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Green Valley Gardeners A Service Club Made Up of Gardeners

PRESIDENT’S REPORT – Chuck Parsons

Your Board of Directors will use the May meeting to draft an agenda for a summer retreat in early August. Board members, committee chairs and co-chairs, and a few guests will attend this retreat. We use the morning of the retreat to gather input on all of the club’s current projects, review member suggestions we’ve received during the past year, visit tabled ideas worthy of more discussion than was possible at regular Board meetings during the year – a ‘brain storming’ session, if you will. We have lunch. Then after lunch the Board meets to incorporate the best ideas into action plans for our next ‘working year’ – that year beginning again in September 2013 and running through April 2014.

First, during the afternoon session of the retreat, the board ensures that the activities we support with resources – club funds and member volunteer hours – align with the club mission and objectives. Second, we list the skills we need to find among our members to be successful in those activities and projects we wish to accomplish for the next year. When I report to you on the outcome of our retreat, I’ll include a list of skills, projects, activities, etc. requiring volunteers. I hope you will consider one or more on that list that are of interest to you. If so, please let one of us on the board know of your interest and willingness to volunteer.

As I reflect back on the club events since last September, I see several areas of improvement – both the Arid Garden and Community Garden have added new features. We’ve had more membership activities to enjoy. We’ve reached a larger

audience in our community with better publicity of our seminars. We’ve even added the convenience of credit card transactions as an option for plant sale customers. Behind the scenes there have been improvements in banking transactions, website management, data base management, internal communications, etc.! None of these were possible without the many volunteers willing to take part! Thanks to all! Happy Gardening! ARID GARDEN UPDATE – Mary Kidnocker The new raised bed is planted, blooming, and looks lovely! However, it has gone from a "Sensory Raised Garden" to a "Scented Raised Garden". The soft Lamb's Ear could not accept the sun, so it has been replaced by three lively spearmint plants. All plants now have different yet pleasant scents and appear happy in the afternoon sun.

SAND ‘N’ SEEDS May 2013

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Thanks to our gentlemen volunteers, there is now a newly-planted Texas Ebony tree to share with visitors. It is small and young but a good example of an often-recommended tree for local landscapes. Departing "snowbird" neighbors generously donated a total of $150 to show their appreciation for the efforts of our volunteers. Scores of photography devotees have become regular visitors to the garden, trying to catch the many breathtaking Trichocereus cactus flowers at their peak. "Flying Saucer" had sixteen blooms at one time, with other buds in the waiting mode. GARDEN TOUR 2013 – Peggy Cederstrom and Kathy Haught, Co-chairs Those of you who attended the Green Valley Gardeners Garden Tour on Saturday April 6 know it was a beautiful day with five great gardens on display. We thank you for your support. Our homeowners worked very hard to overcome the damage done by the winter cold spell and it paid off in delightful gardens of all varieties. The hosts and greeters were friendly and generous with their time ensuring the Homeowners and guests had a pleasant experience. The Sheriff Auxiliary Volunteers once again provided much needed assistance at all locations. Approximately 450 people enjoyed the tour. The final figures are not yet tallied, but it appears we made a profit, which will contribute to the many services the Green Valley Gardeners provide. Peggy and Kathy were pleased to co-host the tour the last two years. We are now looking for two or more people to co-host the Tour next year. There is ample documentation to step you through the process, and many willing volunteers to help as committee members. If you are interested in co-hosting the Tour next

year, please contact Chuck Parsons.

MEDIAN GREEN – Mary Kidnocker The median has welcomed spring with scarlet ocotillo blooms, spicy pink and lime flowers on the prickly pears, bright yellow palo verde blossoms, and a scattering of wildflower surprises. Next the plants must hunker down for a long, hot summer in the middle of busy La Canada Boulevard.

CANOA RANCH GARDENS PROJECT – Jack Davis

Harvesting of the winter garden provided more than expected for having been planted in December. GVG volunteers, Pima County staff, and a few tour visitors came away with “a taste of Canoa”. The warm season veggies, including chilis, chilitepins, beans, tomatoes, garlic, squash, and sugar baby watermelons were planted in mid-April and are thriving. The herb garden continues to prosper. Currently Pima County is under an edict of emergency, spending only as the end of the fiscal year approaches. However, planning and budgeting is progressing for the courtyard garden, which may become a reality during late summer-fall. Our thanks to a superb team of ten experienced GVG volunteers who will schedule for the summer/early fall. Five of these GVG members will undergo complete on-site training and problem solving at the Ranch on May 6 and then travel to Tucson to attend a meeting with the Pima County NRPR (Natural Resources Parks & Recreation) team at their offices. They will also tour the Pima County Native Nursery and Prickly Pear Park, which is adjacent to the headquarters. The Pima County team will then provide an overview to the group of the future plans for Canoa Ranch restoration, plantings, and gardens. Our thanks to the Pima County team for setting up this opportunity to understand their plans and responsibilities and, therefore, be able to optimally function in the joint projects with GVG.

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Green Valley Gardeners Visit Hummingbird Haven and Conservation Farm by Ron and Vicki Sullivan

An hour’s drive from Green Valley in Santa Cruz County is the town of Patagonia. Located in the center of town is Paton’s Hummingbird Haven. Paton's is a unique birding destination, one of the most famous birding backyards in the USA. Caretaker and host Larry Morgan provided his expertise for the more than 37 hummingbird watchers. Morgan’s introduction was brief and educational. Binoculars and telephoto lenses were in focus. His simple bank of hummingbird feeders attracts hummingbirds year round and hosts 15 different species of hummingbirds, including the Broad-Billed, the Rufous, and the Magnificent Violet Crowned hummingbirds. A short distance from Paton’s Hummingbird Haven, about a mile north of town on 65 acres of creek bottom farm land, is the Conservation Farm of Native Seeds/SEARCH. The non-profit organization maintains a farm for growing and preserving seeds of endangered crops.

Evan Sofro, the 24-year old farm manager of the Conservation Farm, shared his impressive knowledge of farming and cooperative cross border ventures with the gardeners. He and members of the Native Seeds/SEARCH team have been working with the Tarahumara Indians in Mexico. Sofro commented, “The Tarahumara people occupy remote slopes and deep canyons of the Sierra Madre of Chihuahua and Durango, Mexico. As a starting point, we selected several Tarahumara bean and corn varieties to grow out on our Conservation Farm.” Sofro located four additional sites around Arizona to grow even more seeds with the intention to eventually send a large quantity down to Mexico. “We have been involved with several projects to assist the Tarahumara over the years and still have close contacts in the region.” For more information about Native Seeds/SEARCH, visit www.nativeseeds.org.

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CASA MEMORY GARDEN – Mary Kidnocker

Perhaps many of you have not visited this small renovated garden. Included is a pretty iris bed that bloomed beautifully this year. Also there are a number of colorful salvia plants, including red autumn sage both in a raised wall and scattered around the garden. Growing also are Woolly Butterfly bushes and collections of agave plants and Mexican feather grass. The boxwood caterpillar was given another "professional do" by designer Leslie Campbell and continues to please the small Los Ninos children on their daily walks.

OGDEN COMMUNITY GARDEN – George Stone April has been a very busy month for the community gardeners. On any given Saturday 15 or so are at the garden early tending to their plots. Most crops are in and the plant growth is fantastic. Potatoes planted in the middle of March are poking their heads from the ground. Some gardeners pushed the envelope a little and planted their tomatoes before the last frost date but most show no sign of frost damage. The search for the perfect tomato stake continues. We should have a contest. In the last two weeks we were enchanted by the wonderful fragrant aroma from the Chinaberry tree (Melia azedarach), which sets in our neighbor’s yard. What a treat!!! The aroma and the sight of hummers and pipevine swallowtails around the garden made the hard work that much more enjoyable. For years we have enjoyed that tree but no one could remember the name. Jack Davis took a branch to the master gardeners who identified it. We plan to mark that tree on a future garden map. The community garden is proud to announce the arrival of our newest gardener. James Icely was assigned plot # 15 on April 11th at 1:00 am. Proud dad Michael reports mom Parisa and baby James are doing great. With the addition of James we now have 5 children enjoying gardening with their parents.

LOS NINOS – Elissa Dearing

The spring garden at Los Ninos is up and growing. The two varieties of bush beans and two varieties of pole beans are flowering, as are the Armenian cucumbers. The pumpkin plants are starting to spread and hopefully will provide some pumpkins for Halloween. The four varieties of peppers are all in bloom; some of the plants already have peppers. A recent addition to the two year old garden is the colorful caterpillar the children painted on rocks and assembled at the back of their garden. WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Bill Berdine & Stacie Meyer Marilyn Corrigan Kathy Gullen Ken Haley Alvin Hein James Icely Gene & Jacque Van Dyken

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR o September 12 Seminar History and Evolution of

our Community Garden George Stone, Garden Manager, at Desert Hills from 9:30 – 10:30 am (Free)

o September 19 Members Event Tour of the Arivaca Community Garden

o September 26 Seminar Stopping Insects and Plant Disease at the Border Representative from the Border Patrol at Desert Hills from 9:30 – 10:30 am (Free)

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o October 3 Seminar Tucson Mission Gardens Bill O’Malley at Desert Hills from 9:30 – 10:30 am (Free)

o October 10 Seminar Insects and Moths of Madera Canyon Jeff Batsome at Desert Hills from 9:30 – 10:30 am (Free)

o October 17 Seminar Roadside Geology Richard Yetman at West Center from 9:30 – 10:30 am (Free)

o October 24 Seminar Description of Plants Being Sold at the GVG Fall Plant Sale Alex Shipley from Civano Nursery at Desert Hills from 9:30 – 10:30 am (Free)

o October 24 – 26 Fall Plant Sale o October 31 Seminar Orchids and Other Indoor

Plants Phil Mullarky, Tucson Master Gardener, at Desert Hills from 9:30 – 10:30 am (Free)

o November 7 Seminar Restoration of the Historic Canoa Ranch Gardens Robert Vaughn from Pima County Natural Resources, Parks & Recreation at Desert Hills from 9:30 – 10:30 am (Free)

o November 14 Seminar Trees for our Area and Winter Care Greg Doherty from Bartlett Tree at Desert Hills from 9:30 – 10:30 am (Free)

SAND ‘N ’ SEEDS ‘N’ MORE

ROOT STOCK

Root Stock is taken from a compilation written by George Gries and updated by Ken Bichl. We’ll provide excerpts of our history.

It’s called Root Stock because the club has grown on the stock

provided by our founders. – Editors

1983: Membership reached 100 for the first time under the presidency of Dent Caton. Other officers were: 2nd Vice President, Larry Jaskoviak; 3rd Vice President, Leroy Czerwinski; Secretary, Tom Harper; Treasurer, Olie Ohman and Editor John King. Win Mani accepted the Editor’s duties in March and was in turn succeeded by Elmer Beamer in September. No one would accept the position of 1st Vice President. Dalton Brown was president of the Auxiliary. Beginning with the December meeting, the monthly club meetings were moved to Pima Savings and Loan (now Bank One). The by-laws were revised to reflect the operational procedures of the Club. A Sweet Pea show (Al Ogden, Chairman) was held April 3. Agreements were made for the Club to undertake the landscaping around the Government Center and the area around the office of Friends-in-Deed at East Center. A decision was made to accept the offer of Neil Johnson of Sahuarita for a parcel of land on which to develop a community garden. Ned Netherton chaired a successful George Merten Patio and Garden Tour involving nine gardens in April. In May the Club hosted the Regional Meeting which included a field trip to Tumacacori and Tubac. Club members pitched in to assist the Tucson Club as they hosted the MGCA National Convention. Al Ogden chaired the Program Committee for the event for which he received a National Certificate of Appreciation. Serious work was undertaken on the medians of La Canada Drive by assigning different sections of the street between the Villas and Continental Road to different members. A group chaired by Win Mani built cofferdams in the center of Continental Road and Camino del Sol. (Work on both La Canada and Continental was discontinued after La Canada was graded with new culverts, widened and paved – a direct response to the flood of 1983 at which time Pima County accepted responsibility for their maintenance).

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Awards and Recognitions: At the fall Regional Meeting, Larry Jaskoviak was elected Regional Director for the MGCA. At the November Awards Banquet of the Local Club, the Bronze Medal was awarded to Dalton Brown and Leroy Czerwinski. Al Ogden received the Arizona Award and Certificates of Appreciation and honors were given to Larry Jaskoviak, Frank Tregler, Homer and Florence Munger, Keene Armstrong, Elizabeth Betz, Harry and Anne Frye, George Gries, Neil and Lori Johnson, John Licke, Brenda Mignon and Ned Netherton. Jim Michael qualified as a Master Gardener by completing the first course for such designation offered by the U of A/Pima County Cooperative Extension Services.

Butterfly’s Adieu By Ron & Vicki Sullivan

Henri Charrière and Dega their plan of escape from Devil’s Island

Who knows what their fate?

Charrière leaps from the cliff His fate is unknown

He grasps at his float sets course for his home

Unlike Puccini’s Butterfly

imaginative operatic repertoire tragic heroine Madama

has chosen her star

Like a larva in pupation its skin molts away

Hindwings and forewings are bound to display

Papillon’s head and abdomen seem quite intact

It must search for a host to feed its thorax

A week on the sea or a week in flight

Its proboscis is long throughout its short life

May your week on the sea

or a week in flight garnish your tastes

for a Gardener’s delight

Happy Gardening! See you in September! Sand ‘n’ Seeds n’ More

Editorial Staff