|
Information regarding current projects of the Xeriscape
Council
What We're Doing Now
2007
2008
2009
2009
 |
 |
 |
|
In February a
call went out to members to do a general cleanup on the
garden. everyone pitched in and made it easy |
The pinion tree
had dropped it cones and they opened to show their tasty
nuts. Squirrels and birds love them. |
The golden yucca
was coming out from under the snow cover. Its golden leaves
were a bright spot in the garden |
 |
 |
 |
|
Here the
cotoneaster is peaking out from under the snow. It's gray
green leaves and arching branches add nice texture to the
landscape. |
Glen & Diane are
discussing whether it was time to cut the grass back, and if
so, how far. They decided it was time and Diane gave it a
winter "haircut" |
The golden
Mexican feather grass, green juniper, berry colored creeping
thyme and the gray leafed plant provide interesting colors
and textures all year |
|
On Saturday, May
9th, Arizona Game & Fish had a Wildlife Fair at Green Valley
Park. They invited the Xeriscape Council to have a booth to
hand out information regarding water wise gardening and
landscaping. Volunteer Council members manned the booth and
answered questions regarding water wise plant material, how
to conserve water, and how to co-exist with native wildlife.
|
 |
|
Mini Conference |
|
On Saturday, May 30, 2009 the High Country
Xeriscape Council of Arizona hosted a Mini conference at the
Ed Lydic Memorial Garden located on the grounds of the Gila
Community College, Payson Campus. The purpose of the
conference was to continue to provide continuing education
in water wise practices that will provide a sustainable
landscape. |
 |
|
|
|
Jan & Candice asked everyone to sign in at the registration
desk and they were given a ticket for the drawings for door
prizes |
It was a
beautiful day. Huge billowy clouds against a blue sky made
for a great backdrop to the plants in the garden |
Town of Payson
Mayor Kenny Evans welcomed all in attendance and kindly
stressed the importance of conservation |
|
The Speakers |
 |
 |
 |
|
Bart Worthington
of Mountain States Wholesale Nursery had a fascinating
PowerPoint Presentation of water wise plants and how to care
for them |
Bruce Wales, who
specializes in water harvesting, wowed the audience with how
much water can be collected from rainfall. His motto: "Water
is Life" |
Mary Irish spoke
about cold hardy agaves and yuccas. She had some awesome
pictures and explained how to identify yuccas and agaves |
 |
 |
|
Everyone
listened attentively to the speakers. After each
presentation, people were able to ask questions |
A number of
businesses & nurseries donated door prizes to be given away.
Drawings were held all during the day and a total of 20 door
prizes were handed out. A big thanks to all the businesses
that supported the event by their generous donations |
|
Free
Information |
 |
 |
 |
|
Mary Irish,
along with her husband Gary, has written a number of books
about the plants of the southwest. She had a book signing
for all who were interested. |
The Mountain
States Nursery booth was popular as it showcased a number of
the hardy, water wise plants that Bart spoke about during
his presentation |
Attendees
gathered free information from the information booths. There
was information on firewise landscaping, drip systems, and
gray water systems |
 |
 |
 |
|
This desert
marigold, brought by Mountain States Nursery shined in all
its glory. It was a favorite among the crowd. |
Plant Fair
Nursery had this wonderful Artemesia on their table and the
sign invited everyone to feel how soft it is |
The plant booths
were popular as they showcased a number of beautiful, hardy,
and water wise plants. |
 |
 |
 |
|
Chef Gary
Bedsworth, assisted by his wife Diane, prepared brats and
hot dogs with all the fixings. They were a big hit. |
During the lunch
break, people gathered around the food booth. The smells
from the grilled onions and peppers were wonderful |
A favorite booth
was "Scoops". They are a locally owned ice cream shop and
showed up with some of their delicious flavors |
2008
|
Waterwise Seminar |
|
On Saturday, May 31, 2008 the High Country Xeriscape Council
of Arizona hosted a Waterwise Seminar at the Ed Lydic
Memorial Garden located on the grounds of the Gila Community
College, Payson Campus. The Mexican Primrose, Yarrow,
Coreopsis, and Potentilla were in full bloom in the entry
way garden delighting visitors as they walked up to the
registration desk. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Karen put up signs along the major streets to point people
to the Seminar |
People were asked to sign in at the registration desk and
everyone was given a ticket for the drawings for door prizes |
A large poster was at the entrance with the times, the
speaker's names and the subjects they would be addressing |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
Bruce Wales, a local resident, spoke first regarding
rainwater harvesting. He used a PowerPoint presentation to
show how he has successfully harvested large amounts of
rainwater to sustain the waterwise landscape and benefit
wildlife |
Chris Jones, Gila County Extension Agent, spoke about
Maintaining a Firewise Landscape. His PowerPoint
presentation had a number of photos that showed fire wise
plants, as well as materials and landscape design that make
a property firewise |
Dennis Swartzwell of Mountain States Wholesale Nursery
brought a number of waterwise plants to show attendees. His
PowerPoint presentation had photos of these plants
showing how they would look when mature. His handout listed
the plants along with information regarding each one |
|
Door Prizes |
 |
|
|
Door Prizes: A
great number of businesses and local artist, Jan Ransom,
donated items to be given away as door prizes. There were a
total of 30 prizes and everyone was delighted with the
generous gifts |
Mountain States Wholesale Nursery generously donated all the
plants they brought with them for their booth and Dennis'
presentation |
|
Information Booths |
 |
 |
 |
|
Ace Hardware: Harvey Clifford talked to
attendees about the advantages of using drip systems to save
time, water, and money when taking care of waterwise plants |
David Wise,
a local resident spoke to people about the practability of
gray water systems to conserve water. He had photographs of
his system and handouts with tips for the homeowner |
Jim Dougherty of
Perennial
Golf Scapes:
brought samples of
artificial turf and was happy to answer any questions
regarding the benefits of artificial turf. It looked so good
even this little dog was impressed |
 |
 |
 |
|
Plant Fair Nursery
brought a number of low water use plants that do well in the
Rim Country. Also on display were products to help protect
plants from foraging wildlife |
Martin De Masi,
Town of Payson Fire Chief was on hand to talk to people
about
firewise
landscaping, living with fire, importance of defensible
space and resources to help homeowners.
|
The Town of Payson Water Department was well
represented by Karen Probert and Viki Holmes. They had a lot
of free information as well as a number of free gifts to
encourage water wise living |
|
During
the Breaks |
 |
 |
 |
|
During the breaks people
meandered through the demonstration garden to seek
inspiration |
The kiosk at the garden has
a number of free handouts, pictures, and information
|
Another view of the garden
and the information booths set up in the shade |
|
The Food |
 |
 |
|
There were free donuts,
coffee and tea in the morning and they were very popular |
Chef Gary Bedsworth of the
High Country Xeriscape Council grilled brats and hot dogs to
be served for lunch for a nominal fee along with all the
fixings. They were lip smacking good! |
2007
|
The local Xeriscape
Council recently received a grant from The Arizona State
Land Department in order to expand the plant pallet and
drip system in the garden. Council members continue to
work hard to maintain and update the garden. All members
are volunteers and freely give of their time to work on
the garden. The public and anyone wanting to learn about
Xeric landscaping is welcome to come and help with any
of our workshops.
Watch the home page of this site for notices of the next
workshop or call Karen Probert of the Town of Payson
Water Department at 474-5245, ext.2235. |
 |
|
On Saturday
May 19th, a group of volunteers worked to prune, weed
and inventory the existing plants in preparation for
future workshops. |
|
While some
pruned, others worked on the existing drip system which
will be expanded as more plants are installed in the
near future. |
 |
 |
The
newly planted Gaillardias (Blanket Flower) were
immediately hooked up to the existing drip lines. |
|
A large
group of people showed up on Saturday, June 30th to
plant some of the new perennials which will give the
garden vibrant color when they bloom. |
 |
 |
Monty is
Jan's Labradoodle and he came along to all the workshops
and patiently waited and watched while the volunteers
dug holes and installed the drip irrigation. |
|
In some
places the digging was hard but all worked together to
dig the holes, add mulch for the new plants and water
them well after they were planted. |
 |
 |
After
the plants were installed, other volunteers hooked them
up to the expanded drip system. |
|
Drip systems
are easy to install. The lines bend around corners so
cutting and connecting lines is kept to a minimum. All
that is required is punching a hole in the main line and
inserting a connector with the small tubing that goes to
the plant. No gluing is necessary. |
 |
 |
Local
potter, Linda Nannizzi, created this small basin to
provide water for the small wildlife in the garden. A
dripper in the basin insures it will get water every
time the system turns on. Creeping Thyme and Grey
Santolina provide shelter for the little guys. Lois,
2007 Chairwoman of the Xeriscape Council, says the
lizards love laying in it in the hot afternoon.
Unfortunately, there weren't any enjoying it while our
photographer was there. |
|
A black
butterfly was enjoying the purple flower of this Verbena
Rigida while everyone was busy working around it |
 |
 |
While the
volunteers were putting the final touches on the new
plantings and hooking up the drip system on July 28th,
some welcome visitors stopped by to ask questions about
the plants |
|
There are a
number of hummingbirds that enjoy the various flowers in
the garden. This one was very busy working the Agave
blooms. |
 |
 |