James Card:

SKOSH FESTIVAL
Yes, it has been four years since Tomiko put
together the first Skosh celebration. The first event
was not at Main City Park but was at anotherfacility and the responds was 4 times better thanexpected. This year the production will be on
August 12th at Main City Park. While thinking
that these events cannot get
any better they always do.
They do because of Tomiko’s
endless energy and that gift
she has for organizing andputting together the massive
network of people that she knows. If someone does
not know her, she convinces them that they do andthat they need to assist in any way they can forsome upcoming event.
With the event being at Main City Park again thisyear we have learned much from previous eventsand how to overcome some of the obstacles thatwere present the first years. Last year's event wasdedicated to the many volunteers that have helped
in so many ways, not only with Skosh but with theGresham Ebetsu Sister City Association and theJapanese Garden.
Many presentations will betaking place this year with theJapanese culture in mind
including Ikebana, a Koto concert

ISSUE 19Editor

with Nobuko Chalfen, tea ceremonies with Grace
Mishikawa and the Garden tour.
Recent changes and future plans
will be discussed.
If you are a volunteer at thisyear's Skosh, remember that there
is a hospitality area set up inside the Resource
Center (shoebox), just for YOU!
Volunteers are needed. If you want to assist withsome of the program set up or tear down pleasecontact Tomiko at her email address
tomiko@frontier.com or contact Jim Card atgresham.japanese.garden@gmail.com

Iron rusts from disuse, stagnant water
loses its purity and in cold weather
become frozen, even so does inaction sap
the vigor of the mind….Leonardo de Vinci

JULY 2017 EDITION

Page 1Vinegar v/s weeds

For some time now vinegar has
been used at the Garden to treat
the weeds, especially this season
since they have gotten out ofcontrol. There were anabundance of weeds that were
not pulled or treated before theseeds dropped last year allowing
the increase of production.
When searching Google,
Pinterest or other search engines
many recipes are published withideas for the use of vinegar.
Leaving all the “green”
discussion behind, consider whatvinegar is really doing in regards
to weeds in the garden.
Vinegar can be diluted withwater, mixed with dish soap
and/or other items in a solution.
No matter how vinegar is mixed
or diluted, the weeds will not be
killed by the solution. That isright, it will not kill the weed,
but only stunt the growth andmake the plant wilt. To kill theweed the root system needs to betreated and vinegar cannot dothat. The vinegar will nottransfer to the root systembelow the ground, it only effects
what it touches and will not
saturate the soil. It actually
becomes totally harmless andfunctionless when it comes into
contact with the soil.

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So, one might ask, what is it
doing for us and are we
wasting time and money to use
it. Its actual benefit, with theproper practice, is to wilt anddestroy the leaf system of theweed, which in turn prevents
the weed from absorbing thesun so it can survive andflourish. Be assured that inmost cases the weed will beable to flourish and reproduce.
That is the key. Limiting theplants ability to absorb theenergy of the sun. There areseveral ways to accomplish
this. Placing a second and third
application if necessary and /or covering the plant withmulch or another barrier will
do the trick as well.
One thing needs to beremembered with any weed
elimination product, if you get
it on the good guys it willaffect them too. This meansthat after you pass through thegarden with the vinegar you
may later notice somebrowning on the leaves ofadjacent plant material, so be
careful with the spray,
especially with those tallweeds that you try to coverfrom head to toe. The spray isgoing well beyond yourintended target. The bestthing to do in this case is tobreak off the stem and thenspray.
The discussion here is very
basic and does not include a lot

JULY 2017 EDITIONof scientific data. The use ofgarden chemicals has been
discussed in previous articles.
More is not better. There may
be a need for over the counterchemicals from time to time.
Using vinegar is a great option.
The habit of pulling weeds canbe restful and enjoyable tothose that choose to do so. The
Garden volunteers willcontinue to practice thatapproach and will also continue
using the vinegar to treat weeds
and keep them in control.

That Lace Bug Problem
Two years ago, the garden
had an issue with a lace bug
attacking the azaleas andrhododendrons. Everywhere I
went I could find the clues
that the bug had been therethat spring. The lace bug
infection started in the springof 2009. We can detect whichyear the issue started on somerhododendrons by counting
each year's growth andworking backward down thestem. A history of about 4years or so can be detected
before the leaves fall.
Research has shown that laceCont. on page 4

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tips…a call, text or email fromanywhere in the world. Yes thosephones cause stress, wondering
what we missed and what is goingon, got to be in touch.

by James Card

Gardens are present in all parts of
the world. Going to a garden gives
one pleasure in seeing what has beencreated by design, colors, texturesand smells. Yet it goes even deeper.

There is a limit that we need tocontrol for ourselves. One of thosecontrols is leaving the speed of lifeand phones for a few minutes each
day to relax. Go play catch, walk apleasant path, go to a garden. Mywife used to ask me why I did notanswer the phone while I was atthe garden. She gets it now andtells people he is at the Garden andwill not answer the phone.

The creators usually had a plan inmind, had joy in creating, collecting
and experimenting.
Traveled tocollect prize specimens and spentmoney to secure the area and tomaintained it. Out of all of thiscomes sharing, learning and …JOY.
Joy is what takes us away from thestresses of the daily burdens thatcome with life. Beyond the pleasureof having and visiting gardens there
is an industry attached to every
element associated with the garden.
Out of all of that the only thing thatis free is the results of our efforts interms of those blooms, textures inthe spring and the maturity of thegarden…The Joy.

I have always had an appreciation
for Japanese Gardens.
Thecloseness to nature, the style,balance and the effect they had on
me is amazing. The more I learn,
the more I want to learn. I cannot
forget the opportunities I have hadat Tsuru Island, beginning with thefirst day that I walked across thebridge with Tomiko.
The
opportunities for me were and areendless, especially after retirement,
I get good exercise, I challenge mymind with design, seeking
opportunities,andsolving
problems.

I started working in the garden at avery young age (11) and realized
everything and more that I havewritten here was true. I learned very
early on that the garden could
provide me relief from what wasstressful. It gave me a place to figureout what alternatives may be used tosolve the issues that created thestress.

“JOY” is what I get out of thegarden. I am so glad I got to meet
Tsuru Island.

I was reading a poem a few days agothat talked about being swept awayby the current of life. It amazes me
when I stop to think about it, howmuch impact the cell phone has hadon our lives and what goes onaround us. Now it is at our finger
ISSUE 19JULY 2017 EDITION

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Lace bug cont.

bug is somewhat new to the PacificNorthwest while it has been aroundfor some time on the east coast.
A picture was featured of one of theplants at Tsuru Island on the website. The article’s title was “some ofour challenges”. Some readersthought it was just a picture of a badplant that was always that way. Notthe case. It was an example of thelace bug damage. Oddly enough,some of the plants at Tsuru Island
did not have the infestation, such as
the Gumpo azalea varieties while
the Hino Crimson and Jean Marie's
had the problem. Some varieties
have been listed by experts to be bug
resistant, which does not necessarilymean bug proof. The one thing that
became clear is that azaleas andrhododendrons are not that care freeplant in the garden after all.
Some of the symptoms of the lacebug include a blotchy appearance tothe top of leaves of the plant, almost
looking gray, yellow or white insome cases. This is because the bug
has sucked the chlorophyll out of theleaves, which in turn hinders theplants ability to produce nutrientsfrom the sunlight. On the bottom of
the leaf you will find black or brownspots. The first words out of yourmouth is "that looks like poop". You
are right it is bug poop from theadult and nymph lace bugs. Usingan over-the-counter spray may nothelp to alleviate the bug and you will
not improve the appearance of theleaves. Naturally those bugs laid
eggs along the midrib under the leaf

ISSUE 19and will hatch in May and thenagain in late June or July. After theeggs hatch the bugs will develop tothe Nymph stage, where they will
begin doing the damage but not as
severe as that of the adults.
If you are not paying attention theissue may get way out of hand andnot a lot that can be done without
serious investment in chemicals. If
you do not have many plants thatare infected, a garden hose can beused to blow the bugs off theunderside of the leaves. It may
take several sprayings to do asufficient job of it. Once theNymphs are on the ground they
will not survive to become adults.
There are choices of chemicals that
include systemic drench products,
spray and granular that kill thebugs once they start feeding on theleaf. Be careful of the productselection and use. (READ THATLABEL) because that chemical may
influence beneficial bugs and BEES
as well. The less time that thechemical is active, the better. Thetime of day a spray is used isimportant for the best results.
Another product is Green lacewingthat can be purchased online andare said to be excellent forcontrolling the lace bug.
Your job will be much easier if you
have pruned the plants in an open
manner which will make thegarden hose effective at eliminating
the bug. If your plant is tight andif you have sheared your azaleas
you might not be able reach allsides.
JULY 2017 EDITION

Learning Tai Chi Jim Card
The starting of the Tai Chi
classes was announced lastmonth. I had not been involved
with such a martial art classbefore. Before I knew it I washooked. There is nothing fast
about tai chi as Liz mentions in
her class. One of the purposes of
the activity is to learn how torelax your body and eventuallythat will progress to relaxing
your mind.
I realized that the practice ofrelaxing does not come natural.
Although the warm up activity
seemedfamiliar.
Thatawareness came from mychildhood when I would holdmy hands and arms in a certain
fashion that seemed weightlessand comfortable. Usually thisnatural "exercise" was practiced
while I was having difficulty
breathing as the result of anasthma attack.
I have begun to realize that thisexercise program would havebeen helpful for me many years
ago, in handling the stress in mylife which manifested in healthissues. Even though we think
the body is resting, the mind
continues to work.
Likeanything, tai chi takes time andpractice to learn the warm up,movements, breathing andbalance, but it all comes in time.
When it all comes together thebenefits are immeasurable.
Liz also instills the need tofollow through at home and use
Tai Chi to reduce stress andbecome physically fit. Badhabits are replaced by good
habits and tai chi has become agood habit.

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JULY 2017 EDITION

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