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Salal Chapter, Washington Native Plant Society

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News

Spring Plant Sale Successful (June 2007)

A Reflection or Three from Art Kermoade (March 2005)

Salal Chapter Supports Natives in the ACFL (December 2005)

Education Grants Available From WNPS

Potent Tell a Friend

Spring Native Plant Sale Successful
Pam Pritzl, Plant Sale Coordinator

Warm weather on Saturday, April 28, brought out many customers (the line started forming around 9 a. m.) to the WNPS Salal Chapter’s 8th annual spring sale that was held near the nursery area of the WNPS native display garden at the WSU-NWREC facility in Mt. Vernon. The buying frenzy was over around 11 a. m. when most everything had been sold. Over $4500 was taken in; the proceeds will be spent on the Skagit Display Native Garden project.

We offered over 100 species of plants, including conifers, shrubs, ferns, perennials, sedges, grasses and water plants. Blooming plants sold out quickly. New species offered this year were: Disporum smithii (Smith’s Fairy Bells), Gilia aggregate (Scarlet Gilia), Lithophragma parviflorum (Prairie Star), Montia parvifolia (Small-leaved Montia) and Equisetum hyemale (Scouring Rush).

The sale is a 100% volunteer effort and could not have happened without the many volunteers who helped with the sale. Volunteers helped prepare plants for the sale (weeks in advance of the sale), set up the sale area on the Thursday before the sale as well as helping on sale day. Special thanks go to Art Kermoade, Louise Brissey and Marianne Kooiman for providing plants they propagated for the sale. Nancy Chapman again provided the excellent signage for the plants. Norm Ainslie, Treasurer, and his team of cashiers, Pat Youngman, Stella Rolph and Darlene Pate collected the money. Stella Rolph also prepared a data sheet providing information on the sale plants. Other plant sale volunteers were: Rich Bergner, Judy Chapman, Judy DuBois, Jim Duemmel, Roar Irgens, Bob Knowles, Kathleen Lundy, Myra McEwan, Anne Passarelli, Jay Scott, Carolyn Sutton and Jo Tallman. Juan, from WSU NWREC provided the tables for the sale. A special thanks to everyone—this sale couldn’t have been successful without all your help.

The Fidalgo Backyard Wildlife project had an information table set up to educate people about their project to certify 500 yards as backyard wildlife habitats.

Art Kermoade and his propagation team (Roar Irgens, Louise Brissey and Jim Duemmel) are busy potting up seedlings that were started last fall. Expect to find many of these plants at the 2008 spring sale.

A Reflection or Three from Art Kermoade
1) ref: September 2005 Potent Teller, "Fidalgo Backyard Wildlife Habitat," page 1. As a self-employed native plant propagator and a loyal member of WNPS, I have taken upon myself the donation of approximately one hundred native plants to the above mentioned endeavor. (Note: no "company" funds were involved.)

2) ref: Fall 2006 Douglasia, "Skagit Valley Native Plant Garden" by Kathleen Winters, pages 13-16.

I found the above mentioned article to be a very positive "plug" for Salal Chapter. If perchance you have not read it, read it! Unfortunately, many other members who have worked diligently at/on the plot were not present at the time of the interview. So, they were neither mentioned nor photographed. As you can see, I got mine!

Some of you may recall an article which I wrote (and which was published in the Douglasia) about how we happened to have a native plant garden at WSU, Mt. Vernon. That was during the reign of past chapter chair, Nancy Paine Donovan. That garden didn't just one day happen.

3) ref: September 2005 Potent Teller, "Thanks, Thad, and Farewell!" by our own Pam Pritzl, page 3. Pam's was a well deserved complimentary piece. As long as I have known him (15 years), Thad Davis has been very devoted to the native flora of the PNW, has been an extremely hard worker, and has always had a mind of his own. He will be missed. To me he was a driving force in holding the garden project together. Few of us put more time and effort into the total enterprise.

Thad was one of the founding members of Salal Chapter. Following the pro-tem organization—a year back in '90-'91—Thad served as both Secretary and Treasurer for the chapter. (At that time the two offices were combined.) In addition, for several years he was a very accomplished and professional Editor-in-Chief of the Potent Teller: twelve or fifteen pages were the norm.

Take if from me, Thad "earned his stripes" the hard way. I reiterate Pam's, "Thanks, Thad, and Farewell!" I for one wish him the very best, wherever he may be—in whatever environ and/or habitat the finds himself. I trust that he will find a "home" among other plants and other plant lovers. Just like us, he needs the connection.

Salal Chapter Supports Natives in the ACFL
Thank you to the Salal Chapter for its $500 donation to the Anacortes Community Forest Lands Conservation Easement Program. This generous donation joins nearly $970,000 contributed since 1998 to place permanent conservation easements on up to 1500 acres of publicly owned forests, meadows, lakes and wetlands at the center of Fidalgo Island. For every $1000 donated, the City of Anacortes signs a permanent conservation easement on one acre of the ACFL to protect it from every being logged, mined, sold, or used for any commercial purpose. Skagit Land Trust holds the easements and monitors the properties to ensure that the easement conditions are honored. The ACFL is a tremendous refuge for native plants in our area and is a popular destination for chapter field trips and Spring Plant Walks. For more information contact Anacortes Parks & Recreation at 293-1918.

Education Grants Available From WNPS
The Education Committee encourages educators throughout our state to develop projects about native plants and plant habitats for their classes. Teachers who have been granted awards can serve as mentors for other teachers hoping to do similar projects in their school districts.

Grants, funded by WNPS member dues, are available for education projects that further the goals of the Society. Projects may be in the form of a permanent public display including plantings or labeling of native plants; an educational curriculum or museum display; a website or website-based educational program; posters, signs, brochures or presentations about invasive plants; or a teacher resource package that is suitable for reproduction and distribution. Most awards are granted in amounts up to $500. In accordance with current WNPS strategic plan focus areas, priority consideration will be given to projects relating to shrub-steppe or Garry oak plant communities, or to the effects of invasive exotic species on Washington native plants.

Project application guidelines are available on line at www.wnps.org. Project applications and inquiries should be submitted to Fayla Schwartz, WNPS Education Committee Chair, Everett Community College, 2000 Tower St, Everett WA 98201, 425-388-9451, fschwart@everettcc.edu.

Potent Tell a Friend
If you know someone who would like to receive The Potent Teller, please send names and addresses to the Editor. There is currently no charge although donations to the chapter to cover the cost of printing and postage are encouraged. Donations payable to WNPS-Salal Chapter can be mailed to P.O. Box 541, Anacortes, WA 98221 or given to the Treasurer at chapter meetings. And, if native plants are part of your professional world and you would like to display copies of the Potent Teller at your place of business, please contact Susan Alaynick (360 659-8792 or s_alaynick@hotmail.com) to arrange for delivery.

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