Folsom Garden Club - FGC Member Photos

Folsom Garden Club
Neighborhood Gardeners since 1934
Volume XIII No. 11
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 1681, Folsom, Ca 95763
Website: www.folsomgarden.org
November 2013 Newsletter
“Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better.” Albert Einstein
Monthly Business Meeting
November 7th, from 10 to 12:15
Guest Speaker: Harald Hoven, a certified horticulturalist and director of Raphael
Garden at Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, will describe the method of
biodynamic organic agriculture that was developed in 1924 by Rudolph Steiner.
Be Green: Bring your own cup
Remember your name badge.
FGC Calendar of Events
Details in the FGC Yearbook and at www.folsomgarden.org
November
Date
Time
Location
Event
Chairperson
Thurs
21
10 to
11:30
Rudolf Steiner College
Fair Oaks
Sherril
Gomes
Fri
29
10 to 12
Natoma and Mill streets
Dirt Gardeners
Rafael Garden
Community Project:
Folsom Convalescent Hospital
Tree Trimming
Contact info
Dan Knott
More information on page 2
Sat
30
10 to 12
Community Project:
“Wild Nights & Holiday Lights”
Christmas tree decorating
Folsom Zoo
Sanctuary
Dan Knott
More information on page 2
December
Date
Time
Location
Event
Chairperson
Thurs
5
10 to
12:15
Rotary Clubhouse,
Lew Howard Park
Business Meeting
Holiday pot-luck and gift exchange
Joy Greene
FGC Newsletter
-1-
November 2013
Contact info
The Presidents’ Corner.
Don't you love seeing the leaves change color with the arrival of a very
mild fall. We are already having some great working in the yard
weather. I heard a flock of geese flying south today and you truly know
that nature is getting the message to get ready for winter. We are so
lucky to live in the Sacramento Valley which is the "Great Pacific Flyway"
for birds migrating from Alaska to Mexico.
Dennis and I are in the final days of picking tomatoes in the garden. I always go through withdrawal this
time of year when the crop is tapering off. One winner in the cherry tomato category has been "Natures
Bites" a robust red variety. My favorite is "Sungold" but this late in the year they split when you pick
them. The "Natures Bites" do not break down or turn mushy. We definitely plan to grow them again next
year.
Adrienne Coolidge and Sharon Barnett held their "Kickoff Garden Tour Meeting" and had a great turnout.
The energy level was high and everyone was enthusiastic about getting off to a good start for our club's
premier fundraiser. Thank you also to Sharon for inviting us into her home for the meeting.
We also held our first meeting to put together items for the Senior Center. We made a "Tootsie Pop Ghost
Wreath" and pumpkin/flower decorations for table centerpieces for use at the Senior Center October
party (see photos on another page). Our members had fun putting these items together! We are planning
to add some more projects for the Senior Center so stay tuned.
Joy and I are here to help if you have any questions, ideas or just want to talk about the club!
Sally Berry & Joy Greene
Community Projects
Friday, Nov 29, from 10 to 12, we will trim the Tree (pictured
far left) and distribute Holiday cards to the 95 residents at
Folsom Convalescent Hospital on Natoma and Mill streets.
We will also include the 93 residents of Park Folsom
Retirement Home in the distribution of holiday cards.
If you would like to donate holiday cards to be signed and
distributed to the residents, please bring them to the November
7th meeting. If you have any questions please call Joy Greene.
~~~~~~
Saturday, Nov 30, from 10 to 12, we will decorate a tree at the
Folsom Zoo Sanctuary for the enchanted forest of lighted trees
in the 4th annual “Wild Nights and Holiday Lights” fundraiser.
This is also a great opportunity to see the animals.
FGC Newsletter
-2-
November 2013
The October meeting: 73 members attended and 3guests.
Our total membership is now 128
Please welcome these new members: Patti and Frank Covey, Maureen Murchison and Cheryl Vivas.
Page 6 has photos of new members from October and previous months.
Penny Pines: $ 37.63
The Hodgepodge Table $100
The Raffle $164.
Raffle Prizes and their donors were: a decorated pumpkin from Shirley Centers; a necklace from
Mary Chapman; a $20 Gift Card for Pham’s Nail and Hair Salon solicited by Janice Wofford; a vase and arrangement
from Joye Gephart; a tote bag from Ruth Stark and a flower arrangement from The Blossom Shop.
The guest speaker was Bob Summer, Professor Emeritus at UC Davis, who gave an
illustrated talk on mushrooms.
There are about 38,000 known species of mushrooms. Different mushrooms have
many different shapes from the ordinary umbrella to the less
familiar coral or branching shape. They may also be flat and
shaped like shelves or round like a puffball. Their color
variation ranges from pure white to pastel pinks and lavenders, from pale yellow to
flaming orange and brilliant red, and from dull grey to brown. Many are used to make
dyes. The inky cap mushroom was used to make ink during the colonial times and was
used to pen our most treasured document, The Declaration of Independence.
The main part of the mushroom plant is underground. It looks like a web of fine
threads and is known as the mycelium. The umbrella growth, which most people call the
mushroom, is really a stalk that grows up from the
mycelium. The above ground umbrella part is to scatter
the spores; however, truffles grow completely
underground. Mushrooms need a great deal of moisture,
appearing after it rains, or on the coastal areas where there
is a lot of fog. They can be abundant in areas where there
have been fires.
Botanists do not separate mushrooms and
toadstools into two different groups. “Toadstool” is just a whimsical term and people
erroneously give the name “mushroom” to the kinds that can be eaten, and “toadstool” to those that are poisonous. This is
misleading because an edible kind of mushroom may have a poisonous relative that belongs to the same species. Only a
skilled person can tell which mushrooms are safe and which contain deadly poisons. Professor Sommer stated “A person
who eats mushrooms is either old or bold, but never old and bold.”
Contributed by Nina Sanders
October Plant of the Month, presented by Rhonda DesVoignes.
Butterfly Bush "Buzz", Buddleia hybrid. A Dwarf perennial for zones 5 thru 9, full sun, grows
36-48" tall, 24 to 36" wide. Water weekly during dry spells, and prune hard in early spring. Fragrant
flowers in white and purple shades blooms from spring to fall
attract butterflies, and are good in containers on patio or
deck. Deer -resistant. Remove spent flowers for longer bloom.
Rhonda also brought two fall bloomers that have been past plant of the month:
Helianthus angustofolius - swamp sunflower, bright yellow flowers in
October, zones 6 to 9, 5-7' tall & wide.
Salvia elegans "Golden delicious" - dwarf pineapple sage, grown 1 to 3' high
with yellow-green foliage and red flowers. Good for containers.
FGC Newsletter
-3-
November 2013
Dirt Gardeners visit to Crystal Rose Florist for a demonstration of fresh flower topiary.
Fun! Fun! Fun! That's the best way to describe the Dirt Gardener event at the Crystal Rose Florist.
The project was to create a topiary using a lily and
alstroemeria, then adding a variety of greenery and
finishing with a rose and bow. Everyone was
pleasantly surprised how something so simple and
easy to assemble resulted in such a pretty
arrangement. Many felt it was a project that could
be easily repeated on their own using other flower
combinations. These activities are a great way to
meet other club members and a chance to socialize
in small groups.
Contributed by Nina Sanders
Community Service Project
Sixteen club members
participated
in
the
October
community
projects for the Folsom
Senior Center.
They
assembled fourteen table
decorations made from
styrofoam pumpkins and
fall foliage.
One
hundred Tootsie Roll
Pops were wrapped in white
filters to form whimsical
ghosts that were inserted into
a wreath. They also signed eighty five Christmas
cards for the convalescent hospital. These talented
club members were very busy workers and made
completing all the tasks fun an enjoyable.
Contributed by Nina Sanders
FGC Newsletter
-4-
November 2013
Community Service Project
Thanks to our Community Projects FGC
members who helped make an impression on
young minds at the 2013 Folsom Family Expo
and Wellness Festival, Saturday, September
28th. It was our 8th year of participation
representing the Folsom Garden Club, teaching
kids and families about the importance of healthy
food, good bugs in the garden, answering
gardening
questions
and
hopefully, sending them home
with onions to enjoy later this
year. Though Mercy Health wasn't involved this year, sponsor Style
Media Group treated us well and donated space (which others had to
pay for). Between Folsom's Home Depot and Green Acres donations,
we were able to give out hundreds of onions in peat pots. Donated
colorful cards and loaner banners from Kids Growing Strong along
with their craft of bug or frog "pet rocks" helped us teach about
healthy ways to control insects in the garden. Look for some of us who
volunteered - you might be in an issue of Zoom magazine!
Contributed by Joye Gephart
Please welcome these
new members when you
see them at a Garden
Club meeting.
FGC Newsletter
-5-
November 2013
The November Gardener of the Month is Julie Kelly
I started collecting plants as soon as I was on my own,
about the age of 18. I couldn’t stop buying them!
When I was about 13 years old, I hung out with a friend,
Kim McGehee. She loved plants and had them in her
bedroom. I fell in love with the idea and was hooked
from that point on. Kim is my age and still has an
African Violet she had in 8 th grade We graduated from
high school in 1977, so that’s near 39 years old!
I grow vegetables as well as flowers and shrubs, and me-oh-my do they taste good:
tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, beans, squash, and some herbs; lots of fruit and
citrus trees, too!
One of my favorite plants is simply the Japanese
maple. It’s so calming and healing. Another plant I love
is the chocolate Cosmo. The smell of chocolate from the
flowers is just delightful!
I can't think of anything I don't love. I even love the
morning glories!
My favorite advice is for the indoor plants. Submerge them under water until all the
bubbles come out. Your plants are done being watered and you won’t have to water
them for close to 3 weeks, sometimes 4!
Julie has been a member of the Garden Club for two years.
She attends American River College, studying Horticulture, and was one of
this year’s scholarship winners.
Hibiscus
Green Bird of Paradise.
Save your bulbs
Cut into a few bulbs while planting annuals? You may not have to get rid
of them. As long as each piece has part of the basal plate (hardened stem
tissue attached to the roots) and a growing point, it will sprout again.
In the chart at left, you’ll see what to save and what to compost. Even with
a basal plate and growing point, a damaged bulb may take a year or two to
recover and bloom.
From gardengatenotes.com
FGC Newsletter
-6-
November 2013
Gardening Tips
Don't forget to set back the clock on your sprinkler timer. It's also a good time to put in a new battery.
Timers will lose their programming during a power failure if the battery isn’t fresh.
Go shopping!
Buy shrubs and trees while they are in their fall
color glory so that you’ll be sure to get the colors
that you want.
Trees with glorious fall color are Liquidambar,
Chinese Pistache, and Ginko Biloba.
Buy chrysanthemums in all the fall colors now.
Cut them down to a few inches from the ground
when they finish flowering. They will begin to
grow again next March and will bloom in July. Let
them bloom lightly; then shear them back for the
main bloom in the fall.
Fall Chores
Keep on top of raking and cleanup until leaf
fall is over. Be sure to clean up under fruit
trees. Fallen leaves and dead fruit can harbor
insect eggs and fungus spores over the winter.
If your peach or nectarine had leaf curl
(pictured below left) this year, spray it with
lime sulfur or fixed copper at full leaf fall.
Use a copper spray that contains 50% fixed
copper. Weaker sprays are ineffective.
Mulch your fruit trees, but don’t let it touch
the trunks.
< Leaf curl
Water needs are low this month, but if rainfall
is light, your flowers and vegetables and all
new plantings will need watering. Open
watering basins around plants if you have
slow draining clay soil.
Thin out evergreen trees so that the strong
winds that come with our winter storms will
blow through them more easily.
Fruit salad tree. Zones 7–9, 14–17: If you don’t have space for multiple fruit trees, try growing a single tree
with multiple fruiting branches grafted onto one rootstock. A single tree, often called a fruit-salad tree,
combines a medley of fruits—‘Blenheim’ apricot, ‘Fantasia’ nectarine, ‘July Elberta’ and ‘Babcock’ peaches,
and ‘Santa Rosa’ plum, for example.
Before the first frost takes you by surprise:
Consider bringing container plants indoors or at least put them under cover. Be sure to check them
beforehand for aphids or whiteflies.
Don’t put away your tomato cages yet, they can be arranged around frost-tender plants, and then
draped with cloth/bubblewrap/tarpaulin.
They also make a good frame on which to hang holiday lights that bring warmth to citrus trees
during a frost.
FGC Newsletter
-7-
November 2013
Co-Presidents
Sally Berry
Joy Greene
~~~
Co-1st Vice Presidents
Sherril Gomes
Nina Sanders
~~~
Co-2nd Vice Presidents
Garden Tour Directors
Adrienne Coolidge
Sharon Barnett
Treasurer
Joye Gephart
~~~
Recording Secretary
Cyndi Murdoch
~~~
Past President
Erin Angulo
Joy Greene and Sally Berry are all
smiles at the October meeting.
Correction:
Nicole Hager (pictured above) was incorrectly
identified as Karen Hager on page 4 of the
October edition
The club has been notified that Valerie Bulatovich, FGC President from 1979 to 1980, passed away in October.
Happy November Birthday!
Judy Hickey
Harriet Schaeffer
Shirley Hallfeldt
Pat Carper
Maureen Murchison
Mike Kelly
Gloria Hanson
1
1
5
7
7
8
11
Tina Schutte
15
Cathy Keegan
16
Sharon Peterson
17
Marge Stotenburg
17
Susan Chance
19
Kathy Bunney
30
Catherine Elliott-Shillings 30
Smile!
Gardener’s Recipe: One part soil, two parts water, and three parts wishful thinking.
FGC Newsletter
-8-
November 2013