Monday, Sept. 19 and Tuesday, Sept. 20 Update - JCHC Garden

Major efforts have been placed in creating the flower bed at the JCHC!

We will continue to water the plants as necessary, but hopefully it rains before too long.

The efforts of this wonderful group of gardeners have created something lovely (3-season color) for the enjoyment of JCHC patients.  Even more than that, many garden plantings and hardscape items were donated and provided in loving memory of "Doc" Dunn and Cristen Michele Steinbeck.

 Monday, September 19, 2011

This morning, Cindy Dunn brought the wagon wheel!

Until further notice,  Many Thanks to the following Gardeners:

Master Gardeners:  Leland and Shirley Stanley, Jan Birch, Julie Wetrich, Karin Hauring and Kathy Tollenaere

Participating Gabby Garden Gals Members:  Cindy Dunn, Becky Stoner, Joan Salts, Nancy Behner, Sandi Dimmitt, Linda Stein, Connie Estle, Colleen Kimble, Eleanor Stever, (Kathy Tollenaere and Karin Hauring).

Other Helpful People:  Kim Keller, Ginny Hughes, Larry Mitchell (and a variety of his staff), Tony Webb, Jacob Dunn, Jim Stoner and Pete Tollenaere!

And Please Forgive Me if I've left ANYONE out!

Check Out the Progress Today! JCHC Garden

Master Gardener Jan plants her daylilies!  Her Nepata 'Walker's Low' is at the left forefront.  Cindy and Connie - lots of planting going on!

Click on the photos to enlarge

 

Below, we see Colleen, Linda, Sandi, Jan, and Connie continue...

Dianthus 'Firewitch' going in.

Clematis 'City of Lyon' and 'Ernest Markham'

Do you see 'Eric the Red' Siberian Iris, 'Autumn Joy' Sedum, 'Matrona' Sedum, 

'Wood's Light Blue' Aster, and 'Moonshine' Yarrow?

 

 Oh, oh!  Caught me!  Iris in a pot, waiting to be divided and planted!  

I'm digging holes for 'Karl Foerster' grass.

Time for Mulch!

Buxus (Boxwood) 'Green Velvet' in foreground

 "Clean Sweep" by Jan!

It's too bad Grant Wood didn't have subjects like this!

 

 Super Planters!

  

Continue to watch for future progress.  The plan is that at least three of us will gather Monday afternoon to finish the planting and mulching.  Hopefully the fence panel and birdhouses will soon be added as well.

Step - by - Step - by - Step . . .

I made a quick trip to the garden area late this afternoon (4:30 p.m.), with a trellis (for a clematis), two fence posts, a "post-pounder-in-er," some wire, a measuring tape, and my camera. 

Last night, the bed looked like this - with the florescent spray paint boundaries and flags for the flowering crab apple tree and the Korean Lilac.
(Don't forget you can click on any photo to greatly enlarge!)

The view was unchanged this morning, even after Leland and Shirley had delivered and roto-tilled in a load of nice, dry sheep manure!

You might well imagine my pleasant surprise in finding the bush and tree in place when I arrived at 4:30 p.m. with my variety of items!  I did set the trellis in place before taking the following photographs. 

Dwarf Korean Lilac

Malus 'Sargentii' - aka 'Sargent Flowering Crabapple'

two views  of the placement

Next stop - Friday morning!

Watch for the update.  

:-)

JCHC Flower Garden - Taming of the "Dirt Pile!"

 It looks like we had the Right Man for the Job, when it came to Leland!!  We met at 9:30 a.m. today.  He unloaded his tractor...

 And set right to work . . . 

(click on any photo to enlarge)

Bright...

 Bluebird Skies today . . .

We plan to plant Friday and Saturday...

Next Tuesday looks overcast,

Wednesday shows a slight chance of rain,

and Thursday (at this time) shows a 70% chance of rain...

Looks good enough to us!!!

Watch for ongoing progress reports!

Community Garden Near JCHC

This was a new garden spot this Spring/Summer.  With all the Spring Rain, it had a slow start, but I see some good looking produce coming here!  :-)

Hopefully next year's gardeners won't have the WET, Soggy Spring we experienced this year!

Gardening is Good for you, September 2011

Besides Nutrition (January), providing Emotional Health (February), Nurturing (March), providing Exercise (April), Connecting with People (May), being Educational (June), Enhancing our Environment (July), and By Being Productive (August), Gardening is Good for you by being Sensory!

"Gardens engage our senses of smell, taste, vision, hearing, and touch.  Plants reward gardeners with fragrant flowers, tasty fruit and vegetables, colorful flowers and foliage, the subtle sound of grasses and other plants rustling in the wind, and textures that vary from soft to rough to prickly.  The sensory experiences of gardens comfort and relax us.  Research has shown that simply strolling or viewing green spaces can be therapeutic and reduce stress.  So the next time you have a hectic day, take a moment to sit or stroll in the garden.  You will be impressed at the calming effect your garden can have."*

*Taken from the September 2011 Iowa State University, University Extension calendar.