Okay folks--lets see your gardens!

Finally I have gotten around to figuring out a way to let everyone share garden photos. Its kind of clumsy, but it will work. It seems I can't create a second album the way I would like to in Picasa--one that will link into the slideshow. I have come up with what I am certain Rob would call a "klugey" workaround (programmer lingo for--"well it works but it stinks"). If you go to the "Handy Links for Dirty Hands" section (lower left--scroll down) you will see a new link there that says "Member Gardens on Parade". If you click on this link it will take you to a new Picasa album.
Here's what you will need to do to get photos up on here. Send me Jpeg files of your photos--please Jpegs. I know that sounds like a broken record, but it makes the process go faster, and therefore more likely to get done in a timely manner. If you want the caption to say something specific, just tell me what. I will at least captionate them with your name, so people will know whose garden it is. My hope is to organize everyone's garden into sort of mini files within the album--we'll see how long it takes me to beat that idea into submission. Anyway--then I can copy some of the pictures into the other album, so some of them will show up in the slideshow.
Hope this idea works--I want this blog to be something fun that everyone can participate in. Just need some photos from you all now.
Hail to the dirt!

REDNECKS AND BLUE LUPINES

For those that couldn't attend, you missed a lovely day at Mary Ann and Blackie's house. The weather was perfect, the company amazing and the lupines were incredible. Upon arriving, everybody had a chance to admire Mary Ann's beautiful yard and garden, which is full of Asian influences. The tranquil beauty of it put us all in the mood to relax and enjoy the day. All the recent interior work they have done on their house was much admired as well.

Ebbie, the bassett, escorted us all around, baying her commentary as we went along.
Then everybody rode back through the woods in the old hay wagon--pulled by our tour guide, Blackie and his vintage Allis-Chalmers tractor. Saw many wonderful things--beautiful old trees and woodland understory, lots of low hanging branches :-) ,the uncommonly complex ecosystem that is home to the lupines, and a fern bog where Cinnamon Ferns make their homes at the top of tall hummocks. Still in the fiddlehead stage, Blackie told us that by summers' end the ferns will be towering very tall overhead.
Bobbie got some starts of skunk cabbage, so she was a very happy camper, and we all got to smell it (lucky us--UGH). Fortunately the lupine was filling the air with its very gentle perfume nearby. There was hawkweed beginning to flower among the lupine, studding the lavender blue carpet with points of brilliant yellow. Then we piled back into the wagon and headed for the campfire, where the carnivores among us roasted hot dogs on sticks, and everyone enjoyed veggies and dip, chips and queso and a wide assortment of cookies and goodies. Then we all bombed around the pond for awhile, examining the plant life and looking for the elusive turtles. All in all, a wonderful way to enjoy the spring time.
Many thanks to Mary Ann and Blackie for this terrific idea to share the beauty of their home and land with us. Maybe it can become an annual event--what a wonderful way to begin the summer!
Hail to the dirt!
Thanks to Bobbi D. for the pics!

NEW FRIENDS IN LAPORTE!

Hey everybody--thanks to all of you that attended breakfast here and the plant sale in Laporte. For those of you that weren't able to make it, you missed some WONDERFUL instant coffee (yes I am being sarcastic). At any rate--it was a fun way to spend the morning and we all came home with some nice bargains to boot. I really appreciate your going to help me show our appreciation to the Four Seasons Gardeners, which is our sponsoring club. They have been really welcoming and positive, and it was great to be able to give them some of the same back. All our new babies are planted, and hopefully they will get nice and big so when the time comes we will be able to share them and keep the circle going.
And on the way home we found a nice new place to buy plants--Rosenbaum's nursery off of Joliet Rd. in Door Village. For club members of the hosta persuasion, she has about 300 cultivars total; not all are for sale yet, but she had some excellent crowns in 5 dollar pots, and some other nicely grown stock. She is not open Monday and Tues. except for wholesale orders, but the rest of the week is okay.
And we had two guests go along--Hayden and Sherri, both of whom we hope will join the club at some point.
Didn't take any photos--someone needs to get on the ball and start taking pics for me to post--of course you would think that someone would be ME, but since I can't be counted on to remember my own name, much less to carry a camera, its not surprising that nothing has happened yet. If nothing else I could have taken a photo of the KILLER house we saw on the way! Hayden already has dibs on the barn, and Rob and I will rent a room from him. The rest of you can fight over the house!
Hail to the dirt! See you tomorrow at Mary Ann McG's. Anyone needing direction can stop here on the way and follow us.

Added TWO Links

Hi folks--Its raining and I am putzing around in the house. Was hunting for some information for Ben about clay soil and came across this excellent website. This gentleman is in Canada, so he is familar with COLD winters, and he has run a nursery and used organic practices for a long time. There is a ton of free information here--it looks like you can subscribe as well and get even more. Just look in the links for "Dougs Garden Site".
And Ben just sent me an update to his new site, Plan-T so the link to it is here too. Be sure to check out what Ben has to say--his interest in sustainability and biodiversity in the garden is an important message. The fact that a garden is created by human hands doesn't make it any less of an ecosystem over time. This is an important aspect of gardening that should be considered, and Ben is passionate about it! So click on over there and see what he has to say.
Hail to the dirt!

WE ROCK!!!!

Hi everybody! We had a great meeting last night. Applause to everybody for sticking with the workload and contributing so much. We have a good, workable, sensible set of by-laws now and that is thanks to all of you. I have rewritten the by-laws and standing rules and emailed copies to everybody. Please get in touch with me if you didn't get yours. They are attached to your email and will open in Microsoft Word.
And way to go with the "Show and Tell"--Sue it was great of you to bring a plant and give it as a gift. This sets a great precedent for an ongoing climate of friendship and sharing--one of the many benefits of being a member of this terrific group.
Buscia--thank you so much for helping with the dues. You have no idea how much that helped me. I really am all at sea when finances are involved.
The "favorite nursery" portion of the meeting was terrific--I think we all learned about at least one new place to add to our shopping itinerary. For me--I can't wait to get up to Sawyer and check them out.
As reminders--be thinking about when you want to go to Mary Ann McG and Blackie's house for the redneck garden party and hayride. The field of lupine really is a sight worth seeing. And Mary Ann has lots of other garden treasures to check out as well. Her 'goddess of the garage wall' (my disrespectful name--not hers) is exquisite.
Some other things to keep in mind:
We need a volunteer to take charge of the "Retailers Roundup" page of the blog. Remember the hope is that we can build good will with area nurseries to benefit both the nurseries as well as club members.
If my guidelines for getting photos to me for the blog were unclear--please communicate this with me so I can clarify them. We all want to see your beloved BABIES.
We will discuss in more detail our possible trip to Fennville in August.
The subject for our next meeting will be TREES. Bring something that shows what trees mean to you--either some leaves or a branch off a favorite tree, a picture of a tree you love, a poem, whatever. If you have experience with certain types of trees, come prepared to contribute. Bobbi is going to see if she can line up a speaker, but even if she can't we have enough interesting ideas between us to entertain ourselves.
Guess thats all for now--watch your email and let me know if there is anything you want posted here or if you have any suggestions.
as always--hail to the dirt!

Get your Bird Eyes On

Hey dirty handers! We are right now on the threshold of a very special event in our spring season--the onset of the "warbler wave". Every spring, thousands of these chickadee size birds move north to their nesting grounds and we are along the migratory path. The "wave" refers to the fact that these birds move in multi species groups in large numbers. Often flying at night for thousands of miles, many of them come to rest and refuel in our area. A few species stay here and nest, but a great many of them continue on northward after a short stopover to eat everything they can get ahold of to replenish their energy.

Warblers are attracted to areas with very high insect populations and can usually be found in mature forests, especially if water is nearby. Many species are drawn to moving water like streams or rivers. They often stay high up in the tree canopy, and can be difficult to spot or identify for this reason. Birders often complain of "warbler neck" which refers to the many hours spent with your head cocked back as far as it can go while you scan the treetops for these little flying jewels. Fortunately, since nesting time is near, these birds are tricked out in their brilliant plumage, and usually sing like crazy. Often they can be spotted as their bright colors flash among the trees, or located and identified by their songs. Binoculars with the largest lenses are best for viewing this quick little birds--they let in more light and make it easier to get your eye "on the bird".

While places like Potato Creek attract huge numbers of warblers (and people to watch them), we can make our own gardens hospitable to them. If there are a number of mature trees in your yard and surrounding neighborhood, you can sometimes attract them with a source of moving water, like a gently flowing fountain. The first fountain we ever built (a watering can that spilled into a basin) was up and running for about an hour when a Scarlet Tanager came down from the trees to see it and get a drink. Suet--especially the kind with dead bugs in it--will sometimes attract a hungry Pine Warbler. Some warblers have a real affinity for certain conifers--the Bay Breasted Warbler is closely associated with Norway Spruce--and we have seen them in exactly those trees at our house.

So keep these beautiful little birds in mind at this time of year--and if you see a small bird moving quickly through the trees, get some bino's out and spend some time looking. When conditions are just right you will be treated to something you will never forget. We have seen as many as 10 different species in our yard in active years, and more than that at Potato Creek.

And did you know that cell phone towers are taking a very hard toll on migratory bird populations? Its something to think about.