November 2022 Meeting: Dr. Steve Carpenter, "Resilient Thinking in the Driftless Area"

Our first inside, in person, garden club meeting since March 2021 took place on November 2 at the Iowa County Law Enforcement Center in Dodgeville. Dr. Steve Carpenter's topic was "Resilient Thinking in the Driftless Area."

Dr. Steve Carpenter, is a professor of limnology at UW-Madison. Limnology is the science of the biological, chemical, physical and geological characteristics of inland water. Dr. Carpenter also has a Masters Degree in Botany and PHD in Oceanography.

Dr. Carpenter holds the Driftless Area near and dear to his heart as he and his wife, Dr. Susan Carpenter, have a Grant County property where they are implementing the principles of resilience and working to improve the ability of their property to recover from some difficult conditions.

A standing-room only group was captivated by his talk and graphics taking us back in time as we learned more about the history of our area, its present status and hope for an adapting future. We also learned how we can make sustainable changes to promote a resilient environment.

Trip to Olbrich Gardens for the Gleam Exhibit

For our October meeting, the Garden Club visited the Gleam exhibit at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison featuring large scale light installations created by local, regional and international designers. 

It was chilly and we had to dress warmly but luckily the rain held off and the exhibit was well worth the effort. We enjoyed a lovely walk through the creatively lighted gardens and conservatory. We had fun interacting with the lights and making the colors change.

 
Thanks to Mary Mayo and Nina for organizing and to Roger for driving the bus.

September 2022 Meeting: Garden Visit

We again had great weather for our September meeting – a visit to club member Connie Tibbits’ gardens. We toured her landscape to see both her flower gardens and vegetable gardens (Connie even welcomed members to help themselves to her abundance of cukes!). 

Dahlias of all shapes and color were in full bloom in Connie’s gardens. Although dahlias can be grown from seed, buying tubers is quicker. The plants need to be dug and stored over winter. They can be divided in fall or spring. Each division needs to have a "neck, body and eye." 

After the tour Connie explained how she uses plants for bouquets. Foliage is the basis of an arrangement, including ferns, hosta, rose canes and even what we consider weeds from fence lines. She cut flowers with a long stems and strips all leaves off their stems so the bouquet will last longer. She also advised using only 3 colors in an arrangement to increase the impact of the flowers. 

We always enjoy touring a member's gardens - thanks, Connie, for a very enjoyable meeting and evening. 

Uplands Garden Club Memorial Tree

 

Uplands Garden Club has planted a memorial tree, a maple, at Centennial Park in Dodgeville.

The tree has an interesting history: a Kansas farmer observed that the line of red maples that he planted yielded one that stood out as it was somewhat shorter with smaller leaves and much brighter than the rest. He had it analyzed at U-KS and was told that it was a naturally occurring tree. He patented it with the name Magnificent Magenta and three years later the tree was given the trademark Burgundy Belle. After his patent expired, Heritage Trees from IL now holds the trademark.

The tree will reach a height of 40 ft. and has a life expectancy of 80 years. Centennial Park was a good choice for locating the tree as three large trees there are dead or dying.

Directions to view the tree: from the main street through town, Iowa St., go east onto E. Valley St. and turn right onto S. Ellwood. Park in the lot and walk up the tree-lined walkway. The Uplands tree is the second on the right side of the walkway. It is happily planted near another Burgundy Belle and a white swamp oak.

A plaque will be placed at the site: "In memory of Upland Garden Club members, 1989-2021, your gardening lives on."

August 2022 Meeting: Library Park in Mineral Point - Garden Visit and Potluck

Our August meeting was held at Library Park in Mineral Point for a garden tour followed by a potluck.

Club president, and now caretaker of the Library Gardens, Connie Tibbits led us through the very nice plantings around the Mineral Point library that were designed by Jennifer Sharp and installed by Jennifer and John Sharp (including the carefully selected large rocks!) We each got a copy of Jennifer's detailed plant list. We offered advice on pruning several of the trees and shrubs but the landscaping designed by Jennifer has matured nicely. 

The weatherman promised 80% chance of rain but the sporadic downpours missed the library area. The heat of the day had dissipated so we enjoyed the tour as well as the potluck, including the brats Connie cooked. Our club has some great cooks!

July 2022 Meeting: Garden Visit

Our July 6 meeting was at the home of Chrissy Shaw in Dodgeville. Chrissy and her husband moved to Dodgeville several years ago and drew up plans for their landscaping and gardens with a focus on edibles. This was Chrissy's first attempt at garden design. She shared “tips” and advice she gleaned from the experience.

Although only a few years old, the gardens are robust. There is a variety of small fruit trees, vegetables for foundation plantings rather than the usual bushes, a wonderful array of alliums and perennials, a fenced in back yard for family activities and an extensive vegetable garden along the side…all packed into a city lot!

Chrissy also shared her experience with "no mow May" which helps provide food sources for insects early in the season.

Thanks to Chrissy for sharing her inspiring gardens.

May 2022 Meeting: Seedling Sale Planning

We held our first in person meeting of the year at Centennial Park. The big topic of discussion was our upcoming seedling sale.

The seedling sale will be held at the Dodgeville Farmers Market on May 14, 21 and 28. Looking forward to seeing everyone there!