GUY'S GREETINGS
I trust everyone had joyous and safe holidays filled with family and friends. It’s hard to think of gardening in the middle of January with the bone-chilling weather we’ve had the past few weeks, but it’s time. Our gardening season will be in full swing before we know it. I look forward to seeing everyone at our meeting on January 26. Guy
MARK THE DATE
Tuesday, January 26, 2010, 7:00 PM, general meeting at the Hagerman Fire Department, off Montauk Highway on the corner of Dunton Avenue and Oakdale. Dues will be accepted now until March 31, 2010. The board has voted on a late fee of $5 after that date, which means a single membership will be $20 and a couple will be $25.
Thursday, March 11, 2010, 7th Annual “Think Spring” luncheon and quilt exhibit, Mediterranean Manor, 303 E. Main Street, Patchogue. Guest speaker: Doug Steigerwald of LI Flower Garden and Florist. Raffles and door prizes. Doors open at 10:30 AM.
The luncheon Committee has been off and running since October. We have gathered 21 large quilts and several smaller quilts to be exhibited. Under the direction of Margaret Atkinson we have put together Scented Spice Mats for each person attending and, by the way, Phyllis Mendelson has made a small quilt to be raffled. Catch our spirit and join us! Tickets are $35.00 per person. Reservations for the luncheon can be made at the January 26 meeting or by sending a check to Patchogue Garden Club, PO Box 3030, Patchogue NY 11772-0887.
For more information call Georgia at 631- 289-0867 or Arlene at 631-730-7572
OCTOBER MEETING IN A FLASH
Jody Banaszak of BOCES gave a very interesting and entertaining presentation on autumn displays and flower arranging. Her various arrangements were raffled off. Congratulations to the winners and thank you Jody for a terrific evening.
If you haven’t already signed on to help out, see Georgia and Arlene about volunteering for the ”Think Spring Luncheon”. They are looking for raffle baskets as well as gift certificates from local businesses. The committee meets meet every Monday at 1:00 PM beginning in January.
Important Notice: We need new Refreshment Committee volunteers for 2010. Nobody volunteered. It was decided that if people want something to drink or eat they need to bring their own until further notice. Any takers? Please contact Karen Ferb, and she’ll put you in touch with each other.
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY--AND EVERY DAY
When I go into the garden with a spade and dig a bed I feel such an exhilaration and health that I discover that I have been defrauding myself all this time in letting others do for me what I should have done with my own hands. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882)
FENCELESS IN SEATTLE
Thursday December 10, 2009 Vanessa Richins’ Blog
It's not shaping up to be a very Merry Christmas for the folks at the Washington Park Arboretum. A brazen thief cut down one of their two Keteleeria (Keteleeria evelyniana) trees, presumably for use as a Christmas tree. This conifer, a member of the Pinaceae family, is quite rare.
I feel so sorry for Randall Hitchin, the manager of living collections for the University of Washington Botanical Gardens. The Seattle Times quotes him as saying "It makes me want to cry" and "It was a wonderful, wonderful tree." He has watched over the tree since 1998, the year that the seedling came to the arboretum. In 11 years it had grown to be just 7 feet tall.
This particular Keteleeria came from the mountainous Yunnan province in China. They can also be found in Laos and Vietnam. It will be very difficult, if not impossible, to find another tree with the same genetics as the stolen one. For example, the World Wildlife Fund notes that there are only 8 fully grown specimens found in the Vu Quang Nature Reserve in Vietnam. Other areas have similarly low numbers.
I am puzzled that someone would even begin to think of cutting down trees in an arboretum or garden. It's a public place that is meant for community enjoyment and education. I see a similar sort of problem in community gardens. People see the word "community" and think it means the harvest is available to anyone.
“Beware Green Thumbs With Sticky Fingers”
SERIOUS DIRT FROM RICHARD WALDMAN
While Blizzards Rage
By Pam Baggett, Horticulture, December 03, 2009
Winter’s tough on gardeners. We may be longing to be outside, but we’re stuck indoors while blizzards rage. Or in my less-poetic southern climate, while a thirty-seven degree drizzle drenches the garden for days on end. While Cicero left out a few essentials (music, anyone?), garden books make it much easier to survive dreary weather. We could grab the latest and greatest for inspiration, but why neglect fine classic books available for cheap from the internet or local used book stores? To help you stock your library, here’s a review of some of my favorites:
The Fragrant Year by Helen Van Pelt Wilson and Leonie Bell (1967): Books on fragrant plants often fall short, settling for pallid phrases like “sweet” to describe scent. Not this one—Wilson and Bell’s beautifully written, in-depth descriptions cover both woody and herbaceous plants. Of flowering tobacco, Nicotiana alata, they write: “Some have it honeyed or sugar-sweet, but to us it is a heavy emanation of auratum lily. During the three weeks reign of the gold band lily, the comparison is easy to make, and together lily and flowering tobacco dominate the August dark.”
Annuals for Connoisseurs by Wayne Winterrowd (1992): Winterrowd’s distinctive voice has graced the pages of Horticulture for many years. His 1992 book on uncommon annuals includes both practical information and lively personal recollections. Of his grandmother’s love for Gomphrena globosa, he writes: “She called gomphrena “life-in-death’, a name perhaps of her own invention, born of her fondness for Baptist revivals…”
Crockett’s Victory Garden by James Crockett (1977): The late James Crockett, the original gardener of the PBS television series “The Victory Garden”, had a humble yet eloquent writing style informed by a deep knowledge and love of plants. His 12-month guide to growing everything from leeks and lettuce to tomatoes, melons and basil will have you eating well year-round. Planting schedules are geared to Crockett’s New England weather, but even if you garden in another climate, don’t miss this treat of a book. [And check out the companion classic “Victory Garden Cookbook” by Marian Morash of the same show.—Ed.]
The Collector’s Garden by Ken Druse (1996): Druse has written and photographed some of the best gardening books available, but The Collector’s Garden remains one of my favorites. Replete with photographs, it features gardens of plant fanatics across the country. Some are specialists, like noted salvia expert Betsy Clebsch and rose rustler Mike Shoup, while others find satisfaction in anything with roots. Warning: Druse’s book can cause desperate on-line searching and fits of frantic spending for gotta-have plants.
Thirty-seven degrees and raining out? No problem—I’ll be in the library!
Me too!—Ed.
TIMELY TIPS FOR JANUARY
Devour luscious books about gardens and gardening.
Send for seed and nursery catalogs and do advance planning.
Save fireplace and wood ashes. They add potash and trace elements to the soil, but do spread them thinly.
Buy cheery houseplants such as cyclamen, forced bulbs, and primrose to get you through the dreariness of winter.
Trim dead, broken, and diseased, branches from trees and shrubs.
Clean and sharpen tools so you’ll be off to a great start.
Take walks through your garden as weather permits and marvel at the things that have already commenced to grow! Winter hazels are abloom!
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.
~Marcus Tullius Cicero, 106-43 BCE, Roman statesman and philosopher
