Sundays in January may seem to be just long, dreary days for many gardeners, even when the winter sun shines. But Project GREEN has a solution for you.
Project GREEN, whose gardening expertise can be seen all over the Iowa City/Coralville area, decided several years ago to have a special speaker on the second Sunday in January, February, and March to keep that gardening enthusiasm hot even in the cold weather.
The first forum is Sunday, Jan. 11, at the Iowa City Public Library, Room A. It starts at 2 p.m. with a speaker, a break for cookies, and then a question-and-answer period.
Sunday’s speaker is Jason Taylor, who is the Bur Oak Trust Executive Director. He will share his strategies for Environmental Conservation.
Taylor is a staunch advocate for land conservation. His goal is to keep the natural habitats we have now safe for the future.
The Trust’s purpose is to protect natural areas from development and it is not limited to Johnson County. The first property was donated in 1981. Later, the Bur Oak Land Trust was adopted as the organization’s name as it wanted its mission of responsible land management be known beyond Johnson County.
The Trust wishes to protect native prairie, woodlands, and reconstructed prairie. It owns nine properties, over 300 acres plus easements held on privately owned land.
Once the land has been acquired, volunteers get to work. They clear out invasive species and ensure the land is being used with respect. The land still belongs to the owner but is monitored by the Trust.
Bur Oak is a growing organization, and Jason Taylor will elaborate more on its importance and its commitments this Sunday.
The Second Sunday Forums are always free and open to the public. Questions are encouraged after the speaker.
January can be a long month with little to do outside, but it is an excellent time to catch up on new ideas in horticulture and learn about new plants.
I have never grown many hostas, but I do know there are hundreds of cultivars. My friend and a hosta grower at one time, Robert Kelley, loved to talk about the many he had grown, from very tiny six-inch plants to some that reached over three feet tall with enormous leaves. I don’t have much garden space, but in Bob’s honor I may just find a couple tiny ones to plant this spring. Guess I will have to spend some time this winter reading up on them, too.
Judy Terry is a garden columnist for the Iowa City Press-Citizen.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Garden Walks with Judy: Project GREEN’s Second Sunday Forum
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