Greetings from the President
Thank you to everyone who helped to make the Harvest Dinner such a success. We had over 30 attendees and lots of wonderful entrees, desserts, and libations. It was certainly one of our most successful dinners. The Patchogue Beach Club was a perfect location; as we ate we were treated to a beautiful fall sunset. We will be voting for a new executive board at this month's meeting. Thank you to Georgia and Jo Miller for organizing the nominating and election committee.We have received a request from the Patchogue Historical Society to take over the maintenance of the grounds of the Swan River Schoolhouse on Roe Avenue in East Patchogue. We will discuss this at this month's meeting. The warm temperatures have delayed the turning of the leaves and the falling of the leaves, which means many of us will be raking well into December again this year. As long as the layer is not too deep, and if you run them over first with the lawn mower, leaves make a terrific mulch. Just don't pile on the large maple leaves, as they form a heavy layer when wet, slowing decomposition and in extreme cases causing root rot of perennials.
Carol
Mark the Date
Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 7 PM, membership meeting at the Hagerman Fire Department on the corner of Dunton Avenue and Oakdale Avenue in East Patchogue. The speaker will be Dick Richardson on purple martins.
Saturday, November 1, 2008 (rain date November 2), 9 AM-?, putting the community garden at South Ocean Ave. and Terry St to bed. Workers needed! Bring gloves, tools, plastic bags and energy! Any amount of time you can give will help. Many hands make light work, so bring friends too! The club will provide bagels and coffee.
Drop off evergreen and berry cuttings for centerpieces for the Christmas House Tour on Nov. 29 and 30 at Karen’s, 270 West Ave. Wednesday, December 3, 10:00 AM, the tour centerpieces will be made at Karen’s. All who wish to participate are welcome. Let Mary Ann know.
Sunday, December 7, 2008, our 2nd Annual Christmas House Tour from 2:00 PM to 6 PM. Please sign up to house sit at this meeting and sell tickets to your friends. Details are in the enclosed flyer.
Plant of the Month:
An Unsung Jewel, O. arboreumOxydendron arboreum, sourwood, is one of our most unappreciated native trees, a deciduous, medium tall tree that grows to heights of 30-60’. It has a slender pyramid form, often with a curved or leaning trunk. The bark is rustybrown and smooth when young, later becoming rough and furrowed. The leaves are simple oblong, up to 10”long that are rich green and glossy on top and held alternately on the stems and, like the sap, have an acid taste. Sourwood is brilliant in fall when the leaves turn red and scarlet and some-times almost purple. In spring and early summer white blossoms are born on long drooping racemes that are 8-10” in length. The small white flowers are about 1/3” long and shaped like urns held upside down along the length of the raceme. The blossoms are fragrant and resemble those of its cousin, the blueberry, another member of the family Ericaceae. At the tip of each branch, several racemes are held in groups called panicles that droop toward the ground and impart a graceful aspect to this fine little tree. Due to the similarity of the flowers and its fragrance, this tree is also commonly called the lily-of-the-valley tree. Sourwood likes fertile, acidic woodland soils but is adaptable; moist, well drained soil is best. It will grow in part shade, but the best fall color requiresmore sun. It is hardy in USDA Zones 5-9. Seeds are sown in autumn. Root semi-ripe cuttings in summer, treat with rooting hormone powder for best results.
Book Review: “In Defense of Food”By Michael Pollan, this book is a brilliant and thorough expose of the food processing industry which attempts to add “nutrition” to its denatured products and shows how a return to the organic-local-slow food diet of our ancestors can restore real pleasure to eating as well as counter the current rise in obesity, diabetes and heart disease. At the library, so get growing!
Bayshore Garden Club Luncheon
Thursday, December 11, at Southward Ho. Boutique at 10:00 AM, program at 11:00 AM, luncheon to follow talk. The speaker is Jeffrey Miklos (Floral designer from New Jersey). The cost is $42. Choice of Chicken, Beef, Salmon or Veggie. Send reservations to Betty DeNinno, 81 Adelaide Lane, East Islip 11730-2203.
First Patchogue Christmas House Tour in Newsday Look for photos from our last year’s Christmas House Tour in Newsday the day after Thanksgiving. Members, Please Take Note! There will be a meeting on November 25 ONLY if officers are not elected in October because Thanksgiving is on November 28. There will be no newsletters in November or December. The first meeting of 2009 will be January 27 at Hagerman Fire Department. Please pay your dues early, $15 individual, $20 family, to save time for our treasurer. Thanks!
Serious Dirt from Richard Waldman
You don’t need your trowel, and put down the spade. All the while, unbeknownst to you, you have been planting seeds by just walking. No digging, no aching sore muscles, just with the mud on your shoes. Scientists in England from the Center for Ecology and Hydrology at Wallingford concluded from research that seeds mixed with the mud on your shoes and hiking boots have been dispersed in distances over 5 kilometers although a majority had dropped off within the first 10 to 20 meters (1 meter = 3' 3"). We all know of the typical dispersal of seeds through wind action (just think of dandelions), but now we can understand why some invasive plant species have been relocated to regions unexpected, all due to the soles of our shoes. Grounds for Knowledge is an engaging and knowledgeable guide to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s buildings both historic and new and to the 150 species of trees that surround them. The superb color photography and detailed maps invite exploration of the newly designated Bungtown Botanical Garden. Buildings. Landscapes of nearby lab campuses in Woodbury, Lloyd Harbor, and Cold Spring Harbor are covered as well. Ms. Watson, a native of Providence, Rhode Island, graduated from Radcliffe College and has earned two master’s degrees, one in Historic Preservation, from the Columbia University School of Architecture and Planning (1983) and another in Library and Information Science from the Palmer School of Long Island University (1997). She also holds honorary doctorates from the College of Charleston and Illinois Wesleyan University, where she has lectured on the preservation of historic landscapes. Author of Houses for Science (a centennial history of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1991), she also drafted the nomination papers that led to placement of the laboratory’s main campus (along Bungtown Road) on the National Register of Historic Places, 1994. In addition, she authored A Limner’s View (asailor’s view of world architecture, with “limner” Faith H. McCurdy, 1993) and contributed to The Mansions of Long Island, 1860-1940 (1997). A devoted trustee of the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities (SPLIA), Ms. Watson has also served on the boards of the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum and the Heckscher Museum of Art and as a member of the Huntington Historic Preservation Commission. She was appointed in 2001 to the New York State Board for Historic Preservation and currently serves on the boards of the New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation and the Archives of American Art. See also Irene Virag’s story about Ms. Watson in the October 12th Newsday at http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sunday/lilife/nylfvirag125877400oct12,0,3759473.column.
NOVEMBER GARDENING TIPS By Dr. Leonard Perry, Extension Professor and Dr. Vern Grubinger, ExtensionAssociate Professor, University of VermontYou don't need to watch the nightly weather forecast on your local television station to know that there is a chill in the air. Plants feel it, too, and like people, need to bundle up for the winter. Mulching is one of the best lines of defense for perennial plants against chilling temperatures. Mulching also can prevent the repeated freezing and thawing of soil that causes plants to "heave" out of the ground. But the trick is not to mulch too soon. Mulching needs to be done after the ground starts to freeze but before the first significant snowfall of the year. If you mulch sooner, mice and other rodents may nest in the mulch, and plants may not be completely dormant. In general, the end of November is a good time to apply mulch in Vermont although if an early snowstorm is predicted, you may want to apply mulch before it hits. You can use pine needles, straw, leaves, or shredded bark. Straw is the best mulch because it is hollow and that provides good insulation. If you use leaves, make sure they are finely chopped to prevent them from matting down. Apply a layer at least three to four inches thick around each plant. After you've laid it down, gently pull it away from the trunks and stems to give plants room to breathe. This helps prevent disease problems. Deeper mulching may benecessary in especially cold or windy sites. To protect evergreens from cold, biting winter winds, build a windbreak. Place posts in the ground on the sides most prone to seasonal winds (usually north and west), and wrap with old feed sacks or burlap. Avoid plastic as this will heat up, causing the plants to burn on sunny days. Winter sun can scald newly planted trees. Protect them by wrapping the trunks with special tree wrapping tape, which you can buy at most garden centers. Add four to six inches of shredded bark, wood chips, or leaves around the base of the tree. After applying, gently pull mulch away from the base. Wrapping also provides some protection against hungry mice. In the garden, there's still time to finish fall clean up, removing stakes, string, and plastic as well as fibrous vines and stems and rotting vegetables. This is also a good time to have your soil tested, so you'll be all set to go next spring. Soil test kits, with complete instructions for sampling soil, are available from the [Cornell Cooperative Extension] The basic test costs $15 for 1-4 samples. See http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:cauxFdNi7ygJ:www.cce.cornell.edu/suffolk/grownet/diagnosticforms/soiltest.pdf+cornell+cooperative+extension+bayard+cutting&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us for details. Late fall is not a good time to add fertilizer to the garden. That's because nutrients would be lost through leaching or erosion before plants can use them next spring. However, you could get your composted manure delivered for next season. Be sure to cover it with plastic to keep nutrients from leaching out over the winter. Like ornamental plants, strawberries benefit from mulch protection, especially when snow cover is shallow or nonexistent during winter. Clean straw is superior to hay as mulch because it doesn't add weed seeds to the garden. Apply three to five inches after a hard frost and the strawberry leaves are lying flat on the ground, usually mid to late November, to protect crowns and roots against cold injury and drying out.
Slate of Candidates for Officers of the Patchogue Garden Club
2009 President: Guy Vitale Unopposed
First Vice President: Diane Voland Unopposed
Second Vice President: Sandra Franco or June Petruccelli
Recording Secretary: Babette Bishop Unopposed
Corresponding Secretary: Carolyn Savastano Unopposed
Treasurer: Carol Tvelia Unopposed
Parliamentarian: Mary Ann Tchinnis Unopposed
Anyone who cannot attend the meeting may designate a proxy.
Please notify Jo Miller of your proxy before the meeting.
Patchogue Garden Club
P.O. Box 3030,
Patchogue, NY 11772-0887
“Come grow with us” Founded 1996
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
September 2008
Greetings from the President
Dear Garden Club Members,
I hope your gardens survived last week’s terrible weather; I lost several large black walnut tree branches, but luckily they avoided the house. It will soon be time to plant bulbs for spring color. Mine arrived yesterday, so I will be busy this weekend.
This month’s meeting will be a “roundtable” discussion led by all the members. As discussed at the July meeting, we will share our gardening tips, questions, and stories at this month’s meeting. Bring your questions and your best ideas on the topic of “Putting the garden to bed” or any other question you may have. Who knows Mary Ann, you may finally find out how to prune your hydrangeas! We will sit in a circle, or several, if we have a large turnout, and share the combined wisdom and knowledge of the club. Jo Miller will be the facilitator.
We have been invited to attend the Bellport Garden Club’s meeting on October 14 at 7:30pm at the Bellport Library. The speaker will be Karl Auwaerter from Bayport Flower Houses. He will be speaking on “New Trends in Container Gardening”.
There is also a members’ photography exhibit. Congratulations to Carolyn Savastano, who won two tickets to the Patchogue Theater’s Chamber Concert this Sunday. Thanks to all who entered.
- Carol
Mark the Date
Tuesday, September 23, 2008, 6 PM, at the Hagerman Fire Department, located on the corner of Dunton Avenue and Oakdale Avenue in East Patchogue approximately five traffic lights past the intersection of South Country Road and Montauk Hwy. Directions from the village: Go east on Montauk Hwy. to Dunton Ave., turn right, cross the railroad tracks, and make an immediate left. The fire house is on the right. Enter the first driveway, park in the rear of the building, and enter through the visitor’s entrance in the rear. The meeting room is on the right side of the
hallway.
Tuesday, October 14, 7:30 PM, at the Bellport Library, a special invitation to the Bellport Garden Club’s meeting. The library is located on Station Road in Bellport Village, just north of the intersection of Station Road and South Country Road. It shares the site with the HSBC Bank and the Bellport Post Office
Plant of the Month: Asters
Asters are not immune from taxonimists’ who love to split genera, seeing every difference as an imperative to create a new genus. The “splitters” are relocating practically every species of Aster into unpronounceables like Symphorotrichum, Doellingeria, Ionactis, Oreostemma, and others. This will not diminish our love for asters, a mainstay of the late summer and fall garden.
The numerous cultivars of New York aster, A. Novi-belgii, and New England aster, A. Novi-angliae, include dwarf to 8’ speciments with single to double flowers in red, pink, and white as well as the blue-lavender-purple range.
Uncommon native asters are also available. The prairie aster, A. turbinellis, is a 3’ plant with large violet flowers. The climbing aster, A. carolinianus, sports pinky-lavender flowers with gold centers on 10-12’ stems. The wood aster, A. divaricatus, is a great choice for a shady spot, growing to 18” with star-like white flowers with a gold center that are very attractive to butterflies. One of the latest flowering, hardiest, choicest asters is A. oblongifolia, 2-4’ depending on the cultivar with blue to purple gold-centered flowers. A. ericoides, the heath aster, has small, narrow light green leaves with white or blue flowers depending on the cultivar. A. laevis ‘Bluebird’ presents blue-green foliage and violet-blue flowers on 3’ plants. All of these are hardy here.
Cornell Cure for Mildew
Many rose growers are using a formula developed by Cornell University to control powdery mildew and blackspot. The formula is also effective for a strain of mildew fungus that attacks crape myrtles; it is so effective that it not only kills the mildew outright, it never comes back in the same season. Chances are, this formula would be effective for any plant with powdery mildew, but, as always with an unproven formula, test a small portion of plant before committing to the whole specimen. Here’s the formula:
In one gallon of water, mix 2 tablespoons of light horticultural oil (such as Sunspray), 1 tablespoon of a mild liquid dishwashing detergent (such as Palmolive), 1 heaping tablespoon of baking soda. Mix well and spray with a pump sprayer late in the evening when the sun is not on the foliage. Spray both sides of the leaves and all the wood to the point of runoff.
Warning on Glyphosate Use
Glyphosate, the active ingredient in herbicides such as RoundUp, is often combined with surfactants (wetting agents) that can increase injury to trees and shrubs. The main damage is bark splitting, which is usually blamed on cold weather. Research shows this kind of injury occurs on black gum, crabapple, dogwood, hawthorn maple, mountain ash, magnolia, and numerous speciis of Prunus and Pyrus. Other injuries include stunting, dead branches, witch’s brooms, and chlorisis. It is advisable to leave a 30’ buffer between the weeds you are spraying and woody plants and not to spray too frequently.
Serious Dirt from Richard Waldman
BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing planted more than 40 million potted flowers around Olympic venues and city streets, including special “heat-resistant” strains capable of withstanding the Chinese capital’s baking summer temperatures.
The flowers also graced hotels and the Olympic Village and decorated the vast concrete expanse of Tiananmen Square in the heart of the city, Xinhua news agency said, citing Beijing forestry officials.
“July and August are usually a hard time for flowers,” the agency quoted Wang Sumei, vice-director of the Beijing Landscape Forestation Bureau, as saying. “We picked up over 20 kinds of heat-resistant flowers from more than 500 species of seasonable flowers to decorate the city, including chrysanthemum and salvia,” Mr. Wang said.
Beijing planted millions of plants and rosebushes to cover some 21,943 acres since 2000, as part of its commitment to hold a “green Olympics,” Xinhua said. In the past seven years, Beijing planted 22.7 million trees, 46.5 million square meters of lawn, and expanded the city’s green spaces from 36 percent to 43 percent, Wang said.
While welcomed by residents, Beijing’s planting of thousands of acres of lawn and trees has been criticized by some environmentalists who say the city of more than 16 million people can ill afford to divert scarce water reserves for their upkeep. A report by Canada-based conservation group Probe International warned that Beijing’s Olympic beautification was depleting already strained underground water supplies.
Timely Tips for October
Set out strawberries during fall rains for fruit next June. If planted in spring, plants won't bear well until the following year.
Refrigerate, can, or freeze ripe tomatoes. Wrap green tomatoes or hang the entire plants (with unpicked fruit) upside down. Alternatively these can be stored in a brown paper bag in a cool dark area. By mid-October, or if frost is predicted, pick all tomatoes whether they are ripe or not. Process basil with olive oil and freeze for winter use; freeze in ziplock bags and break off what you need.
October is the best month to transplant perennials. Enrich beds with organic soil amendment.
Be ready to plant when those spring bulbs arrive!
Dear Garden Club Members,
I hope your gardens survived last week’s terrible weather; I lost several large black walnut tree branches, but luckily they avoided the house. It will soon be time to plant bulbs for spring color. Mine arrived yesterday, so I will be busy this weekend.
This month’s meeting will be a “roundtable” discussion led by all the members. As discussed at the July meeting, we will share our gardening tips, questions, and stories at this month’s meeting. Bring your questions and your best ideas on the topic of “Putting the garden to bed” or any other question you may have. Who knows Mary Ann, you may finally find out how to prune your hydrangeas! We will sit in a circle, or several, if we have a large turnout, and share the combined wisdom and knowledge of the club. Jo Miller will be the facilitator.
We have been invited to attend the Bellport Garden Club’s meeting on October 14 at 7:30pm at the Bellport Library. The speaker will be Karl Auwaerter from Bayport Flower Houses. He will be speaking on “New Trends in Container Gardening”.
There is also a members’ photography exhibit. Congratulations to Carolyn Savastano, who won two tickets to the Patchogue Theater’s Chamber Concert this Sunday. Thanks to all who entered.
- Carol
Mark the Date
Tuesday, September 23, 2008, 6 PM, at the Hagerman Fire Department, located on the corner of Dunton Avenue and Oakdale Avenue in East Patchogue approximately five traffic lights past the intersection of South Country Road and Montauk Hwy. Directions from the village: Go east on Montauk Hwy. to Dunton Ave., turn right, cross the railroad tracks, and make an immediate left. The fire house is on the right. Enter the first driveway, park in the rear of the building, and enter through the visitor’s entrance in the rear. The meeting room is on the right side of the
hallway.
Tuesday, October 14, 7:30 PM, at the Bellport Library, a special invitation to the Bellport Garden Club’s meeting. The library is located on Station Road in Bellport Village, just north of the intersection of Station Road and South Country Road. It shares the site with the HSBC Bank and the Bellport Post Office
Plant of the Month: Asters
Asters are not immune from taxonimists’ who love to split genera, seeing every difference as an imperative to create a new genus. The “splitters” are relocating practically every species of Aster into unpronounceables like Symphorotrichum, Doellingeria, Ionactis, Oreostemma, and others. This will not diminish our love for asters, a mainstay of the late summer and fall garden.
The numerous cultivars of New York aster, A. Novi-belgii, and New England aster, A. Novi-angliae, include dwarf to 8’ speciments with single to double flowers in red, pink, and white as well as the blue-lavender-purple range.
Uncommon native asters are also available. The prairie aster, A. turbinellis, is a 3’ plant with large violet flowers. The climbing aster, A. carolinianus, sports pinky-lavender flowers with gold centers on 10-12’ stems. The wood aster, A. divaricatus, is a great choice for a shady spot, growing to 18” with star-like white flowers with a gold center that are very attractive to butterflies. One of the latest flowering, hardiest, choicest asters is A. oblongifolia, 2-4’ depending on the cultivar with blue to purple gold-centered flowers. A. ericoides, the heath aster, has small, narrow light green leaves with white or blue flowers depending on the cultivar. A. laevis ‘Bluebird’ presents blue-green foliage and violet-blue flowers on 3’ plants. All of these are hardy here.
Cornell Cure for Mildew
Many rose growers are using a formula developed by Cornell University to control powdery mildew and blackspot. The formula is also effective for a strain of mildew fungus that attacks crape myrtles; it is so effective that it not only kills the mildew outright, it never comes back in the same season. Chances are, this formula would be effective for any plant with powdery mildew, but, as always with an unproven formula, test a small portion of plant before committing to the whole specimen. Here’s the formula:
In one gallon of water, mix 2 tablespoons of light horticultural oil (such as Sunspray), 1 tablespoon of a mild liquid dishwashing detergent (such as Palmolive), 1 heaping tablespoon of baking soda. Mix well and spray with a pump sprayer late in the evening when the sun is not on the foliage. Spray both sides of the leaves and all the wood to the point of runoff.
Warning on Glyphosate Use
Glyphosate, the active ingredient in herbicides such as RoundUp, is often combined with surfactants (wetting agents) that can increase injury to trees and shrubs. The main damage is bark splitting, which is usually blamed on cold weather. Research shows this kind of injury occurs on black gum, crabapple, dogwood, hawthorn maple, mountain ash, magnolia, and numerous speciis of Prunus and Pyrus. Other injuries include stunting, dead branches, witch’s brooms, and chlorisis. It is advisable to leave a 30’ buffer between the weeds you are spraying and woody plants and not to spray too frequently.
Serious Dirt from Richard Waldman
BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing planted more than 40 million potted flowers around Olympic venues and city streets, including special “heat-resistant” strains capable of withstanding the Chinese capital’s baking summer temperatures.
The flowers also graced hotels and the Olympic Village and decorated the vast concrete expanse of Tiananmen Square in the heart of the city, Xinhua news agency said, citing Beijing forestry officials.
“July and August are usually a hard time for flowers,” the agency quoted Wang Sumei, vice-director of the Beijing Landscape Forestation Bureau, as saying. “We picked up over 20 kinds of heat-resistant flowers from more than 500 species of seasonable flowers to decorate the city, including chrysanthemum and salvia,” Mr. Wang said.
Beijing planted millions of plants and rosebushes to cover some 21,943 acres since 2000, as part of its commitment to hold a “green Olympics,” Xinhua said. In the past seven years, Beijing planted 22.7 million trees, 46.5 million square meters of lawn, and expanded the city’s green spaces from 36 percent to 43 percent, Wang said.
While welcomed by residents, Beijing’s planting of thousands of acres of lawn and trees has been criticized by some environmentalists who say the city of more than 16 million people can ill afford to divert scarce water reserves for their upkeep. A report by Canada-based conservation group Probe International warned that Beijing’s Olympic beautification was depleting already strained underground water supplies.
Timely Tips for October
Set out strawberries during fall rains for fruit next June. If planted in spring, plants won't bear well until the following year.
Refrigerate, can, or freeze ripe tomatoes. Wrap green tomatoes or hang the entire plants (with unpicked fruit) upside down. Alternatively these can be stored in a brown paper bag in a cool dark area. By mid-October, or if frost is predicted, pick all tomatoes whether they are ripe or not. Process basil with olive oil and freeze for winter use; freeze in ziplock bags and break off what you need.
October is the best month to transplant perennials. Enrich beds with organic soil amendment.
Be ready to plant when those spring bulbs arrive!
Friday, August 15, 2008
August 2008
Greetings from the President
August has been relatively nice to us this year. Not too hot, very few hazy, hot, humid days, and lots of sun and rain when we needed it. If you were diligent in cutting back your mums during June and July, you should just be seeing bushes full of buds and maybe even a few peeking open. If you have a vegetable garden, don’t forget to put in a fall crop of lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, and other winter vegetables.
If your lawn is looking a little scraggly, now is the time to re-seed, patch bare spots, or start all over if it’s really bad. Hold off on the fertilizer until the end of September. If you haven’t put lime down in a while, consider adding some to sweeten your soil. Check out the nursery catalogs for spring bulbs to brighten up your home next April. Don’t overlook the garden centers for bargains on out of bloom perennials which will look terrific next year.
Paula will be presenting a comprehensive budget at this month’s meeting at Guy’s house. This will be our last meeting at a member’s garden. Next month we will return to the Hagerman Fire House at 7:00 PM. We will also be asking for volunteers to serve as a nominating committee for next year’s slate of officers. Nominations will be taken at September’s meeting, and voting will take place in October. Enjoy the fine weather and the waning days of summer.
- Carol
Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity. ~Lindley Karstens
But remember: Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty. ~Sicilian Proverb
Mark the Date Tuesday, June 26, 2008, 6 PM, in the wonderful garden of Guy Vitale and Mark Jeffers, 36 Grove Avenue, E. Patchogue, just off Main St., the first house south of the LIRR tracks on the west side of the street.
Flowerpot's Spontaneous Combustion Blamed For Fire!
AP: Fire Chief John Maczko said a fire that destroyed a Mendota Heights home last week was caused by a flowerpot on the home's deck that spontaneously combusted. While rare, spontaneous combustion can happen with the right mixture of soil, moisture, and heat. Investigators said the soil was in a plastic pot that had become hot after several days of high temperatures and humidity. [Thanks, Guy—Beware! Ed.)
Like most gardeners, I am always in search of more effective ways to control weeds in my garden. I've relied on basic gardening practices such as not disturbing the soil and keeping the soil covered with 2-4 inches of mulch (usually free from a local tree service). I've also used seaweed very effectively as a mulch. When weeds do emerge, I hand pull and now suffer from painful thumb joints, a condition which I have named "weeder’s thumb". There are several products now available that claim to control weeds. The two types are pre-emergent (prevents seeds from germinating), and post-emergent (kills actively growing plants). Preen, a pre-emergent synthetic, is familiar to most of us; my use of it has been minimally successful, but I have heard other gardeners swear by it. It did prevent my hollyhock seeds from germinating. Corn gluten is a pre-emergent control that has been touted by organic gardeners. I used it once, found that it attracted flies, and removed most of it. Recently some post-emergent products have been attracting the attention of gardeners, e.g., vinegar, but household vinegar is only 5-6% acetic acid, and mixed results have been reported. Mixing dish soap with the vinegar, clipping the leaves from the weeds, and directing the spray directly into the soil and to the roots may be more effective. Sounds like more work than hand pulling! There are vinegar products on the market which contain 20% acetic acid plus clove oil. However, this concentration of acetic acid may be dangerous to use, causing, for example, skin irritation, burns, and respiratory problems. The Safer brand is marketing a weed and grass killer with the active ingredient
fatty acid salts. I have used this product with mixed results. It seems to be effective on crab grass and some smaller weeds. Whether it kills down to the root or just top growth remains to be seen. I have been able to find it in a ready-to-use spray, but not in concentrated form; thus, it is expensive to use. On line, I have come across a product, "Nature's Avenger Organic Herbicide”, a ready-to-use spray or a concentrate with active ingredient natural citrus oil (17.55 d-limonene) that strips the waxy coating from leaves causing dehydration and death. It is not clear whether it kills root or only top growth. Most of us are familiar Roundup or other glyphosate-based herbicides absorbed through leaves that gum up enzyme (EPSP synthase) production so that plants cannot produce the proteins necessary for growth. Plants die between 7 and 14 days after application, depending on weather. I have found when it is hot and dry weeds disappear more quickly. Monsanto, the manufacturer, claims it remains active in the soil for only a short time and has minimal negative impact on the environment, but several environmental groups are challenging this. [Thanks to Jo Miller for her contribution—Ed.]
Serious Dirt from Richard Waldman
Did You Know? Tobacco Can Now Save Lives!
For centuries now, medicines have been found within the plant world. Now through modern science, a genetically modified tobacco plant can help save lives. Surely not by smoking it but by detecting the location of land mines. The tobacco plant will have its leaves turn red when it is in contact with nitrogen oxide that leaks from the land mine (in a 10 week period of time). The United Nations and other organizations engaged in clearing the fields where land mines have been buried are looking into the scientific findings with much interest. They estimate that there are close to 80 million (yes, million) mines buried in locations that cover about 120,000 square miles. Engineers right now are still needed to physically remove the land mines but now the much maligned tobacco plant has a good use for mankind. Listen to the NPR story at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93555918. Upon hearing the name, Bette Midler, you might think of the performer known for her singing, acting, or even her outrageous stage act. But now you might wonder, what does this have to do with gardening? The New York Restoration Project (NYRP) was founded in 1995 by none other than Bette Midler when she made New York her home base and started to notice many parks and open spaces that were neglected, trash strewn about, and clearly forgotten. The NY Restoration Project teams up with other private community-based groups and public agencies to bring parks back to use and to make community gardens green once again. Education is also a key element to this organization’s goals, with over 10,000 children given the recreational opportunities that were not there prior to its involvement. In 2002 Bette Midler was given the Governors Award for Parks and Preservation along with many other honors bestowed upon her since the inception of the NY Restoration Project. Besides having a wonderful singing voice, she has also lent her voice to gardening that we too hold dear. http://www.nyrp.org/.
On my usual drive to work I recently noticed a bare maple tree branch hanging low over the road without any leaves and looking quite heavy. As I kept driving my thoughts went from being glad the branch had not snapped off with dire consequences and then to thoughts of whom I should contact before an accident does occur. And then a few days later by chance, there in the local free weekly paper is an article by Maria Cinque with the headline, 'Reporting Dangerous Trees'. She mentions that it is a homeowner’s responsibility if the tree is on your property but otherwise it is under the jurisdiction of the state or county for the pruning or necessary removal. But it is our responsibility as concerned citizens to report a potential dangerous tree. Keep these phone numbers handy: For State roads: NYS Dept. of Transportation Maintenance: 631-952-6702. For County Roads in Suffolk County: Division of Highway Maintenance: 631-852-4075. If there are trees caught in electric lines, you should contact the Long Island Power Authority at 800-490-0075. In Patchogue Village, call Village Hall directly at 475-4847 and use the new "phone tree" to be connected to the Building & Housing Dept.; hazard trees are under their jurisdiction.
Timely Tips for September
Plants and trees that provide color in the month of September include beautyberry, crape myrtles, cotoneaster, viburnums, hypericum, hydrangeas, potentilla, pyracantha, and burning bush are a few. Look for them at local sales.
Do not prune azaleas, rhododendrons, or other spring flowering shrubs because they have already set their buds for next year's blooms. If you feel these shrubs do need to be pruned, you can prune them now, but be aware you will sacrifice next spring’s flowers.
Time to continue with fall crops. You can still seed beets, radishes, turnips, and leaf lettuce.
August has been relatively nice to us this year. Not too hot, very few hazy, hot, humid days, and lots of sun and rain when we needed it. If you were diligent in cutting back your mums during June and July, you should just be seeing bushes full of buds and maybe even a few peeking open. If you have a vegetable garden, don’t forget to put in a fall crop of lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, and other winter vegetables.
If your lawn is looking a little scraggly, now is the time to re-seed, patch bare spots, or start all over if it’s really bad. Hold off on the fertilizer until the end of September. If you haven’t put lime down in a while, consider adding some to sweeten your soil. Check out the nursery catalogs for spring bulbs to brighten up your home next April. Don’t overlook the garden centers for bargains on out of bloom perennials which will look terrific next year.
Paula will be presenting a comprehensive budget at this month’s meeting at Guy’s house. This will be our last meeting at a member’s garden. Next month we will return to the Hagerman Fire House at 7:00 PM. We will also be asking for volunteers to serve as a nominating committee for next year’s slate of officers. Nominations will be taken at September’s meeting, and voting will take place in October. Enjoy the fine weather and the waning days of summer.
- Carol
Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity. ~Lindley Karstens
But remember: Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty. ~Sicilian Proverb
Mark the Date Tuesday, June 26, 2008, 6 PM, in the wonderful garden of Guy Vitale and Mark Jeffers, 36 Grove Avenue, E. Patchogue, just off Main St., the first house south of the LIRR tracks on the west side of the street.
Flowerpot's Spontaneous Combustion Blamed For Fire!
AP: Fire Chief John Maczko said a fire that destroyed a Mendota Heights home last week was caused by a flowerpot on the home's deck that spontaneously combusted. While rare, spontaneous combustion can happen with the right mixture of soil, moisture, and heat. Investigators said the soil was in a plastic pot that had become hot after several days of high temperatures and humidity. [Thanks, Guy—Beware! Ed.)
Like most gardeners, I am always in search of more effective ways to control weeds in my garden. I've relied on basic gardening practices such as not disturbing the soil and keeping the soil covered with 2-4 inches of mulch (usually free from a local tree service). I've also used seaweed very effectively as a mulch. When weeds do emerge, I hand pull and now suffer from painful thumb joints, a condition which I have named "weeder’s thumb". There are several products now available that claim to control weeds. The two types are pre-emergent (prevents seeds from germinating), and post-emergent (kills actively growing plants). Preen, a pre-emergent synthetic, is familiar to most of us; my use of it has been minimally successful, but I have heard other gardeners swear by it. It did prevent my hollyhock seeds from germinating. Corn gluten is a pre-emergent control that has been touted by organic gardeners. I used it once, found that it attracted flies, and removed most of it. Recently some post-emergent products have been attracting the attention of gardeners, e.g., vinegar, but household vinegar is only 5-6% acetic acid, and mixed results have been reported. Mixing dish soap with the vinegar, clipping the leaves from the weeds, and directing the spray directly into the soil and to the roots may be more effective. Sounds like more work than hand pulling! There are vinegar products on the market which contain 20% acetic acid plus clove oil. However, this concentration of acetic acid may be dangerous to use, causing, for example, skin irritation, burns, and respiratory problems. The Safer brand is marketing a weed and grass killer with the active ingredient
fatty acid salts. I have used this product with mixed results. It seems to be effective on crab grass and some smaller weeds. Whether it kills down to the root or just top growth remains to be seen. I have been able to find it in a ready-to-use spray, but not in concentrated form; thus, it is expensive to use. On line, I have come across a product, "Nature's Avenger Organic Herbicide”, a ready-to-use spray or a concentrate with active ingredient natural citrus oil (17.55 d-limonene) that strips the waxy coating from leaves causing dehydration and death. It is not clear whether it kills root or only top growth. Most of us are familiar Roundup or other glyphosate-based herbicides absorbed through leaves that gum up enzyme (EPSP synthase) production so that plants cannot produce the proteins necessary for growth. Plants die between 7 and 14 days after application, depending on weather. I have found when it is hot and dry weeds disappear more quickly. Monsanto, the manufacturer, claims it remains active in the soil for only a short time and has minimal negative impact on the environment, but several environmental groups are challenging this. [Thanks to Jo Miller for her contribution—Ed.]
Serious Dirt from Richard Waldman
Did You Know? Tobacco Can Now Save Lives!
For centuries now, medicines have been found within the plant world. Now through modern science, a genetically modified tobacco plant can help save lives. Surely not by smoking it but by detecting the location of land mines. The tobacco plant will have its leaves turn red when it is in contact with nitrogen oxide that leaks from the land mine (in a 10 week period of time). The United Nations and other organizations engaged in clearing the fields where land mines have been buried are looking into the scientific findings with much interest. They estimate that there are close to 80 million (yes, million) mines buried in locations that cover about 120,000 square miles. Engineers right now are still needed to physically remove the land mines but now the much maligned tobacco plant has a good use for mankind. Listen to the NPR story at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93555918. Upon hearing the name, Bette Midler, you might think of the performer known for her singing, acting, or even her outrageous stage act. But now you might wonder, what does this have to do with gardening? The New York Restoration Project (NYRP) was founded in 1995 by none other than Bette Midler when she made New York her home base and started to notice many parks and open spaces that were neglected, trash strewn about, and clearly forgotten. The NY Restoration Project teams up with other private community-based groups and public agencies to bring parks back to use and to make community gardens green once again. Education is also a key element to this organization’s goals, with over 10,000 children given the recreational opportunities that were not there prior to its involvement. In 2002 Bette Midler was given the Governors Award for Parks and Preservation along with many other honors bestowed upon her since the inception of the NY Restoration Project. Besides having a wonderful singing voice, she has also lent her voice to gardening that we too hold dear. http://www.nyrp.org/.
On my usual drive to work I recently noticed a bare maple tree branch hanging low over the road without any leaves and looking quite heavy. As I kept driving my thoughts went from being glad the branch had not snapped off with dire consequences and then to thoughts of whom I should contact before an accident does occur. And then a few days later by chance, there in the local free weekly paper is an article by Maria Cinque with the headline, 'Reporting Dangerous Trees'. She mentions that it is a homeowner’s responsibility if the tree is on your property but otherwise it is under the jurisdiction of the state or county for the pruning or necessary removal. But it is our responsibility as concerned citizens to report a potential dangerous tree. Keep these phone numbers handy: For State roads: NYS Dept. of Transportation Maintenance: 631-952-6702. For County Roads in Suffolk County: Division of Highway Maintenance: 631-852-4075. If there are trees caught in electric lines, you should contact the Long Island Power Authority at 800-490-0075. In Patchogue Village, call Village Hall directly at 475-4847 and use the new "phone tree" to be connected to the Building & Housing Dept.; hazard trees are under their jurisdiction.
Timely Tips for September
Plants and trees that provide color in the month of September include beautyberry, crape myrtles, cotoneaster, viburnums, hypericum, hydrangeas, potentilla, pyracantha, and burning bush are a few. Look for them at local sales.
Do not prune azaleas, rhododendrons, or other spring flowering shrubs because they have already set their buds for next year's blooms. If you feel these shrubs do need to be pruned, you can prune them now, but be aware you will sacrifice next spring’s flowers.
Time to continue with fall crops. You can still seed beets, radishes, turnips, and leaf lettuce.
Monday, July 21, 2008
July 2008
Greetings from the President
Dear Garden Club Members,
Congratulations to Paula Murphy and her entire committee for a successful eighth annual garden tour. The selected gardens showcased a variety of gardening “microclimates”beach, shade, sun, and sun/shade. The gardens were as varied as theirowners. It was hard not to come away without coveting yet another plant, ornament,or perhaps a total re-do of a small part of your own garden.Thank you also to Carolyn Young for again having an Open Garden tour for hermagnificent daylilies.Water, water, water seems to be the mantra of the past few weeks. Although therewere many thunderstorms and downpours all around us in the past two weeks,especially to the north and west, our marine climate conditions have keep all rainaway from the Patchogue area. This is very reminiscent of last year’s summerweather. Remember to water early in the day, longer, deeper watering is muchmore efficient and beneficial, than daily short bursts. Three to four inches of mulchwill conserve water, and keep down the weeds. Do not mound your mulch aroundyour tree trunks, as you often see in homes/commercial spaces that are“professionally” maintained. You will eventually smother your trees and they will startto experience dieback. You should keep a large circle around the base of your treemulch free and be sure the dirt does not surround the root collar.
Enjoy your summer,
Carol
Mark the Date
Tuesday, July 22, 2008, 6 PM, in the lovely garden of June and Angelo Petrucelli, 111Monroe Ave., Patchogue, 730-1091. Take North or South OceanAvenue to Roe Blvd. and turn west. Turn north onto Monroe. Jennings is the street before Monroe. Bring a chair if you want a guaranteed place to sit.
Plant of the Month and Book Review:
Viburnum
The viburnums are a versatile, diverse—around 150 species-- and adaptablegenus exhibiting fine forms, sweet scents, and beautiful fruits attractive tobirds. There is scarcely a garden that couldn’t use one or more of thesevaluable pest- and disease resistant shrubs, some of which are native. Dr.Michael Dirr, a distinguished woody plant authority, has written “Viburnums:Flowering Shrubs for Every Season”, Timber Press, 2007, $39.95, but as lowas $23.98 at Amazon, or browse for free via Patchogue-Medford LibraryInterlibrary Loan.Viburnums adapt well to most soil conditions and light exposures, but ideallyprefer well-drained acid soil and full to part sun. They tolerate pruning well.They are versatile in many landscapes, so can be used in formal or informalhedges, screens, and barriers as well as in foundation and mass plantings.These lovely shrubs range in size from about three (the fragrant V. carlesii‘Compacta’, dwarf Korean spicebush) to twenty feet (V. sieboldii, sieboldviburnum).Many have outstanding fall color, all have large, beautiful flowers, and thefruits are dark or brilliant blue, yellow, or red in late summer to early fall.
Recipe of the Month:
Fruit Kebobs
2 bananas
8 strawberries
1 apple
8 pineapple chunks
1 orange
1 cup plain, vanilla, or fruit yogurt
1 cup seedless grapes
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Vary the fruit according to what is best in season—think peaches, nectarines,plums, pears, kiwi, raspberries, etc. Cut the fruit into bite-sized chunks. Mix yogurt with honey and cinnamon. Thread fruit chunks onto eight woodenskewers, alternating with different types of fruit. Enjoy your creations dipped incinnamon-honey yogurt. For an extra sweet treat, brush skewers with yogurtdip and roll in your favorite granola.
Serious Dirt from Richard Waldman
A WAY TO GARDEN (DOT COM) blog and Q&A forum is the latest horticulturalincarnation of Margaret Roach, whose life list also includes stints as gardeneditor at Newsday in New York, one of the country’s largest daily newspapers;and Martha Stewart Living, where she was the magazine’s first garden editorand until 2008 editorial director of all of the company’s content: magazines,books, and Internet. She recently retired (at a very young age, thank you) to her2.3-acre garden in a Zone 5B area of New York State, which was the subject ofher book “A Way to Garden” (named best garden book of the year in 1998 bythe Garden Writers Association of America and now a collector’s item). Thegarden has been open for ten years for tours as part of the national Open Daysvisiting scheme of the Garden Conservancy; check their site for upcomingdates. Want to know more about her and her relationship with both sides of thegardening equation, the hands-on and the touchy-feely? Check outhttp://awaytogarden.com/.
Read what Anne Raver said about Margaret’s country dream and blog in theNew York Times, June 19, 2008 athttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/garden/19garden.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&sq=raver%20roach&st=nyt&scp=1&oref=slogin
8th Annual Garden Tour Volunteers
A BIG THANK YOU FROM PAULA and the CLUB!
Arlene Lamberti, Georgia Dulmovits, John Dulmovits, Pauline Carlton, Carolyn Savastano, Guy Vitale, Karen Ferb, Anne Rubbo, Violet Mulligan, Mark Jeffers, Millie Zimmerman, Marie Magnano, Barbara Aragon, Carol Tvelia, Susan Scala, Jo Miller, Sandra Franco.
THANK YOU, PAULA!
MUCH APPRECIATED FAN MAIL
It was with great pleasure that I received the notice for this year’s Garden Tour. I’m looking forward to it so much.The past tours have been wonderful. There is something to be learned and admired at each one, and the hostswere all so helpful and hospitable.The Garden Club is to be commended for all its fine works. It has added so much to the community (and in such ashort time). Patchogue is very fortunate to have such a wonderful and active Garden Club.The Spring Luncheon is a great way to start off the season. We look forward to it each March. The baskets are so beautifully put together. Your members (and donors) do a fantastic job, which I know involves an enormous amountof work.The Christmas House Tour was another lovely event. Each home had such gracious hosts and festive, warmdecorations. I hope that it will become an annual event.Keep up your great work, please, and thank you for all you contribute to make our environment so much nicer.The gardens at the Terry Street parking area is so very beautiful and should serve as a model for other villages thatare interested in making their public parking areas attractive.Long live the Patchogue Garden Club and its dedicated members!
Sincerely,
Anita Tim
Timely Tips for August Water plants:
take advantage of cool morning hours, use daytime shade, usemulch, water plants deeply and less frequently. Manage cutworms, larva, grasshoppers, mosquitoes and other garden pests. Deadhead, deadhead, deadhead!!! Weed, weed, weed!!! (Same old story)Harvest and preserve extra fruits and vegetables. Read, listen to music, practice your musical instrument, relax, sleep in theshade, or whatever comes naturally during the dog days of August.
Dear Garden Club Members,
Congratulations to Paula Murphy and her entire committee for a successful eighth annual garden tour. The selected gardens showcased a variety of gardening “microclimates”beach, shade, sun, and sun/shade. The gardens were as varied as theirowners. It was hard not to come away without coveting yet another plant, ornament,or perhaps a total re-do of a small part of your own garden.Thank you also to Carolyn Young for again having an Open Garden tour for hermagnificent daylilies.Water, water, water seems to be the mantra of the past few weeks. Although therewere many thunderstorms and downpours all around us in the past two weeks,especially to the north and west, our marine climate conditions have keep all rainaway from the Patchogue area. This is very reminiscent of last year’s summerweather. Remember to water early in the day, longer, deeper watering is muchmore efficient and beneficial, than daily short bursts. Three to four inches of mulchwill conserve water, and keep down the weeds. Do not mound your mulch aroundyour tree trunks, as you often see in homes/commercial spaces that are“professionally” maintained. You will eventually smother your trees and they will startto experience dieback. You should keep a large circle around the base of your treemulch free and be sure the dirt does not surround the root collar.
Enjoy your summer,
Carol
Mark the Date
Tuesday, July 22, 2008, 6 PM, in the lovely garden of June and Angelo Petrucelli, 111Monroe Ave., Patchogue, 730-1091. Take North or South OceanAvenue to Roe Blvd. and turn west. Turn north onto Monroe. Jennings is the street before Monroe. Bring a chair if you want a guaranteed place to sit.
Plant of the Month and Book Review:
Viburnum
The viburnums are a versatile, diverse—around 150 species-- and adaptablegenus exhibiting fine forms, sweet scents, and beautiful fruits attractive tobirds. There is scarcely a garden that couldn’t use one or more of thesevaluable pest- and disease resistant shrubs, some of which are native. Dr.Michael Dirr, a distinguished woody plant authority, has written “Viburnums:Flowering Shrubs for Every Season”, Timber Press, 2007, $39.95, but as lowas $23.98 at Amazon, or browse for free via Patchogue-Medford LibraryInterlibrary Loan.Viburnums adapt well to most soil conditions and light exposures, but ideallyprefer well-drained acid soil and full to part sun. They tolerate pruning well.They are versatile in many landscapes, so can be used in formal or informalhedges, screens, and barriers as well as in foundation and mass plantings.These lovely shrubs range in size from about three (the fragrant V. carlesii‘Compacta’, dwarf Korean spicebush) to twenty feet (V. sieboldii, sieboldviburnum).Many have outstanding fall color, all have large, beautiful flowers, and thefruits are dark or brilliant blue, yellow, or red in late summer to early fall.
Recipe of the Month:
Fruit Kebobs
2 bananas
8 strawberries
1 apple
8 pineapple chunks
1 orange
1 cup plain, vanilla, or fruit yogurt
1 cup seedless grapes
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Vary the fruit according to what is best in season—think peaches, nectarines,plums, pears, kiwi, raspberries, etc. Cut the fruit into bite-sized chunks. Mix yogurt with honey and cinnamon. Thread fruit chunks onto eight woodenskewers, alternating with different types of fruit. Enjoy your creations dipped incinnamon-honey yogurt. For an extra sweet treat, brush skewers with yogurtdip and roll in your favorite granola.
Serious Dirt from Richard Waldman
A WAY TO GARDEN (DOT COM) blog and Q&A forum is the latest horticulturalincarnation of Margaret Roach, whose life list also includes stints as gardeneditor at Newsday in New York, one of the country’s largest daily newspapers;and Martha Stewart Living, where she was the magazine’s first garden editorand until 2008 editorial director of all of the company’s content: magazines,books, and Internet. She recently retired (at a very young age, thank you) to her2.3-acre garden in a Zone 5B area of New York State, which was the subject ofher book “A Way to Garden” (named best garden book of the year in 1998 bythe Garden Writers Association of America and now a collector’s item). Thegarden has been open for ten years for tours as part of the national Open Daysvisiting scheme of the Garden Conservancy; check their site for upcomingdates. Want to know more about her and her relationship with both sides of thegardening equation, the hands-on and the touchy-feely? Check outhttp://awaytogarden.com/.
Read what Anne Raver said about Margaret’s country dream and blog in theNew York Times, June 19, 2008 athttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/garden/19garden.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&sq=raver%20roach&st=nyt&scp=1&oref=slogin
8th Annual Garden Tour Volunteers
A BIG THANK YOU FROM PAULA and the CLUB!
Arlene Lamberti, Georgia Dulmovits, John Dulmovits, Pauline Carlton, Carolyn Savastano, Guy Vitale, Karen Ferb, Anne Rubbo, Violet Mulligan, Mark Jeffers, Millie Zimmerman, Marie Magnano, Barbara Aragon, Carol Tvelia, Susan Scala, Jo Miller, Sandra Franco.
THANK YOU, PAULA!
MUCH APPRECIATED FAN MAIL
It was with great pleasure that I received the notice for this year’s Garden Tour. I’m looking forward to it so much.The past tours have been wonderful. There is something to be learned and admired at each one, and the hostswere all so helpful and hospitable.The Garden Club is to be commended for all its fine works. It has added so much to the community (and in such ashort time). Patchogue is very fortunate to have such a wonderful and active Garden Club.The Spring Luncheon is a great way to start off the season. We look forward to it each March. The baskets are so beautifully put together. Your members (and donors) do a fantastic job, which I know involves an enormous amountof work.The Christmas House Tour was another lovely event. Each home had such gracious hosts and festive, warmdecorations. I hope that it will become an annual event.Keep up your great work, please, and thank you for all you contribute to make our environment so much nicer.The gardens at the Terry Street parking area is so very beautiful and should serve as a model for other villages thatare interested in making their public parking areas attractive.Long live the Patchogue Garden Club and its dedicated members!
Sincerely,
Anita Tim
Timely Tips for August Water plants:
take advantage of cool morning hours, use daytime shade, usemulch, water plants deeply and less frequently. Manage cutworms, larva, grasshoppers, mosquitoes and other garden pests. Deadhead, deadhead, deadhead!!! Weed, weed, weed!!! (Same old story)Harvest and preserve extra fruits and vegetables. Read, listen to music, practice your musical instrument, relax, sleep in theshade, or whatever comes naturally during the dog days of August.
Friday, June 20, 2008
June 2008 Garden Gazette
Greetings from the President
Thanks to all those members who volunteered to put down the mulch in the garden this week. Your work is definitely appreciated. I am slowly working my way through 20 yards of my own mulch which is currently sitting on my driveway. Mother Nature is certainly playing tricks on us this month, searing heat, torrential downpours, a possible tornado if you live in East Moriches, and now a week of spring weather.
Summer officially arrives on Saturday with the summer solstice. The sun moves higher in the sky and we will receive more direct sunlight until the vernal equinox on September 20. Remember to cut your grass higher in the summer to help it survive the heat and humidity, mulch your beds to keep down weeds and to keep flowers and vegetables moist and cool. One inch of water a week is all your lawn and beds
need. Longer watering a few times a week is better for root growth than short daily bursts. Use tuna cans scattered around the yard to have an easy way to check on weekly water totals for both beds and lawns. After all this rain, check around your yard for standing water in pots, wheelbarrows, and other items; don't provide mosquitoes with natural breeding grounds. See you at Sandra's house for the meeting.
Carol
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Mark the Date
Tuesday, June 24, 2008, 6 PM, in Sandra Franco's delightful garden, 42 Bailey Ave., Patchogue, 289-2084. Take S. Ocean Ave. south to Baker St., turn left. Baker becomes Edwards at Rider Ave., then turn right onto Bailey Ave. Sandra is on the right.
Saturday, July 12, 2008, our 8th annual Garden Tour. Flyer enclosed with this newsletter. If you want to help, call Paula Murphy at 289-0234.
Sunday, July 13, 2008, 6:00 PM, annual post-tour potluck at Paula Murphys, 25 Smith St., between Rider and Bay, Patchogue. Bring a chair, a dish to share and beverage of choice; the club provides grilled fish and meats.
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Plants of the Month: Fastigiate Trees
Most of us don’t have space for many, if any very large trees. The landscape solution for the height specimens we’d like to have is fastigiate, or columnar, trees. One of the most popular is the eastern red cedar, Juniperus virginiana ‘Taylor’, growing to 20’ tall, but only 3’ wide. Taxodium distichum ‘Peve Minaret’ is a new introduction, 12’ x 2.5. Dr. August Kehr of North Carolina has developed Magnolia x 'Daybreak', an advanced cross between M. x 'Woodsman' and M. x 'Tina Duoro'. It blooms late, has a large, 10" diameter, fragrant, rose-colored flower, and is 30’ x 10’ at maturity. Prunus x cerasifera
‘Crimson Point’ is notable for its purple foliage and orange-bronze new growth. Its snow white flowers are striking against bare dark branches. Never more that 10’ wide, it tops out at 25-30’ at maturity. Along with several crabapple and cherry, look for: Pinus mugo ‘Columnaris’, 15’ x 4’; Picea abies ‘Clanbrassiana Stricta’, 10’ x 2.5’; Ilex crenata ‘Sky Pencil’, 10’ x 3’; Thuja occidentalis ‘Unicorn’, 10’ x 2.5’; and Crataegus monogyna ‘Stricta’, 25’ x 8’
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Recipe of the Month: Watermelon Summer Salsa
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime rind 1 cucumber, diced
1/4 cup fresh lime juice 2 jalapenos, seeded & minced
1 tablespoon sugar 1/4 cup chopped red onion
3/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 cup fresh basil or cilantro
3 cups seeded, finely chopped watermelon salt to taste
Whisk together first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Add next 5 ingredients, tossing to coat. Chill until ready to serve. Stir in salt just before serving. Serve with tortilla chips. YUMMY!
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Serious Dirt from Paula and Karen (Richard will return)
Our recent horticulturally focused trip to London was smashing! We took in Kew Gardens; their Chinese landscape installation in the forecourt of the British Museum (and as long as we were there, we visited the museum as well); the Chelsea Physic Garden; the Museum of Garden History; Battersea Park; and, last but not least by a long shot, the famed Chelsea Flower Show.
The world famous Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, are absolutely stunning. The new alpine house and rock gardens are especially impressive. Take the tour at http://www.kew.org .
Visit the Chinese exhibit with the garden plan and slides of its creation at http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/all_current_exhibitions/china_landscape/kew_at_the_british_museum.aspx
The Physic Garden, founded in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries for training apothecaries, continues to research the properties, origins and conservation of over 5000 species. The beds are laid out geographically, and the plants are labeled with their scientific and common names as well as their uses. There are two order beds, one for monocots and one for dicots; these are laid out in taxonomic order to show relationships between the plants. http://www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk has a wealth of information.
The Museum of Garden History is located in a wonderful old deconsecrated church. Captain Bligh is buried in the courtyard, as are several members of the Tradescant (as in Tradescantia) family, renowned explorers and gardeners. A wonderful boxwood knot garden was nearly destroyed by a local fox (London is full of them). It seems that boxwood, while smelling noxiously of cat pee to humans, is ambrosia to amorous foxes. Finally the fox died, of natural causes, we were emphatically told, and the boxwood has nearly recovered. There is a great collection of old and unusual gardening paraphernalia, including a cucumber straightener and pony boots for use when mowers were drawn by real equine horsepower. See http://www.museumgardenhistory.org for more. Battersea Park contains a subtropical garden that was originally installed in 1863. During and after World War II, when many men were off to the military, much of the park, including the garden, became allotment gardens to help feed local people. Restoration began in 1992 and was completed in 2004. Read about the park’s fascinating history at http://www.batterseapark.org .
The Chelsea Flower Show is the ultimate event of the gardening year in the UK.
The garden installations and shops were located outdoors. There was a gigantic tent, the Great Pavilion, full of displays from the floral exhibitors. See http://www.rhs.org.uk/chelsea/2008/index.asp for the full monty. The BBC link only works in the UK, but do watch the video clips about the display gardens.
We also visited (and shopped and ate at) the fabulous Borough Market in Southwark, http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk Historically important, it was established on the south bank of the Thames when Romans built the first London Bridge it has been on the present site for 250 years.
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Members Page
New! Please Contribute Your Ideas, Suggestions, and Special Information. Name may be held by request.
FOR THE GARDEN OF YOUR DAILY LIVING:
PLANT THREE ROWS OF PEAS:
1. Peace of mind
2. Peace of heart
3. Peace of soul
PLANT FOUR ROWS OF SQUASH:
1. Squash gossip
2. Squash indifference
3. Squash grumbling
4. Squash selfishness
PLANT FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE:
1. Lettuce be faithful
2 Lettuce be kind
3. Lettuce be patient
4. Lettuce really love one another
NO GARDEN IS WITHOUT TURNIPS:
1 Turnip for meetings
2. Turnip for service
3. Turnip to help one another
TO CONCLUDE OUR GARDEN WE MUST HAVE THYME:
1. Thyme for each other
2. Thyme for family
3. Thyme for friends
WATER FREELY WITH PATIENCE AND CULTIVATE WITH LOVE. THERE IS MUCH FRUIT IN YOUR GARDEN
BECAUSE YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW.
Thank you, Mary Ann, for these words to live by. I especially like turnips. –Ed.
--------
Timely Tips for July
Don’t remove clippings from mowing; they return nutrients to the soil and do not contribute to thatch buildup.
Keep a close eye on houseplants outdoors. They need more water now.
Deadhead, deadhead, deadhead!!! Weed, weed, weed!!!
Water lawns once a week, 1-1 ½”. Frequent watering makes for shallow roots more susceptible to drought.
Keep newly established plants watered in dry weather, but do not overwater.
--------
And what is so rare as a day in June?
Then, if ever, come perfect days;
Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune,
And over it softly her warm ear lays;
Whether we look, or whether we listen,
We hear life murmur, or see it glisten.
~~James Russell Lowell~~
Visit www.PatchogueGardenClub.com
Thanks to all those members who volunteered to put down the mulch in the garden this week. Your work is definitely appreciated. I am slowly working my way through 20 yards of my own mulch which is currently sitting on my driveway. Mother Nature is certainly playing tricks on us this month, searing heat, torrential downpours, a possible tornado if you live in East Moriches, and now a week of spring weather.
Summer officially arrives on Saturday with the summer solstice. The sun moves higher in the sky and we will receive more direct sunlight until the vernal equinox on September 20. Remember to cut your grass higher in the summer to help it survive the heat and humidity, mulch your beds to keep down weeds and to keep flowers and vegetables moist and cool. One inch of water a week is all your lawn and beds
need. Longer watering a few times a week is better for root growth than short daily bursts. Use tuna cans scattered around the yard to have an easy way to check on weekly water totals for both beds and lawns. After all this rain, check around your yard for standing water in pots, wheelbarrows, and other items; don't provide mosquitoes with natural breeding grounds. See you at Sandra's house for the meeting.
Carol
-----------
Mark the Date
Tuesday, June 24, 2008, 6 PM, in Sandra Franco's delightful garden, 42 Bailey Ave., Patchogue, 289-2084. Take S. Ocean Ave. south to Baker St., turn left. Baker becomes Edwards at Rider Ave., then turn right onto Bailey Ave. Sandra is on the right.
Saturday, July 12, 2008, our 8th annual Garden Tour. Flyer enclosed with this newsletter. If you want to help, call Paula Murphy at 289-0234.
Sunday, July 13, 2008, 6:00 PM, annual post-tour potluck at Paula Murphys, 25 Smith St., between Rider and Bay, Patchogue. Bring a chair, a dish to share and beverage of choice; the club provides grilled fish and meats.
----------
Plants of the Month: Fastigiate Trees
Most of us don’t have space for many, if any very large trees. The landscape solution for the height specimens we’d like to have is fastigiate, or columnar, trees. One of the most popular is the eastern red cedar, Juniperus virginiana ‘Taylor’, growing to 20’ tall, but only 3’ wide. Taxodium distichum ‘Peve Minaret’ is a new introduction, 12’ x 2.5. Dr. August Kehr of North Carolina has developed Magnolia x 'Daybreak', an advanced cross between M. x 'Woodsman' and M. x 'Tina Duoro'. It blooms late, has a large, 10" diameter, fragrant, rose-colored flower, and is 30’ x 10’ at maturity. Prunus x cerasifera
‘Crimson Point’ is notable for its purple foliage and orange-bronze new growth. Its snow white flowers are striking against bare dark branches. Never more that 10’ wide, it tops out at 25-30’ at maturity. Along with several crabapple and cherry, look for: Pinus mugo ‘Columnaris’, 15’ x 4’; Picea abies ‘Clanbrassiana Stricta’, 10’ x 2.5’; Ilex crenata ‘Sky Pencil’, 10’ x 3’; Thuja occidentalis ‘Unicorn’, 10’ x 2.5’; and Crataegus monogyna ‘Stricta’, 25’ x 8’
--------
Recipe of the Month: Watermelon Summer Salsa
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime rind 1 cucumber, diced
1/4 cup fresh lime juice 2 jalapenos, seeded & minced
1 tablespoon sugar 1/4 cup chopped red onion
3/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 cup fresh basil or cilantro
3 cups seeded, finely chopped watermelon salt to taste
Whisk together first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Add next 5 ingredients, tossing to coat. Chill until ready to serve. Stir in salt just before serving. Serve with tortilla chips. YUMMY!
----------
Serious Dirt from Paula and Karen (Richard will return)
Our recent horticulturally focused trip to London was smashing! We took in Kew Gardens; their Chinese landscape installation in the forecourt of the British Museum (and as long as we were there, we visited the museum as well); the Chelsea Physic Garden; the Museum of Garden History; Battersea Park; and, last but not least by a long shot, the famed Chelsea Flower Show.
The world famous Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, are absolutely stunning. The new alpine house and rock gardens are especially impressive. Take the tour at http://www.kew.org .
Visit the Chinese exhibit with the garden plan and slides of its creation at http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/all_current_exhibitions/china_landscape/kew_at_the_british_museum.aspx
The Physic Garden, founded in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries for training apothecaries, continues to research the properties, origins and conservation of over 5000 species. The beds are laid out geographically, and the plants are labeled with their scientific and common names as well as their uses. There are two order beds, one for monocots and one for dicots; these are laid out in taxonomic order to show relationships between the plants. http://www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk has a wealth of information.
The Museum of Garden History is located in a wonderful old deconsecrated church. Captain Bligh is buried in the courtyard, as are several members of the Tradescant (as in Tradescantia) family, renowned explorers and gardeners. A wonderful boxwood knot garden was nearly destroyed by a local fox (London is full of them). It seems that boxwood, while smelling noxiously of cat pee to humans, is ambrosia to amorous foxes. Finally the fox died, of natural causes, we were emphatically told, and the boxwood has nearly recovered. There is a great collection of old and unusual gardening paraphernalia, including a cucumber straightener and pony boots for use when mowers were drawn by real equine horsepower. See http://www.museumgardenhistory.org for more. Battersea Park contains a subtropical garden that was originally installed in 1863. During and after World War II, when many men were off to the military, much of the park, including the garden, became allotment gardens to help feed local people. Restoration began in 1992 and was completed in 2004. Read about the park’s fascinating history at http://www.batterseapark.org .
The Chelsea Flower Show is the ultimate event of the gardening year in the UK.
The garden installations and shops were located outdoors. There was a gigantic tent, the Great Pavilion, full of displays from the floral exhibitors. See http://www.rhs.org.uk/chelsea/2008/index.asp for the full monty. The BBC link only works in the UK, but do watch the video clips about the display gardens.
We also visited (and shopped and ate at) the fabulous Borough Market in Southwark, http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk Historically important, it was established on the south bank of the Thames when Romans built the first London Bridge it has been on the present site for 250 years.
--------
Members Page
New! Please Contribute Your Ideas, Suggestions, and Special Information. Name may be held by request.
FOR THE GARDEN OF YOUR DAILY LIVING:
PLANT THREE ROWS OF PEAS:
1. Peace of mind
2. Peace of heart
3. Peace of soul
PLANT FOUR ROWS OF SQUASH:
1. Squash gossip
2. Squash indifference
3. Squash grumbling
4. Squash selfishness
PLANT FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE:
1. Lettuce be faithful
2 Lettuce be kind
3. Lettuce be patient
4. Lettuce really love one another
NO GARDEN IS WITHOUT TURNIPS:
1 Turnip for meetings
2. Turnip for service
3. Turnip to help one another
TO CONCLUDE OUR GARDEN WE MUST HAVE THYME:
1. Thyme for each other
2. Thyme for family
3. Thyme for friends
WATER FREELY WITH PATIENCE AND CULTIVATE WITH LOVE. THERE IS MUCH FRUIT IN YOUR GARDEN
BECAUSE YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW.
Thank you, Mary Ann, for these words to live by. I especially like turnips. –Ed.
--------
Timely Tips for July
Don’t remove clippings from mowing; they return nutrients to the soil and do not contribute to thatch buildup.
Keep a close eye on houseplants outdoors. They need more water now.
Deadhead, deadhead, deadhead!!! Weed, weed, weed!!!
Water lawns once a week, 1-1 ½”. Frequent watering makes for shallow roots more susceptible to drought.
Keep newly established plants watered in dry weather, but do not overwater.
--------
And what is so rare as a day in June?
Then, if ever, come perfect days;
Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune,
And over it softly her warm ear lays;
Whether we look, or whether we listen,
We hear life murmur, or see it glisten.
~~James Russell Lowell~~
Visit www.PatchogueGardenClub.com
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
May 2008 Garden Gazette
Greetings from the President
Thank you to the approximately 25 members who gave their time to help “Open the Garden” a few weeks ago. This was the largest turn out ever, and we were able to finish around noon. Thanks to Guy for picking up the bagels and to Violet for the coffee. Thanks to Jack Heyer for repairing the shed door.
It’s finally time to plant, plant, plant! The last frost date for our area is May 15, so feel free to put in all those tender annuals and vegetables. When planting tomatoes, plant them deeply to get nice strong stems to hold up all those mouthwatering tomatoes, and don’t forget the cages or stakes. Check your hemlocks for wooly adelgid and use a horticultural oil to control them; left unchecked, your hemlock may be lost.
Don’t forget to put out water for the birds even if you don’t feed them; they always need a water source, especially during dry months. See you on the 27th!
Carol
---------
Mark the Date
Saturday, May 17, annual Plant and Yard Sale in the garden. Contact chairperson Carol Tvelia, sciencecat@optonline.net, for more information.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008, 6 PM, at the lovely home of Violet Mulligan, 899 Sipp Avenue, Patchogue, 758-1714. Turn south from Woodside Avenue just east of Hospital Road. Violet is a couple of blocks down on the left.
Saturday, June 7, 2008, 9:00 AM, Breakfast in the Garden; the club will provide bagels, coffee, tea, OJ. Bring a dish to share. Don't forget chairs!
The air is like a butterfly/ With frail blue wings.
The happy earth looks at the sky/ And sings.
- Joyce Kilmer, Spring
---------
Plant of the Month: New Improved Syringa (Lilac)
Gardeners today have a splendid range of new Lilac species, selections, and hybrids for various uses. Much of the effort has been the breeding of smaller plants such as the very popular 3-4’ S. patula, ‘Miss Kim’ with ice blue flowers and 4-6’ S. meyeri ‘Palibin’ with mauve-purple flowers. Both have coppery russet fall foliage to boot. New cultivars are being seen in the trade now. One is S. vulgaris ‘Prairie Petite’, a four-footer with many big pink trusses of pink flowers. S.hyacinthiflora ‘Maiden’s Blush’ is 5’6’ with bright pinky-lilac flowers. ‘Ballin’ (aka ‘Thumbelina’) is 5-6’ with exceptionally clean foliage and a long bloom period of pink flowers. If you’re up for something bigger, look for S.pekinensis ‘Copper Curls’, just patented and introduced by North Dakota State University, Fargo ND. It is a 20-25’ single or multistemmed tree with showy coppery exfoliating bark, creamy flower trusses, and big long-lasting seed clusters. Lilacs like full sun and bloom on old wood, so should be pruned, if at all, right after flowering. Remember that cropping ends only reduces bloom. Remove the seed heads. If your bush is too tall for space, cut out the older branches near ground level.
----------
Recipe of the Month: Rhubarb Citrus Punch
Ingredients:
8 C. diced rhubarb, stems only
5 C. water
About 2 C. sugar
2 C. orange juice
3/4 C. lemon juice
1 Qt. chilled ginger ale
1 Qt. fresh strawberries (optional)
Rum or vodka (optional)
In pot, simmer rhubarb and water until rhubarb is mushy. Cool; strain through food mill. Add ¼ C. sugar for each cup of rhubarb, lemon and orange juice and return rhubarb only to the pot. Heat just to dissolve the sugar. Chill. Add the orange and lemon juices. Just before serving, add ginger ale and
strawberries, if desired. Pour over ice. Add rum or vodka if you’re that sort. Quantities for 2 ½ -3 gallons: 32 C. rhubarb, 20 C. water, 8 C. sugar, 12 Oz. lemon juice, 8 C. orange juice, 4 Qts. Ginger ale.
---------
Serious Dirt from Richard Waldman
Andre LeNotre, 1613-1700
You don’t have to fly to France (not that I would mind!—would you?) and walk through the gardens (translation: jardin, if you have already booked that trip and haven’t bought the Berlitz book yet) to understand the influence of a landscape architect who worked for King Louis XIV from 1645-1700. French landscape architecture in a simplified manner could be summed up to designs found in the garden layouts of this time. Formal gardens with an emphasis on geometry and perspective can be found in the landscape at Versailles. The city plan at Versailles also incorporates these design influences with its radiating boulevards that include the largest avenue in all of Europe, the Avenue de Paris. LeNotre came from a family where his father and grandfather were both responsible for the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris. His schooling included mathematics, painting, and architecture which shows in the work he did for the gardens at Chateau Fontainebleau, Chantilly, Vaux le Vicomte, and even St. James Park in London. So the next time you find yourself strolling along the Champs Elysee smoking a Gauloise and eating a croissant, remember to thank Andre LeNotre for his design.
----------
Take a Hike : Hofstra University Arboretum
When you need a suggestion for just the right tree, shrub, or perennial for that spot in your garden, do you pick up a plant catalog or book with closeup photographs that don’t show what the entire plant will look like once well established? Or do you go to the local nursery and hope they have more than the standard rows of azaleas and rhododendrons? You might want to consider a trip to Hofstra University in Hempstead, not to sit in a classroom but to walk the grounds of their beautiful campus that is also one of 430 arboreta in the US with 240 acres consisting of 625 different species and varieties of plant material. Also within the grounds is a two acre bird sanctuary with a clear walking path through this reclaimed site. Go to the Hofstra University website to see photographs of what is currently in bloom (www.Hofstra.edu) or call 516-463-6623 for additional information on self-guided tours.
----------
Members Page
New! Please Contribute Your Ideas, Suggestions, and Special Information. Name may be held by request.
Very Important Message!
Thank you for signing up to help at the Plant and Yard Sale. The sale is this Saturday from 9:00 AM—3:00 PM. We will need people to stagger their attendance if you cannot stay the entire time. We will begin setting up at 8:00 AM.
The Village is loaning us tables, but they must be picked up at the Beach Club, so if someone has a truck we can use, please be at the garden at 7:45 AM so we can meet Lori Devlin at the Beach club by 8:00 AM.
We will also need people at the end of the day to clean up and transport "leftovers" to the Salvation Army and/or Good Will in East Patchogue. Again, a truck would be helpful.
If you have never participated before, the day is basically helping customers and organizing the merchandise. Knowledge of perennials and their care is a bonus when people ask us for horticultural tips. Please e-mail me at sciencecat@optonline.net and let me know the times you can help.
The club will provide bagels and coffee for the workers. Thanks for making this annual event a success! Carol
Reminders: Farmingdale State College Garden Festival on May 31st and June 1st from 10 AM to 5 PM 2008, the Great Brookhaven Cleanup April 5 to May 31 and the Maynard garden June 1. See the April issue of the newsletter for details.
Sayville Garden Club Spring Luncheon and Raffle Boutique
May 19, 2008 at 10 AM Speaker: Mr. Art Wolk, “Garden Lunacy: A Growing Concern”, program and book signing Land's End, 80 Browns Rd., Sayville, NY 11782 Tickets: $40. Call Anne Wolstencroft at 589-1713.
Help Wanted!
One of our members, Heather Georgiou needs a recommendation for a landscaper to help her with her own garden clean up. If you know someone reliable, please e-mail her at markella12@aol.com.
Free Iris: Frances Barlow from the Bellport Spring Gardening School has Iris to give away. All you have to do is dig them up. Call her at 286-9151 after 4:00 PM to arrange a time. She lives in East Patchogue.
Dress Up Your Dirt
Violet Mulligan tells us if you don't find a good way to cover the ground, Mother Nature will, and you may not always like the results. She refers us to HDTV’s site for gracious groundcovers, including the beauty below. Thanks, Violet!
Verbena ‘Homestead Purple’
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_plants_groundcovers/article/0,1785,HGTV_3608_5850064,00.html?nl=HGG_v082_5
--------
Timely Tips for June
Pinch back any plants getting leggy, chrysanthemums every 6” or so. Divide spring flowering perennials, sow perennial seed, buy a few new. Check roses for black spot, mildew, & aphids and correct immediately. Deadhead annuals to keep them flowering all summer. Prune spring flowering shrubs right after they bloom. Divide and move old clusters of daffodils if bloom has fallen off.
Thank you to the approximately 25 members who gave their time to help “Open the Garden” a few weeks ago. This was the largest turn out ever, and we were able to finish around noon. Thanks to Guy for picking up the bagels and to Violet for the coffee. Thanks to Jack Heyer for repairing the shed door.
It’s finally time to plant, plant, plant! The last frost date for our area is May 15, so feel free to put in all those tender annuals and vegetables. When planting tomatoes, plant them deeply to get nice strong stems to hold up all those mouthwatering tomatoes, and don’t forget the cages or stakes. Check your hemlocks for wooly adelgid and use a horticultural oil to control them; left unchecked, your hemlock may be lost.
Don’t forget to put out water for the birds even if you don’t feed them; they always need a water source, especially during dry months. See you on the 27th!
Carol
---------
Mark the Date
Saturday, May 17, annual Plant and Yard Sale in the garden. Contact chairperson Carol Tvelia, sciencecat@optonline.net, for more information.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008, 6 PM, at the lovely home of Violet Mulligan, 899 Sipp Avenue, Patchogue, 758-1714. Turn south from Woodside Avenue just east of Hospital Road. Violet is a couple of blocks down on the left.
Saturday, June 7, 2008, 9:00 AM, Breakfast in the Garden; the club will provide bagels, coffee, tea, OJ. Bring a dish to share. Don't forget chairs!
The air is like a butterfly/ With frail blue wings.
The happy earth looks at the sky/ And sings.
- Joyce Kilmer, Spring
---------
Plant of the Month: New Improved Syringa (Lilac)
Gardeners today have a splendid range of new Lilac species, selections, and hybrids for various uses. Much of the effort has been the breeding of smaller plants such as the very popular 3-4’ S. patula, ‘Miss Kim’ with ice blue flowers and 4-6’ S. meyeri ‘Palibin’ with mauve-purple flowers. Both have coppery russet fall foliage to boot. New cultivars are being seen in the trade now. One is S. vulgaris ‘Prairie Petite’, a four-footer with many big pink trusses of pink flowers. S.hyacinthiflora ‘Maiden’s Blush’ is 5’6’ with bright pinky-lilac flowers. ‘Ballin’ (aka ‘Thumbelina’) is 5-6’ with exceptionally clean foliage and a long bloom period of pink flowers. If you’re up for something bigger, look for S.pekinensis ‘Copper Curls’, just patented and introduced by North Dakota State University, Fargo ND. It is a 20-25’ single or multistemmed tree with showy coppery exfoliating bark, creamy flower trusses, and big long-lasting seed clusters. Lilacs like full sun and bloom on old wood, so should be pruned, if at all, right after flowering. Remember that cropping ends only reduces bloom. Remove the seed heads. If your bush is too tall for space, cut out the older branches near ground level.
----------
Recipe of the Month: Rhubarb Citrus Punch
Ingredients:
8 C. diced rhubarb, stems only
5 C. water
About 2 C. sugar
2 C. orange juice
3/4 C. lemon juice
1 Qt. chilled ginger ale
1 Qt. fresh strawberries (optional)
Rum or vodka (optional)
In pot, simmer rhubarb and water until rhubarb is mushy. Cool; strain through food mill. Add ¼ C. sugar for each cup of rhubarb, lemon and orange juice and return rhubarb only to the pot. Heat just to dissolve the sugar. Chill. Add the orange and lemon juices. Just before serving, add ginger ale and
strawberries, if desired. Pour over ice. Add rum or vodka if you’re that sort. Quantities for 2 ½ -3 gallons: 32 C. rhubarb, 20 C. water, 8 C. sugar, 12 Oz. lemon juice, 8 C. orange juice, 4 Qts. Ginger ale.
---------
Serious Dirt from Richard Waldman
Andre LeNotre, 1613-1700
You don’t have to fly to France (not that I would mind!—would you?) and walk through the gardens (translation: jardin, if you have already booked that trip and haven’t bought the Berlitz book yet) to understand the influence of a landscape architect who worked for King Louis XIV from 1645-1700. French landscape architecture in a simplified manner could be summed up to designs found in the garden layouts of this time. Formal gardens with an emphasis on geometry and perspective can be found in the landscape at Versailles. The city plan at Versailles also incorporates these design influences with its radiating boulevards that include the largest avenue in all of Europe, the Avenue de Paris. LeNotre came from a family where his father and grandfather were both responsible for the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris. His schooling included mathematics, painting, and architecture which shows in the work he did for the gardens at Chateau Fontainebleau, Chantilly, Vaux le Vicomte, and even St. James Park in London. So the next time you find yourself strolling along the Champs Elysee smoking a Gauloise and eating a croissant, remember to thank Andre LeNotre for his design.
----------
Take a Hike : Hofstra University Arboretum
When you need a suggestion for just the right tree, shrub, or perennial for that spot in your garden, do you pick up a plant catalog or book with closeup photographs that don’t show what the entire plant will look like once well established? Or do you go to the local nursery and hope they have more than the standard rows of azaleas and rhododendrons? You might want to consider a trip to Hofstra University in Hempstead, not to sit in a classroom but to walk the grounds of their beautiful campus that is also one of 430 arboreta in the US with 240 acres consisting of 625 different species and varieties of plant material. Also within the grounds is a two acre bird sanctuary with a clear walking path through this reclaimed site. Go to the Hofstra University website to see photographs of what is currently in bloom (www.Hofstra.edu) or call 516-463-6623 for additional information on self-guided tours.
----------
Members Page
New! Please Contribute Your Ideas, Suggestions, and Special Information. Name may be held by request.
Very Important Message!
Thank you for signing up to help at the Plant and Yard Sale. The sale is this Saturday from 9:00 AM—3:00 PM. We will need people to stagger their attendance if you cannot stay the entire time. We will begin setting up at 8:00 AM.
The Village is loaning us tables, but they must be picked up at the Beach Club, so if someone has a truck we can use, please be at the garden at 7:45 AM so we can meet Lori Devlin at the Beach club by 8:00 AM.
We will also need people at the end of the day to clean up and transport "leftovers" to the Salvation Army and/or Good Will in East Patchogue. Again, a truck would be helpful.
If you have never participated before, the day is basically helping customers and organizing the merchandise. Knowledge of perennials and their care is a bonus when people ask us for horticultural tips. Please e-mail me at sciencecat@optonline.net and let me know the times you can help.
The club will provide bagels and coffee for the workers. Thanks for making this annual event a success! Carol
Reminders: Farmingdale State College Garden Festival on May 31st and June 1st from 10 AM to 5 PM 2008, the Great Brookhaven Cleanup April 5 to May 31 and the Maynard garden June 1. See the April issue of the newsletter for details.
Sayville Garden Club Spring Luncheon and Raffle Boutique
May 19, 2008 at 10 AM Speaker: Mr. Art Wolk, “Garden Lunacy: A Growing Concern”, program and book signing Land's End, 80 Browns Rd., Sayville, NY 11782 Tickets: $40. Call Anne Wolstencroft at 589-1713.
Help Wanted!
One of our members, Heather Georgiou needs a recommendation for a landscaper to help her with her own garden clean up. If you know someone reliable, please e-mail her at markella12@aol.com.
Free Iris: Frances Barlow from the Bellport Spring Gardening School has Iris to give away. All you have to do is dig them up. Call her at 286-9151 after 4:00 PM to arrange a time. She lives in East Patchogue.
Dress Up Your Dirt
Violet Mulligan tells us if you don't find a good way to cover the ground, Mother Nature will, and you may not always like the results. She refers us to HDTV’s site for gracious groundcovers, including the beauty below. Thanks, Violet!
Verbena ‘Homestead Purple’
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_plants_groundcovers/article/0,1785,HGTV_3608_5850064,00.html?nl=HGG_v082_5
--------
Timely Tips for June
Pinch back any plants getting leggy, chrysanthemums every 6” or so. Divide spring flowering perennials, sow perennial seed, buy a few new. Check roses for black spot, mildew, & aphids and correct immediately. Deadhead annuals to keep them flowering all summer. Prune spring flowering shrubs right after they bloom. Divide and move old clusters of daffodils if bloom has fallen off.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
April 2008 Garden Gazette
Greetings from the President
Although the calendar said that spring arrived almost a month ago, the weather certainly hasn’t cooperated. I think we will have another one of those seasons where we “skip” spring and go right into summer. We still need a volunteer or two to help with the Community Summit at Patchogue- Medford HS on May 1 from 5-9 PM. If you can give just one hour, it would be much appreciated. Everyone is welcome to attend the summit starting at 6 PM. We will be opening the garden on Saturday, April 26 at 9 AM. Please bring clippers, bags, rakes, and shovels. The club will provide bagels and coffee. The rain date is Sunday, April 27. Remember the adage, “Many hands make light work”. Any time you can give will help the work go much faster. The Plant and Yard Sale will take place on May 17th. Price labels for donated yard sale items will be available at the April meeting. We will also have a limited number of pots for your plant donations. Please be sure that any items you are donating are pre-priced. Plants need to be identified by common names. We will need people to
set up and clean up as well as to sell during the day.
Carol Tvelia
President
Patchogue Garden Club
----------
Mark the Date
Tuesday, April 22, 2008, 7 PM, membership meeting at the Hagerman Fire Department on the corner of Dunton Avenue and Oakdale Avenue in East Patchogue. From the Village, go east on Montauk Hwy. to Dunton Ave., turn right, cross the railroad tracks, and make an immediate left. The fire house is on the right. Enter the first driveway, park in the rear of the building, and enter through the visitor’s entrance in the rear. The meeting room is on the right side of the hallway.
Saturday, April 26, 2008 (Rain date April 27), 9 AM, opening of the community garden at South Ocean Ave. and Terry St. Workers needed! Bring gloves, tools, plastic bags and energy! Reward: Coffee and bagels.
----------
Plant of the Month: A Shady Standout
Ten years ago few gardeners knew about Brunnera macrophylla (formerly Anchusa myosotidiflora, meaning forget-me-not flowered), commonly known as Siberian/heartleaf bugloss or perennial/false forget-me-not. Its large, heart-shaped or oval leaves and masses of pure blue spring flowers are
endearing. It is extremely hardy and adaptable, producing mounds of 6” leaves that stay handsome all summer if given half to full shade and moist, humusy soil. It makes an excellent groundcover.
As beautiful as the species is, most in demand are cultivars with various leaf variegations. ‘Jack Frost’ has striking green-veined silver leaves. ‘Variegata’ has lovely gray-green leaves with irregular creamy edges. ‘Hadspen Cream’ has broad creamy borders on dark green leaves. ‘Langtrees’, aka ‘Aluminum Spot’, has unusual silver spotting and mottling on its foliage. The newest arrival is ‘Silver Wings’, with distinctive marbling. Occasionally you might find the white-flowered ‘Alba’ whose leaves are a deep green. Available at many mail-order nurseries, e.g., White Flower Farm, if not locally.
Recipe of the Month: Pasta with Asparagus
Southern asparagus is in the markets now, and soon we’ll be seeing the local product. Now is the time to haul out all your best asparagus recipes for the season. Timely hint: Store up your stems for cream of asparagus soup and garnish with a few fresh tips. If you have overwintered leeks, make the soup with them instead of onions.
1 lb. asparagus * 6 tbsp. butter * ½ c. finely sliced ham * 1 c. finely sliced
mushrooms * 1 lb. fettucine * 2 tbsp. olive oil * 2 cloves garlic, minced * 2 c.
light cream * ¾ c. Parmesan * salt & pepper * 2 beaten egg yolks * chopped
chives
Peel and roll-cut asparagus into 1-1 ½ “ pieces. Melt 2 tbsp. butter in a saute pan and lightly saute the ham (omit for vegetarians) and mushrooms; set aside. Blanch the asparagus in a large pot of water until just cooked through; scoop out the asparagus, but save the water. Add the pasta and cook until done, then drain. In a large saute pan heat 4 tbsp. butter and the olive oil. Add garlic (you can use more if you like) and cook for a minute. Add the pasta and toss to coat with butter and oil. Stir in the cream and grated cheese and cook for 1-2 minutes until slightly thickened. If you like, lower the heat and stir in the eggs. Toss for a minute to thicken the sauce. Add the asparagus, ham, and mushrooms and cook for a minute to heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with chives and pass more grated Parmesan cheese if desired. Serves 4-6.
----------
Serious Dirt from Richard Waldman
Thomas Dolliver Church (1902 - 1978)
In the United States, modern residential landscape design began with a small group of influential designers, with Thomas Church, affectionately known as Tommy, being considered the founding father. He was born in Boston, but grew up in the Ojai Valley north of Los Angeles, and received his MA from the Harvard Graduate School of Design in city planning and landscape architecture in 1923. When he was 30 years old he opened an office and continued his practice from the same location until his retirement in 1977. The modern landscape design movement came to be known as 'California Style'. In his book, “Gardens are For People” (available through the Suffolk County Library system and in bookstores), he illustrates his four guiding principles for garden design. Unity (taking into account the scheme as a whole rather than disjointed parcels), function, simplicity and scale. Having designed over 2,000 private gardens and master plans for college campuses and commercial sites, Church did away with an emphasis on using a formal central axis and stated that gardens ‘should be pleasing when seen from any angle, not only from the house.’ In addition to his books that are still in print, he was also a longtime contributor to the magazines House Beautiful and Sunset. See Stanford Magazine’s article for more detail at http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2003/janfeb/features/church.html
----------
Arbor Day
Arbor Day, a Nebraska holiday since 1872, came from an idea of J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska. A pioneer from Detroit, he noticed that his new state lacked the green growth he was accustomed to. As a journalist he wrote of the importance trees have as windbreaks, for building materials and for shade. In numerous editorials he persuaded other civic organizations to jump on the band wagon. The first official national Arbor Day was celebrated in 1885 with great fanfare. In the following years, states passed Arbor Day legislation, typically observed on the national date of the last Friday in April, though that varies from state to state. In New York State, 379,036 trees were planted by 47,300 Arbor Day Foundation members in 2005 alone. See www.Arborday.org.
----------
Henry Moore Sculptures Arrive Fresh from England’s Kew Gardens!
A garden consists of more than just trees, shrubs, perennials and lawn. Some gardens include water features such as fountains or ponds, and in others you can find sculpture placed in strategic locations. From May 24th through November 2nd the New York Botanical Garden will be hosting an exhibit throughout their 250 acres of 20 major Henry Moore sculptures. Moore had taken inspiration for many of these pieces from his love of nature. With the monumental size of these works of art, the outdoors turns out to be one of the best places to be able to view them from all angles, in different light conditions and with the gardens as a backdrop. The Henry Moore Foundation, along with the New York Botanical Gardens, will be placing these sculptures for visitors to get close enough to touch them too. For more information go to www.nybg.org. For more on Moore, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Moore
----------
Around Town
More News on Arbor Day
The Village of Patchogue’s Tree Committee, headed up by Trustee Lori Devlin, is planning an Arbor Day celebration to be held in the municipal parking lot behind the Patchogue Theatre in the vicinity of the new American Elms. They will install the plaque that was awarded from Liberty Elm (the group that raises these Dutch Elm disease-resistant trees, http://www.libertyelm.com/) and John Cino will read from Seuss’ "The Lorax". If you have any ideas for additional content for this ceremony, please let Lori know at ldevlin@patchoguevillage.org . The date for the ceremony is April 29th at 10 AM. Children from Bay Avenue Elementary School’s Green Thumb Club will be there. Village of Patchogue Beautification Committee Fundraiser
The Greater Patchogue Foundation Beautification Committee, headed up by our own Paula Murphy, will host its Annual Eloise Staudinger Fundraiser on April 26th at the Pine Grove Inn at 1 Chapel Avenue in East Patchogue. This is the committee’s only fundraiser, so if the daffodils they planted blooming all over Patchogue make you smile—with tulips and flowering trees soon to follow—please make every effort to attend. Lunch, 11:30–3:00, Dinner, two seatings, 5:00–7:30 and 7:30–10:00. Call the office, 207-1000, for reservations. Lunch: $22, Dinner: $35. Prizes will be raffled off.
At Last, Copper Beech Village Sports a Real Copper Beech On Friday, April 11, around noon, a magnificent Copper Beech, Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea’, was planted on the grounds of Copper Beech Village at the corner of Railroad Avenue and Gerard Street, thanks to Pulte Homes. We will look forward to seeing this beautiful specimen take off.
---------
Members Page
New! Please Contribute Your Ideas, Suggestions, and Special Information. Name may be held by request.
Learning Experience
Put down your trowel, hang up your rake and find your way to Farmingdale State College on May 31st and June 1st from 10 AM to 5 PM for the 2008 Garden Festival. Take a free tour of their teaching gardens where students from the Department of Ornamental Horticulture have been working the gardens into themed rooms since the 1930's.
You can shop their plant sale with assistance to help you locate the right plant for your garden and your own specific needs. There will be workshops, and Cornell Cooperative Extension will offer an analysis and diagnosis on soil samples brought from your garden. For more information: www.farmingdale.edu/horticulture or call 631-420-2075/2113. Thanks, Richard.
Pitch In!
Join good people doing great things: The Great Brookhaven Cleanup is April 5 to May 31. On May 10 there is a Shredding Event. Residents can bring old files, sensitive papers, etc., for free secure shredding and recycling (small businesses must register in advance) at the Town’s Materials Recycling Facility. The Great Brookhaven Plant-In will be held on May 17. Register online at www.Brookhaven.org or via Brookhaven’s Green Gazette, mail or fax. For information call 451-TOWN. Thank you Barbara Aragon!
John and Pepe Maynard’s Bedford NY Garden: A Very Special Road Trip
Pepe Maynard, a landscape designer, was a co-founder of the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days program and a principal in the restoration of New York City’s Central Park Conservatory Garden. Paula and Karen recently attended a program sponsored by Wave Hill at the New York School of Interior Design at which Pepe spoke about how her upbringing on a 2,000 acre farm in Kenya just south of Mt. Kilimanjaro and the natural African landscape informed her approach to landscape design. At the talk, Pepe invited people to stop by on June 1 to see their garden, which they have nurtured for 30 years—it’s now or never. Soon they will be retiring to their Maine home.
See http://gardening.lohudblogs.com/2008/01/24/pepe-maynards-garden-in-winter/ for photos and a link to news.
Let’s have a caravan; organize your carpool. Directions on request. Biochar? What’s the Buzz?
Biochar is a charcoal produced from biomass (secondary forest and crop residues). In some cases, the term is used specifically to mean biomass charcoal produced via pyrolysis (slash and char rather than slash and burn). Biochar is employed commonly as a soil amendment. There is evidence that low-temperature biochar produces robust growth in plants when compared to high-temperature biochar. It is speculated that it retains organic matter desirable to beneficial microbes resulting in higher nutrient availability to plants. Biochar is the main ingredient in the formation of terra preta, or Amazonian dark earth. Efforts to create these soils are being undertaken by companies, and research efforts are underway at Cornell, among other universities. One focus of this research is the prospect that if biochar becomes widely used for soil improvement, it will involve globally significant amounts of carbon sequestration, remediating global warming. Biochar has potential as an amendment for aquatic habitats, being able to absorb nitrate and phosphate which run off the land and into waterways. Also, rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are thought to be leading to increasing ocean acidity and potential harm to some forms of marine life. Biochar is able to absorb and neutralize
acids and toxins in the water which would lead to an increased ocean pH. For more details and scientific explanations, see http://www.css.cornell.edu/faculty/lehmann/biochar/Biochar_home.htm and http://www.biocharinternational.org/aboutbiochar.html. Thanks to Barbara Aragon.
-----------
Timely Tips
Treat yourself to at least 1 great new plant before the best selection is gone.
Deadhead spring blooming bulbs, but let the foliage grow until it yellows
Start digging that pond you’ve been talking about.
Keep an eye out for pests & fungal diseases. Control them before it’s too late.
Keep harvesting cool season crops like asparagus, peas, and spring lettuce.
If you’re not picking asparagus, get some planted for next year
---------
"The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day.
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You're one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,
And wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you're two months back in the middle of
March."
- Robert Frost
Although the calendar said that spring arrived almost a month ago, the weather certainly hasn’t cooperated. I think we will have another one of those seasons where we “skip” spring and go right into summer. We still need a volunteer or two to help with the Community Summit at Patchogue- Medford HS on May 1 from 5-9 PM. If you can give just one hour, it would be much appreciated. Everyone is welcome to attend the summit starting at 6 PM. We will be opening the garden on Saturday, April 26 at 9 AM. Please bring clippers, bags, rakes, and shovels. The club will provide bagels and coffee. The rain date is Sunday, April 27. Remember the adage, “Many hands make light work”. Any time you can give will help the work go much faster. The Plant and Yard Sale will take place on May 17th. Price labels for donated yard sale items will be available at the April meeting. We will also have a limited number of pots for your plant donations. Please be sure that any items you are donating are pre-priced. Plants need to be identified by common names. We will need people to
set up and clean up as well as to sell during the day.
Carol Tvelia
President
Patchogue Garden Club
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Mark the Date
Tuesday, April 22, 2008, 7 PM, membership meeting at the Hagerman Fire Department on the corner of Dunton Avenue and Oakdale Avenue in East Patchogue. From the Village, go east on Montauk Hwy. to Dunton Ave., turn right, cross the railroad tracks, and make an immediate left. The fire house is on the right. Enter the first driveway, park in the rear of the building, and enter through the visitor’s entrance in the rear. The meeting room is on the right side of the hallway.
Saturday, April 26, 2008 (Rain date April 27), 9 AM, opening of the community garden at South Ocean Ave. and Terry St. Workers needed! Bring gloves, tools, plastic bags and energy! Reward: Coffee and bagels.
----------
Plant of the Month: A Shady Standout
Ten years ago few gardeners knew about Brunnera macrophylla (formerly Anchusa myosotidiflora, meaning forget-me-not flowered), commonly known as Siberian/heartleaf bugloss or perennial/false forget-me-not. Its large, heart-shaped or oval leaves and masses of pure blue spring flowers are
endearing. It is extremely hardy and adaptable, producing mounds of 6” leaves that stay handsome all summer if given half to full shade and moist, humusy soil. It makes an excellent groundcover.
As beautiful as the species is, most in demand are cultivars with various leaf variegations. ‘Jack Frost’ has striking green-veined silver leaves. ‘Variegata’ has lovely gray-green leaves with irregular creamy edges. ‘Hadspen Cream’ has broad creamy borders on dark green leaves. ‘Langtrees’, aka ‘Aluminum Spot’, has unusual silver spotting and mottling on its foliage. The newest arrival is ‘Silver Wings’, with distinctive marbling. Occasionally you might find the white-flowered ‘Alba’ whose leaves are a deep green. Available at many mail-order nurseries, e.g., White Flower Farm, if not locally.
Recipe of the Month: Pasta with Asparagus
Southern asparagus is in the markets now, and soon we’ll be seeing the local product. Now is the time to haul out all your best asparagus recipes for the season. Timely hint: Store up your stems for cream of asparagus soup and garnish with a few fresh tips. If you have overwintered leeks, make the soup with them instead of onions.
1 lb. asparagus * 6 tbsp. butter * ½ c. finely sliced ham * 1 c. finely sliced
mushrooms * 1 lb. fettucine * 2 tbsp. olive oil * 2 cloves garlic, minced * 2 c.
light cream * ¾ c. Parmesan * salt & pepper * 2 beaten egg yolks * chopped
chives
Peel and roll-cut asparagus into 1-1 ½ “ pieces. Melt 2 tbsp. butter in a saute pan and lightly saute the ham (omit for vegetarians) and mushrooms; set aside. Blanch the asparagus in a large pot of water until just cooked through; scoop out the asparagus, but save the water. Add the pasta and cook until done, then drain. In a large saute pan heat 4 tbsp. butter and the olive oil. Add garlic (you can use more if you like) and cook for a minute. Add the pasta and toss to coat with butter and oil. Stir in the cream and grated cheese and cook for 1-2 minutes until slightly thickened. If you like, lower the heat and stir in the eggs. Toss for a minute to thicken the sauce. Add the asparagus, ham, and mushrooms and cook for a minute to heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with chives and pass more grated Parmesan cheese if desired. Serves 4-6.
----------
Serious Dirt from Richard Waldman
Thomas Dolliver Church (1902 - 1978)
In the United States, modern residential landscape design began with a small group of influential designers, with Thomas Church, affectionately known as Tommy, being considered the founding father. He was born in Boston, but grew up in the Ojai Valley north of Los Angeles, and received his MA from the Harvard Graduate School of Design in city planning and landscape architecture in 1923. When he was 30 years old he opened an office and continued his practice from the same location until his retirement in 1977. The modern landscape design movement came to be known as 'California Style'. In his book, “Gardens are For People” (available through the Suffolk County Library system and in bookstores), he illustrates his four guiding principles for garden design. Unity (taking into account the scheme as a whole rather than disjointed parcels), function, simplicity and scale. Having designed over 2,000 private gardens and master plans for college campuses and commercial sites, Church did away with an emphasis on using a formal central axis and stated that gardens ‘should be pleasing when seen from any angle, not only from the house.’ In addition to his books that are still in print, he was also a longtime contributor to the magazines House Beautiful and Sunset. See Stanford Magazine’s article for more detail at http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2003/janfeb/features/church.html
----------
Arbor Day
Arbor Day, a Nebraska holiday since 1872, came from an idea of J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska. A pioneer from Detroit, he noticed that his new state lacked the green growth he was accustomed to. As a journalist he wrote of the importance trees have as windbreaks, for building materials and for shade. In numerous editorials he persuaded other civic organizations to jump on the band wagon. The first official national Arbor Day was celebrated in 1885 with great fanfare. In the following years, states passed Arbor Day legislation, typically observed on the national date of the last Friday in April, though that varies from state to state. In New York State, 379,036 trees were planted by 47,300 Arbor Day Foundation members in 2005 alone. See www.Arborday.org.
----------
Henry Moore Sculptures Arrive Fresh from England’s Kew Gardens!
A garden consists of more than just trees, shrubs, perennials and lawn. Some gardens include water features such as fountains or ponds, and in others you can find sculpture placed in strategic locations. From May 24th through November 2nd the New York Botanical Garden will be hosting an exhibit throughout their 250 acres of 20 major Henry Moore sculptures. Moore had taken inspiration for many of these pieces from his love of nature. With the monumental size of these works of art, the outdoors turns out to be one of the best places to be able to view them from all angles, in different light conditions and with the gardens as a backdrop. The Henry Moore Foundation, along with the New York Botanical Gardens, will be placing these sculptures for visitors to get close enough to touch them too. For more information go to www.nybg.org. For more on Moore, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Moore
----------
Around Town
More News on Arbor Day
The Village of Patchogue’s Tree Committee, headed up by Trustee Lori Devlin, is planning an Arbor Day celebration to be held in the municipal parking lot behind the Patchogue Theatre in the vicinity of the new American Elms. They will install the plaque that was awarded from Liberty Elm (the group that raises these Dutch Elm disease-resistant trees, http://www.libertyelm.com/) and John Cino will read from Seuss’ "The Lorax". If you have any ideas for additional content for this ceremony, please let Lori know at ldevlin@patchoguevillage.org . The date for the ceremony is April 29th at 10 AM. Children from Bay Avenue Elementary School’s Green Thumb Club will be there. Village of Patchogue Beautification Committee Fundraiser
The Greater Patchogue Foundation Beautification Committee, headed up by our own Paula Murphy, will host its Annual Eloise Staudinger Fundraiser on April 26th at the Pine Grove Inn at 1 Chapel Avenue in East Patchogue. This is the committee’s only fundraiser, so if the daffodils they planted blooming all over Patchogue make you smile—with tulips and flowering trees soon to follow—please make every effort to attend. Lunch, 11:30–3:00, Dinner, two seatings, 5:00–7:30 and 7:30–10:00. Call the office, 207-1000, for reservations. Lunch: $22, Dinner: $35. Prizes will be raffled off.
At Last, Copper Beech Village Sports a Real Copper Beech On Friday, April 11, around noon, a magnificent Copper Beech, Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea’, was planted on the grounds of Copper Beech Village at the corner of Railroad Avenue and Gerard Street, thanks to Pulte Homes. We will look forward to seeing this beautiful specimen take off.
---------
Members Page
New! Please Contribute Your Ideas, Suggestions, and Special Information. Name may be held by request.
Learning Experience
Put down your trowel, hang up your rake and find your way to Farmingdale State College on May 31st and June 1st from 10 AM to 5 PM for the 2008 Garden Festival. Take a free tour of their teaching gardens where students from the Department of Ornamental Horticulture have been working the gardens into themed rooms since the 1930's.
You can shop their plant sale with assistance to help you locate the right plant for your garden and your own specific needs. There will be workshops, and Cornell Cooperative Extension will offer an analysis and diagnosis on soil samples brought from your garden. For more information: www.farmingdale.edu/horticulture or call 631-420-2075/2113. Thanks, Richard.
Pitch In!
Join good people doing great things: The Great Brookhaven Cleanup is April 5 to May 31. On May 10 there is a Shredding Event. Residents can bring old files, sensitive papers, etc., for free secure shredding and recycling (small businesses must register in advance) at the Town’s Materials Recycling Facility. The Great Brookhaven Plant-In will be held on May 17. Register online at www.Brookhaven.org or via Brookhaven’s Green Gazette, mail or fax. For information call 451-TOWN. Thank you Barbara Aragon!
John and Pepe Maynard’s Bedford NY Garden: A Very Special Road Trip
Pepe Maynard, a landscape designer, was a co-founder of the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days program and a principal in the restoration of New York City’s Central Park Conservatory Garden. Paula and Karen recently attended a program sponsored by Wave Hill at the New York School of Interior Design at which Pepe spoke about how her upbringing on a 2,000 acre farm in Kenya just south of Mt. Kilimanjaro and the natural African landscape informed her approach to landscape design. At the talk, Pepe invited people to stop by on June 1 to see their garden, which they have nurtured for 30 years—it’s now or never. Soon they will be retiring to their Maine home.
See http://gardening.lohudblogs.com/2008/01/24/pepe-maynards-garden-in-winter/ for photos and a link to news.
Let’s have a caravan; organize your carpool. Directions on request. Biochar? What’s the Buzz?
Biochar is a charcoal produced from biomass (secondary forest and crop residues). In some cases, the term is used specifically to mean biomass charcoal produced via pyrolysis (slash and char rather than slash and burn). Biochar is employed commonly as a soil amendment. There is evidence that low-temperature biochar produces robust growth in plants when compared to high-temperature biochar. It is speculated that it retains organic matter desirable to beneficial microbes resulting in higher nutrient availability to plants. Biochar is the main ingredient in the formation of terra preta, or Amazonian dark earth. Efforts to create these soils are being undertaken by companies, and research efforts are underway at Cornell, among other universities. One focus of this research is the prospect that if biochar becomes widely used for soil improvement, it will involve globally significant amounts of carbon sequestration, remediating global warming. Biochar has potential as an amendment for aquatic habitats, being able to absorb nitrate and phosphate which run off the land and into waterways. Also, rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are thought to be leading to increasing ocean acidity and potential harm to some forms of marine life. Biochar is able to absorb and neutralize
acids and toxins in the water which would lead to an increased ocean pH. For more details and scientific explanations, see http://www.css.cornell.edu/faculty/lehmann/biochar/Biochar_home.htm and http://www.biocharinternational.org/aboutbiochar.html. Thanks to Barbara Aragon.
-----------
Timely Tips
Treat yourself to at least 1 great new plant before the best selection is gone.
Deadhead spring blooming bulbs, but let the foliage grow until it yellows
Start digging that pond you’ve been talking about.
Keep an eye out for pests & fungal diseases. Control them before it’s too late.
Keep harvesting cool season crops like asparagus, peas, and spring lettuce.
If you’re not picking asparagus, get some planted for next year
---------
"The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day.
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You're one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,
And wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you're two months back in the middle of
March."
- Robert Frost
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
March 2008 Garden Gazette
Greetings from the President
Congratulations to Georgia Dulmovits and Arlene Lamberti and all the members of the Luncheon Committee for another fantastic event. This year’s event was the largest yet with 160 attendees and over 80 baskets donated and raffled. I know how much work goes into this yearly event, and everyone involved is to be commended.
We have secured a new meeting place for the remainder of this year. The Hagerman Fire Department has generously donated their large meeting room for our meetings. The room is well apportioned and the kitchen has state of the art facilities. The fire department will take care of the set up and breakdown of the tables and chairs. All we have to do is our refreshment setup. The department also has automatic doors that will allow us to enter the facilities without having to wait to be “buzzed” in.
The Hagerman Fire Department is located on the corner of Dunton Avenue and Oakdale Avenue in East Patchogue. (Approximately 5 traffic lights past the intersection of South Country Road and Montauk Hwy)
Directions from the village: Go east on Montauk Hwy. to Dunton Ave., turn right, cross the railroad tracks, and make an immediate left. The fire house is on the right. Enter the first driveway, park in the rear of the building, and enter through the visitor’s entrance in the rear. The meeting room is on the right side of the hallway. I want to thank all those who assisted in locating a new meeting place. I hope we will soon have a permanent home at the Winona cottage. Members of the board will be
visiting the cottage this week; we’ll present information at Tuesday’s meeting.
Carol Tvelia
President
Patchogue Garden Club
-----------
Mark the Date
Tuesday, March 25, 2008, 7 PM, membership meeting; see above for details. Jo Miller will speak about our club history.
Saturday, April 26, 2008, 9 AM, opening of the community garden at South Ocean Ave. and Terry St. Workers needed! Bring gloves, tools and energy!
-----------
Plant of the Month: Daffodil (Narcissus)
The Daffodil is the birthday flower of March, the month of the spring equinox. One of the first visible signs of spring, the earliest ones are in bud now and will bloom soon. Vigorous and long-lived, they thrive in sunny, well-drained places and multiply with little care. There are many uses for Daffodils,
including bedding, cutting, naturalizing, forcing, and showing.
The Daffodil is believed to have been brought to Britain by the Romans, who mistakenly believed that its sap could heal wounds. In fact, daffodil sap contains sharp crystals that prevent animals from eating the flower. While it did little to heal the Romans' wounds, it succeeded in further irritating their
skin.
Today people associate the bright, yellow daffodil as a symbol of rebirth, a sign of the new beginnings that come with spring. Daffodils are said to bring good fortune to the person who avoids trampling on them. Lest they bring unhappy vanity to the bride, Daffodils should never be present at a wedding.
So why write about Daffodils when we won’t be planting them until fall? Because now is the time to plan and save money in the bargain.
Order The Works by July 1st and save 10%! The normal pricing is $77 for 100 bulbs. Bulbs are shipped at the correct time for planting in the fall.
White Flower Farm’s Daffodil mix for naturalizing, The Works, is made up of top-sized bulbs of no less than 30 varieties, never more than 5 of each, and is blended to provide the widest possible range of color, form, and blooming time. Included are classic Trumpets in shades of yellow, gold, cream, and
white; Large Cups and Small Cups in great variety with wide petals and ruffled cups; members of the delicate and graceful Poeticus class; some Splitcoronas; fragrant Jonquilla hybrids holding smaller flowers; and Tazetta hybrids bearing clusters of sweet flowers on each stalk. These are recently named varieties, with nary a seedling nor a second in the lot, and they will bloom like nothing you have seen before.
While the mixture changes from year to year to take advantage of the market, it always represents the best that this glorious genus has to offer. The large bulbs produce more flowers with fewer misses their first year, then go busily about self-propagating in a site they like, actually adding to the show in future years. All they require is reasonable drainage and at least 6 hours of sun a day in spring to settle in as cheerful and permanent neighbors. Save 10% if you order by July 1, 100 for $69; save even more by going in with other gardeners, 200 for $128 or 400 for $242.
http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/984310-product.html
More good news: If five months of effortless, effusive bloom appeals to you, interplant early, mid- and late season Daylilies (Hemerocallis) among the Daffodils. The emerging foliage of the easy-care Daylilies will hide the withering Daffodil leaves.
Wait until you see the club’s emblematic Daffodil show in the community garden this spring!
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Serious (and Not So Serious) Dirt from Richard Waldman
Old Wives Tales and Garden Folklore
Do you find yourself repeating a saying only to find out that it is an 'Old Wives
Tale'? Add the following to your repertoire:
· To ensure you will have a good crop, wet a hanky with rain on Easter.
[Ed: Be sure to save some rain in case none falls on Easter.]
· Placing rusty nails or old irons around your plants will help them grow.
· If you put fertilizer on the ground during the light of the moon, it will not
decompose and will do no good.
· Before planting peas, line the trench with holly leaves to prevent mice.
· In the last century in England, a bunch of violets worn around the neck
or on the lapel protected against drunkenness. [Ed: Finally, a use for
those pesky violets!]
· Sage thrives in the garden of a woman who rules her household and her
husband firmly [Ed: I thought it just tastes good, such a silly woman!].
· Red and white flowers in the same vase are unlucky, blue and orange
flowers are welcome in homes and hospitals as these colors calm the
nerves.
· Don’t plant potatoes during the dark part of the moon. [Ed: Or?...]
· Plant your garden on Good Friday. Don’t plant your garden on Rotten
Saturday; the seeds will rot. [Ed: Oops, too late for this year].
· An acorn at the window will keep lightning out.
----------
Sit up and Take Notice! $1,000.00 Fine!
Think again before you apply lawn fertilizer anytime between November 1st and April 1st in Suffolk County. Effective next January, a new law will go into effect that will attempt to reduce the nitrogen from fertilizers leaching into the groundwater that ends up harming marine life through an increase in algae in streams, ponds and lakes. Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County suggests that fertilizers be applied to lawns only after the first flush of spring growth in late May. Stores will post signs announcing the new law along with brochures on proper lawn management. Suffolk County currently requires licensed landscapers to take approved courses in turf management. Suffolk County itself will ban fertilizers on many county properties.
---------
Cornell Coop Extension will be holding a Spring Gardening Symposium April 5th, 8:30AM to 4PM at the western campus of Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood. Lecturers from Planting Fields Arboretum and Bayport Flower Houses among others will discuss flowering trees, organic turf management, organic vegetable gardening, designing a portable garden in containers and the new up to date techniques and products to use in 'earth friendly' gardening. The $65 fee includes access to all lectures, breakfast & lunch and handouts. For more information, contact Cornell Coop Extension of Suffolk County at 727- 7850 x 337 or go on line: www.counties.cce.cornell.edu/suffolk .
---------
Special Message from the Luncheon Committee Co-chairmen
Arlene and I would like to thank each and every one of you for all the hard work you did to make the Garden Club “Think Spring” Luncheon a success. You all played your part, and the puzzle fit together on March 13. [Ed: Who says 13 is unlucky?] We are looking forward to working with all of you again. Our thanks!!! Arlene and Georgia
Committee members, in no particular order:
Jo Miller, Barbara Aragon, Janet and Jack Heyer, Ruth Szuminskyj, Carolyn Young, June Petrucelli, Karen Ferb, Ann Rubbo, Gladys Heimburger, Barbara Bestafka, Pauline Carleton, Millie Zimmerman, Paula Murphy, Violet Mulligan, Marita Morello, Carolyn Savastano, Kathy McMahon, Babette Bishop, Marie Magnano, Joan Delaney, Ellen Brandt, Mary Ann Tchinnis
Contributors: Rosalie Coleman, Diane and Bert Voland, Barbara Bruce, Judy Zuck, Susan Toplitz, Ellen Scammon, Fred and Bonnie Bossert, Joan Kattau, Carol Tvelia, Sue Scala, Guy Vitale, Joanna Drake, Ruth Shackelford, Donna Ferraiuolo, Sandra Franco, Margaret Atkinson, Frank and Peg Densing, Heather Georgiou And a huge thank you to Georgia and Arlene from the committee, the contributors, and the club for a great job!
----------
Here's a little "tidbit" you may not know about Easter
Easter is early this year. Easter is always the first Sunday after the 1st full moon after the spring equinox (which is March 20). This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that the Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.
Based on the above information, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) but that is pretty rare. Here's the really interesting part. This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population has ever seen it this early (95 years old or older!). And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier! Just the facts, Ma’am: The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913. The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22,will be in the Year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So no one alive today has or will ever
see it any earlier than this year. [Thank you to Carolyn Savastano for sending this in.]
----------
FYI: The roots of euphorbia are a deterrent to gophers and moles.
----------
To follow through on the advice of the “Think Spring” luncheon speaker, Patti Wood of Grassroots, read "1001 Ways to Save the Earth" (Chronicle, $10, by Joanna Yarrow), a compact guide that offers simple, fun ideas for conserving water, composting at work, cleaning without chemicals and finding Fair Trade goods at the supermarket. Joanna Yarrow is a United Kingdom-based expert on sustainable living and a frequent media commentator on environmental issues. Her book is available via ILL from the Patchogue-Medford Library. [Thanks to Mary Ann Tchinnis]
-----------
Timely Tips
Sow seeds of warm-season annuals indoors
Prune out winter damage
Remove winter mulch, lightly cultivate soil if thawed
Sow seeds for cool-weather vegetables
Divide and replant summer- and fall-blooming perennials
Plant bare-root and container roses; prune roses
Congratulations to Georgia Dulmovits and Arlene Lamberti and all the members of the Luncheon Committee for another fantastic event. This year’s event was the largest yet with 160 attendees and over 80 baskets donated and raffled. I know how much work goes into this yearly event, and everyone involved is to be commended.
We have secured a new meeting place for the remainder of this year. The Hagerman Fire Department has generously donated their large meeting room for our meetings. The room is well apportioned and the kitchen has state of the art facilities. The fire department will take care of the set up and breakdown of the tables and chairs. All we have to do is our refreshment setup. The department also has automatic doors that will allow us to enter the facilities without having to wait to be “buzzed” in.
The Hagerman Fire Department is located on the corner of Dunton Avenue and Oakdale Avenue in East Patchogue. (Approximately 5 traffic lights past the intersection of South Country Road and Montauk Hwy)
Directions from the village: Go east on Montauk Hwy. to Dunton Ave., turn right, cross the railroad tracks, and make an immediate left. The fire house is on the right. Enter the first driveway, park in the rear of the building, and enter through the visitor’s entrance in the rear. The meeting room is on the right side of the hallway. I want to thank all those who assisted in locating a new meeting place. I hope we will soon have a permanent home at the Winona cottage. Members of the board will be
visiting the cottage this week; we’ll present information at Tuesday’s meeting.
Carol Tvelia
President
Patchogue Garden Club
-----------
Mark the Date
Tuesday, March 25, 2008, 7 PM, membership meeting; see above for details. Jo Miller will speak about our club history.
Saturday, April 26, 2008, 9 AM, opening of the community garden at South Ocean Ave. and Terry St. Workers needed! Bring gloves, tools and energy!
-----------
Plant of the Month: Daffodil (Narcissus)
The Daffodil is the birthday flower of March, the month of the spring equinox. One of the first visible signs of spring, the earliest ones are in bud now and will bloom soon. Vigorous and long-lived, they thrive in sunny, well-drained places and multiply with little care. There are many uses for Daffodils,
including bedding, cutting, naturalizing, forcing, and showing.
The Daffodil is believed to have been brought to Britain by the Romans, who mistakenly believed that its sap could heal wounds. In fact, daffodil sap contains sharp crystals that prevent animals from eating the flower. While it did little to heal the Romans' wounds, it succeeded in further irritating their
skin.
Today people associate the bright, yellow daffodil as a symbol of rebirth, a sign of the new beginnings that come with spring. Daffodils are said to bring good fortune to the person who avoids trampling on them. Lest they bring unhappy vanity to the bride, Daffodils should never be present at a wedding.
So why write about Daffodils when we won’t be planting them until fall? Because now is the time to plan and save money in the bargain.
Order The Works by July 1st and save 10%! The normal pricing is $77 for 100 bulbs. Bulbs are shipped at the correct time for planting in the fall.
White Flower Farm’s Daffodil mix for naturalizing, The Works, is made up of top-sized bulbs of no less than 30 varieties, never more than 5 of each, and is blended to provide the widest possible range of color, form, and blooming time. Included are classic Trumpets in shades of yellow, gold, cream, and
white; Large Cups and Small Cups in great variety with wide petals and ruffled cups; members of the delicate and graceful Poeticus class; some Splitcoronas; fragrant Jonquilla hybrids holding smaller flowers; and Tazetta hybrids bearing clusters of sweet flowers on each stalk. These are recently named varieties, with nary a seedling nor a second in the lot, and they will bloom like nothing you have seen before.
While the mixture changes from year to year to take advantage of the market, it always represents the best that this glorious genus has to offer. The large bulbs produce more flowers with fewer misses their first year, then go busily about self-propagating in a site they like, actually adding to the show in future years. All they require is reasonable drainage and at least 6 hours of sun a day in spring to settle in as cheerful and permanent neighbors. Save 10% if you order by July 1, 100 for $69; save even more by going in with other gardeners, 200 for $128 or 400 for $242.
http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/984310-product.html
More good news: If five months of effortless, effusive bloom appeals to you, interplant early, mid- and late season Daylilies (Hemerocallis) among the Daffodils. The emerging foliage of the easy-care Daylilies will hide the withering Daffodil leaves.
Wait until you see the club’s emblematic Daffodil show in the community garden this spring!
---------
Serious (and Not So Serious) Dirt from Richard Waldman
Old Wives Tales and Garden Folklore
Do you find yourself repeating a saying only to find out that it is an 'Old Wives
Tale'? Add the following to your repertoire:
· To ensure you will have a good crop, wet a hanky with rain on Easter.
[Ed: Be sure to save some rain in case none falls on Easter.]
· Placing rusty nails or old irons around your plants will help them grow.
· If you put fertilizer on the ground during the light of the moon, it will not
decompose and will do no good.
· Before planting peas, line the trench with holly leaves to prevent mice.
· In the last century in England, a bunch of violets worn around the neck
or on the lapel protected against drunkenness. [Ed: Finally, a use for
those pesky violets!]
· Sage thrives in the garden of a woman who rules her household and her
husband firmly [Ed: I thought it just tastes good, such a silly woman!].
· Red and white flowers in the same vase are unlucky, blue and orange
flowers are welcome in homes and hospitals as these colors calm the
nerves.
· Don’t plant potatoes during the dark part of the moon. [Ed: Or?...]
· Plant your garden on Good Friday. Don’t plant your garden on Rotten
Saturday; the seeds will rot. [Ed: Oops, too late for this year].
· An acorn at the window will keep lightning out.
----------
Sit up and Take Notice! $1,000.00 Fine!
Think again before you apply lawn fertilizer anytime between November 1st and April 1st in Suffolk County. Effective next January, a new law will go into effect that will attempt to reduce the nitrogen from fertilizers leaching into the groundwater that ends up harming marine life through an increase in algae in streams, ponds and lakes. Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County suggests that fertilizers be applied to lawns only after the first flush of spring growth in late May. Stores will post signs announcing the new law along with brochures on proper lawn management. Suffolk County currently requires licensed landscapers to take approved courses in turf management. Suffolk County itself will ban fertilizers on many county properties.
---------
Cornell Coop Extension will be holding a Spring Gardening Symposium April 5th, 8:30AM to 4PM at the western campus of Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood. Lecturers from Planting Fields Arboretum and Bayport Flower Houses among others will discuss flowering trees, organic turf management, organic vegetable gardening, designing a portable garden in containers and the new up to date techniques and products to use in 'earth friendly' gardening. The $65 fee includes access to all lectures, breakfast & lunch and handouts. For more information, contact Cornell Coop Extension of Suffolk County at 727- 7850 x 337 or go on line: www.counties.cce.cornell.edu/suffolk .
---------
Special Message from the Luncheon Committee Co-chairmen
Arlene and I would like to thank each and every one of you for all the hard work you did to make the Garden Club “Think Spring” Luncheon a success. You all played your part, and the puzzle fit together on March 13. [Ed: Who says 13 is unlucky?] We are looking forward to working with all of you again. Our thanks!!! Arlene and Georgia
Committee members, in no particular order:
Jo Miller, Barbara Aragon, Janet and Jack Heyer, Ruth Szuminskyj, Carolyn Young, June Petrucelli, Karen Ferb, Ann Rubbo, Gladys Heimburger, Barbara Bestafka, Pauline Carleton, Millie Zimmerman, Paula Murphy, Violet Mulligan, Marita Morello, Carolyn Savastano, Kathy McMahon, Babette Bishop, Marie Magnano, Joan Delaney, Ellen Brandt, Mary Ann Tchinnis
Contributors: Rosalie Coleman, Diane and Bert Voland, Barbara Bruce, Judy Zuck, Susan Toplitz, Ellen Scammon, Fred and Bonnie Bossert, Joan Kattau, Carol Tvelia, Sue Scala, Guy Vitale, Joanna Drake, Ruth Shackelford, Donna Ferraiuolo, Sandra Franco, Margaret Atkinson, Frank and Peg Densing, Heather Georgiou And a huge thank you to Georgia and Arlene from the committee, the contributors, and the club for a great job!
----------
Here's a little "tidbit" you may not know about Easter
Easter is early this year. Easter is always the first Sunday after the 1st full moon after the spring equinox (which is March 20). This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that the Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.
Based on the above information, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) but that is pretty rare. Here's the really interesting part. This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population has ever seen it this early (95 years old or older!). And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier! Just the facts, Ma’am: The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913. The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22,will be in the Year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So no one alive today has or will ever
see it any earlier than this year. [Thank you to Carolyn Savastano for sending this in.]
----------
FYI: The roots of euphorbia are a deterrent to gophers and moles.
----------
To follow through on the advice of the “Think Spring” luncheon speaker, Patti Wood of Grassroots, read "1001 Ways to Save the Earth" (Chronicle, $10, by Joanna Yarrow), a compact guide that offers simple, fun ideas for conserving water, composting at work, cleaning without chemicals and finding Fair Trade goods at the supermarket. Joanna Yarrow is a United Kingdom-based expert on sustainable living and a frequent media commentator on environmental issues. Her book is available via ILL from the Patchogue-Medford Library. [Thanks to Mary Ann Tchinnis]
-----------
Timely Tips
Sow seeds of warm-season annuals indoors
Prune out winter damage
Remove winter mulch, lightly cultivate soil if thawed
Sow seeds for cool-weather vegetables
Divide and replant summer- and fall-blooming perennials
Plant bare-root and container roses; prune roses
Friday, February 15, 2008
February 2008 Garden Gazette
Greetings from the President
A boat yard on Sunrise Highway has a spring countdown calendar. Today, February 18, it said 32 days until the first day of spring. If you’ve been observant, you know that there is daylight almost twelve hours now, the sky is bright by 6:00AM and it doesn’t get dark until 5:45 PM or so. On the 21st of March the vernal equinox arrives, when we will have 12 hours each of day and night. Careful
inspection of the garden will show that the buds are beginning to swell on the deciduous trees; snowdrops and other early spring bulbs are showing tiny green shoots if they’ve been planted in a protected area. The birds are getting noisier, and the squirrels are friskier.
Phil Butler, one of our club members will be speaking at this month’s meeting. He will be discussing changes to Waverly Avenue, Greater Patchogue Lake, and the western end of Patchogue Village.
Remember that club dues are due this month, our membership year runs from March 1 to February 28. Dues are $15 per person or $20 per couple.
Carol Tvelia
President
Patchogue Garden Club
---------
Mark the Date
Tuesday, February 26, 2008, 7 PM, regular at Swan Lake Civic club house. Please bring your Chinese Auction baskets and other contributions to this meeting. You may also drop them at Georgia Dulmovits’ house, 168 E. Lakewood, Patchogue. Reservations will also be taken; bring check or cash. Speaker: Phil Butler on invasive weeds in Patchogue Lake.
Thursday, March 13, 10:30 am, annual “Think Spring” speaker, luncheon and raffle. Mediterranean Manor, tickets $32.00 For more information, call Georgia Dulmovits (289-0867) or Arlene Lamberti (289-3667). If you have a dietary problem, please let Georgia know so I can talk with the Manor and get back to you. I wish to thank you all for your help in donating baskets, other prizes, and gift certificates. To date we have 80, and several certificates and baskets are still out. This year we had 24 members on our committee and they worked really hard, great group! To all our members, thank you for your continued support. I hope to see you at the luncheon and the meeting.
Georgia
---------
January Meeting in a Flash
The 2008 calendar was distributed. A copy is included in this newsletter for those who were not in attendance.
---------
Perennial Plant of the Month: Geranium 'Rozanne'
It’s a new year, and that means there is a new 2008 Perennial Plant of the Year. The Perennial Plant Association has awarded the honor to Geranium 'Rozanne', a hardy geranium originally found in Somerset, England in 1989. In the United States it can be grown within the USDA hardiness zones 5
through 8. Violet blue flowers with white centers 2 1/2" wide bloom from late spring to mid-fall. This perennial reaches a height of 2’ and about the same in width. In moist well drained soil in either full sun to partial shade, 'Rozanne' is an excellent ground cover and can also be used alone as a specimen plant. Use it in conjunction with hostas, perennial salvias and short ornamental grasses for an interesting effect. Besides in the ground, opt for using it this year in your upcoming window box arrangements or patio containers. For more information, see www.PerennialPlant.org
---------
New Annuals to Look For
All America selections: Drought-tolerant Osteospermum ‘Asti White’, 18”H & W, with 2.5” blue-centered white daisies all summer. Viola ‘Skippy XL Plum Gold’, 6-8”H, plum purple flowers with gold center. Look at those whiskers! And in the vegetable category, look for winner Hansel, a miniature eggplant, a smaller-sized plant with finger-sized clusters of fruit. Reaching a height of less than 3 feet, the strong plant produces clusters of three to six fruit. They mature early — about 55 days from transplanting, 10 days earlier than a comparison eggplant. If left on the plant, they grow in size but remain tender and nonbitter, offering gardeners more flexibility in harvest. Hansel is highly
recommended for container gardening.
-----------
Serious Dirt from Richard Waldman
Fletcher Steele, American Landscape Architect
There is a good chance that many of us did not hire a well-known landscape designer to create our gardens, but we might have had our own outdoor spaces influenced by landscape architects and designers through writings and public gardens done in the past. One such influential designer, (John) Fletcher Steele, might not be a household name now, but his concepts and approach to design are felt through current designers today even though much of his work was done in the mid 1900's. Rather than doing a straight copy of an historic European garden to fit an American estate as had been the norm, he mixed classical designs and listened to the client’s wishes on how they wanted to use their gardens, their outdoor rooms. With two books and over 100 magazine articles to his credit, his topics ranged from historical design analysis; color in the garden; and how to bring landscape architecture to its well-deserved position as a fine art. In the early part of the 1900's he worked on large estates, incorporating staircase layout and railing design and experimented with new materials such as concrete block and tube railings. After World War II styles and tastes changed along with the advent of the suburban garden lot. The original gardens by Steele were on a large scale with major construction and high maintenance, supported by large staffs. The changes brought about were a demand for smaller tracts of land with less maintenance as found in his book, “Design in the Little Garden”. Many of his landscape creations done on large estates have been replaced by subdivisions and parking lots. Two of the gardens have been preserved and are open to the public in Stockbridge MA. The better known is Naumkeag which has been photographed and written about in numerous magazines. It took 30 years to create. See www.Thetrustees.org and click on 'Property Directory' for a tour of Naumkeag. Read a biography of Steele at http://www.esf.edu/la/research/Steele/FSbio.htm
----------
Road Trip: 2008 Philadelphia Flower Show
Mark your calendar, clear your schedule, it's time to book a trip to Philadelphia for the 2008 Philadelphia Flower Show from March 2 through the 9th. This years theme is 'Jazz it Up' with New Orleans, the French Quarter and the Roaring '20's as its inspiration. Designers will be thinking of wrought iron balconies, courtyards, and fountains and how gardens relate to it all. The premier flower show of the United States has been ongoing since1829, and this year’s show in the Convention Center will include in its ten acres a myriad of landscape designs, floral fantasies, and garden lectures and demonstrations along with an indoor marketplace. For more information visit www.Pennsylvaniahorticulturesociety.org . The Patchogue-Medford Library runs a bus trip. Tickets are $51, including admission, and are on sale at the main desk.
-----------
Did You Know? In the 17th Century in Ireland, royalty often used lavender instead of grass to create a lush and fragrant lawn. Upon discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922, archaeologists were greeted by arrangements of leaves and flowers intact after more than 3,000 years! (Martha Stewart Living)
-----------
Information About the Winona Cottage
The Winona Cottage is a small house, formerly the caretaker’s cottage on the grounds of the old Winona Hotel, more recently known as Halcyon Manor. The hotel, now being renovated, was acquired by Patchogue Village to be the new home of the Village Recreation Center.
The reason we chose to donate the proceeds of the Christmas House Tour to the Winona Cottage is that the Village of Patchogue is giving the cottage to us, the Patchogue Garden Club, to use as we see fit. It has been discussed at several meetings and in the newsletter as well as in the brochure for the tour, but it has come to the attention of the Executive Board that there are still some questions about the allocation of funds to the cottage.
As discussed previously, having the cottage for our use will give us a permanent place to hold meetings, have seminars, do various garden-related crafts, in short, anything we want to use it for (within reason, of course). In addition, the grounds surrounding the cottage can be a horticultural learning center for the club and the community. We will also be doing landscaping on the grounds of the cottage. As the cottage nears completion, we will be discussing ways of using it with the membership. If you have any questions about the Winona, please bring them up
at a meeting.
----------
Another Road Trip
For many of us gardeners, digging in the soil is one of our true loves, but that doesn’t stop us from appreciating indoor plants and what we can grow on the windowsill or under UV lights. From February 23rd through April 6th the New York Botanical Gardens is hosting the annual Orchid Show right before the first green leaves appear on our shrubs and perennials. The Enid Haupt Conservatory will house thousands of orchids, many fragrant, and all beautiful. When you go through the exhibit there is an audio tour to point out the many different aspects of the orchids on view. The New York Botanical Garden will also host classes and workshops. The gift shop will be wellstocked and ready for you to make a purchase or two. www.nybg.org/tos
----------
New York Botanical Gardens Winter Lecture Series
You're never too old to learn, and the New York Botanical Garden is having their 2008 American Gardening Winter Lecture Series throughout February and March. Saturday March 1st offers a variety of classes geared to the understanding of the soil and how to modify it for different plant material. Or you might want to sit in and see what Spring Maintenance in the garden consists of. Later in the day it’s time to familiarize yourself with expanding your knowledge on early flowering bulbs and other plants or find out about dividing and transplanting what is in your garden now. The afternoon brings the option of learning what to prune and when or getting serious and beginning with seeds as the first step in plant production. March 29th has classes solely on Native Plants - perennials and
woody. Learning the difference and what makes some plants invasive is also offered. For more information, times and costs, you can go online at www.nybg.org or call 718-817-8747.
A boat yard on Sunrise Highway has a spring countdown calendar. Today, February 18, it said 32 days until the first day of spring. If you’ve been observant, you know that there is daylight almost twelve hours now, the sky is bright by 6:00AM and it doesn’t get dark until 5:45 PM or so. On the 21st of March the vernal equinox arrives, when we will have 12 hours each of day and night. Careful
inspection of the garden will show that the buds are beginning to swell on the deciduous trees; snowdrops and other early spring bulbs are showing tiny green shoots if they’ve been planted in a protected area. The birds are getting noisier, and the squirrels are friskier.
Phil Butler, one of our club members will be speaking at this month’s meeting. He will be discussing changes to Waverly Avenue, Greater Patchogue Lake, and the western end of Patchogue Village.
Remember that club dues are due this month, our membership year runs from March 1 to February 28. Dues are $15 per person or $20 per couple.
Carol Tvelia
President
Patchogue Garden Club
---------
Mark the Date
Tuesday, February 26, 2008, 7 PM, regular at Swan Lake Civic club house. Please bring your Chinese Auction baskets and other contributions to this meeting. You may also drop them at Georgia Dulmovits’ house, 168 E. Lakewood, Patchogue. Reservations will also be taken; bring check or cash. Speaker: Phil Butler on invasive weeds in Patchogue Lake.
Thursday, March 13, 10:30 am, annual “Think Spring” speaker, luncheon and raffle. Mediterranean Manor, tickets $32.00 For more information, call Georgia Dulmovits (289-0867) or Arlene Lamberti (289-3667). If you have a dietary problem, please let Georgia know so I can talk with the Manor and get back to you. I wish to thank you all for your help in donating baskets, other prizes, and gift certificates. To date we have 80, and several certificates and baskets are still out. This year we had 24 members on our committee and they worked really hard, great group! To all our members, thank you for your continued support. I hope to see you at the luncheon and the meeting.
Georgia
---------
January Meeting in a Flash
The 2008 calendar was distributed. A copy is included in this newsletter for those who were not in attendance.
---------
Perennial Plant of the Month: Geranium 'Rozanne'
It’s a new year, and that means there is a new 2008 Perennial Plant of the Year. The Perennial Plant Association has awarded the honor to Geranium 'Rozanne', a hardy geranium originally found in Somerset, England in 1989. In the United States it can be grown within the USDA hardiness zones 5
through 8. Violet blue flowers with white centers 2 1/2" wide bloom from late spring to mid-fall. This perennial reaches a height of 2’ and about the same in width. In moist well drained soil in either full sun to partial shade, 'Rozanne' is an excellent ground cover and can also be used alone as a specimen plant. Use it in conjunction with hostas, perennial salvias and short ornamental grasses for an interesting effect. Besides in the ground, opt for using it this year in your upcoming window box arrangements or patio containers. For more information, see www.PerennialPlant.org
---------
New Annuals to Look For
All America selections: Drought-tolerant Osteospermum ‘Asti White’, 18”H & W, with 2.5” blue-centered white daisies all summer. Viola ‘Skippy XL Plum Gold’, 6-8”H, plum purple flowers with gold center. Look at those whiskers! And in the vegetable category, look for winner Hansel, a miniature eggplant, a smaller-sized plant with finger-sized clusters of fruit. Reaching a height of less than 3 feet, the strong plant produces clusters of three to six fruit. They mature early — about 55 days from transplanting, 10 days earlier than a comparison eggplant. If left on the plant, they grow in size but remain tender and nonbitter, offering gardeners more flexibility in harvest. Hansel is highly
recommended for container gardening.
-----------
Serious Dirt from Richard Waldman
Fletcher Steele, American Landscape Architect
There is a good chance that many of us did not hire a well-known landscape designer to create our gardens, but we might have had our own outdoor spaces influenced by landscape architects and designers through writings and public gardens done in the past. One such influential designer, (John) Fletcher Steele, might not be a household name now, but his concepts and approach to design are felt through current designers today even though much of his work was done in the mid 1900's. Rather than doing a straight copy of an historic European garden to fit an American estate as had been the norm, he mixed classical designs and listened to the client’s wishes on how they wanted to use their gardens, their outdoor rooms. With two books and over 100 magazine articles to his credit, his topics ranged from historical design analysis; color in the garden; and how to bring landscape architecture to its well-deserved position as a fine art. In the early part of the 1900's he worked on large estates, incorporating staircase layout and railing design and experimented with new materials such as concrete block and tube railings. After World War II styles and tastes changed along with the advent of the suburban garden lot. The original gardens by Steele were on a large scale with major construction and high maintenance, supported by large staffs. The changes brought about were a demand for smaller tracts of land with less maintenance as found in his book, “Design in the Little Garden”. Many of his landscape creations done on large estates have been replaced by subdivisions and parking lots. Two of the gardens have been preserved and are open to the public in Stockbridge MA. The better known is Naumkeag which has been photographed and written about in numerous magazines. It took 30 years to create. See www.Thetrustees.org and click on 'Property Directory' for a tour of Naumkeag. Read a biography of Steele at http://www.esf.edu/la/research/Steele/FSbio.htm
----------
Road Trip: 2008 Philadelphia Flower Show
Mark your calendar, clear your schedule, it's time to book a trip to Philadelphia for the 2008 Philadelphia Flower Show from March 2 through the 9th. This years theme is 'Jazz it Up' with New Orleans, the French Quarter and the Roaring '20's as its inspiration. Designers will be thinking of wrought iron balconies, courtyards, and fountains and how gardens relate to it all. The premier flower show of the United States has been ongoing since1829, and this year’s show in the Convention Center will include in its ten acres a myriad of landscape designs, floral fantasies, and garden lectures and demonstrations along with an indoor marketplace. For more information visit www.Pennsylvaniahorticulturesociety.org . The Patchogue-Medford Library runs a bus trip. Tickets are $51, including admission, and are on sale at the main desk.
-----------
Did You Know? In the 17th Century in Ireland, royalty often used lavender instead of grass to create a lush and fragrant lawn. Upon discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922, archaeologists were greeted by arrangements of leaves and flowers intact after more than 3,000 years! (Martha Stewart Living)
-----------
Information About the Winona Cottage
The Winona Cottage is a small house, formerly the caretaker’s cottage on the grounds of the old Winona Hotel, more recently known as Halcyon Manor. The hotel, now being renovated, was acquired by Patchogue Village to be the new home of the Village Recreation Center.
The reason we chose to donate the proceeds of the Christmas House Tour to the Winona Cottage is that the Village of Patchogue is giving the cottage to us, the Patchogue Garden Club, to use as we see fit. It has been discussed at several meetings and in the newsletter as well as in the brochure for the tour, but it has come to the attention of the Executive Board that there are still some questions about the allocation of funds to the cottage.
As discussed previously, having the cottage for our use will give us a permanent place to hold meetings, have seminars, do various garden-related crafts, in short, anything we want to use it for (within reason, of course). In addition, the grounds surrounding the cottage can be a horticultural learning center for the club and the community. We will also be doing landscaping on the grounds of the cottage. As the cottage nears completion, we will be discussing ways of using it with the membership. If you have any questions about the Winona, please bring them up
at a meeting.
----------
Another Road Trip
For many of us gardeners, digging in the soil is one of our true loves, but that doesn’t stop us from appreciating indoor plants and what we can grow on the windowsill or under UV lights. From February 23rd through April 6th the New York Botanical Gardens is hosting the annual Orchid Show right before the first green leaves appear on our shrubs and perennials. The Enid Haupt Conservatory will house thousands of orchids, many fragrant, and all beautiful. When you go through the exhibit there is an audio tour to point out the many different aspects of the orchids on view. The New York Botanical Garden will also host classes and workshops. The gift shop will be wellstocked and ready for you to make a purchase or two. www.nybg.org/tos
----------
New York Botanical Gardens Winter Lecture Series
You're never too old to learn, and the New York Botanical Garden is having their 2008 American Gardening Winter Lecture Series throughout February and March. Saturday March 1st offers a variety of classes geared to the understanding of the soil and how to modify it for different plant material. Or you might want to sit in and see what Spring Maintenance in the garden consists of. Later in the day it’s time to familiarize yourself with expanding your knowledge on early flowering bulbs and other plants or find out about dividing and transplanting what is in your garden now. The afternoon brings the option of learning what to prune and when or getting serious and beginning with seeds as the first step in plant production. March 29th has classes solely on Native Plants - perennials and
woody. Learning the difference and what makes some plants invasive is also offered. For more information, times and costs, you can go online at www.nybg.org or call 718-817-8747.
---------
Timely Tips
Now is the time to do early garden chores. Organize your workspace.
Clean and sharpen your tools.
Make pruning cuts on deciduous trees, cut down your ornamental grasses and
butterfly bushes.
Cut some branches of forsythia, witch hazel, and pussy willow for forcing.
Sow cool-season crops (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, head lettuce, and so on)
indoors now. Grow cool; they will tolerate light frost outdoors after hardening off.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
January 2008 Garden Gazette
Happy New Year to Everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season with your family and friends.
Thoughts turn to spring and planting as the seed catalogs begin flooding the mailboxes. Climate change continues to confuse not only us, but our plants as well. Trees still have leaves on their branches; snow covers leaves that never were raked in the fall because they didn’t land on the ground until mid-December. I expect to see bulbs peeping up soon if the warm spell continues. This month’s meeting will be a business meeting. Please remember to bring your baskets for the luncheon. Dues are also due at this meeting, $20 individual and $25 per family. We are in need of both a newsletter editor and a speaker chairperson. Both Ruth’s have resigned their posts after a job well done. Please consider volunteering for either post.
See you next Tuesday,
Carol Tvelia
President
Patchogue Garden Club
Mark the Date
Tuesday, January 22, 2008, 7 PM, regular meeting at Swan Lake Civic club house. Please bring your Chinese Auction baskets and other contributions to this meeting. You may also drop them at Georgia Dulmovits’ house, 168 E. Lakewood, Patchogue. Reservations will also be taken; bring check or cash.
Thursday, March 13, 10:30 am, annual “Think Spring” speaker, luncheon and raffle. Mediterranean Manor, tickets $32.00 For more information, call Georgia Dulmovits (289-0867) or Arlene Lamberti (289-3667).
Plant of the Month: Comely Cool CamelliasSixty years ago the US National Arboretum received a cultivar of Camelliaoleifera, cultivated in China for nearly 5,000 years, which proved hardy toZone 5. Though saddled with the distinctly unattractive moniker of ‘PlainJane’, it is thanks to her that we now have camellia hybrids that bloom ingardens as far north as Toronto.
Among the hardiest are ‘Polar Ice’, Snow Flurry’, and a series that has‘Winter’s’ in the cultivar name. Sources include Camellia Forest Nursery inChapel Hill NC (http://www.camforest.com/), Fairweather Gardens inGreenwich NJ (http://www.fairweathergardens.com/), and Greer Gardens inEugene OR (http://www.greergardens.com/).
Tough enough to thrive in the mid-Atlantic region as far north as U.S.D.A.Zone 6b, these lovely evergreen shrubs produce showy flowers of pink orwhite over a period of 4 to 6 weeks in late autumn. What’s more, petals areshed individually when bloom is completed, eliminating the tiresome task ofdead-heading for the gardener.
Camellias want humusy, acid soil that is continuously moist; protection frommidday summer sun; and shelter from winter sun and wind. In the north,spring is the best time to plant. Avoid high nitrogen fertilizer. Blooming in falland winter, they are as versatile as roses, being of use in the mixed border,for hedges, groundcovers, as well as espaliers and standards.
At present, breeders are working to coax more hybrids with scented flowers(e.g., C. ‘Scented Snow’) and more hues in the orange-peach-apricot rangefrom two recent introductions from China. Not everything from China is bad!
"Camellias fall whole from branches. Even upon the soil, their beauty isentrancing. They are like the love affairs of court women."-Lady Murasaki Shikibu, paraphrased from the “Tale of Genji”
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"January is the quietest month in the garden. ... But just because it looks quiet doesn't mean that nothing is happening. The soil, open to the sky, absorbs thepure rainfall while microorganisms convert tilled-under fodder into usablenutrients for the next crop of plants. The feasting earthworms tunnel along,aerating the soil and preparing it to welcome the seeds and bare roots to come."
- Rosalie Muller Wright, Editor of Sunset Magazine, January, 1999
----------
Serious Dirt from Richard Waldman
Andrew Jackson Downing, Landscape Designer & Architect, 1815-1852
When you think of influential designers that have changed the course of landscape design through the years, quite often European names head the list. But in the 1840's, Andrew Jackson Downing (born in Newburgh, New York) wrote on landscape gardening and architecture for numerous popular newspapers, magazines, and best selling books. As the editor of The Horticulturist magazine, he helped to change the public’s taste in landscape gardening and its place in society. He was the first to call for the creation of what became Central Park in New York City along with the creation of state agricultural schools throughout the U.S. When he traveled through Europe in 1850 he met with Calvert Vaux of England who relocated to America and became a business partner with Downing. Some of their designs were for the grounds at the White House and the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. A.J. Downing died in a fire aboard the steamer Henry Clay. In 1858 Calvert Vaux, along with the well-known Frederick Law Olmstead, was selected in the design competition for Central Park, where many ideas on the design of the park originated from writing of A.J. Downing. For more on A.J. Downing, see http://www.newburghrevealed.org/photojournalajdowning.htm
----------
Book Review: “Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World”
The world’s most humble fruit has caused inordinate damage to nature andman, and Popular Science journalist Dan Koeppel embarks on an intelligent,sifting through the havoc. The seedless, sexless banana evolved from a wildinedible fruit first cultivated in Southeast Asia and was probably the apple thatgot Adam and Eve in trouble. From there the fruit traveled to Africa and acrossthe Pacific, arriving on U.S. shores, probably with the Europeans in the 15thcentury. The history of the banana turned sinister as American businessmencaught on to the marketability of this popular, highly perishable fruit then grownin Jamaica. Thanks to the building of the railroad through Costa Rica by the turnof the century, the United Fruit Company, Mamita Yunai, flourished in CentralAmerica, its tentacles extending into all facets of government and industry,toppling banana republics, and igniting labor wars. Meanwhile, the ‘Gros Michel’variety was annihilated by a fungus called Panama disease, Black Sigatoka(causes significant reductions in leaf area, yield losses of 50% or more, andpremature ripening, a serious defect in exported fruit), which today threatens thefavored Cavendish as Koeppel sounds the alarm, shuttling to geneticsengineeringlabs from Honduras to Belgium. His sage, informative study posesthe question fairly whether it is time for consumers to reverse a century of strifeand exploitation epitomized by the purchase of one banana. Available fromSuffolk Co. ILL. Official Web site and blog at http://www.bananabook.org/.“Compelling”, “fascinating”, “disturbing”—Boston Globe
----------
Timely Tips
We had a few warm days recently, and some bulbs got the foolish idea thatspring was near—not a good idea since more icy weather is sure to come. Add alittle compost and a thick layer of mulch to protect the tender new growth. This is an excellent use for the branches of your discarded Christmas tree.
In the event of snow, be sure to shake or brush off the white stuff from thebranches of your evergreens and shrubs. The light fluffy snow poses no real threat,but if it should become wet and frozen, the weight dramatically increases. Branchesare more brittle when the plants are dormant; the weight of the snow may snapthem.
Dormant spraying of fruit trees, Cotoneaster, Dogwoods, etc. should be done thismonth.
It’s a good time to prune deciduous trees and shrubs, but be careful not to ruinyour spring-flowering ones. Wait until they’ve flowered to prune them.
Thoughts turn to spring and planting as the seed catalogs begin flooding the mailboxes. Climate change continues to confuse not only us, but our plants as well. Trees still have leaves on their branches; snow covers leaves that never were raked in the fall because they didn’t land on the ground until mid-December. I expect to see bulbs peeping up soon if the warm spell continues. This month’s meeting will be a business meeting. Please remember to bring your baskets for the luncheon. Dues are also due at this meeting, $20 individual and $25 per family. We are in need of both a newsletter editor and a speaker chairperson. Both Ruth’s have resigned their posts after a job well done. Please consider volunteering for either post.
See you next Tuesday,
Carol Tvelia
President
Patchogue Garden Club
Mark the Date
Tuesday, January 22, 2008, 7 PM, regular meeting at Swan Lake Civic club house. Please bring your Chinese Auction baskets and other contributions to this meeting. You may also drop them at Georgia Dulmovits’ house, 168 E. Lakewood, Patchogue. Reservations will also be taken; bring check or cash.
Thursday, March 13, 10:30 am, annual “Think Spring” speaker, luncheon and raffle. Mediterranean Manor, tickets $32.00 For more information, call Georgia Dulmovits (289-0867) or Arlene Lamberti (289-3667).
Plant of the Month: Comely Cool CamelliasSixty years ago the US National Arboretum received a cultivar of Camelliaoleifera, cultivated in China for nearly 5,000 years, which proved hardy toZone 5. Though saddled with the distinctly unattractive moniker of ‘PlainJane’, it is thanks to her that we now have camellia hybrids that bloom ingardens as far north as Toronto.
Among the hardiest are ‘Polar Ice’, Snow Flurry’, and a series that has‘Winter’s’ in the cultivar name. Sources include Camellia Forest Nursery inChapel Hill NC (http://www.camforest.com/), Fairweather Gardens inGreenwich NJ (http://www.fairweathergardens.com/), and Greer Gardens inEugene OR (http://www.greergardens.com/).
Tough enough to thrive in the mid-Atlantic region as far north as U.S.D.A.Zone 6b, these lovely evergreen shrubs produce showy flowers of pink orwhite over a period of 4 to 6 weeks in late autumn. What’s more, petals areshed individually when bloom is completed, eliminating the tiresome task ofdead-heading for the gardener.
Camellias want humusy, acid soil that is continuously moist; protection frommidday summer sun; and shelter from winter sun and wind. In the north,spring is the best time to plant. Avoid high nitrogen fertilizer. Blooming in falland winter, they are as versatile as roses, being of use in the mixed border,for hedges, groundcovers, as well as espaliers and standards.
At present, breeders are working to coax more hybrids with scented flowers(e.g., C. ‘Scented Snow’) and more hues in the orange-peach-apricot rangefrom two recent introductions from China. Not everything from China is bad!
"Camellias fall whole from branches. Even upon the soil, their beauty isentrancing. They are like the love affairs of court women."-Lady Murasaki Shikibu, paraphrased from the “Tale of Genji”
----------
"January is the quietest month in the garden. ... But just because it looks quiet doesn't mean that nothing is happening. The soil, open to the sky, absorbs thepure rainfall while microorganisms convert tilled-under fodder into usablenutrients for the next crop of plants. The feasting earthworms tunnel along,aerating the soil and preparing it to welcome the seeds and bare roots to come."
- Rosalie Muller Wright, Editor of Sunset Magazine, January, 1999
----------
Serious Dirt from Richard Waldman
Andrew Jackson Downing, Landscape Designer & Architect, 1815-1852
When you think of influential designers that have changed the course of landscape design through the years, quite often European names head the list. But in the 1840's, Andrew Jackson Downing (born in Newburgh, New York) wrote on landscape gardening and architecture for numerous popular newspapers, magazines, and best selling books. As the editor of The Horticulturist magazine, he helped to change the public’s taste in landscape gardening and its place in society. He was the first to call for the creation of what became Central Park in New York City along with the creation of state agricultural schools throughout the U.S. When he traveled through Europe in 1850 he met with Calvert Vaux of England who relocated to America and became a business partner with Downing. Some of their designs were for the grounds at the White House and the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. A.J. Downing died in a fire aboard the steamer Henry Clay. In 1858 Calvert Vaux, along with the well-known Frederick Law Olmstead, was selected in the design competition for Central Park, where many ideas on the design of the park originated from writing of A.J. Downing. For more on A.J. Downing, see http://www.newburghrevealed.org/photojournalajdowning.htm
----------
Book Review: “Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World”
The world’s most humble fruit has caused inordinate damage to nature andman, and Popular Science journalist Dan Koeppel embarks on an intelligent,sifting through the havoc. The seedless, sexless banana evolved from a wildinedible fruit first cultivated in Southeast Asia and was probably the apple thatgot Adam and Eve in trouble. From there the fruit traveled to Africa and acrossthe Pacific, arriving on U.S. shores, probably with the Europeans in the 15thcentury. The history of the banana turned sinister as American businessmencaught on to the marketability of this popular, highly perishable fruit then grownin Jamaica. Thanks to the building of the railroad through Costa Rica by the turnof the century, the United Fruit Company, Mamita Yunai, flourished in CentralAmerica, its tentacles extending into all facets of government and industry,toppling banana republics, and igniting labor wars. Meanwhile, the ‘Gros Michel’variety was annihilated by a fungus called Panama disease, Black Sigatoka(causes significant reductions in leaf area, yield losses of 50% or more, andpremature ripening, a serious defect in exported fruit), which today threatens thefavored Cavendish as Koeppel sounds the alarm, shuttling to geneticsengineeringlabs from Honduras to Belgium. His sage, informative study posesthe question fairly whether it is time for consumers to reverse a century of strifeand exploitation epitomized by the purchase of one banana. Available fromSuffolk Co. ILL. Official Web site and blog at http://www.bananabook.org/.“Compelling”, “fascinating”, “disturbing”—Boston Globe
----------
Timely Tips
We had a few warm days recently, and some bulbs got the foolish idea thatspring was near—not a good idea since more icy weather is sure to come. Add alittle compost and a thick layer of mulch to protect the tender new growth. This is an excellent use for the branches of your discarded Christmas tree.
In the event of snow, be sure to shake or brush off the white stuff from thebranches of your evergreens and shrubs. The light fluffy snow poses no real threat,but if it should become wet and frozen, the weight dramatically increases. Branchesare more brittle when the plants are dormant; the weight of the snow may snapthem.
Dormant spraying of fruit trees, Cotoneaster, Dogwoods, etc. should be done thismonth.
It’s a good time to prune deciduous trees and shrubs, but be careful not to ruinyour spring-flowering ones. Wait until they’ve flowered to prune them.
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