Ohio Gets a New License Plate to Benefit the Monarch Butterfly (and I helped!)

Today was a special day for me and for Ohio monarch enthusiasts. Many didn't even know it was a special day until it got here. Today was the first day that citizens with a vehicle registered in the state of Ohio could purchase a specialized license plate that will directly benefit the monarch butterfly.

Here's how it happened:


Thanks, Illinois

In March of last year, I saw an online news article from The News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana, IL) about a specialized license plate being planned for the state of Illinois.

I wondered if Ohio had such a plate and made a search on the website of the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles. No such plate existed.

There was a plate benefiting Ohio's Nature Preserves, featuring a monarch butterfly nectaring on a coneflower, but the funds collected for that plate don't specifically go toward the monarch. I looked further on the site to see what needed to be done in order to have a new organizational plate created. It didn't seem too difficult, so I made a phone call to the BMV in Columbus to find out if they were aware of anyone else already working on one for the monarch. There were no efforts in progress that they were aware of.


First things first

Rep. Tony Burkley

There were several steps required to create an organizational plate, with the first one being to get a state legislator to introduce a bill. My husband and I knew our state representative, Tony Burkley, personally, since we went to high school with both him and his wife. I contacted him in April and explained what I was wanting to do.

It was late in the session, with only a few days left to get the bill introduced, but Representative Burkley got the job done. It was passed by the 131st General Assembly and on June 16th, Governor John Kasich signed the bill; 90 days later, on September 14th it would officially become law.


Collecting signatures

The next step was to collect at least 150 signatures on a special petition - signatures of those who had registered vehicles in the state of Ohio, who potentially could purchase the license plate. This made me a tiny bit uncomfortable, because I'm not someone who likes to be approached to sign anything myself. But it's amazing how assertive you can be when you're passionate about something, like I am about the monarch.

Though a few were not willing to give their driver's license number (a requirement), so many more were enthusiastic about helping make this a reality. I posted about it on my Facebook page and in the Facebook monarch forums and several people stepped forward and offered to help collect signatures: Sarah Roney Dalton, Don Byrne, Sandy Cobb, Kara Fritz, Janet Denning, Jamie Walters, Melinda Huseby Krick, Richard Moore, Lori Gogolin, Debbie Hartwig Tope, Ashley Tope, Roman Baumle, Brandi Eberle, Karla Erford Treece, and Melissa Downs Moser. (I hope I haven't forgotten anyone who sent me some!)

Since I wanted to be sure to have more than enough verified signatures (yes, they DO check each and every one), I submitted 250, instead of the minimum 150.


Where will the money go?

The license plate costs an extra $25, of which $15 goes to the benefiting organization and the remaining $10 to the Ohio BMV. I wanted the monies collected to remain in the state of Ohio, so I began investigating possible organizations that could make good use of it.

I chose Monarch Wings Across Ohio, which is a part of the national organization, The Pollinator Partnership. Several locations across Ohio are participants in the monarch studies being conducted, in fact, Ohio is the first state to be a part of the national program Monarch Wings Across the U.S. Included in the program are such sites as Holden Arboretum, Cleveland Metroparks, and many others.

The recipient organization had to provide an affidavit to the BMV as well as the logo that goes on the license plate.


Next...

I procured all the necessary documents and sent them off to the BMV in Columbus on September  12 by Certified Mail.

Whew.

My part was now finished and it was up to the BMV to take the baton and finish the race.


Finally...

I got an email on December 8th, giving me the good news that enough signatures had been verified, the license plate design had been finalized, and the plate would be available for purchase on January 11, 2017. And here we are:

Photo by Lacinda Conley

This is a graphic image of what my own personalized license plate will look like. Since we had just bought a new (to us) car in December, I had to go to the license bureau in person to register it and order my plates. It can take anywhere from two weeks to a month to receive the actual plates once the order is placed.

Current license plate fees in Ohio as listed on the BMV website are:

• New registration/standard plates & registration/plate renewal:
  • Passenger vehicle: $34.50.
  • Motorcycle: $28.50.
  • House vehicle/moped: $24.50.
  • Non-commercial trailer: Fee is based on weight.
• Replacements:
  • 1 license plate: $10.50.
  • 2 license plates: $11.75.
  • Decals: $4.50.
• Plate transfer: $4.50.

The extra fee for the monarch license plate is $25, with $15 of that going to Monarch Wings Across Ohio. If you do want to personalize it, that will cost another $50. Besides providing funds that will help the monarch butterfly and by proxy, other pollinators, the license plate will help create awareness for the plight the monarch faces.

Once again, thank you to all who worked together to make this possible. I've been asked by several others how to go about doing the same thing in their state and since each state is different, my suggestion would be to go to your state's Bureau of Motor Vehicles website (some states call it the Department of Motor Vehicles, or DMV) and find out what your state requires for the creation of a specialized or organizational license plate.

In many cases, all it takes is one ordinary citizen being willing to do what it takes to make it happen. You will be providing a means for many people to help the cause through the purchase of the plates. I encourage vehicle owners in Ohio to purchase one of these plates. Even though the sale of only 25 plates per year are required to keep the monarch plate in production, we can do better than that.

Do it for the monarchs.

"At the Edge of the Orchard" by Tracy Chevalier: A Review

Goll Woods, near the setting for At the Edge
of the Orchard, gives us a glimpse of what
the Great Black Swamp was like in the 1800s.

I live in the Great Black Swamp. I've lived here my entire life and am fascinated by the fact that people now actually inhabit this once inhospitable place. In the last 160 years, it has been developed into a place of rich farmland and is home to one of the largest wind energy sources in the region. The Goodenoughs in At the Edge of the Orchard wouldn't recognize the place.

1838 northwest Ohio's Great Black Swamp is the backdrop for Tracy Chevalier's newest novel, just released a week ago (March 15, 2016). She provides a vivid description of the tough life many had while trying to establish a home there, but James and Sadie Goodenough had more problems than just the muddy, mosquitoey swamp to contend with, and many of them were of their own making.

One way to claim ownership of land in the area was to establish an orchard on it, and these were the days when John Chapman (you may recognize him as Johnny Appleseed) traveled the area, selling apple seeds and saplings just for this purpose. Apples suited both James and Sadie just fine, but for different reasons - he liked eating them, while Sadie preferred to drink hers.

While the quarrels over apples might seem a slight thing upon which to base a novel, it's a brilliant impetus for how the rest of the story plays out. No spoilers here, but those apples created quite a legacy for themselves in the lives of the Goodenoughs and particularly for son Robert.

"You can run, but you can't hide" becomes the story in the end, and as I neared the final pages, I wondered how it would all wrap up. I've read quite a few books lately that left me unsatisfied somehow, when I closed them for the final time, but this isn't one of them.

Though I wouldn't put it in my Top Five Most Favorite Books, it has earned a well-deserved spot in my permanent personal library. Historical fiction fans won't be disappointed. This is my favorite genre when done well. Tracy Chevalier has done it in At the Edge of the Orchard.

The pace is perfect, the unique method of transitioning both time and place is effective and smooth, and the manner in which the characters' voices are portrayed helps us understand them and their story even more. Not many authors could accomplish this as superbly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tracy Chevalier is the author of eight historical novels, including The Last Runaway, Remarkable Creatures, and the international bestseller Girl With a Pearl Earring, which has sold over 5 million copies and been made into an Oscar-nominated film starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth. American by birth, British by geography, she lives in London with her husband and son and cat. Tracy is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and has honorary doctorates from her alma maters Oberlin College in Ohio and the University of East Anglia in England. Her website www.tchevalier.com will tell you more about her and her books.

_______________
I received a complimentary copy of At the Edge of the Orchard from the publisher for the purposes of review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Plan Now to Attend "VAN WERT BLOOMS with P. Allen Smith & Friends" in Van Wert OH - April 16, 2016

There's excitement brewing in Northwest Ohio. All the behind-the-scenes preparation that goes along with a major event is happening right now and will culminate on April 16, 2016 at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center in Van Wert.

On that day, landscape designer, author, and television celebrity P. Allen Smith will take the stage and share his experience with those of us lucky enough to have a ticket to Van Wert Blooms with P. Allen Smith & Friends. (You can get yours here!)

Readers know that Allen and I are buddies and I'm so excited that he's coming to my stomping grounds! Allen supported my book, Indoor Plant Decor: The Design Stylebook For Houseplants, that I wrote with Jenny Peterson in 2013, and they're his words that appear on the back cover of the book.

Allen and I film a video in 2012, demonstrating the GrowBox.

In the last five years, I've visited Allen four times at his Moss Mountain Farm home outside Little Rock, Arkansas, as an attendee of Garden2Blog. I can tell you that no one knows how to pack in the fun like Allen and his crew, while helping you learn new things about gardening. His down-to-earth style is inspirational. "For heaven's sake, just grow something."

That's what he'll be doing at Van Wert Blooms - teaching, sharing, and inspiring, in his usual fun way. He'll be joined by several other outstanding garden speakers:

Barbara Wise - Barbara works for Landscape Service, Inc. (LSI) in Nashville, Tenn., as Director of Floriculture. She oversees the design, installation and maintenance of 350 clients’ annual beds and more than 400 containers for the company, a recognized leader in sustainable landscape management, design, construction and water management practices in the southeast.

She also provides educational classes, teaches master gardening courses and works as a gardening consultant. She shares her appreciation for all things gardening on her blog, BWiseGardening. Barbara is also a writer for Tennessee Gardener and has a monthly gardening column, "Garden Compositions," in Nashville House, Home, and Garden magazine.

With the desire to cultivate a culture of gardening, Barbara’s passion for helping new gardeners succeed led her to publish her first book, Container Gardening for All Seasons, in 2012.

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Irvin Etienne - Irvin is the Horticultural Display Coordinator at the Indianapolis Museum of Art where he has worked over 20 years. He helps the horticulturists with plant selection and garden design as well as designing and maintaining his own areas. While working in the 152 acres of the IMA gardens and grounds requires knowledge and skill with all manner of woody and herbaceous plants, Irvin lusts for and loves the tropical species most of all.

He is the recipient of both the Gold and Silver awards in Electronic Media Writing from the Garden Writers Association for his blogging at the IMA. He is a graduate of Purdue University with a degree in Public Horticulture.

There is an attempt to infuse humor in all aspects of public interactions whether live, electronic, or in print. In his own garden, everything from cannas to eggplants to magnolias coexist in a lush jungle fed by manure from his own rabbits and chickens. Obviously a product of the Midwest, Irvin could be considered...well...a simple farm boy that likes shiny, sparkly things. And is easily distracted.

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Maria Zampini - Maria’s first memory of working in the family business is putting fertilizer pills in pots at age seven. Maria worked her way up the green corporate ladder and now represents LCN Selections and other new plant varieties, researching and developing the plants and introducing them to the market. Under her guidance, UpShoot has expanded its breadth of work to include marketing of garden related products.

Additionally, Maria is also a respected author, speaker and consultant. In 2012, Maria was named Director of Plant Development for the Agricola Management Group, the exclusive licensee of the HGTV HOME Plant collection. Her work includes sourcing genetics for the various plant collections, working with grower and retail partners, as well as networking with garden writers.

Maria writes a monthly column in Garden Center Magazine and a regular column for Nursery Management. Her work has appeared in numerous other publications, including American Nurseryman, Nursery News, Country Folks Grower, Fine Gardening and the northern issues of State-by-State Gardening Magazines. She is also a sought-after speaker, lecturing on new plant introductions, sustainability, native plants, plant patents and trademarks and other plant-related topics.

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Amanda Thomsen - Big, loud and fun, Amanda landscapes by day and blogs at night. She has blogged for almost 10 years. She also was a blogger for Fine Gardening magazine. She writes content for Green Profit and is also featured in a monthly column. In 2010, Amanda co-authored Grocery Gardening. She was part of the podcasting team, Good Enough Gardening and now lives in Chicago with her family in a pup tent in the parking lot of the Chicago Botanic Garden.

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Pam Bennett - Pam is the State Master Gardener Volunteer Coordinator for Ohio and Horticulture Educator and Director for Ohio State University Extension in Clark County.  She has a BS in Landscape Horticulture and an MS in Human and Community Resource Development from Ohio State University.  Her responsibilities include providing leadership for the OSUE Master Gardener Volunteer program consisting of more than 4,000 volunteers and conducting consumer and commercial horticulture programs.

Pam specializes in herbaceous ornamental plant trials and evaluates more than 200 varieties of annuals and two genera of ornamental grasses; she presents programs on annuals and perennials as well as other landscape topics locally, statewide, and nationally.  Pam has also lectured in South Korea and China.  She is Chairman of the  National Extension Master Gardener Committee, a Clark County Park District Commissioner, and is the Past-President of the Friends of the Ohio Governor’s Residence and Heritage Garden.  She also provides leadership to the OSUE MGV International Outreach program.

Pam is the co-author of the newly-published book Garden-pedia, An A-to- Z Guide to Gardening Terms, writes a weekly gardening column for the Springfield News and Sun and the Dayton Daily News, authors the bi-monthly "Ask the Expert" column for Ohio Gardener magazine and is a frequent writer for popular gardening magazines as well as trade publications.

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The cost of a ticket for the day's event is just $45 and that includes breakfast and lunch. Master Gardener Volunteers will receive 6 CEUs for attending the event, but you don't have to be a MGV to attend. You only need to enjoy gardening.

See you there!

Everyone will be the recipients of horticultural knowledge and a fun time is guaranteed. I know each of the speakers personally, and I can't wait to hear every one of them speak. And then there will be the awesomeness of being in a room full of fellow plant nerds...

As of now, more than 400 tickets have already been sold. Do you have yours?

Nursery Growers of Lake County, Ohio (NGLCO) Field Day

About this time last summer, I was preparing for one of my various garden-related trips that I take during the year. This particular trip was to a part of northeast Ohio that I've visited a few times before, but it had been awhile and the focus was a little different on previous trips. I'd been invited by Maria Zampini to attend NGLCO's Field Day, held on August 13th at Holden Arboretum.

Field Day is a horticultural trade show held each year by the Nursery Growers of Lake County, Ohio, to showcase the numerous businesses concentrated in that part of Ohio.  Lake County is unique in that its location affords it the kind of growing conditions that a wide variety of plants like.  There are several types of soil and its proximity to Lake Erie helps moderate the climate.

Because of this, Lake County has a long and rich heritage of nursery growers, with over 100 licensed growers concentrated along a 15- to 20-mile stretch, south and east of the lake. Historically, this area has been important to the horticulture industry as a whole and many new plant introductions have come out of Lake County.

Part of the festivities associated with Field Day is a bus tour on the day prior, visiting local wholesale and retail businesses. I went up a day early so that I could go on the tour, because what could be better than being chauffeured around from nursery to nursery all day? We visited:

• Art Form Nurseries - a 30-acre wholesale nursery facility specializing in perennials and herbs.

 

• Breezewood Gardens and Gifts - I'd been to Breezewood before, a few years back, and it was just as wonderful as I remembered it. Not only is it a full-service garden center, they've got one of the best gift shops I've ever seen. They carry unique garden items, as well as clothing, books, jewelry, and other gifts.

• Petitti Garden Center - A visit to Petitti's is always a treat (I've been there several times), and I've never gone out the door without buying a plant or five. This time was no exception. This is quite a large family-owned business in the Cleveland area, with nine locations and this time we visited the largest one, in Avon. I've been to three different ones and of those three, this is my favorite, probably because it's the largest and has more to offer. Besides a large variety of plants, trees, and shrubs, there's outdoor furniture, garden tools, and a large gift shop with decor items, among other things.
  

 

Angelo Petitti (on the right), shown here with Joe Zampini, treated us to a delicious lunch.

Gardeners aren't the only ones who enjoy the flowers at Petitti's!

• Lowe's Greenhouses, Florist, & Gift Shop - No, this isn't that Lowe's. This is a real garden center, begun by the Lowe family in 1926. They specialize in out of the ordinary plants and they've got a fun gift shop too. I've bought many a plant here before, but didn't leave with one this time. Instead, I found an awesome blouse that I was assured did not make my butt look big, so I bought it. (True story, but just checking to see if you're following along!)
  
  
  
  

  

  Broken pot?  No problem!

  

• Bremec Greenhouses & Nursery - This one was new to me and was the one that finally made me break down and buy some plants. Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Burgundy Bunny' and Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition' were just two that rode in the bottom of the bus as we pulled away. What really impressed me here, in addition to the varieties of healthy plants, were the pottery and fountain selections.
  
  

At the end of the day, we enjoyed a nice dinner while a business meeting was conducted, then I went back home with Maria, and stayed in her aunt's lovely condo overlooking Lake Erie. The next day - officially "Field Day" - was busy, visiting vendors and touring the new Rhododendron gardens at Holden Arboretum (more on this in another blog post), as well as the established areas.

Holden Arboretum

What a lovely place to have this event! I also managed to get a quick tour of nearby Lake Metroparks Farm Park, which is a great family destination that I wasn't previously aware even existed. I'll share photos from that visit in another post as well.

Lake County Nursery / UpShoot! feat. Joe Zampini

 

I got a taste of some dried goji berries at the Proven Winners booth. I grew them last
year (and this year too, as they are perennial plants) but I hadn't gotten any
ripe ones yet at the time. I like them better dried than fresh.

Big, fun toys on display.

I spent some time with Maria and her parents, Jim and Margaret Zampini, as well as Michael Geary, President and CEO of AmericanHort, the newly merged organization joining OFA and ANLA, who spoke at the previous night's dinner about the new merger and what it means for the horticulture industry.

Me, Michael Geary, and Maria Zampini at Field Day 2013

Be sure to read more about Maria and her family in my earlier blog post. They are major players in the both the past and present horticulture arena and I feel fortunate to know them. I learned a great deal during my time spent with them on their home turf and I continue to learn from Maria and enjoy her friendship.


This year's Field Day will be held at Herman Losely & Son Nursery, 3410 Shepard Road, Perry, OH, on Tuesday, August 12, 2014. For more information, see the NGLCO website.

Do You Know What Type of Soil You Have?

When I took Master Gardener classes a few years ago, we looked at soil maps that plotted the soil type in our county.  What I found fascinating is how accurate it was.  Romie and I had remarked once how you could dig a hole to plant a tree in one part of the yard and just 20 feet away, the soil was entirely different.  One was heavy, mucky clay, and the other was noticeably less sticky.

If you have clay soil, you'll recognize this!

A friend of mine shared a website earlier today on Facebook that looked intriguing, so I thought I'd share it with you. Kelly posted a link to FarmLogs, a website intended to be an aid to farmers, but we're farmers, right?  We grow food and other things that need soil.

When you enter your address, you'll see a satellite photo of your property.  Then you draw a line around the boundary of that property.  The site then shows you a "map" of the specific soil type for that land.  There's other helpful information given too, such as rainfall amounts for the last 24 hours, the last week, and the year-to-date.

Here's my soil map:

Our two types of soil are:

• Nappanee Silty Clay Loam -  The Nappanee series consists of very deep, somewhat poorly drained soils that are moderately deep or deep to dense till. They formed in clayey till on wave-worked till plains, till-floored lake plains, till plains, and moraines.
• Hoytville Silty Clay - The Hoytville series consists of very deep, very poorly drained soils that are deep or very deep to dense till. They formed in till that has been leveled by wave action and are on lake plains.

Yes, that's right - clay soil that doesn't drain very well.  I didn't need a soil map to tell me that, but it's still interesting all the same!

Home & Garden Spring Show 2014 - Defiance, OH

When many home and garden shows are falling by the wayside, Defiance, Ohio, stepped out with one of their own with the Home & Garden Spring Show, in its debut year.  Held in March at the Defiance College Athletic Center, more than 100 vendors opened the spring season with plenty of ideas for homeowners.

My husband and I, with granddaughter Hannah in tow, spent some time at the show on a sunny Saturday.

Expecting daughter, Kara, joined us and gave us a personal tour of the show, as she works for Clear Channel Media+ Entertainment, presenters of the show in conjunction with ProMedica Defiance Regional Hospital and Mercy Hospital. 

As soon as we entered the show, we felt that air of optimism, as many spring shows exude after a long, cold winter.  We're all just ready to emerge from hibernation and DO SOMETHING!

Lowe's Home Improvement was sponsoring a free workshop where kids and parents could build a birdhouse or an airplane with materials and tools Lowe's provided.  Hannah was a bit too young for that activity, but lots of kids were taking part in it and seemed to be having a lot of fun.

There was also a planner there from Lowe's that we talked with about remodeling our kitchen - something we've been wanting to do for several years.  They'll come to our house, assess the situation, draw up a plan, and give us an estimate.







Area wineries were there with tasting opportunities, including Stoney Ridge, Hillside, and Knotty Vines. We didn't partake, but I've personally had wine from Stoney Ridge and can testify to its goodness. Next to the Wine Garden, the local Chief Supermarket had an assortment of cheeses and hard sausage to go with the wine.

Various other businesses of interest to present and future homeowners had booths and we saw things that we didn't know we had an interest in until we came across them, such as Quality Coatings, LLC.  The winter took a terrible toll on our already aging driveway and we took their business card for future reference.

Kircher's grocery garden begs for a fork!

I was lamenting the lack of "garden" at this show, but it seems to be a trend in home and garden shows these days.  Only two garden centers were in attendance:  Kircher's Flowers Garden Center from Defiance and April's Greenhouse from Bryan.

Kircher's was offering a giveaway and had coupons for future use at the garden center.  April's was giving away small containers of yellow violas, which were very popular, judging by the number of people I saw walking around with them.

 I was told that other garden centers were contacted but were hesitant to participate and wanted to see how the show went, being the first year.  But I wish they'd come, because the show would have been all the better had they been there!  Next year!  Please!

April's Greenhouse looked springy!

All in all, we had a fun afternoon in a spacious and comfortable venue.  I applaud the show's presenters and my hope is that each year the show just gets bigger and better.  (Did I mention "more garden?")

The Old Red Barn had a display of repurposed and refinished antique furniture on display.

Little girl (Hannah) on a big chair at the Herron's Amish Furniture display