The Providential Gardener

Urban Agriculture ~ Providence Continues to Grow!

YERT (Your Environmental Road Trip) videos document the travels of 4 young people during 2007-2008 who interviewed people in all 50 states about environmental issues. The Rhode Island video featuring Rich Peterson of City Farm is just the thing to see before the big Spring Kickoff for Plant Providence on Saturday, March 20, at the The Highlander Charter School, 42 Lexington Ave, Providence, RI, from 1 to 4pm. There'll be info on planning gardens, starting seeds, and composting, plus soil testing. Bring seeds for a Seed Swap, sample the ethnic food prepared by Providence's gardeners, and learn to make Nime Chow. 

The Kickoff is the first in a series of about a dozen workshops from now going into the fall on gardening in Providence. See the Plant Providence website for the full listing. And don't forget that you'll find all of these events in a nice neat Calendar format at What Grows On in Rhode Island.

 

This is YERTpod5. The YERT team also visited Watson Farm in Jamestown and interviewed Rhody Fresh dairy farmers and an alpaca farmer (YERTpod6). The YERT website has lots of other interesting and entertaining videos. What are your favorites? I was especially intrigued by the perennial vegetables and grains described in YERTpod30, Perennial Good Food In Kansas.

Coggeshall Farm Harvest Fair ~ September 20 & 21, 2008

I hope someone will see this and as a result go to Coggeshall Farm's Harvest Fair Sunday the 21st. The 2008 fair is the farm's 35th, and what fun the kids were having this afternoon (the 20th). There are hayrides, crafts, and period games, including a tug of war, greased pole climbing, and Jacob's ladder, which you have to go see.

With the splendid weather we are having, the farm's location, Poppasquash Point, right next to Bristol's Colt State Park, is in its glory. Coggeshall Farm has 40 acres that have been cultivated for centuries, first by Native Americans, and since the late 17th century, by Europeans. The farmhouse dates to about 1790 and is surrounded by unspoiled woods and fields, with barns, a springhouse, blacksmith shop, orchard, and farm animals. Coggeshall Farm is one of the working farms in Rhode Island where visitors get a sense of what life was like two or more centuries ago. It puts in perspective our hurried, superficial "lifestyles" when we see how hard and time consuming it would be to live without electricity and the mass-produced goods that we take for granted.

If you can't make the Harvest Fair, the Farm has some other events coming up. You could see the film, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?, on Saturday the 26th instead of the presidential debate, and there is a pumpkin sale on October 18th along with making cider. The farm is open, usually 10am to 4pm (it closes later from March through September), and volunteers demonstrate how to use colonial farm equipment, looms, spinning wheels, and the other domestic tools necessary in colonial period homes.

Garden Guys at the Garden Show on Saturday, February 23, 2008

Friday's icy roads may have kept you from the Garden Show in Providence, but make up for that by heading out to the Rhode Island Spring Flower & Garden Show on Saturday. It's open until 9:00pm on Saturday, and 6:00pm on Sunday. We could all use a good dose of flowery greenery about now!

From noon to 2pm on Saturday, Layanee DeMerchant and Sam Jeffries, two of the "Garden Guys" who are on WHJJ 920AM on Sunday mornings, will be at the Rhode Island Spring Flower & Garden Show.

Also, look for these other garden guys: Friday members of the Rhode Island chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects were giving brief consults on garden design for attendees. I've also seen them do this at another occasion last year. It is a good way to get a feel for how a professional could help you deal with those difficult problems that keep your yard from being as beautiful and enjoyable as you would like. Maybe they'll be at the show again today! Ask at the "Ask a Master Gardener" booth at the top of the escalator as you enter the show.

RI Spring Flower & Garden Show News

I've always enjoyed going to the Rhode Island Spring Flower & Garden Show, and so I'm looking forward to this year's show ~ Thursday, February 21st through Sunday February 24th, 2008.

LECTURES & DEMOS ~ AND Children's Activities.

Each year there are special presentations, but if you're like me, it's not easy to remember when the ones I want to hear are scheduled. Then there are separate lists for lectures & demos, which adds to the challenge.

This year, I've put all the special activities at the Flower Show into the What Grows On in Rhode Island Calendar. Scroll to February 21-24, and you'll see all the special events listed in "Agenda" view, but you can also change this to a Calendar format.

By the way, I am very close now to upgrading the Calendar software, which will make the Calendar much easier to use.

Ocean State Orchid Society Wins Awards

There are many orchid lovers in Rhode Island, which is a good thing because there are more than 20,000 species of orchids in the world to love, growing in every climate. At the Cape and Island Orchid Society Show last month, I've heard that the Ocean State Orchid Society won three awards:

• Blue ribbon for the best display (any size) by an orchid society
• Best display presented by a novice.
• The Laura C. Slavin Memorial Award for 'Most Creative Display'

I'm always glad to post news of any sort of "green" event, especially when they have pretty pictures.

Another Garden Book by Local Authors

Although last Saturday was warm and lovely enough to tempt me into the garden, we probably have many days ahead of us before we can do much work out there. I resisted pruning because it's not necessarily a good time to prune shrubs and trees when bitter cold weather is still likely, but March is coming. The RI Tree Council recommends pruning trees in late winter or early spring. [Oh, yes, my web search turned up a summary of local pruning info and advice I wrote in a PG post last year about pruning.] I'll sure have a lot to do outside in a couple of months!

Meanwhile, what better way to spend a snowy day  than to read a new gardening book or two. I wrote recently about Barbara Gee's wonderful new book, The Rhode Island Gardener's Companion, which I highly recommend. Barbara will be signing her book at Providence's Whole Foods in the University Heights shopping center on North Main Street, Saturday, January 19th, from noon to 3pm, and you can buy your copy there and then.

The Rhode Island Gardener's Companion: An Insider's Guide to Gardening in the Ocean State is full of useful and specific information about Rhode Island soil, climate, plants that like growing in Rhode Island, and general gardening resources in our state. She includes comments from many Rhode Islanders, including John Phillip of the New England Carnivorous Plant Society, Rosanne Sherry of the URI Master Gardeners, Mike and Angie Chute of the Rhode Island Rose Society, and John Campanini of the Rhode Island Tree Council. The chapter, "Special Challenges: Seaside and City Gardens," has lists of plants suited to the shore, which can save coastal gardeners a lot of grief. Why try to grow plants where they wouldn't naturally grow? Maybe there are good reasons sometimes, but it's a lot more work and expense, and it's often doomed no matter what you do.

Barbara is not the only local author with a recent book, though (hers was in the store in December). Judy and Michel Marcellot of Seven Arrows published their first book, Sacred Gardens, last July. I am on their email list, and they just sent out their Early Winter Newsletter that describes their book:

Gardens and wild places have long been recognized for their ability to influence the human psyche.  Gardeners and non-gardeners alike will enjoy the authors' own story as they set out to create a public place where people come to visit, sit, relax and experience the peace and joy found in nature.  The authors chronicle their own path, seeking to live lives of peace and balance and to make a living at doing something they love.  Judy and Michel spoke with a Nobel Prize nominee, an internationally renowned expert in sacred landscape and scores of ordinary gardeners in an effort to define the nature of peace and sanctuary. Along the way, they met ordinary people who share their own stories, and how the simple act of gardening  changes lives and individuals.  You do not have to be a gardener to enjoy this book!

Well, this is another book for The Providential Gardener, who views Rhode Island as a garden we all share and tend. Support your local authors and buy their books. They love what they do and their joy is contagious.

Giving Thanks & Buy Nothing Day ~ How to Spend Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving Day is perhaps The Providential Gardener's favorite holiday. It centers in the awesome recognition of how fortunate we are to have food that sustains our lives. It's hard for us today to realize how close to death the first European settlers in New England were ~ how utterly dependent they were on a decent harvest to make it through the long winters. We are not aware how dependent we are on farmers for our own lives ~ we take their hard work for granted. But as a bumper sticker from the Rhode Island Farm Bureau puts it in big red letters:

NO FARMERS ~ NO FOOD

I am a native New Englander, and Thanksgiving Day has always been an important family time. But my most memorable Thanksgiving Day was spent in France a few years ago. We went to Normandy for the day, and we walked through fields of white crosses on a sunny, warm afternoon, within sight of a sparkling sea. We walked on the beaches that once were scenes of unspeakable horror, and we saw some of the remaining bunkers and guns that fired on the beaches. Today I'm thinking about our brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters who are serving far from their families ~ hoping they have a special meal and some joy in their lives before they turn back to their work. They also live close to death in ways we don't imagine.

Enjoy dinner on T-Day, and then do yourself a favor ~ deepen your awareness of exactly how food gets to your plate, remember how fortunate many of us are to have the basic things that sustain life, and make the whole weekend a time for Thanksgiving. Some ways to do this include

• Make sure everybody in the state has the basics ~ for instance, donate warm coats to Buy Nothing Day.
• Audubon, the RI Wild Plant Society, and others have planned some great outdoor and indoor activities for everybody. Instead of the mall, you could be on seal watches or bird caravans ~ All of this is listed on The Providential Gardener Calendar.
• And plenty of folks could use some cheering up in ways that don't have to include spending money.

If you can't get outside (which is preferred!) and have some time to spend online, explore The Providential Gardener and learn about What Grows On all around you in Rhode Island. I'm sure you'll find something you didn't know about our great little state, and I hope you'll find how to get together with other Rhode Islanders who enjoy and care for our beautiful bit of earth in so many different ways.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Harvest Fair at The Norman Bird Sanctuary

The 33^rd Annual Harvest Fair at The Norman Bird Sanctuary will be Saturday, September 29^th & Sunday, September 30^th, from 10am to 5pm at 583 Third Beach Road, Middletown, RI.

The 33^rd Annual Norman Bird Sanctuary Harvest Fair takes place on a 300+ acre wildlife refuge just north of Newport, RI. Widely known for its 7 miles of hiking trails through diverse habitats and breathtaking ocean views atop ridges, the Norman Bird Sanctuary is also famous among festival lovers for its Harvest Fair. It is the place to experience the best assortment of delicious food, handmade arts and crafts, fun activities, games for the entire family, and wonderful entertainment. For more than a generation, The Harvest Fair has been a cherished family tradition on Aquidneck Island. Originally conceived as a harvest season community celebration, it is one of the largest and longest running events of its kind in Newport County.

The Norman Bird Sanctuary has a 57 year history of providing wild spaces for people and wildlife as well as outstanding education programs for children and families.

For more information : 401-846-2577 or visit the website at www.normanbirdsanctuary.org

Competition for Gardeners, Growers, Canners , & Bakers

Mark your calendar!

A Feature of the Norman Bird Sanctuary Harvest Fair 2007 (which is on Saturday & Sunday, September 29-30, 10am-5pm):

Home and Garden Competition, Saturday, September 29

The Norman Bird Sanctuary invites all amateur gardeners, growers, canners and bakers Of ALL ages to submit for judging by 11am on Saturday, September 29,  in the following areas:

FLOWERS

• Best Single Rose
• Best Single Dahlia
• Best Fresh Arrangement
• Best Dried Arrangement
• Best Sunflower
• Biggest Sunflower Face
• Young Growers – Best Arrangement

PRODUCE

• Best Single Fruit
• Best Single Vegetable
• Best Collection
• Biggest Pumpkin
• Most Unusual Vegetable/Edible Plant
• Young Grower-Best Produce
• Jack-o’-lantern Contest

FOOD

• Best Apple Pie
• Best Pesto
• Best Salsa
• Best Jam/Jelly
• Best Savory Relish/Preserves
• Best Cookies/Dessert Bars
• Young Baker – Baked Goods
• Best Quick Bread/Muffins

For more information please contact:  Lesley Muir, 401-846-2577 x17

New England Carnivorous Plant Society Plans Amazing Show

Members of the New England Carnivorous Plant Society are gathering on September 8th to finish plans for their 5th annual Carnivorous Plant Show, to be held September 29-30 at Roger Williams Park greenhouses, Providence, RI. You may want to join in on the fun. This is an active and interesting group, to say nothing of their beloved plants!