Winter 2018

The Northwest Gardener crew cut down a diseased apple tree. We were very sorry to lose it but glad we took it down before it fell down. It was pretty rotten inside.
On February 24, we participated in King Conservation District's yearly plant sale. Here were are picking up several species of healthy bare-root stock. Lovely plants and a bargain!
On March 6, King Conservation District made their first visit of the year, to replant some plants that didn't make it through their first year.
Also on March 6, a Northwest Gardener crew planted a lovely rhodedendron to help fill in the space occupied by the holly trees.

Church Clean-Up with Troop 579 2018

On March 6, we were blessed to have another large, enthusiastic group from Boy Scout Troop 579 help us get a lot of spring projects done in one day!
One big task was transplanting several mature sword ferns from parking lot triangles that they had overflowed to the some nearby steep hillsides.
Members of the troop helped remove English ivy from the last spot on the property. It was so amazing to get this last stretch cleared of invasives!
In addition to transplanting ferns, the Scouts help protect many bare-root plants we had recently planted with erosion control fabric (better known as burlap coffee sacks!).
One crew of Scouts help finish planting activity on the back hill by installed blue tubes and spreading mulch around the plant bases.
We also got the troop's help in installing signs around the wetland that thank all of our partners in the CHRP work over the years.
The recently-removed apple tree now has a nice young vine maple in its place.
Nice job, Scouts!

Spring 2018

The skunk cabbage continues to propagate in the wetland. We were surpised how many new plants appeared this Spring.
Our red-flowering currant shrubs at the top of the back driveway grew a bunch this Spring and looked very healthy.
Our decades-old Pacific Dogwood tree had spectactular flowers this year.
The intrepid crew from King Conservation District visited and did a small amount of replanting and some weeding.

Day of Caring 2018

A few days before Day of Caring, one of the King Conservation District crew members sprayed the remaining knotweed plants--fewer and fewer each year.
Some of the Day of Caring crew spent consierable time digging up monster ivy roots along the south fence.
Other Day of Caring crew members attacked laurel that had regrown at the top of the upper parking lot.
Here other Day of Caring volunteers police another section of the fence for ivy roots. They are buried deep!
The Day of Caring crew posed for a group picture outside the fellowship hall, with the woods as a backdrop.
Others on the Day of Caring crew helped us transplant a few volunteer trees to new homes.
Here some Day of Caring volunteers weed and prune another area on the property.
The Day of Caring crew generated many tarp-loads of debris such as this one. Great job, everyone!

Fall 2018

Our hardy CHRP crew continued to dig out more of the deeply-buried ivy roots along the south fence.
In early November, CHRP volunteers harvested two carloads of donated sword ferns from a member's house.
Most of the ferns found a welcome home on the steep hill at the top of the upper parking lot.
The remaining ferns were needed on the large steep hillside near the back driveway.