Like to get your hands dirty? Updates on Lyons weeding and gardening clubs & sales
Want to Volunteer? It’s a great way to meet like-minded people who not only want to help beautify the parks, roads and river in Lyons, but also to remove the noxious weeds so that pesticide spraying can be eliminated or minimized. . . and educate yourself.
== Also, multiple events, fundraisers, sales, tours…
==WEED POSSE (coordinator Cathy Rivers)
This will be the 8th season for the Weed Posse to round up the weeds in our parks and along our rivers and highways. Help remove the noxious weeds so that pesticide spraying can be eliminated. You can contact Cathy to get on her email list, to be notified of the current location. She is also known as “the Sheriff”! — Thanks to Town of Lyons Parks Department for their support with things like help with weed pile pickups, etc. Thanks to LEAF for “having us under their wing as part of Lyons Volunteers’ work in the community.”
Cathy Rivers says, “We will be officially starting Thursday, May 18, 9 to 11 a.m. Will try to post Weed Posse sessions on Facebook/Lyons Happenings, at least to get started. We occasionally post ‘weed ID’ info bits. A few of us have been going out to dig up Myrtle Spurge before it flowers. The Posse focuses on riparian areas and other public spaces, like the Lyons Cemetery.
Manually removing toxic, invasive weeds (like thistles, knapweed), eliminating toxic herbicide use and encouraging native plant growth, for a more beautiful, safe environment.”
Clarifier Community Mosaic Love Day, Saturday, May 13:
13 volunteers, including many who worked on the original Clarifier mosaic sculpture,
gathered Saturday to:
– help weed, weed-whack the surrounding area as well as clear the ‘roof’ in preparation for fall switchgrass planting.
– clean the surface and make needed repairs.
– plant hens and chicks in between the large buff sandstone boulders.
– admire the brand new signage and answer visitors’ questions.
==LYONS COMMUNITY FARM PROJECT (Adrean Kirk)
Planted this year: Growing from seed: lemon balm, chamomile, and tomatoes. And donated: tobacco (from David Jones and Karyn Spence); and black berry bushes (from YaYa Farm and Orchard in Longmont); a plum tree (from Cemex). The high school students in environmental tech are putting in garden beds on one side of the farm project.
Volunteers needed on Sundays from 2 to 4 p.m. But as the weather warms up, Adrean can meet you almost any day of the week; just contact her. // Also, see their Facebook page for information, and planting tips. // Thank you to Lyons Community Foundation and the Town of Lyons for their support. // For more information or directions, or donations of plants to the garden, contact: LyonsCFP@gmail.com or Adrean Kirk 908-209-1069.
BUY A Garden Bed! == For $100 you get the dirt, and water. It is your plot to build whatever plants you like. All the things you grow are yours to enjoy. The lots will be numbered. Mr Glover and his high school kids have prepared garden beds on one side of the property. He said they would help the plot owner build their bed design. contact: LyonsCFP@gmail.com Spring Thing! Fundraiser, May 20, 1 – 3:30 p.m., 315 5th Avenue, Lyons – Kids activities; herbalist and author Brigitte Mars’ Plant Walk and Talk; DJ music; games; snacks and drinks included. Dr Bronner’s chocolate will be given for a prize for a scavenger plant hunt. May pole activity. RSVP please. =====For more information or directions contact: LyonsCFP@gmail.com or Adrean Kirk 908-209-1069. Cash or Venmo accepted: $25 adults/$15 kids. All donations to the LCFP are tax deductible.
==ROCKY MT BOTANIC GARDENS (Garima Fairfax)
Our regular volunteer hours will continue, with lots of planting, weeding, mulching, caging, and tidying, as well as good cheer in the fresh air. Volunteer days for 2023 began the first of April, weather permitting. We work Sundays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, from 9 to 11 a.m. Volunteers can come any day, they don’t have to let us know beforehand. They can bring gloves, hand tools, and a water bottle, and we have the rest. // Thank you to Lyons Community Foundation and the Town of Lyons for their support. PLANT SALE: May 27, 9a.m. – 3 p.m. — Annual plant sale of locally grown plants = fundraiser for Lyons’ Rocky Mt Botanic Gardens. Park on Prospect Street (just one block off of 5th/Hwy 7). For more information, go to: http://www.rmbg.org
==LYONS GARDEN CLUB (Sara Erickson, president)
Lyons Garden Club welcomes new members. We will meet during spring and summer on Tuesdays at 9:00 a.m. for weeding, planting, pruning, transplanting and getting our hands dirty. We invite you to dig in! We meet at the West Wall (where the Bears reside) unless it’s cold, raining or snowing. Email Sara Erickson if you are interested in volunteering at sarae403@@gmail.com. Then we can notify you if we have to postpone a session. GARDEN TOUR: We can also use volunteers for our fundraisers: “Mountain Blooms” Garden Tour (6/17/23) and our Chili Cook-Off (end of October). Check our website for details.
==COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY – buy award winning Rocky Mt Plants.
The 2023 gardening season is almost upon us. If you want to know what flowers to plant this growing season, a list of great possibilities comes from Colorado State University’s Annual Flower Trial Garden. The garden, which spans nearly three acres on the east side of the Fort Collins campus, is a Northern Colorado showpiece with a focused research and outreach purpose.
Each year, the Annual Flower Trial Garden tests and analyzes the performance of more than 1,000 varieties of annual bedding plants in Colorado’s harsh growing conditions. Dozens of expert evaluators rate the plants for vigor, growth pattern, bloom and other characteristics. The trial results help home gardeners identify annual bedding plants that are most likely to succeed. CLICK HERE FOR LISTS.
==SUCCULENT WORKSHOP, Lyons (A-Lodge Rock garden) May 18th at 5:30 p.m. Contact them to see if there are spots left and what the fee will cover. **RESCHEDULED to June 8th, 5:30 p.m. due to being “rained out.”
