November 2017 Meeting: England Garden Tour - Mary Mayo

For our November meeting, Uplands Garden Club member Mary Mayo treated us to a slide show on her trip with the Hardy Plant Society to English Gardens, focusing on the cultural aspects, physical geography, plants and garden design and how we can incorporate some of these ideas into our own gardens with ease.

In June, 2016 Mary’s sister invited  Mary to accompany her on a garden tour sponsored by the WI Hardy Plant Society to England. Thirty one people, all members of the WHPS, visited 28 diverse gardens traveling south and west from London, to the English Channel, through the Cotswolds before returning to London.

The WHPS has been collaborating with the same British tour guide for many years and that special relationship has opened doors to unique opportunities for the club.

Munching on popcorn during Mary’s presentation, club members learned about the culture, geology, development of plants and gardens, and unique adventures that no one visitor could ever have made happen. She pointed out garden features with practical ideas for integrating some of the same principles in our gardens.

Thanks to Mary for sharing her inspiring tour with the Garden Club!

March 2016 Meeting: Straw Bale Gardening - Jayne Wisler and Mary Mayo

Jayne Wisler and Mayo Mayo demonstrate straw bale gardening

For our March meeting Uplands Garden Club members and Iowa County Master Gardeners Jayne Wisler and Mary Mayo presented an Introduction to Straw Bale Gardening.

After attending Joel Karsten’s presentation at the Garden Expo last year, they became intrigued by the planting technique, bought his book, Straw Bale Gardens (available through Amazon.com), and decided to give it a try last summer. 

The bales and supplies 

Both Mary and Jayne took photos throughout the summer documenting the progress of their bale gardens. It was very helpful to see how they set up their bales and how the bale gardens developed throughout the season. 

Jennifer Sharp, a fellow garden club member and Master Gardener, also documented her experiences with straw bale gardening and assisted Mary and Jayne with the slide presentation. 

Peppers growing in a straw bale

Straw bale gardening is growing in popularity as it combines two current trends-vegetable gardening and raised beds. We learned the basics of straw bale gardening including bale placement, fertilizer choices, securing the bales, conditioning the bales and planting methods and tips. Mary and Jayne also provided wonderful handouts that covered the basics along with the schedule for conditioning the bales. 

The bales positioned in Mary's garden