|
COTTAGE GARDENS
With Fred Rice, a designer, teacher, and world traveler who has lived in England and the British West Indies. Fred will introduce us to the English cottage garden which was revived by Gertrude Jekyll in the late 19th century. Fred will show us how we can have the quintessential English garden here in America. His slide presentation will provide ideas and guidelines. Guests WELCOME.
DATE: NOVEMBER 7th TIME: 7:30 PM At: PHOENIX LODGE
GARDENERS’ PALATE As you now know we are in the top ten running for the best cookbook in the country printed by Morris Press, the leading publishing house for cookbooks. We will keep you updated. The books are $18.00 ea. & have over 525
recipes included, along with cooking tips.
GIPSY Gardeners Interested In Photographing Subjects for You.
The attendees had a marvelous time with Saba Alhadi of PhotoWalks at the Back Bay tour. "Photo Tours of Boston". (617) 851-2273. E-mail: saba@photowalks.com
Everyone got some very interesting photographs of the Back Bay area while learning more about our hometown. Any WHGC member or guest of a member is offered a discounted price of $20.00 on a special PhotoWalks Halloween tour scheduled for October 31, 2006, starting in Boston at 10 am. If anyone is interested in going please contact Sandra Woodward for full details. Please call 781-826-4734 or email walnuthillma@hotmail.com (put Halloween Tour in the subject line.
The group is also planning a speaker in a nature setting. Trygve Swift, environmentalist and naturalist will lead a group. Details are in the works, to follow.
SO. SHORE BREAST CENTER, WEYMOUTH
FLORAL DONATIONS
Oct. 23rd-Jeannine Doyle, Oct. 30th-Louise Sironi, Nov. 6th-Thea Nestervich, Nov. 13th-Marilyn Hartney, Nov. 20th- Brigid McCue, Nov. 27th- Nancy Gardner. See Suzanne Fox for open spots.
WORKSHOPS · FALL PERENNIAL DIVISION WORKSHOP
Geared for the novice gardener. Suzanne Mahler hosted a hands-on workshop featuring division of Siberian iris, daylilies, hosta, and peonies with many members in attendance and happy to go home with some divisions. Ironically, this group contained many of our seasoned gardeners who always want to learn more form Suzanne. Photo below shows the back-to-back pitchfork technique used to divide roots. This is one of the safest ways to divide without damaging the plant.
GRAPEVINE WORKSHOP
Sue Mahoney hosted a very informative workshop on gathering the vines, choosing the right vine for the project at hand, making the structure and finalizing the form so it will maintain its shape for years to come. Some made just wreaths, others made various sizes of trees, using a wreath as the base. Below: Julie Mahoney is shown putting on lights.
NEW MEMBERS TEA We would like to thank Ellen Butler for welcoming our new members at her home.
ART IN BLOOM AT MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS Shirley Minott and Linda Oman will be representing our club at the MFA, doing a floral design at this springs event. They will be featured on the cover of Yankee Magazine in April 2007 just prior to the event. We will keep you updated.
RECYCLING We are still collecting empty ink-jet cartridges from your printer, toner cartridges from printers and copying machines and we are now also collecting old cell phones. Use our pre stamped mailing packages to dispose of these toxic offenders. They will be recycled properly and at the same time will be producing a small income to the club. The mailing bags are available at our general meetings. If you have any questions please contact Joyce Kleinrath.
PLEASE PICK UP YOUR YEARBOOK AT THE NEXT MEETING IF YOU HAVEN’T _ALREADY RECEIVED IT__
DECEMBER WORKSHOP
Please fill out the enclosed index card indicating which projects you would like to make. ORDERS ARE FOR:
TOPIARY with BASE $ 12 ea.
TOPIARY without BASE $ 8 ea.
SWAG $ 10 ea.
BOXWOOD TREE $ 18 ea.
GRAPEVINE TREE $ 5 ea.
GRAPEVINE WREATH $ 5 ea.
LIVING WREATH $10 ea.
ODAPTER RINGS $ 8 pr.
Please bring it with your check to the November meeting or mail them to Leslie Murphy before Nov. 15th (deadline). GUESTS are welcome, using special guest order form (different prices), also enclosed. Before you invite a guest tell them that they also need to bring some greens for the community pile, as you will. That is part of the offer.
MORE BEE INFORMATION Requested by members
By Jeannine Doyle
Bees spend the winter in the hive. They cluster around the queen in the frames & vibrate their bodies to keep the temperature above 65° (even when the temperature outside is zero). The bees on the outside of the cluster are colder than the ones on the inside & they have to work harder, so they take turns being on the inside gravitating back & forth. They live on the reserve of honey left in the hive (I leave about 60 lbs). Dead bees accumulate during the winter (they live longer as they are not flying & working themselves to death), as well as waste products. The queen lays considerably less eggs during this time, just enough to keep the hive alive, not too many to have to feed. Any day that the sun is bright enough to bring the temperatures to 50 or above, the bees will clean the hive by bringing the bodies or waste to the opening. If it is warm enough to fly, they will quickly fly out & drop the debris 20-25' away. If too cold to fly, they push the debris out of the hive & clean it up at a later date. March & April are tough times as the reserve of honey is usually gone. I feed them a sugar syrup or sugar patties to supplement the hive till nectar & pollen starts. Some bee facts: Honeybees fly @ 15 mph. To produce a pound of honey, bees must hit 2 million flowers. Honeybees collect about 66 pounds of pollen per hive per year. Beekeeping was practiced in Egypt as early as 2500 BC. Honeybees came with the settlers to this country in hives kept on board ships over 300 years ago. Store your honey in a dry place. If it is too cool it will thicken. This does not affect the honey. You can spoon it or spread it. If you want it to be thin again, keep it near a warm source (radiator etc.) To warm in water, put jar in water, LOOSEN cap, heat slowly & then shut off the heat & let sit till room temp. When I know the dates for the bee school in January I will let the club know. JDoyle
JUNIOR GARDENERS HAYRIDE PARTY The Halloween Party, pumpkin carving, decorating and spooky hayride at Teri Mallory and Norm Cedarstrom's home in Norwell was a great success with many of our members attending. Our appreciation goes to Teri and Norm and their entire family who helped organize and pull this off. Lynn Chandler, Teri’s daughter, has been instrumental in this for many years.
GARDEN THERAPY Glenda Larson and her dedicated team once again did an outstanding job with the Legion Senior Housing fall workshop. Glenda continues to entertain the many attendees with gardening projects, craft projects and brings them delightful snacks too! Shown is a happy resident admiring her fall project.
STETSON HOUSE CHRISTMAS Marie Sisk is the new chair for the Stetson House Christmas. Please contact her with your questions. There is an error in the yearbook, listing Pam Ferguson as chair.
PAM FERGUSON We would like to thank Pam for her many, many years of dedication to this endeavor. She has guided many members along the way. This photo from 2003 was taken in the children’s room at the Stetson House.
TIP- FORCING BULBS Little (minor) bulbs, such as snowdrops, scilla, muscari, chionodoxa, and crocus force equally well as the large (major) bulbs, daffodils, tulips, & hyacinth. Both the major & minor bulbs are handled in the same way, although the forcing period may vary slightly. Some cultivars (early cultivars & those that do not grow too tall) are better suited for forcing than others. Catalogs will usually identify forcing varieties. The term forcing refers to inducing a plant to produce its shoot, leaf, & flower ahead of its natural schedule & out of its natural environment. To force hardy bulbs you need to mimic & compress the process the plant would undergo outdoors in the garden. The type of pot (plastic versus clay) is a personal preference. The pots should be scrubbed clean before use & clay pots soaked for several hours to saturate pores.
When buying bulbs for forcing, always choose first-rate, top-size varieties. Start now, in October. If you buy from the local garden center, scrutinize them the way you would produce at the grocery store; don’t buy bulbs that are soft or sprouting. High-quality bulbs are necessary because the bulb contains the food required to produce a flowering plant.
Since bulbs need moisture & perfect drainage, a mixture of equal parts peat moss, potting soil, sand & vermiculite or perlite is best. Mix thoroughly & moisten with enough water to a damp consistency. If you anticipate planting bulbs outdoors after forcing, add 1 teaspoon of 5–10–5 dry fertilizer to every quart of soil mix to give the bulbs an extra boost after flowering. Hyacinths, crocus, & narcissi can be grown in pebbles & water—with no additional nutrients, however, they are usually completely exhausted & should be disposed of after blooming. The next step in planting is to place a few pieces of broken crockery over the drainage holes, to prevent the soil from running out initially & clogging later. Fill your pot half-full of soil mix, then adjust the soil level until the tops of the bulbs reach the rim of the container. Plant bulbs with the pointed ends up, as close together as possible, without letting them touch. Tulip & other bulbs with a flat side should be planted with the flat side facing the edge of the container. This will allow the first leaves to form a border around the edge of the pot. Add enough soil mix to fill the pot, & water the bulbs thoroughly from the top or immerse in a tub of water - this will settle the soil around the bulbs. Label each pot with the name of the cultivar, date of planting & date to bring out of cold storage. Daffodils, narcissi, crocus, muscari & other bulbs look great in groups of three, five, or more. Hyacinths look quite handsome when planted singly, or in groups. Dense plantings are recommended for minor bulbs. After planting, place the pots in a cool, dark place, such as a cellar or refrigerator to initiate root & shoot growth. Other suitable environments include an insulated cold frame, under a porch, or an unheated garage. Cold storage is a critical step in the forcing process. Ideally, temperatures should be 35° to 48°F. If necessary, set boxes, pots or black garbage bags over your potted bulbs to keep them dark during the cooling period. The medium should be kept moist through the rooting & cooling period. After five or six weeks, the roots should emerge out of the bottom of the containers of the large hardy bulbs.
Forcing will take about 12 weeks for the early blooming bulbs (snowdrop, crocus, daffodil) & about 16 weeks for the tulips. Longer cold storage will result in taller flowers, while storage time shorter than 13 weeks will result in smaller plants & sometimes aborted flowers. A good rule of thumb: when you see the shoots 2 to 3 inches above the soil & fine white roots emerging from the drainage holes, it’s time to bring the pots out of cold storage. At this stage of development, move the bulbs to a cool location, such as an unheated entryway or closed off back bedroom, where the temperatures are in the ’50s. Bulbs should be placed in indirect lighting & should not be allowed to dry out. Feed weekly with a half-strength solution of houseplant fertilizer. Turning the pots every day or so keeps the flower stems straight & strong. In a week or two, the stems will elongate & the buds will become plump. When the foliage & buds are well developed, move the pots to a bright, sunny window in the house, where temperatures are near 65°F. Once the flowers begin to open, take the plants out of direct sunlight to prolong the bloom.
You will be pleased at how quickly the bloom unfolds compared to weeks, or possibly months, before they would outside. Hyacinths will bloom for nearly two wonderfully fragrant weeks if the room is between 65° to 68°F. Iris reticulate & crocus may fail to bloom or last only a day if temperatures get over 65°F. After flowering, cut the flower stems & place the pots in direct sunlight, keeping the foliage growing until it begins to die back. As it withers, don’t pull the leaves off, store the bulbs in the pots in a cool, dry place until late summer or early fall, at which time they can be planted into the garden. Attempts to force the same bulbs indoors will be unsuccessful, as forcing weakens the bulb & the bloom will be small & unsatisfactory the following year. Once the bulbs are back in the garden setting, they will return to a natural schedule, & in several years will again produce a wonderful show of flowers.
Some suggested varieties for forcing are:
Tulips- Apricot Beauty, Bing Crosby, Edith Eddy, Mirjorma, Yokohama, Jingle Bells, Attila, White Dream, Princess Victoria, White Swallow, Estella Rijnveld
Crocus- Pickwick, Rembrance, Flower Record, Peter Pan, Purpurea Grandiflora
Hyacinths- Amethyst, Blue Jacket, Jan Bros, L’Innocence, Pink Pearl, Delft Blue, Hollyhock, Anna Marie, Violet Pearl, Gypsy Queen, Carnegie
Muscari- Blue Spike, Early Giant
Daffodils & Narcissi- Barrett Browning, Bridal Crown, Dutch Master, Ice Follies, Paperwhites, Golden Harvest, Spell Binder, Salome, Pink Charm, Flower Record, Louis Armstrong, Unsurpassable, Tete-a-Tete, Jenny, Barrett Browning, Cheerfulness
Others- Snowdrops, Dutch Irises, Blue Squill, & Glory-of-the-snow
LET US KNOW WHEN YOU GET YOUR FIRST BLOOMS, WE MAY HAVE A CONTEST. GOOD LUCK.
|
