Master Gardeners Plot Teaching Garden

To raise funds for its latest project, the Master Gardeners Association of Rogers County is hosting a Fall Plant and Garage Sale on Saturday, September 27.

John Haase of the OSU Extension Office and MGARC coordinator; JoAnn Lynch, MGARC fundraising and promotion; Annie Earley, garden development chair and steering committee representative; and Kathy Klawitter, MGARC fundraising and promotion, at the entrance to Will Rogers Park in Claremore.

By nature, gardens are always “under construction,” so the members of the Master Gardeners Association of Rogers County (MGARC) are no strangers to the amount of planning and work involved in their latest project: The Rogers County Master Gardeners Teaching Garden at Will Rogers Park in Claremore. Because they recently received the Hometown Hero Grant from Lowe’s Home Improvement, many of the building materials and plants have been supplied for this project. However, funds are still needed to bring the garden to fruition. That’s why the MGARC is holding a Fall Plant and Garage Sale on Saturday, September 27 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Rogers County Building (416 S. Brady) in Claremore.

“We’ve had a spring plant sale for several years, and this is our second year for the fall sale,” says JoAnn Lynch, one of MGARC’s fundraising and promotion coordinators. “And this will be the second time we have added the ‘garage’ aspect to the sale.” MGARC is inviting people to donate their gently-used gardening items, such as a lawn decoration they may have grown tired of or a tool they rarely use.

Last year’s fall sale was successful, but members feel that more people would attend if they knew the great benefits of fall planting. “Many trees and shrubs benefit from a fall planting because the ground is still warm enough to inspire root growth, but the air is cooler so the plant slows down and does not try to leaf out,” says John Haase of the OSU Extension Office and MGARC coordinator. “This prevents shock to the plant and gives it a chance to establish itself.”
The Fall Plant and Garage Sale will feature many trees and shrubs, along with bulbs that should always be planted in the fall (such as tulips and hyacinths). MGARC members will also provide a variety of potted perennials from their own gardens for sale, which are also appropriate for planting in the autumn months.

To keep up with the progress of the Rogers County Master Gardeners Teaching Garden, you can visit the MGARC website at www.mgaroco.com and visit the Organizational News Section, where you can view a timeline of photos. Members are excited about what will be a community focused garden. Visitors will enter the Entry Garden through an arching wrought iron gate, and will be able to tour what used to simply be two to three acres of park land transformed into a series of gardens and exhibits: the Vegetable/Fruit Garden with Composting Exhibit, the Oklahoma Proven Garden, the Native Grasses and Wildflowers Exhibit, the Children’s Garden, the Herb Garden, the Butterfly Garden, the Water Feature, and the Shakespeare Garden, which will include an amphitheater.

“This is a garden for both education and demonstration,” says Annie Earley, garden development chair and steering committee representative for MGARC. “Master Gardeners are all about teaching the community to garden.”

For more information, contact

Master Gardeners Association of Rogers County

(918) 342-0200

www.mgaroco.com