The 27th Annual Spring Gardening School of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County will be held at Riverhead Middle School on April 4, 2009, Ward Melville High School on April 18, 2009, and Bellport High School on April 25, 2009, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. This day includes your choice of classes from four different sessions, with information for every level of gardener from beginner to advanced. Topics include:
· Fundamentals of gardening
· Low Maintenance Shade gardening
· Floral design
· Home Composting
· Low-water gardening
· Gardening with children
· Vegetable gardening
· Herbs, dahlias, hydrangeas, bulbs, roses, and many more!
All classes are taught by Master Gardeners and Extension Educators. Included in your fee are free soil pH testing, plant diagnostic clinic, plant sale from some of the finest nurseries, continental breakfast, delicious boxed lunch, and door prizes. The fee is $55 per person, early bird registration is $50 before March 6, 2009.
The registration form with a full schedule of classes and their descriptions is available for download at www.cce.cornell.edu/suffolk or contact Caroline Kiang at 631-727-7850, ext. 337 or 345.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Update Before Jan. 09 General Meeting
Hi Everyone,
1. If anyone has their luncheon basket completed, please bring it to the general meeting Tuesday evening. We will wrap it for you. You can also drop it off at my home... 168 East Lakewood St. Patchogue. Call for more info 289-08672. If anyone has a donation that we can use to put in our baskets it would be appreciated.
2. Karen will be taking reservations for the luncheon at the meeting.
3. Reminder that dues can be paid at that time.... $15 for one....$20 for family. If you can not attend, please send them to Patchogue Garden Club P.O. Box 3030 Patchogue, NY 11772......Before March 31
Many thanks...Georgia
1. If anyone has their luncheon basket completed, please bring it to the general meeting Tuesday evening. We will wrap it for you. You can also drop it off at my home... 168 East Lakewood St. Patchogue. Call for more info 289-08672. If anyone has a donation that we can use to put in our baskets it would be appreciated.
2. Karen will be taking reservations for the luncheon at the meeting.
3. Reminder that dues can be paid at that time.... $15 for one....$20 for family. If you can not attend, please send them to Patchogue Garden Club P.O. Box 3030 Patchogue, NY 11772......Before March 31
Many thanks...Georgia
Thursday, January 15, 2009
January 2009
Guy’s Greetings Happy New Year!
I want to take this time to say thank you for your trust in me to be president of the Patchogue Garden Club and to welcome our new board members. They are Diane Voland, 1st Vice President; June Petruccelli, 2nd Vice President; Carol Tvelia, Treasurer; Babette Bishop, Recording Secretary; Carolyn Savastano, Corresponding Secretary; and Maryann Tchinnis, Parliamentarian.
I would be remiss not to thank Jo Miller for her continuing efforts in collecting, organizing, and maintaining the history of the Patchogue Garden Club and Carol Tvelia and her entire board for their guidance for the past two years.
As we look forward to the beginning of a new gardening season, we also look forward to the renewal of our government and the call of service. We are an organization of gardeners, but also of our community. I ask that we all become involved, no matter how small task. We can not do it alone. I look forward to serving the Patchogue Garden Club, but most of all, to bringing service to our community.
Mark the Date
Tuesday, January 27, 2009, 7 PM, general meeting at Hagerman Fire Department, on the corner of Dunton Avenue and Oakdale Avenue. 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 for $32 payable to Patchogue Garden Club or cash. Karen Ferb is collecting payment.
Thursday, March 12, 2009, 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 me 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. This year we have 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
October Meeting in a Flash
At the October meeting, Dick Richardson spoke very informatively about his hobby, Purple Martins, one of America’s best known and most desired birds. They are treasured for their graceful flight, social antics, gurgling song, and insect-eating habits. Purple Martins are a unique part of our natural history, managed by humans longer than any other species of songbird. They depend on human-supplied housing for nesting. For further information, see the Web site of the Purple Martin Conservation Association, www.purplemartin.org. We have a Purple Martin house, courtesy of the Rothsteins, to put up at the Winona Cottage when the time comes.
Gardening Accomplishments of 2008The gardening season of 2008 was a busy one for our Terry Street Community Garden. Beginning with the opening of the garden on April 26 and ending with the closing on November 1, our members continued to work on completing the garden extension and on making needed repairs to our lighting, missing bench, and shed as well as on maintaining the existing garden. Work on the extension included mulching, metal edging, sod installation, and replacing the shed door with an exterior version as well as performing ongoing maintenance.
Christmas House Tour 2008 Since the last newsletter we had our second Christmas house tour, which was very successful. The Historical Society participated by opening and decorating the Swan River School House, 150 years old in 2008. We have received a lovely acknowledgement from Anita Timm: “Once again the Garden Club has hit a homerun! The Christmas House Tour was wonderful again. The hosts were all so gracious, and each house beautifully and uniquely decorated. It is very exciting hat Patchogue has so many lovely homes and such nice people willing to share with us. I’m looking forward to the spring luncheon and then the summer garden tour. Congratulations on a job well done again, and best wishes for success in all your coming events. Hope you have your yard sale again.” Thanks, Anita!
Serious Dirt from Richard Waldman
Krulwich on Science by Robert KrulwichWho knew that NASA, charged with looking deep into space, also looks backward at us? For years, NASA satellites have been snapping photos of our oceans, mountains and forests and sharing them with ecologists and biologists.As a result, says ecology professor Nalini Nadkarni of The Evergreen State College in Washington, "Some of the finest forest ecology studies being carried out today are the result of NASA-funded multidisciplinary collaborations." For example, because of NASA, we can calculate roughly how many trees we have on Earth. Trees, both leafy and otherwise, reflect sunshine in very particular patterns, making it possible for satellites to map and computers to count strips of land where trees are. Biologists can then sample those places, assume a tree density, multiply by acre or hectare, and calculate that in 2005 there were ~ 400,246,300,201 trees on our globe. It's a cool question and easy to calculate. Nadkarni looked up the world'shuman population as of Dec. 31 and found that on that day we numbered 6,456,789,877. She figured that the world supports 61 trees per person. When we talked, she was thrilled. "Hooray!" she said, "I get more than one tree!" Apparently, before she'd done the numbers, she had assumed that with people waxing and trees waning, the count would have been slimmer. "I severely hoped that there was more than one tree [per] person," she says, "but I feared and thought that there would be fewer." But when Nadkarni sat down with her husband, Jack, a microbiologist at Evergreen State, to tell him the good news, he was less impressed with the ratio of trees to people. "He looked at me in his quiet, slow sort of way and said, 'Well, you know, I don't know. We use that much in a couple of seasons in our wood stove and the amount of paper that comes off the printer and the lumber that made our home — so maybe it's not so many." This got Nadkarniwondering: How much of our 61-tree allotment does an American use in a lifetime? All of it? Some of it? More than 61? She didn't know. So she asked her graduate students to make a list of tree-based products — and they came up with a list so long, it almost never stops. Here's some of what they found: baseball bats, barrels, books, blocks, benches, crutches, coffee filters, guitars, grocery bags, pencils, pine oil, beds, billboards, buttons, candy wrappers, buttons, chewing gum, cork, crayons, egg cartons, fruit pie filling, kites, linoleum, luggage, paper, pingpong balls, chopsticks, rubber, tambourines, telephone books, tires, toilet paper, turpentine, xylophones and yo-yos. For the moment it is impossible to figure out how much woody stuff is found in our products. It is obvious that Americans gobble up more wood than Indians or Africans, but how much more is hard to say. Still, Nadkarni cautions that thinking about wood consumption is not like thinking about oil consumption. This is not necessarily a sad story. "I don't want people to feel guilty about their relationships with trees. After all, trees are not like oil. They are renewable. If you think we are using up more than our 61-each allotment (and that is her guess, based on the gradual reduction of forest acreage), you can always plant a few more. We may be falling behind in our tree count, but it's not only possible, it's deeply appealing, to go out with seed and shovel and repair the damage.
Road Trip: NYBG The Orchid Show: Brazilian Modern February 28 – April 12, 2009Thousands of brilliantly colored orchids and the lush tropical setting of a contemporary Brazilian garden await visitors to this year’s Orchid Show in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. This year’s exhibition, the 7th annual, is designed by noted Miami-based landscape architect Raymond Jungles. In creating the display he has drawn on his years of work with renowned Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx. Fountains, pools, and colorful mosaics are combined with graceful palms, delicate orchids, bromeliads, and other native plants of Brazil, which are also highlighted throughout the Conservatory. Stay tuned to http://www.nybg.org/ for details. See also www.raymondjungles.com/ and www.maria-brazil.org/sitio_roberto_burle_marx.htm.
NYBG EducationSpecial Lecture Series American Gardening 2009 The New York Botanical Garden presents its tenth annual Thursday morning lecture series this winter. A wellrounded garden includes diverse plants: native and exotic, woody and herbaceous, temperate and tropical. In this series, accomplished plant breeders, explorers, and horticulturists introduce you to their favorite plants, providing something for every niche in your garden. www.nybg.org or call 718-817-8747.
BBG Winter Classes for Adults Browse the many classes offered for winter and spring by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden at http://www.bbg.org/edu/adult/. You will be amazed at the breadth of the offerings, from urban garden design to painting and pastels to bird watching, bonsai, and botany.Road Trip: Plan Ahead The 2009 Philadelphia Flower Show, “Bella Italia”, is scheduled for March 1 through March 8 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. See http://www.theflowershow.com/showinfo/index.html for details, tickets, and reservations.
Nature has undoubtedly mastered the art of winter gardening and even the most experienced gardeners can learn from the unrestrained beauty around them." - Vincent A. Simeone
Timely Tips for January
- Rework your garden design and order from catalogs
- Clean and sharpen your tools
- Review last year's journal and start a new one for this year by recording your seed/plant orders- Check your stored bulbs and veggies and start cool season crops
- Check plants for heaving
- Recycle your Christmas tree as garden mulch or a bird feeder
- Feed the birds and provide them with some unfrozen water
I want to take this time to say thank you for your trust in me to be president of the Patchogue Garden Club and to welcome our new board members. They are Diane Voland, 1st Vice President; June Petruccelli, 2nd Vice President; Carol Tvelia, Treasurer; Babette Bishop, Recording Secretary; Carolyn Savastano, Corresponding Secretary; and Maryann Tchinnis, Parliamentarian.
I would be remiss not to thank Jo Miller for her continuing efforts in collecting, organizing, and maintaining the history of the Patchogue Garden Club and Carol Tvelia and her entire board for their guidance for the past two years.
As we look forward to the beginning of a new gardening season, we also look forward to the renewal of our government and the call of service. We are an organization of gardeners, but also of our community. I ask that we all become involved, no matter how small task. We can not do it alone. I look forward to serving the Patchogue Garden Club, but most of all, to bringing service to our community.
Mark the Date
Tuesday, January 27, 2009, 7 PM, general meeting at Hagerman Fire Department, on the corner of Dunton Avenue and Oakdale Avenue. 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 for $32 payable to Patchogue Garden Club or cash. Karen Ferb is collecting payment.
Thursday, March 12, 2009, 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 me 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. This year we have 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
October Meeting in a Flash
At the October meeting, Dick Richardson spoke very informatively about his hobby, Purple Martins, one of America’s best known and most desired birds. They are treasured for their graceful flight, social antics, gurgling song, and insect-eating habits. Purple Martins are a unique part of our natural history, managed by humans longer than any other species of songbird. They depend on human-supplied housing for nesting. For further information, see the Web site of the Purple Martin Conservation Association, www.purplemartin.org. We have a Purple Martin house, courtesy of the Rothsteins, to put up at the Winona Cottage when the time comes.
Gardening Accomplishments of 2008The gardening season of 2008 was a busy one for our Terry Street Community Garden. Beginning with the opening of the garden on April 26 and ending with the closing on November 1, our members continued to work on completing the garden extension and on making needed repairs to our lighting, missing bench, and shed as well as on maintaining the existing garden. Work on the extension included mulching, metal edging, sod installation, and replacing the shed door with an exterior version as well as performing ongoing maintenance.
Christmas House Tour 2008 Since the last newsletter we had our second Christmas house tour, which was very successful. The Historical Society participated by opening and decorating the Swan River School House, 150 years old in 2008. We have received a lovely acknowledgement from Anita Timm: “Once again the Garden Club has hit a homerun! The Christmas House Tour was wonderful again. The hosts were all so gracious, and each house beautifully and uniquely decorated. It is very exciting hat Patchogue has so many lovely homes and such nice people willing to share with us. I’m looking forward to the spring luncheon and then the summer garden tour. Congratulations on a job well done again, and best wishes for success in all your coming events. Hope you have your yard sale again.” Thanks, Anita!
Serious Dirt from Richard Waldman
Krulwich on Science by Robert KrulwichWho knew that NASA, charged with looking deep into space, also looks backward at us? For years, NASA satellites have been snapping photos of our oceans, mountains and forests and sharing them with ecologists and biologists.As a result, says ecology professor Nalini Nadkarni of The Evergreen State College in Washington, "Some of the finest forest ecology studies being carried out today are the result of NASA-funded multidisciplinary collaborations." For example, because of NASA, we can calculate roughly how many trees we have on Earth. Trees, both leafy and otherwise, reflect sunshine in very particular patterns, making it possible for satellites to map and computers to count strips of land where trees are. Biologists can then sample those places, assume a tree density, multiply by acre or hectare, and calculate that in 2005 there were ~ 400,246,300,201 trees on our globe. It's a cool question and easy to calculate. Nadkarni looked up the world'shuman population as of Dec. 31 and found that on that day we numbered 6,456,789,877. She figured that the world supports 61 trees per person. When we talked, she was thrilled. "Hooray!" she said, "I get more than one tree!" Apparently, before she'd done the numbers, she had assumed that with people waxing and trees waning, the count would have been slimmer. "I severely hoped that there was more than one tree [per] person," she says, "but I feared and thought that there would be fewer." But when Nadkarni sat down with her husband, Jack, a microbiologist at Evergreen State, to tell him the good news, he was less impressed with the ratio of trees to people. "He looked at me in his quiet, slow sort of way and said, 'Well, you know, I don't know. We use that much in a couple of seasons in our wood stove and the amount of paper that comes off the printer and the lumber that made our home — so maybe it's not so many." This got Nadkarniwondering: How much of our 61-tree allotment does an American use in a lifetime? All of it? Some of it? More than 61? She didn't know. So she asked her graduate students to make a list of tree-based products — and they came up with a list so long, it almost never stops. Here's some of what they found: baseball bats, barrels, books, blocks, benches, crutches, coffee filters, guitars, grocery bags, pencils, pine oil, beds, billboards, buttons, candy wrappers, buttons, chewing gum, cork, crayons, egg cartons, fruit pie filling, kites, linoleum, luggage, paper, pingpong balls, chopsticks, rubber, tambourines, telephone books, tires, toilet paper, turpentine, xylophones and yo-yos. For the moment it is impossible to figure out how much woody stuff is found in our products. It is obvious that Americans gobble up more wood than Indians or Africans, but how much more is hard to say. Still, Nadkarni cautions that thinking about wood consumption is not like thinking about oil consumption. This is not necessarily a sad story. "I don't want people to feel guilty about their relationships with trees. After all, trees are not like oil. They are renewable. If you think we are using up more than our 61-each allotment (and that is her guess, based on the gradual reduction of forest acreage), you can always plant a few more. We may be falling behind in our tree count, but it's not only possible, it's deeply appealing, to go out with seed and shovel and repair the damage.
Road Trip: NYBG The Orchid Show: Brazilian Modern February 28 – April 12, 2009Thousands of brilliantly colored orchids and the lush tropical setting of a contemporary Brazilian garden await visitors to this year’s Orchid Show in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. This year’s exhibition, the 7th annual, is designed by noted Miami-based landscape architect Raymond Jungles. In creating the display he has drawn on his years of work with renowned Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx. Fountains, pools, and colorful mosaics are combined with graceful palms, delicate orchids, bromeliads, and other native plants of Brazil, which are also highlighted throughout the Conservatory. Stay tuned to http://www.nybg.org/ for details. See also www.raymondjungles.com/ and www.maria-brazil.org/sitio_roberto_burle_marx.htm.
NYBG EducationSpecial Lecture Series American Gardening 2009 The New York Botanical Garden presents its tenth annual Thursday morning lecture series this winter. A wellrounded garden includes diverse plants: native and exotic, woody and herbaceous, temperate and tropical. In this series, accomplished plant breeders, explorers, and horticulturists introduce you to their favorite plants, providing something for every niche in your garden. www.nybg.org or call 718-817-8747.
BBG Winter Classes for Adults Browse the many classes offered for winter and spring by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden at http://www.bbg.org/edu/adult/. You will be amazed at the breadth of the offerings, from urban garden design to painting and pastels to bird watching, bonsai, and botany.Road Trip: Plan Ahead The 2009 Philadelphia Flower Show, “Bella Italia”, is scheduled for March 1 through March 8 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. See http://www.theflowershow.com/showinfo/index.html for details, tickets, and reservations.
Nature has undoubtedly mastered the art of winter gardening and even the most experienced gardeners can learn from the unrestrained beauty around them." - Vincent A. Simeone
Timely Tips for January
- Rework your garden design and order from catalogs
- Clean and sharpen your tools
- Review last year's journal and start a new one for this year by recording your seed/plant orders- Check your stored bulbs and veggies and start cool season crops
- Check plants for heaving
- Recycle your Christmas tree as garden mulch or a bird feeder
- Feed the birds and provide them with some unfrozen water
Saturday, October 25, 2008
October 25 2008
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
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, 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.
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