​The Ashland/Bayfield County Master Gardeners are hosting two virtual programs “Unsung Heroes of Nature” on February 11 from 6:30-8 pm and “How to Attract Pollinators to Your Home Gardens” on March 11 from 6:30-8 pm. You can find out more about each program and registration information by clicking on the links below. A program link and password will be provided the day before the program by Sarah DeGraff, UW-Extension Bayfield County. 

It's a new installment in our Kids in the Garden Series! Master Gardener Volunteer Linda Anderson teaches all about the life and life cycle of the magnificent Monarch butterfly.
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Really, this isn't just for kids. From her seat in the beautiful Teaching & Display Garden, Linda explains everything we need to know about what Monarch butterflies do for us and how we can protect them.

Kevin Schoessow, University of Wisconsin Extension Area Agriculture Development Educator forBurnett, Sawyer and Washburn Counties spent well over an hour observing a Bombus (Bumble Bee) nest in the compost bin at the Spooner Agricultural Research Station.  He used an upturned bucket to make for a nice observation seat in front of the nest entry.  They pretty much ignored him as he sat there.   Here are his observations: 

"If I stand over the opening to the top of the bin and look down on the pile of grass and then tap the edge of the bin with my foot, the hive comes to life.  The buzzing sound is almost deafening, and its amazing how bees almost magically appear from under the grass.  It’s like they are sentinel laying in wait just beneath the surface.  In a matter of seconds there are close to a dozen crawling and flying above the grass and I have been chased away on more than one occasion.  Hopefully all this attention doesn’t interfere with their business.  Based on what I am seeing/hearing we have a very healthy nest."

Now is the time to observe bumble bees at their busiest.  There are a number of resources to learn more about these important pollinators.  

• UW Madison Online Guide to Bumble Bees  "This website is meant to help share the fascinating life history and biology of bumbles, as well as teach how to identify and conserve them here in Wisconsin."
• Wisconsin Bumble Bee Brigade - from the Wisconsin DNR - "The mission of the Bumble Bee Brigade is to improve our understanding, management and conservation of all 20 of these important pollinators. Program volunteers survey, count and photograph bumble bees, and then submit their results online. Volunteers are highly encouraged to attend an in-person training, but online training materials are available for those who cannot attend. The Bumble Bee Brigade is active April through October. Get Involved [exit DNR]."
• UW Extension "Supporting Native Bees" 
• Wisconsin Pollinator Plan
• Backyard Bumble Bee Count   Sponsored by iNaturalist.org is a joint initiative of the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society​

The Spooner Agricultural Research Station Teaching and Display Gardens are open for self-guided tours during all daylight hours. Please follow the social distancing guidelines that are posted.

UW-Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Roseann Meixelsperger provides information on Hummingbirds. 

​Easy steps for a successful Victory Garden 2.0…(with recommendations from the 1943 Victory Garden Manual by James Burdett, adapted for today’s world.)
1. Know your growing zone!– Just enter your zip code here to find your zone.

The program handouts are now available.  Listed below and on our 2020 Events Handouts page. 

• PDF of PowerPoint Slides
• Native Plant List from Minnesota DNR
• Link to an article about Nativars  
• More Phenology  Planting Tips ​
  
• UW Soil and Forage Lab - link for soil tests (note as of 3/23/20 tests are suspended due to COVID-19)
• Some additional recommendations on reading: 
  • Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants  by Robin Wall Kimmerer  It’s a bit of a cultural exploration of the relationship between plants, animals, the earth and humans.  More like essays than a look up info book.
  • Grow Native, Lynn Steiner  This author writes and provides recommendations on how to incorporate natives into our gardens. 
  • Bringing Nature Home and Nature's Best Hope, Doug Tallamy
  • The Living Landscape, Dick Darke and Doug Tallamy
    
    

This program covered what, when and where to cultivate native plants that provide food for butterflies, song birds, hummingbirds and beneficial insects.   By using your observations you can know the best time for planting, the blooming cycles of plants, and the emergence of insect pests.  All will help you become a more natural gardener. 

The Spooner Agriculture Research Station Teaching and Display Garden will host visitors for a final workshop on end of the season activities Saturday, September 7 10:00am to Noon.  This garden session will be held at the Teaching & Display Garden and focus on seed saving, fall garden activities, tender bulb storage, garlic planting, spring bulbs and what was learned during this garden season. 
 
This year’s theme  “Re-use, recycle, and re-imagine” comes from the All-America Selections.  The displays have been created with this theme in mind.  The Teaching and Display Garden is one of eight in Wisconsin that display vegetable and flower varieties who have been awarded this designation as an outstanding cultivar.   
 
Remember to bring your own lawn chair for the Meet Me in the Garden Seminar.  The session is free and open to the public and will be held rain or shine – please dress accordingly.  In case of inclement weather, the program will be held at the Station Building at 1035 E Maple Street (Hwy 70), Spooner.    The garden is located at 780 Orchard Lane, 1.5 miles east of Spooner on Highway 70 or 1/2 mile west of the Hwy 70/53 interchange.  Watch for garden meeting signs.
 
For more information and a map visit the station’s web site at: http://spooner.ars.wisc.edu/ or contact Kevin Schoessow or Lorraine Toman at the Spooner Area UW-Extension Office at 715-635-3506 or 1-800-528-1914. 

​Make an eye-catching garden more enjoyable by including fragrant plants.  Incorporating aromatic flowers into the landscape adds an unforgettable dimension.  Fragrant plants tend to bring up pleasant memories, and scented flowers also attract pollinators, such as bees and butterflies.
Fragrance is produced by plants when their essential oils evaporate and the molecules enter the air.  The most fragrant flowers are white and pastel.

​Create your own fragrant garden with these tips:

1.  Avoid using pesticides and chemical fertilizers.  They detract from the pleasant odors and can kill or harm beneficial creatures like birds and butterflies.
2. Use drip irrigation.  Overhead watering interferes with the release of nectar in aromatic plants, which will cause them not to smell.  Drip keeps the water at the root zone and off the plants.  If you can’t install drip irrigation, try to water at the roots.
3. Plant aromatic plants in high traffic areas.  You want the plants close enough so you can smell them.  Good locations include entryways, passageways, and enclosed areas where the odors can linger, such as patios, courtyards, and atriums.  Spots near windows that you open are also good.
4. Locate low-growing fragrant plants near nose level.  Place short aromatic plants where they can easily be appreciated, rather than on the ground.  Good locations include elevated containers located on tabletops and hanging baskets.
5. Consider time of day.  Some plants only smell at certain times of the day.  Weather can also make a difference.  Hot days tend to stir up the volatile oils in plants more than cool days, which means you’ll have a more fragrant garden when the weather is warm.
6. Balance and layer.  Avoid putting too many different types of fragrant plants into your landscape.  The results of doing this can be overpowering and even unpleasant.  Some plants, like night-blooming jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum), are so strong that you only need one in your yard.  Other flowers, like alyssum, require that you plant several in order to notice the scent.

​The specific plants in our fragrant garden are:
Bordering the walkway is Sweet Alyssum (Rosie O’Day).  Starting to cascade up and over on our arbor are both Moonflower and Sweet Pea.  In the main part of the garden are Bee Balm,  Carnation, Chocolate Flower, Heliotrope, Hyssop, Lupine, Marigold, Nicotiana, and Penstemon.   

​Submitted by Roseann Meixelsperger, Master Gardener Volunteer