Marlys' Gardens ~ What's Happening ~ June 2007

The difference between a flower and a weed
is a judgment.

This is a place to focus on what's currently happening in the gardens. I want to share fun seasonal garden stories & events with you. Josh is going to archive the posting as seasons evolve. We hope you will embrace it with a fun-filled spirit.

June 2007

Unlike the butterfly it appears there is too much to do with not enough time to do it all. My energies have been spread too thin the past while. A pet-peeve of mine is when someone tries to do so much that nothing is getting done well. Abandoning the website is not my intent. It is simply imperative that I regroup, reorganize, & reenergize. Taking a break from the website seems logical for now.

'June Timely Tip' (That is if you're as far behind as I me.) Probably should have been posted in May but then I didn't get my cannas, galdiolas, or calla lilies into the ground until the first of June. I finally threw my flower seeds on the ground just the other day and I still have annuals to stick in the ground. So, for me, it's a timely tip!

Make plans to enroll in Master Gardener training this fall 2
Go Native or Go Wild! 3
ISU Extension Publications Revised & of Interest 3
Gardening Guide 4
Native Plant Workshop 4
Find Fresh Food at Farmers Market 5
Farmer’s Market Shopping Tips 5
Upcoming Events 6

"Celebrating Butterflies" - June 2, 2007
Bessie Spaur Butterfly Garden
Knoxville Federated Garden Club

Butterfly Gardens

NATIONAL GARDEN CLUBS, INC.
4401 Magnolia Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63110-3492
www.gardenclub.org
314-776-7574

To Create a Butterfly Garden

Locate the garden in a sunny area
Butterflies & most butterfly attracting plants require bright sunshine.

Plant Nectar Producing flowers
Clusters of short, tubular flowers or flat-topped blossoms provide the ideal shapes for butterflies to easily land & feed.

Select Single Flowers Rather Than Double Flowers
The nectar of single flowers is more accessible and easier for butterflies to extract than the nectar of double flowers which have more petal per flower.

Use Large Splashes of Color in your Landscape Design
Butterflies are first attracted to flowers by their color. Groups of flowers are easier for butterflies to locate.

Plan for Continuous Bloom Throughout the Growing Season
Butterflies are active from early spring until late fall. Plant a selection of flowers that will provide nectar throughout the entire growing season.

Include Host Plants in the Garden Design
Host plants provide food for caterpillars & lure female butterflies into the garden to lay eggs.

Include Damp Areas or Shallow Puddles in the Garden
Butterflies can not drink from open water but prefer damp areas & shallow puddles.

Place Flat Stones in the Garden
Butterflies often perch on stones, bare soil or vegetation, spread their wings & bask in the sun. Basking raises their body temperatures so they able to fly and remain active.

Do Not Use Pesticides in or near a Butterfly Garden
Use predatory insects, insecticidal soap or hand remove pests when problems occur.

Marion County Master Gardener
Bed #1 / June 5 - 2007

Our Master Gardener Group committed to 2 volunteer plots at the Bessie Spaur Butterfly Garden - 2007. Our sedum bed is still looking great. We designed & planted it last summer. Several members take turns tending the beds through out the season. The iron butterfly stake was an appreciation gift from the Knoxville Federated Garden Club to all their volunteers in 2007.

June 9 - 2007
When plans for a chartered bus trip to the Dubuque Arboretum Hosta Festival fell through Aunt Barb saved the day. She discovered the Ames Master Gardeners Garden Tour was the same weekend. Off we went to enjoy our day. It was a great time with beautiful home garden tours in the morning, lunch at Reiman Garden's Grandma's Cafe, then the grand tour of Reiman Gardens including the Butterfly House. It was a wonderful day.

Flying Frog Farm

June 10 - 2007: Day Trips are fun especially when 4 friends that all love gardening, go on - "Girl's Day Out". Arrangements had been made to visit Marcia & Bruno at FFF - Flying Frog Farm.

How did they come up with the name? Well, without too many gory details, it stemmed from an incidence involving Bruno, a riding lawn mower, & lots of frogs or frog pieces flying through the air.

After retirement, Marcia & Bruno are capitalizing on their love of growing things. They built a garden shed retreat that doubles as a gift shop now. They grow and sell shade plants with hostas as the mainstay. Hostas are queen of the shade garden. Their acreage is in a beautiful natural setting, very peaceful, very tranquil, with spectacular hosta display gardens. Visit FFF to get away from the hustle & bustle of the city. (see website for details)

Sitting Pretty Contest 2007

June 29 & 30, 2007
The second annual 'Sitting Pretty' contest was put on by the Knoxville Federated Garden Club. It was just as much fun as the first time. And the weather was perfect too. There were 39 entries this year. The rules were still simple & there was no entry fee. It is just for fun! All you have to do is get a chair, (decorate it or not), fill a container with favorite plants, stick it on or in the chair, & bring it to the contest. 'Sitting Pretty' is held in conjunction with 'Ag in the City' in Knoxville, IA. It's a really good time!

I had (have) this plan to get thymus, sedums, & scotch moss growing between all the stones in my pathway. It's making progress especially in the sunny portion. However, the heavy shaded section has things struggling to hang on.

Near the end of the season (2007) I stuck some miniature ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' in between stone under the walnut tree. Then the fun part was volunteer marigolds & pansies & periscaria coming up between the larger stones. We walked over or around them on the pathway. And I've discovered that fall clematis have self-seed themselves in bare spots in the path. I plan to dig them out in the spring. I may or may not get it accomplished! Any way, I'm loving the thymus, especially the lemon thyme as when it is touched or bumped he excretes those wonderfully scented aromas. Girls just want to have Fun!

New Arbor Project 2007

Again it must be said; One sure thing in the garden is, things are ever-changing, for better and for worse. Yes, it is like a sacred oath, a commitment to loving & caring for our gardens. Our garden relies on us to unconditionally love it, and protect it, and nurture it. We are stewards of the land. There is a book with that title that is a classic tool in many horticultural education programs. It brings to us the richness and the history of our lands and our responsibility as its caretaker. When we destroy nature, we destroy ourselves. And in this age of ever-expanding urban sprawl, it seems we may be edging ever closer to a world barren of green living plants. The plight of wild animals is even more devastating. Man is ever infringing on the home of the free. Greed is an evil danger threatening extermination of our green world, clean water, and the very air we breathe.

Gee Whiz! Wally! Where did that all come from? I just wanted to share a picture of the new arbor Ron built for me this spring. The original log arbor rotted off below the ground and was no longer safe. Eventually it would all fall down. The new structure is very nice but Ron & I both miss the ambience of the original arbor. We were both emotionally attached to that inanimate object. Ron built it from logs he cleared from a nearby timber several years ago just for me.

Autumn 2005 ~ December 2005 ~ January-February 2006 ~ March 2006 ~ April 2006 ~ May 2006 ~ June 2006 ~ July 2006 ~ August 2006 ~ September 2006 ~ October 2006 ~ November 2006 ~ December 2006 ~ January 2007 ~ February 2007 ~ March 2007 ~ April 2007 ~ May 2007 ~ June 2007 ~ July 2007 ~ August 2007 ~ September 2007 ~ October 2007 ~ November 2007 ~ December 2007 ~ January 2008 ~ February 2008 ~ March 2008 ~ April 2008 ~ May 2008 ~ June 2008 ~ July 2008 ~ August 2008 ~ September 2008 ~ October 2008

What's Happening