Photos of July Meeting at the Densing's Garden

Peg Densing & Lynn Kane

Members enjoy a light moment during the meeting

L to R:  Carolyn Savastano, Babette Bishop, & Carolyn Young admire Frank's garden train.

Good friends Barbara Bestafka & Annie Rubbo share the fun.

Choo Choo Duck Stop

July Newsletter

Greetings from the President

Hello Members,

It is already July, and the weather has been everything from unbearable to just plain magnificent. Colors in the gardens are flourishing, and it seems it's already time to begin cutting some species back for the season. How the beauty of the warm season just seems to fly by. Our next monthly meeting will be a treat for anyone who has never been to the home and
garden of our treasurer, Carol Tvelia. The garden is just beautiful, and she has some very large koi to relax with. Please try not to miss it. I have comets and goldfish in my pond, and although I watch them lovingly just the same, they pale in comparison. Keep cool, relax, and enjoy your summer.
See you all soon, Diane

Mark the Date

Tuesday, July 26—Monthly Meeting, 6:00 Our July meeting will be at the home of Carol Tvelia in her garden. 25 Stephani Ave., Patchogue 475-3445

Sunday, September 18—Harvest Dinner, 3:30 p.m. at the Patchogue Beach Club

Get to Know A Fellow Gardener—Carolyn Young

Where were you born?
I was born in Columbus, Ohio and grew up there. I had a younger brother and sister. Each summer our family would spend a couple of weeks in a cottage in Northern Michigan.
Tell us about your family?The family of my husband, Larry, also spent summers in a cottage in Northern Michigan. That’s where I met him. You could say that I ended up marrying the boy next door. I went to graduate school (seven different schools for graduate work) getting a Masters in other types of special education from Eastern Michigan University. I took post graduate work as well. Larry had worked in Yellowstone for the summer and was a special education teacher also, so we had the summers to travel to various National and State Parks with our two daughters. His work
in Yellowstone was where he got his feeling that everyone should see Yellowstone.
Where did you teach?
I graduated with a Bachelors in Elementary and Special Ed from Ohio University. Just after I was married, I taught in Michigan. I then took a job in Euclid Ohio which is northeast of
Cleveland, and taught there for a year and a half. We then moved to Kings Park in 1964 where we raised the girls. It was here that we started our interest in daylilies. Later, I worked with BOCES 3 in the Huntington Babylon area and then taught at Half Hollow Hills until I retired in 1992. After that we moved to Warwick, NY.
What gave you your first interest in gardening?
I think it was learning to identify wildflowers and trees when I was a camper only 8-12 years old. We lived on a ravine within the city of Columbus, Ohio, and I just always loved watching the birds, the trees, etc. Larry and I got into daylilies in about 1981, thinking we’d get something that would survive during the summers when we were traveling around the country. I became a nationalgarden judge, a national exhibition judge, and have maintained a national display garden
from the early ‘90s on. We moved, in pieces, from Warwick in 1997 to our present home. We had to have some of the trees cleared for the lilies, but
kept the woods for a perimeter.
What are some of your other interests?
I like crafts and sewing and decorating the house. But mostly we’ve spent out spare time camping.
A book you’d recommend?
Lasagna Gardening by Patricia Lanza. I have a signed copy of that because I’ve been up to her place. Also A Garden of Wildflowers that tells about wildflowers and how to propagate them.
An accomplishment you are proud of?
My years teaching kids with different disabilities. I knew from sixth grade on that I was going to do that.
An interesting place you’ve traveled to or visited?
When we started camping, we began with just a tent. Then a VW camper with a pop-up top. Finally, we built our own motor home from a used Bond Bread truck. This took a couple of years. I designed the inside, and we both built and repaired it. It was a 90- horse power-18 foot truck. We took it over the Rockies two or three times, traveling to state and national parks. We didn’t hook up to anything. We had extra battery to run our lights and cooked outside the camper.
Your favorite dessert or food?
All the foods I can’t eat any more because of my milk allergy.
Something you keep postponing?
Sorting through old school materials and papers
Future plans?
I’m going back to Warwick, in a 55-and-older community. I’ll be able to walk to the village, shops, and parks. I’ll be close to my daughter, an attorney and hiker. She likes living close to the
Appalachian Trail. Gets a watermelon and cuts it up and leaves it in a cooler on the trail for other hikers to enjoy. I’ll leave my other daughter’s family (with my two grandchildren) in Smithtown.

Daylilies!

Hundreds of registered hybrids are in bloom now in Carolyn Young's garden. She needs to downsize her nationally renowned collection and is selling clumps/divisions for $5.00 each. Some plants are available now; others will be dug as they finish blooming.Call Carolyn at 345-6194
to arrange a day and time to purchase. She’ll give you directions if you need them.

June Meeting in a Flash

• Rolling Rock will clean up the garden prior to the Garden
Tour. They will install the game table and benches.
• The Harvest Dinner will take place on September 18th,
at 3:30 at the Patchogue Beach Club. Bring a covered
dish.
• Jo Miller discussed plans for the new garden workshop
tentatively planned for September 10th. Flyers will be
handed out at the Garden Tour. Carolyn Young offered
free daylilies for the workshop, but she needs help preparing
them for the event.
• There has been a poor response to our Plant and Yard
sale. After much discussion members agreed unanimously
to skip the sale next year.
• Members discussed the possibility of allowing Art
Space artists to sell items in the Garden area. This is a
Village decision.
• Paula asked for volunteers to sit at gardens for the upcoming
tour, and Georgia asked members to make sure
the garden is presentable.

Timely Tips for the Garden in August

Pick herbs for fresh use and for drying. Harvesting will keep them growing longer.
• Order spring bulbs for planting
• Spread a mid-season layer of compost or manure.
• Keep deadheading and harvesting
• Leave some annual seeds to self-sow.
• Start saving seeds and taking cuttings.
• Remove any diseased foliage now, so it doesn’t get lost in the fall leaves.
• Cut back foliage of early bloomers to revitalize the plants
• Prune summer flowering shrubs as the flowers fade.
• Begin dividing perennials. Start with the bearded iris.

Thanks for A Successful Tour

Our 11th annual garden tour sold over 150 tickets--special thanks to our salespeople, the Tiffords of Fantastic Gardens, Mindy of Remember Yesteryears, Sis of Country Junque, and the staff of the Chamber of Commerce, as well as our members. The weather was perfect, and the tour was a great success. None of this would be possible without the efforts of the our volunteers and Tour Committee and all the gardeners and interested people who attended.

2011 Garden Tour Volunteers

Barbara Bestafka
Laura Calarco
Pauline Carleton
Rosalie Coleman
Georgia Dulmovits
John Dulmovits
Karen Ferb
Mark Jeffers
Arlene Lamberti
Marie Magnano
Jo Miller
Ann Rubbo
Carla Steward
Ruth Szuminskyj
Mary Ann Tchinnis
Carol Tvelia

2011 Tour Committee

Paula Murphy, Chair
Barbara Bestafka
Karen Ferb
Arlene Lamberti
Jo Miller
Ann Rubbo
Ruth Szuminskyj
Mary Ann Tchinnis
Susan Toplitz
Judy Zuck

PatchoguePatch

ARTS
Patchogue Gardens Displayed in Annual Tour
Garden Club hosts 11th annual Patchogue Garden Tour

12 July 2011 by Krystle DiNicola

The self-guided tour began at the Community Garden on Terry Street in Patchogue Village. Each participant received a fresh sprig of lavender from the garden to enjoy. This year's tour also featured five private homes within the greater Patchogue area in addition to the tour of the Community Gardens.

Northport residents Chris DeAngelo and Fran Rudloff travelled out to Patchogue specifically for the tour after seeing it advertised. "I've been with a friend for other tours. We've done the North Shore more - Smithtown, Saint James, etc," Rudloff said. "I've also done other tours in Sea Cliff and Northport but I've never been to this area before. This is beautiful," DeAngelo said.

DeAngelo liked the McGrath Garden best. "The same thing that appeals to me in the house, appeals to me in the garden. It's artistic - the scale, the color...everything just looks like it was done by an artist. It blends together beautifully," DeAngelo said.

Rudloff preferred the Belzak Garden. "The garden had different structures in it. There were statues as well as antique bistro tables and chairs. It was very whimsical. There were surprise touches everywhere. I also liked that she had vegetables growing nearby," Rudloff said.

See photographs at
http://patchogue.patch.com/articles/photos-patchogue-garden-tour-2011#photo-6943386

11th ANNUAL GARDEN TOUR

Sponsored by

PATCHOGUE GARDEN CLUB

Saturday, July 9th
Gardens open at 10 AM & close at 3 PM

“How fair is a garden amid the trials and passions of existence.”
~Benjamin Disraeli

Tickets: $20.00 per person at
The Community Garden, 9:30 AM-12:30 PM
Corner of South Ocean Ave and Terry St., Patchogue NY

Pre-purchase tickets for $15
by sending your check to:

Patchogue Garden Club
P.O. Box 3030
Patchogue, NY 11772-0887

Tickets are also available at:

Fantastic Gardens of Long Island, 67 Avery Avenue, Patchogue

Patchogue Chamber of Commerce, 15 North Ocean Avenue, Patchogue

Remember Yesteryears, 146 Main Street, Patchogue

Country Junque, 1595 Middle Road, Bayport

For more information, call Paula (631) 553-2928

Proceeds to benefit community beautification

Plant and Yard Sale

Club member Paula Murphy chats with her sister, Quentin Helke, and JR Russo & best pal Benjamin


Arlene Lamberti, Barbara Edsall, and Jo Miller bring merchandise and price it for sale


Carol Tvelia and Joanna Drake price items


Karen Ferb, Bonnie Bossert, and scholarship winner Miranda Kass help out in the gazebo

Lynn Kane & Mark Jeffers--

Are they buying or bringing?

Rosalie Coleman and Georgia Dulmovits—are they the treasures, or are they looking at the treasures? You decide. :)

May Newsletter

Greetings from the President

Hello Members,

It's May - already...and the trees are fiercely blooming! How are your patios, decks, ponds, homes, cars, and most of all, your noses? Everything is coated in that lovely yellow pollen, except our noses which are probably bright red by now! I hope your allergy season is almost over, and you will all be breathing easier soon.The home improvement stores are filled with deck and patio furniture and ideas; the garden departments are overflowing with annuals and perennials, trees and shrubs, and that related garden "stuff" that we all crave. I guess I'm just a warm weather baby because I can't get enough of spring and summer. It's all gone too quickly. I want to live somewhere where it is eternally summer, so I can enjoy the garden, and the warmth of the sun on my skin every day of the year. I feel pretty certain that many of my fellow nature lovers feel the same way, and I know you're all outdoors every chance you get, getting the soil under your fingernails and making your own little piece of paradise even more spectacular. Hope to see all of you at our next monthly meeting. Diane

Mark the Date

May 24—Monthly Meeting, Our May meeting will be held at Fantastic Gardens at 6:00 (Note time change). Dave will once again offer a 15% discount for any purchases. He will explain the succulent garden and you can also revisit the cactus collection.
June 11—Breakfast in the Garden, 9 a.m.
Bring a breakfast item for several people.
June 28—Monthly Meeting Location TBD
July 9-We are looking forward to our 11th Annual Garden Tour from 10-3. This year's quote is: “How fair is a garden amid the trials and passions of existence.” Benjamin Disraeli Ticket cost: $15 presale, $20 day of tour Post-Tour Dinner: July 10, 2011, details TBA

Get to Know a Fellow Gardener, PAULINE CARLETON

Where were you born, and where have you lived?
I was born in Patchogue, lived in Patchogue all my life.
Tell us about your family?
My husband passed away a couple of years ago. My daughter, Barbara, lives in Ohio, but is in the process of moving to SC where her son lives. I have one grandson. I also have a son, Kevin, who lives in the Patchogue Area.
What gave you your first interest in gardening?
When I was a little girl I always liked to have a garden. I had the radishes and the usual. My father dug up the soil for me. I always enjoyed it. I never did great things.
Do you have a favorite gardening style?
Whatever will grow. My husband always had a good-sized vegetable garden. My son carries it on and still works with my garden. I do the herbs. The usual—oregano, basil, mints, sage, dill.
Outside of gardening, what are some of your interests?
I belong to the greater Patchogue Historical Society. I enjoy the local history. I play bridge.
A television show you like?
Anything funny. I don’t like police or hospital shows. I like "Antiques Roadshow". I enjoy musicals.
A book you’d recommend?I like historical novels. I enjoyed "Jonathan Livingston Seagull".
An accomplishment you are proud of?My husband and I built our own house. I’ve lived here 60 years now, so it’s held together pretty good. His brother helped him. I was pregnant with Barbara and I remember hammering floorboards down. I did most of the interior. My first Mother’s Day, my husband bought me an electric sander. He was a very practical man.
An interesting place you’ve traveled to or visited?
I was brought up on the bay out here. We bought a big old Matthews boat. Every weekend for 30 years we’d pack up and go on the boat. I don’t know how manytimes I painted it. It was 38 feet long—built in 1929. It didn’t go very fast, but we had a good time. We’d go
over to Fire Island on the beach. We didn’t really get off the boat. We just swam off the boat and clammed. The kids grew up. We got a sailboat, and the kids learned to sail. We’d go to Connecticut in it. In later years we drove to Florida for two weeks each year.
Your favorite dessert or food?
I love clams, mussels—seafood. I also love salads.
What would you do if you won the lottery?
As I say to the girl when I buy a ticket, I only need a million dollars. I’d probably help out people—friends, relatives. I don’t think I’d change my lifestyle. I might buy a new car.
Something you keep postponing?
I’d organize my boxes of pictures. I’ve cleaned out a total of about four or five houses and brought most of the stuff home. (One was my husband’s family homestead in Riverhead, one was an aunt in Cutchogue—etc.) I’ve reached the attitude—let them clean out my house and have the fun.
An interesting job you’ve had?
My claim to fame was that I was the first woman teller in Patchogue---Union Savings Bank in 1943—the height of World War II. I worked there seven years.

April Meeting in a Flash

Business:
• Membership voted to have the gazebo and arbors powerwashed.
• Membership voted to include Patchogue Garden Club logo on the new Patchogue Village signs.
• Scholarship recipient, Miranda Kass, will do community work in the garden as well as at the yard sale.
• Tom and Carolyn Savastano put up six birdhouses in the village garden. These were made by Dennis Sitler’s Boy Scout troop #44.
• New membership booklets are in the works.
• The Community Outreach Committee will be co-chaired by Bonnie Bossert and Jo Miller. Contact them if you’d like to work on the committee.
• Breakfast in the Garden will be held June 11th. No rain date. Bring a dish to share and a chair.
• If you’d like to host a summer meeting in your yard, contact Diane.
Speaker: Bill Paauwe—African Violets. Who knew there was so much to learn about the humble African Violet? Mr. Paauwe (President, Officer and/or member of seven African Violet Societies, and author of several articles on African Violets) dug into some of our overgrown and neglected plants, showing us how to use a wicking system, telling us that the pot should be 1/3 the size of the plant, and using his unique soil mix (including vermiculite, pearlite, diatoma-ceous earth). You must water with a fer-tilizer. While taking off older leaves and scraping the stem while repotting, he reminded us that grooming is very important. He suggested using a soft blush brush for dusting the leaves. Bill’s dry humor made his informative presentation very entertaining.


What’s in the News?

1. Find out why Bleeding Heart’s botanical name has changed:
http://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/columnists/jessicadamiano/garden-detective-botanical-name-system-1.2749883. Some of our favorite flowers have been reclassified and find themselves with different botanical names.

2. Hugh Raffles defends non-native species in this "NY Times" article. He says, “It’s true that some non-native species have brought with them expensive and well-publicized problems; zebra mussels, nutria and kudzu are prime examples. But even these notorious villains have ecological or economic benefits. Zebra mussels, for example, significantly improve water quality, which increases populations of small fish, invertebrates and seaweeds — and that, in turn, has helped expand the number of larger fish and birds.” Read more of his article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/03/opinion/03Raffles.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=mother%20natures%20melting%20pot&st=cse

3. In this art piece, “When New York City Bloomed,” by Mariellé Anzelone and Wendy Hollender, you can see some of the flowers found in Central Park in earlier decades. “When you stand in the middle of Times Square, it is easy to forget that the colonists settled in New York City because of its bounty of natural resources. Before there were skyscrapers and restaurants, the city’s wealth was measured in flora and fauna. Early Dutch sailors were disoriented by the scent of wildflowers wafting out to sea from Manhattan. Even today, forests, marshes and meadows cover nearly one-eighth of the city. But it is not a safe haven for flowers. Of 1,357 native plant species documented in New York City’s history, only 778 remain here. There are various reasons for their disappearance, but always the causal factor is human — a pest we accidentally introduced, a habitat we made unwelcoming or destroyed altogether. Our urban lives are impoverished in their absence. Here is a selection of plants that have vanished from the city. Some thrive elsewhere;
others are barely hanging on. And one has recently reappeared in New York City, a signal of hope in a concrete landscape.” To see some of our vanishing plants, look here:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/25/opinion/20110326-opart.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=thab1#1.

Timely Tips for the Garden in June

• Plant out pots of basil and other tender herbs.
• Keep sowing seed outside to provide continuity of supply.
• Thin seedlings that have been sown directly in the garden.
• Encourage runner beans to climb up their supports.
• Remove side shoots from your tomato plants.
• Plant out beans, pumpkins and other tender crops.
• Harvest beetroot, spring onions, radishes and salad leaves. Don’t forget to sow more for a later crop.
• Harvest asparagus until the end of the month—then allow the shoots to grow to feed the roots for next year’s crop.
• Harden off young plants that have been raised indoors,leave them in a shady place for a couple of days, then overnight for a couple more before planting.

“In June as many as a dozen species may burst their buds on a single day.No man can heed all of these anniversaries; no man can ignore all of them.” ~ Aldo Leopold