Calendar offers gardening tips, gives to education

By purchasing a calendar from the Federated Garden Clubs of Yuma, you not only can keep track of dates in 2007 but learn helpful gardening tips, all while contributing to the education of area fourth-graders. Club members will be selling Arizona Greening gardening calendars during the Community Bazaar that starts at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Yuma Civic Center. The cost is $10 per calendar, with proceeds going toward publishing a children's book about Arizona trees free of charge to fourth-grade students. More than 4,000 "Trees, Tracks and Tails" books will be provided to Yuma- area students alone, said Val Colvin, member of the Pecan Grove Garden Club. The second annual Arizona Greening calendar features color photos of garden scenes around the state, along with gardening tips and information compiled by the Arizona Federation of Garden Clubs. "It's not only a calendar but a great gardening encyclopedia," Colvin said. The calendar opens with color scenes of the Robert J. Moody Demonstration Garden in Yuma and its red passion flower vine, as well as Sandy and Lee Silvas'CQ Somerton vegetable garden containing rows of cherry red and yellow pear tomatoes and jalapeno and sweet bell peppers. "Last year's calendar was so enthusiastically received, it was decided to continue with one for 2007," said Marylin Thornbury of the Yuma Garden Club. "This year's calendar has new and additional information such as articles about planting trees, information about properly staking trees, purchasing and care of poinsettias, landscaping pointers, garden pond information, tips on container gardening and flower and birthstones of the month." Also, in this year's calendar are helpful gardening tips specific to each month, such as best times to plant and fertilize lawns, prune roses and plant vegetables and herbs. The calendar also can be purchased by calling Sally Griffith of the Yuma Orchid Society, 345-1213; Thornbury, 819-0190; Colvin, 783-3686; or Ellen Gardner from the MGM Garden Club, 343-4020. Stefani Guerrero Soucy can be reached at ssoucy@yumasun.com or 539-6857. FEDERATED GARDEN CLUBS The Federated Garden Clubs of Yuma is an educational organization for members and the community. Club members work with Girl Scouts, 4-H and Desert Mesa Elementary's Junior Garden Club. They also contribute to state and national scholarships, volunteer with public beautification projects at West Wetlands Park as well as the Yuma Library and Sanguinetti Gardens rejuvenation project.