Landscaping cloth and mulch is down

Today's "laborers" were awesome. The garden crew included Georgia Orphan, Vera Jones, Nancy Schwiesow, Betty Kane, Bob Scott, Lynn Luessen, and me, Marti Szczur. [Sad to say, Sadie Szczur was not much help.]

Thanks to Nancy for taking the photos for us.




We tackled putting down the landscaping cloth and mulch in the central area and entry path. Completed, except for refining the curves. Plus, we scattered some of the river stone around the boulders ... it is looking good.

Planting the berms are our next task, which means transplanting and/or buying plants based on our plan.

Steering Committee will meet soon to discuss next steps and see where we are fund-wise.

Updated Reflection Garden Planting Design (as of May 11, 2014)

Work Day on Friday

We had a productive one hour work session on Friday to put down landscaping cloth and mulch in the garden’s center area. Those in attendance included Jill, Bob, Georgia, Pat, Dane (yes, some young muscle!), Joe and Marti.  We used up the available cloth and covered maybe a third of the to-be-mulched area.  I’ll call Gary on Monday to request some more landscaping cloth.  He is able to buy it at wholesale costs and then pass along the bill to us without a markup.  We also moved some of the river stones to surround the center boulders and repositioned one of the rocks in the front left berm.

Here is recent snapshot of Garden with partial mulching completed.

You’ll also noticed some temporary signs up in garden.  I put these up for a couple of reasons …  first, in response to a broken beer bottle we found a week or so ago and, second, to identify to interested folks what is going on at on this site. Cindy notified the Wintergreen police to keep an extra eye out at site for beer-guzzling, bottle-breaking types.  Here is photo of sign at entrance ...

Next step … complete the mulching in central and path areas. I’ll be away next week. If Gary is able to get cloth next week, I’ll let you know and someone can organize a work session, or we’ll just wait until week of May 19th when I’ll schedule a session.  (Do I hear someone suggesting I go away for two or three weeks? :-)

When we plant berms, what do you think of using a different type/texture of mulch to cover plantings … i.e., to add a contrast from the walking area?

Marti

Plant Group identifies initial plantings

We were to meet at the Reflection Garden to walk around and think about initial plants to place on berms, but it was raining.  Maybe stupid once, but not stupid twice. (Read earlier post to understand comment.)

So, we moved on to Jill's for our meeting.  Lynn, Vera, Georgia, Jill, Bob, Pat, and Marti discussed plant options and identified initial plants for berms -- Bleeding Hearts, Blue Bells, Sedums, ferns (Christmas, Sensitive, Marginal), Black Cohosh, Columbine, Wild Ginger, Grey Beardtongue, Green 'n Gold.  Looking for transplants from mountain gardens and/or donations to buy starter plants.

Next work session is on Friday when we will spread down landscaping cloth to control weeds in walking area and then begin to mulch.

Marti has action to update Reflection Garden plan.

Workin in Rain - Monday April 28th

We really wanted to get the next group of plants in the ground before the forecasted 3 days of rain hit, but the storm didn't wait for us.

However, we are tough mountain folk.  Pretending that it was just a light rain, Cindy,  John, Pat, Vera, and Marti planted 9 Red-twig Dogwood and 6 Spice Bushes. The very steady rain did a job on us, and after an hour to complete the planting, we were a bunch of mud rats. The good news is that the plants are in the ground and getting a good soaking by Mother Nature.

Let Marti (szczurm@gmail.com) know, if you'd like to participate in our Garden Work days.  Sure is fun! We'll try to select dry days from now on!

Wintergreen Reflection Garden Guidelines

Guidelines for Wintergreen Reflection Garden - April 2014

A “Reflection Garden” is in the process of being designed and constructed by a group of Wintergreen volunteers, in collaboration with WPOA, on a piece of wooded property located behind the Chestnut Springs Picnic and Pool area.  Landscaping with native plants, rocks and benches will provide a place of peace and space for reflection on Wintergreen owners or employees who have passed on.  The project will require the purchase of a certain materials, such as soil, mulch, river stones, plants, benches, signage.  Contributions can be made to support the overall effort and/or to memorialize a specific person.  The Wintergreen Mountain Women website will provide a link to a webpage about the Reflection Garden’s progress; identify those memorialized through gifts; and list donors to the garden.  Other opportunities to communicate this project may include the mountain, valley and WPOA newsletters.

1.     Inclusion Parameters

•           Any Wintergreen owner, former owner, extended family member and WPOA and Resort employees can be memorialized through specific selected opportunities.  (Please no pets at this time.)
•           Naming Opportunities

-        Stone garden benches engraved with name of deceased 

-        Memory stones engraved with name of deceased  

-        Donors/sponsors will be recognized on the website, but not at the garden.

2.     General Funding Opportunities

•          General donations can be made in any amount to be applied to general expenses (e.g., buy river rocks, native landscape plants and shrubs, signage, mulch) as identified by the Reflection Garden Plan.  These donors will be recognized on a website, but not at the garden.
•           Cindy Coy will serve as “treasurer” during the planning and implementation phase.  Cash or checks are acceptable. Checks should be made out to Cindy Coy with a notation that it is for the ‘Wintergreen Reflection Garden’.
•            Since there is no nonprofit organization associated with the project, this cannot be considered a tax-deductible charitable donation within the guidelines of the IRS.

3.     Administration/Oversight

•         A steering committee with 6-8 volunteers will serve as points-of-contact and oversight of implementation and maintenance. Duties will include (but not be limited to) developing garden design, scheduling implementation and maintenance, approving of plant materials and garden elements, managing process for memory stone requests/engraving, providing an account of funds/expenses, and administering webpage with information about garden and donors.
•           Marti Szczur will serve as initial chair of the steering committee with volunteer members being Cindy Coy, Pat Thompson, Lynn Luessen, Bob Scott, and Jill Toop.

    For more information, contact Committee Chair Marti Szczur (szczurm@gmail.com) 

Before-Garden Photos

Here is photo of location of garden area taken in Fall of 2013 before landscaping began.

  With the help of WPOA, boulders with "character" are placed in center of Garden.  

Cindy Coy and Pat Thompson show them off.