April 2014 - Naperville Community Gardeners

NAPERVILLE COMMUNITY GARDENERS
April 2014
Purpose: To nurture the gardening interests of its members and the community through educational programs
and community projects
President’s Letter
NEXT MEETING
MONDAY, April 7
KNOX PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
7 P.M.
SPEAKER: Allen Cosnow
TOPIC:
Fruit Tree Grafting
Allen Cosnow will raffle off the
trees grafted during the
presentation.
All right now, Fellow Admirers of the Earth – Thursday, March 20 – the vernal equinox and the arrival of spring. An equinox occurs twice a year,
around 20 March and 22 September. The oldest meaning of equinox is the
day when daylight and night are approximately equal. It’s when the sun
moves across the celestial equator.
Isn’t this one of our most hopeful Springs? Some thoughts from others for
us:
"The seasons are what a symphony ought to be: four perfect movements in
harmony with each other." -- Arthur Rubenstein
"Autumn arrives in early morning, but spring at the close of a winter day." -Elizabeth Bowen
"The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The
difference between them is sometimes as great as a month. -- Henry Van
Dyke
"The sun was warm but the wind was chill. You know how it is with an April
day." -- Robert Frost
"A little madness in the Spring Is wholesome even for the King." -- Emily
Dickinson
"Every spring is the only spring -- a perpetual astonishment." -- Ellis Peters
IN THIS ISSUE . . .
Updates on the plant sale, to
be held on May 10 at the Garden Plots on West Street.
"April hath put a spirit of youth in everything." -- William Shakespeare
"I want to do to you what spring does with the cherry trees." -- Pablo Neruda
Reminders about ordering
shirts and totes featuring the
club logo.
"Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the
embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love!" -Sitting Bull
Photos of the Chicago Flower
and Garden Show taken by
Ron Ory. If you have decided
that spring will never come,
these colorful pictures will be
reassuring.
"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt." -- Margaret
Atwood
Look forward to seeing you Monday April 7th, perhaps with line of dirt under
a fingernail!
Mark Mayszak
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MINUTES FOR March 3, 2014
President Mark Mayszak called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
Mark asked if there were changes to the February minutes. John Polich moved, Gail Butler seconding, that the
minutes as printed in the newsletter be approved. The motion carried.
Treasurer Jan Gricus reported that the current balance is $14,551.07. Forty-four members have paid their dues
for the current year.
OLD BUSINESS
Bob Elvert stated that purchases and procedures for the plant sale will be similar to those of past years. One
exception is that members may pre-order flats if they do so no later than April 7. He also asked that members
identify unusual plants that they would like to see at the sale. Sign-up sheets for members’ hours and duties at
the plant sale will be available at the April meeting.
In response to Carolyn Finzer’s question, Linda Allison stated that she will organize by email the distribution of
used pots for members’ plants.
Ron Ory presented the design for the Idea Gardens and explained which areas will be further developed in the
coming year. He will appreciate volunteer time from members to plant four hundred plants and to improve walkways. Nancy Carroll suggested that recruiting Boy Scouts to help in the educational aspects of the Idea Gardens
would be helpful.
NEW BUSINESS
Mark thanked Mary Smedegard for organizing the Harvest Banquet. He asked for a volunteer to take on the
project for the coming year.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Carolyn Finzer stated that an article describing her work and that of her assistant Jan Gricus at the Naperville
Post Office appears in the current issue of The Herron, the periodical of the Conservation Foundation. Carolyn
distributed issue of the magazine.
Ben Calvert III announced that his wood cut has been accepted in the Bridgeport Art Center Annual Juried Art
Competition.
Betty Ference conducted the drawing; the winner of the garden gloves was Jan Gricus.
JoAnn Monge moved, Linda Thompson seconding, that the meeting be adjourned.
After refreshments, Carol Cichorski presented a program on Creativity in the Garden.
Respectfully submitted,
Eleanor Holt for Rosemary Holdredge, Secretary
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2014 NCGC Plant Sale
Saturday MAY 10th 7:30 am - 12:30 pm
SETUP - Friday May 9th - Noon - 6:00 pm
It's Closer Than YOU Think !!!!
Volunteers - ARE needed for both/ either day
Sign UP Sheets - available at April and May meetings
Special Schaefer Plant Orders - due at April meeting
Participation - the KEY to another Successful Sale
This is our Club's primary fundraising event, and it is vital that all
available members participate in any of the many open opportunities on both Friday the 9th and Saturday the 10th.
Be sure to sign up at the April meeting.
Bob Elvert
SEEDS, SEEDS, SEEDS, Part 3
How are your seeds coming along? Frankly, I have to say that mine are a little slow this year, but
I see new baby seedlings almost every day. Don't give up. I hear some members have plants
ready to be potted up into larger containers already. (Nothing has come up in my winter sowing
containers and I don't expect to see anything until late April......or, whenever it's warmer than the
13 degrees it is now as I'm writing this.)
I would like to encourage all members to buy one pack of seeds and start at least one small tray or
a 10-pack container. Now would be the time to start cucumbers, squashes, melons, dill, zinnias
and marigolds. Or start whatever strikes your fancy at the seed display. It would be exciting if
everyone had some offering of an old favorite or new variety so that we can have a lot for customers to choose from at the plant sale.
What will you start?
Jan Gricus
_______________________________________________________________________________
If you are donating plants from your garden (and we hope that you are), please use
the form on the following page to identify and describe the plants that you will furnish. Linda Allison will make the tags for the plants so that they will be ready for
you when you bring your donations to the Garden Plots.
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NCG Member Plant Sale – Donation Form 2014
Please list the name and variety of the plant, sun/shade requirements, color, height/spread, bloom time, number of
plants being donated, anything that would help with growing the plant.
No. __________ Name: _________________________________
No. __________ Name: ___________________________________
No. __________ Name: ___________________________________
No. __________ Name: ___________________________________
No. __________ Name: ___________________________________
No. __________ Name: ___________________________________
No. __________ Name: ___________________________________
No. __________ Name: ___________________________________
Plants donated by_______________________________________________________
Mail to Linda Allison, 1012 Kennebec Lane, Naperville, IL 60563. Email: [email protected]
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OR TOTE?
SHIRT?
The tote bag will be perfect for shopping,
whether it be at your favorite garden center or at the farmers’ market. It is a subtle
bit of advertising for the club. Order yours
from Vicky.
Need a shirt to wear to the plant sale?
Order one from Vicky Polito at the April
meeting. If you can’t attend the meeting,
email Vicky at [email protected] or
call her at (815)436-7723.
OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE LEADERS
Executive Board—2014
President…………………………………….Mark Mayszak
Vice-President……………………………Linda Thompson
Secretary…………………………...Rosemary Holdredge
Treasurer…………..………...………………Janice Gricus
Past President………………...…………….Janice Gricus
Committee Chairs - 2014
Correspondence ………………. .………...Carolyn Finzer
Email List Moderator………………….……...Eleanor Holt
Facebook Page ……………….……………..….OPEN
Flower and Garden Show………..……..……Vicky Polito
Flower and Garden Show Guide……….…...Vicky Polito
Harvest Banquet ………………...……
OPEN
Historian ………………………….…..……..Carolyn Finzer
Membership…………….…….….…………..JoAnn Monge
Meeting Refreshments…………..…….Cricket Cressman
Mini-Show……………………….….…...……..Angel Whitt
Naper Settlement Gardens……………......Pat Thompson
Newsletter……………………….………...…..Eleanor Holt
Newsletter Distribution………...…..………….Mary Wright
Photography…………………...…………….……..Ron Ory
Picnic/Garden Walk……………..……….....Betty Ference
Plant Sale…………………………..……….…...Bob Elvert
Plant Sale-Members’ Plants…….…….….....Linda Allison
Ogden Ave. Post Office Gardens……..…..Carolyn Finzer
Publicity……………………………………...…..Vicky Polito
River Walk Clean Up/Gardens…….…….….....Bob Elvert
T-shirt Sales ……………………………...……..Vicky Polito
Website………………………………………..Peter Klassen
GREEN EARTH FAIR
SUNDAY, MAY 4, 2014, 12:30-5 P.M.
AT THE McDONALD FARM, KNOCH KNOLLS RD., NAPERVILLE
SPONSORED BY THE GREEN EARTH INSTITUTE
"Celebrating Sustainability" is the theme for this educational
and fun event. Speakers, exhibits, music, food, kids' activities,
tours, demonstrations…a celebration of Spring, Earth Day, organic food, combined with learning more about how you can
live green! (Visit greenearthinstitute.org for more information.)
Stay in Touch
Visit our website: napervillecommunitygardeners.org.
Peter Klassen does a great job of keeping things up to
date.
Send us mail (dues?)
Naperville Community Gardeners
P.O. Box 9555
Naperville, IL 60567
Submit your ideas for the newsletter (photos??)
[email protected] (Thanks in advance!)
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IMPRESSIONS OF THE 2014 CHICAGO FLOWER & GARDEN SHOW
RON ORY
The theme of this year’s show is “DO GREEN DO GOOD”. Although the main entrance was less than impressive with a meandering
path of wire arches, an interior wall was tagged in a more striking manner.
The pastel and tropical colors were more dominant than most of the green foliage, except Rich’s Foxwillow Pine Nursery’s “50
Shades of Green” exhibit. I visited on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17 th, so it was apropos that I noticed his picture in the stained glass
exhibit on my way to grab a bite of lunch.
You can get a panoramic view of the exhibit hall when you go up the escalator to the second floor. As you see, the hall did not have
any imposing exhibits like some past years. It provided a more open appearance; this also may have conveyed the impression that
there were fewer exhibitors.
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This 20-foot tall waterfall with its changing color at the top was a vertical highlight, as was the exhibit of recycled filing cabinets.
Vertical structures were also highlighted by the many living wall gardens. Here are a couple of samples.
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As a volunteer for U of I Extension, I always stop by their booth, usually hosted by Cook County Master Gardeners. They had samples of some exotic critters, like the spider below and the famous Madagascar hissing cockroach! I also am partial to the blue and
orange colors, as you can see above.
I attended a couple of the seminars, including Carol Cichorski’s “Plan for Winter Interest Now”. I also noticed a couple familiar faces
as I wandered the exhibit hall: Rich Eyre gave me “the evil eye” as I caught him napping in his rocking chair; Shawna Coronado (fully
clad and in green) was on the floor giving a presentation on “Front Yard Vegetable Gardening”.
This exhibit with a Farmall tractor and red-barn chicken coop is the first I’ve seen of either tractor or chickens at the show. The
show was well done, low-keyed, and not crowded on a brisk Monday in March.