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!