My First Clinic

Worked my first clinic last Saturday. 
4 1/2 hours at Pickering Barn in Issaquah - that's where they have the Issaquah Farmer's Market.



Oh how I love farmer's markets! 



Just walking around and looking at the stalls overflowing with fresh produce and beautiful flowers.....



...... can think of a lot worse places to be bright and early on a Saturday morning!



I showed up a little after 9:00am and our tent  was already set up.  Signs out and everything ready to go!  The farmers market staff do the heavy lifting.... can't complain about that!



Take a look at this little set up....... it's our reference/resource center on wheels..... very spiffy!



Roll it out to where you need it, unfold it and set up the extension table.....



Tucked in the back is a little library of reference material for us to use.



.... and in the top, this nifty filing system chock full of reference sheets and other supplies.

Wasn't long before folks were coming up to ask us questions.  Stuff was all across the board (no surprise there)...... how do I prune this, when to plant so and so, how do I get rid of the deer (I feel their pain....we have open woodland all around our home.... deer are regular visitors.... I sometimes wonder if I have a garden or am salad central to these critters) and we had about 1/2 a dozen or so samples of sick plants to diagnose.

When a question was thrown at me I found myself thinking:
a)  oooh, I learned this one in class....(smile!)  and the answer is ....... (wow, all that effort is paying off!).....
or,
b)  been there, done that, know that answer........
or,
c)  OK, here's one I don't know..... time for one of my buddies to pitch in and/or to hit the reference material to find an answer.

I was expecting it to be a lot harder/intimidating than it was...... sure, there were many questions I didn't know the answers to, but it's just a matter of jumping in and giving it a whirl...... lean on a seasoned MG when you need to, use the reference materials if that helps.... the customers are so appreciative of the help we provide.... we get to have a nice chat while we look things up and I come away a little wiser (and a better gardener) for the experience!

So.... did we have any interesting Q and As? 
Here's one that we couldn't definitively resolve....... what would you have said?

Q.  We have a bunch of mature (40yr) conifers (spruces of some sort) dying from the base up.  About 2/3 of many of the trees are brown.  Started happening about 6 months ago.  No changes/activity in area (ie. construction etc). 
A.  Could be a nutritional issue or could be the effects from last summer's heat wave and warm/not-so-wet winter taking its toll...... we suggested they take site photos and bring them in, along with a quality sample for us to look at.  May require a trained arborist to properly diagnose.  Cautioned customer to get a definitive answer soon as it might affect entire grove.  Trees may have been weakened enough to now be hazard in the next storm - they may have to come down anyway.

Any negatives to this clinic thing?

1.  I HATE sitting/waiting..... I'm terrible at it.  Waiting rooms, planes, slow traffic, those long cashier lines at Christmas time..... and now slow clinics.... just feels like I'm wasting time.... should be doing something, anything!   During slow spots we got to take a few breaks to warm up (it was a bit chilly Saturday) and being at the market, we could walk around and enjoy the action elsewhere.  I guess when the market really cranks up as the weather warms, our MG stuff will get busy, and the time will fly by and I won't be sitting and waiting. 

2.  I'd much prefer to provide hands on support than fire off text book answers.  I think I'll dream up little activities to do at future clinics to keep things entertaining and more hands on..... pick a topic for the day and demo something.  I remember getting some ideas in a presentation during training..... or maybe one of those teaching kits has a cool thing I could do.....I'll refer back to that stuff and see what I can drum up.  

Stay tuned for more clinic adventures!

Naturescaping principle #2 of 11: Key Learning

And now for your next installment in Naturescaping Principles.....

Principle #2:  DON'T FIGHT YOUR SITE

So often we try to design gardens and neighborhoods like the outfits we wear.... all coordinated and matching....... rows of streamlined beds layed out with carefully manicured plantings, looking smart and orderly.  Regardless of the zones around our home, we try to continue the same plant theme everywhere -totally unrealistic from a naturescaping point of view.

In reality, our landscape is a collection of nature "pockets".... each with it's own personality based on its location.   A hot, sunny spot next to the garage wall is perfect for plantings that can tolerate the heat and sunshine.........how about a cutting garden?



......... but that cool, shady corner on the northeast side of the house near the shed would be better suited to shade-loving plants. 



Got a low lying, damp area in your landscape?  Assuming it's not damaging your home's foundation, don't fight it.... fill it with plants that love having their feet wet. 



See where we're going here?

All these little pockets make for a much more interesting garden, don't you think?  Around each corner is another surprise.... something new to enjoy.  By going with the flow and letting mother nature dictate the design, the plants will be happier and require less effort to manage/maintain...... can't beat that!  I'd much rather sit in my garden and enjoy it than slave away every weekend trying to keep the plants happy.

We've lived in our house here in the PNW for 6 years now.  It's situated on the northeastern side of a large hill, at about 320ft elevation, overlooking the Snoqualmie valley.  It's a classic woodland landscape, lots of big trees which bring with it lots of shade, and most beds aren't level.  There are a couple of spots on our back deck that will get about 7 hours of direct sunshine during the height of summer - just enough for a pot of sun-loving herbs or a small vine.   Over the years I've tried and re-tried to put in sun-loving plants and create a collection of lavenders (one of my favorite plants) in the beds around the house, only to watch them repeatedly succumb.   I'm a classic example of someone who hasn't followed this naturescaping principle.

Sure, gardening by definition means we manipulate our environment, but if we keep going against what our site will support, we'll always end up losing.  So, I think I'll start to appreciate my site's quirks and qualities and design a naturescape that takes advantage of them.  I'll have an interesting and truly unique garden that's happier, healthier and puts much less pressure on my wallet, personal time and effort.  That's a principle I can live with, for sure.

Garden #1: Bellevue Demo Garden

During our internship we're required to complete a minimum of 4 Garden assignments per year.
A Garden assignment is hands on, wear the rubber boots, trowels-in-hand type practical work in one or more of the MG-sanctioned gardens around King County. 

For those of you who read my earlier blogs, you'll remember I was interested in taking on the Tribal Trail and South Water Treatement Plant gardens, but it turns out my personal calendar isn't complementing the needs of those sites, so I've had to change plans..... so this year I'll be going with the Bellevue Demo Gardens instead.

They offer a cool program for interns.....  it's called the Intern Rotation Paths.  It's made up of three different paths, each with a specific set of "trails" to follow: 

1.  GENERAL GARDEN PATH:  a) Greenhouse trail, b) Soil Management trail, c) Tree care and pruning trail, d) Children's garden trail, e) Native plants trail.



2. GARDEN OPERATIONS PATH: a) Public education trail, b) Clinic trail, c) Equipment trail, d) Garden management trail.

3. GARDEN BED PATH: a) Vegetables trail, b) Annuals trail, c) Perennials trail (sun, shade, waterwise), d) Specialty plants trail (everlastings, grasses, drought tolerant etc.)



The demands for each trail vary.... some require a one-time visit for a few hours, others require multiple visits over a season.  Each trail is owned by an MG-manager who sets the plan/schedule for the year and determines what needs/gets to be done and when. We can do things in any order we want based on personal schedules and what's being offered/when.  Pretty flexible, and for the likes of me - someone who works full time and has plenty of other committments on the calendar - I can work it into the schedule and still make progress/feel like I'm contributing to the cause.

Personally, my goal is to ultimately complete each and every trail on each and every path..... no hurry, just chip away at it over time..... will probably take a number of years, but that's OK.  There's a lot of good learning and practical experience to be had!  I'll be one smart MG if I get through that lot!

So, today, April 3rd, I went for an initial visit to get oriented to things, meet the folks and generally muck in and help where needed.   Shift was from 9am - 1pm.  It was one of the first "big" days for MGers to come out and get things ready for the upcoming season.  Time to clear and condition the beds, weed pathways, rake up leaves/tidy things up, pruning/trimming and generally get things ready for planting. 



We spent about 2 hours or so digging in and then stopped for a break and team meeting.   



A time for introducing the new interns, welcoming transfers from other clinics/gardens, getting reacquainted and discussing plans for the upcoming season. In the weeks to come we'll be getting a "manual" with more details about the demo garden, who owns what area, plans for the season and schedules for when tasks need to be done etc.  

Next door to the Demo Garden is this lovely pea patch area..... numerous little plots, many of them neatly tended and already looking pretty with early spring plantings.....not part of the Demo Garden, but sure is nice to have them for neighbors!

There's also this very nice building between the pea patch and Demo Garden that's owned by the county.  We're able to use it when we offer lectures and other educational activities for visitors.

All in all, the Demo Garden covers a little over an acre of land, carefully layed out with numerous little raised beds and terraces that offer examples of all types of garden:  herb garden, bog garden, native garden, drought tolerant garden, annuals garden, perennials garden, veggie garden.... the list goes on and on!

I'll be working hard here for sure, but will also learn a lot...... already met some very nice people passionate about gardening, and who obviously love being part of this Demo Garden team..... got lots to look forward to in the seasons to come.