There’s nothing like the change of season – and lately, it seems like the season has been changing every couple hours – to look back and also to anticipate the future. Public programs at Crossroads this week seem to do both.
On Saturday, November 3 from 9:00-2:00. The Door County Master Gardener Association will be looking back into history during their 2018 Fall Garden Seminar which will feature two outstanding speakers who also are writers.
In the morning , the lecture “A Passion for Heirlooms—Creating Historical Gardens” will be present by Marcia Carmichael, who is the Historical Garden Coordinator from Old World Wisconsin and the author of “Putting Down Roots: Gardening Insights from Wisconsin’s Early Settlers.” We at Crossroads are very familiar with this beautiful book. The volunteers from Master Gardeners and Sturgeon Bay Home and Garden Club use this book each winter as they create the design for the Heritage Garden at Crossroads at Big Creek. Using this book as a guide, they attempt to interpret, in Marcia’s words the “ethnic diversity of Wisconsin’s early settlers, their treasured plants, and gardening traditions.”
“Potatoes, Petunias, and Patriotism: Wisconsin Victory Gardens” will be presented in the afternoon by our own Lee Sommerville, a landscape historian. She wrote the award-winning “Vintage Wisconsin Gardens: A History of Home Gardening” She was instrumental in the development of our Heritage Garden before moving San Diego. She will describe history of community gardening during the 20th Century, and also will share a bit about our Heritage Garden. The $35 cost of the two programs includes a box lunch. Pre-registration is required. Contact Bill and Sarah Freyman (920-868-1749) register/pay as soon as possible so lunches can be ordered. Master Gardeners will not accept fees or registrations at door.
Gardeners who already are thinking about next year (which is all serious gardeners) will want to attend the lecture offered by Wild Ones of the Door Peninsula on Thursday, November 7 at 7:00 in the Collins Learning Center. The guest speaker will be Justin Kroening, the owner of Stone Silo Prairie Gardens in DePere. His lecture is titled “The Importance of Native Plants in Home Landscapes.” Refreshments will be served. The program is free and open to the public.
Here at Crossroads, we have worked hard to introduce native plants to our landscape. Consequently. summer and winter (or whatever the season happens to be this moment) we have seen a significant increase in the number and diversity of birds around our buildings.
While gardeners are thinking about history or perhaps planning for the next growing season, the members of the Door Peninsula Astronomical Society will be looking into the future during their November General Meeting on Tuesday. The lecture “Colonizing Mars” will be presented by Cody Schwartze who recently interned at SpaceX where he designed a part of their Mars rocket. He will discuss the SpaceX plans for colonizing Mars and explain why he believes the project is worthwhile. Visitors are encouraged to attend this program which is free and open to the public.
The ever-forward-looking Friends of Crossroads will meet on Monday, November 5 at 6:30. They always are looking for potential volunteers to help in future projects. They meet in the Lower Level of the Collins Learning Center the first Monday each month at 7:00.
Crossroads at Big Creek is a donor-supported learning center made up of three preserves. The Collins Learning Center, located at 2041 Michigan in Sturgeon Bay, is open 2:00-4:30pm daily and during scheduled activities. Trails are and restrooms are always open and free to the public.