Colorado Rockies Wildflower Tour 2012

Join us Aug. 8-11, 2012 in Colorful Colorado

4 Days & 3 Nights of Fresh Air and FUN!

We'll fly to Denver...

..then we'll take a motorcoach to Fort Collins

Visit beautiful gardens such as the Denver Botanical Gardens,

Gardens on Spring Creek, and Colorado State University Trial Gardens

 Experience Rocky Mountain National Park

 With your favorite guides

 Relax at the luxurious Fort Collins Hilton

 Enjoy the sights and sounds of this quaint college town

 Stroll the charming streets of Estes Park

 Enjoy Dinner Theater at it's finest one evening as well..

Sign up today!

We can hold your spot with a $100 deposit and 

your 2012 membership renewal

$795 *

 

*Price is per person/double occupancy

**Estimated price is based on current fuel prices-subject to change. Airline tickets cannot be secured until January 2012

For more information please call or email Stacie Stone at (801) 451-3403.

Two Completed Eagle Scout Projects in One Week

This week were lucky enough to have 2 Eagles Scout groups at the Gardens working on their projects.  Both projects are wonderful additions and have beautified the Gardens. 
On Saturday, October 15th the first Eagle Scout project was led by Justin Cottle.  He and his family along with his troop installed tree identification signs in our Power Line Arboretum, which is located north of the building along the walking path.  There were a total of 15 signs made and installed.  They turned out so nice and will greatly help us to educate our visitors about which trees should be planted under power lines. 

The trees and shrubs will grow to about 15-25 feet tall--making them the perfect size where height is limited. 

Each sign gives the common name, botanical name, height, width and hardiness zone.

On Thursday, October 20th Seth West and family installed 2 newly constructed park benches under our crab apple grove. 

The West Family with Tami Smith (Master Gardener).

Seth and his 2 younger brothers--all Boy Scouts built the redwood benches at their home and installed them at the Gardens. 

Working on the fence rails and posts.

They also repaired our wood fence rails and posts which are around the perimeter of the Gardens. 
We want to thank our Eagle Scouts for all their hard work in preparing their projects and carrying them out.  We are grateful to be the recipients of such great workmanship!
We are always looking for boy scouts who need an Eagle Scout project.  If you know of anyone who is interested in helping us out at the Gardens, please leave me a message at (801) 399-8081 or email me. Thank you Justin and Seth for completing your Eagle Scout projects at the Gardens.  We know that many people will be able to enjoy the fruits of your labors.

Apple and Cheese Tasting

Our Apple and Cheese Tasting will be Thursday, October 13th from noon-2pm.  This is one of the funest and most delicious event of the year!  Did I mention that it's free?  Well it is--so bring the whole family and all your friends.  

We will have many different apples that are locally grown to sample along with some tasty artisan cheeses from  Beehive Cheese.  

We will also have samples of pumpkin pie ice cream from Poppin' Johnny's.  

Lavender Hill will be here as well.  They will we will scooping their own Lavender Lemon ice cream and they will be selling their famous Lavender Lemon Cookies and Lemonade here also.

Join us to sample Utah's finest artisan cheeses and loclly grown apples, the perfect combination for a perfect way to the end the season.  You might even find which variety of apple is your favorite to plant in your own yard!

If you can't make it to the Ogden Botanical Gardens from noon to 2pm, we will have samples at the Kaysville Farmer's Market located at the USU Botanical Center from 5-6 pm. 

Look How Things Have Changed

I was trying to clean off my desk today--I know what was I thinking?  Anyway, I came across some pictures that were taken in 2006, the first year we started working at the Ogden Botanical Gardens.  I was shocked to see how much everything has changed.  The Gardens have seen a lot of improvements in the past five years and I'll show you some pictures to prove it.
Here is the area that we call the Outdoor Classroom.

 Last year our Master Gardeners helped us put in the beautiful walkway of crushed red rock and we also installed a dry stack wall around our flower beds.  We got rid of the windblown chokecherry and desolate jellybean island.  Quite the improvement--don't you think?

 Before we had a bark path and now we have a nice rock pathway.  Last spring these lovely steel arbors were installed.  One of our talented Master Gardeners designed and welded the arbors.  They are a great entrance into our Outdoor Classroom.

 Isn't it amazing what some pretty flowers, a rock wall and pathway can do to a drab existing landscape?

 I hope that you have enjoyed the changes here at the Ogden Botanical Gardens.  We love how all the hard work from staff and Master Gardeners has made our gardens so beautiful year after year.   We hope that we will continue to beautify each and every garden here.  Let's see what will happen in the next five years?

And the New Greenhouse Goes To......

I am happy to announce that the highest bid of the greenhouse is.......... $950 put in by Wendy McKenna.  Congratulations Wendy on your new greenhouse.  You will have a lot of fun this winter and spring with all the new plants that you can grow inside.  Thank you for your generous donation to the Gardens.  Wendy please contact me and we will get you your greenhouse.

New Bids

We've had some bids on the greenhouse today.  It is now up $950.  You have until Friday night at 11:55pm to bid.  I will announce the winner on Saturday.

Current Greenhouse Bidding

As of this morning the current bid for the new greenhouse is $850.  Do you want to bid?  Let me know.  The bidding will end on Friday night at 11:55pm.  If you want a great greenhouse at a super great price and help out the Gardens--now is your chance!  Thanks everyone for your help and support!  I'll announce the lucky winner on Saturday, September 16th.

New Greenhouse Up For Bid

 

Bid on this new greenhouse and it could be yours!  The minimum bid is $550.  We will be taking bids until September 15th and then we will notify the winner.  If you are interested please email me at dorinda.jones@usu.edu or leave a message at 801-399-8081.

Sale Price: $2,499.99 $1,549.99

The new STC Easy Grow Green House 8' x 8' Easy 2 Build Greenhouse Kits are beautiful and produce amazing results, period. Description
The Easy Grow Green House Kit 8' wide and 8' long, has very nice headroom of 7'2" - one of the highest in the hobby greenhouse class. The Forest Green painted aluminum frame is very sturdy and will provide dependable service with twin wall polycarbonate covering that is 4mm thick and offers 100% UV protection.

Easy to Assemble Construct this yourself with the innovative connectors, this saves you time and money. Can be assembled by two or more people in 1 day. Assembly instructions that show you step by step what you need to do, only your Phillips Screwdriver and Pliers are needed to assemble. Durability The EasyGrow Hobby Greenhouse Kit has painted aluminum profiles with 4 mm double wall polycarbonate panels for covering.

Easy Grow Greenhouse even offers a lifetime warranty on the frame. Polycarbonate covering offers a 7 year warranty against discoloration. The Easy 2 Build Hobby Greenhouse is very durable.

Shelving One level of removable greenhouse ventilated shelving on both sides of greenhouse the full length. The Built In Shelving makes the greenhouse very sturdy.

Easy Grow Green house features:

1) Heavy Duty Painted Extruded Aluminum
2) 4 MM Double wall opaque polycarbonate
3) Forest Green Powder coated aluminum frame
4) Standard roof vent keeps the air fresh and well vented
5) Ground Stakes for extra stability
6) REAL Door - not a cheap sliding, but a well built aluminum framed hinged door.
7) No Base is required
8) Very strong!!! (designed with criss-cross steel wires)
9) Very easy to follow pictured assembly directions
10) Only a few Hours to assemble
11) "push & click" Connectors that make it very simple to connect
12) Materials that give you a life time structural warranty
13) EZ 2 Build with only needing a Phillips Screwdriver and Pliers.
15) Israel Engineered where the masters of greenhouse design are located
16) DOUBLE DOORS ON THE 8X8
17) Auto vent opener included
18) TWO ROOF VENTS

Each Unit Comes With:
1) Full shelving and roof vents standard
1) Adjustable Side vent for proper air circulation
Shipped in 3 manageable Boxes!
Door width on the 8x8 Easy Grow Greenhouse 8 x 8 Easy 2 Build Green House is 4'1" wide

Wildflower Tour

We just got back from the wildflower tour to Jackson Hole and we had a great time!  We had 45 "Friends of the Gardens" come with us and everything on the trip ran smoothly and without any hiccups.

Our group awaiting our tour at Aberdeen.

We left from the gardens on Wednesday morning at 7am on the bus and headed towards Idaho.  Our first stop was at the University of Idaho research plots in Aberdeen.  There we saw many native Idaho flowers that they are evaluating for use in home gardens.

A selection of Blanket Flower at the Aberdeen research plot.

From there we went to Rexburg to see the beautiful gardens at BYU-Idaho.  I personally had never been there and was pleasantly surprised to see such beautiful flower displays. 

Some of the beautiful & colorful pots at BYU-Idaho.

Hollyhocks at the entrance of their Victory Garden.

Rexburg is known for high winds and cold temperatures, but we had great weather when we were there.  The gardens were awesome!  Their gardens are maintained exclusively by students and each year they have students complete their class projects, which helps their gardens to grow and evolve. 

Blooming water lilies in one of their many water features.

After Rexburg we were off to Jackson Hole and stayed at the Snow King Resort.  Thursday we went to Teton Village and took the tram up to the top of the mountain to look at the wildflowers. 

Our group waiting for the tram at Teton Village.

Richard, JayDee, and Jerry gave tours and help everyone indentify the many wildflowers that we saw there--about 30 different varieties of wildflowers. 

Some of the many wildflowers from on top of the Tetons.

Wall flowers

There was still some snow left along some of the ridges and everything was so green and lush.  It was such a beautiful place to see wildflowers and the weather was just perfect!

Look at that view!

Later that night we went to the Bar J Ranch and saw the show and enjoyed a great dinner.

On Friday we visited three landscapes in the Jackson Hole area.  The landscapes were beautiful and the homes were spectacular.

This house had a stream running right under the house and flows right into the Snake River.

We had so much fun on the trip and made many new friends.  Thanks to everyone who came and made it such a great time!  We hope to have more "friends of the gardens" join us next year!

Are You Ready For a Salsa Show-Down?

This is your special invitation to the . . .         

                  Salsa Show-Down

  Thursday, August 18 – 5-6 p

Farmer’s Market at USU Botanical Center tent on 50 West

                                DEADLINE to sign-up:  By August 11^th

              E-mail:  Dorinda.jones@usu.edu or call 801-399-8081

We know you are a great Master Gardener, but are you a Master Salsa Maker as well?  Come show off your salsa making skills at the 2^nd Annual Salsa Show-Down.

Those who have already signed up include Kris (our intern), Jake (works at the USU Botanical Center), and Barney Barnett (from Willard Bay Gardens).  Come participate, and we promise you good company and an extra special community event.

To sign up call or e-mail Dori now!   Tomatoes will be provided; all you need to bring is the rest of your secret ingredients to make a gallon of fresh salsa on-site at the Farmer’s Market.   Prizes worth “dollars” will be awarded, so join us for a ton of fun at the Salsa Show-Down! 

Hosta Garden Tours & Garlic Braiding Workshop

{Update:  Sorry I put the wrong date.  These events happened in July, not in August. Sorry.}
For all those interested here are some upcoming Master Gardener Activities on August July 30th.  There is the Utah Hosta Society Garden tour in Utah, Salt Lake and Davis county.  For more information click here.

Also, Sandhill Organic Garlic Farm in Eden is having a free Garlic Braiding Workshop at 4pm on August July 30th. 

Limited class size so call Marsha at 801-745-8584 or Pete at 801-866-3620 to make a reservation or get more information.

The workshop is free butparticipants pay for garlic used.

New Perennial Garden

Yesterday we planted a new perennial flowerbed at the gardens.  The bed  is located along the walkway and can be seen by all those that use the trail.  We planted about 600 perennials yesterday in 2 1/2 hours. 

Thanks to all the wonderful Master Gardeners who came out and helped us planted this massive bed in world record time!  We have the best Master Gardeners in the world!  Thank you, thank you! 

It looks spectacular and will be a great addition to our gardens.  A Ogden Botanical Gardens sign will be placed in this bed soon!