110625 Garden in a Box meeting at the Garden today. Notes from Mary: "We determined that the best location for our joint Garden in a Box project is across from the pond on the Southeast side of our Lakeside Garden - near the bench and Tartarian Maple tree. This location provides visibility to the public, and has existing irrigation lines. The concern with the location north of the pavilion is that heavy foot traffic during the annual fishing derby could damage the plantings and the new irrigation lines that would need to be extended there. The next step is for Katherine to share the 2026 Garden in a Box offerings with the gardeners once they are released in January. The gardeners will then select the option that best fits the location and, based on the final design, determine what additional materials and resources will be needed for spring planting. Thanks to everyone for getting this joint venture approved and moving forward! It's definitely a win win all around!" A couple other notes: Delivery is expected sometime in May. Garden-in-a-Box options are for 9, 15, or 30 plants in a box. The option of a 15-plant box was signaled as a good possibility. Several wheelbarrows of fill material may be required, and some of this fill material may be ready to be moved to the location during the winter months. Mary passed along to me 10 packets of seed that she may be sharing in her Jan 3rd stratification/germination workshop. Below are photos of the seed packets, front and back, front for the seed identification, and back for any special growing instruction hints.

10/31/25 Solo today (Dave only). Harvested a couple dozen seed pods from the red yucca. These are really fresh! I could tell which yucca seed pods were ready to harvest because the pods were opened and the seeds jiggle around inside. Also harvested a few dozen Indian Blanket seed heads by gently pulling the flowers to remove any loosened seeds. Mary advised that many seeds from unpollinated flowers may not be viable, and that there is a video describing how to determine which seeds are most viable. Mary also said that the seeds with very black tips are most viable. All seeds went into paper lunch bags so that they could continue to dry.

102425 Arrived 7:40 Mary described a "sowing" course she's planning w/Katherine on Jan 3rd - focus on "waterwise" seed planting including many seeds from plants in the xeriscape garden. Katherine will provide the potting soil. Mary is going to ask Solar Roast, and if needed Starbucks, to save their jugs for us. So we don't need to save them ourselves. But she will need help preparing them for the class. Mark, Mary, Micky and I did a lot of pruning including taking out some Russian olive, elm and mulberry trees that self-seeded in the sunken garden about 10 feet from the Lakeside path. Three Texas red yuccas are also present in this sunken garden, and Micky proposed that we transplant them to a sunnier location. I had only one question from a resident who walked by and asked what I was doing with the Indian blanket flower heads - I described how the seeds can be obtained once the flower head is dry enough to crumble. Lou stopped by and reminded us about the availability of water in Dec from the hydrant. Mary completed more inventory and tagging (it's looking great!)

101725 Arrived 7:30... I took out some rabbitbush stumps with handheld electric chainsaw. Pat and I spotted a hummingbird at about 8:00 am. Mark, Mary, Mickie, Pat and I discussed two proposed areas for a "Garden in a Box" promotional garden for the District's "Garden in a Box" water conservation/beautification offering to residents (and some non-residents nearby). This was the third year this program has been offered. We agreed upon two possible areas for this demonstation garden which would double as a promotional garden. One area is adjacent to the pavilion area with picnic table. Another is along the lakeside path. This new Garden in a Box demo garden was Mary's idea. Mickey pointed out that we should include "Xeriscape, not zeroscape" - in other words, don't just cover your yard in rock, plant some natives. Karen said that next year, some guidance about which trees to plant would be offered to residents. Next up is a meeting with Kurt. Beyond this, we watered for a couple of hours. Three hoses out! Thorough soaking. Monday, the water to the garden gets shut off by the District. Mickey shared the procedure for disconnecting and draining the garden hoses: This is really important to prevent damage from water inside the hose that might get frozen, expand and possibly cause irreversible damage.