I'm doing a Master Gardener short course through CSU (Colorado State University) extension and have completed the modules on Soils and Amendments, Science of Tree Planting, Tree Care, and Colorado Gardening. I just started Entomology and then after that will do Irrigation and then get my certificate. I have had a garden all my life, but until I retired it was on autopilot for much of the time--I planted, I weeded, I watered, I harvested, but I didn't have time to really dig in, so to speak.
My first big project is to convert an area that used to house our kids' play structure and is now a pea-gravel wasteland into a native (CO native) flower garden. I've been winter sowing Goldenrod, Bee Balm, False Indigo, Anise Hyssop, Rocky Mt Blue Penstemon, Butterfly Weed, Black-Eyed Susan and Little Bluestem Grass seeds. If you're interested in what winter sowing is all about: Starting Seeds in Winter (psu.edu)
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| Here are the flowers I chose for my native garden from my spreadsheet. |
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| And this is the area that I will be planting. |
In addition to the course and some gardening books, magazines, and videos, I have been doing other reading as well.
Night Watch, by Jayne Anne Phillips - set in the aftermath of the Civil War in West Virginia, this was an outstanding novel and actually a perfect follow up to Demon Copperhead, which takes place in the same region but 150 years later. Still the roots of the issues in Demon are clearly visible in Night Watch. There are definitely some parts of Night Watch that are difficult to read and the villain, Papa, is truly horrible, but I found the history to be fascinating--much of the story takes place in a lunatic asylum, and the author includes notes from the Quaker doctor (a real person) who founded the asylum, which really added to the overall story. At first, I was hesitant to read about an insane asylum because I thought it would be very disturbing, but this story showed how the approach of this institution, at least, helped people actually recover from the PTSD they developed during the war years and afterwards. Despite the subject matter, I found it satisfying and uplifting.
Here is a wonderful interview with Phillips, and this quote is a good summation of the novel: “Night Watch is about the post-apocalyptic world of the Civil War years, the tribal divisions, the search for scarce resources, a specific family fallen apart and struggling to survive.” She goes on to describe how this post-apocalyptic world is not unlike our modern world and the issues so many face.
Better Living Through Birding, by Christian Cooper - yep, this is the book by the African American Central Park birder whose request that a woman leash her dogset her off on a tirade that cost her her job and so much more. While the CP incident is what brought this birder notoriety, I really enjoyed reading about his life beyond the incident--how this nerdy kid found his niche in the world and applied the skills he learned as a birder to life in general--be respectful, be observant, be interested, listen, and learn.
The Alice Network, by Kate Quinn - I absolutely loved Quinn's The Rose Code, and I absolutely loved this earlier novel as well. Set in 1947 and 1915, this is the story of the intersecting threads of an American socialite trying to find out the truth about her French cousin's disappearance during WWII and an English woman who was a spy during WWI. I loved traveling around France with Charlie (the socialite), Eve (the ex-spy), and her hunky driver who has his own post-war demons to contend with. Not quite as good as The Rose Code but still a darn good yarn.
Have a great end-of-winter (or summer if you're down under) and happy reading, writing, working, and playing!
