Spring in the desert good time for budding flower enthusiasts to indulge hobby

Spring is when flowers begin to bloom and many people look to re-energize their gardens. While Summerlin does not have any dedicated gardening clubs, it does have residents who enjoy gardening and belong to flower clubs.

JoAnn Richard is one of them. She has been a member of the Las Vegas Valley Rose Society since 2003 after learning about it at Plant World Nursery. Her yards have a total of “only” 170 rose bushes.

“I’m a ‘piker,’ ” she said, using upper-Wisconsin slang for someone not at the forefront. “Now, one of our club members has over 900.”

When members get together, the talk centers around their choice for a new plant variety or dealing with pests such as aphids. Like proud parents, it’s not uncommon for them to pull out their cellphones to share their latest pictures.

What is Richard’s secret to growing roses? Location.

“They need five to six hours of sun, so you have to pick your spots,” she said.

Nita Burrows, who lives north of Summerlin, became a Master Gardener about seven years ago after retiring. She said she’d always wanted to have a pretty yard and grow her own vegetables. She said the key to growing things in Las Vegas is to amend the soil.

“Our soil has no nutrients at all,” she said. “You can’t just go to a nursery, pick up a plant, stick it in the ground and expect it to thrive.”

Burrows suggested a common-sense approach such as not planting flowers that are from a tropical environment or ones that need a lot of shade. And just because this is the desert, that doesn’t mean you must overwater, she warned. Ask the experts where you purchase your plants what they would recommend for watering and food.

Want to get involved in growing flowers and plants? The University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners can be found at the fresh52 Farmers Market on Saturdays at Tivoli Village, 402 S. Rampart Blvd. Visit the Ask a Master Gardener information booth for gardening advice, horticulture publications and seasonal displays. For more information, email lvmastergardeners@unce.unr.edu or call 702-257-5555.

The extension is also offering free classes through its Gardening Smarter as We Mature series. Geared toward retirees, it teaches how to garden more easily as the body changes and ages.

“Traditionally, about 65 percent of the American population participates in some form of gardening,” said JoAnne Skelly, extension educator, who helped research the need for the classes and organized the series. “But this population is aging, and as they age, gardening becomes more difficult. These classes will show aging gardeners easier ways to continue doing what they love.”

The classes are taught by health, nutrition and exercise physiology specialist Anne Lindsay and social horticulture specialist Angela O’Callaghan and will focus on the biomechanics of the body. Participants will learn practical gardening applications, such as simplifying gardening life, prioritizing tasks, using lower-maintenance plants and gardening in raised beds.

Classes are scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon through May 14 at the Cooperative Extension’s Lifelong Learning Center, 8050 Paradise Road. To register or for more information, call 702-222-3130.

The Greater Las Vegas Orchid Society meets at 2 p.m. on the first Sunday of the month at the Rainbow Library, 3150 N. Buffalo Drive. Before each meeting, members gather for plant and supply drawings, plant sales, plant show-and-tell, education, food and fun. Afterward, they hear from an orchid specialist.

Members like to say they “fool” the orchids into growing, making them think they are still in the rainforest by using evaporating coolers, humidifiers and misters. The largest family of flowering plants, three hearty orchid varieties even grow wild in Southern Nevada.

For more information about the orchid society, visit glvos.org or email glvos@glvos.org.

For growing specific flower varieties, the Nevada Garden Clubs Inc. offers 14 clubs with roughly 400 members. The clubs meet at the Nevada State Gardens Clubhouse in Lorenzi Park, 3343 W. Washington Ave.

The clubs would not be around if not for Linnea Miller Domz. She was a member of the Rose Garden Club started in 1945 by Adeline Bartlett. Domz discovered a National Gardener magazine while on vacation. It included an advertisement for an upcoming Flower Show School in Tucson, Ariz. Domz attended and came back energized about “federating” with the National Garden Club. That was 1963, a year that also saw 10 clubs across the state join.

For more information, visit nevadagardenclubs.com.

To reach Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan, email jhogan@viewnews.com or call 702-387-2949.