MAY 2014

PINK FLOWERS ONLADYFINGER CACTUS

YELLOW FLOWERINGJERUSALEM SAGE

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHRIS SCHNIER

EDITOR: Vineetha Kartha

ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Meg Paterson

COPY EDITORS: Jean Updike, Karen Sankman

WEBSITE QUESTIONS: Jo Cook, 602.827.8211 Roots & Shoots, published monthly by & for

Maricopa Co. Master Gardeners, is printed under the direction of:

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION

MARICOPA COUNTY OFFICE

4341 E. BROADWAY RD. / PHOENIX, AZ 85040-8807

PHONE 602.827.8200 FAX 602.827.8292

HOURS: 8:00AM-5:00PM WEEKDAYS

www.maricopamastergardener.com

STAFF: Kelly Young, Assistant Agent, ANR/Urban Horticulture

602.827.8219, kyoung@cals.arizona.edu

Rebecca Senior, Assistant in Extension, Ornamental Horticulture

602.827.8276, rsenior@cals.arizona.edu

Jo Cook, Program Coordinator

602.827.8211/jocook@cals.arizona.edu

Sharon Dewey, Speakers Bureau

602.827.8209/sdewey@cals.arizona.edu

Marina Acosta, Program Coordinator, School & Community Gardens

602.827.8221, marinaa@cals.arizona.edu

Jesse Davenport, Instructional Specialist, Food Access

602.827.8212

Roots & Shoots

RGRP Roundup

MG Update

Design Charrette

Traveling Gardener

And many more!!

Cover by Kristen Carter

in this issue >>>

MG CONTACT LIST: For a complete listing, see the organizational chart under MG Business on the MG Central website

Ambassadors: Paula Putao, 623.486.2356, woadyes@gmail.com Bonnie Newhoff, 602.943.1843, manxie@q.com

Technical Committee: Eileen Kane, 480.855.0990, eileen.marie.kane@gmail.com

Design Charrette: Beth Kirkpatrick 480.275.4833, bethalia@gmail.com Sue Lanker 480.947.0552, suelanker@msn.com

Matt Murman 602.863.9204, murmanator@yahoo.com

MG Update: Deb Sparrow , 480.968.790, inksparrow@usa.net

MG and Public Calendar: Karen Sankman Lee, 480.893.1066, jnjmom1@yahoo.com

OFFICES:

Main Office: 602.827.8200 NORTHEAST VALLEY: 480.312.5810 NORTHWEST VALLEY: 623.546.1672

University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Via Linda Senior Center PORA Office 4341 E Broadway Rd 10440 E Via Linda 13815 Camino del Sol Blvd

Phoenix, AZ 85040 Scottsdale, AZ 85258-6099 Sun City West, AZ 85375 Weekdays 8:00 a.m. – 5 p.m. Mon. 9 -12:30 p.m.; Thurs. 9 - 12:30 p.m. Weekdays 9:00a.m.-Noon

https://www.facebook.com/MaricopaCountyMasterGardeners

The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion,

sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation in its programs and activities. Persons with a disability may request a reasona-ble accommodation, such as a sign language interpreter, by contacting Jo Cook, Program Coordinator, at jocook@cals.arizona.edu 602-827-

8211. Requests should be made as early as possible to allow time to arrange the accommodation. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Jeffrey C. Silvertooth, Associate Dean & Director,

Economic Development & Extension, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The University of Arizona.

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Roots & Shoots

RGRP Roundup by Mary Bossler

All in all, the Real Gardens For Real People Tour 2014 was very enjoyable and well attended, thanks to all our hardworking and dedicated Master Gardener volunteers! But guess what? We are already planning next year's tour! We are looking for Master Gardeners to put their gardens on view for con-sideration for the 2015 tour. We are also looking for Master Gardeners to form a small committee to help with the selection of said gardens. This is the time to choose next year's group of gardens, while they are still in spring bloom and before the heat really hits. This very important step needs to happen as soon as possible in order to "hit the ground running" when we reconvene in the fall. Don't worry that your garden is not perfect or "not finished yet" (isn't that what all we gardeners say?) - and know that you will be guided and supported by an excellent team of volunteers through the coming months. When asked: "What would you say to encourage someone else to put their garden on the tour?”, Linda Larson, a garden owner from this year's tour as well as the 2009 tour, had this to say about her RGRP tour experience: “There is so much help to make the tour a success. Work day volunteers add true assistance in preparing the garden. The garden captains work steadily with the owner to get things ready for the big day. Then the day of the tour there is so much help. Volunteers wel-come visitors into the garden. Others are at the ready to point out special features; they provide an orientation, a sense of security for areas of the garden. The experts add help to answer specific questions. Perhaps on tour day there may be 10 people working in the garden to help the day go smooth-ly. Volunteers do set up, take down, and record keeping, and act as extra pairs of eyes to keep things safe. You really aren't on your own. The visitors are so happy to see the garden. At the end of the day you are tired but de-lighted things could go so well." Tour volunteers share a special camaraderie and dedica-tion that is second-to-none! We are also asking for two volunteers to help us co-chair the 2015 RGRP Commit-tee. It’s a great experience, and you will form lasting friendships and work with awesome Master Gardeners and MG Interns. It’s vitally important to the success of the program to establish continuity. Be inspired to show and tell your community what we can achieve in our desert cli-mate - that is our mission as Master Gardeners, after all!

560 tickets were sold, resulting in a profit of $9519.05. Attendance at each garden ranged from 388 to 567 people. There were 67 people on the RGRP committee roster and 44 garden volunteers on the day of the tour.

RGRP BY NUMBERS

Maricopa County’s Master Gardener Newsletter

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ask

RGRP Images From RGRP Galleries, Photos by R. Marach, J. Gonzalez

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Roots & Shoots

WHO: Dr. George Brooks. Jr. Brooks is a local environmental consultant and businessman. He is

the cofounder of the urban agriculture firm RighTrac Inc., that focuses on creating healthy food,

green jobs and high quality STEM education through aquaponics.

George Brooks studied Wildlife and Fisheries at the University of Arizona, Marine Biology at San Die-

go State University and Zoology at Arizona State University. Some long time Master Gardeners may

remember him from his work with Extension at the Maricopa Agricultural Center as an aquaculture

specialist about twenty years ago.

More recently, George Brooks has served on the board of the Central Arizona Project. He is current-

ly one of the two vice chairs of “Plan Phoenix”, the committee that is re-writing the Phoenix General

Plan that Phoenix voters will see on the ballot in 2015. His wife Angela is currently completing her

Master Gardener training. George hopes to bring agriculture including aquaponics into the urban mix

to help with the food part of this picture.

WHAT: Aquaponics combines aquaculture and agriculture. The reason? In a word, sustainabil-

ity. Dr. Brooks writes; “Aquaponics is a sustainable food production system that combines tradi-

tional aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as fish, crayfish or prawns in tanks)

with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment. In the aquaculture, efflu-

ents accumulate in the water, increasing toxicity for the fish. This water is led to a hydroponic sys-

tem where the by-products from the aquaculture are filtered out by the plants as vital nutrients, af-

ter which the cleansed water is recirculated back to the animals. The term aquaponics is a combina-

tion of the terms aquaculture and hydroponics.” The nutrients from fish farming can support

cropslike lettuce, watermelon, peas, carrots and herbs.

The recent and growing interest in backyard urban farming makes this a good time to look at inno-

vations in gardening. George will give us an overview of the basic science of aquaponics, the spe-

cies of fish and shrimp that can be grown locally and the vegetables to grow with the fish. We’ll

consider potential challenges and benefits to the local grower including cost, water, species availa-

bility, markets and laws.

WHEN: MAY 14, Wednesday morning, 9:00 am

WHERE: at the extension office, 4341 E. Broadway Rd., Phoenix

Growing Fish & Vegetables

MG Update By Deb Sparrow

Maricopa County’s Master Gardener Newsletter

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DESIGN CHARETTE

The final Design Charrette of the season is May 17, 2014, from 9:00 AM to noon at Vini Kartha’s home in Glendale near the Loop 101 and 67th Avenue. We will help Vini with ideas for her garden, get to know each other better, learn new things and have lots of fun, so consider joining us. All you need to bring is your imagination, paper, pencil and a dish to pass for lunch, and you will earn three Master Gardener volunteer hours. The next season of Design Charrettes will begin in September, so if you would like some design ideas for your garden contact Sue Lanker at designcharrette@hotmail.com

Here is what Vini has to say about her garden:

“For a Master Gardener, my yard is overlooked, underdone and requires 100% maintenance! We moved into this house 9 years ago, and it was completely maintenance free, because the backyard was covered in plastic sheet and rockscaped, and the front yard was full of palm trees. The only shade we got in the backyard was from a sad old palm tree. Three large thuja trees provided plenty of privacy from our neighbors. With two kids, and full time jobs, both my husband and I have barely spent any time on our back or front yard. Yet our yard has changed. Now a messy mesquite tree fights for space with the palm tree, but provides plenty of shade, an ever changing playground for the kids, and a lot of litter! I have an eclectic collection of colorful desert plants, but they are planted here and there with no plan or reason. We have a patch of grass in the front yard with palm trees bordering it.

We are looking to have a desert friendly environment that is safe for two active kids and a dog. We do love our large mesquite, though often times it is a headache to clean and prune. We love color and would love to have something blooming all year around. “

If you would like to participate in this Charrette, please e-mail us at designcharrette@hotmail.com or call Beth Kirkpatrick at 480-275-4833. Space is usually limited to 12 participants, so reserve your space now!

What is a Design Charrette...And How Can I Participate?

A Design Charrette is a forum hosted by a Master Gardener to develop design ideas for a chosen

landscape. As a Master Gardener, you can host a Charrette for your own property or any other. This is

a 3-hour event that includes a tour of the grounds, potluck and design discussion. The number of

attendees is usually limited to 12.

HOSTS: Receive the benefit of free design ideas. As the host, you will provide a tour of your property

which includes plant identification and information, researched or experimental. The host provides a

letter of intent for the property that prioritizes goals, needs and problems to be solved. A simple

drawing of the property must also be provided to the group to use in their landscape design. Lastly, the

host provides cups, plates, utensils, napkins and water. Guests will bring the food.

GUESTS: No formal landscape design education is required. But we do require that you bring your

imagination! Come; enjoy the garden tour, plant identification and the opportunity to learn from fellow

Master Gardeners as we share our design ideas. Each guest will need to bring a potluck dish. Design

Charrettes are held on Saturday mornings and the date is determined by the host and Design Charrette

team. If you are interested in hosting a Design Charrette or have any questions, please contact us at:

designcharrette@hotmail.com

Design Charrette Team—Beth Kirkpatrick, Sue Lanker, and Matt Murman

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Roots & Shoots

In the wonderland that is California, Madame Ganna Walska’s Lotusland is as Walska herself put it: “out of this world.” Ganna Walska was a fascinating, exotically beautiful opera singer. Born in Poland in 1887 and orphaned at age nine, she lived with relatives until she fled Poland for Russia. By age 20 she had married a Russian Count. She began singing opera to gain the attention of another very wealthy Russian. She created her stage name “Ganna,” a Russian form of Hannah, add-ed “Walska” for her love of waltzing, and Madame came as a title given to known opera singers and ac-tresses of the time. The first half of her life was devot-ed to her singing, her marriages (six in total), a career that included her very own theatre in Paris, her own special scent and a spiritual quest for personal fulfill-ment. Men pursued her, and her many marriages add-ed to her fortunes. As her opera career declined she sought out greater spiritual fulfillment. Theos, a handsome yogi and Ti-betan Buddhism scholar (husband number six), guided her to California. The purchase of the Cuesta Linda Ranch in California in 1941 was meant to establish Ti-betland - a retreat for Tibetan monks. Enlightened mar-ital bliss proved elusive, and Theos moved on to higher ground. Her new quest became plants and gardening. Devoting all her energies here she renamed the grounds “Lotusland” for the Indian Lotus flowers grow-ing there. If you visit this garden, make it your priority for the day. One should not rush. Reservations are required to obtain the address. Lotusland is in the Montecito ar-ea of the Santa Barbara hills. The Docent led tour is limited to groups of 10 or less. You need the Docent to find your way through the labyrinth of gardens. I’ve been there twice, and I’m sure I could not find my way out alone. Plus the Docent delights you with the stories of this great place. Madame, as she preferred to be called, never lived in the big house. She entertained out of doors, and she gardened and lived with the mot-to “more is better.”

Traveling Gardener

Wandering, Wondering, Noticing...

By Linda Larson

“Lotusland”

Maricopa County’s Master Gardener Newsletter

6

Madame was creative, artistic, rich and passionate about plants. Legend has it that she sent her gardeners out into the community with cash in their pockets to buy the biggest and most impressive plants they could find. She wanted them moved from other gardens into her own. She sought out all the best advice from landscapers and designers to help her transform her garden, and then she added her own ideas! Madame lined the driveway with a mass planting of 300 agave attenuata leading to the house. Giant weeping eu-phorbias and golden barrel cactus surround the entry door. The previous owners had installed tile work around the house in Moorish designs; she kept these elements and added masses of roses. She planted a blue garden of blue agaves, blue fescue and blue chalk fingers. When she learned that a water bottling factory was chipping blue slag glass out of its kilns, she purchased the lot to line the path-ways of her blue garden. The chunks of glass reminded her of a necklace of jewels for the garden. A theatre garden with seating for 100 was created. Perfor-mances were done on a grass stage with boxwood hedges for a backdrop and actors entering from the green wings. She added a permanent cast of characters in antique stone figures imported from her Chateaux in France. A topiary garden of 26 circus animals was added in the mid-1950’s. Hedges clipped into the shapes of bear, giraffe, camel, go-rilla, seal, and other fanciful shapes still stand today. Her garden clock, once the largest in the world, features copper zodiac signs surrounded by low growing succulents. The orchard of nearly 100 fruit trees both deciduous and citrus is highlighted by the long arbor of Eureka lemon trees shading the walking path. Mature cypress, oak, and palms provide masses of shade throughout the garden. There is a grove of pony tail palms and a small forest of dragon trees. This is a grand estate garden designed in a golden age fi-nanced by her accumulated fortune. So committed to its creation, she sold her vast jewelry collection for nearly a million dollars to finance her cycad garden. Obviously seen as an eccentric action then, today it “is thought to be the most complete in any American public garden, with over 900 specimens, nine of the eleven living genera and more than half of the known species represented.” (lotusland.org)

Traveling Gardener continued...

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Roots & Shoots

There are 18 themed gardens on 37 acres. Equally fascinating are the Fern Garden, Bromeliad Garden, Japanese Garden, Australian Garden and the most recent addition, the Cactus Garden, but that is a story for another time. It is a California adventure to wander these grounds. Madame Ganna Walska pursued her passion here for 43 years. She died in 1984 at age 97 or 94 (depending on which birthdate is cor-rect). Claiming the title of “Head Gardener,” she continued to walk, aided by two canes, throughout the garden directing improve-ments until just shortly before her death. “Lotusland is home to more than 3,000 different plants from around the world.” (lotusland.org) She came to California to find a spiritual paradise and created a garden paradise. Perhaps they are one in the same. When planning your travels remember to look for gardens. The American Horticultural Society website has “Find A Garden” which allows you to locate gardens participating in their reciprocal mem-bership program. Carry your local garden membership card with you, or your AHS card will give you entry as well. F or out of country travel use gardenvisit.com. This site allows you to enter the city and country and from there specify how far out from the location you wish to travel. The site lists all gardens within that area with descriptions and reviews. It also will list nurseries and garden hotels nearby.

Traveling Gardener continued...

Spring Mornings

By Pamela Petty

Each morning when I walk out front to pick up my papers, I can’t resist visiting the shrubs and trees in the little patch of earth in front of my townhouse. Barefoot, usually still in my nightgown, I deadhead the geraniums, pick a kumquat (scooping out and discarding its sour flesh before eating the sweet rind), then check the bud of the still unknown bulb, not yet opened, wondering what it will become. My neighbor drives by and waves, ignoring my nightclothes. He leaves at 6:00 each morning, always smiling, appearing joyful... I resume my inspection. Good, the geraniums and na-tal plums are recovering from the attack by a thoughtless gardener with a sprayer of glyphosate or 2,4-D. Said gardener had apparently noticed my lack of attention to the encroaching grass and the elm seedlings in the planting bed and thought he was helping. Despite his clumsy intrusion, he missed the euonymus I planted last spring, which is now glorious, surprising me with its new leaves, bright yellow instead of the variegated green and white of last season. I check the sago palms for new fronds. No, not yet. I wonder how much longer. My plan is to grow the sagos to enormous size, to confound the mow and blow guys with their beauty. Said guys have strict in-structions to never touch my plants. We will see. Oops, I see a broken sprinkler head, start to bend to repair it, but remember I’m still in my nightclothes and think better of dealing with it now. What a glorious morning. Only a few more days until the heat -- the fiery fury of it -- destroys the gentle-ness of my garden.

Images courtesy Rich Larson

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Roots & Shoots

Gardens and Community by Sheryl Stradling

Winter. Gone, isn’t it? Actually it was like we never had one – or more accurately that it was a very short one. It lasted four days in my yard when we had “the freeze”. And it was a mild freeze – only 32 degrees. Not much of a winter considering what was happening in the rest of the country this year. This year winter was strangely warm and dry here.

My most vivid memory of winter was the year that we drove from Boston to California in four days. It was late February. The entire trip was cold, gray, snowy, icy and windy. Storms passed over the Midwest one af-ter another, and we were in the middle of them all, driving through slush, ice, and rain. When we finally crossed the continental divide and drove into California in early March, we had arrived in paradise. The sun was bright, the almond trees were in bloom, the air’s fragrance was sweet and heady, and the fields were verdant. We never went back.

Here in the Phoenix area we don’t normally expect ice or snow storms, but we do anticipate clouds, some rain storms, cooler weather and a possible freeze or two or three. We prepare our gardens with broccoli, cab-bage, cauliflower, carrots, Brussels sprouts and greens. I did plant all those this year. In fact, I started planting in late August when it was still in the 100’s. I started with tomatoes, then the cabbage family, root vegetables, and finally lettuce over a period of three or four weeks. I thought I might be crazy to plant when it was still so hot, but I wanted to try something different – and I planted a lot because I anticipated feeding an extended family this year. So…..unknowingly (or perhaps a bit of gardener’s intuition on my part), I collab-orated with Nature on the most amazing winter garden I’ve ever grown. The frost didn’t cause more than a few dead upper tomato leaves (although they were covered). In fact it gave the typical winter vegetables a boost – although short lived. Over the season, there were so many tomatoes I made tomato sauce three times and froze it and gave away excess tomatoes to grateful co-workers and neighbors. Yes, the broccoli and cauliflower were quick to flower, short-lived and small – but still delicious. The Brussels sprouts I gave up on because I’d planted them too “late” for the weather - they didn’t have a chance. Celery did well, the chard was the biggest ever – it was 3 – 4 feet tall with huge leaves – all great for juicing. The carrot crop made plenty of fingerlings for salads and two large batches of juice. It was too warm to really get peas and alt-hough they did form, they were small, and the spinach didn’t like the warm weather much. Overall, though, I was stunned with the results.

But what if I’d followed my usual fall planting routine and started around mid-September through late Octo-ber? This year, with the weather we had, I wouldn’t have enjoyed (nor would my neighbors) all those tasty tomatoes! And I would probably have missed out on a lot of the typical winter veggie crops (too warm by then). I would have been disappointed. However, it would have been less garden work, and I’d be more en-ergized now instead of burnt out! This winter was a reversal of the usual seasonal change, and I was fortu-nate to be on top of it. Next year will probably be different. And that’s OK! Nature is changeable, and we need to be flexible to work with her. The more we can accept reversals of any kind in our life, the more we can be open to opportunities -- for our growth and the growth we shepherd in our gardens and our lives. We can become more adaptive if we can surrender to the situation, find small ways to accept and work with it, and just allow our energies and thoughts to be peaceful and see it differently, rather than fighting it. Yes, we can actually learn to “love what is” as Byron Katie explained in her book, Loving What Is, by changing our thinking about the problem or whatever confronts us.

This year’s winter garden was more than a delight. It was a real lesson in taking a risk, doing things different-ly, accepting the conditions that appeared, and working with it all in a new way. Yes, I am grateful for the results, but even more, I am awed at our human ability to explore, adapt, be flexible and open to new possi-bilities for positive outcomes even when we doubt. The best garden is the one you have now, as it is – it will never be the same again. That is part of the magic of gardening. As Lao Tzu said, “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” Good advice for us all!