March Meeting – Rescheduled to March 10

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The March 3 meeting was rescheduled to March 10 because of snow (that didn’t happen but we don’t mind that at all).   To ensure members and guests could enjoy our guest speaker, Lorraine Ballato, we moved her presentation to the May 5th meeting.

The revised meeting covered the other events scheduled  – club business and horticulture.  Renee Marsh, a member of the club, gave a presentation “Spring – A Time to Plant, Prune and Whack”  discussing issues around overgrown shrubs, pruning techniques and timing, and tools she recommends.

A pizza luncheon was then shared by all.

March Meeting – RESCHEDULED

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The March 3rd meeting will feature a presentation on Low Maintenance Gardening by Lorraine Ballato.

Life is too short to spend it deadheading, weeding, staking, and doing so many other things in the garden that come under the heading of “drudgery.”  Until someone invents the gardening equivalent of a self cleaning oven, we need to garden smarter.  This talk will give you some ideas about how to change your garden and gardening techniques so that you will have less maintenance and more time for all those other things in your life.

The native plant of the month are ferns.   Here is an example of a fern that can see even in these winter months, the Christmas fern (polystichum acrostichoides).   It typically grows in a fountain-like clump to 2′ tall and features leathery, lance-shaped, evergreen fronds.

Club Recognition

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We were recognized by the Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut with a certificate of achievement for our garden therapy word and an award for the club yearbook.   Congratulations to all the club members for their contribution to these efforts.

2013 awards_0001 2013 awards_0002

December Meeting

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The December 2nd meeting was our annual Wreath-making Workshop.DSC04005_edited-1

Wreaths for the civic buildings and other city decorations were made.

In addition to making wreaths for the city,  members made holiday wreath for their own use.   After the decorating, a Christmas luncheon was served.

November Meeting

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The November 5th meeting was our annual Artistic Fall Decoration Workshop where club members try their hands at making artistic floral arrangements.  Claire Norris gave a hands-on demonstration on important concepts for flower arrangements before everyone got started.

The native shrub of the month,  American highbush cranberry (Viburnum trilobum), was presented by Arlene Grey.

September Meeting and Kickoff

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The September meeting kicked off our new year.   In line with the Federated Garden Clubs of CT we will focus on the theme: 
               Bee Kind to Pollinators.   Plant Natives.  Create Backyard Habitats.

We are also changing our meeting schedule.  The club will now meet March through December and we will schedule some evening programs.  We hope this allows more people from the community to participate.

September Meeting

  • Plant Identification Contest   – Club members tested their skills by identifying fruits and nuts, flowers and foliage plants and ornamental plants.   Many members teamed up to face the challenge.   The hardest identification was a leaf from a castor plant which is grown as an annual in Connecticut.

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    Photo courtesy of Renee Marsh

  • Plant Mystery – There are times when gardeners – even seasoned ones – need help identifying a plant.  Members brought in a number of challenges.   These included Helianthus annuus ( common sunflower) and giant ragweed.
  • The perennial of the year, Variegated Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatumodoratum ‘Variegatum’‘), was covered by the new chair of horticulture, Linda Hooper.  Each year a the plant is awarded to the member of the club who has contributed the most artistic and horticulture arrangements.   This year we recognized Linda Hooper and awarded her the plant.

 

Nature Works Nursery Tour

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Our nursery tour was at Nature Works, an organic garden center and retail shop that offers many unusual perennials, shrubs, annuals and more.  Owner Nancy DuBrule-Clemente gave us a lively and informative tour of the one acre demonstration gardens.    The varieties of flowers – many natives that are rarely seen elsewhere – was head spinning.   Add a curator’s eye for garden statuary, containers, fountains, and garden gifts – and well – it is hard not to walk out with a trunk-load of treasures.

Nancy is an encyclopedia of information and the staff is incredibly knowledgeable and helpful as well.   We enjoyed our visit and left inspired.   The wealth never ends though – Nancy’s website, blog and newsletters provides a wealth of information – all relevant to where we live and garden.

Annual Plant, Bake & Book Sale

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The club sold a selection of perennials, wildflowers, annuals, vegetables, herbs and houseplants.   In addition to plants there was a book sale and a wonderful selection of fresh baked goods, local honey and potpourri.

Certified Master Gardeners were on hand to answer questions on soil testing, gardening, invasive plants as well as insect and pest management.

All in all it was a great time and a successful fundraiser for the club.  Thanks to the club members for donating their time and plants.   And thanks for the community for coming out to support us.

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May Meeting

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The May meeting was Color, Texture, Structure & More:  Garden Design for Four-Season Interest  by Donna Katsuranis, Advanced Master Gardener.

Old-fashioned Bleeding HeartDicentra spectabilisCourtesy of Renee Marsh

Old-Fashioned Bleeding Heart
(Dicentra spectabilis)
Courtesy of Renee Marsh

How can we make our gardens more appealing year-round and not just forget about it in the winter? Donna helped us explore the garden through new eyes – how to focus on the “bones” and the many tricks  to keep a landscape healthy, happy and beautiful throughout the year.

 

 

Sandy Nesteriak covered  the invasive plant of the month:  Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata)

 

 

April Meeting

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The  April 1st meeting was a presentation Fungi in Forests and Landscapes:  Friends or Foes?  by Robert (Bob) Marra who is a plant pathologist at the CT Agricultural Experiment Station.

Bob’s talk introduced us to the fascinating world of that poorly understood Kingdom Fungi.  He covered fungi as recyclers, pathogens, parasites and plant partners (symbionts).  Many plants, including the trees in our forests, could not survive without the important associations their roots establish with fungi.   The presentation looked at fungus we see above ground like trunk and limb rots, cankers and canker rots, as well as things that go on below ground like root and butt rots.

Courtesy of Renee Marsh

Laetiporus sulphureus
Common name is sulphur shelf and chicken of the woods
Courtesy of Renee Marsh

Linda Tura covered the invasive plant of the month:  Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata)

Autumn Olive with berries

March Meeting

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The  March meeting was on Butterfly Gardens.  The speaker was Rose Hiskes of the CT Agricultural Experiment Station.

This talk introduced the Bird & Butterfly Garden at the Station’s Lockwood Farm in Hamden, gave definitions to some basic terms and then looked at the more common butterflies found in Connecticut.  Images of caterpillars are shown.  Nectar plants for adult feeding and larval food sources for egg laying was presented.  A resource list was handed out along with other pertinent fact sheets.

Black Swallowtail

Black Swallowtail (courtesy of Renee Marsh)

We also covered the Invasive plant of the month:  Norway Maple (Acer platanoides)

For the full meeting schedule and times, see the Meetings page.

UCONN 2013 Garden Conference, March 22

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A Conference for the Home Gardener

The conference offers exciting educational opportunities for home gardeners at all interest levels – from the casual gardener to the garden enthusiast.  It also gives an opportunity to hear and talk to nationally renowned authorities on various aspects of garden design, maintenance, and plant selection.
For more information see www.2013garden.uconn.edu
March 22, 2013 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Lewis B. Rome Commons University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut