Looking Towards Spring

Two Months 29 Days and 16 hours and then Spring will arrive at the urban garden. Seems like a ways off. Well Friday is New Years 2010 what happened to 2009? Time does fly. This past year some of the things which I wanted to accomplish at the urban garden did not get done but because of equipment problems and the construction project etc..

I have been busy the last two weeks in between snow storms getting an inventory list together for irrigation parts, fertilizer, herbicides, and supplies. This is based on what is on hand and what I have used in past years. By placing orders in February I will have the supplies I need in time for each task. This alone saves a lot of time and that is due to the reorganization taking place this winter. They irrigation parts that are used most for repairs nipples, heads,and nozzles are all in a kit form separated by size so now when a repair is needed they parts are right on hand and there where you are working. As the parts are used you can restock before you run out so that you will not be waiting when a repair is needed.

Seed for lawn repair will be on hand as well as starter fertilizer and peat moss so that as soon as weather brakes you can start repairs even if it is only one or two nice days you can get started early and be ahead of the game. This is especially important when you are working with a small crew and need to make each day count.

Along with the irrigation kit I have set up a pull behind garden cart with a sprayer so that weed control will be much more efficient. This cart will hook on to the lawn tractor and also hold the irrigation kit so that when needed it will only take a few minutes to hook up and be out there working. Planning is a key element in getting things done and the more you plan the better off you will be.

Now is a great time for you to start thinking about your own garden and garden projects and planning for them this spring. If you don’t have any project planned yet why not visit our resource page Free Backyard Project Plans and check out some ideas that you can build using the lists of free plans.

Education and Outreach

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Sharing knowledge and appreciation of plants with the UBC community, British Columbians and the world

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A UBC Teaching Resource

UBC Botanical Garden is a "green classroom"; it is a teaching resource used for dozens of University of British Columbia classes. Students from the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences visit the Physic Garden to understand the history and future of their discipline. The UBC Faculty of Arts uses the garden for coursework in Anthropology, Fine Arts (what better inspiration?), Geography and more.

The garden is also an invaluable teaching and learning resource for professors and students in the UBC Faculty of Land and Food Systems and the UBC Faculty of Science. In particular, the UBC Agroecology Program, UBC Landscape Architecture Program and UBC Department of Botany rely on the living collections and green space present at the garden for teaching in plant taxonomy, horticulture, bryology, landscape design, conservation biology, agroecology and biogeography.

As part of its commitment to life-long learning, UBC Botanical Garden also works with UBC Continuing Studies to offer programs to nontraditional university students. Notable among these cooperative programs is the UBC Certificate in Garden Design.

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Local Education and Outreach

Educating the British Columbian public about plants is a service for the community that UBC Botanical Garden proudly pursues.

Weekend courses and noon lectures by garden staff and associates are available throughout the year, with nominal fees to cover costs. Special evening lectures by guest speakers are occasionally held, often in association with a local plant society (2003 featured Christopher Lloyd, David Mabberley and Helen Dillon). Free noon seminars are held once every month, generally with an emphasis on scientific investigations at the Botanical Garden or the Centre for Plant Research.

Events and plant sales are opportunities for outreach and education not missed by UBC Botanical Garden. The UBC Apple Festival not only features thousands of kilograms of apples, but also gives the public a chance to learn more about apples from the BC Fruit Testers Association, local Master Gardeners and the apple growers themselves. The Native Plant Sale, held in cooperation with the Native Plant Society of British Columbia, features guided tours of the Native Garden and educational booths from local environmental and nature society groups. Other events and sales also feature learning opportunities.

Since 1981, UBC Botanical Garden has offered a telephone horticultural advice service, Hortline. For over twenty years, British Columbians have had the opportunity to talk with a UBC Botanical Garden volunteer or summer student about problems in their garden.

Visitors to UBC Botanical Garden can also learn about plants while they tour the garden. In 2002, a program of interpretative signage was launched to augment the plant labels. Since the purchase of a laser engraving machine in 2001, the number of plant labels has also been steadily increasing, helping visitors learn more about the plants in the garden.

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Global Education and Outreach

The Internet has allowed UBC Botanical Garden to expand the audience of its mission to communicate appreciation and share knowledge of plants. Due to an ever-increasing amount of questions asked of garden staff and volunteers via email, UBC Botanical Garden launched its plant and gardening discussion forums in 2002. This was done with the rationale that the questions and answers should be shared with anyone who can access the information, instead of only the initial inquirer. It has since grown rapidly into a community of plant enthusiasts from both the local area and around the globe.

Although small compared to other Internet gardening discussion forums, the UBC Botanical Garden forum is seemingly the largest of any plant-related forum that fosters communication between the public, other plant professionals and UBC Botanical Garden researchers, staff and volunteers.

Merry Christmas From The Woodland Garden

by Glenn

Christmas 2009 and I am sitting here thinking about the woodland garden. It is been a rough couple of days with the weather and I have lost a good bit of sleep because of it. Seems to me when I get overly stressed that it is important to change focus. So I thought I would spend some time thinking and reflecting on one of my favorite places the woodland garden.

Thinking about the woodland garden does bring a sense of peace but also it reminds me of balmy summer days and crisp early mornings sitting on the deck enjoying the wild life just waking up and starting to forage for the days meal.

Waking up just at dawn and taking a hot cup of coffee out on the deck sitting there at the table I have time to just relax and enjoy the moment. There is no sense of urgency or need to rush.

A great view above looking off the deck now that is a sight for soar eyes on a damp and cold Christmas morning. This is just a part of the attraction of the woodland garden the real attraction lives deep inside. It is a feeling of stability and calm that comes with being surround by nature and all her creatures and creations. It is a place to relax and dream and replenish your soul. I can not wait for spring to get back there and once again enjoy time spent surrounded by the beauty and serenity.

Merry Christmas To All

From the Woodland Garden

New Feature Added To This Site

I am pleased to announce a new feature I have added to this site. FREE BACKYARD PROJECT PLANS . This is a group of links to free plans for many outdoors projects for your yard and garden. Currently there are free plans for garden arbors, cold frames, garden benches, garden bridges, greenhouse plans, pergola plans, and raised bed plans. We are collecting more all the time and would like to add new plans each week.

My hope is that this is a valuable resource for you and that you will be able to use this new resource to help you enjoy your gardens and yards more. If you have any suggestion I would love to hear from you so that I can added them to the site.

It is amazing how much is available in the way of information and I want to share it in an easy to access way. Please do contact me if you have any ideas.

Thanks for visiting and do not forget to bookmark this site.

End Of The Year Review

Review is an annual tradition with me. I always try to sit down towards the end of the year and look back at the previous years highs and lows. I also start to think about goals for the upcoming year. I find that this is a very good way to keep myself on track and to see how far I have come and what I have learned in the past year. Some of it is about my career, some of it is about my passions, and some of it is my personal development.

I believe that the best way to measure yourself is to stop and see what direction you are heading and how you are following your plan. It is always interesting to see what you have learned and sometimes it is disappointing to find that you have not reached your goals. Sometimes it is a reassessment of your goals. Things that may have seemed important may have become less important as new pursuits have taken there place.

In any event I think it is important to decided what you want to do in the next year and set short term goals to help you reach your long term goal. Sort of like mapping out a trip. It is easy to get lost if you do not have a road map to help you along the way. By setting up so short term goals you can help keep youself on track.

This may not be for everyone but I find that it is very rewarding to see that I have accomplished what I set out to do at the beginning of the year and helps to motivate me to try more the next year.

I also like to start planning for next years gardens and project so that I have plenty of time to get them all worked out before the rush of a new season begins. Cold winter days were meant to peruse the nursery catalogs.

Winter Solstice 2009

The winter solstice 2009 occurs at December 21, 2009 at 12:47 PM CST marking the official start of winter in the northern hemisphere. This is the day which will have the shortest hours of sunlight. After this date the nights will gradually begin to grow shorter and the days longer. Don’t get to excited yet. We are only talking a minute or so.

It is important to remember that there is a lot of cold and nasty weather ahead. I always feel better when the solstice has occurred though even though it may just be psychological the thought of the days growing longer give me hope that spring will be here soon.

Here at the urban garden it is time for me to start on my garden calendar for next season. While it is not possible to predict by the day what I will be doing it is more like setting up a time line. Between January 1st and February 15th we will be working on shop organization and equipment repair. This is important and makes it so much easier during the season when you an find exactly what you need. Also by making sure that equipment is ready and working properly you can get started earlier in the spring as days allow you to get out and work.

From Mid February to Mid March time will be spent ordering supplies such as herbicide, fertilizer, and mulch. Also during this time irrigation and shop supplies will be ordered based on list that we made during the winter organization. This is also a great time saver when it comes to getting an early start in the spring. Fertilizer application and herbicide application especially pre-emergent are scheduled for end of March first two weeks of April. Turf repair and over seeding end of April to beginning of May. Knowing when the work is scheduled for allows me to set a time two three weeks ahead of time to place orders for the supplies such as seeds and peat moss. This is a very time and space conserving practice. When you are ready to start the supplies are on hand and you are not waiting for deliveries.

These methods are very helpful for the home gardener as well if you take your lawn mower and yard equipment in in the winter for tuneup and repairs then in the spring while everybody else is waiting for two weeks for their mower yours is ready to go. If you have an idea of the projects you want to tackle in spring you can watch for pre season sales and save money by purchasing materials and supplies before you need them when the stores have the best prices.

A Week Before Christmas At The Urban Garden

As Christmas approaches it seems as if everything is put on hold so that last minute gifts can be bought or party details can be taken care of. My self I am thinking about getting things organized for spring. I can’t help it it is just a part of me that goes back to what I was taught when I first started in groundskeeping. I think the less stress the better and organization leads to less stress. Planning is a key part of this.

Currently we are reorganizing the shop area. I started by cleaning out all the old parts and attachments for equipment we no longer have. this has freed up some shelf space. Next I have set up areas that like items are being put into so that related items can be put together until final organization takes place. All the irrigation items in one area, all the trowels,hand pruners, and clippers in another. This way all the wayward tools and parts that were not returned properly will get back to the area where eventually you will be able to just go and pickup what you need with out searching. This of course is all well and good but the final part will be to make sure that at end of day things get returned at the end of the day. If this is not implemented then all the work will be for not.

My hope is by Mid January to have this work complete but I know that even with the best of intentions that I will be lucky to be through by March. There are always diversions along the way. The day before yesterday when I came in a car had been parked in the lot and had a transmission leak that caused a big puddle of fluid in the parking space. The car did make it out of the lot trailing transmission fluid all the way till it got almost to the end of the Emergency Room Drive where it finally gave out and dropped all the rest of the transmission fluid on the ground. Of course this needed to be cleaned up right away as transmission fluid is extremely slippery and hazardous to walk on. So 250 lbs of oil dry latter it was safe to walk and drive on. This is just one of the many sidecars that take place during the course of the week in a large institution. We are always doing something non gardening related yesterday it was filling pot holes in the parking lot and today who knows! It is not possible to have precise plans of what you are going to do each day but you just hope for the best.

When I was younger I looked forwards to Christmas with a lot of anticipation and excitement now I think of it more as a day off and hope it don’t snow. I do enjoy seeing the grand kids open their presents and some time spent with family to catch up on things but the gift giving and receiving I can do without. Either you like me or your don’t but don’t feel obligated to buy me something or obligate me to buy you something. If you want to show me how much you care then just sit and talk with me for a bit and tell me what is happening in your life. Then humor me and listen to me as I drone on about myself. I know half the stores in America would close and millions would be out of work with out the Christmas Buying Season. I just have to wonder if this is what Christmas really is all about. Some how I think the gifts the three kings brought to that little baby lying in a manger over 2000 years ago has some how gotten all convoluted and many people now stress themselves out trying to BUY just the right thing to show how much they really care. I think you can not measure what some one feels about you by what they buy you but it what they give you that is more important.

Well enough of that sidecar. It is time to head for the Urban Garden and to get started on the days plan. Hopefully today will will be able to get a lot done in the organization project. But then again we will see what the day holds.