Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Quad City Forum, a weekly community service program
produced by iHeartMedia to look at the issues and opportunities
that exist in our community. Now here's your hosts for
a Quad City Forum, Pat Luke and Denny Linnhowe.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
We are talking to Martha A Smith, who is part
of the American Conifer Society and for a long time,
maybe for some people, you remember her with the University
of Illinois Extension offices, and now she's given some of
those duties to Tracy Joe. There's no way you can
be completely replaced, Martha. So we're glad and we're glad
(00:39):
that you're here to talk about this because I first off,
did not really know the American Conifer Society even existed.
And when I looked at the YouTube link that you
had sent, it is amazing. Some of the backyards that
a lot of us maybe aren't privy to, but the
kind of well manicured and well developed backyards that we
(01:00):
have right around here in the Quad City area, Yes.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
And some of them are phenomenal. The American Conifer Society
really wants to promote the use of dwarf and unusual conifers.
They're very versatile. They do very well in our climate.
And when people think of conifers, the first thing they
(01:25):
think of is green. That's not the case. There's yellows
and blues and burgundies. And then you get into the
sizes and the shapes you've got upright, you've got mounding
and the dwarf and unusual are those that grow very
very slowly, so that they're not going to be overwhelming
(01:49):
in your landscape in six years.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
It doesn't that happen, Martha, where sometimes you want you
want to get a tree that's going to grow fast,
give you shade. But with conifers, And again, when we're
talking about a conifer, that species that's an evergreen or
that's a pine that we're talking.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
About right, yes, yes, Well when we say conifer, it's
really a cone bearing plant. But not all conifers are evergreen.
There are cone bearing plants that will drop their needles.
Bald cypress is one of them. They turn a beautiful,
rusty orange and drop their needles. But they are a
(02:31):
member of the conifer group, so it's very large. It's
very diverse really what they boil down to and I
know I'm getting really technical botanical, but they're called gymnosperms,
and they talk about being cone bearing plants, and what
there's one plant I don't think bot in this way
(02:53):
back when knew exactly what to do with ginko. Ginko
is a gymnosperm. It has I won't get into the details.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Well you can. We got time. We got time.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
We can stretch us into two weeks if you want to.
But just try to every now and again.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
Just realize as much as you know it. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
My brain is already exploding on this thing, but it
still is. It's amazing all the difference because I think
of I just think of a pine tree where I
think of an evergreen, and it's so much more than that.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Yeah, Ara, a spruce, I mean spruce is a common one. Yeah.
So that's that's part of it. And here in the
quad Cities just north, we have the Bicklehopft Arboretum, which
was actually started by one of our dear, dear members
who have since passed away. He donated Chub Harper was
(03:47):
his name, and he worked for John Deere. Actually he's
the one, well one of them that I blame for
getting me into this.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
I don't think I hear you smiling as you say
he blamed you blame him, But I'm seeing I think
I saw that on the YouTube thing on maybe I saw.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
Part of that.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
The hours that it takes just for the lawn, let
alone all the other thing is incredible.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Yes, and it's a wonderful collection. And I always encourage
people if you're really not sure, just you know, take
a Sunday drive up to the Bickelhaft. You will not
be disappointed. And I think you will see what I'm
talking about about the textures, the colors, the sizes. There's
(04:33):
just so much to it. In fact, I will be
a speaker at the conference and my topic is colorful
conifers because there's things that people don't really realize that's
out there. And that's the joy, that's the joy of it.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
I'm looking at one of these, one of the pictures
here and just the placement this is not and again
it depends on some of the other people that are
doing their best in their yards and they sometimes you're
just plopping down this over here. And a lot of
times where you put it in your yard, whatever it is,
whatever plant or whatever it is. Sometimes you could it
(05:12):
could be the right soil, but the wrong part of
the yard. But looking at the planning that and just
one of these pictures, it is truly incredible how to
not only the perfect spot to get it, but to
make sure that the proper care to let that grow
and thrive.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Yes, and let it just let it become what it
what it wants to become. Some are going to be weeping,
some are very tall and narrow, and it's placement, right
plants for the right spot. And with conifers. With some
of these we call them specimen plants. And you when
(05:50):
you come around a corner of someone's home, maybe have
one tucked off in the distance, because wow, that's that's unusual,
and that draws your eye going into another room and
that With conifers, it's just it's a lot of fun.
It's just so much fun to work with them. And
(06:10):
I have learned so much by being a member of
the counter for Society. I've been nurtured by people that
everybody wants to share their knowledge because they love these plants.
So going to a meeting like the national conference that's
coming up, you get to meet people that really want
(06:32):
to tell you about these plants and help you love
them as much as they do, so it's a real
fun group also.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Well, and for those of you just tuning in right
now and you're hearing us talking about planning here that
we're talking to Martha Smith who is with the American
coniferce Society, and you talked about that event that's coming up.
When is it and where's it going to be and
how can some more people share in the enthusiasm.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Well, it is going to be in gu June nineteenth
to the twenty first. The hotel the conference hotel is
Valleys of the Quad Cities. People can go onto the
American Conifer Society web page and click on twenty twenty
five National Meeting and they'll get all the information listed there.
(07:24):
It will start Thursday night, will have social hour, a lecture,
and then it's two days of touring private gardens, gardens
that are not open to the public, gardens that members
have graciously said, Okay, I'm going to make it look
really really good this year and not to work into
(07:45):
it so that people can see it and enjoy it
and learn. We'll also tour the bicklehopt so that will
be part of it too, But two days of tours
for a bunch of plant geeks.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Now that website again when you're talking about if I
got the right one here when they talk about registering,
it's on the World Wide Web or h T t
p s and then Worldwide Web number two dot Conifer
Society dot org. That'll get them there.
Speaker 4 (08:19):
Okay, okay, so the w.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Okay, so www the number two dot Conifer Society dot org.
And then they'll when they get there, they'll see the
banner and then it'll kind of be self explanatory to
take it from there.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Yeah. And with the registration, you can also become a member,
and with that you will get we have a public publication,
the Coniffer, right, and we have another one called the
Counterfer Quarterly that you will get as part of your membership,
and in there you learn so much about these plans.
(09:00):
And they usually features some gardens all maybe from New York,
or they might be featuring a garden from the West
coast or one in central Iowa, which we've had some
beautiful gardens that have been featured in our magazines just
right here in the Midwest.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Well, it's like it's like when you go in recent
times when we've gone to maybe the Plant Show or
some of the stuff around the area. It can get
a lot of people psyched up for maybe not they're
not going to be able to come as close as
some of these incredible gardens are, but get them inspired
to maybe think out plant outside the box.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
That's very clever. I like that.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
Well, thank you.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Occasionally I come up with missing the most he's missing
the most clever thing.
Speaker 5 (09:45):
Where you say, enter the cone.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Zone, Well, I like the what is it the kind
offer quarter or whatever? Yeah, I like that whatever you
call the quarterly where I like the little like alliteration,
even though it's maybe not all right there.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
Yeah, I just I love.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
But for a lot of it we are all cone heads.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
There we go. I just I love. I just absolutely
love this.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Okay, So for people that want to find out more
because maybe they we gather, there's got to be some
sort of costs. So what are we talking about at
the very beginning, and let's go back again on how
they can enter, what they're expecting and cost wise, and
what's entailed on they once they get registered.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Yeah, the registration for all your meals, your coach bus transportation.
There is a riverboat lunch and cruise on the celebration bell.
We also have a phenomenal silent auction where people actually
will stand when the time is running out, so they
(10:51):
make sure they get their number on that list, so
they get that plan. It's a lot of fun. For now,
it's for non members, which will include your membership is
four hundred and thirty five dollars and the early bird registration
ends April fifteenth, but you still have another month after
that to register. It's just fifty dollars more, okay, So
(11:16):
that will get you in. It'll get you, you know,
into the gardens on the tours part of the silent auction,
learning about conifers, and if you're traveling into the Quad Cities,
the Valleys of the Quad Cities has a room rate
for us, so we're all set with that, so they
(11:38):
just have to sign up and get here. Another thing
that we offer to only those who register. Let's say
you are coming from Western Iowa. We have gardens that
are open en route. They're open the day before when
you're traveling and on Sunday, so if you didn't get
(12:01):
enough punifers at the convention, you can stop at some
of these private gardens. We have them northeast, west, and
south of the Quad cities. So we really try to
make it a nice event, and on those days you
do those tours on your own. But it's just nice
(12:22):
to have our membership that opens up their gardens across
the Midwest.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Well, yeah, sharing the love, sharing the joy. When we
talk about some of the conifers are when we see
some of these out in these beautiful gardens, are any
of these rare or are they just people that they
don't go they don't use these when they're talking about
planning in their garden or in their yard.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
They're rare or they're unusual. These are not generally easy
to find, say, as some of the common landscape plants
we see right now, see a lot of our varieties.
You see a lot of spyreeas. Then they're all good hydranges,
they're all good landscaping plants. But this is just kind
(13:10):
of another level up. A lot of these, if you
really want to know, are plants. People when they're out
in nature, they might see a weird spunky growth on
an evergreen and we call that a witch's broom, and well,
we're not really sure it could be an insect, it
could be environmental, but something has caused that portion of
(13:34):
that plant to grow in an unusual manner, or maybe
it's coming out blue or maybe it's coming out yellow.
So these plants, people will actually take a part of
that plant and then try to grasp it or root
it so then to see what it's going to grow into.
And so many of the plants that we have that
(13:58):
have been introduced are from doing just this. Some a
mugo pine. Someone noticed that the true mugo stayed shorter. Okay,
well let's see how can we propagate that and get
it into the trade so that other people can enjoy it.
So there's a lot more, there's more behind the scenes
(14:20):
in some of this. It might be some grafter that
just decided, oh, I'm going to take this and I'm
going to graf it onto that and who knows what
it's going to turn out like, and that's the fun fun.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Well, okay, so we want people to get in here again.
So again we're talking to Martha Smith here from the
American Conference Society, and Martha for people that want to
be a part of it again, website dates and let's
make sure that as we're heading on out here, they
get all the information they need to be able to
(14:54):
be a part of this big event.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
It is our national meeting. It won't be here in
the city for another twelve sixteen years. It is at
Valley's Quad Cities. That's where the conference will be, all
your meals, that's where you'll get your buses, all of that.
And it's Dune nineteenth through the twenty first. You can
register online and the Early Bird and April fifteenth, but
(15:22):
after that you still have until May fifteenth.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
It sounds great and I can much like when I
was talking to Tracy a few weeks ago when she
was just talking about I think the event that they
had over at Vibrant Arena. But it is just great
to hear you plant geeks go.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
All geeky on us. You just the.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Passion is it's exciting because it rubs off. It just
makes you go yep, I can do this and it's ten.
But it is also great when you're there in your front,
you know, people that want to be your friends or
that energy, it just makes you want to go, all right,
I'm gonna try it. That's not gonna it's not gonna
(16:05):
look like the Bigelhoff, but it's gonna it's gonna it
looks better than it did before, and that's.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
And I should also say for anyone who will be
a first time we have a free plant to give
to them so they can start this journey into chronifers.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
If you or your organization would like to be featured
on Quad City Forum, please visit the contact page and
our station website. Now back to Pat Luke and Danny Linnowe.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Tracy Joe Mulligan with the University of Illinois Extension Offices.
You've got a lot of stuff always going on and
again for people to find out a little bit more.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
What's the website.
Speaker 6 (16:46):
Well, you know, I'm just gonna say it, I'm a
Googler that Google Lady knows everything. Just google University of
Illinois Extension, Rock Island, and so we'll pull up our website.
It's easier than trying to do the dots, edu and
all that good stuff. So at Google Lady knows it.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
All, well, she does, but it all depends what the
Google ee is typing in. So that's right, we'll start
out that way. That's a good way to do it.
But Tracy, the main thing that you want to talk
about today is the spring series that you've got coming
up here fairly soon.
Speaker 6 (17:16):
We do so again my Master Gardeners, for they are
phenomenal volunteers and they organize the Spring Series of Horticulture.
They have been doing the Spring Series for over twenty years.
We are doing it Mondays in the evenings from six
to eight and it is at the Rock Island Holiday Inn.
(17:36):
It is on Monday the fourteenth, the twenty first, and
the twenty eighth. So in each night you will have
two presentations. So you'll show up and you'll hear one speaker,
you'll take a break, We've got some nice appetizers for
you and drinks, and then you'll hear the second presentation.
(17:57):
They are fun, they're energetic and you'll learn a ton.
So the first week, on the fourteenth, we are going
to talk about farming and foraging gourmet mushrooms and it
is presented by John Mcattee, who is the owner of
Wild Growth Gourmet Mushrooms in Mercer County. So he's going
to talk about how they commercially grow them year round.
(18:19):
He's going to highlight some exotic species that you can
find locally and how to identify him. So that's going
to be your first presentation on that day.
Speaker 5 (18:27):
Now, I don't mean to interrupt you, Tracy Joe, but
go ahead. If someone's going to talk about mushrooms like that, now,
are they going to have to kill us because they
can't tell us where?
Speaker 2 (18:38):
They'll tell us the best place to go, and then
they'll they'll throw us in Jail's right, don't take my spot.
But it is interesting that there are certain ways that
some of us we kind of think the only way
to do it is follow somebody that already knows, but
giving them that confidence to go, Okay, this is going
to be a really good spot here.
Speaker 4 (18:57):
You can find one on your own well, and there.
Speaker 6 (18:59):
Are there are some mushroom kits that you can get
and you can grow your own at home. So they're
going to talk about the different types of mushrooms. I mean,
there's more than just the little white ones that you
get in the grocery store. And there's more than just
than the morals that people find. So they're going to
talk about the different varieties that you can purchase, that
(19:20):
you can grow, and that are popular. The popularity of
mushroom has just soared in the United States. There's so
much more to it than what just putting it on
your salad or on top of a steak, So they're
going to talk about that. I can't wait to see
John do the presentation. You'll learn a lot. You see
him at the Farmer's market around down at the freight
(19:40):
house here in the Quad City. So come learn about
the exotic mushrooms and just be informed so that you
know that what's out there for you. Then after that,
we're going to have Emily Swyheart, who is our local
horticulture educator. She's going to talk about the battle in
your backyard. So we talk a lot about invasive species,
whether it be tests and or plant material that invade
(20:03):
your backyard. She's going to talk about identifying what those
are and how to manage it. There's different plants that
we should probably eliminate from our backyard and she's going
to talk about what to do about that. So just
to make your yard more inviting, more habitat, friendly for
pollinators and all of those types of things. So she's
going to go over these invasive species and what you
(20:25):
can do as a homeowner to take back your backyard.
It's two hours, so we do a forty five minute
learning session with fifteen minutes question and answers, and then
you can get your snackies and then go back and
hear the other one for forty five minutes.
Speaker 4 (20:39):
Now, how many times will you see people?
Speaker 2 (20:42):
And I heard an interview a few weeks ago about
somebody growing all of these different tomatoes. It's just amazing
the difference in the taste in his tomatoes compared to
what you'll buy in a lot of stores.
Speaker 6 (20:57):
Oh absolutely, anything that you grow fresh. Think about your tomatoes,
your peppers, any of that when it is commercially grown
and harvested, especially if it's not like from a farmer's
market where it's grown locally. You know, they'd say that
they pick tomatoes to take a fifty pound impact without bruising,
(21:19):
so they pick them pretty darn hard to where you know,
you wait and you watch that little baby get all
ripe and ready in your backyard before you pick it
when it's ready. So, oh absolutely, there's a huge taste difference.
Speaker 4 (21:31):
That's on the fourteenth.
Speaker 6 (21:32):
So then we come back the following Monday night, which
is the twenty first, and we are going to talk
with Jimmy Wheebler, who is from Nahant Marsh here in
the Quad Cities, and he's going to talk about backyard
bird cousins. So he's going to talk about, you know
how you're familiar with the cardinal and the chickadee, but
there are so many different species. He's going to talk
about the closely related cousins to those. He's going to
(21:55):
talk about wrens and doves and hummingbirds. So everybody to
watch birds, and some of us would like to know
more about how to identify and which ones are they.
So he's going to talk about that for that first
forty five minutes and then have an open time for
questions and then you're gonna like this one. We're gonna
learn about forest bathing.
Speaker 4 (22:15):
Forest bathing.
Speaker 6 (22:17):
Excuse me, I knew you'd like that one.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Forest bathing. Please tell us more on that. What do
we what's going on?
Speaker 4 (22:23):
Yeah, I'm intrigued. I'm intrigued.
Speaker 6 (22:27):
The Japanese art and science of hinrin yoku, which is
forest bathing. If it is presented by Leslie O'Ryan, who
is a professor in the counselor Education Department at Western Illinois.
So we're bringing in a leather neck. Okay, she's going
to talk about forest bathing and how it will help
(22:48):
destress you, it will make you relax. You will have
that brain fog gone and think clearly.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
I gotta tell you though, wait a minute, Tracy. And
by the way, we're talking to Tracy's Jo Mulligan with
the University of Illinois Extension Offices. I don't want to
be out naked anywhere. I don't care if it's in
the forest, no way, but.
Speaker 4 (23:09):
I but I do.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
I do feel like, yeah, getting in touch with nature
or the mother Earth. It sounds like it has some
potential and it could be right up the alley for
a lot of people.
Speaker 6 (23:21):
You know, well, this time of year is crazy for
parents and schedules, and this is something that you will
be able to use throughout your life to de stress,
whether it is winter, summerfall, just getting out of our
(23:42):
electric world and reconnecting with nature and how to do
that properly to just help shut the brain down. I
don't know no other way to put it. So that
will be on the toe.
Speaker 4 (23:56):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
So that's Bird's first part of the more the evening
and then force bathing. And again, just if people want
to find out more, just go to the website, do
a little Google searching and find out more on this stuff. Okay,
So that's the twenty first. What happens the following week.
Speaker 6 (24:14):
So on the twenty eighth, we are going to learn
about veggies and preserving. So the first presentation is Kristin Bogdonas,
who is our local extension educator in nutrition and wellness.
She's doing preserve like a pro. So she's going to
talk about your garden bounties. It's going to cover the
pros and cons of canning, freezing, drying, and fermenting your
(24:39):
favorite foods.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
Fermenting that seems like that's wrong though you don't want
to ferment sounds like it could go bad, but you're not.
Speaker 6 (24:46):
You know, they do the yim chik, the kobucha and
all of those things are forermnted and kobucha is so
good for your body. And she's going to talk about
those kind of things. She's going to talk about the
pros and cons. You know, is this worth your time?
Is this worth your effort? What's the benefit? Are you
better off just to go buy? Or how do you
preserve this the best of your ability? So it's going
to be she's going to teach you reputable resources to
(25:08):
answer all of your questions. You are educated and you
know what is the best choice for you and to
save your bounty and how to preserve it safely, and
that is a big thing. You don't want to get
sick from preserving. So then after Kristen, we're going to
roll into Bruce Black, who is a horticulture extension educator
and he's from the White Side area, Whiteside County area,
and he's going to come in. He's a veggie guy.
(25:30):
He's going to talk about veggie visions and it's unveiling
the new flavors of twenty twenty five. So he is
going to show you the new trendings for your garden.
He's going to talk about new cultivars and how to
add these to your rotation in your garden.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Well, sometimes people kind of forget on they go to
standard tomatoes. Yeah, maybe beans, but there are a lot
more things that are out there that aren't that tough
to grow and you just need a little help.
Speaker 6 (26:00):
Yeah, well and knowing it, I mean some of this
you could spend your career, which is what these guys do,
recruiting and learning about the new different characteristics of these
new additions. Every year there are new cultivars coming out
and I don't know about you. I want to know it,
but I don't have time to research it all. So
let Bruce research it all and tell you about him.
So how to what characteristics you're looking for in a pepper?
Speaker 3 (26:24):
You know?
Speaker 6 (26:24):
Are you looking for spice? Are you looking for shelf longevity?
Are you looking for disease resistance? Are you looking for color?
Are you looking for how it cooks, how it preserves
eating it fresh? So he's going to go over all
of those different things with the new flavors that are
coming out this year. So come to class learn about
those different varieties so that you could make an educated
(26:44):
choice in what you're growing. Which leads me into saying, yes,
I'm going to have your listeners stay tuned because we
are really doing a push and it's with the food
Banks of the Quad Cities and with Iowa State Extension.
We're trying to get the public to plant a couple
extra plants in their edible garden this year for the
(27:07):
hungry in the Quad Cities, and we are stepping into it.
We will help you with the questions and we will
help you know where to take your bounty. So as
you are planning your garden, just remember that if you
want to plant an extra plant or two because you
have the room, we will have a place for it
(27:28):
to get to people in need. So that will be
coming up very soon.
Speaker 4 (27:32):
That's exciting.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
It's like a community garden, except here it is it's
in your garden, but you know you're going to be
and how many times of people if they they're great
at growing their version of the tomatoes, there sometimes is
a year once that plant, those plants start to really generate,
you're looking for places to give it to.
Speaker 6 (27:53):
So if you are in a situation where you have
the larger yard and you have a little extra time,
we're going to let you be able to give back
to those who don't, which is always a nice thing.
Speaker 4 (28:04):
To find out.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
More on that probably go to the website in the
coming weeks.
Speaker 6 (28:08):
Yes, absolutely, we will be sharing information and we'll do
this again as we get closer so that we can
really tie your listeners in with how to give back.
But yeah, as you're out plant shopping, which it's a
little early yet, you know, we could still have a
freeze up until around Mother's Day in our area, so
cool season veggies are good outside right now. But I
(28:29):
know tomatoes or peppers any of those kinds of things.
Speaker 3 (28:32):
You're playing with.
Speaker 6 (28:33):
You're playing Russian roulette with.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
No well, and especially in the Midwest and the winter
that we've had so far, even though we're officially into spring,
the winter has been so like a.
Speaker 6 (28:45):
Yo yo it has and we still could have a
hard freeze up until Mother's Day. It is just part
of our grow zone where we are, so it can happen.
I hope not, but it can. So back to the
Spring Seat. We can have you come per session, so
it's fifteen dollars a week. You can register for one week,
(29:07):
which would be two of the presentations, or you can
register for the whole series for forty dollars. Now I'm
going to whip out the website for you. It's go
dot Illinois dot edu slash Spring Series twenty five. And
(29:27):
if that's too much for you, call three oh nine
seven five six nine nine seven eight and tell them
you want to register for Spring Series.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
You've been listening to Quad City Forum, a weekly community
service program produced by iHeartRadio. If you were your nonprofit
organization would like to be featured, please visit the contact
page and our station website, or contact Quad City Forum
and care of iHeartMedia, Quad Cities three five three five
East Kimberly Road, Davin Fords, Iowa five two eight zero
(29:59):
seven
Welcome to Quad City Forum, a weekly community service program
produced by iHeartMedia to look at the issues and opportunities
that exist in our community. Now here's your hosts for
a Quad City Forum, Pat Luke and Denny Linnhowe.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
We are talking to Martha A Smith, who is part
of the American Conifer Society and for a long time,
maybe for some people, you remember her with the University
of Illinois Extension offices, and now she's given some of
those duties to Tracy Joe. There's no way you can
be completely replaced, Martha. So we're glad and we're glad
(00:39):
that you're here to talk about this because I first off,
did not really know the American Conifer Society even existed.
And when I looked at the YouTube link that you
had sent, it is amazing. Some of the backyards that
a lot of us maybe aren't privy to, but the
kind of well manicured and well developed backyards that we
(01:00):
have right around here in the Quad City area, Yes.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
And some of them are phenomenal. The American Conifer Society
really wants to promote the use of dwarf and unusual conifers.
They're very versatile. They do very well in our climate.
And when people think of conifers, the first thing they
(01:25):
think of is green. That's not the case. There's yellows
and blues and burgundies. And then you get into the
sizes and the shapes you've got upright, you've got mounding
and the dwarf and unusual are those that grow very
very slowly, so that they're not going to be overwhelming
(01:49):
in your landscape in six years.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
It doesn't that happen, Martha, where sometimes you want you
want to get a tree that's going to grow fast,
give you shade. But with conifers, And again, when we're
talking about a conifer, that species that's an evergreen or
that's a pine that we're talking.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
About right, yes, yes, Well when we say conifer, it's
really a cone bearing plant. But not all conifers are evergreen.
There are cone bearing plants that will drop their needles.
Bald cypress is one of them. They turn a beautiful,
rusty orange and drop their needles. But they are a
(02:31):
member of the conifer group, so it's very large. It's
very diverse really what they boil down to and I
know I'm getting really technical botanical, but they're called gymnosperms,
and they talk about being cone bearing plants, and what
there's one plant I don't think bot in this way
(02:53):
back when knew exactly what to do with ginko. Ginko
is a gymnosperm. It has I won't get into the details.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Well you can. We got time. We got time.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
We can stretch us into two weeks if you want to.
But just try to every now and again.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
Just realize as much as you know it. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
My brain is already exploding on this thing, but it
still is. It's amazing all the difference because I think
of I just think of a pine tree where I
think of an evergreen, and it's so much more than that.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Yeah, Ara, a spruce, I mean spruce is a common one. Yeah.
So that's that's part of it. And here in the
quad Cities just north, we have the Bicklehopft Arboretum, which
was actually started by one of our dear, dear members
who have since passed away. He donated Chub Harper was
(03:47):
his name, and he worked for John Deere. Actually he's
the one, well one of them that I blame for
getting me into this.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
I don't think I hear you smiling as you say
he blamed you blame him, But I'm seeing I think
I saw that on the YouTube thing on maybe I saw.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
Part of that.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
The hours that it takes just for the lawn, let
alone all the other thing is incredible.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Yes, and it's a wonderful collection. And I always encourage
people if you're really not sure, just you know, take
a Sunday drive up to the Bickelhaft. You will not
be disappointed. And I think you will see what I'm
talking about about the textures, the colors, the sizes. There's
(04:33):
just so much to it. In fact, I will be
a speaker at the conference and my topic is colorful
conifers because there's things that people don't really realize that's
out there. And that's the joy, that's the joy of it.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
I'm looking at one of these, one of the pictures
here and just the placement this is not and again
it depends on some of the other people that are
doing their best in their yards and they sometimes you're
just plopping down this over here. And a lot of
times where you put it in your yard, whatever it is,
whatever plant or whatever it is. Sometimes you could it
(05:12):
could be the right soil, but the wrong part of
the yard. But looking at the planning that and just
one of these pictures, it is truly incredible how to
not only the perfect spot to get it, but to
make sure that the proper care to let that grow
and thrive.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Yes, and let it just let it become what it
what it wants to become. Some are going to be weeping,
some are very tall and narrow, and it's placement, right
plants for the right spot. And with conifers. With some
of these we call them specimen plants. And you when
(05:50):
you come around a corner of someone's home, maybe have
one tucked off in the distance, because wow, that's that's unusual,
and that draws your eye going into another room and
that With conifers, it's just it's a lot of fun.
It's just so much fun to work with them. And
(06:10):
I have learned so much by being a member of
the counter for Society. I've been nurtured by people that
everybody wants to share their knowledge because they love these plants.
So going to a meeting like the national conference that's
coming up, you get to meet people that really want
(06:32):
to tell you about these plants and help you love
them as much as they do, so it's a real
fun group also.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Well, and for those of you just tuning in right
now and you're hearing us talking about planning here that
we're talking to Martha Smith who is with the American
coniferce Society, and you talked about that event that's coming up.
When is it and where's it going to be and
how can some more people share in the enthusiasm.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Well, it is going to be in gu June nineteenth
to the twenty first. The hotel the conference hotel is
Valleys of the Quad Cities. People can go onto the
American Conifer Society web page and click on twenty twenty
five National Meeting and they'll get all the information listed there.
(07:24):
It will start Thursday night, will have social hour, a lecture,
and then it's two days of touring private gardens, gardens
that are not open to the public, gardens that members
have graciously said, Okay, I'm going to make it look
really really good this year and not to work into
(07:45):
it so that people can see it and enjoy it
and learn. We'll also tour the bicklehopt so that will
be part of it too, But two days of tours
for a bunch of plant geeks.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Now that website again when you're talking about if I
got the right one here when they talk about registering,
it's on the World Wide Web or h T t
p s and then Worldwide Web number two dot Conifer
Society dot org. That'll get them there.
Speaker 4 (08:19):
Okay, okay, so the w.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Okay, so www the number two dot Conifer Society dot org.
And then they'll when they get there, they'll see the
banner and then it'll kind of be self explanatory to
take it from there.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Yeah. And with the registration, you can also become a member,
and with that you will get we have a public publication,
the Coniffer, right, and we have another one called the
Counterfer Quarterly that you will get as part of your membership,
and in there you learn so much about these plans.
(09:00):
And they usually features some gardens all maybe from New York,
or they might be featuring a garden from the West
coast or one in central Iowa, which we've had some
beautiful gardens that have been featured in our magazines just
right here in the Midwest.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Well, it's like it's like when you go in recent
times when we've gone to maybe the Plant Show or
some of the stuff around the area. It can get
a lot of people psyched up for maybe not they're
not going to be able to come as close as
some of these incredible gardens are, but get them inspired
to maybe think out plant outside the box.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
That's very clever. I like that.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
Well, thank you.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Occasionally I come up with missing the most he's missing
the most clever thing.
Speaker 5 (09:45):
Where you say, enter the cone.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Zone, Well, I like the what is it the kind
offer quarter or whatever? Yeah, I like that whatever you
call the quarterly where I like the little like alliteration,
even though it's maybe not all right there.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
Yeah, I just I love.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
But for a lot of it we are all cone heads.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
There we go. I just I love. I just absolutely
love this.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Okay, So for people that want to find out more
because maybe they we gather, there's got to be some
sort of costs. So what are we talking about at
the very beginning, and let's go back again on how
they can enter, what they're expecting and cost wise, and
what's entailed on they once they get registered.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Yeah, the registration for all your meals, your coach bus transportation.
There is a riverboat lunch and cruise on the celebration bell.
We also have a phenomenal silent auction where people actually
will stand when the time is running out, so they
(10:51):
make sure they get their number on that list, so
they get that plan. It's a lot of fun. For now,
it's for non members, which will include your membership is
four hundred and thirty five dollars and the early bird registration
ends April fifteenth, but you still have another month after
that to register. It's just fifty dollars more, okay, So
(11:16):
that will get you in. It'll get you, you know,
into the gardens on the tours part of the silent auction,
learning about conifers, and if you're traveling into the Quad Cities,
the Valleys of the Quad Cities has a room rate
for us, so we're all set with that, so they
(11:38):
just have to sign up and get here. Another thing
that we offer to only those who register. Let's say
you are coming from Western Iowa. We have gardens that
are open en route. They're open the day before when
you're traveling and on Sunday, so if you didn't get
(12:01):
enough punifers at the convention, you can stop at some
of these private gardens. We have them northeast, west, and
south of the Quad cities. So we really try to
make it a nice event, and on those days you
do those tours on your own. But it's just nice
(12:22):
to have our membership that opens up their gardens across
the Midwest.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Well, yeah, sharing the love, sharing the joy. When we
talk about some of the conifers are when we see
some of these out in these beautiful gardens, are any
of these rare or are they just people that they
don't go they don't use these when they're talking about
planning in their garden or in their yard.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
They're rare or they're unusual. These are not generally easy
to find, say, as some of the common landscape plants
we see right now, see a lot of our varieties.
You see a lot of spyreeas. Then they're all good hydranges,
they're all good landscaping plants. But this is just kind
(13:10):
of another level up. A lot of these, if you
really want to know, are plants. People when they're out
in nature, they might see a weird spunky growth on
an evergreen and we call that a witch's broom, and well,
we're not really sure it could be an insect, it
could be environmental, but something has caused that portion of
(13:34):
that plant to grow in an unusual manner, or maybe
it's coming out blue or maybe it's coming out yellow.
So these plants, people will actually take a part of
that plant and then try to grasp it or root
it so then to see what it's going to grow into.
And so many of the plants that we have that
(13:58):
have been introduced are from doing just this. Some a
mugo pine. Someone noticed that the true mugo stayed shorter. Okay,
well let's see how can we propagate that and get
it into the trade so that other people can enjoy it.
So there's a lot more, there's more behind the scenes
(14:20):
in some of this. It might be some grafter that
just decided, oh, I'm going to take this and I'm
going to graf it onto that and who knows what
it's going to turn out like, and that's the fun fun.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Well, okay, so we want people to get in here again.
So again we're talking to Martha Smith here from the
American Conference Society, and Martha for people that want to
be a part of it again, website dates and let's
make sure that as we're heading on out here, they
get all the information they need to be able to
(14:54):
be a part of this big event.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
It is our national meeting. It won't be here in
the city for another twelve sixteen years. It is at
Valley's Quad Cities. That's where the conference will be, all
your meals, that's where you'll get your buses, all of that.
And it's Dune nineteenth through the twenty first. You can
register online and the Early Bird and April fifteenth, but
(15:22):
after that you still have until May fifteenth.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
It sounds great and I can much like when I
was talking to Tracy a few weeks ago when she
was just talking about I think the event that they
had over at Vibrant Arena. But it is just great
to hear you plant geeks go.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
All geeky on us. You just the.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Passion is it's exciting because it rubs off. It just
makes you go yep, I can do this and it's ten.
But it is also great when you're there in your front,
you know, people that want to be your friends or
that energy, it just makes you want to go, all right,
I'm gonna try it. That's not gonna it's not gonna
(16:05):
look like the Bigelhoff, but it's gonna it's gonna it
looks better than it did before, and that's.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
And I should also say for anyone who will be
a first time we have a free plant to give
to them so they can start this journey into chronifers.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
If you or your organization would like to be featured
on Quad City Forum, please visit the contact page and
our station website. Now back to Pat Luke and Danny Linnowe.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Tracy Joe Mulligan with the University of Illinois Extension Offices.
You've got a lot of stuff always going on and
again for people to find out a little bit more.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
What's the website.
Speaker 6 (16:46):
Well, you know, I'm just gonna say it, I'm a
Googler that Google Lady knows everything. Just google University of
Illinois Extension, Rock Island, and so we'll pull up our website.
It's easier than trying to do the dots, edu and
all that good stuff. So at Google Lady knows it.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
All, well, she does, but it all depends what the
Google ee is typing in. So that's right, we'll start
out that way. That's a good way to do it.
But Tracy, the main thing that you want to talk
about today is the spring series that you've got coming
up here fairly soon.
Speaker 6 (17:16):
We do so again my Master Gardeners, for they are
phenomenal volunteers and they organize the Spring Series of Horticulture.
They have been doing the Spring Series for over twenty years.
We are doing it Mondays in the evenings from six
to eight and it is at the Rock Island Holiday Inn.
(17:36):
It is on Monday the fourteenth, the twenty first, and
the twenty eighth. So in each night you will have
two presentations. So you'll show up and you'll hear one speaker,
you'll take a break, We've got some nice appetizers for
you and drinks, and then you'll hear the second presentation.
(17:57):
They are fun, they're energetic and you'll learn a ton.
So the first week, on the fourteenth, we are going
to talk about farming and foraging gourmet mushrooms and it
is presented by John Mcattee, who is the owner of
Wild Growth Gourmet Mushrooms in Mercer County. So he's going
to talk about how they commercially grow them year round.
(18:19):
He's going to highlight some exotic species that you can
find locally and how to identify him. So that's going
to be your first presentation on that day.
Speaker 5 (18:27):
Now, I don't mean to interrupt you, Tracy Joe, but
go ahead. If someone's going to talk about mushrooms like that, now,
are they going to have to kill us because they
can't tell us where?
Speaker 2 (18:38):
They'll tell us the best place to go, and then
they'll they'll throw us in Jail's right, don't take my spot.
But it is interesting that there are certain ways that
some of us we kind of think the only way
to do it is follow somebody that already knows, but
giving them that confidence to go, Okay, this is going
to be a really good spot here.
Speaker 4 (18:57):
You can find one on your own well, and there.
Speaker 6 (18:59):
Are there are some mushroom kits that you can get
and you can grow your own at home. So they're
going to talk about the different types of mushrooms. I mean,
there's more than just the little white ones that you
get in the grocery store. And there's more than just
than the morals that people find. So they're going to
talk about the different varieties that you can purchase, that
(19:20):
you can grow, and that are popular. The popularity of
mushroom has just soared in the United States. There's so
much more to it than what just putting it on
your salad or on top of a steak, So they're
going to talk about that. I can't wait to see
John do the presentation. You'll learn a lot. You see
him at the Farmer's market around down at the freight
(19:40):
house here in the Quad City. So come learn about
the exotic mushrooms and just be informed so that you
know that what's out there for you. Then after that,
we're going to have Emily Swyheart, who is our local
horticulture educator. She's going to talk about the battle in
your backyard. So we talk a lot about invasive species,
whether it be tests and or plant material that invade
(20:03):
your backyard. She's going to talk about identifying what those
are and how to manage it. There's different plants that
we should probably eliminate from our backyard and she's going
to talk about what to do about that. So just
to make your yard more inviting, more habitat, friendly for
pollinators and all of those types of things. So she's
going to go over these invasive species and what you
(20:25):
can do as a homeowner to take back your backyard.
It's two hours, so we do a forty five minute
learning session with fifteen minutes question and answers, and then
you can get your snackies and then go back and
hear the other one for forty five minutes.
Speaker 4 (20:39):
Now, how many times will you see people?
Speaker 2 (20:42):
And I heard an interview a few weeks ago about
somebody growing all of these different tomatoes. It's just amazing
the difference in the taste in his tomatoes compared to
what you'll buy in a lot of stores.
Speaker 6 (20:57):
Oh absolutely, anything that you grow fresh. Think about your tomatoes,
your peppers, any of that when it is commercially grown
and harvested, especially if it's not like from a farmer's
market where it's grown locally. You know, they'd say that
they pick tomatoes to take a fifty pound impact without bruising,
(21:19):
so they pick them pretty darn hard to where you know,
you wait and you watch that little baby get all
ripe and ready in your backyard before you pick it
when it's ready. So, oh absolutely, there's a huge taste difference.
Speaker 4 (21:31):
That's on the fourteenth.
Speaker 6 (21:32):
So then we come back the following Monday night, which
is the twenty first, and we are going to talk
with Jimmy Wheebler, who is from Nahant Marsh here in
the Quad Cities, and he's going to talk about backyard
bird cousins. So he's going to talk about, you know
how you're familiar with the cardinal and the chickadee, but
there are so many different species. He's going to talk
about the closely related cousins to those. He's going to
(21:55):
talk about wrens and doves and hummingbirds. So everybody to
watch birds, and some of us would like to know
more about how to identify and which ones are they.
So he's going to talk about that for that first
forty five minutes and then have an open time for
questions and then you're gonna like this one. We're gonna
learn about forest bathing.
Speaker 4 (22:15):
Forest bathing.
Speaker 6 (22:17):
Excuse me, I knew you'd like that one.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Forest bathing. Please tell us more on that. What do
we what's going on?
Speaker 4 (22:23):
Yeah, I'm intrigued. I'm intrigued.
Speaker 6 (22:27):
The Japanese art and science of hinrin yoku, which is
forest bathing. If it is presented by Leslie O'Ryan, who
is a professor in the counselor Education Department at Western Illinois.
So we're bringing in a leather neck. Okay, she's going
to talk about forest bathing and how it will help
(22:48):
destress you, it will make you relax. You will have
that brain fog gone and think clearly.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
I gotta tell you though, wait a minute, Tracy. And
by the way, we're talking to Tracy's Jo Mulligan with
the University of Illinois Extension Offices. I don't want to
be out naked anywhere. I don't care if it's in
the forest, no way, but.
Speaker 4 (23:09):
I but I do.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
I do feel like, yeah, getting in touch with nature
or the mother Earth. It sounds like it has some
potential and it could be right up the alley for
a lot of people.
Speaker 6 (23:21):
You know, well, this time of year is crazy for
parents and schedules, and this is something that you will
be able to use throughout your life to de stress,
whether it is winter, summerfall, just getting out of our
(23:42):
electric world and reconnecting with nature and how to do
that properly to just help shut the brain down. I
don't know no other way to put it. So that
will be on the toe.
Speaker 4 (23:56):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
So that's Bird's first part of the more the evening
and then force bathing. And again, just if people want
to find out more, just go to the website, do
a little Google searching and find out more on this stuff. Okay,
So that's the twenty first. What happens the following week.
Speaker 6 (24:14):
So on the twenty eighth, we are going to learn
about veggies and preserving. So the first presentation is Kristin Bogdonas,
who is our local extension educator in nutrition and wellness.
She's doing preserve like a pro. So she's going to
talk about your garden bounties. It's going to cover the
pros and cons of canning, freezing, drying, and fermenting your
(24:39):
favorite foods.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
Fermenting that seems like that's wrong though you don't want
to ferment sounds like it could go bad, but you're not.
Speaker 6 (24:46):
You know, they do the yim chik, the kobucha and
all of those things are forermnted and kobucha is so
good for your body. And she's going to talk about
those kind of things. She's going to talk about the
pros and cons. You know, is this worth your time?
Is this worth your effort? What's the benefit? Are you
better off just to go buy? Or how do you
preserve this the best of your ability? So it's going
to be she's going to teach you reputable resources to
(25:08):
answer all of your questions. You are educated and you
know what is the best choice for you and to
save your bounty and how to preserve it safely, and
that is a big thing. You don't want to get
sick from preserving. So then after Kristen, we're going to
roll into Bruce Black, who is a horticulture extension educator
and he's from the White Side area, Whiteside County area,
and he's going to come in. He's a veggie guy.
(25:30):
He's going to talk about veggie visions and it's unveiling
the new flavors of twenty twenty five. So he is
going to show you the new trendings for your garden.
He's going to talk about new cultivars and how to
add these to your rotation in your garden.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Well, sometimes people kind of forget on they go to
standard tomatoes. Yeah, maybe beans, but there are a lot
more things that are out there that aren't that tough
to grow and you just need a little help.
Speaker 6 (26:00):
Yeah, well and knowing it, I mean some of this
you could spend your career, which is what these guys do,
recruiting and learning about the new different characteristics of these
new additions. Every year there are new cultivars coming out
and I don't know about you. I want to know it,
but I don't have time to research it all. So
let Bruce research it all and tell you about him.
So how to what characteristics you're looking for in a pepper?
Speaker 3 (26:24):
You know?
Speaker 6 (26:24):
Are you looking for spice? Are you looking for shelf longevity?
Are you looking for disease resistance? Are you looking for color?
Are you looking for how it cooks, how it preserves
eating it fresh? So he's going to go over all
of those different things with the new flavors that are
coming out this year. So come to class learn about
those different varieties so that you could make an educated
(26:44):
choice in what you're growing. Which leads me into saying, yes,
I'm going to have your listeners stay tuned because we
are really doing a push and it's with the food
Banks of the Quad Cities and with Iowa State Extension.
We're trying to get the public to plant a couple
extra plants in their edible garden this year for the
(27:07):
hungry in the Quad Cities, and we are stepping into it.
We will help you with the questions and we will
help you know where to take your bounty. So as
you are planning your garden, just remember that if you
want to plant an extra plant or two because you
have the room, we will have a place for it
(27:28):
to get to people in need. So that will be
coming up very soon.
Speaker 4 (27:32):
That's exciting.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
It's like a community garden, except here it is it's
in your garden, but you know you're going to be
and how many times of people if they they're great
at growing their version of the tomatoes, there sometimes is
a year once that plant, those plants start to really generate,
you're looking for places to give it to.
Speaker 6 (27:53):
So if you are in a situation where you have
the larger yard and you have a little extra time,
we're going to let you be able to give back
to those who don't, which is always a nice thing.
Speaker 4 (28:04):
To find out.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
More on that probably go to the website in the
coming weeks.
Speaker 6 (28:08):
Yes, absolutely, we will be sharing information and we'll do
this again as we get closer so that we can
really tie your listeners in with how to give back.
But yeah, as you're out plant shopping, which it's a
little early yet, you know, we could still have a
freeze up until around Mother's Day in our area, so
cool season veggies are good outside right now. But I
(28:29):
know tomatoes or peppers any of those kinds of things.
Speaker 3 (28:32):
You're playing with.
Speaker 6 (28:33):
You're playing Russian roulette with.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
No well, and especially in the Midwest and the winter
that we've had so far, even though we're officially into spring,
the winter has been so like a.
Speaker 6 (28:45):
Yo yo it has and we still could have a
hard freeze up until Mother's Day. It is just part
of our grow zone where we are, so it can happen.
I hope not, but it can. So back to the
Spring Seat. We can have you come per session, so
it's fifteen dollars a week. You can register for one week,
(29:07):
which would be two of the presentations, or you can
register for the whole series for forty dollars. Now I'm
going to whip out the website for you. It's go
dot Illinois dot edu slash Spring Series twenty five. And
(29:27):
if that's too much for you, call three oh nine
seven five six nine nine seven eight and tell them
you want to register for Spring Series.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
You've been listening to Quad City Forum, a weekly community
service program produced by iHeartRadio. If you were your nonprofit
organization would like to be featured, please visit the contact
page and our station website, or contact Quad City Forum
and care of iHeartMedia, Quad Cities three five three five
East Kimberly Road, Davin Fords, Iowa five two eight zero
(29:59):
seven
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