February 2016 - Paradise Garden Club Inc

January 2015
Editor: Ben Saturen,
Paradise Garden Club, Inc. (PGCI)
Pacific Region,
California Garden Clubs, Inc.
and
National Garden Clubs, Inc.
To Learn more about the Club’s
people, programs and
activities, visit:
www.paradisegardenclub,org
[email protected]
530-877-3472,
President’s Message
The President’s Message
February 2016:
The Prez says:
Did you notice how beautiful your yard is right now? Oh, you mean
your waiting for spring? Me too. But there is beauty all around us if we
know where to look.
TODAY’S PROGRAM
Carolyn Melf
Will provide hints on:
“Winter Gardening
in Containers ”
(See page 3)
MARK YOUR
CALENDAR
I just had the opportunity to see that ugly sage brush in the
high-desert in a state of beauty... it was covered with snow along
Highway 395. The barren landscape was transformed into spindly
spears of white and there were leafless branches on trees sparkling
with ice crystals in the sun.
Further along this trip through the Feather River Canyon were
numerous waterfalls, some from high above the canyon floor. Some
even splashed mist onto the roadway. (If that kind of viewing is on
order for you, it is best to be the passenger.)
But closer to home, and before spring has sprung, plants from the
house might bring us some fun. And that is what today is about. It’s
what is in the home that reminds us of the beauty of a growing thing; in
a dish, or pot, or tall vase (a Ming?). That simple and proud little flower
or tree that you pamper with water and flakes of feed. It’s a day to
appreciate nature indoors. Enjoy!
In the mean time, be thinking about how you can help
with the Garden Tour in June. This
event is the most fun you can have in
this Garden Club!
February 22, 2016
2016 Garden Tour
MEETING at the Habriels
10:30 am (page 8)
March 8, 2016
Ward Habriel
Ward Habriel, PGCI President
Newsletter Submission Deadline.
See Editor contact
information above.
March 14, 2016
General Meeting
11:30 p.m. At the
Terry Ashe Recreation Center.
Remember that children, marriages, and flower gardens
reflect the kind of care they get.
- H. Jackson Brown, Jr. -
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February 2016
Paradise Garden Club Inc.
Technical advice comes from Butte County Master Gardeners at: http://ucanr.edu/sites/bcmg/ .
FEBRUARY 2016: GARDEN TIPS
Planting



Select and plant summer-blooming bulbs such as amaryllis, calla, canna,
dahlia, gladiolus, lily, tube-rose, tuberous begonia, and tiger flower. Mulch
them well.
Summer-blooming bulbs that have overwintered indoors can be brought
outside now; mulch them well.
There’s still time to broadcast seeds of spring-blooming native annuals.
Maintenance




Finish pruning roses, cane berries, deciduous trees, grapes, and wisteria.
Fertilize
spring
bloomers
andGardeners
fall-planted
c/o: Butte
County
Master
at perennials.
http://ucanr.edu/sites/
Fertilize asparagus and strawberries.
Fertilize mature trees and shrubs after spring growth starts.
Pest and disease control




Remove and discard old flowers from azaleas and camellias to reduce petal
blight.
Remove aphids from blooming bulbs with a strong spray of water.
Mulch 3 to 4 inches deep around plants (but not against stems) to control
weeds and conserve moisture.
As the weather warms, handpick, trap, or put up barriers for slugs and snails
or use pet-friendly bait.
PLANT of the Month:
Black Mondo Grass
A stunning contrast for
the front of the border!
Dense, purplish-black,
grass-like foliage is
exceptional.
Produces dark lavender
flowers and purple fall
berries, adding interest.
Use in mass as an edging
or tuck into mixed
plant containers.
Got a Gardening question?
Email it to:
The Watercan Post
Editor, Ben Saturen,
[email protected]
For color indoors:
Force flowering branches into bloom by bringing them indoors when
they begin to bud. They will open in the warmth and add color to your
winter days. You can force-bloom dogwood, spicebush, serviceberry,
redbud, forsythia, pussy willow, quince, and spirea. Cut branches at an
angle, then put into water. Change water every three to four days; a
show of blooms should appear in about three weeks.
2
Lee Brasel
is the Winner for
identifying this popular
Here’s this month’s chance to win...
Email the name of this California native plant to
[email protected]
or call 877-3472 by February 29.
Winner receives 2 Free Raffle Tickets that can be
used at any meeting. The winner will be selected
by a random drawing among all the correct
submissions received.
California Native
-Editor-
January’s Plant Puzzler
February 2016
Fernald's Iris
Iris fernaldii
Found in
Paradise Garden Club Inc.
PGCI Motto: “Coming together is the beginning. Working together is progress. Staying together is success.”
Barbara Endahl
Colleen Francis
Nancy Hatley
Carrie Max
Jackie Owens
Jacques Williams
Neva Youngs
Thinking of You
Nancy Ward
June Laughlin
Thank you
Tip Wilmarth, January’s Speaker
Brenda Berkland - Air-plants presenter
FEBRUARY
Birthday Flower:
Today’s Program:
Violet
Modesty; Faithfulness;
Virtue; Young Love
Woolly Blue Violet,
Sister Violet
*Photo by: http://
davesgarden.com/guides/
"Winter Gardening in Containers"
Violets come in shades not only of
Purple, which is what people
commonly think of, but also of
White.
ONE TOUCH OF NATURE MAKES
THE WHOLE WORLD KIN.
Carolyn Melf and Carol Mordock will present a
demonstration of gardening alternatives you may want to
consider during the cold winter months. They have
assembled approximately 20 favorite plants and container
gardens from our own members for a special show,
followed by a panel of "experts" to answer questions.
Please join us and get ideas for your own
"Winter Container Garden."
Meeting starts at 1:00 pm
~William Shakespeare~
~ Donna Beronda ~
Welcome New PGCI Members !
We would like to reinstate the welcoming newsletter annotations when new members join. It's a nice custom and
one we'd like to bring back. Therefore, with just a little flourish of a garden hat:
In January we welcomed the following new members:
Dave and Sherrie Leslie moved to Paradise from Penn Valley just a couple of years ago. Their gardening interests
include vegetables, fruits, and flowers. Other areas of interest include sewing, golf, and fishing.
Jim Dill and Peggy Schrader have come to our upland clime from Bakersfield, also just a couple of years ago. Their
combined gardening interests may be too many to list! Jim also enjoys fishing, riding motorcycles, travel, and sports.
We also welcome back returning member Barbara Endahl from her sojourn in South Dakota, where she became a
Master Gardener. Her other hobbies include trading in foreign exchange.
Please look for all our newer members at the General Meetings and help them feel at home!
Anne Barrett, Membership Chair
3
February 2016
Club Inc.
ParadiseParadise
Garden Garden
Club, Inc.
Questions and Answers
What is the Difference Between Agave and Aloe Plants?
The agave and aloe plants are succulents with fleshy, pointed leaves and a sculptural quality. Both provide
dramatic focal points in a garden. They are admired not only for their attractive form, but for their easy upkeep
and drought tolerance. Though they appear superficially similar, there are many
differences between the two plants. Agave is used for rope, tequila and a sugar
substitute. Aloe is used for lotions and gels.
The zones vary by species in the Agave family. They generally take full sun or
partial shade with little to moderate water. Many are native to Mexico and
Arizona. Sculptural succulents with rosettes of fleshy leaves are impressive,
sometimes with colorful flower stalks that emerge from the rosette’s center
looking like a giant asparagus. Some kinds produce clusters of flowers on side
branches, while others have flowers packed along the stalk. After flowering,
which may not occur for years, the foliage clumps die leaving
behind suckers that make new plants. The plants shrivel from
serious drought but plump up again with watering or rainfall.
Agave
Provide good drainage. Agaves look dramatic in pots and
thrive with little care. In fact, too much water or fertilizer causes agaves to grow too fast,
actually shortening their life span. Plant them in containers filled with fast-draining potting
soil. Let the soil dry before watering then re-soak it. Add water-soluble fertilizer only once or
twice a year. Don’t forget to position spiny plants away from paths.
On the other hand, Aloes are primarily South African natives. They range from 6-in. miniatures
to trees; these form clumps of fleshy, pointed leaves and bear branched or unbranched
clusters of orange, yellow, cream, or red flowers. Different species bloom
every month. The biggest show comes from midwinter through summer.
Aloes are showy and easy to grow in well–drained soil in reasonably frost
free areas. They need little water. With some exceptions, give them full sun in
Aloe bloom
cooler climates, light shade in hotter regions. Where winters are too cold for
all year outdoor culture, grow in pots and shelter from frosts. Most kinds make outstanding
container plants. Aloes are highly valued as ornamentals, in the ground or in pots. Aloes have Helen Botsford
a sap beneath the skin that is an irritant to some people.
To this day I cannot see a bright daffodil, a proud gladiola, or a smooth
eggplant without thinking of Papa. Like his plants and trees,
I grew up as a part of his garden.
~ Leo Buscaglia ~
For all CALIFORNIA GARDEN CLUBS, INC. or
BUTTES DISTRICT OF CGCI matters,
Contact Krystal Migliore at:
[email protected] Phone: 530-321-7072 or 530-846-7200.
4
February 2016
Paradise Garden Club Inc.
A Word About Upcoming Programs at PGCI
I know you will enjoy today’s program and I want to thank each of
you who are participating in this joint effort coordinated by Carolyn
Melf and Carol Mordock.
Donna Beronda
You may also want to mark the following dates on your calendar:
On March 14, our speaker will be Ryan Tompkins from the United
States Department of Forestry. Ryan will talk to us about the
Penny Pines project. Paradise Garden Club has always been incredibly
supportive of Penny Pines, and many of you have even purchased plantations in
memory of your loved ones. However you are probably not aware of what goes
into the selection, planting and maintenance of these wonderful resources. Ryan
is bringing his laptop and projector and should be able to answer your
unanswered questions.
On Monday, April 11, the subject matter will be seed savers. Carolyn Matheny,
our Seed Saver Chair and Anne Barrett, who created the PGCI Seed Saver
program will team up to present “Seed Saving Savvy: Saving the future through
perspicacious preparation.” They will present the lay-gardener’s view of the
genetic, economic, and legal issues around seed saving by home gardeners. Then
they’ll guide us through the challenges of collecting, drying and properly storing
that indicator of real Seed-saving Savvy—TOMATO SEEDS!!
Come watch and grow with us . . .
Donna Beronda
Take thy plastic spade,
It is thy pencil; take thy seeds, thy plants,
They are thy colours; and by these repay
With interest every charm [Nature] lent thy art.
~ William Mason, The English Garden ~
5
Paradise Garden Club
Board Members:
President – Ward Habriel
1st Vice President
Donna Beronda
2nd Vice President
Julie Jones
Treasurer – Candice Boggs
Recording Secretary
Cheryl Habriel
Corresponding Secretary
Carolyn Melf
Membership
Anne Barrett
Auditor – Robin Robar
Standing Committees:
Garden of the Month
Pat and John Law
Greeter/Phone
Carolyn Melf
Newsletter Editor
Ben Saturen
Penny Pines
Suzanna Williams
Plant Sales – Jim Johnson &
Catherine Scrivner
Web Master – Anne Barrett
Youth – Carol Mordock
Garden Tour 2016
Cheryl Habriel
Scholarships
Colleen Francis
Yearbook – Anne Barrett
A reminder from
Open Positions:
Catherine Scrivner:
Plants are needed to
sell at club meetings.
ODD MONTHS ONLY.
Awards
Benefit Drawing
Beautification
History Book
Publicity
Social Events
February 2016
Paradise Garden Club Inc.
Photo by Ben Saturen
A Short Sports Story
When I think of sports , I remember the first two years of high school. I was on the fourth
team of our girl's basketball squad. Mostly, we (three of us), sat on the bench unless our team
was either way ahead or far behind in the score. Then we were put in at the final one to two
minutes and played until the buzzer sounded. If that wasn't ego-deflating enough; we wore
uniforms… left over from 1939. Although they were in our school colors, they looked nothing
like the cute short pleated skirts worn by the rest of the teams that flipped up and revealed
tight fitting briefs when they jumped. Ours was a combination of a front and back flap
reminiscent of a Hollywood movie Apache costume that covered actual bloomers. And,
because my legs were so skinny, the bloomers would droop down below the flaps. Don't go
there! There was a blouse type top, again, unlike the cute midriff revealing tops of the higher
ranking teammates. Some things in sports just shouldn't be duplicated.
However, there are other "sports" in the plant world and as seed savers, they are much
more romantic and interesting. Plant mutations - known as sports, breaks or chimeras are
naturally occurring genetic mutations that can change the appearance of the foliage, flowers,
fruit or stems of any plant. A tomato, larger and more intensely colored, developing on a side
branch or a flower with variations in shape or fragrance from the parent plant are known as
sports.
Many important agricultural advances can trace their origin to some genetic accident that
happened in someone's garden and discovered by someone who was observant and curious.
The nectarine is an example of a sport, which was developed from a peach. Plants that result
from a sport will be genetically stable and preserving the new traits is as simple as saving the
seeds produced by them. If the plant is a natural in-breeder, like a tomato, just save the seeds.
If it is an out-breeder, like squash, isolation or hand pollination may be required to maintain
pure varieties. And, it may take a few generations of selective seed saving before the sport
itself becomes a stable trait.
The home garden is a great place for discovering these "happy accidents" or sports. We
can't plan to have an accident, but we can be ready to add to our seed saving repertoire when
it does occur.
A great informational resource is our own Butte County Library’s - Seed Lending Library
books section.
And remember: Just because you may be a "late bloomer" doesn't mean
you have to "sport" them.
On every stem, on
every leaf... and at the
root of everything that
grew, was a
professional specialist
in the shape of grub,
caterpillar, aphis, or
other expert, whose
business it was to
devour that particular
part.
~
Oliver Wendell Holmes
~
Carolyn Matheny Seed Saver
Carolyn Matheny
6
February 2016
Paradise Garden Club Inc.
Garden by Design: ‘Enlarging Space’
Have a small garden you want to visually transform into a larger piece of Paradise?
Consider these tips:
To visually enlarge a small garden make fences which define boundaries ‘disappear.’ A tall
wooden fence can be disguised by painting it a high-gloss black color. Strategically placed large
shrubs in front of a fence will partially obstruct and break up the fence line.
Encourage visitors to your garden to look upwards. Plant a vertical garden on a wall or fence to
create an upright natural focal point which also has the advantage of keeping the yard
space clear for a patio and seating area. Create a Mediterranean look by hanging pots filled with
herbs or other plants on your wall or fence. Don’t want plants on your wall or fence? Install
wood or metal pipes to create a wall sculpture which could also serve as a conduit for an
irrigation system.
Add different levels to create more space and provide new patio or seating areas. Use steps
and ladders to hold potted plants. Hanging baskets allow you to grow plants high or low.
Other tips include:

Consider using formal garden designs. These classic layouts with a central lawn and
symmetrical borders feel organized and spacious.

Make the garden seem larger and more comfortable by installing a pergola to create the
sense of enclosure, and provide shade.

Choose pale wood or metal dining tables with glass tops with delicate metal chairs to
boost the sense of space in patios or pergolas.

Place white garden furniture at the end of your garden to create the illusion that your
space is bigger than it physically is.

Install mirrors which ‘visually’ double the amount of space you have and increasing light
levels in darker corners.

Group similarly–colored potted plants in corners with the largest plant at the back and the
smallest at the front.

And, most important of all, get rid of clutter.
Do you have a garden design or style you would like to learn more about?
Or, do you have some great landscaping design tips you’d like to share?
Email Colleen Francis at: [email protected]
Colleen Francis
“What I've always found interesting in gardens is looking at what people choose to plant there.
What they put in, what they leave out. One small choice and then another, and soon there is a mood,
an atmosphere, a series of limitations... a world.”
- Helen Humphreys
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February 2016
Paradise Garden Club Inc.
Looking for Your Ideas.
Garden Tour Planning Team
The Elliott Triangle is in
need of a fresh look.
Well, that's YOU, of course!
EVENT:
DATE:
TIME:
PLACE:
Planning Meeting for PGCI Garden Tour 2016
Monday, 22-Feb-2016
10:30 A.M.
Home of Ward & Cheryl Habriel,
1650 Ginny Lane.
Please RSVP so we can put out enough chairs: 877-3435. Come share your ideas!!!
CAST OF CHARACTERS
The areas in which we still need hands are in red. There's still a whole lot of red here. It
takes the WHOLE CLUB to put on a Tour. We need the help of every member in order to pull
off one of these events . Here's the status of the volunteer areas right now: Many positions
need co-Leaders or simply willing helpers. If you're interested in one or more of these areas,
please contact the section Leader directly.
Co-Coordinators: Cheryl & Ward Habriel, [email protected], 877-3435
Benefit Drawing: Julie Jones, [email protected], 877-4242, and ASSISTANT POSITION
OPEN
Container Gardens: Carol Mordock, 872-1416, and Pat Pickard, [email protected],
877-4894
Garden Home Selection: Carolyn Melf, 872-7771, [email protected], and ASSISTANT
POSITION OPEN
Garden Home "Homeowner Care": LEAD POSITION OPEN and ASSISTANT POSITION OPEN
Garden Greeters: Joan Hardie [email protected] 876-0646, and OPEN and ASSISTANT
POSITION OPEN
Gardener's Boutique: Sue Harrington, [email protected], 876-9442, and Cheryl Habriel,
[email protected], 877-3435
Plant Sale: Sue Harrington, [email protected], 876-9442, and Jim Dill, 415-7733,
[email protected] NOTE: MANY HANDS will be needed during the Tour to help ID,
place, promote, and sell plants and help buyers get said plants to their vehicles!
Plant Sitting Prior to Plant Sale: LEAD POSITION OPEN and ASSISTANT POSITION OPEN
Photographer: OPEN
Potting People: LEAD POSITION OPEN and ASSISTANT POSITION OPEN
Promotion/Publicity (Media): Julie Jones, [email protected], 877-4242, and ASSISTANT
POSITION OPEN
(Continued on page 9)
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February 2016
We need your
suggestions on what to
take out, what to keep,
what to add, using
concepts of year round
color, water-wise, native
plants, easy upkeep
(remember, we are all
getting older) and
hard-scape. When you
find yourself on Skyway
or Elliott check out the
Triangle, think it over and
send your suggestions to
me: [email protected].
This project may take
several steps but it all
starts with ideas...yours!
Julie Jones
Upcoming PGCI
Board Meetings:
Ward & Cheryl Habriel
will host the March
meeting and
Suzanna Williams will
host April’s.
Life begins the day
you start a garden.
~Chinese Proverb~
Paradise Garden Club, Inc.
Paradise Garden Club Inc.
Your Tour Committee is hard at work on the upcoming Garden Tour on June 4th and 5th. Have you decided where you can
help yet? Take a look at the positions still open and give Cheryl Habriel a call (877-3435 or email [email protected])
to volunteer for the job you want.
The Tour Committee voted to raise the price of the Tour Tickets from $15.00 to $20.00 to cover our rising
costs. However, you as a privileged member, get to go for FREE! But remember the old axiom - there is no
free lunch! We are counting on you to participate in this once-a-year fund raising presentation by PGCI.
Hope to see you at the next Tour Meeting on February 22nd at 10:30 am at my home.
Garden Tour Planning Team
Cheryl Habriel
(Continued from page 8)
Refreshments: Sherrie Leslie, [email protected] 872-1008, and ASSISTANT POSITION OPEN
Signage (Banners): Ward Habriel, [email protected], 877-3435
Signage (Poster Creation): Anne Barrett, [email protected], 828-1658
Signage (Pre-Tour Poster Placement): LEAD POSITION OPEN and ASSISTANT POSITION OPEN
Signage (Pre-Tour Street Placement): LEAD POSITION OPEN and ASSISTANT POSITION OPEN
Signage (Directional Street Signage That Weekend): LEAD POSITION OPEN and ASSISTANT POSITION OPEN
Tour Ticket Book Ad Sales: LEAD POSITION OPEN, [email protected], and Julie Jones,
[email protected], 877-4242
Tour Ticket Book Production: Anne Barrett, [email protected], 828-1658
Tour Ticket Book @ Merchants (Drop off/Pickup): Julie Jones, [email protected], 877-4242
Treasurer: PGCI Treasurer Candice Boggs, [email protected], 345-2736
Volunteer Coordinator: LEAD POSITION OPEN and ASSISTANT POSITION OPEN
By volunteering you would NOT necessarily become the section Leader.
We need multiple people in many areas. SO... please come!
Many hands will make light work. - Cheryl Habriel; 2016 Garden Tour Chair.
Golden Gardens eNews
The February 2016 issue is online:
The Official publication of CGCI is at the homepage of the CGCI website:
www.CaliforniaGardenClubs.com look for the link to this newsletter under "Hot Off the Press."
San Francisco Flower & Garden Show is taking place at the San Mateo County Event Center.

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9
The 2016 San Francisco Flower & Garden Show will be celebrating their 30th Anniversary!
It will take place at the San Mateo Event Center on MARCH 16 – 20, 2016.
There will be something for everyone!
Stroll through gorgeous designer gardens, with artfully arranged plants, trees and flowers in full bloom.
See the designs and watch the demonstrations by world-class floral designers.
Discover how to create your own remarkable garden with hands-on demonstrations and inspiring
seminars.
Meet professional gardeners and nursery owners who can answer all your questions…and help solve
those nagging problems.
Browse a wide selection of specialty shops featuring unique flowers, plants, gifts, tools and more.
Learn how to grow and prepare fresh home-grown food.
For more information: http://sfgardenshow.com/.
February 2016
Paradise Garden Club Inc.
Residential Garden of the month:
There is no Residential Garden for January.
Commercial Gardens:
There is no Commercial Garden for January.
Pat and John Law
Ward Habriel
877-3435
Tractor/backhoe
service to Paradise
Garden Club members at
a discount (Town of
Paradise area only)
Do you know of any RESIDENTIAL OR COMMERCIAL GARDENS worthy of appreciation?
Speak with: Pat or John at: [email protected] and they will contact the owners.
-Editor-
Just a Reminder:
With the PGCI Garden Tour only 4 months away, now would be a good time to
divide and repot any plants that you are willing to donate to the Plant Sale. We ask that
you repot them using potting soil - not native soil to help control any bugs, then take care
of them until the Tour Weekend.
Also if you have any 1 gallon plastic pots that you can donate for our potting
parties that would be much appreciated. We do ask that they be clean.
Any questions? Call me at 876-9442. Thank you!!
Sue Harrington, Garden Tour Plant Sale Chairperson
Sue Harrington
Interview with Marjorie Hamilton
It isn't often we have the pleasure of knowing a youthful 91 year old
who still maintains her love for gardening. "Marj" is German, born and
raised in the land of cheese - Wisconsin. She recalls the years of the
Depression shared by her grandparents, parents and brothers. Life on
the twelve acre farm involved churning milk supplied by the resident
cow and growing a variety of vegetables and fruits especially
strawberries. Marj recalled that her family was proud that they did not accept "Relief
Money” even when her father was unemployed for six months. Hours were spent helping
her mother to can vegetables. She never became fond of the local’s favorite, sauerkraut.
For several years she taught third grade.
Publicity about California's ability to grow flowers practically year round lured Marj to
relocate in Linwood, near Compton. After moving to Paradise she met her neighbor Jackie
Owens. They both shared a love for gardening and she accompanied Jackie to her first
garden club meeting. Marj contributes plants for the Tour’s plant sale.
Her life’s motto is "I can do anything I put my mind to." While living in Calistoga she
contracted Lyme disease. She learned to use a shovel despite some weakness and hip
issues. She became disappointed after her hip surgery but nothing was going to deter her
from planting her beloved Impatiens. She became strong enough to resume maintaining
her 1 acre garden which includes iris, hellebore, snow drops, pansies, and cyclamen.
Sierra Tree Care
872-8733
Anna and Brian Kopka
(certified arborist)
Hazardous tree & limb
removal, structural &
conservative trimming,
cabling, bracing and
brush trimming.
Yoga for Gardeners
518-4918
Jim Salber offers yoga
classes designed to ease
the pain and strain
gardening can put on the
lower back, knees and
shoulders.
List your Gardening
services here for free!
For more information
contact:
Newsletter
@paradisegardenclub.org.
As the neighborhood’s Great Grandma, Marj welcomes neighborhood children to play in her
yard with permission to construct a miniature fort near her front door attracting
potential young gardeners.
- Carolyn Melf - Corresponding Secretary
10
February 2016
Paradise Garden Club Inc.