The Providential Gardener

Greening Rhode Island's Businesses & Economy & Jobs

Rhode Island's unemployment rate is 8.5% if I remember correctly what I read in the Projo last week, and the economy isn't doing well on most fronts, but a lot of folks in Rhode Island are determined to turn things around. They are gathering at New England Tech on Saturday morning, September 27, for two hours to begin coordinating efforts to Green Rhode Island's Economy.

Green Economy is a key element in future economic growth, if not THE key, and leaders such as Sheldon Whitehouse, who will keynote Saturday's event, and Mayor Cicilline of Providence see the exciting prospects for our state by developing businesses geared to providing green products and services. The market for these is growing and promises to be vast.

Please join your neighbors and see how you can make this happen. For more information and to register, see the website, www.GreeningRIEconomy.com.

The Underground ~ A Wealth of Info for and about Landscape Professionals

Last year at the New England Grows! Conference and Expo in Boston, I came upon The Underground, an interesting group of landscape and nursery professionals who work mostly in the Boston/SE Mass area. I joined so I could follow their activities and benefit from the useful gardening information shared there.

Their current discussion board especially caught my eye: Dog friendly gardens ~ Plants to avoid, plants dogs like....

How lucky the dog whose owner muses, "I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on plants, design ideas etc that a dog would enjoy...." ! It reminds me of our now deceased goof-ball dog, who was of such indeterminate origin that I had to invent a breed just for her: Socks, the one and only Ersttweiler. She looked and sounded like a sweet wookiee, as you can kind of tell from this 1990 pre-digital photo I just scanned. The mold has been broken, folks.

She loved everything about the outdoors, so she was easy to please. I remember leaving her on one side of the house while I worked in the garden on the other side. I walked over to check her without fully looking around the corner, and there she was, lounging about and smiling that serene doggie smile at me. But when I went to check again and really looked behind her, she'd dug up most of the garden around her. Such fun! You can have your Rottweilers ~ I'd take that Ersttweiler any day!

Well, what would dogs like in a garden besides holes of their own making? Suggestions on the list range from nice thick lawns to roll around on for backscratching; large hostas to "dig a cool cave under...while waiting for the FedEx delivery;" Verbena bonariensis, which another Undergrounder's dogs chew up...

Maybe you're thinking of adding water features to your garden this year, but if you have a dog to please, be sure to include places to burrow holes and vantage points for observing the world :

On really hot days, dogs love to dig in the bat cave (at my house it is an overgrown taxus) that seems to be immune to the effects of the dog (only one in particular) that loves to burrow under it. I hide that area from sight with some tough perennials like daylilies and self sowing rudbeckia etc. that she can't hurt too much - which minimizes the "gardening conflicts"!

Dogs also love to be able to see out and survey their world - so when it is cooler there is a little hill that they all have liked sitting/lying on so that they can see the street, back door, most of the driveway and keep an eye on their little slice of the planet.

Of course, many dogs will like your water features also. Any serious dog will surely think your new pond will go great with the holes. Hey, maybe you can get your dog to dig the pond. Synergy!

OK, back from this imaginary romp in the yard to return to The Underground. Another recent discussion is about a trellis for espalier and what trees could be trained to the trellis. There are job listings and professional meeting announcements. If you are a professional landscape architect, you'll want to check out The Underground, join it (which is free), and be listed on this site. If you are a consumer of landscaping services, you'll want to check out The Underground's Consumer Articles, such as How to Hire A Landscape Professional.

The landscape professionals I quote above are:

• Kristen, of AquaTerra Designs in Dorchester, MA (the poser of the question)
• Pamela Hart, of Pamela Hart Landscape Services
• Ellen Sousa of THB Farm, a central Massachusetts horse farm
• Catherine Rooney of DesignerOfGreens in Ashland, MA

Rhode Island landscape architects should note that The Underground lists its professional members at Find a Landscape Professional. Only 9 Rhode Islanders are listed, but I'm sure we have quite a few more than that, even if this is the smallest state in the Union. The listing notes who is a member of the Northeast Organic Gardening Association (NOFA). RI doesn't have its own NOFA chapter, but several Rhode Islanders participate in the Massachusetts and Connecticut groups.

Oh, yes, one more thing: The Underground organizes several meetings each year. The next one is:

Landscape Contractor and Designer Relations
Panel Discussion
Saturday, January 26, 2008 1:00-4:00
Elm Bank, Wellesley, MA
Registration is $20 in advance, or $25 at the door.

The meeting has been listed in What Grows On in Rhode Island, which can alert you to all sorts of cool, green things to do.

 

Green Drinks is on Wednesday, August 22, 2007

        For August, the Rhode Island Environmental Network will not meet in Providence on Thursday the 16th but instead will be gathering on the beach:        

                   

           

Wednesday, August 22nd  Narragansett Parks and Recreation, Narrow River Preservation Association (NRPA), and the Salt Ponds Coalition will be hosting August's gathering of the RI Env. Network. Thanks to Narragansett Parks and Recreation, we will be gathering at their North Beach Clubhouse formally known as the Canochet Beach Clubhouse in Narragansett. NRPA and the Salt Ponds Coalition will be providing adult and family-friendly beverages and snacks.                      Enjoy the sand and surf, and learn about what NRPA and the Salt Ponds Coalition are doing to preserve the quality of the communities and natural environment in South County. Bring your friends, colleagues, family. In addition to meeting lots of interesting people working on or interested in various green and environmental issues, you can dip in the surf and use outdoor showers to rinse off. Life guards will be on the beach until 6PM.

Green Drinks Providence, July 19

From Bill Mott:

The next "Thirsty Third Thursday" gathering of the Rhode Island Environmental Network is: Providence Preservation Society is hosting July's gathering of the RI Env. Network. Weather permitting, we will gather in the Shakespeare's Head Garden. Come learn more about PPS and how much of what they do is helping promote sustainability.

DATE: Thursday, July 19th
LOCATION: 21 Meeting St, Providence

Think Green Drinks on Third Thursdays

The drinks themselves aren't green, but the talk tends to be at "Green Drinks," the Rhode Island Environmental Network's monthly get-together every third Thursday from 5 to 8pm. The July 19th meeting will be at the Providence Preservation Society. More about that in a future post.

In June, folks gathered at Save the Bay's headquarters in Providence. Other recent meetings have been [on the day before Bike to Work Day] at The Hub, a bike shop in Providence; and at The Plant, a renovated mill building, also in Providence.

Bill Mott, the organizer of these networking events, encourages anyone interested in conservation, environmental and sustainability issues to drop by. "...Come meet people interested in transportation, recycling, energy issues, traffic calming, bicycling, community gardens, green schools, zoning and wise redevelopment, and more related to overall sustainability of Providence, and Rhode Island. New people come every month, so just show up and introduce yourself!"

The top photo shows the folks who gathered at Save the Bay on the first day of summer. We had a hard time leaving this lovely place. The second photo shows another Providence city view of the restored buffer zone near the water. That's the Providence River, with East Providence in the distance. Plan to attend a Green Drinks one of these days ~ maybe the July 19th meeting ~ and meet some of your neighbor Rhode Islanders.

Rhode Island Farmways & RICAPE

More organizations to add to the Providential Gardener. Check out the Organizations list on the side panel of the blog for these new additions: Rhode Island FarmWays, which is a special initiative of the Rhode Island Center for Agricultural Promotion and Education (RICAPE), established to make our farms and nature based sites - on land and by the sea - more visible and accessible to people of all ages and interests.

Rhode Island Environmental Network January 18

The Thirsty Third Thursday" gathering of the Rhode Island Environmental Network is on January 18th! These informal monthly gatherings provide a great opportunity to learn about the latest on the environmental front, create connections, build synergies, make friends, and celebrate! Everyone is welcome to participate in Providence Green Drinks! New people come every month, so just show up and introduce yourself!

The January meeting at the Conservation Law Foundation, New England's leading environmental advocacy organization. Since 1966, CLF has worked to protect New England's people, natural resources and communities.

The CLF-RI office has two experienced litigators - Cynthia Giles and Jerry Elmer - who are working in RI to combat climate change and to promote renewable energy and fight air and water pollution, build healthy fishing communities and protect marine habitat, and promote responsible environmental governance. Conservation Law Foundation is a nonprofit, member-supported organization. Come learn firsthand about what CLF-RI is working on in our great little state!

DATE: Thursday, January 18th

TIME: Stop in any time between 5-8 pm

LOCATION: 55 Dorrance Street, Suite 250

MORE: Drinks and light refreshments will be served!

Green Drinks, Great Links

Well, I fell in the well, was stuck in a rut, lost in the woods for a while ... anyway, I am back tonight after a good time with the folks who showed up for Green Drinks at Jake's in Providence. Green Drinks is a "Third Thirsty Thursday" get-together for anyone interested in environmental issues in Rhode Island. I met a lot of interesting people ~ from the Audubon Society, Sakonnet Preservation Association in Little Compton, Clean Water Action, RISE Engineering (it used to stand for Rhode Islanders Saving Energy ~ maybe it still does), and several gardeners from Providence. The Providential Gardener is now re-energized and has lots to report about Rhode Island's "Growing Community."

I handed out some Providential Gardener business cards and if any of you from Green Drinks sees this, feel free to add comments to this post. It's easy, and that is one of the main features of a blog ~ to get a bit of dialog going on shared interests. You may also want to browse through some of the earlier postings and add comments there as well.

I promised a couple of people I would post links to info on noninvasive plants and shade-tolerant plants that might survive in a yard dominated by a large maple tree. This is from a List of Lists of places and plants of interest to the Providential Gardener I am compiling. I hope it will help those of you choosing plants for your gardens, and I welcome your contributions to the List of Lists.

Plants

URI Master Gardeners’ List of Favorite Plants  (http://www.urimga.org/favorite_plants.html)

Plants - Deer-Tolerant

URI Factsheet- Plants Least Preferred by Deer  (http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/deerplants.html)

Plants, Invasive in RI
      Rhode Island Invasive Species Council Databases     (http://www.uri.edu/ce/rinhs/invasives/index.htm)

URI Master Gardeners’ List of Invasive Plants of RI  (http://www.urimga.org/invasive_plants.html)

Plants - Moist/Wet Site-Tolerant

URI Factsheet- Plants for Moist to Wet Areas  (http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/perenialspec.html)

URI Factsheet- Trees and Shrubs for Moist to Wet Sites  (http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/treesmoist.html)

Plants, Native to RI (see also Trees, Native to RI)

Rhode Island Wild Plant Society ~ Native Plant Library  (http://www.riwps.org/Newsite03-06/plantLibrary.htm)

Plants - Perennials

URI Factsheet- Invasive Perennials  (http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/invasiveperennials.html)

URI Factsheet- Perennials for Specific Sites  (http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/perenialspec.html)

Plants, Salt Tolerant

Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum  (http://www.blithewold.org/gardens-salttolerant-plantlist.htm)

Plants - Shade-Tolerant

URI Factsheet- Plants for Sunny, Dry Areas  (http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/perenialspec.html)

Plants - Sun/Dry-Tolerant

URI Factsheet- Plants for Sunny, Dry Areas  (http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/perenialspec.html)

Plants - Sustainable

URI Factsheet- Sustainable Trees & Shrubs  (http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/sustplant.html)

URI List of Sustainable Trees and Shrubs  (http://131.128.91.217/maynard_susplants/html_spl2000/list.htm)

HOEDOWN at Southside Community Land Trust

Tomorrow is the big day for Southside Community Land Trust. SCLT is celebrating 25 years of helping people to grow their own food with a big bash at Urban Edge Farm in Johnston on Saturday, September 9th from 4pm to 8pm (rain or shine). This is FUN and supports the work of SCLT! I went last year and had a great time. Loads of great food, local breweries, music, dancing, tour the farm (4 to 5:30). Bring the kids ~ games, face painting, etc. For full details see the SCLT calendar.

Providence Green Drinks ~ The "Third Thirsty Thursday" Gathering

Providence Green Drinks is the monthly gathering of the Rhode Island Environmental Network, held every third Thursday at various locations in Providence from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. This informal group of anywhere from five to fifty people is coordinated by Bill Mott, Director of the Ocean Project. To be added to his mailing list, contact him by email. Drop by and meet people who work in the environmental field!

Green Drinks is an international group with 129 meetings all over the world.