May 2012

Zionsville Farmer’s Market: Kicking Off it’s 16th Season on May 19, 2012!

Report from VRA Legislative Affairs Committee

My Favorite Room

Some evenings, when it’s not quite dark out but the lights in homes have been turned on, I take a walk. This is a nice peaceful time at the end of the day when I can meditate on how my day has gone and quietly plan for the next…but, let’s faces it; it’s also the best time to get a peek into my neighbors’ homes. I know I’m not the only one who slows my pace in front of a house with the lights on, but curtains or blinds open, just to get a quick look at wall coverings or furniture choices. One of the reasons I live in the village is because I love old homes and I desperately want to see what my neighbors-who presumably love old homes as well- have done to personalize their spaces.

Since recently cleaning up and restoring an old Queen Anne style 2 story, I am always inviting my friends and neighbors in for a look. I’m excited to tell people about the banister that I built with my father, the sash cord windows I re-hung myself, or the extra tall screen door that my husband built out of reclaimed wood.

I figured that most of my neighbors had similar stories about their homes that they’d want to share and the rest of us would be just as eager to hear about them. Who doesn’t have a favorite room?

Laurie and Jay raised a family in their small bungalow, but it wasn’t until after the kids stopped using the porch as a weight room (see before pictures) that they could claim this three season space as their favorite room.

The porch wraps around the front of their home and overlooks Laurie’s lush garden. To achieve its calming and summery look, the room only received simple changes such as a coat of pretty blue paint and new windows. The furnishings, although gathered over time, all coordinate. If you know Laurie like I do, you know she has an incredible eye for putting together a room from almost all used or found objects. On the porch she has gathered furniture from garage sales, Goodwill, friend’s attics and basements (like some of the lovely green and blue glass bottles received from Village neighbor, Betsy Harris) or free on big trash day.

Items with personal meaning also dot the porch. An old dresser holds a Georgia O’Keefe-like sculpture made by Laurie’s daughter. On the porch swing, a mermaid (relegated to the yard in the summer) came from Zionsville business owner, Rob Shafer. Several blown glass buoys held in rope came back with Laurie’s parents who for a time lived in Bermuda.

An avid gardener, who owns her own business — Lucky Me Gardening — Laurie describes how she purposely planted specific trees and flowers to enhance the views from the porch. “This is the sunniest room in the house,” Laurie says. This light filled room is clearly an extension of the garden outside.

Zionsville American Legion Summer Yard Sales Event

In the event of rain, the sale will be moved inside.
Questions? Call Linda Koenig 769-4270 or Chrissy Koenig 733-2035
http://alrpost79.com/Home_Page.php

Along with helping raise money for our American Legion, our Auxilliary supports The American Legion Programs for Veterans in various ways: we donate money items for the Veteran’s in nursing homes, Veterans Homes, homeless Vets. We also send items to our current military who are overseas serving our country and support our local community by helping needy families as well as other needs in our community.

VRA April Garlic Mustard Pull

On the morning of Saturday April 14th, you may have noticed people traipsing around pulling weeds in Creekside Park and Elm Street Green. This was all part of “Pull for the Parks”. Each spring the parks department, along with community volunteers (this year included a dozen or so VRA members), focus on preventing the spread of Garlic Mustard. Garlic Mustard is a very invasive biennial plant that has been competing with other wildflowers in our local parks. I am sure most people in the Village have seen it in their or their neighbors’ yards as well. Early in the spring one can find Garlic Mustard all over the Village. To prevent Garlic Mustard from spreading, hold at the base while tugging. It has a single root that is fairly easy to pull out by hand. You must then place the entire plant inside a bag and close tightly to prevent the seeds from dispersing.

Matt Dickey, Superintendent of Zionsville Parks Recreation, gave us this information as to why Garlic Mustard is so invasive and the effect a few hours with a dozen people “Pulling for the Parks” can have for Zionsville’s beautiful parks.

*Garlic Mustard is a biennial. Individual plants produce from 350 to 7,900 seeds in their second year before dying, (I’ll use a 5,000/mature plant average to make the math easy).

• Dense stands can produce 12,500 seeds per square yard each year.
• In dense stands of seedlings, survivability until seed production in 2-years is 1%-16% (I’ll use a 10% average to make the math easy)
• Garlic mustard seeds can remain viable in the soil seed bank for up to five years.

-From my pulling efforts out there, I get at least one, fully-compacted, filled to the brim, 35-gallon bag out of dense stands covering about 30′ x30′ area (or 100 sq. yards).
-If we use a 10,000 seed-count/square yard/ year (down somewhat from Michigan’s above to conservatively allow for some lesser density stands and non-compressed bags).
-Then that could easily equate to 1,000,000 seeds per bag removed from potential germination and possible future ongoing production.
-Your group eradicated enough garlic mustard this year to completely fill 20 such bags (plus a few partials).

So based on the Michigan State Extension information, it is entirely probable the VRA, in this year alone, removed and prevented over 20 MILLION seeds from possible germination and future yearly infestation cycles.

And the probability is the 2-year survivors of those millions of seedlings, if they had been left in place, could easily have produced 10 BILLION seeds in the spring of 2014.

Source: Michigan State University Extension Flyer at http://www.ipm.msu.edu/garlicmustard.htm (Michigan is one of the leading States in the fight against this infestation)

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If you or your community group would be interested in volunteering with the Zionsville Parks Department next spring for “Pull for the Parks”, please contact Zionsville Parks and Recreation. http://www.zionsville-in.gov/contact/ #733-2273