Hi folks--Yesterday I got this email about an upcoming garden walk in Porter County. The date is July 17, tickets are 6 bucks each in advance. You can follow the link for more information. This is a very active chapter of Master Gardeners, and the events of theirs that I have attended have been very nice.
http://www.pcgarden.info/
If someone wants to coordinate a road trip--Have at it! Get in touch with me and I can post the particulars here. If there is a group that wants to go, I can get to Valpo and buy tickets.
Hail to the dirt!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
GET READY FOR AUGUST
Hey everybody--mark your calenders for the August meeting--it will be Tues. Aug 3. Ben Futa will be home then and he is going to come and talk to us about the wonderful, amazing, and world famous Lurie Gardens in Chicago. Ben did his summer internship with them last year, and it has carved a space out in his heart that will remain there always. He is going to give us an overview of the History of the garden, explain the symbolism and structure of the garden and introduce us to some of the people who conceived the design and made it happen. Its my hope that in the future we can all climb aboard the South Shore, which conveniently stops right at the garden, and take a guided tour so we can see everything Ben tells us about in real life. And if all the stars align right, our Tour Guide (Ben) can take us to the Art Institute to see the beautiful plantings that inhabit it as well.
Sounds like a whole lot of learning and a ton of fun in our future!
LINK TO LURIE GARDENS:
http://luriegarden.org/
Hail to the dirt!
Sounds like a whole lot of learning and a ton of fun in our future!
LINK TO LURIE GARDENS:
http://luriegarden.org/
Hail to the dirt!
Friday, June 11, 2010
New link
Hey folks--There is a new link in the list to "Tree Help.com". I stumbled across this site while trying to diagnose a problem on Rob's new baby fir tree. This a commercial site--they sell stuff--but there is also a LOT of good information here about trees, so I am including it in the link list. If you have a tree with a problem or want information about a specific tree ailment, this would be a good place to start.
Hail to the dirt!
Hail to the dirt!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
ANOTHER plant sale--KEWWWWWLLLLL!
Hey folks--here is a heads up to another plant auction put on by a fellow garden club. The Michiana Garden club has a fundraiser auction and here are the particulars:
This is from an email sent to me by Val Bartels:
We would love if you attended our plant auction on Wednesday, June 23, starting at 10:30 a.m.
It will be held at the home of Sue Loughridge, 17484 Green Oaks Court in Granger. Her phone number is 272-9241. You can also call me at 271-3637.
If you'd like to contribute plants to our auction, that would be OK with us too, but you don't don't need to do that. We serve home-made cookies and iced tea and lemonade and have a wonderful time bidding on all the wonderful plants that our members donate.
I hope some folks can get together and attend this--it sounds like a great time!
Hail to the dirt!
This is from an email sent to me by Val Bartels:
We would love if you attended our plant auction on Wednesday, June 23, starting at 10:30 a.m.
It will be held at the home of Sue Loughridge, 17484 Green Oaks Court in Granger. Her phone number is 272-9241. You can also call me at 271-3637.
If you'd like to contribute plants to our auction, that would be OK with us too, but you don't don't need to do that. We serve home-made cookies and iced tea and lemonade and have a wonderful time bidding on all the wonderful plants that our members donate.
I hope some folks can get together and attend this--it sounds like a great time!
Hail to the dirt!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
ONE SMALL STEP FOR DIRTKIND
WOOT! We're Federated!
We are now part of a group of the nicest, most fun folks it has been my pleasure to meet in a long time (with the exception of US of course!)
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Ahhhhhhh--Spring Bulbs
Okay guys--make sure you know where your bulb augers are. If we all band together we can get some serious bulbs for our gardens. Last night Bobbi had her copy of the John Scheepers and Van Engelen catalogs; otherwise known as the "drool books". You can request your own catalogs by going to :
http://www.johnscheepers.com/
or call 860-567-0838.
If there are some bulbs that several people want; and we can come up with enough quantity, we can place one order with either entity for all of us, and get a bunch of bulbs for a very good price. The quality of bulbs these places ship is extremely high--so its a very good value, and with a single shipping address, the cost of that should be cheaper too.
If you think this sounds like a good idea, email me to let me know you want to participate. Get yourself a copy of the catalog and we can hash out the particulars at the next meeting. This is something else I would like to develop as a benefit of being a club member--to expand and increase our buying power by purchasing larger orders as a group.
Think about it and let me know if you are interested.
Hail to the dirt!
http://www.johnscheepers.com/
or call 860-567-0838.
If there are some bulbs that several people want; and we can come up with enough quantity, we can place one order with either entity for all of us, and get a bunch of bulbs for a very good price. The quality of bulbs these places ship is extremely high--so its a very good value, and with a single shipping address, the cost of that should be cheaper too.
If you think this sounds like a good idea, email me to let me know you want to participate. Get yourself a copy of the catalog and we can hash out the particulars at the next meeting. This is something else I would like to develop as a benefit of being a club member--to expand and increase our buying power by purchasing larger orders as a group.
Think about it and let me know if you are interested.
Hail to the dirt!
MAGGIE FOUND THE PEONY LINK!
PINK is for Peonies.
Maggie found a couple links about the storage tip she was telling us about at Bobbi's. This link actually will take you to the other link she sent me, as well as to the TV segment where Maggie saw this. And hopefully the gal that posted this will update with her results, so we can find out how well this works.
THANKS MAGGIE!!!! (her husband may not be happy about this, since his beer fridge will have to help out with the research)
http://sweetchicevents.com/blog/storing-peonies-in-the-fridge-an-experiment/
HAIL TO THE (pink) DIRT
Maggie found a couple links about the storage tip she was telling us about at Bobbi's. This link actually will take you to the other link she sent me, as well as to the TV segment where Maggie saw this. And hopefully the gal that posted this will update with her results, so we can find out how well this works.
THANKS MAGGIE!!!! (her husband may not be happy about this, since his beer fridge will have to help out with the research)
http://sweetchicevents.com/blog/storing-peonies-in-the-fridge-an-experiment/
HAIL TO THE (pink) DIRT
MARK YOUR CALENDERS (SORT OF)
Hey folks--at the meeting last night we decided we are going to take a trip to Wavecrest Nursery one of the last two weekends in August. We will be going on a Sunday. We will talk about this more later at the next meeting and firm up the dates and get carpools figured out and stuff. This will be a 90 minute to 2 hr. drive, and we will have lunch up there at Crane's Pie Pantry.
Here is a link to Wavecrest:
http://www.wavecrestnursery.com/
and one to Crane's:
http://cranespiepantry.com/
get ready for some serious PIE. Lots of fun shopping ahead!
Here is a link to Wavecrest:
http://www.wavecrestnursery.com/
and one to Crane's:
http://cranespiepantry.com/
get ready for some serious PIE. Lots of fun shopping ahead!
Bobbi and Dave's Tree Paradise
Hey everybody. We had a great time last night at Bobbi and Dave's house. Got through the business meeting without too much pain--being the great leader I am, I forgot to have us vote in the bylaws. Ooops. Well--we will do it next time. The feedback I have gotten so far is that they are fine with people. Low turnout due to holiday traveling and misc. things--Happy Birthday to Ronnie from everybody. Sue, hope you had a good trip. Mary Ann--hope you managed to rest up after your busy day with the kiddies, Marianne, hope everything got planted before the morning rain washed it all in. Ruth, we missed you, and Patrick too. Cindy--well--she is having the time of her life, we can't wait to hear all about it.
Okay--so we had a fabulous time. The weather was fine--and Bobbi even had cookies and lemonade--bless her heart. Maggie came with news of an incredible flower tip she saw MARTHA THE MAGNIFICENT do--she will look into it more for next time. Basically it involved cutting peonies when in the bud stage--after they have shed their waxy green outer coating. These are then wrapped in the cellophane florist sleeves, then in newspaper and put in the refrigerator (in a vase of water or just plain???? I forget now). According to MARTHA--these blooms can be stored in this stage of bloom for up to SIX MONTHS!!!!!!!!!!! How amazing is that?????????? Peonies flowering in October or November? Who wouldn't want that???
Of course now we all have to go out and buy ourselves a walk in cooler so we can participate in this miracle. Or for those poor slobs like me that can't grow peonies worth a darn, we first have to learn to grow the plants. Or go to Bobbi's house and cut some of the amazing heirloom varieties they grow there.
And speaking of Bobbi's--she and Dave gave us a wonderfully informative tour of their gardens. The two of them are simply mad about nature and the outdoors and it shows in every step you take. Bobbi's collections of watering cans, antique garden planters, nautical memorabilia, garden art, and everything else underscore her deep love for family and history and her strong commitment to living a beautiful life in every way she can. Dave's knowledge about all the plants and his obvious affection for them all show how plants can preserve and continue family memories and traditions, while at the same time building new ones. He has a large plot of family peonies that have come through several generations and will continue forward from him. Bobbi has a large planting in the front yard of plants from her father. Its amazing how such deep affection for someone can be preserved in a garden. The plants are a constant reminder of the person you loved so much. These plants that were watched by their eyes and touched by their hands now in turn add Bobbi and Dave's eyes and hands to the collective memory they hold within their leaves and flowers.
And that was just the beginning. Bobbi and Dave have a fascinating collection of trees, which showcase the interests and expertise of their son, Michael, who is the curator of the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard. And everywhere there are plantings, the hand of their son, Jamie, is in evidence, since he is a constant source of help to them. Two species of Katsura tree, an amazing Striped Maple, two types of Golden Rain tree along with Bottlebrush Buckeye, and other assorted Buckeyes, pagoda dogwoods all over the place, a Dawn Redwood of beautiful proportion, a wide ranging collection of viburnums, numerous St. John'sWorts that were amazing to me for their huge size, simply gorgeous plicata Viburnums, native Witch Hazels and "Arnold's Promise" Witch Hazel, Serviceberry, Hydrangeas I can't begin to remember the names of--"Nikko Blue" among others, a gorgeous climbing hydrangea--and what may have been the highlight--an amazing Kousa dogwood in full bloom. Woody plants are often something that we forget about in our mad rush to have flowers. But Bobbi and Dave's garden is a perfect example of why these plants matter and what they bring to an area. I know I haven't mentioned everything we saw--there were so many to see. For those of us that live in more suburban or urban areas, it is possible to include some of these exceptional plants because there are dwarf forms available. I know I have several dwarf viburnums, and there are numerous dwarf conifers, and dwarf forms of dogwoods, as well as weeping or contorted forms of several other species that would fit very well in a smaller setting. Dave and Bobbi's house is also a wonderful lesson about overstory development and how a garden changes over time under the influence of large maturing trees. Planning for size is an important part of landscape design, and seeing so many beautifully grown specimens really helps visualize the impact these plants would have in one's own yard. We thank Dave and Bobbi for their generosity of spirit both in planting these gardens in the first place, and for sharing them with us.
Hail to the dirt--and WOOOOOT! for trees! (the image is not from Bobbi's--its a photo of my Kousa Dogwood. If Bobbi can get some photos to me of her own garden I will change this--just wanted some "pretty" to put in the post).
Okay--so we had a fabulous time. The weather was fine--and Bobbi even had cookies and lemonade--bless her heart. Maggie came with news of an incredible flower tip she saw MARTHA THE MAGNIFICENT do--she will look into it more for next time. Basically it involved cutting peonies when in the bud stage--after they have shed their waxy green outer coating. These are then wrapped in the cellophane florist sleeves, then in newspaper and put in the refrigerator (in a vase of water or just plain???? I forget now). According to MARTHA--these blooms can be stored in this stage of bloom for up to SIX MONTHS!!!!!!!!!!! How amazing is that?????????? Peonies flowering in October or November? Who wouldn't want that???
Of course now we all have to go out and buy ourselves a walk in cooler so we can participate in this miracle. Or for those poor slobs like me that can't grow peonies worth a darn, we first have to learn to grow the plants. Or go to Bobbi's house and cut some of the amazing heirloom varieties they grow there.
And speaking of Bobbi's--she and Dave gave us a wonderfully informative tour of their gardens. The two of them are simply mad about nature and the outdoors and it shows in every step you take. Bobbi's collections of watering cans, antique garden planters, nautical memorabilia, garden art, and everything else underscore her deep love for family and history and her strong commitment to living a beautiful life in every way she can. Dave's knowledge about all the plants and his obvious affection for them all show how plants can preserve and continue family memories and traditions, while at the same time building new ones. He has a large plot of family peonies that have come through several generations and will continue forward from him. Bobbi has a large planting in the front yard of plants from her father. Its amazing how such deep affection for someone can be preserved in a garden. The plants are a constant reminder of the person you loved so much. These plants that were watched by their eyes and touched by their hands now in turn add Bobbi and Dave's eyes and hands to the collective memory they hold within their leaves and flowers.
And that was just the beginning. Bobbi and Dave have a fascinating collection of trees, which showcase the interests and expertise of their son, Michael, who is the curator of the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard. And everywhere there are plantings, the hand of their son, Jamie, is in evidence, since he is a constant source of help to them. Two species of Katsura tree, an amazing Striped Maple, two types of Golden Rain tree along with Bottlebrush Buckeye, and other assorted Buckeyes, pagoda dogwoods all over the place, a Dawn Redwood of beautiful proportion, a wide ranging collection of viburnums, numerous St. John'sWorts that were amazing to me for their huge size, simply gorgeous plicata Viburnums, native Witch Hazels and "Arnold's Promise" Witch Hazel, Serviceberry, Hydrangeas I can't begin to remember the names of--"Nikko Blue" among others, a gorgeous climbing hydrangea--and what may have been the highlight--an amazing Kousa dogwood in full bloom. Woody plants are often something that we forget about in our mad rush to have flowers. But Bobbi and Dave's garden is a perfect example of why these plants matter and what they bring to an area. I know I haven't mentioned everything we saw--there were so many to see. For those of us that live in more suburban or urban areas, it is possible to include some of these exceptional plants because there are dwarf forms available. I know I have several dwarf viburnums, and there are numerous dwarf conifers, and dwarf forms of dogwoods, as well as weeping or contorted forms of several other species that would fit very well in a smaller setting. Dave and Bobbi's house is also a wonderful lesson about overstory development and how a garden changes over time under the influence of large maturing trees. Planning for size is an important part of landscape design, and seeing so many beautifully grown specimens really helps visualize the impact these plants would have in one's own yard. We thank Dave and Bobbi for their generosity of spirit both in planting these gardens in the first place, and for sharing them with us.
Hail to the dirt--and WOOOOOT! for trees! (the image is not from Bobbi's--its a photo of my Kousa Dogwood. If Bobbi can get some photos to me of her own garden I will change this--just wanted some "pretty" to put in the post).
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