Care For Our Church Gardens

Care of our Church Gardens:

Annual Tasks  

Contacts:
Marcia Leonard: (508) 832-8131                                  
Nancy  Wilson (508) 839-4765

1. Communicating with the Parish:

Writing occasional messages for the newsletter, making announcements on Sunday mornings about Garden matters

2. Application of lime, fertilizer, Crab Grass Pre-Emergence chemical

Using spreader, apply anti-crab chemical to lawn surrounding the Main St. garden and to grass beneath the crab apple trees, before the end of April.    Time: 1 hour.   (Consult N. Wilson)  Lime and fertilize gardens occasional.

3. Fundraising projects

Such as the Green Exchange or holiday season pecan sales.    (Consult N. Wilson, H. Carter, L. Bona,  M. Densmore).

4. Garden hose care

Bring hoses out of storage in spring, make sure all are in operating order.   Repair or replace when necessary.  Make sure hoses are returned to storage in the fall.

5. Labeling of our plants

This helps our garden teach visitors, and us.   We shall find and provide optimum labeling material and help with names of plants

6. Log Book of Garden activity

We have record book with linen cover and archival paper, in which to record for the future, various contributions, memorial donations initiatives and events of our landscaping.   Would work best if entries were hand-written onto the acid-free paper.

7. Mulching

A springtime task which reduces weeds, retains moisture, improves the appearance.    Mulch cost covered in church budget.   Order mulch and gather some volunteers to help spread it on a Saturday a.m.

8. Garden Programs

There would very likely be a good audience in the parish for occasional programs or workshops on horticulture in general, or our plants in our own gardens. E.G. Sustainable Gardening.

9. Small Tree Pruning  (Crabapples and dogwood)

We have done this on our crab trees ‘most every year.   Needed: a step ladder, long handled pruning cutters, hand clippers, a couple of volunteers, a pick-up truck and a couple of hours on a Saturday a.m. in early spring.

10. Rhododendrons and Azaleas

These long-lived shrubs which anchor the four corners of the Memorial Garden need annual feeding, late spring deadheading,  and occasional pruning with a pruning saw or clippers.

11. Roses

Our four white roses in the Memorial Garden should have serious spring pruning, annual feeding, regular deadheading, and mulch against the winter cold.  Consult Helen Carter.

12. Summer volunteer garden schedule

We have awesome record of 46-year history of volunteer care of the gardens from May until September!    Each volunteer has been asked to come for one morning or afternoon of maintenance and deadheading during the summer.    Circulate sign-up sheet during the spring, and send reminder letter to those who have volunteered.   We have on file letter of volunteer summer instruction which can be reused or altered.  Consult N. Wilson.

13. Summer Watering

We have tried to establish a xeriscape garden which can tolerate the dry summers of recent years. And costs to our church of watering are high.   However, there are periods of drought where we need to do some watering with our soaker hoses.   For those times, we need individual who will turn on faucets in the Memorial Garden in the a.m. and make sure that they are turned off in the p.m.

14.Trimming the Yew Hedge

A one-shot task in midsummer requiring several hours using clippers to even the evergreen hedge surrounding the Memorial Garden.   Consult Lee Bona.

15. Management of an individual area or garden bed

A corner you could consider your own!   All our beds could benefit from some rethinking and removing and replanting as well as frequent deadheading of spent flowers.    Here are some:

16. Bird Bath Bed                         

17. Bed along the south wall of the church

18. Main Street Garden                

19. Upper Slope (our latest project) Consult Brenna Ewing who has made a design for this area.    We seek trouble-free plants native to New England.   We may apply for Wheeler grant for plant materials.   Need to figure how to get water to this area.