Posts Tagged: books

Public Plant Exchange 2012

Now that planting the Solano County Fair gardens is history, we can begin focusing on the upcoming Plant Exchange. This will be held on Saturday, September 8^th at the Cooperative Extension office, 501 Texas Street, 1st floor conference room, Fairfield, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. The plant exchange is open to the public and is a busy, enthusiastic time where everything is FREE. We ask participants to bring a plant to share. Some do and some don’t, but we let everyone join in the fun.

If you haven’t been to the plant exchange in the past, this is the time to come. Many of the Master Gardeners are busy planting seeds, dividing plants, propagating and collecting unwanted or unneeded garden paraphernalia. Anything you want to clean or clear out will work. In the past, I have  asked my friends to check for unused items and some have contributed containers, yard art, books and other “hot” items. Remember the saying, “One persons trash is another's treasure”? 

You may be good at growing herbs that can be shared. Pot up a few. Do you have winter vegetables started yet? Set some aside for the plant exchange. My yard is getting full of ‘garden art’, so I plan to downsize and bring a few metal fence hangings. My sweet peas were a huge hit this year, so the harvested sweet pea seeds will be placed in envelopes to share. Our two Hibiscus syriacus  have volunteer baby trees underneath. These have been potted and labels will be added . It helps if you can provide photos or information on the items you donate. As Master Gardeners, we are there to share and to educate.

Just had to add this, too. Some of my favorite items from previous plant exchanges? The magnificent Ginkgo biloba bonsai (a real treasure), a small green ceramic pot with a frog, reference books and some goofy, unique garden books. Oh, almost forgot; a funky little fork that I use to groom bonsai and succulents planted in small containers. You can find the unusual and the ordinary. So mark your calendar before you forget. See you there!     

Sharon's ginkgo. (photo by Sharon Rico)

Folks discussing plants merits. (photo by Jennifer Baumbach)

A few plants available at the plant exchange.

A Little of This and a Lot of That

Today was quite interesting!  I’m trying to do something (anything) in the back yard and the crows continue to caw:  nothing like having your yard used as flight training school.  Somewhere in the high grass near the shed is a “baby” crow who is not too sure  about how these feathery things work.  The term “baby” is not too descriptive – he/she is larger than the size a dove but young nevertheless!

I almost stepped on junior(ess?) yesterday while checking out the progress or lack of it I’m making in the side yard. (After 2 weeks previously of hacking and whacking at the rambler roses there, I’ve relocated a large raised bed with nothing in it.  Well, almost nothing – “Bobbie James” decided to toss a runner in there and now it sits – denuded, but lethal all the same.  Can’t dig it up – did I mention that I’ve been hung up at home for 2
months with a badly sprained knee (a knee, you say, surely you mean an ankle); nah, a knee and without 2 decently working knees, one simply doesn’t dig – trust me, brace and all—it doesn’t work! So I do what any other dedicated gardener does: I just stood there and glowered at it!  The bush didn’t take the hint – it wants to bloom.  Giving it another very short haircut, and it looks soo much better already.

But I did find a project: making 13 boxes for the upcoming Succulent Box planting class.  Bruce, the woodworker, cut all the pieces of wood to size and I put them together!  Ok, so I put them together with a lot of stand-by assistance in the form of advice.  Bruce sat in the garage cum workshop (garage, yes right – couldn’t get a car in there with a shoehorn or wax from a candle.  

I have found out more about 45 degree angles and how not to cut them than I care to know.  When I get back to work and the State Parks Department goes into the box-making business, I’ll be in charge! But, I’ll graciously decline the job.  Seriously,
I can now understand why these things are expensive – they are time consuming.  But that not all I did...

For a long time now, I’ve wanted to catalogue my books so that I can not only find one when I need it, but also to crack down on duplicates.  You know, when you find 2 or 3 of one book but not the one you thought you had and desperately need now!

The whole process only took 4 days – emptying shelves, entering, and replacing.  Another time consuming job, but one that’s done and over.  I have only 12 duplicate copies of
volumes now to get rid of.  I’ll be sending Jennifer a list in case somebody needs additional books for their gardening libraries.  It was actually rather nice to go through the books and see which were my mother’s first and which she bought for me.

Well, I’ll quit for now.  My this and that ideas are coming to the fore and I need to write myself a note for future ventures outside.  I sure hope the crow learns to fly in a hurry so that I can go out to the back without the constant cawing and dive bombing from mom and dad.   Heck, I’ll teach  him/her how to fly myself!

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