Monona Garden Party - January 27th

Word comes from Monona Park & Rec Chief Jake Anderson about the formation of a new club/group that will focus on gardening in Monona.


The first meeting will take place Thursday, January 27th at 6:00 pm at Monona Community Center - Senior Center (Lower Level). 

If possible, please RSVP to Jake by January 25th.

Jake's message:

As Parks & Recreation Director, I’m interested in tapping into the vast amount of talent we have in Monona to improve the aesthetics/sustainability of our parks and building grounds landscaping and future partnerships for programs that I’ll expand on at our kick-off meeting.

#1 – As Director of Parks & Recreation, I have noticed some amazing home gardens in Monona, efforts done at the Library by Leslie Johnson, and the Community Center planting that was done by the Natural Step and Kate Heiber-Cobb and Heather Gates. I’ve also noticed that the City could improve on its image in public places as one of many tools to attract and retain families and generally make Monona a better place to live, work, and play.

#2 – With the amount of people already gardening in Monona, it would be great to have a local avenue to discuss gardening, to conduct classes for those interested in starting a perennial garden, growing seeds, garden design, good deals on plants, etc. We can facilitate this process by providing space at the Monona Community Center and potentially using park land as demonstration sites or perhaps a Community Garden.

#3 – I would like to roll out a project called “Adopt a Park Sign” or something to that effect that would have committed groups working on putting together a landscaping plan for a park sign, using plants from their gardens to split/divide, and to maintain throughout the year. The city could provide mulch and exposure through the website, facebook, city newsletter, and newspaper. I know there are currently a few groups that help take care of certain street areas in Monona

#4 – A Monona Plant Swap meet. I think this would be a great first event as a fundraiser for this group/club. Local gardeners provide a certain number of plants/divisions in early May to bring to the swap meet. Then people can purchase plants at a low cost $2 - $3/plant and there can be an admission fee to get into the swap meet.

#5 – An avenue for new and experienced gardeners to get together, discuss ideas, tour other gardens, and socialize.

Some discussion items for the first meeting:
Starting perennials from seed – What type of equipment you need, what are easy to grow to start with, what type of soil/mix should you use?


Native Landscaping? - What is considered a native perennial plant to our area? Which natives have longest blooms (Bring photos of your gardens!)

Resources – What websites do you use for information for beginner gardeners, advanced, and sources to purchase plants/bulb/seed from both locally and online.

Plant Swap Meet Details – brainstorming session on if this idea is feasible for Monona and possible dates, location, etc.

Jake Anderson - Parks & Recreation Director
City of Monona
1011 Nichols Rd, Monona WI 53716

608.222.4167 (phone)
608.223.2311 (fax)

janderson@ci.monona.wi.us

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