IN FULL BLOOM

Local entomologist Anastasia evaluates for invasive insect species

By: Tara Blue
The garden and the hearts were in full blossom on Friday, July 12th as former Ashland Garden Club President Marilyn McGuire and her husband Jim opened their yard to a public tour. Marilyn is a master gardener and offered tip to growing and maintaining regional plant varieties.

The event raised $300 for our local free store Helping Hands, as they are experiencing shortages for certain items. Marilyn says “God put it on my heart” to open the garden tour to the public, which is usually limited to garden club members’ homes.

Marilyn plants several varieties but says some plants voluntarily pop up on their own. She says “maybe it’s God, maybe it’s the birds.”

Marilyn and Jim put hard work into their yard and enjoy eating plants which they know have not been sprayed with harmful chemicals. They are thankful for everyone who came out and offer a few tips for anyone seeking to grow a garden:

1. Plant drought & low water varieties.
2. Amend soil yearly and rotate your crops.
3. Buy a new plant for your garden every year. If a plant does not perform well for you, pull it up. It’s not worth the effort. If a plant looks sickly, get rid of it.
4. Look at your garden daily, this helps to keep damage from insects to a minimum.
5. Plant lots of a variety you like and one that performs well in your garden. Just because it grows in your friend’s garden does not mean it will grow for you. Find what grows for you. Know your color palette and stick to it.

Jan Dyer and Jeana Bishop

Board Member Donna Wren says Helping Hands “gives a huge THANK YOU to Marilyn McGuire for hosting a tour of her flower/raised beds gardens. Marilyn stated ‘I really hadn’t done anything to support Helping Hands. I feel it is such a worthy cause in our community as well as the surrounding areas. I felt sharing my love of gardening and asking for donations to Helping Hands would be worthwhile. The turnout was pretty good for this first time, and I hope Helping Hands will be pleased with this donation.’

For those of you who are not familiar with Helping Hands, it is a not-for-profit business that is funded through grants, generosity of businesses, agencies and private citizens. We couldn’t do any of this without their help and the help of the Board members and Volunteers.

Shoppers never pay for anything they get from the “free store.” There is also an emergency food/personal items pantry that patrons can utilize twice a year. All they have to do is speak to the Board Member working and explain their emergent situation.

The pantry can always use goods to make a complete meal. Canned vegetables and fruits are always in short supply as are rice, pasta, dried beans. We are always grateful for any items you, our community, bring into Ashland’s Helping Hands.”