Garden Team
Welcome to the Garden News column!
Did you know that much of the landscaping on our campus is maintained by only a handful of volunteers? We wish to recognize and thank our regular all-around volunteers - David Yeomans, Hunter Morgan, Barbara Welanetz, Stacy Kuo, Christian Nadell, Beth Harvat, and most importantly, Barbara Beaman, the garden volunteer coordinator. Barbara’s enthusiasm and willingness to work with covenant groups and individuals has kept our campus beautiful. Our small number of regular garden volunteers are doing a great job AND we need more!
Chalice Circles & Covenant Groups join the Garden Team for their service project
We welcome Chalice Circles and Covenant Groups to work in the garden and will tailor a project to your needs. Learn a gardening skill, hang out with each other, and have the satisfaction of seeing the garden bloom. Have members who don’t garden? They are welcome to bring a chair and provide moral support. Shifts last two hours.
To reserve a date and time please contact Barbara Beaman. Thanks to the Chalice Circles who joined us this spring: Third Monday Chalice Circle and First Monday Chalice Circle.
Update on Pollinator Garden
Swamp milkweed and buttonbush are blooming in the new pollinator garden. The Garden Team, the Earth Justice Group, and an intergenerational group of Eruufians planted this pollinator oasis last fall. We thank the NC Wildlife Federation for their generous donation of the native pollinator plants for our new garden.
Garden Niches at ERUUF and Adoption
Did you know that there are many small garden niches at ERUUF and that the Garden Team would love for you to adopt care of one of them? Today we’ll talk about the office garden which sits directly outside of the office windows. Key features of the office garden are a river birch, an Encore rose and a memorial statue to Holly and Ross McKinney for their twelve years as covenant group leaders. The garden exists partly in shade and partly in dry hot sun, creating a challenge for planting.
In 2019, the garden was renovated with new plantings of yew and sedges and is doing well. With the new plantings, the office garden needs minimal, but important, care. Tasks mainly include removing all the river birch branches that fall down and some of the leaf litter that gets blown onto the garden from the patio. Occasional weeding is required. The rose is professionally pruned by the Garden Team. If you would like to spend 1-3 hours a month keeping this garden looking its best, please contact Barbara Beaman.
Garden Niches - ERUUF's Lawns
Honoring Rick Searles
We take this week to honor Rick Searles, who has kept our lawns mowed for many years. You can find Rick on many Fridays or Saturdays on ERUUF’s riding lawn mower, making this niche of our campus neat and beautiful. THANK YOU, Rick, for all your volunteer time and effort!
Rick would love to train someone as his backup. Mowing the lawn takes 1-2 hours every 10-14 days, depending on the season and how much rain we have. All lawn spaces can be mowed with the riding mower. This is a great opportunity to contribute your time and talent to ERUUF. Please contact Shawn Trimble if you are interested or have questions.
Garden Days
Keeping the grounds at ERUUF looking beautiful is a challenging job. The Garden Team would love to have you join us on garden days, the second Saturday of each month. Not only will we have fun sharing in community, you will receive guidance and support so that you know what to do. Bring water and a sun hat. Gloves and tools are available at ERUUF, but you can also bring your own. We look forward to working with you! To get on the mailing list for Garden days or to learn about other garden opportunities, contact Barbara Beaman.
Join ERUUF De-viners in helping free ERUUF trees from invasives!
ERUUFians have been de-vining the woods behind the Sanctuary and Care buildings for several years, in an effort to remove invasive plants that damage our beautiful trees. Committed action to remove invasives was started by Holly McKinney and Ruth Baker years ago and now has morphed into a dedicated team of De-viners. For the past 4 years, Barbara Beaman, Hunter Morgan, Jane Hewitt, Phill Trainor, Rah Binkley, Lynda Hambourger, Pam 
Watkins, and others have rescued the trees from large wisteria vines and English ivy and have cleared a substantial area of these pesky invasives. More volunteers are always welcome. Contact Pam Watkins to get on the mailing list.
