wsu spokane ounty extension master gardeners the...
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The Lowdown
Dr. Jeremy Cowan 477-2145
Regional Horticulture Specialist
Tim Kohlhauff 477-2172
Horticulture Program Coordinator
Anna Kestell 477-2195
Education/Clinic Coordinator
Master Gardener County Site
http://www.spokane-county.wsu.edu/
spokane/eastside
Master Gardener Foundation of Spo-
kane County
http://www.mgfsc.org/
WSU Master Gardener Site
http://mastergardener.wsu.edu
HortSense Fact Sheets
http://pep.wsu.edu/hortsense
On Line Timelog Reporting:
http://ext.wsu.edu/Volunteer/logon
WSU Spokane County Extension Master Gardeners
April 2015
Inside this issue:
Garden Tours 1
Foundation News 2
Armchair Gardener 4
Book Review 8
Self Study Quiz 10
Upcoming Events 12
Extension Information
GARDEN TOURS
We have decided to free up summer time and do a Garden Tour every
other Wednesday. We hope this is good news.
We are starting April 15 and will meet at 6:00 p.m. for education and
6:30 for food and social time. Directions will be sent via the Happy Monday
prior to the tour and we would like to encourage carpooling. Please let one of
us know if you need or want a ride and we will do our best to get you there
and back. We are entertaining ideas for food and we will update you with the
details.
We would like to implement the old "RSVP'" rule, nothing hard and
fast, but we believe it would be courteous to the host and also helpful
in planning for the food we share after the tour. We have included a
few separate gatherings; something casual, but fun, which you will see in the
Lowdown. We are looking forward to the 2015 Garden Tour season and hope
you will make time to join us. While the education is good, the camaraderie is
even better.
Please call me, Mollie McDonald, with any questions or suggestions
at 220-0373, or contact one of the Garden Tour committee members.
Sincerely,
Mollie McDonald
Julie McElroy
Carol Albeitz
Julie Levine
April 15 - Dee's Secret Garden Nursery Tour - 7717 E. 18th Ave (Valley)
April 29 - Whitworth University - ‘Year of the Soil’ Tour and Sustainable
Gardening (North side)
May 6 - Tim Stiess- Historical gardening/ Landscape planning - 416 W.
Park Place (Corbin Park)
May 20 - Chattaroy Cheese - Goat farm/Cheese production - (North)
***Saturday May 23 (8:30 am) - Turnbull Wildlife Sanctuary - (Cheney)
June 3 - Marilyn Lloyd - 3620 E. 35th Ave - Preview ‘Spokane in Bloom’
Garden Tour (South)
June 17 - Pat Lynass - 7508 N. ‘F’ St. Education TBD (5-mile)
The Lowdown Page 2
News for Garden Fair & Plant Sale 2015 By Claudia Myers
The committee for Garden Fair is led by Tim Stiess again this year. His
team includes Marilyn Lloyd, Julie McElroy, Jan Shellenberger, Mari-
lyn Wadsworth, Claudia Myers, and with honorable mention – Denise
Eaton in charge of the plants. Last year was our first experience with independent nursery vendors. It
proved successful for both the Foundation and vendors. This year we have more vendors and will be filling
the area all around the Green Zone. In lieu of a booth fee, vendors pay the Foundation 20% of their sales.
More Community Organizations or non-revenue partners have been added: Food Sense, Inland Northwest
Beekeepers, Master Composters, Spokane community gardens, Inland Empire Gardeners, Spokane Urban
Forestry, the Lilac Society, Conservation District, Spokane Water Dept., Water-wise and the Year of the
Soil committee. Pat Munts and Susan Mulvihill will be present to sign their new book.
Educational opportunities will be offered by the Master Gardeners working in the clinic or at various activi-
ties throughout the event. Jennifer Tiegs will have her very popular “Plant & Planting” information table by
the plant sale and would like some help with it. Adaptive tools, raised beds, drip irrigation & waterwise
information will also be represented. Sue Malm and her group have expanded their Herb exhibit. Vi Tiegs
will be working with Home Fires to explain the care of berry plants (and sell some, too), Clarice and Karen
have brought in more native plants and Ellen Jones will be selling organic seed potatoes of a number of va-
rieties. Karen Whitehead has been very busy creating her 3R’s works of art! We do need someone to help
with dahlias this year.
The Yard & Garden Shop has been renamed “Yard Sale.” Carol McKenny is heading this again. It should
be overflowing with all the stuff I cleaned out in my move!!! Roberta Smith has made a treasure trove of
bags from recycled feed bags. In addition, she’s made ‘shopping bags’ for the plant sale. We can use your
wagons or yard carts Saturday for our shoppers. The more they can gather, the more we will sell. Make
sure that you boldly mark your wagon…We can also use more tables. Again, boldly mark anything you
loan to the event.
Since the State of Washington has very specific criteria that must be met for a raffle, the raffle has been
simplified. This year there is one Grand Prize…..a $500 Apple Store gift card donated by Washington Trust
Bank. Peech Chen is heading up the Raffle ticket sales group at Garden Fair. Contact her if you can help
sell tickets.
Items we need to borrow: an iPod, tablet or Nook for credit card transactions and wagons or other
shopping carts, canopies and tables for plants.
Garden Fair & the Plant Sale generates almost 80% of our annual revenue. Thank you for all your help and
support for this very important event.
(continued on page 3)
Bob’s Bee Houses, Green’s Greenhouse, Basic Garden Tools, Pretty in Fink, Carousel Stained Glass, Kizuri, Blue
Moon Nursery, Secret Garden & Greenhouse, Marle Worm Growers, Desert Jewels Nursery, Linda Rae’s
Creations, Backyard Art, Sharp Stuff, Home Fires and Petunia’s Marketplace.
The Lowdown Page 3
Janice Sather 8-Apr
Ryan Herring 9-Apr
Pat Munts 12-Apr
Jane Bateham-Smith 13-Apr
Marilyn Lloyd 20-Apr
Marilyn Wadsworth 20-Apr
Jill Ferguson 25-Apr
Don DeLuca 28-Apr
We are so glad you are with us! (continued from page 2)
So who is doing what? These are the people to contact if you want a to do a specific task:
General Help Tim Stiess [email protected]
Gathering folks who can work on a simple cash regis-
ter or iPad
Claudia Myers [email protected]
Security: meaning parking and staying in a camper
outside of the Extension building Friday, April 24
Claudia Myers &
?????
Break room: where volunteers find comfort, get off
their feet for a few minutes, get hot food, drinks, and
snackies.
Karen Feyk [email protected]
Native Plants Karen Parks
Clarice Garcia
Yard Sale (Home & Garden) Cashier
Pricing and Presentation
Claudia Myers
Carol McKenny
Book Sales Jane Bateham-Smith [email protected]
Raffle Peech Chen [email protected]
Plants and Planting Jennifer Tiegs [email protected]
The Lowdown Page 4
PENSTEMONS FOR YOU AND NOT FOR DEER
By Eva Lusk
Like foxglove (Digitalis spp.) and snapdragons (Antirrhinum spp.), beard tongues
(Penstemon spp.), too, have been cast out from the Figwort/Snapdragon Family
(Scrophulariaceae) and found a new home in the Plantain Family (Plantaginaceae).
All this movement is the result of the latest genetic research that has been changing our plant classification sys-
tem by showing more accurate relationships between plants. For more on this new system, check the new APG
BOTANY IN A DAY by Thomas J. Elpel.
Fortunately for us, we now also have access to a revised plant dictionary that uses the APG classifications: THE
A TO Z OF PLANT NAMES by Allen J. Coombes. It replaces his older DICTIONARY OF PLANT NAMES.
Penstemons thrive in our Spokane area gardens, where the growing conditions seem to suit many varieties.
They tend to dislike wet feet and need good drainage. Most of them bloom in the spring and their charming
flowers come in a many different colors.
The tubular, five-petaled blossoms are bi-labial (two petals form the upper lip and three form the broader, lower
lip) and are displayed on flower stems of different sizes. They attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds, but
not deer.
The common name of beard tongue comes from one of the five stamens, which is sterile, often quite hairy and
sticks out beyond the petals, according to THE GARDENER’S GUIDE TO GROWING PENSTEMONS by Da-
vid Way and Peter James.
The botanical name has a more complicated history. In 1748, Dr. John Mitchell of Virginia first described the
genus Penstemon to Linnaeus. Believing that Mitchell had named the plant after the five stamens, Linnaeus
changed the spelling to Pentstemon, which in later years even became Pentastemon.
But in 1966 another American taxonomist, Dr. Lloyd Shinners, suggested that the “Pen” part of the name actu-
ally was derived from the Greek word “paene” meaning “almost,” thus referring not to the five stamens, but
rather to the one sterile, or “almost,” stamen.
Many years ago I found a Rocky Mountain Penstemon (P. strictus) in a local
nursery, took it home and fortunately planted it on a slight slope in the garden,
where it’s been thriving ever since. The slope is perfect, because it helps with the
good drainage that Penstemons require.
It takes a bit of shade, too, and spreads via stolons, but not aggressively. I’m al-
ways glad to give some of these offspring the chance to flower in other parts of
the garden. The flowers are plentiful (two-foot tall spikes of blue with a hint of
lavender) and it’s hardy, quite drought tolerant and hummingbirds love it.
(continued on page 5)
Penstemon
Confertus
The Lowdown Page 5
(continued from page 4)
The native shrubby Penstemon (P. fruticosus) is another species that
has lasted well in my garden. It’s not quite as tall as the Rocky
Mountain Penstemon, but has woody stems and leaves that remain
green even in winter. The pinkish lavender flowers are large and
bloom from late spring into the summer.
Another native, the hot-rock Penstemon (P. deustus), also known as
scorched or scabland Penstemon, blooms throughout the late spring
and early summer in the rock garden. It sports variably toothed leaves and sends up a number of un-
branched, upright stems, with small white flowers forming in several tight clusters on the upper stems. It
does well in poor, gravelly soils.
The quite similar looking yellow Penstemon (P. confertus), also native here, is a mat-forming perennial
with pale yellow to cream colored flowers on spikes up to 16 inches tall in spring. It does well in sun to
part shade, sandy or well-drained soil and is quite drought tolerant, too. It doesn’t have the obviously
toothed leaves of the hot rock species above.
Richardson’s or cut-leaved Penstemon (P. richardsonii), another native, grows in a bushy clump and tends
to sprawl. But the flowers appear in late summer and early fall when other plants in the garden are getting
ready to retire for the season. It can get a little rangy, but the gray-green foliage and bright pink fall blooms
make up for that.
Though native to the southeastern United States, Small’s Penstemon (P. smallii), is hardy in our zone and
thrives in our growing conditions. Theoretically, it should bloom from May to June, but often flowers
throughout the summer and into fall as well.
It’s truly lovely, with many spikes of pinkish-lavender tubular flowers that have purple-striped white
throats. The whole plant is about a foot or so high and forms a tidy clump that looks great in the rock gar-
den. A little shade doesn’t seem to bother it, either.
The maroon foliage of Penstemon digitalis 'Husker Red' is another ‘must have’ variety. It provides a useful
color accent in the garden, is easy to grow, can reach up to three feet and blooms in early summer with
white flowers that contrast nicely with the maroon foliage
Most Penstemon cultivars have showy flowers that show up well in our gardens. Be sure to choose only
those that are hardy in this area and will thrive in our growing conditions. I’ve had good luck with the
‘Pike’s Peak Purple’ and the ‘Red Rocks’ varieties, as well as the red and yellow Penstemon pinifolius or
pine leaved versions.
While all of the Penstemons in my garden have been a treat for a gardener’s eyes, deer have never consid-
ered them a gustatory delight. Now that’s a real plus for all of us who live in deer country and yearn for
plants that stay intact.
Husker Red
The Lowdown Page 6
Request for Master Gardener Expertise from River’s Wish Animal Sanctuary
Contact: Nancy Mueller, at 509-290-4690 or [email protected]
River's Wish Animal Sanctuary requests the help of Master Gardeners to advise them on
plant selections, plant sources, best management practices, companion plantings, etc. for vegetable
and perennial gardens.
The sanctuary, http://www.riverswishanimalsanctuary.org/, is located at 11511 West
Garfield Road (west of Seven Mile Bridge). Run by Pete and Kit Jagoda, the sanctuary is home
to horses, pigs, cattle, goats, rabbits, turkeys, dogs and other animals that were rescued from
slaughter or cruelty cases.
It is the dream of River’s Wish that every creature be able to live a full and joyful life. The
sanctuary is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit. The sanctuary also offers a humane education program that
teaches compassion for all animals.
This project involves developing a 9,000 square foot garden to food for rabbits, pigs,
goats, 2nd Harvest Food Bank and to sell to vegan restaurants. A large portion of the garden will
provide habitat for butterflies, bees and birds.
The garden will be fenced with the recommended high tensile deer fencing at correct
height. It will use a drip irrigation system to minimize water usage, with the eventual goal of
using all gray water from buildings and grounds. Water and electricity are on site.
Located behind the parking lot and close to the road, there will be (eventually) a
greenhouse, pavilion, picnic tables and a small grassy area. This area will be designed as a
memorial garden for beloved pets and all animals who have suffered.
Joey Addington from Legacy Landscapers is working on the layout and drawings. The
sanctuary will draw upon diverse community members for this project and plans to offer
gardening and art classes in the summer of 2016.
The project will be supported by grants and donations. Volunteers will do the hands-on
work for the gardens. Master Gardeners would provide technical advice and education.
The Lowdown Page 7
The Potting Table
By Mia Marcum-McCoy
Love note from The Potting Table:
* Keep your perennial donations for Garden Fair warm, fertilize with each watering and talk to them regularly. If you need greenhouse space, connect with Julie or Denise.
* Spring dig gigs are available...we supply the pots, soil and the labor.
* Calling all plant lists by the first of April...please include the name, characteristics and color in the description. The tag ladies will begin their magic soon!
Thanks a bunch!
[email protected], 999-0493
[email protected], 838-3255
**Special note from our Plant Sale crew **
Unfortunately we suffered some significant losses among the plants we overwintered and we are hoping our Master
Gardener volunteers can come to the rescue!
As you know, the Garden Fair and Plant Sale is our biggest fundraiser of the year, so while you’re doing your spring garden clean up, would you pot up a division or two?
This year, your plant contributions can really make an impact on the sale!
THANK YOU!
The Lowdown Page 8
Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden
A book review by Susan Mulvihill
As an organic gardener, I am very careful to only use environmentally-safe products for the occa-
sional insect problem.
For example, I’m a huge fan of using floating row cover when growing veggie crops that typically
have insect issues, such as cabbage family crops, spinach, beets and Swiss chard. And there’s noth-
ing wrong with that.
But I have also occasionally used organic sprays such as Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) to control cab-
bage loopers and tomato hornworms or Safer’s insecticidal soap when dealing with aphids.
So here I thought I was being such a good steward of the environment around me but it turns out
that’s not necessarily so.
After reading Jessica Walliser’s book, “Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden” (Timber Press
240 pp., $24.95), I now know that even organic sprays can cause problems. For one thing, they can
be more harmful to beneficial insects than to the pest insects I’m targeting. Yikes!
And if you knock off the good guys, other types of pest insects can become more prevalent in the
garden. Suddenly the balance in your garden’s insect world is completely off.
An interesting fact I read in Walliser’s book is that only 1 percent of insects are damaging types,
and the other 99 percent are either beneficial insects or ones that do no harm. As gardeners, doesn’t
it always seem like there are way more pest insects than that?
As the author puts it, “All these tiny (beneficial) insects are a vital part of your garden. Their inher-
ent intent, of course, is not to help you control pests but rather to survive and reproduce. Isn’t it
nice, however, that your garden reaps the benefits of their consumptive and reproductive needs?....
Learning to recognize these natural enemies and encouraging ample populations of them results in
a clear win-win situation for both the insect and the gardener.”
Aha, so that really should be our goal, don’t you think?
(continued on page 9)
The Lowdown Page 9
(continued from page 8)
First of all, she underscores the need for us to have a pesticide-free environment. For one thing, this
will eliminate the resistance to chemicals that pest insects have a tendency to develop.
For another thing, we need to add plants that will shelter and support the beneficials.
Walliser points out that, in order to survive and reproduce, beneficial insects need proteins found in pol-
len and carbohydrates found in nectar. She says it’s best to have both pollen and nectar sources in one
place in our gardens so the beneficials don’t expend energy trying to find each.
Within this book, the author has useful photos for identifying beneficial insects and information that
indicates which types of insects they prey upon. Next are detailed profiles of plants that attract and nur-
ture beneficial insects. I’ve known for years that members of the carrot family (Apiaceae) attract them,
but her information goes way beyond that.
Then there is a guide to landscaping for beneficial insects so it is seamlessly incorporated into our gar-
dens. She refers to these areas as insectary borders, “areas intentionally created to support the nutrition-
al and environmental needs of insect predators and parasitoids.”
And finally, she puts all of the information together in a simple guide that shows each beneficial insect,
the insects they eat and which host plants will keep them in your garden.
Walliser has a very enjoyable writing style. She’s quite self-effacing, admitting prior ignorance about
the world of insects and admitting she used to spray a lot of pesticides. She also shares that she used to
hate bugs because they damaged what would otherwise be “perfect” plants in the garden.
In my humble opinion, this book should be required reading for all Master Gardeners! It contains ex-
cellent information on insects and their habits, and encourages gardeners to select a diverse collection
of plant species for the most success at drawing in beneficial insects.
The Lowdown Page 10
LOWDOWN SELF STUDY QUIZ
1. MG Garden Tours will begin on:
A. April 6
B. April 15
C. April 29
2. Penstemons are in which plant family?
A. Scrophulariaceae
B. Plantaginaceae
C. Rosaceae
3. Deer love to eat native penstemons?
True or False
4. Where is River’s Wish Animal Sanctuary located?
A. West Central Spokane
B. West Plains
C. Spokane Valley
D. Seven Mile
5. Bt will control what type of pests in the garden?
6. Which book has been recommended as required reading for MGs?
7. Who recommended it?
8. What is the scientific name of the pussy willow tree?
9. What is the common name of Aegopodium podagraria?
10. What upcoming event really needs your full participation?
11. Your perennial donations for Garden Fair need what right now?
12. Plant lists for Garden Fair donations are due April 1. What information should be
included for the tags?
Bonus Question: Whose puppy is sitting on our new MG garden cart on page 7?
The Lowdown Page 11
March Lowdown Quiz
Answer Key:
1. Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
2. All
3. It has numerous carpels surrounded by extraordinarily prominent hypanthium that closely envelopes
numerous carpels with narrow circular openings at top through which styles project.
4. B and C
5. A, C, B
6. Provide wildlife with food & cover, beautiful, low maintenance, saves natural heritage, prevents
introduction of invasive plants
7. Lily of the Valley, Phlox, Sedums
8. A=3, B=4, C=2, D=1
9. All except peony
10. Plants lose vigor, smaller than normal flowers, center of clumps are hollow and dead, bottom foliage is
sparse and poor, outgrown boundaries
Bonus: Joel E. Ferris, an early civic leader in Spokane.
Clinic Stories
(or ‘Tales of the Master Gardeners’)
By Kris Moberg-Hendron, editor
We all have some great stories to tell of our times in the Plant Clinic.
I have heard many (and probably told many).
Anna and I think it would be fun to gather stories throughout the year and compile them into a really
entertaining reading experience.
The stories could be funny or serious, happy or sad, enlightening or aggravating.
Each month we will publish a story (or two) in the Lowdown.
At the end of the year we can publish all the stories in one of our shorter Lowdown editions.
What do you think?
Just type up your (short) story and send it to Anna. You may see it in the next edition of the Lowdown!
Thank you for being a Master Gardener with a story to tell.
Persons with a disability requiring special accommodation while participating in our programs may call the WSU
Extension at 477-2048. If accommodation is not requested at least three weeks in advance, we cannot guarantee
the availability of accommodation on site. Extension programs and policies are consistent with federal and state
laws and regulations on non-discrimination regarding race, color, gender, national origin, religion, age, disability, and
sexual orientation. Evidence of noncompliance may be reported through your local Extension office.
Calendar of Events
Thursday 2 MG training: Backyard Forest Stewardship 6 pm-9 pm
Thursday 9 MG training: Plant Propagation 6 pm-9 pm
Monday 13 MG Foundation Board Meeting 1 pm
Thursday 16 MG training: WaterWise Landscaping 6 pm-9 pm
Saturday 18 Public Education: Home Greenhouses 9 am-12 pm
18 St. Al’s Creation Fair 5:15 pm—7:15 pm
Sunday 19 St. Al’s Creation Fair 8:30 am—11:30 am and 11:30 am—2:30 pm;
19 St. Al’s Creation Fair 7 pm—9 pm
Wednesday 22 Earth Day!
Thursday/Friday 23/24 Garden Fair set up
Saturday 25 GARDEN FAIR!
Monday 27 Clinic ID 3:30 pm-5 pm
PCS training 5:30 pm
Saturday 9 TIEG Garden Expo @ SCC
Monday 11 MG Foundation Board Meeting 1 pm
Thursday 14 Public Education: Planting for Pollinators 12:30 pm—3:30 pm
Monday 18 Clinic ID 3:30 pm—5 pm
PCS training 5:30 pm
Thursday 21 Public Education: WaterWise Landscaping 6 pm—9 pm
Thursday 28 MG Spring Meeting 12 pm—4 pm
Saturday 30 Public Education: WaterWise Landscaping 9 am—12 pm
Public Education: Home Composting 12:30 pm—3:30 pm