In a rapidly changing world, fraught with natural disasters and unexpected food shortages, what can you do to improve the environment and your own health? The answer may be as simple as starting a garden.
Across America, millions of backyards contain the right ingredients to sustain the production of food. If you own a piece of land, you can do it.
Growing a small kitchen garden in an earth-friendly manner will improve your land, increase the biodiversity of your yard, and provide exercise, fresh air and healthy food for you and your family.
Master Gardener Laura Riley will give a lecture on making a kitchen garden at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug 17, at the Bartlesville Public Library in Meeting Room A.
Certified as a Master Gardener in both Texas and Oklahoma, Riley has been gardening over the past 25 years. Attendees to her lecture will learn how even a novice gardener can be successful growing food on a small scale. She will cover the essentials of successful planning, planting, growing and harvesting a kitchen garden, with specific advice on what works for her in her Oklahoma backyard.
General landscape how to’s: At 6 p.m. Aug 24 at the Bartlesville Public Library in Meeting Room A, Don Martin will discuss the very basics of landscape design, mostly on plant selection and a little on lawn grass. Martin completed the Master Gardener program in 2020, and in this talk he will cover:
• Planning
• Do’s and don’ts
• What’s my style
• Starting and ending
• My favorite Oklahoma plants/trees
• Basic maintenance
“I traveled around the country as a military dependent, and I got to experience the interesting varieties of trees, plants and landscapes from across the country,” Martin said. “I always enjoyed the variety of these plants and their personalities and value to the locals. I enjoy creating beauty where there is little or none.”
Helping monarchs and other pollinators: At 6 p.m. Aug 31 at the Bartlesville Public Library in Meeting Room A. Kloma Laws was in the first class of Master Gardeners of Washington County, but she has been in garden clubs for over 30 years.
Because she loves flowers, especially wildflowers, she began gardening for wildlife. As president of the Bartlesville Council of Garden Clubs, she partnered with the city to promote Mayors for Monarch to encourage citizens to plant more milkweed and nectar flowers for monarchs whose migration pathway is through Oklahoma. Her talk will focus on what families can do to help the monarchs and other pollinators.
Pruning trees and shrubs: At 6 p.m. Sept 7 at the Bartlesville Public Library in Meeting Room A. David Turner became a Master Gardener in 2003, and since that time, trees and shrubs have been a main focus. In this presentation, he will discuss proper pruning methods for both trees and shrubs, the training of young trees, reduction pruning of shrubs and other issues.
Katie Hughes is Agriculture Educator for Washington County OSU Extension Service.
