Message from John Sowden: anyone wishing to sub-mit photos of ‘snow in the mountains’ for the 2017 GCA calendar, would you please email these to: frankspolc@bigpond.com. Social and Touring Richard Landon advises that our next trip will be: Friday 20 November: Mt. Wilson. Bus $20. Bus de-parts Leura Bus Bay 9.30 am. Book and pay today . Visit will be to 3 gardens, each approx. $5 entry. Morning tea and lunch at own expense. As Richard will be away at that time, the tour will be led by Caroline Stanton. There will be no bus trip in December or January. Book-ings for February trip will open at January meeting. Suggestions for other trips always welcome - speak to Richard Landon: email mhawkett@gmail.com , phone 4759 1669, mob. 0427 614 378. Please contact Richard if you book on a trip and then find you are unable to at-tend, as there are often waiting lists for the trips. Garden Rambles We have been invited to Barbara’s Cottage Garden, at 3 Easter Street, Leura. Speaker for November: This month’s speaker will be Murray Clark, on: CANNI-BALS IN YOUR GARDEN! Murray will speak on his spe-cialty: carnivorous plants... Club Meeting 20 October 2015 Attendance: 48. Apologies 13. We welcomed two new members: Barbara Thomas and Kay Cheevers. We also welcomed six visitors: Edna and Bill Williams, Sue de Brett, Stephen Ridd, Sylvia Korva and Joie Thornton. General business: Ann Norman advised members that annual subscrip-tions are due by January/February and a list has been started for the Christmas lunch at the Everglades. Pay-ment must be completed by today. Ann Norman presented a donation cheque for $200 for the Rural Fire Service to Margaret Brown. For the Club’s Christmas lunch at the Everglades, Ann advised that John Greenway will have his vehicle availa-ble to transport down to the building’s back entrance for those members who will require such assistance; they will then have 14 internal steps to negotiate up to the dining room. Di Cox advised members the 2015 Iris Show at the Community Hall at Blackheath will be held this coming weekend of 24/25 October and the Red Cross Games day will be held on 28 October at the Uniting Church . Correspondence: Copies of all correspondence is laid out on the leaflet ta-ble.

LEURA HOME GARDEN CLUB

INC.

November 2015 Editor : John Greenway

Email joopgreen-way@ozemail.com.au

Phone: 4757 3450 Website: www.leuragardenclub.info

Mail to: PO Box 7082, Leura 2780

President: Ann Norman 4784 3737 Secretary: Nick de Brett 4784 2656 Treasurer: Terry Goulden 4757 3450 Webmaster: Terry Goulden email:goulden@ozemail.com.au

Meetings: 3rd

Tuesday of each month at St. Alban’s Church Hall,

Leura commencing at 9.45am

Welfare: Ann advised she had received a letter of thanks from Kath Bayliss for the card we had sent her, expressing her appreciation for our kind thoughts and best wishes.. Ann also advised that Emily Darley was currently in the Blue Mountains Anzac Memorial Hospital and would be moving shortly to Morven Gardens. Garden Clubs of Australia John Sowden sent his apologies for the meeting. Terry advised he had the orders for the GCA items that had been displayed at the last meeting, for members to collect. GCA Garden Magazine: Subscriptions are now due for 2016. The fee of $15 covers 4 issues posted. If you wish to renew for 2016 please pay the Treasurer/Ass’t Treasurer by December 2015 as numbers must be given to GCA by mid-December. If you wish to pay your Subs of $10 for LHGC at the same time, the total is $25.00. Railway Garden and Trading Table: Margaret Brown thanked members for the items they had brought in for the Trading Table, and, in particular, expressed her thanks to Ellis Davidson for his generous contributions. Margaret also reported that they were currently concentrating on the Hospital Garden and were now planning to resume work on the Railway Garden. . Raffle: (with a prize donated by Birches of Leura) The raffle was drawn by today's speaker, Karen Sylvester. . First prize was won by Di Cox, and second prize by Roger Walker. This Month in Your Garden: Lorraine McMiles conducted ‘This Month in Your Garden’ giving a comprehensive review of the varieties of mulch suited to different plantings including annuals and perennials. Speaker: Richard Landon introduced Karen Sylvester, an expert on lilacs and recently retired as Senior Horticulturist at the Botanical Gardens, Mount Tomah. Karen described the processes used for the cultiva-tion of lilacs. These included the growing of lilac cuttings on privet understock and the use of Ash understock for effective grafting , while in the USA and Europe lilac was grown on its own roots. Ka-ren described another quicker and better way of propagating through ground layering. Karen advised on the best conditions for growing. These included: good sun, good drainage, pruning and ensuring a neutral Ph level in the soil with the application of lime every few years if soil was acid. Karen showed and passed around a variety of lilac blooms. These demonstrated the rich variety of modern lilacs. She also gave tips on preserving the vase life of lilac blooms and cut flowers. Ann thanked Karen on behalf of members for a very informative and useful talk. Back Page: It is summer, finally, and thoughts flow to salads and their preparation. Here

Chân gives us a delightful description of ‘Mesclun’ , a mixture of greens prepare a delicious salad. Thank you again, Chân. Printed by Bennett Printing, Katoomba

Mesclun Ready-to-go salad mixes are all the rage these days, judging by the amount of shelf space devoted to them in supermarkets and greengrocers. One of these popular mixes is mesclun, also known as spring mix or mixed baby greens. Mesclun originated in Provence, France. The name comes from Provençal mescla, derived from the Latin word misculare ‘to mix’ and literally means ‘mixture’. The traditional mix includes chervil, rocket, lettuces and endive in precise proportion. Purists and those from Provence might argue with the modern use of the word mesclun, as mesclun nowadays often goes beyond the traditional greens, it may include an undetermined mix of

fresh lettuces, baby spinach leaves, rocket, baby beet leaves, cress, endive,

mizuna, mibuna, mâche, radicchio, sorrel and/or other leafy vegetables. Some mixes also integrate edible flowers and/or their petals,

such as violets, calendulas, chive blossoms, marigolds, nasturtiums, borage, etc. Although the ingredients are varied, all mescluns are noted for being a

healthy dish with interesting combinations of flavors, colors and textures. The leaves include a rainbow of greens from light to deep, and bronzy red (radicchio). The taste of course will depend upon the mix of leaves, as it may include the mildest of lettuces as well

as the most peppery of cresses. Indeed, it is possible for each mouthful of mesclun to have a different taste. Apart from lettuce, the main ingredient, of which there are a few varieties (butter head, cos, crisphead, loose leaf, batavian etc.) of different shades from lime to dark green to russet, the followings are some of the greens you’re likely to encounter in a bag of spring mix. Rocket is a small, flat leaf with long stem, and a peppery taste. Belgian or French endive or witlof has tightly packed leaves and bullet-like shape, creamy yellow or white in color, slightly bitter in taste and crisp in texture. Chicory or curly endive is slightly bitter, with darker outer leaves and paler or yellow leaves towards the center. The leaves are ragged edged on long thin stems. Escarole or broad-leaved endive is another member of the chicory family, it has broad wavy leaves and a milder taste than chicory. Mâche or lamb’s lettuce or field salad has a slightly serrated, spoon-shaped, velvety dark green leaves and mild taste, it is usually sold bunched together with its roots, at a high price due to its perishable nature. Radicchio is a mildly bitter leafy vegetable with shiny, smooth leaves and white ribs and vein. There are different varieties, some looks like a small head of red lettuce and some looks a bit like a red version of Belgium endive. The most common color of radicchio is deep red to burgundy. Chervil is related to and resembling parsley but tasting more like tarragon. Cress has a mustard hot and spicy bite. Sorrel has a lemon flavour, use them in small quantity. Mizuna is of Japanese origin; its green, featherly leaves are peppery reminiscent of rocket. Mibuna is the cousin; it has a smooth leaf and a subtle flavor described as a combimation of coriander, celery and sorrel. Tatsoy or spoon cabbage is a dark leafed rosette of Chinese origin. To complement the green mix, there are some edible flowers and/or flower petals: Nasturtium: with their brilliant sunset color and distinct peppery flavor, nasturtiums are probably the better known and most popular. They have a similar taste to rocket and cress. Borage: borage blossoms are lovely little blue, star-shaped flowers with a cool, faintly cucumber taste. Calendula (pot marigold): ranging in colour from pale yellow to vibrant orange, calendulas offer a citrus flavour and a mild peppery taste. Chive blossoms: A chive blossom is rather big and fluffy; as much as we'd like to put a few in our salad, they would make too much of a mouthful. The best way is to divide the flower puffs into flowerets, which are scattered on a salad. Other edible flowers include rose petals, violets, chrysanthemum petals, cornflower (bachelor’s button) etc. The secret of a good mesclun is in its simplicity and freshness, as nothing can beat the taste and texture of young leaves freshly harvested, simply dressed and enjoyed minutes after they are prepared. A balance proportion between the ‘mild’ lettuces and the more spicy ‘others’, plus a well combined texture and shades of leaves, plus a touch of floral color will make your mesclun not only a culinary delight but also a feast to the eyes; and it goes without saying that the better your oil and vinegar the better your mesclun. Enjoy!

Baby beet leaf, Spinach leaf, Tatsoy, Watercress, Rocket, French endive, Mibuna, Broadleaf endive, Mizuna, Chervil, Mâche, Curly endive, Radicchio, Sorrel