December to submit your accumulated hours for 2011, please consider submitting them NOW. To re-certify, you need 15 volunteer hours and 5 educational credits. Wishing you a wonderful Fall! The Year at a Glance—MGSOC Meetings for 2011-2012 October 10 Board Meeting Date in flux. Check “events” on www.mgsoc.org November 1 Deb Hall “Found Art” November 14 Board Meeting Date in flux. Check “events” on www.mgsoc.org December 13 Holiday Potluck Note date change. January 3 Greening of Detroit rep. “What’s Growing in the City” February 7 Iris Lee Underwood “Growing and Healing with Lavender” March 6 Scott Bates “Water Gardening” Sustainable Landscaping Rick Lazzell, who teaches at Macomb Community College and owns a landscaping company, spoke on sustainable landscaping for our August meeting. Sustainable landscaping should last a long time without input. It supports environmental quality, conserves natural resources through on-site water filtration, minimizes negative impacts and promotes positive impacts, has a high level of self- sufficiency, works with nature and its system of checks and balances, and is a functioning part of the ecosystem. Sustainable landscaping begins with thorough observation and site assessment. Factors to be considered are light, drainage, wind direction and existing vegetation. As well, we need to look at soil condition, topography, views and microclimates. Soil should be tested every 3 years. Natural design should have large planting areas that are heavily planted with a diverse array of hardy plants. Eliminate lawn, a monoculture, if it is not needed. Layered plantings mimic nature’s own style with large shade trees, understory trees and shrubs and low plants that cover the ground. Rick prefers big sweeping beds with natural edges that let the plants grow. Surfaces should be pervious with use of recycled and regional materials and heavy mulch. A natural landscape should be low maintenance and self-sustaining. Site development should involve as little grading and compaction as possible. The soil should be loosened to a depth of 12 inches. Water management should control run-off and keep rain water on the site. Steep slopes can be terraced to minimize erosion with berms and swales used to direct the water. A rain garden is an excellent way to conserve water and prevent run-off. Natural design should minimize maintenance through water management and choice of hardy plants. When additional water is necessary, drip irrigation is the best choice. Even though good natural design requires less maintenance, careful monitoring is necessary so that pests can be detected early and integrated pest management can be utilized. —Submitted by Jean Gramlich Spring Beauties Cheryl English shared her enthusiasm for spring bulbs with us for the September meeting. More than usual, the slides were more beautiful and informative than any article can convey, SO members should come to the meetings to get the full benefit of our education program. Spring bulbs should be planted now because they need a cold dormant time. After they bloom they photosynthesize through their leaves and store energy in the bulb before they go dormant in the summer. If they are interplanted with perennials, their leaves don’t look too ugly after they have finished blooming. There are many varieties of tulips, and Cheryl’s slides made the differences clear. Most hybrids are not as perennial as their ancestors, and many people take up the bulbs after blooming. Darwin tulips are a mid- season variety with tall strong stems and bright flowers. They are used for bedding plants but not for forcing. Double early tulips are like peonies. Double late tulips are very fully double and look beautiful in masses. Fosterianas are long-lived, bloom in mid-season and are shorter with very large flowers. Fringed tulips have crystal-shaped fringes. Greigii are medium-sized tulips that are great for the border. They perennialize well and will colonize over time. Kaufmannia have short stems and large flowers and resemble water lilies when fully open. They are often bi-color. Lily-flowered tulips bloom in mid-season to late and have pointed reflexed petals on slender but sturdy stems. They are elegant and graceful. Parrot tulips bloom late and look dramatic with petals that look whipped. Single early tulips are elegant with 10-18” stems, and some varieties have scent. Single late tulips such as ‘Mayflowering’ are the most popular group because they are consistent and can be used for cutting and for mass plantings. Triumph tulips are mid-season with medium stems and are the best variety for forcing. Viridiflora tulips are a late dramatic variety with some green in the flowers. The leaves form a basal rosette, and they often have multiple stems. Daffodils are long-lived, and since the bulbs are poisonous, critters don’t eat them. They naturalize well and won’t bloom well if they are crowded. Cyclanorineus daffodils are pert with coronas that are swept back. They are quite small and look nice in a rock garden. Double daffodils can flop in bad weather. Jonquilla have multiple flowers with a nice scent. Large cupped daffodils have one flower per stem. Paperwhites are used for indoor forcing and are very fragrant. Triandus daffodils are multi-stemmed, graceful and balletic. One of the most common daffodils is the ‘King Alfred,’ a trumpet variety. Fritillarias vary from purple maroon to greenish-purple bells with subtle colors. They are used in the border. Imperials are very tall while others are only 14-24.” Hyacinths grow about 10” tall and are often used for forcing. Crocuses come in many varieties and are a welcome harbinger of spring. Chrysanthus varieties have 3” flowers and naturalize over time. Dutch crocuses are 5” with many very old varieties. Ancyrensis crocuses are a brilliant yellow. Sieberi are early with yellow throats in purple flowers. Anemones, “Grecian Windflowers,” are daisy-like flowers that bloom early. Chionodoxa have ten starry flowers per stem and are very hardy. Winter aconite is very early. Snowdrops literally poke through the snow. Grape hyacinths are 6-8” high and bloom early to mid-season. Scilla have lovely blue flowers with some striped varieties. They spread but don’t take over. It’s time to go out and plant for spring color! —Submitted by Jean Gramlich MASTER GARDENER MERCHANDISE HOLIDAY GIFTS FOR YOUR FAVORITE GARDENER! TEES HATS LANYARDS MUGS SHORT SLEEVE CAPS - $10 $5 $5 CHESTNUT BROWN, WIDE BRIM VIOLET, STONE BLUE, FOLD & GO - $8 AZALEA PINK $15/$17 SWEATSHIRTS APRONS LONG SLEEVE HOODED & ZIPPERED 30” ONE SIZE FITS MOST DARK GREEN $17/$19 DARK GREEN $38 $20 SMALL, MEDIUM, LARGE SMALL, MEDIUM, LARGE, XL XL, AND 2XL COOLER BAGS – INSULATED, FRONT POCKET 6 PACK SIZE – DARK GREEN $4 NEW FALL MERCHANDISE BY PRE-ORDER ONLY STONEWASHED DENIM SHIRTS BUTTON-DOWN COLLAR ADJUSTABLE CUFFS PATCH POCKET BACK PLEAT MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SIZES XS – XL $40 2XL $42 3XL $42 MASTER GARDENER GREEN ZIPPERED JACKETS NYLON SHELL SWEATSHIRT FABRIC BODY & HOOD LINING DRAWCORD HOOD LOCKER LOOP SLASH POCKETS ELASTIC CUFFS INTERIOR POCKET XS – XL $48 2XL $50 3XL $52 To order, contact Denise Brown at: denise.brown@cccnetwork.com Abundant Energy When you are a little girl and spend a lot of time in the garden with your Mother and Grandmother, as the garden grows, so also grows the love in your heart for gardening. These two women instilled into her soul the colors of pink and purple she uses in her backyard, and the desire for a vegetable "Salad Bar". The Russian Sage in the yard of Denise Brown, smells so good as you stroll by, pink sedum is readying for its fall spectacular, purple phlox, daylilies, speedwell, canna lilies, oakleaf hydrangea, pink mallow, feather grasses, spiderwort, pink dianthus, and a purple lilac bush, mix together so well with touches of yellow roses, here and there. Flowers are set in different shaped vases on two lovely tables, so a person can rest in the shade with a glass of lemonade while talking with Denise, and taking in the beauty of the garden. Also in the backyard is the shade garden where Denise spread 22 bags of rubber mulch, so her two lovely granddaughters, Madeline and Allison can swing and play on the hammock and fall without getting hurt. You know how protective grandmothers are! The huge shade tree has its own character. It leans a little to the left to get the sun, and yet provides wonderful shade. The two dogs, Manny and Winston, love to run up the tree trunk, chasing chipmunks. Denise's home was built 140 years ago, about 10 years after the civil war. As you walk around to the west side, there is a windmill about 60 ft. tall. It has a bell at the top that once swayed in the wind and rang, but when she planted clematis (guaranteed to grow at least 20 ft) it grew to the top, wound its way around the bell and stopped it from ringing. The blades on the windmill have fallen off one by one and Denise is saving them for a future project. The home is on a steep hill, and Denise used to mow the lawn near the road, but a near wild accident with the mower made her decide to use perennial flowers instead of grass. It is now much easier to maintain and looks beautiful. We all get attached to plants, so the white peony from her mom and dad, and her dad's favorite white rosebush is in the front yard by the porch, which she has made into a white garden. The hardy yucca also grows there, and her Japanese Anenome has grown to be 5 ft. tall. A beautiful large white water fountain with a boy and fish is just to the left of the stairs. Denise uses a sunny area to the east of the house as a holding area for plants waiting to be planted or given to friends. Near the chimney is also the snake area. Well, it was a snake area, but Manny and Winston, took care of them. Now Denise can plant there and not worry any more. I would say, these two rescued dogs, have proved their worth! Denise also has two rescued house cats, Jack & Otis. We walked about the five acres Denise owns. Sunny and shady areas with many beautiful trees, hills, and valleys make up the landscape. Her land is put to good use each year when her granddaughters' Girl Scout troop uses it for their bivouac. Denise pulls her fallen trees over to her log splitter and after splitting them piles them into a wagon behind the tractor and takes it to a large covered area to store them until winter, when she uses them in her fireplace. Denise has three people who help her with all the work, they are called Me, Myself, and I. She moves every boulder, has dug her own beds, brought in and shoveled every load of compost, dirt, mulch and stone edges everywhere, all transplanting is done by her, and along with sore muscles, she gets the satisfaction of knowing she did it all herself and it looks beautiful. Now I must add two exceptions, when her wonderful son-in-law Steven Lukens helped. One was creating a 10' X 12' stone patio. The other was a hot, 100 degree day on a 4th of July weekend several years ago, when she was stacking a stone wall by the windmill. In Denise's words, "she was failing miserably". Her daughter, Kara, called and could tell that Denise was having a hard time but would not say so. Before she knew it, here comes her hero Steven, to finish the wall. There are times when we do need a little bit of help and it's so nice to have a willing family. As Denise says, "I am so blessed to have them in my life". Denise is taking a course at Oakland Community College, to learn to identify her many trees. She goes to work extra early, then to class, and makes up the rest of the time later. Her next course, which begins soon, will be Landscape Design. Denise was born in Des Moines, Iowa and moved to Michigan when her Dad worked for Ford Motor Company and was transferred to Highland Park, MI. She later lived in Royal Oak. She has one older brother, Bob, who lives in Iowa, as do the rest of her relatives. Denise works for the Commercial Contracting Corporation. She started there in 1983 and that's where she met her husband Scott. Denise and Scott worked together well; she was the Field Office Manager, and they traveled to many states setting up new business offices. Scott had three goals in his life, and he lived to see all of them come true. He wanted to be Vice President of the company: goal accomplished! He wanted a Cadillac as his company car: goal accomplished! He wanted to live to be 40: goal accomplished! He turned 40 on December 4, 1989 and passed away 43 days later on Jan 16, 1990. Scott was a determined man, he set his goals and he achieved them. Denise and Scott had a wonderful life together; however, his bouts with cancer took their toll. Seven and a half years of marriage is not long enough, but they were happy years for Denise and Scott. Denise is now the Manager of the Estimating Department. Denise said that everyone at work is like family. They helped her and Scott through the rough times and they are still there for her. The Detroit Zoo was a fun place for Denise to take her 3-year-old granddaughter. As they wandered around, she noticed the beautiful gardens, and signs that said Adopt-A-Garden. She inquired, and in 2005 found herself with a garden to take care of. Her granddaughter came along with her and enjoyed it as much as Denise did. Her garden is located at the northeast end of the zoo behind the new Coney Island. The sign in the garden reads, Garden Adopted by Madeline & Allison Lukens & Grandma Zeus. Together they have planted a few things she inherited; Karl Foerster grass, irises, groundcover sedum, and day lilies. There is also a butterfly bush, different varieties of coneflowers, columbine, and Autumn Joy Sedum. What a fun way to spend an afternoon with two granddaughters; working in the garden and then walking around enjoying the animals. Denise was hearing the words "Master Gardener" at various places. She kept wondering about this. She did some research on the computer and found out about the course in Oakland County. So thankful for an evening class, she enrolled and loved the class. She thought it was fast paced and gave you so much information at once. However, she digested it and did well. Required hours were easily obtained by working at the Giving Garden, a Par Garden for the Dominican Sisters in Oxford, Ask the Master Gardener at Bordine's Nursery, and the Farmers Market in Lake Orion. Volunteer hours were easy to come by since she already had an Adopt-A-Garden at the Detroit Zoo. Denise received her MG Basic Certificate in 2009 and MG Advanced Certificate in 2010, and has a 250-hour pin. Denise joined MGSOC and one meeting night, when the sheet of paper came around asking for volunteers for certain areas, she and her sidekick Carol Carroll joined up for Project Support. She and Carol laugh about it now; they thought it would be a small one-time project to sell some tee shirts, no problem, how much work can it be? Little did she know that she would soon be the leader and it would balloon it into something that took a lot of her time. Denise and Carol sell many, many other items besides tee shirts. At the next MG meeting, be sure to go up to her table with money or check in hand because there is sure to be something you want. Our MG group, as well as others, welcomes the opportunity to buy these items. She and Carole go to many other MG places to hold their fund raising sales. Another project she started was a used book sale, at every MG meeting. People bring in used gardening books that are sold at a small price. Denise keeps the boxes at her home and when she gets to the meeting there are always helping hands to unload and load the books. Different people help each month. This is great because people can't always commit to every meeting, but they step up and help when they can. Linda Yolkiewicz has taken the lead selling the books and Dani Connolly helps when she can. Denise loves all of her helpers. Our 1st Annual MGSOC 2011 Town & Country Garden Tour had Denise as its leader, with nine great people on the committee. Everything was so well organized; arrangements for the bus, the goodie bags we received with coupons and usable items, the fabulous lunch with door prizes, a wonderful bus trip with games and plenty of cold bottled water and snacks, to the great selection of beautiful gardens. We are all looking forward to the trip next year. Always looking to the future, Denise and the MGSOC Board want to raise enough money for the first Oakland County Garden Conference. This would be funded and sponsored by the Society, most likely in conjunction with the Extension Office. This is the point of all the fund raising effort besides the grants and education. "I envision it becoming an annual event and become self-funding after the first one, with a little help from the Project Support Team. The exciting part is that all Master Gardeners can help. Here's how. At our MGSOC Holiday Potluck, held December 13 this year, we will hold a Silent Auction. The array of items donated so far is amazing, but we are still looking for more. We are requesting auction item donations with a minimum value of $25 and they don't need to be garden or holiday related". You can read more about this project in the Oakland Gardener you receive from Carol Lenchek. Even if you can't donate an item, you can come prepared to buy and have fun at the Potluck. You know those emails you get about future events, items for sale, changes in meetings, and important notices, well, Denise is the one who got all the names and address (over 150) together and sends them out. When something happens and we need to know immediately, Denise is the one who types it up and sends it out with one click of a button. Hurray to Denise for doing this very important, and much needed, job. As you can see, Denise Brown, as MGSOC Support Team Leader, working full time, going to school, as well as caring for her own personal gardens and home, is one busy person. I would say that if DTE Energy runs out of energy, they should see Denise, she has a lot of energy, with plenty to spare! —Submitted by Sylvia Schult Notes From Nutcase Nursery While most of the world seems to consider Labor Day the end of summer, I have a strong feeling gardeners do not, especially this year when we were deprived of an early start to the planting marathon. And to add insult to injury, how rude was it of Mother Nature to allow the Friday of the holiday weekend to blow in with a temperature of 98 degrees and on the holiday itself it was barely 60? It reminded me of the many times as kids at the cottage on that last weekend before school, when we huddled on the porch wrapped in blankets, playing Go Fish and watching the Jerry Lewis Telethon, with all the windows closed and Mom trying to heat the place up by turning on the oven. I’ve wracked my brain to think of something positive about the short season and all I’ve been able to come up with is, had the season given me an earlier start, I would probably not have to cut the back lawn because the pumpkins and other squash would have grown all the way to the garage instead of only part way. Since our little friend the Dingo arrived, life at the nursery has lost all trappings of normalcy. Although I am fairly quick to blame her for oddities, not everything could possibly be her fault. Because of the vegetable garden, I volunteered to participate in the program launching the new soil test kit. My results came back showing we were seriously devoid of potassium, a major shock to my sensibilities. How could this be? But thinking back, I realized that it has been several years since I last tested the garden soil. Can’t hardly blame that on the Dingo. So, I searched high and low for a suitable, but economic and easy, solution. Three different people recommended bananas, but at 59 cents a pound, that was hardly economical, let alone feasible. Besides, the Dingo would eat them. The time I spent searching for a suitable additive was another reason planting was late because I needed to amend the soil before I ever dropped a seed. Long-term organic correction for a potassium deficiency calls for adding greensand, granite dust, ground kelp, aged manure or compost. A quick fix is a weekly foliar spray of a kelp-based material but of course there was no foliage to squirt at this point in time. Wood ash is also recommended but large amounts should only be applied if a soil test says so. Side dressing with wood ash does help recovery on a smaller scale and we do dump the ash from the outdoor fireplace into the garden in small amounts. But wood ash is alkaline and we are already high in alkalinity, so a trip to Uncle Luke’s was necessary, where Dale fixed me up with twenty pounds of greensand. Greensand is 7% potash and contains 32 trace minerals. Granite meal is ground from the waste material from granite quarries and contains only 5% potash and I would have needed more than I am allowed to carry. It’s a good source of potash but is more recommended for pastures and hay fields because it’s a slow-release fertilizer. Potassium sulfate is 0-0-50 but it’s also a very soluble salt and it’s not recommended for gardens because it can burn the crops as can the mined mineral langbeinite, sold as K- Mag and Sul-Po-Mag. Besides I think potassium sulfate was used to make bombs. My only problem with greensand was how to apply it. I had envisioned something I could put in a spreader but greensand is, well, sand and it falls out really fast. I was forced to walk around the garden sprinkling it as if I were feeding the chickens, little teeny-tiny chickens. Then I had to re-till, just getting behinder and behinder. The soil test also told me that I needed to re-apply three weeks after the plants emerge and till it into the rows. Not so easy when you don’t plant in rows. In order to obey that requirement I purchased a liquid potassium source called ‘Deuce Deuce’ (so called because it’s 0-0-22) from one of the many hydroponic stores that have sprouted about the area and used it as a foliar spray. My plan for the fall is to apply another 20 lbs. or so of kelp meal as soon as I get the garden ready for bed. Kelp meal contains not only potash and trace minerals but also amino acids and vitamins. It also conditions the soil and stimulates beneficial organisms. Even with all the foundation work, the garden was not the happiest plot at the Nursery thanks to the Dingo. Actually, thanks to the Dingo, there weren’t any particularly happy plots at the Nursery. She wandered through the vegetable patch at will. When I let her in the front yard on a tether, she dove into the flower beds in pursuit of that Dingo delicacy, grasshoppers. They sit on everything and so did she. Fences do not deter her. I suspect a deer fence would but my fences aren’t quite that high. Visual barriers become invisible when she is on a mission to annihilate critters. She can still fit through the spaces in the three-foot fences and easily leap them, which she does with abandon and often pure spite. This year, she ignored the cucumbers, except to stroll through them, for a while. We discovered that corn had become her first love since she discovered it last year. The stalks were not very high when she began “picking.” Even raccoons wait until the ears form. Not dingoes; they shop early and often and soon immature stalks began to disappear. When ears began to form, they too disappeared. But she soon realized that baby corn is not quite right and she waited. Not that I would ever tell her but, if it hadn’t been for her I might have never realized that the corn was ripening because this year the ears were much skinnier than they had ever been. The day I discovered husks scattered over the lawn I decided to peel a few and, surprise – the Dingo was right on the money when it came to gaging ripeness. Unfortunately for us, I planted fewer rows this year, not intending to share the bounty, so we didn’t get to enjoy as many meals of fresh-picked corn as we normally do. Of course after the corn was gone, she remembered how much she used to like cucumbers and they began to disappear just like last year. Rather than being constantly stressed, I decided to change my philosophy and try to go with the flow of things. I tried to accept what was and not what I wished for, which I think is a very important concept for the well-adjusted gardener. For instance, instead of obsessing about keeping the stone path weed-free, I accepted that Mother Nature had chosen purslane as her groundcover of choice between the flagstone slabs. Purslane and moss seemed an odd combination but what do I know? My moments of horticultural joy centered on the simple things like buying really ugly, cheap and deformed coleus which I cut up and rooted and filled pot after pot. A five-dollar flat of rootbound purple salvia and a couple of two-dollar chartreuse sweet potato vines brought me months of delight. I stuffed the pots in the beds where the Dingo had created empty spaces and I thought they were beautiful. I so enjoyed the combinations of purple and chartreuse that I almost didn’t realize that a few of the neighboring perennials were not supposed to be chartreuse. The spring rains leached nutrients from porous soils and a few of the hosta took on an apple-green hue before it dawned on me that it was not their natural color. A little fertilizer took care of the problem and I vowed to pay more attention. And whilst I was paying attention, I found my copper hummingbird and flower artpiece that disappeared in the tree-killing storm three years ago June. That was nothing to alert the press over but it made me happy. Of course I can’t believe it took this long to find it. And speaking of rains, the thunderous ones finally got to the Dingo, although she did not want to let on that they made her nervous. She is not a lap dog. She is independent as hell and chooses her company. But I noticed little by little that she would appear at my side as a storm approached. Dogs are extremely adept early warning systems. Long before the lightning started flashing, I had a buddy. What amused me was her attitude. She didn’t act afraid. It was more like “I’m just checking to see if you’re scared.” I don’t want her to be fearful, just a little more humble. With all the strange swings in the weather, either oppressive heat or incessant rain, weeding was still a task that had to be done. The heat kept the mosquitoes from torturing me for a while and I did my best to weed and weed and weed. I really don’t think it’s my imagination but there were weeds out there that I had not seen before. I’m a firm believer that the more you weed, the less you have to but I have been battling nightshade since I moved here. I guess some things never change. This year, however, provided a new hazard. Those nasty little red squirrels who fill my shed with their winter provisions were seriously trying to kill me. Probably in retaliation for owning the Dingo. There are a lot of spruce, mostly Norway, in adjoining properties and a few here as well. It has been a very good year for cones and unless I was working far away from the trees, the little “rat bastards” kept pelting me with those scaly little missiles, which was very annoying. There are spruce cones everywhere and they can’t be picked up by hand because they’re full of sap and stick to your hands and your gloves, and even the poor Dingo. The safest way to clean them up is to use the poop scooper but that doesn’t solve the problem completely. If I wasn’t being barraged by whole cones, I was rained upon with scales as the little bandits were busy devouring them from the safety of the treetops. A lot of what appears to be pine bark nugget mulch in the beds is actually billions of scales, compliments of my little pests. If I didn’t shake and brush the lawn furniture every day, it became permanently stained. It will be interesting to see how well squirrel mulch holds up. If I could have orchestrated their feeding frenzies I might have been able to cut back on my mulch purchase. It seems to work okay in the forests. So far I haven’t discovered any more of their handiwork in the shed but there’s still time for the little hoarders to switch to interior decorating. Since the Dingo has been very successful in running off the fox squirrels, and she can’t catch the red ones since she has not yet mastered the art of flight, only chipmunks and voles are left to pillage the nursery. Last year, in pursuit of a chippie, she ate the corner off the garage. This spring we paid a carpenter to put new corner molding up and clad the wooden doorframe with aluminum flashing. Not a cheap endeavor but required. This year, in a manner of minutes, she chewed through the new moldings and actually pulled off the siding. Of course the chipmunk got away. So did the one that was supposedly in the downspout by the rear door of the garage. She ate that cornerpiece also. Himself was going to give her away for four days when I showed him the new part of the garage and he’s probably going to feel that way again as soon as the hosta hiding the rear damage dies back in the frost. It’s always interesting trying to coexist with critters whose ancestors had been here centuries before we were. More and more as I clean out overgrown and weedy spots I worry about the fact that I could likely be destroying somebody’s habitat. If I kill the violets (fat chance!) I deprive a certain special butterfly of its larval food. If I chop everything down so things are clean and neat, where will the toads hide? In his book Second Nature, Michael Pollan writes that we are the weeds, just like that nightshade I’ve been pulling for 35 years. It is not indigenous as it was brought here by the white man. Or quite likely, the white woman. We are just like any other species. We have the will to survive just like nightshade. Pollan says, “For though we may be the earth’s gardeners, we are also its weeds. And we won’t get anywhere until we come to terms with this crucial ambiguity about our role --- that we are at once the problem and the only possible solution to the problem.” I found it quite apropos that my bookmark had the following prayer on it: “God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change…the Courage to change the things I can…and the Wisdom to know the difference.” This is the only attitude that brings me the serenity I want in the garden. But, how can you appreciate serenity without a modicum of insanity? It’s just like not appreciating the rain, day after day, until you suffer through a drought. While I weeded and worried about habitat destruction, I kept hearing baby birds. I would stop for a moment and the chirping would cease. Some days I would hear it over and over; some days, not a peep. There had to be a fallen nest somewhere in the vegetable garden because I would hear it when I was cleaning the perimeter and for a couple of weeks I thought it was miraculous that those birds could still be alive. Then I realized that there was no way baby birds could have survived that long and not grown up enough to escape or be eaten. Especially with the Dingo on duty. I finally traced it to a slightly rusty wind spinner that the periodic breezes would put it into motion. Yes, there was my modicum of insanity. Logic told me one thing and my paranoia told me something else. And by balancing logic and paranoia was how I decided that “spring cleaning” was a ridiculous concept and an ancient holdover from the days when everyone warmed themselves in the winter with wood- burning stoves and fireplaces. Of course you had to have spring cleaning to get the soot and ash off the walls and furnishings. Logic tells me that there is no longer such a requirement in life. Spring is for sowing. Fall is for cleaning. Now I just have to decide whether I should wash the kitchen floor or plant it. Leo Kisell - A Man of Perseverance! Leo started losing his sight in his 20's. This did not stop his desires and his dreams. He attended Wayne State University and received his teaching degree in Special Education and retired from Brandon Schools after 35 years. Leo married and had a family, he built his own barn for the animals on his 20 acre farm where he had gardens and grew many vegetables and flowers. Leo was a member of B.E.A.R.S. and Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic Church, and he was a 4th degree Knight at Knights of Columbus in Clarkston. Leo received his Basic Master Gardener and Advanced Master Gardener certificates in 2003. As a child, Leo was always interested in woodworking and was able to continue his hobby by attending a woodworking class for the blind in Kalamazoo. He has made rocking horses, miniature wheelbarrows for flowers, doll beds, tool chests, and trellises. Many of these items were donated as door prized for the Master Gardener Volunteer banquets. Leo met Kay at a Halloween dance and they were married for 20 years when he passed away on August 18, 2011. We will miss Leo and his smile. We will miss talking with him at our Master Gardener meetings. However, we are thankful for his presence in our lives and for the wonderful memories he left with us. Some Information You Should Know MGSOOC Board Members President: Christine Covell………………...…….(248)852-1890 Vice President: Tom Hershberger………….….(586)573-3954 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: Denise Brown ……..….…… (248)640-5977 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: Peggy Wanat pwanat43@comcast.net 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 Marie Ruemenapp Horticulture Office Assistant 248-380-9100 or 248-858-0885 Email: smithlin@oakgov.com MSU Extension District Coordinator Email: ruemenap@msu.edu Cathy Morris…248-858-1639 Clerk & Contact for Certification of Volunteer Charlene Molnar…248-858-0902 & Education Hours Horticulture Advisor Email: morrisc@oakgov.com Plant & Pest Hotline Hours of operation vary seasonally Bindu Bhakta…248-858-5198 Extension Educator~Water Quality Robin Danto…248-858-0904 Email: bhaktabi@msu.edu Extension Educator~Food Safety Email: dantor@oakgov.com Saneya Hamler…248-452-9726 Extension Educator~Children, Youth & Family Tom Schneider…248-858-0905 Email: hamlersa@msu.edu Extension Educator~4-H Youth Programs Email: schneidert@oakgov.com Eva Poole…248-858-1993 Extension Educator~Children, Youth & Family Email: ander204@msu.edu - 1 - Michigan State University Extension- Oakland County “Bringing Knowledge to Life”