GLOVES-ON
GARDENING LESSONS WITH BETSY
Please join the BTG every Wednesday morning from 8:00-9:30am for a Gardening Lesson from Betsy Burgeson, Supervisor of Gardens and Landscapes, followed by hands-on gardening work with new friends.
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Weeks 1-4, we will work in the Secret Silo Garden (meet us at the corner of Massey Avenue and Hawthorne Avenues) and Weeks 5-8, we will work in the Shoreline & Wetlands Garden (meet at the Children's Beach).
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We have pinnies and gardening tools, but please bring a water bottle, gloves, and clippers if you have them, wear sturdy shoes, and be prepared to get a little dirty.
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Thank you in advance for your willingness to contribute your time and effort to maintaining the natural beauty of Chautauqua.You do not need to be a member to volunteer!
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The Secret Silo Garden
in the South Ravine
(Our focus Weeks 1 - 4)
Originally planted by the BTG decades ago, the Secret Silo Garden is a native woodland wildflower garden that had become overgrown with invasive, non-native plants like privet.
We began the restoration in 2023 by creating a walking path in the woods through what had been an impenetrable bramble of privet and multi-flora rose.
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In 2024, we plan to replant the area and the small Secret Silo Garden with native plants.
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The dream team! Lily, Elsie and Betsy Burgeson with Volunteer Coordinator Jean Fulkerson preparing to get after the ravine invasives.
The Shoreline and Wetland Gardens
by the Children's Beach
(Our focus Weeks 5 - 9)
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One of the first rain gardens planted in Chautauqua, these gardens personifies Betsy's favorite mantra: Slow it down, spread it out, soak it in. Meaning water runoff gets cleaned up before it enters the lake.
Planted in 2005, the BTG helped fund the original shoreline plantings project. But it was largely funded by an anonymous donor - thank you, whoever you are!
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The plants are very happy here, which is wonderful, but also means it gets overgrown really quickly so it's calling out for our help!
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Click this link for more info about the garden. See you. Wednesday!
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