DOUG TALLAMY

Monday, September 25, 10 AM

IN PERSON

Bayard Cutting Arboretum

Photo: Rob Cardillo

"GARDENING for LIFE: A Conversation with Doug Tallamy"

If you'd like to join Doug Tallamy in person at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum, please register as soon as you can as there only 100 tickets available for the Carriage House. Other gardening groups, including the Suffolk Alliance for Pollinators and the Bayard Horticulture Society, are receiving invitations as well. We apologize that this event falls on a holy day. This was the day Doug was available in person in our area.

Please join us via live Zoom if unable to attend in person.

All will receive the Tallamy recording post event.

$30 In person with Doug Tallamy, with possible book signing. Recording post event. (Doors open at 9 AM for a light breakfast.)

$10 for live Zoom link plus recording post event

Register here for Tallamy in person OR via ZOOM:

http://weblink.donorperfect.com/gardeningforlife

Note: Those attending live via a Zoom link... An email with the link will be sent to you a few days before the event. Please check your junk mail if not visible in your inbox.

NATIVE TO LONG ISLAND

How to find plants that are native to Long Island?

Many of us know about LINPI (Long Island Native Plant Initiative) and their pioneering efforts in this realm. The Brentwood group is now led by MG Greg Lowenthal.

Master Gardeners in the Class of 2023 are trying to further spread the word about LI natives by making it easier to find them locally. Following the lead of Master Gardeners in Virginia, our Suffolk Master Gardeners designed an ambitious Action Project to help the public know a Long Island native plant when they see one. MGs Beth Sutherland, Anahi Walton-Schafer, Carol Holmes and Mark Nichol have been working on this project for months.

At the center of this pilot effort is the new label featured above. (Remember you saw it here first!) After conversations with nurseries, the group identified a few local nurseries interested in displaying their new Avery label on LI natives plants. In the photo, you can see the labels making their debut on the native Lobelia cardinalis at the Oakwood Road Nursery in Huntington. Other participants include Kunz Greenhouses and Garden Center in Port Jefferson, KMS Native Plants in Lake Grove, Father Nature's Garden Center in Saint James and Quality Parks in Port Jefferson.

In addition, our Master Gardeners have compiled a list of over 1,500 plants that are native to the four counties of Long Island from the NY Floral Atlas. (Let's not forget that Brooklyn and Queens share our island.)Their list is available as Google files at Native to Long Island Here you will find a couple of documents worthy of your consideration. Any questions or good ideas? Please email the group at native2longisland@gmail.com

SUFFOLK ALLIANCE FOR POLLINATORS

POLLINATOR CRAWL



Much like the three Pollinator garden tours in June, the July North Fork SAP Pollinator Crawl was a tremendous success. Over 120 folks registered to visit the 13 gardens open to the public. I was grateful to the Master Gardeners who led tours at their favorite property: Carol Brown, Bruce Brownell, Deb Kimmelman, Linda Carlson, Nancy De Pas Reinertsen, and Gabi Spielmann. A special thanks to the many others such as Slow Food leader Penny Schwartz who welcomed us at their homes or public spaces. I was also delighted to see a number of Master Gardeners on the Crawl.

Below are my photos of gardens, hosts and guests, including America's Test Kitchen host Jack Bishop spotted at the Custer Observatory. Many thanks to the Suffolk Alliance for Pollinators (SAP) organizers representing the North Fork: Taralynn Reynolds from Group for the East End and MGs Deb Kimmelman and Nancy De Pas Reinertsen. Very well done all!

MG Volunteer Hours

Get in the habit of submitting your volunteer hours. Please complete the Qualtrics Volunteer survey linked here. https://cornell.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aiagRHzCO3z8smO

Remember you’re responsible for keeping track of your hours which you describe in comments on the survey. We need the total number of hours per this calendar year 2023 as well as your legacy hours since you became a Master Gardener. These figures contribute to the annual award of green, red, blue, white and violet New York State MG pins.

MG ANNUAL RECOGNITION, PLANT & SEED SWAP

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20

11:30am-1:30pm

Come one, come all to gather with Master Gardeners over a potluck lunch at Suffolk Farm in Yaphank. MG Recognition pins will be awarded on Wednesday, September 20 in Ag Hall. Although we should keep excellent records of who among the hundreds of you received which of the 5 pins, this is always a daunting task. Please let us know which pins should be awarded to you.

TODAY. As we need to ORDER these pins ahead of the event, please send me an email with the pin color level(s) for which you qualify. I'll check these numbers against our records of your volunteer activity hours and years of service. All pin requests: Put the word 'PIN' and your last name in the subject line to me at rz378@cornell.edu



If you lost your MG badge with your pins on it, we'll replace those pins. Please let me know. (Lost MG Badges: You need to contact Sarah Osborn, so348@cornell.edu).

MG PIN Award levels:

Green pin, 125 hours

Red pin, 350 hours

Blue pin, 750 hours

White pin, over 750 hours

Purple pin, over 20 years of volunteer service

Note: We can only award pins to Master Gardeners with submitted or recorded volunteer hours.

Last year this event was also a PLANT SWAP. A good number of plants changed hands! Let's do that again this year. Find a new home for some of your indoor plants, outdoor perennials and shrubs. Make sure all plants are identified and in some kind of baggie, newspaper or container for ease of transport. Bare root is fine as well. Some of you may also like to SWAP SEEDS. Again, please label any seeds. Let's share our wealth with other Master Gardeners.

MGs Karen Brenner, Betty Baran and Doreen Monteleone chatting at the Plant Swap last year.

Plant Sale Spring Gardening School volunteers

_______________________________

Congratulations to MGs Jean Branna and Donna Cange who completed their initial 125 volunteer hours for the Master Gardener program. Well done!

Congratulations to MGs Versha Gupta, Karen Fien and Betsy Mantell who also completed their 125 hours and donated their deposit back to the Master Gardener program.

CONTINUING EDUCATION

Five Cornell Extension SEED SAVING programs will be offered this month via Zoom and in person at Suffolk Libraries. Visit the CCE Gardening Events page linked here for locations, library contacts for links and offering times.

This publication is offered via the Constant Contact platform. The platform now gives me the option of letting AI (artificial intelligence) write this newsletter for me. Rest assured, for better or for worse, I still have my hands fully on the keyboard writing the contents of this newsletter.

Carrots, carrots, carrots!

Master Gardeners Bonnie Yellin and Lynn Maher showing local children from the United North Amityville Youth Organization how to harvest carrots at the Long Island Harvest farm plot on the Srs. of Saint Joseph property in Brentwood. Long Island Harvest is adjacent to LINPI. Consider volunteering at both sites.





This newsletter is posted on our MG webpage linked here.

If you have photos or news to share in the newsletter, you can email me at rz378@cornell.edu

Or...

Post photos, events and news on our Master Gardener facebook page.

Here you'll find information about activities and volunteer work days/times at the Medford Train Station, LINPI, Northport VA and the Ketcham Inn.

Please join us if you're not yet on facebook with Suffolk Master Gardeners.

Here's the facebook link. https://www.facebook.com/groups/106946829922350/

Happy Gardening!

Roxanne Zimmer