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BIRCHWOOD GARDEN CLUB www.birchwoodgardenclub.org CHARTERED 1931
GAZETTE A P R I L 2 0 1 3 V O L 2 5 , I S S U E 8
the
Preparing Plants For Sale By Ira Penn
Let’s say you’re going to a nursery to buy plants. What do you look for? Do you want plants that were just transplanted yesterday and are drooping because they’re still in shock? Do you want plants that are wilting because they haven’t been watered? Do you want plants that have no identification labels? Well… neither do the BGC Plant Sale customers!
The Plant Sale is the chief source of revenue for our Club. The more plants we sell, the more things we’ll be able to do as an organization. Proper preparation is what “sells” plants!
Start now—today if you can—and get your plants divided and into pots. The more time they have to acclimate, the better they’re going to look. Besides, in pots you can move them around to the best growing areas to get a good head start. Placing them against a wall with a southern exposure will make them jump! (And not to be a downer, but if a few of them are not going to survive the transplant, they’ll be dead “before” someone buys them and not the week after!)
Next work on the labels. You already know how many you need because the plants are in pots! Labeling is a perfect indoor job for a rainy day (we’ll still have a few) when you’re stuck inside. Optimally, labels should include the name of the plant, sun or shade, wet or dry, size and color. Signs with photos are always a plus! (Labels will be available from Sale Chairperson, Kathy Sparks at the April meeting.)
Keep your plants well watered, but stop watering two days before the sale. Wet, dripping soil makes a mess on the tables! Before you bring them in trim off all dead leaves or spent blooms.
Continued on page 4, column 2
Beans and Grains Talk Rescheduled for April
The Birchwood Garden Club will hold its eighth meeting of the 2012-2013 season on Wednesday, April 3rd, at 7:00 PM in the Whatcom Museum of History & Art.
Because the March meeting was a non-event (an explanation can be found in the Minutes column on page 3), we have rescheduled our March topic for this month. To reiterate the previous announcement:
The speaker will be Krista Rome of the Backyard Beans and Grains Project (BBGP) who will talk on Growing Dry Beans and Grains in Whatcom County.
Krista has been gardening and farming in Whatcom County for the last 15 years. She is active with the What- com Folk School and Transition What- com. She has taught courses on Root Cellaring and Winter Food Storage, Rendering Lard and Home-Pressed Vegetable Oils, Safely Canning Meat and Fish, and Beans/Grains.
Presently, BBGP has several active trials on Certified Organic farmland near Everson and has published an excellent instruction manual aptly called Growing Dry Beans and Grains in the Pacific Northwest. To perk your interest, Krista will bring a few copies for review and/ or purchase.
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Birchwood Garden ClubBirchwood Garden Club
SATURDAY, MAY 49 am to 12 noon
Lower Level Bellingham Library
21st Annual21st Annual
PAGE 2 the GAZETTE
Sprouting OffEditorial Opinion/Observation
By Ira Penn
the GazetteThe Birchwood Garden Club Gazette is published monthly, September thru May, by the Birchwood Garden Club, P.O. Box 362, Bellingham, WA 98227. Articles, inquiries, letters to the editor, or other comments should be directed to the Editor, Ira Penn, via e-mail at:
Deadline is always the 12th of the month prior to publication.
Authors’ statements, either of fact or opinion, are their own and do not necessarily express the official policy of the Birchwood Garden Club. While the advice and information in this newsletter is believed to be true and accurate at the time of publication, neither the authors nor the editor can accept any legal respon-sibility for errors or omissions. The BGC makes no warranty expressed or implied with respect to the material contained herein.
The Birchwood Garden Club is open to everyone in Whatcom and Skagit Counties who supports the objectives of the organization. Meetings are held the first Wednesday of each month from Septem-ber thru May. Annual membership dues are $10 for an individual, $15 for a family, due in September. Membership applications are available at: www.birchwoodgardenclub.org.
2012-2013 Officers and Standing Committee Chairpersons
President—Jane JohnsonCo-Presidents Elect—Karen Teper & Kaye DykasTreasurer—Dianne GerhardSecretary— Ann Holland
Garden Tours—Sheri LambertHistorian—Kay ReddellHospitality—Tina SwansonLibrary/Museum Gardens— Loretta HoggMembership—Judy LewisPlant Sale—Kathy SparksPrograms—Tamara HallPublicity—Susan MetcalfeSilent Auction/Raffle—Cheryl HaakSunshine—Norine MorrisonWebmaster—Tom Sparks
I’m always on the lookout for new and fascinating subjects to report on and this month I’ve surprised even myself and found four stories that are guaranteed to amaze you.
No. 1: The infamous Dutch Elm Disease, which devastated Elms in North America during the 1950s through the 1980s, has been found to have one positive attribute. Prolonged exposure to the disease can immunize humans against the common cold. Unfor-tunately, even that one positive has side effects. When redheaded people are exposed for sustained periods it causes the red hair to turn yellow and fall out in large clumps.
The side effect is believed to be caused by a similarity between the blood count of redheads and the soil conditions in which the affected trees grow. Further re-search is ongoing.
No. 2: Graduate students at the prestigious Rootkropperdam University in Scandinavia have an-nounced the successful devel-opment of a genetically modified “whistling carrot.” The carrots have been specially engineered to grow with tapered air holes in their sides. When steamed, the air holes expand and cause the vegetables to whistle. The greater the cooking time the more holes open and the pitch changes accordingly.
The hope is that these carrots will prove to be usable for com-mercial purposes. They could be a great boon for chefs and busy homemakers who could simply listen for the proper tone to know when the carrots were done.
No. 3: If you’ve ever wanted to name a newly-discovered plant
for yourself, a loved one, or even your pet, it’s now possible without having to trek into the wild and do the actual discovery. In fact, all you really need is money. Some tax-onomists are awarding naming rights to the highest bidder. It’ll be just like naming a sports stadium. Go Daddy Geraniums anyone?
Most recently, for example, a worldwide naming auction was held for a new species of Hes-perantha that was discovered in the Lowland Renosterveld man-agement region of South Africa. The winning bid was $47,000 (U.S.)! Although the winner has not been publicly identified, he (or she) will not only get to name the species, but will also receive a painting and bronze cast of their new namesake.
No. 4: Also from South Africa comes the news that the Kocndbul Agricultural School has just released a report containing the results of their survey of gardeners. The survey showed conclusively that gardeners are more interesting people and contribute more to their communities than people having any other hobby. The accuracy of the report was immediately ques-tioned inasmuch as those con-ducting survey only asked gardeners for their opinions.
What was not questioned was the fact that some gardeners will be taken in by stories in an April Fools column if they appear to be even slightly believable. Three out of the four stories you just read are com-plete fabrications. Can you guess which one is real? The answer can be found on page four.
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making it perfect for hanging baskets.
For the best performance, grow in full sun, feed with a slow-release fertilizer, and keep well watered for several weeks after planting. It is drought tolerant once it’s established, but you'll get better growth and flowering if you provide consistent moisture.
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the GAZETTE PAGE 3
Read and Plant Book Reviews by Barb Clearman
Book: Antique Flowers: A Guide to Using Old-Fashioned Species in Contemporary Gardens by Katherine Whiteside. This book not available in the local library, but could be purchased on-line.
We ’ve a l l h e a r d t h e expression “all that ’s old is n e w a g a i n .” This book is the gardener’s version of that saying, bringing old flowers into modern gardens. The author starts by defining antique flowers as plants that have been cultivated for at least 100 years. She limits her selections to flowers that are still available to the amateur gardener.
The beginning of the book explores the history of gardens, from the first cottage gardens, filled with plants used for food and medicine, to the more sophisticated gardens of English nobility. The first American gardens were also planted with useful plants, but as settlers wrote home to extol the virtues of the wonderful lush vegetation they found, interest in these New World plants led to plant exchanges and the development of botanical gardens.
The rest of the book describes various flowers, their history, and how they can fit into your garden. The history of the Cornflower is one example. When the tomb of Egypt’s King Tut was opened, Cornflowers were found on his second sarcophagus.
This is an well-written and beautifully photographed book, with interesting and amusing information.
Meeting Minutes Oops… no meeting!
Our meeting on March 6th had to be cancelled as nobody from the museum staff was there to unlock the doors. The following is a letter of explanation—and apology.
Dear Jane & Karen,I’m the lead attendant at the Whatcom Museum and have been at
the museum for going on 18 years. I wish to express my sincere apology for not having the museum open for your needs last Wednesday evening. I assure you that an attendant had been scheduled. I spoke with that person regarding what happened and he responded that he entirely forgot about the event.
As the lead, I can’t take this oversight lightly. All events are important to us. This is the first such happening during my tenure at the museum and the first time I have had to write such a letter. I'm embarrassed that such an incident took place, and assure you that this isn’t how we operate at the museum. This will not occur again!
We enjoy having the Birchwood Garden Club here and hope to continue our relationship.
Best Regards,Todd WargerLead AttendantWhatcom Museum
These Blues Will Make You Smile
What could be better than a beautiful blue flower? Lots of beautiful blue flowers of course! A new Dwarf Morning Glory called ‘Blue My Mind’ will give you just that. It has nickel-sized, true blue flowers all summer long and the silvery green foliage sets off the blossoms nicely. Even better… you don't have to deadhead spent blooms.
If the name Morning Glory scares you, rest assured that ‘Blue My Mind’ is not invasive. It is well behaved with a mounded trailing habit, reaching 6 to 12 inches high and trailing as much as 24 inches,
Blue My Mind
PAGE 4 the GAZETTE
Snacks
This month’s meeting snacks will be provided by Loretta Hogg, Ann Walton, and Ann Holland. Coffee will be generously donated by Russ & Sheri Lambert of Lone Jack Coffee. www.lonejackcoffee.com Thank you!
Raspberries In A Pot? By Ira Penn
I guess for most people the idea of Raspberries in a pot means that jelly is being made. But what if you could “grow” them in a pot and just pop them in your mouth as you were relaxing on your patio?
Rubus idaeus ‘Raspberry Shortcake’
With a new variety called ‘Raspberry Shortcake’ you can do just that. A 2013 introduction from Fall Creek Farm and Nursery in Oregon, ‘Raspberry Shortcake’ grows only 2-3 ft. tall, is hardy down to Zone 5, thrives in a pot, requires no staking, doesn’t need a com-panion pollinator, and (just to throw in an extra bonus) is thornless!
Fall Creek Farm and Nursery is a wholesale-only grower so you can’t go on-line and buy the plant directly from them. But it’s also being distributed through Monrovia so check with one of our local nurseries for availability.
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By Popular DemandAt our February meeting Kaye
Dykas brought a snack that got several members buzzing. In response, she has graciously offered to share the recipe for her Oatmeal Flatbread!
Ingredients:
¾ C Unsalted butter2 C Quaker quick oatmeal3 C Flour (Reserve ½ C for
rolling and cutting) ½ C+ Buttermilk (But no
more than ⅔ C)1 tsp Baking soda (Dissolve in
buttermilk)1-½ tsp Salt
Preheat oven to 400o F.Cream butter, mix dry ingre-
dients, and add buttermilk and soda.Roll dough very thin. Cut into shapes.Bake in hot oven on ungreased
cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes.Cool on racks or breadboard.
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Which Story Is True?In the “Sprouting Off ” column on page 2, story No. 3 is the true one.
Bonus Linkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=SkY03n0_sD8&vq=medium
Preparing Plants Continued from page 1, column 2
Now… having suggested what you should do, I’ll give you a tip on what you shouldn’t do. PLEASE do not show up with a huge clump of undivided plants or unlabeled plants and say, “I didn’t have the time… I was going to do it but… the dog ate my homework… blah, blah, blah.” Frankly, that sort of stuff is insulting to those who are working set-up. Essentially you’re saying, “My time is valuable and yours isn’t, so you do my job for me!” We’re all in this together, folks. It’s everyone’s Club!
In that vein, we still need volun-teers for set-up on Friday, May 4th and the sale on Saturday, May 5th. If you have not yet signed-up you can do so at the April meeting or on the website: www.birchwoodgardenclub.org Select the “Volunteer” link on the left side of the screen. If you have questions, call Kathy Sparks at 360-223-2290.
Besides reveling in the camara-derie of fellow BGC members, volunteers enjoy the added perk of getting first choice by purchasing one plant before the sale begins either on Friday night after set-up or Saturday morning before we open.
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Thanks Kathleen!The beautiful, eye-catching
poster il lustrating the “Plant Preparation” article on page 1 will be distributed around town to alert people to the date, time, and place of our Plant Sale. The poster was created for the Club gratis by Kathleen Whitlock, a fabulous graphic artist.
THANK YOU KATHLEEN!
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