The Providential Gardener

Vanilla Beans, Learning Landscape, and the Garden Guys

I couldn't resist calling in to the Garden Guys show this morning (January 27, 2008) on WHJJ 920AM because I knew the answer to the last question for listeners: From what plant do we get vanilla? Not only did I know vanilla comes from an orchid, but also I had actually SEEN the Vanilla Orchid plant four days ago right in Providence! It's native to Mexico, actually, but Madagascar is said to be the largest producer. So how can I have seen it here in the city? It's snowing out as I write this.

Well, the short answer is, I was at Roger Williams Park Botanical Center on Wednesday for training I describe below, and there was the vanilla orchid, a vine growing on trees in the orchid display. The Botanical Center opened about a year ago, a tropical oasis in New England, open Tuesday through Sunday, 11-4, for a very nominal fee. You don't need a passport or an airline ticket to get to the tropics this afternoon. Just get in the car and go to the Park. The Botanical Center is across the road from the Mounted Command.

Last year, I finally had the time to take the URI Master Gardener course, which is about 12-14 weeks long and involves a serious volunteer commitment of 50 hours to earn the title, Master Gardener (MG). It's a continuing commitment: each year to maintain "certified active Extension Master Gardener" status, MGs must attend at least 15 hours of continuing education workshops and volunteer at least 20 hours. Many MGs have hundreds and even thousands of volunteer hours. I've heard that the URI MG Association is the largest volunteer organization in the state.

The URI Master Gardeners are part of the Cooperative Extension, with a mission to provide reliable information about all things growing in Rhode Island to the public. One program I volunteered on is the Learning Landscape: a morning of hands-on exploration and discovery classes in grades K-5 at URI (outside, during the spring and early fall) and

now also in February & March at the RWP Botanical Center!

Special rates are available for Providence School Groups!

School groups from Northern RI and greater Providence can more easily participate in the Learning Landscape ~ no long bus trip to South County. Three schools have signed up so far, but if other schools want to take advantage of this program, contact the Learning Landscape Program Coordinator, Cathi Cote. It's such fun for us who lead the groups of children around the various stations, and the children love it.

Marion Gold, who oversees all of URI College of Environment & Life Sciences Outreach Programs, described the new RWPBC Learning Landscape Program recently on Channel 10, WJAR. Volunteering for programs such as this gives many opportunities to learn; and of course, explaining and sharing knowledge with others helps the memory and further deepens one's understanding of the natural world. The photo is from the Learning Landscape training this week ~ Cathi explaining how to show the specimens of animals native to Rhode Island (all of which had died naturally, by the way, and were found in time to preserve them).

The Botanical Center has a culinary area where you can see bananas growing right now, as well as cacao (chocolate), lemon, guava, avocado, Mandarin orange, and fig trees. You'll also find a carnivorous plant bog maintained by the New England Carnivorous Plant Society, which meets at RWPBC every second Saturday at 12:30. AND...

they just posted the schedule for the SPRING GARDENING SCHOOL at RWPBC, which will be Monday afternoons, 2:00   pm to 4:00 pm, April 2nd  through May 21st at the RWP Botanical   Center Mediterranean Room.

You wouldn't believe all that's Growing On in Rhode Island! This is just a little sample of what there is to do and see in Little Rhody.

Which reminds me ~ If you have school-aged children in Rhode Island and love gardening, be sure to get your school involved ASAP in The Children's Garden Network! They aim to help establish gardens at every school in the state. Their website just went live, and there are advantages to registering your child's school garden as soon as you can. See their website for details, and also this post from What Grows On in Rhode Island.

The Providential Gardener is working on a comprehensive online Union Calendar of RI environment-related events called WHAT GROWS ON IN RHODE ISLAND. Any and every organization planning relevant meetings is welcome to add their events to the Calendar. As the Calendar itself grows, it will be easier for folks to find out about opportunities to learn about and tend our wonderful shared Garden aka Rhode Island.

Coastweeks 2007 ~ A Celebration of the Coast

There are so many events coming up as part of Coastweeks 2007—A Celebration of the Coast, from September 15 through October 13, that I must give you fair warning!

Take out your calendar and check out their calendar on the Rhode Island Sea Grant website and make your plan. Here is some of what's growing on along the shore during those weeks:

• Historic Lighthouse Tours
• Boat tours of the Blackstone River Valley
• Hikes, walks through salt marshes, preserves, and along the shore,
• Kayak trips
• Lectures on aquaculture, oyster gardening, Bay water quality
• Coastal cleanups
• Shoreline Biathlon
• Book discussions
• Garden tours
• Commercial Fishing Trawl
• FOOD!
• Several birding events
• Fairs, Harvest Festivals
• Prudence Island Bicycle Tour
• Waterscape/Streetscape Symposium in Newport

Wow! I will put some of this into the Providential Gardener Calendar, but scan through the Coastweeks events list and enjoy our great little state's 400 miles of coastline this fall.

Veggin' Out

For several summers now, WIC (Women, Children & Infants Program) and RIDEM, in conjunction with Johnson & Wales University, have sponsored cooking demonstrations at Farmers' Markets and other locations. These 1-2 hour demos feature such recipes as salsa and fruit/yogurt parfaits. Participants watch the preparation of the recipes, which use in-season produce available at the Farmers' Markets, get recipe booklets, and get to taste the results - a good deal! I overheard one woman at the Pawtucket Farmers' Market this past Sunday say that now she was inspired to start cooking again.

The last three Veggin' Outs of 2007 are from 11:30 to 1:30 on August 30 and September 6 at the Capitol Hill Farmers' Market in Providence, and the final one is September 7, 11 to 1 pm at the Pastore Center Farmers' Marketin Cranston. These events are listed in the Providential Gardener Calendar.

Urban Gardens & Soil Contamination

The Environmental Protection Agency and Southside Community Land Trust have assembled an extraordinary panel of soil scientists and urban agriculture practitioners from around the Northeast for a free advanced training seminar:

Urban Gardens & Soil Contamination
Urban soils and soil contamination for urban gardeners and community planners

Tuesday, Aug 28th 9:00-3:30 at Providence College. The brochure says to register by August 16th, but I got a notice about it on the 19th so go ahead and sign up. Call to be sure there is still room.

Here are links to the flyer and the registration form:

Download urban_gardens_soil_contamination_flyer.doc1.pdf

Download urban_gardens_soil_contamination_registration_pamphlet. updated.pdf

Propagating Roses

If you have been thinking about joining the Rhode Island Rose Society, and you have wondered how to propagate roses, show up at the society's next meeting in the Victorian Rose Garden at Roger Williams Park, Providence on August 11, 2007, 9:30am. see the Rose Society's website for details. They'll also be working on the rose garden, cleaning things up, so bring clippers and gloves. Please come early & help support our public garden!

Clean up the Blackstone River

From the Conservation Law Foundation:

We need your help to clean up the Blackstone!

        The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) invites environmentalists, civic activists, and residents of Northern Rhode Island to learn more about how they can help identify pollution problems on the Blackstone River and get them fixed.  CLF will hold an advocacy training on Tuesday, August 7, from 6:30-7:30PM at the Cumberland Public Library, 1464 Diamond Hill Rd., Cumberland, RI.  Volunteers will learn how to locate potential sites using Google Earth technology as well as how to effectively report potential polluters to Rhode Island’s Department of Environmental Management. Please come join us in the important work of cleaning up the Blackstone and feel free to bring friends along.  For more information contact Mina Makarious, (mmakarious@clf.org or 401-351-1102).

How to Grow a Beautiful Organic Lawn

Believe it or not, entire golf courses and public parks and athletic fields are gorgeous and green without the aid of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. If they can do it, why can't we owners of point one acres? This training is for professionals, but homeowners, especially those with lawns played on by children and pets, will want to hire professionals with this kind of training. If you're a do-it-yourselfer, check out Safe Lawns and get a copy of The Organic Lawn Care Manual by Paul Tukey.

From Northeast Organic Farming Association:

The third annual NOFA Organic Lawn & Turf Course, happening August 14, 2007 at Marblehead High School in Marblehead, MA and August 16, 2007 in Manchester, CT! The course is geared towards landscapers, groundskeepers and municipal staff.

Special this year is that all students will get first-hand tours of organically managed athletic fields. In MA, tour the athletic fields at Marblehead High with Chip Osborne, of Lassana Osborne Natural Lawn & Turf Co., who maintains them. Many of you probably know Chip, a renowned organic turf educator from Marblehead and co-founder of The Living Lawn Project there. An optional tour of  The Living Lawn Project is also included in the MA course, courtesy of Chip. And in CT, visit soccer fields just up the road from the college, where an exciting organic turf transition study is being conducted through the Town of Manchester, the CT DEP, CT NOFA and Harrington's Organicare.

Landscape Institute and Other Arnold Arboretum Programs

Word comes today from Sanne Kure-Jensen, a landscape designer and consultant in Portsmouth, of the summer landscape design courses being offered by Arnold Arboretum beginning in July. The Landscape Institute, which is appropriately located on Garden Street in Cambridge and not at Arnold Arboretum itself, offers certificate programs, and because it is only about an hour away from Providence, adventurous Rhode Islanders may want to investigate their course offerings and take some courses or earn a certificate.

Arnold Arboretum, located in Boston's Roslindale, is well worth exploring. They also have an adult education program, a "Field studies for children" program, and family activities.

This post is about Arnold Arboretum, but several Rhode Island organizations offer similar programs as well. Look through the long list of organizations in the Providential Gardener's side bar and the list of Events links for Rhode Island groups.  Blithewold in Bristol, for instance, offers an extensive range of similar activities. 

Thanks, Sanne, for this info! The Providential Gardener welcomes all news and updates about what's "growing on" in and near Rhode Island. Any Rhode Island groups offering similar activities ~ add my email to your distribution list!

Wildlife at Work

A couple of days ago on Saturday, I posted news of Fidelity Investments' participation in National Pollinator Week, June 24-30, through the Wildlife at Work program. Now that it's the work week again, I want to remind readers of this and give a little more info about Wildlife at Work. Maybe another company in Rhode Island would like to become certified.

Fidelity went through the 2-year process to become certified in the Wildlife at Work project recently at their 500-acre Smithfield, Rhode Island campus. The formal Widlife at Work certification process is a big undertaking, and not every company can devote the staff time to it. The only other company in Rhode Island with this certification is Raytheon, as far as I have heard. [The Providential Gardener always welcomes corrections if I get the facts wrong ~ Please advise if you know things to be otherwise.] But maybe smaller companies might want to explore this program and implement some segments of it informally.

The Wildlife Habitat Council encourages employees to get "Wild at Work" by participating in a wildlife management team at their place of employment. WHC's Habitat Opportunities Report and Team Kit are valuable step-by-step guides for employees and employers as they establish, develop and manage a wildlife program, leading up to WHC accreditation. When corporations, conservation groups, the community and WHC come together to plan a wildlife habitat enhancement program, Wildlife at Work is in action.

Wildlife at Work is the foundation of WHC, from which other programs spring, such as Corporate Lands for Learning and Wings of Wonder.

These strong community-based projects receive increased public recognition and environmental awards by related industry associations. WHC’s annual Registry of Certified Programs is recognized globally as a source for the press, general public and government representatives.

Gardening Classes

Registration is now open for URI's Summer Gardening School, which runs Tuesdays, 5:30-7:30 pm from June 5 through August 21. You must register in advance for the sessions ($15 each), and it is first-come, first-served: attendance is limited to 25 people. Sessions are led by many of the same people who teach the Master Gardener course, and there is extensive time in URI's beautiful botanical gardens, sustainable landscape, and vegetable gardens. This is an excellent opportunity to learn how to manage your own gardens better: maybe figure out what you did this spring that created problems and what you are doing right (and why!). See the registration form for more details.

Many Rhode Islanders have heard of the URI Master Gardeners, which I understand is the largest volunteer group in the state. The URI Master Gardener course just finished last week (April 25). Registration for the next course at URI, which will begin in January if previous years' schedules are followed, will be in the early fall. There is always a waiting list, so apply early!

A Master Gardener class MIGHT also be held at the new Botanical Center at Roger Williams Park one of these days. Ask Rosanne Sherry for information if this interests you. URI and the Providence Parks Department are working together to get more training sessions for gardeners at the Botanical Center. The Spring Gardening School began earlier this month.

If you don't have time this year for a gardening class, stash the idea in the back of your mind that there are more and more opportunities in Rhode Island to learn about gardening. Some year it may work out for you. After several years of wanting to take the Master Gardener course, I finally worked it into my life this year, and I completely enjoyed it.