March 31, 2020 Sustainable Landscape Design

April 1, 2020 Master Gardener Class 2020
Greetings, 
 
Please know how much your continued engagement is appreciated. So glad you’re still in touch and staying positive! 
 
Appointments
I’d like to spend some time checking in with all of you directly in the coming weeks with the goal of meeting one-on-one with each of you before the end of May. Each week, I’ll offer you a scheduling poll with five 1hr time slots when I can meet. These appointments will be filled on a first come, first served basis. If the time slots are taken, simply wait until next week. Urgent questions are welcome anytime – just send them along and I’ll do my best to make time to address your needs. Click here for the first round of meeting options. 
 
Handouts
Please let me know if you’d prefer to opt out of mailed handouts. I’m happy to continue mailing them, but am equally happy to save paper and mailing costs. Either way is absolutely fine with me. 
 
Homework
1) Tomorrow (April 1st), please view this important video regarding invasive species and check out my new favorite plant ID guide. 😉 
2) Fill out the landscape questionnaire handout that was mailed with Matt’s presentation. I’ve attached an electronic version if you want a fresh copy. If you live with others, be sure to ask them their thoughts as you fill it out. There’s no need to send me your work – I trust that you’ll do a good job and will learn a lot from the process. 
3) Please read:
4) Optional: Send me and update about your gardening endeavors that I can share with the class. Let me know if I can also share it on our Rogers Farm Facebook page. I will not share without your permission. Pictures are welcome! 
 
There’s no quiz this week (in case you were wondering).
 
Announcements
  • The Garden Chats series started yesterday and was a big hit. Here’s the scoop: Garden Chats: Growing Resilience From the Ground Up – 1-hour Zoom sessions Mondays at 9am, Wednesdays at noon, Thursdays at 6pm. For the month of April, all gardeners are invited to join members of the UMaine Cooperative Extension Home Horticulture team as they offer short online lessons on featured topics followed by a facilitated discussion with fellow gardeners from around the state and beyond. Check here for the full schedule of topics and more information. No registration is necessary. Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://maine.zoom.us/j/786090734 Or Telephone: US: +1 312.626.6799 Meeting ID: 786-090-734.
Becky’s recommended movies 
Thanks for sharing, Becky! I welcome others to send their favorite books/shows/websites/etc.
  • Dare to Be Wild. 2015TV-PG 1 Irish landscape designer Mary Reynolds fights to bring her wild and unconventional style to the esteemed Chelsea Flower Show. Starring:Emma Greenwell, Tom Hughes, Janie Dee.
  • The Biggest Little Farm https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/the-biggest-little-farm-review-1202922977/
  • (see the link for the full review) The inspirational story of how a Los Angeles couple quit the city, moved an hour north of one of the most polluted metropolitan centers on Earth, and pursued their dream of growing every ingredient she could possibly want to cook with, this lead-by-example change-the-world doc is perhaps the closest cinema has come to the eco-philosophical musings of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” author Michael Pollan, who freely challenges long-held social paradigms in his work — something this enlightening doc does too. Both deeply personal and remarkably objective, “The Biggest Little Farm” offers a firsthand account of the ups and downs of married duo John and Molly Chester’s trial-and-error attempt to start a biodiverse agricultural operation on land that had long since been stripped of nutrients.