May 4th and 8th, 2019
Home of Bob and Cathy Pickard
Wednesday attendance: 37 members, 14 guests
Saturday attendance: 18 members + 2 children and 7 guests
Homeowners Bob and Cathy Pickard were introduced and they began telling the group about their eight-year landscaping process. They have a one-acre lot that was originally landscaped to be the backdrop for the previous owners’ daughter’s wedding. The lot included a waterfall/pond and lots of honeysuckle and other large non-native plants. Bob’s attempt to restore the waterfall into the pond was thwarted by Herons eating the fish. Deer were also eating his landscape. He now has creative fences around his native plantings to protect them from the deer. He also removed a lot of honeysuckle on the hill in the back. He thanked the Wild Ones for teaching him an easier and non-toxic way to remove turf by placing newspaper over the turf and then covering it with compost.
Bob and Cathy have a rain garden, a vegetable garden and the native plants they introduced five years ago are thriving. They are most proud of their Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia) and Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia). They agreed that they each play complimentary roles in their evolving landscape and its maintenance. Bob deals with the big picture, including hardscaping and honeysuckle removal. Cathy does the fine-tuning, including detailed weeding and plantings. Cathy was also responsible for creating the lists of plants posted by each garden and plant grouping. This was very helpful to folks as they walked around.
A review of our Grant Program was provided by Kevin Mowery. Mentors have volunteered for the new grants this year and two people have volunteered to mentor the remaining older grant sites.
Our Landscape Challenge is up and running! Sue Leahy reminded that all applicants are required to have had a Bring Conservation Home evaluation and that 1 June is the submission deadline. This grant is for a front yard makeover only.
The group in St Charles wanting to start a Wild Ones chapter is moving forward! Kudos to Sue Leahy and other board members for helping them through this process!
Everyone had just enough time to explore this beautiful property at the Wednesday Gathering before the rain started, causing us all to run for cover.
