Many thanks to Diane and Bert Voland and the Patchogue Fire Department for our new flag in the Community Garden! Long may it wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Guy’s Greetings
"We're having a heat wave, A tropical heat wave.
The temperature's rising, It isn't surprising,she certainly can can-can."
Webster defines a "heat wave" as a prolonged period of excessively hot weather which may be accompanied by high humidity. Well, ain’t that the truth! I don't remember it being so damn "Hot, Hot, Hot". That reminds me of another song but I’ll save that for another time. To all my gardening friends, please be careful in this heat; and if you can dance, try dancing to the Guess Who's "Rain Dance" to break this oppressive weather were having! Guy
Mark the Date
Tuesday, July 27, 2010, 6:00 PM, general meeting the garden of Diane and Bert Voland, 34 James Street, Patchogue, east on Rte. 112. As always, garden seating s limited, so please bring a chair if you want to be assured of a seat.
Monday, July 26, 2010, 10:00AM, our first Christmas House Tour meeting 7 Oakland Drive, Patchogue. Directions from North Ocean Ave: Right on Montauk Hwy, left on River Avenue, cross the RR tracks, pass the Bayview Apartments, next right turn, Oakland Drive. Last house on the right. We probably won't have another meeting until the end of October so I hope to see a lot of you!
Monday, July 26, 2010, 10:00AM, our first Christmas House Tour meeting 7 Oakland Drive, Patchogue. Directions from North Ocean Ave: Right on Montauk Hwy, left on River Avenue, cross the RR tracks, pass the Bayview Apartments, next right turn, Oakland Drive. Last house on the right. We probably won't have another meeting until the end of October so I hope to see a lot of you!
June Meeting in a Flash
Our June gathering was held at the garden of Karen and Tom Ferb. It was a perfect evening for outdoor socializing among the flowers, trees, and shrubs. Marita reported that she has been in touch with Grammas Garden Center in Brookhaven. They would be happy to give members of the Garden Club a 10% discount. They also have statuary and bird baths and molds obtained from the old statuary store that closed on Sunrise Highway.
Paula Murphy,a member of the Patchogue Arts Council, is planning a labyrinth at space the Village has made available on Bay Avenue. The club voted to become part of the labyrinth project. Anyone interested in participating should contact Paula.
Our new membership booklets were distributed. If you have not received a copy, ask Guy for one.
Several members reported on a carpool trip to Old Westbury Gardens the day before the meeting. The docent tours of the Dita and Jay Phipp’s family home and gardens were outstanding. Photos are at http://picasaweb.google.com/karenferb/OldWestburyGardens# Web: www.oldwestburygardens.org/
Happy Birthday to You!
Our new membership booklet has birthday month listed for most members. If you didn’t include your month on the membership portrait and change your mind, let Karen know. The booklet also includes members’ interests. Be sure to see if there are other members that share your special interests.
Many happy returns to our July Babies: Ronnie Manfredi, Marita Morello, Judy Zuck and to our
August Babies: Betty Baran, Fred Bossert, Pauline Carleton, Georgia Dulmovits, Gladys Heimburger, Angelo Petruccelli, Tom Savastano, Mary Ann Tchinnis.
Hostesses for the July Meeting
Where would we be without our hosts and hostesses? Hungry and thirsty is the answer. Many thanks to all those who serve us every month. This July, our special thanks go to Diane and Bert for their garden, to Marita and Ronnie for honchoing everything, and to Barbara Bestafka, Babette Bishop, and Janet Heyer for the goodies.
A Big Thank You to the Garden Tour Committee and Volunteers! Well Done!
Paula Murphy, Garden Tour Chair; Karen Ferb & Mary Ann Tchinnis, Art in the Garden Chairs. Committee: Barbara Bestafka, Georgia Dulmovits, Arlene Lamberti, Josephine Miller, Ann Rubbo, Ruth Szuminskyj, Susan Toplitz, Judy Zuck. Volunteers in the Gardens: Bonnie and Fred Bossert, Pauline Carleton, Rosalie Coleman, John Dulmovits, Barbara Edsall, Barbara and John Gustafson, Mark Jeffers, Ronnie Manfredi, Violeta Mulligan, Diane Rivello-Voland, and Millie Zimmerman. Again, thanks to the gardeners: Babette & Richard Bishop, Jamie & Cliff Dochtermann, Heather & Billy Georgiou, Patti Kelly, and Betsy Marino & Mike Wisniewski.
Serious Dirt from Richard Waldman: PETS
June 16, 2010 By MARC MORRONE petxperts2@aol.com
As I walk my dogs around my neighborhood, I see most of the lawns have little yellow signs on them placed by landscaping services that warn that chemicals were just placed on the grass and you should keep children and pets off the lawn. This is notice enough for those of us who can read, but, unfortunately, the wildlife in the neighborhood cannot and thus suffers the consequences of the relentless passion for the perfect lawn. The chemical granules that are scattered over the grass to kill insects and weeds look just like bird seed to the songbirds, and they do eat these bits. Those are the wild birds you see laying dead on your lawn or worse yet, just twitching on the ground, suffering from the nerve damage the ingestion of such chemicals causes. Rabbits and squirrels that walk across the lawn will lick the chemicals off their feet and suffer similar fates. Plus, the runoff of these chemicals into ponds and streams can alter the water chemistry with disastrous results for the native fish and aquatic plants that live there.
All this for a green lawn. It does not take much to go organic on your lawn. I use no insecticides or herbicides on my grass, just organic fertilizer and lots of water, and my lawn is as green and as nice as any of my neighbors' that are adorned with those little yellow signs that cause so many problems with our natural world.(OK, a stray dandelion sprouts up, but I just mow it away.) Can't you do that?
Want to Know About Tough Love, Garden Style?
Bart Ziegler, writing for the Wall Street Journal, writes of plants that flourish in his garden even though he is a lazy weekend gardener. He grows KnockOut roses, forsythia, doublefile viburnum, dwarf Alberta spruce (which he likes for its natural conehead appearance), Sambucus cultivars, the paniculata hydrangeas, and purple smokebush. All of these are dependable and easy to care for while providing long-lasting color for the garden, either in flower, leaf, berry or a combination. [I have always liked forsythia, though many consider it a springtime cliché. There is a big mound on the Grand Central Parkway exit; when I lived in Forest Hills, it 'announced' that I was getting close to home on my way from work.—Richard]
Internet Road Trip
www.rhs.org.uk/Shows-Events/Hampton-Court-Palace-Flower-Show/2010
is the link to the Royal Horticultural Society’s Hampton Court Palace Flower Show in Surrey. The Web site has oodles of pictures, videos and ideas. [I especially like the Like the 'Take the Hampton Court home' part - I wish I could.—Richard]
Quote of the Month
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, noproblemgarden.com
