Tomb It May Concern: Happy Halloween
Guy’s Greetings
As I sit bundled up on this cold fall morning, I'm reminded of how much gardening I have left to do. I'm also reminded that election season is in full swing. Our Federal government is run by either the left or the right. In a governing body like our club board, one always hopes for center. It has been a privilege and an honor to serve as president of the Patchogue Garden Club for the past two years, and I want to thank all members of the board, past and present, for their contributions. I also want to thank each and every chair for the hard work in planning our events. And last, but certainly not least, each and every member of our club, because your contributions are the reason that the Patchogue Garden Club exists at all. Thank you for your trust, Guy
Mark the Date
Tuesday, October 26, 2010, 7:00 PM, meeting at the Hagerman Fire House, located in East Patchogue. Traveling east on Montauk Highway, turn right onto N. Dunton Ave., then a quick left onto Ralph T. Perry Blvd. Park and enter in the rear of the building. Please join us for this exciting presentation and a discussion of plans to build a labyrinth. Our speaker, Linda Mikell is certified by Veriditas, The Voice of the Labyrinth Movement.
Saturday, November 13, 2010, 9:00 AM ‘til done, put the Community Garden to bed and decorate the Gazebo for Christmas, rain date Sunday, same time. Please bring tools, gloves, and energy, and, remember, many hands make light work.
Sunday, December 12, 2010, 1:00-5:00 PM, our Christmas house tour, “Homes for the Holidays”. Interested in joining the committee? We will need at least 24 hostesses/hosts, "crafty" people to help with favors, people to make centerpieces, and cookie bakers. The difference between our house tour and others is the warmth of our hostesses and hosts and the other personal touches we give our tour. Please join us in making this tour the success that the others have been. Call/email Mary Ann (matchinnis@optonline.net) or Karen (karenferb@hotmail.com), or sign up at the October 26 meeting.
September Meeting in a Flash: We were reminded that the Community Garden needs to be cleaned up and any garbage picked up and bagged in anticipation of the Patchogue Arts Council-Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts Walking Arts Tour and Fall Festival on Sunday, October 24th. And please remember to protect the lattice work in the shed. It needs to remain covered when not in use. Please keep the shed clean and user-friendly.
Mary Ann said six houses for the “Homes for the Holidays” tour. Sign up sheets are out for cookie bakers and house sitters. The committee will also need fresh evergreens and berries for centerpieces for each house on the tour. These can be dropped off at Karen Ferb’s house where the centerpieces will be put together on Wednesday, December 8.
Exercise your vote! The candidates for the upcoming election Tuesday, October 26, 2010, are:
President – Diane Voland
1st Vice President –June Petruccelli
2nd Vice President –Carolyn Savastano or Sandra Franco
Corresponding Secretary –Arlene Lamberti
Recording Secretary – Babette Bishop
Treasurer – Carol Tvelia or Jack Heyer
Parliamentarian – Mary Ann Tchinnis
Thanks to Jo Miller for spearheading the slate of nominees!
To Our November/December Babies: Barbara Edsall, Karen Ferb, Sandra Franco/ Arlene Lamberti, Jo Miller, Bert Voland, Carl Unger May all your birthday wishes come true!
Hostesses for the October Meeting
Isn’t it fantastic that there are always members ready to volunteer each meeting to be hosts/hostesses? Many thanks to all those who serve us every month. Marita will continue to chair this committee. Hostesses for the next meeting: Ronnie Manfredi, June Petruccelli, Carolyn Savastano, Ruth Szuminskyj, Mary Ann Tchinnis, and Guy Vitale. [A little bat told me they’re bringing Worms in Dirt, Ghosts in the Graveyard, Pus Pockets, Strained Eyeballs, Boo Bites, and Monster Munch—Ed.]
Serious Dirt from Richard Waldman
Seeking Tranquility?
The San people, better known as South African Bushmen, have for centuries chewed a plant they say reduces stress, relieves hunger and thirst, sedates, and elevates moods. The plant, sceletium tortuosum (locally known as Kanna, Channa, or Kougoed), which grows wild in Namaqualand in the arid Northern Cape, has potential as a dietary supplement called Zembrin, aka San Prozac, licensed to be produced in the U.S. But will the FDA approve it for U.S. consumers? That remains to be seen. Ben-Erik Van Wyk, a professor of botany and plant biotechnology at the University of Johannesburg, said he's extensively researched the plant and found no ill effects or evidence of dependency. He first read about the plant in 1985, then visited San people to research doses and side effects. [This just in: http://www.amazon.com/African-Red-Tea-Sceletium-1-76-Ounce/dp/B0019ZZEL0/ref=pd_sbs_hpc_6.
Be prepared to pay a lot for your tranquility—Ed.]
Single Farmers in Vermont Give Weed Dating a Whack
By Melissa Pasanen and Adam Silverman, Burlington Free Press (Excerpts)
Weed dating, a variation on speed dating, is going on in Tunbridge VT, said to be the first such event in the nation.
Participants in the weed-dating series pay $10 for the privilege of meeting and weeding. Those in the inaugural event ranged in age from early 20’s to 50. Each wore a name tag with his or her first name and the name of a favorite fruit or vegetable, which became a weed-dating surname. At intervals of about seven minutes, a small goat bell rang, and everyone got up, shook muddy hands, and moved a row over to a new weeding companion. Quipped one weed dater, “Speed dating is too blatant. This is practical.” So far, though, much weeding, no weddings. [If I were single, I’d be setting up my own weed dating event in my own back yard—Ed.]
It's a Scary Time to Be a Weed
By ANNE MARIE CHAKER WSJ Life and Style, 29 September 2010
They come to hiking trails and abandoned lots armed with shovels, chain saws and souped-up farm equipment—all in the name of wrestling weeds.
Volunteers are reclaiming public parks and carving out nature trails in spaces overrun by innocent-sounding plants like Tree of Heaven. Weed-obsessed volunteers band together to pull out invasive, mostly non-native plants wreaking havoc in parks, gardens and other spaces, taking weed whacking to a new level. Read the whole story at:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703499604575512333943058138.html. [I think it would be terrific to have a brigade of whackers working on eliminating invasives in the Village. A good place to start would be next to the Winona in the area planned for the labyrinth and habitat restoration.—Ed.]
Susan Toplitz Shares “As the Twig is Bent, So Grows the Tree”
Pooktre tree shaping is a unique eco-art form perfected by Peter Cook and Becky Northey in South East Queensland, Australia. Pooktre is a dream made into a reality through inspiration, love of nature, tree finesse (see the photos), persistence, and understanding trees and how they grow. An early master of tree shaping, Axel N. Erlandson (1884-1964), put himself on the map, literally and figuratively, by creating a roadside horticulture attraction he dubbed The Tree Circus in Scotts Valley, California back in 1947. Erlandson had a vision of a horticulture theme park and charged admission but it was never a commercial success. Property owners came and went over the years. Finally, in 1985, the owner of a tree nursery bought 24 of the trees from the previous owner and transplanted them to his horticulture theme park, Gilroy Gardens in Gilroy, CA, and they are on display today. Some of the other trees were sold and ended up at The Museum of Art and History in Santa Cruz, CA and in Baltimore at the American Visionary Art Museum. Want to read and see more? Just Google “Pooktre”.
Joanna Drake Writes “Ah! Well away! Seasons flower and fade.” ~Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Timely Tips for November
From now until the ground freezes is one of the best times to fertilize trees and shrubs. Food taken up will be available in spring.
Transplant deciduous trees through November. It’s an ideal time.
Clean up and compost annuals, perennial tops, vegetable plants, and fallen leaves.
Remove dead, diseased, and broken branches from trees & shrubs.
After mowing the lawn for the last time, winterize your mower.
In October I’ll be host to witches, goblins, and a ghost—I’ll serve them chicken soup with toast!
Whoopee once, Whoopee twice, Whoopee chicken soup with rice!
~Maurice Sendak, “Chicken Soup with Rice”
