Native Plants Garden Tour

Greetings, gardeners! June provided us with a small, early, cool respite from the heat in late May. If July is anything like normal, we can expect lots of hot weather. Hopefully, by the time this article goes to press, we will have seen a reduction in Jackson County COVID-19 risk and will be able to have more ability to get back to normal functioning. Our GEMS gardeners are still working to keep the Demonstration Gardens in good shape on campus until that happens. Erika will keep us all apprised of developments.

Meanwhile, everyone involved with JCMGA has been working hard behind the scenes to keep everything ticking along. We are in good financial shape thanks to the efforts of our Finance Committee and our ability to sell our garden guides through local vendors. The communications team has done an outstanding job of revamping our website. Be sure to check it out.

Ronnie Budge and John Kobal presented a Vegetable Gardening class to OLLI students. John and Susan Koenig are now planning another OLLI class for fall on Ornamental Gardening. And if you have not seen the Native Plants Garden Tour videos, they are now all posted and linked on the website, and are a delight. View them – and donate – here! And, be sure to thank Sherri Morgan and her team for this amazing effort.

Also, plans are going forward for Winter Dreams, Summer Gardens to be an in-person event the first weekend in November. Once again, this is contingent on COVID-19 numbers being low enough. So do your part and get vaccinated!

We have had several of our “perennial” heads of committees and working groups resign over the past year. I encourage anyone who would like to become more involved in JCMGA, and can give of their time and expertise, to volunteer to help replace these folks. Jack Ivers, who has edited the Garden Beet, is moving on and would like folks with editing experience to help with the duties to publish our monthly newsletter. Jane Moyers and Kate Hassen have retired as Garden Education Mentors for the Wanda Hauser Garden. Marcie Katz is taking on that position, but would really like a co-chair to work with her. I need someone to apprentice as a co-chair in the Native Plants Nursery – not the native plants garden – where the focus is on propagation and sales. Jim Buck will also be resigning at year’s end as chair of our Community Outreach Working Group.

Of course, all of our committees, working groups and Demo Gardens need volunteers. Please look at pages 28 – 29 in our chapter directory and see where you might plug in, then contact the chair of that group for more details. Jackson County Master Gardeners needs each and every one of you. Remember that we are an educational organization, and we exist to educate gardeners in Jackson County. Nothing is more rewarding than empowering people through education. Many hands make light work and we have much work to do.

Garden for Life!