IDEAS

Ideas that come in will be put in the section titled "Look here for new club format ideas" which is part of the "more info" links on the left hand side of the page.

Time to regroup

Hi everyone--sorry to have been absent for awhile. Hope everyone had a Happy Christmas, and best to all for the coming new year. We had a lovely time at Shirley's for our Cookie Exchange, it was great to see everyone and the cookie selection was tremendous. Sue collected some used clothing for her cause and we hope they were put to good use. Thanks to Sue for thinking of others. Thanks again to Shirley for being always our "port in the storm". Your commitment to helping keep us trundling along by providing a place to meet is a tremendous help.
Now that we have completed our second year, it seems that big changes are upon us. You all know the results of our voting with respect to federation, which leaves us with the question of where to go from here. Having put forward a model that no one seemed to like, I am not really ready to step forward with another model--so it's in all of your hands. I have never felt equal to the task of leading a group--I am too solitary, too unconventional and WAYYYY too anti "rules and regulations" to do it. So where does that leave us? I think it takes us back to the beginning--but this time we have more members, so more voices can be heard and the form the group takes will be a better reflection of the people who comprise it.
I am reluctant to even be a source point for this process because I am not sure if I SHOULD be--but we have to start somewhere. So the process begins here, on this blog, with me as it's trigger, but it does not have to end or even continue from this point with me at its origin if that isn't what anyone wants. I love this group of people and the energy that we have between us--I think we all agree on that. But I don't care about being in charge--I just want to be a part. If being in charge is what is needed of me--fine, I can do it, but its not something I can't live without. But for this group to work as everyone wants it to--the structure of it needs to come from somewhere other than my head.
So for right now--please send me ideas that I can compile and put on the blog. Ideas about anything--how, when and where you want to meet, what you want to do, how you want to spread the word among members, how you want get togethers to happen--obviously no one liked the meeting format--do you just want to have a picnic once a quarter and have fun and post events on the blog and that's it or what? I really mean ideas about ANY OF IT. This will be a brainstorming time. I will post ideas that you send in your own words, unedited except for spelling to make communication clear. You can send them to me in email, on facebook or call me. If you call me I will probably paraphrase what you say, but will do my best to clearly communicate what your ideas are. Once again--I am only doing this because someone HAS to. I don't want to be in charge. If anyone wants to take over this job, all you have to do is say so. I will be happy to send you the password if you want to manage the blog.
We have the winter to think and create our ideas. I was thinking March would be a good time to get together and hash out the ideas that come up. And if no ideas come in this way, we can still get together and maybe figure things out in person. I just thought that doing it this way will get some creative juices flowing so our thoughts will be a little farther along when next we meet.
I am asking for help and contributions from everyone--that's the only way this group will be what everyone wants--if we are ALL a part of the process.
Have a terrific winter everyone--if any garden related fun stuff comes along before we meet I will put it here and make a note on the FB page.
See you all soon. Fearless

Out of our Gourds

Hi folks--we had such fun Tuesday night. Kathy--we are sorry you couldn't make it, but your absence was for a very good reason. We will have other craft times and bring you up to speed. Patrick--we miss you. Hope all is well. Hayden--you were also missed--hope everything is going okay with you too.
So we had our business meeting--recapped all the jazz from the upcoming convention. Most of that is on the Dirty Hands Facebook page, so you can see it there.
A couple reminders--once again, please keep Gene in your prayers, and include Sybil from the Iris Elm GC in them too--we want her to have a good result from her foot surgery.
Rosie brought some uber delicioso carmel corn with the suggestion that we take it for the ways and means sale at the convention. GREAT idea--that stuff will fly off the shelf and make money for the cause. She brought it in a beautiful knot handled basket that she recently made, and recounted another basket project that we may be able to do as a group in the future. It sounds really cool--a basket vase.
We hashed around ideas for the cookie exchange--I formulated some guidelines for the night and put them at the top of the blog. Hope this is simple enough. If you don't like these guidelines, come up with a set of different ones and get them to me to post here. I don't care how we do it and I doubt that anyone else does either, but there has to be some kind of structure so there you are.
ALSO--I added something to the night--please bring a story of a Godwink that has happened to you--either one that happened to you or one that you were a part of when it happened to someone else. I will post a link to a definition of Godwinks here if you aren't familiar with the idea.
THEN it was on to Gourds. Cindy brought a whole boatload of gourds, and explained how they are cleaned (a very labor intensive process). All of these gourds were cleaned, and there was one to show us what they looked like before the requisite washing and scraping. Thanks a million times to Cindy both for the gourds and the cleaning beforehand! Marianne had some examples of adorable Gourd Scarecrows and Halloween scarey-people to show us. Cindy had a really lovely bowl that she made using stone texture paint, leather, feathers and a stencil. We talked for awhile about the endless ways to decorate and use gourds, then it was time to break out the paint and have at it. From Shirley's Golden Guilded Gourd to Maggie's snake and Sue's garden scene, each gourd was different and personal. Bobbi had unearthed a can of pearlescent spray, and several of the finished gourds received that most attractive treatment. It was a ton of fun, and all of our birds will have some cool handmade homes to call their own next year. Thanks also to Jeff for coming out and manning the drill for us.
One announcement--Rob, Rosie and I are going to the Michiana Orchid Society Show on Sat. Nov 12--I finally got the date right. Anyway--anyone who wants to go and meet us there to see the orchids and maybe get lunch--let me know, or just show up--whatever. The Four Flags Antique mall in Niles is also having an Open House that day. When I know what our timetable is I will post it and let folks know. Guess that's all for now--thanks everyone for coming--see you at the Orchid Show!! HTTD!

Unity Gardens classes (one on orchids)

Hi everyone--thanks to Kathy for sending this along--it's a schedule of upcoming classes at the SB conservatory, put on by Unity Gardens. Of note--the Orchid Class on Nov. 17th, among other things. Think I might like to to to that--if anyone else wants to glom on, let me know. Fee for non-members of the Conservatory is 3.00.
HTTD!


Some Classes You May Like

Tonight Nov 2nd Managing Dietary Fats and Salt and Cooking Demo
Tama Crisovan / Purdue Extension
6pm at The Potawatomi Conservatories
2105 Mishawaka Ave
Nov 09 Healthy Cooking Demo - Cooking Your Harvest
Cara Lupa / Purdue Master Gardener Intern
6 pm at The Potawatomi Conservatories
2105 Mishawaka Ave
Nov 16 Eat This, Not That Workshop 6pm at The Potawatomi Conservatories
2105 Mishawaka Ave
IUSB Student Nursing Association
Nov 17th
Orchids A-Z
With Vicky Rydzynski
a Purdue Master Gardener and Orchid Society President
A Powerpoint Presentatin on Orchids then a Tour of the Orchids , and a drawing for a free Orchid to start your collection
Class Starts at 7pm and the is $ 3 for non-members , and free for Conservatory Members
Class is held at the Potawatomi Conservatories
2105 Mishwaka Ave
South Bend
Unity Gardens Inc
For More Info Call
574-315-4361

Fall color at Bobbi's

Hi folks--Check out these lovely fall pics from Bobbi's house. Happy Autumn!!!

A Highly Glamorous Time Was Had by All!!

Hey everyone--check out the costumes from Shirley's terrific Halloween Party. She goes all out for this Monster Mash--and it was a lot of fun. Thanks again, Shirley, for the invite!

We have Bobbi the Beeyoutiful Beekeeper, Jeff the host with the most, Kathy, Princess Lostalot of the Fukawee nation, Shirley, our hostess with the mostess, Hippy biker Jeff, Garden Goddess Sue and Gypsy Buscia, and Dewayne and Cindy--Erkel and Gertie on their first prom date, and Rob, the alien engineer from Area 51, and moi as the Mother of the Bridezilla.

A trip for the birds

Hi everyone. Thanks to Cindy for sharing this information. On Oct. 23 and 30 (both Sundays) there will be a bus trip to Jasper Pulaski Wildlife area to view the Sandhill Cranes. The fee for this is 7.00 per person, and the deadline to register is Oct. 17th. The bus will leave Bendix Woods at 3 pm and return home about 8:30, so people can view the evening influx of birds as they prepare to roost for the night. If my memory is correct, the autumn migration is larger than the spring one. JP has a very large viewing platform and informational stations that describe the birds' behaviour and natural history.
Sandhill Cranes were once nearly extinct, and their resurgence is one of the success stories of modern conservation. In our civilized lives we don't often get to witness mass migration. This is one of the few chances to actually view a large population of animals engaging in this most ancient of rituals. Other parts of the country have bison, salmon and elk populations that move in large groups over land or water, but here in the midwest our migratory species often go unnoticed. Seeing these majestic birds swinging across the darkening sky as they come in to their staging area for the night is an unforgettable sight.
The weather at that time will most likely be cold and may be less than fabulous, so dress appropriately. The parking lot is paved and easily accessible to the platform, so you most likely won't need boots, but you will be up fairly high in the air, so dress for the wind if its breezy. Since we will be out at dinnertime, bring a sack meal with you.
Dewayne, Cindy, Rob and I and maybe a few other folks are going to go--when I know which date I will post it here. If you want to register, call 574-654-3155.

Maybe an outing????

Hey folks--Wonder of wonders, this year I actually remembered to look up the date for the Michiana Orchid Society show before it happened. This is a lovely small show at Holy Cross College, complete with a fun retail area where you can buy orchids and orchid related things from people who are passionate about these fascinating plants. I know Rob and I will go at some point, but I thought maybe we could set a time and make an outing of it. Nothing official--just show up at a certain time if you want to go and maybe we could have lunch together or something. Here is the link to the Society's page. Let me know what everyone thinks. Its a very nice way to spend some time. Nov, 11 and 12 (Fri and Sat) 10-5. We will most likely go on Sat.
Fearless

http://www.michianaorchidsociety.org/

Kathrican Safari

Hi folks--Great meeting! Thanks so much to Kathy for hosting us and feeding us and letting us watch her use her dining room table as a potting bench.
We started the evening out taking a tour round her yard--dodging round what has proven to be a statewide bumper crop of black walnuts. Kathy's yard is undergoing some transition--what once was a deeply shaded property has become much better lit, thanks to some heavy winds and a tree that decided it was time to "leave". The unhappy tenant picked itself up and exited the premises, root ball and all, leaving Kathy with a sudden influx of sunshine and a whole new set of possibilites. A large new island bed containing several species of annuals and perennials was still putting out flowers. And Kathy is lucky enough to have a very unusual piece of garden art that graces this bed--an old cast iron hitching post that looks like a tree branch. We worked our way on up the grassy hill which Hayden viewed as perfect for recreational lawnmowing, to the new shade bed that contained some really nice specimens. A beautiful European wild ginger and a very large fern of unknown origin and hardiness were among the plants that are in the process of filling out this bed. As time goes by it will be a lovely blend of texture and shapes.
Our tour completed, it was onward and inward to the house for some delicious Honeycrisp apples and caramel dip and some chocolate chip oatmeal bars that Kathy made FROM SCRATCH. Yum!
Our meeting commenced and we had our Secretary and Treasurer's reports. No news on the travel front, and for the most part the Facebook alerts are getting to people. If you are a member of the Facebook group and you haven't gotten the alerts, or if you aren't getting the copied version that Bobbi sends out via email, please check your spam folder. If you find it in there, highlight the email and tell your system that it is "not spam" so you can get the updates forwarded into your regular mailbox. We aren't all totally digital yet--Cindy and Dewayne are still struggling to get something that at least resembles high speed connectivity at their house--but we are gaining on it. The internet is a tremendous way for us to stay in touch with each other--and its a much quicker and more efficient way to put the word out about things. We are all on the learning curve together on this--so keep trying and letting us know what you are having trouble with so we can all get on the same page.
The big issue of the night is the fact that everyone voted (thanks to all for taking the time) and given the result we went ahead and conducted a voice vote on the following three issues. The results of the votes were unanimous in each case for the following questions:
Do we wish to remain federated? NO
Do we wish to continue to collect dues? YES
Do we wish to scrap our current bylaws? YES
These three motions were voted on and passed. Since our federation lasts throughout the year until next April, we will participate in Federated activities until then.
Of course, the question becomes "what next?". That will be the subject of further discussion, but for now, just think about what form you want the club to take.
We also discussed the upcoming district meeting, which takes place on Wed. Oct 26 in Rochester at the museum. I passed out copies of the registration form--the fee for the day is 15 dollars, and the preregistration deadline is Oct. 17th. These are enjoyable gatherings that any of our members can attend. Rosie and I will be going since there is a convention committee meeting afterwards.
And speaking of that--Rosie still hasn't had any answers to her questions about the program book, so there isn't anything to report on that front.
In other convention news we discussed the issue of Ways and Means donations and door prizes--Kathy suggested having her friend Judy construct a wreath that we can donate. We would pay Judy a fee for this service and furnish her with materials or reimburse her if she bought materials. We will keep this idea in mind as we progress. Sue reiterated her pledge to make a garden item, and Cindy volunteered to see if she can hunt down some wooden quilt block pieces she has to make a donation as well. Rosie will be weaving a basket, I will whip something up, and anyone else that wants to can add to the mix. I read an email about ideas for Ways and Means donations, and we discussed some ideas for that too.
Next on the list was the future calender that Shirley is in the process of figuring out. This will be a simple way to list activities for each month. Shirley doesn't want the process to become overcomplicated--her vision is a physical copy of a simple calender, with stars by dates that are cross referenced and described on a second sheet of paper. We talked about ways to also have the calender online and suggestions were made for how to most easily accomplish this. Hayden suggested that the Microsoft Office Suite may have an application available to facilitate this process. He also suggested that Google might have a calender tool. Rosie is familar with Microsoft Office, and a couple other folks are too. We will keep discussing this idea and figuring out the best way to implement it. Its a great idea that fits with the new direction our club is going--the question is how to go about it in the way that is most comfortable for the person putting the calender together and the most useful for everyone who uses it. I suspect this will become some kind of a cooperative effort between more than one person. It can be great--just will take some time to bring it to fruition.
As for announcements--there were two things of note--first, please keep prayers flowing for Maggie and Gene. Sue filled us in on what is going on--so far all is going well and we are so thankful on their behalf for that. Send them cards and happy thoughts to keep the positive energy flowing. Since Shirley sent out a roster, you should have Maggie's mailing address. If not, please contact me and I will get it to you.
And Patrick's current status is a bit obscure--but Patrick we are all thinking about you and missing you. We hope you are okay so you can return to us soon.
Then it was on to discussing the nature of our next meeting. In a moment of inspiration the idea to do Gourd craft was put forth. Marianne and Cindy seized on the subject and volunteered to take charge of what should be a very fun night. Cindy will bring gourds and her new ink dyes for us to try--Marianne will bring her leather dye and her incomporable gift for garden art and we will all give gourds a go. Please bring anything you can think of that might be fun to decorate a gourd. If you need inspiration, here are some links:
http://www.gourdfestival.com/
http://blackberryhilldesigns.com/
http://www.google.com/images?q=gourd+crafts&hl=en&oi=image_result_group&sa=X
There is a ton of stuff on the internet--just go out and surf around. Thanks so much to Cindy and Marianne for stepping up--this will be a really fun night and a great chance to learn something new.
After all that it was Kathy's turn to tell us about her wonderful houseplants. We admired her huge Croton, that looked for all the world like a silk plant--it was so perfect. And then we watched as Kathy divided some African violets. She showed us how she uses coffee filters in the bottom of the pots to keep the soil from leaching out, how to pop the plants out of the pots and pull the crowns apart, how to scrape and clean the crown after removing many of the leaves, and how to repot the divisions into fresh soil (she had a proprietary mix for African violets, but also said she uses regular potting soil blended with a lot of peat and that works just as well). We were also advised on the proper level of neglect to show these plants (i.e. neglect them quite a bit--water infrequently). Kathy told us that African violets prefer east or north facing windows although they can be moved to a South facing exposure for the winter. Just remember to move them as summer approaches to keep the leaves from scorching.
With that, those of us who wanted baby African violets were given a nicely potted division to take home, the cats were duly petted and admired, and we all headed home.
We are such a fun group of people. We all came away from the evening in a happy state of mind. Many thanks to Kathy for such a positive night!
HTTD
Fearless

Finding Beauty in Everything

Hi folks--Didn't we have a great time at Marianne's? I am so very glad the attendance was good. Marianne's garden is such a special place. We reveal the true nature of our spirits with the work of our hands, and nowhere is that more true than in her back yard. A ceaseless search for beauty in everything that crosses her path and a work ethic that few of us can even begin to approach has been made manifest in this amazing place. And when you add to that an ability to tolerate incredibly difficult neighbors and still inhabit her space in the way SHE wants to, you really have an exceptional person and a one of a kind garden.

So we had a tour, admired all the various kitties that call her barn home, and tasted some wonderful goodies made from home grown produce and served in her charming summer kitchen. Then we had a brief discussion as to whether we should moon the creepy neighbor, or put on some fukawee garb and dance around the firepit so he could call the cops and report the latest version of the Ghost Dance and the Hopi Uprising. Decided that even our collective backside was too good to waste on such a schmuck and had the meeting instead.

While we covered some nuts and bolts--upcoming convention stuff; nothing to report on the program book yet--Rosie has been asking questions but no answers so far; a little bit about what will be going on at the event--the main points of the night were about other things.

We chose Saturday Oct. 1 for our outing to the Quiet Corner in Churubusco. I will call them and let them know a group will be coming--I am guessing we will number about 15. The plan is to meet at the Defries Garden at 11 am, then go on to the QC from there. This is a very special place, and one not to be missed. Be sure to attend--I promise you will be glad you did.

Then it was on to more discussion on our future as a club. Shirley suggested developing an events calender, and was nice enough to take the project on. Please send any information about upcoming garden events to her--in a very SIMPLE format. The information should consist of two parts--the info about the event itself--date, time, location, name of the event. Then if there is a website or internet listing that describes the event more, include the URL for the website. THATS ALL. Please use the facebook group page if you want to write something more about the event you are posting.

We talked about how and when to structure our meetings. For the remainder of this year we will meet monthly as planned, and hash out how we will evolve as time goes on. For the moment there were a couple suggestions--one is that we meet only during the winter and travel around in summer. Another is that we meet quarterly. We also discussed our involvement with the upcoming convention and we will fulfill our commitments to the event, since we will still be federated until next year. Sue, Rosie and Shirley all volunteered to make door prizes (we need to donate 5) and I will also make something. We also will need to get things together to contribute to the Ways and Means "store" that runs during the event. This is a very important part of the convention, since it is how the costs of the event itself are covered.

I have written up a "ballot" of sorts and sent it out. Please vote on your choices. I am in the process of compiling the results, and we will have them announced at our next meeting.

After all of that official crud, we hung out and enjoyed the fire, the cool night air and each other's company, and then headed home. Thanks to Marianne for such a lovely night. In the process of healing her own spirit, she has made a magic place that heals the spirits of everyone who spends time there.

A Wonderful day!

Hi everyone--Bobbi took this photo today at the DeFries Garden in New Paris. This is in the Late Summer block of the Calender Garden--just because its August doesn't mean a flower bed has to be all burned up! This is a real jewel of a place--beautifully executed by people who care intensely about what they do. There are a few more pics that will cycle through the slide show too. You can also look at a terrific blog written by a gal who works there--www.defriesgarden.com. We met her today and she is worth the drive all by herself. We will be talking soon about a trip there--hopefully we can arrange to meet the gal who wrote the blog for a tour on that day. And we will have to have lunch at The Quiet Corner as well. It really is a place not to be missed. MANY thanks to Bobbi and Kathy for this fabulous fukawee excursion and kudos to Ms. Bessie Garmin for getting us where we needed to go. And thanks to Bobbi and Kathy for both remembering their cameras (I put mine in my car and naturally left it there) so we could have a pictoral record of the day. And many thanks to Sue for telling us about the garden to begin with! A most worthwhile road trip was had by all!

HTTD!

A Magical Place

Last night a small group met at Cindy and Dewayne's home to tour their gardens and meet all the critters that share their lives. Thanks to Maggie, Hayden and Shirley, for coming. Cindy spent a great deal of time this last very hot week getting the yard ready for visitors, and her hard work was much appreciated. Rosie--we hope you are doing okay and taking it easy, and we hold positive thoughts and prayers for Gene to have good news from the Doctor.
We first toured the yard, admiring the incredible deck and water feature, all the island beds populated with hosta from Cindy's former home, and her daylily collection; amassed from a gentleman in Galveston IN named Raymond and many that were gleaned from my gene pool experiments. The weather was warm, but the humidity had dropped and there was a light breeze that made things actually comfortable.
A short walk down the lane took us to the extraordinary Burr Oak tree, where Cindy told us the wonderful and spiritual story of how the tree set a series of events in motion that culminated in Dewayne and her coming to live there. And it's clear that this is the place that they were meant to call home. Under the mammoth canopy of this tree--which is the largest known of its species in St. Joe County and the third largest in the state--live the many animals that comprise Dewayne and Cindy's family. From Challenger, the handsome little calf who is being fostered while he recovers from an injury, to the mule, horses, ducks, chickens, cats, fish, squirrels, turkeys, baby opossum, and Greta the sweet big dog, the affection and kindness that Dewayne and Cindy show the animal kingdom is in evidence everywhere. Cindy's vast experience with wildlife rescue meant we got to see the baby opossum she is currently caring for. These unusual living fossils were busy and inquisitive, coming out to examine us as we in turn examined and exclaimed over them. All baby animals are cute--even opossums. The turkey poults that Cindy's broody hen raised after the eggs were found in a hayfield were also sweet--and the mama hen didn't seem to realize that her toddlers were nearly as big as she was.
Most touching of all were the numerous feral cats that Cindy has rescued over the years. These lucky kitties have their own house, complete with furniture and a fenced play area where they can relax and live their lives in comfort and safety. Many of these cats have handicaps and injuries and were rescued from situations of cruel neglect. Still many others (she estimates at least 300) have been captured, neutered and released.
Our last stop on the tour was their large L shaped pond, complete with ducks, busy and noisy as they raced ashore to have a snack of corn. Then onto the barn where Challenger came out with a little coaxing from Cindy. He is fast growing up to be a big, boistrous boy, having mastered the art of drinking milk from a bucket and gaining strength as he recovers from a head injury that rendered him unable to stand when he was first born. Now up and walking, he stood and watched us, trying out his voice with a series of soft "moos" and experimenting with the idea of butting Cindy with his head.
Then we retired to the house, where it was cooler, in the company of Cleo, the incredibly sweet 28 year old kitty, Leaps, the "piranha cat" and Greta, the lovely rescued dog. Surrounded by a beautiful collection of equine art, and in the presence of the coolest coffee table ever, we had a brief business meeting. There was no change in the treasury statistics, and no secretary's report. Cindy asked about making a trip (finally) to Lurie Gardens. Hayden agreed to talk to Ben and come up with a date that we can all head to Chicago and take a guided tour.
The bulk of the meeting consisted of a discussion about the future direction our club will go. It seems that the current model may not be exactly what everyone wants, so we need to start looking more carefully at what we are doing and why. When we have a better level of attendance at a meeting we will discuss this more in depth. But for the moment, the door has been opened.
As for upcoming events, we are still hoping to make a trip to the Quiet Corner in Churubusco and to the Defries Garden in New Paris. More on this later.
After a very enjoyable evening we heeded the call of the upcoming rainstorm and ran between the raindrops to our cars and headed home.
Many thanks to Cindy and Dewayne for allowing us to see the extraordinary place they call home. It is a garden of the spirit, for both people and animals, that most rare of environments--a true sanctuary.

Flowers and PIE

Hi everyone--I am composing this from a hotel in Pennsylvania, and its been a few days since the meeting, so forgive me if this is a bit disjointed. The meeting was last Tuesday--we had bumped it forward by a week to accomodate the 4th of July holiday. Attendance was very light--Cindy came, along with Dewayne and Daisy, Bobbi and Dave, Rosie and Kathy. Maggie, we sure hope you are feeling better--you need to be able to get into your garden! And everyone else, I hope you had tons of fun on your various vacations. I actually floated the idea around in my head to not have a meeting in July, but Bobbi voted a big thumbs down since she enjoys seeing the daylilies in bloom then. I think at the very least the July meeting should be very light on content, since so many people have conflicting plans then. More of a fun day. PIE. Yeah--sounds about right.
Okay--so we hung out and looked at the flowers--our hoped for speaker from ND had a health issue and had to cancel. But the flowers were pretty and the garden was nice,so we managed to entertain ourselves that way. On to the meeting--no real reports--we didn't have a Treasurer or Secretary in attendance, Cindy didn't have anything to report on the travel front.
Rosie didn't have any updates for the Program book--and the planning committee for the state convention is sort of on summer vacation, so there aren't any updates there either. The one thing we did decide is that we are going to make a field trip in Sept. to the Quiet Corner for lunch and then to Defries Garden for a tour. Bobbi and Dave went there and really enjoyed it, so we all need to head over there and see it for ourselves. We will get serious about this later. This trip will happen on a week day or possibly a Saturday depending on the Quiet Corner's schedule. More on the whole thing later.
Other than that, we didn't do much other than hang out and visit. If I have missed something, please remind me so I can include it. Sorry to be so vague--just not quite myself at the moment.
And sympathy to Bobbi on the loss of her beloved horse, Lady, who was such a friend to her family for many, many years. She is now at rest on their property with a stand of Ladybells to keep watch over her. And our dear Soda Booboo is resting in the center of the circle bed, surrounded by daylilies in full flower. The bright yellow spider form flower that I have named for her will be moved to that area in the fall, where it will mark the spot.
That's all for now folks--hopefully next month will be longer. We will be meeting at Cindy's--please plan to attend so you can hear the wonderful story of the incredible Burr Oak tree, meet all the four legged family, and admire the beautiful gardens.

cooking class from New Kitchen Store

Hey everybody-The New Kitchen Store will be hosting a cooking class in Laporte with Chef Brad. Here is the info in case you are interested:

June 23 - Chef Brad Hindsley's Grilling Class: Will feature Grilled Gazpacho, Grilled Rosemary and Sweet Potato Skewers, and Maple Lime Grilled Chicken. The class size is limited so make your reservations with the New Kitchen Store. The first half of the class is instruction and demonstration and the second half EVERYONE cooks. Come join the fun. The class starts at 5:00 p.m. LaPorte time. If you need a ride from Walkerton, give us a call and you can ride with us.

Call the New Kitchen Store For Reservations or Questions
574-586-2745

Mud pies and Cherry Pies

Hi everybody--We had a great time at Rosie's last night, didn't we? By the time we were all there the heat had dissapated a little bit, and who noticed it anyway with all the Hosta and Heuchera to admire? Kathy, Buscia and Patrick, we missed you guys and hope to see you next month.
Rosie's place is lovely, full to the brim with interesting plants, all beautifully grown. We all came away with a fresh appreciation for the design possibilities of combining plants with attractive foilage to their best advantage. From her eye popping huge Hosta all the way down to the charming minis, every hosta was admired in its turn. People were fast choosing favorites--Cindy admired "June" with its cream colored foilage, Marianne became determined to find the unique "Guardian Angel" for her garden. Rosie passed along an excellent perspective on Hosta and their need for light, pointing out that the varieties with white on their leaves lack a lot of chloropyll and thus need a certain amount of light to make enough energy to survive from one season to the next. She explained how she and Perry (aka "Diego the Lawn Boy") built box beds for asparagus, and we all admired her ingenious beds that utilized equipment tracks as containers. She told us the life story of her beautiful arborvitae hedge, that actually preceded the house on the property, and amazed us with her stellar delphinium, which unbelievably is actually a bit smaller than normal this year.
Rosie's Heuchera collection provides a wonderful look at this most decorative genus--Cindy was very inspired by the combinations and went home with ideas for her own yard. Heuchera's can be a mixed bag of good varieties and bad, so seeing which ones grow beautifully to a mature size is really instructive.
Then it was on to the business meeting. We had all our usual reports--Marianne read the minutes and Shirley had nothing new on the moola front. Bobbi is back online, thanks to the very "Dependsable" mediacom guy, so watch for email updates. Buscia wasn't there last night, but several people said they had received reminder calls--as always thanks to her for reaching out and touching us all.
Online buddies had all printed their copies of "Indiana Gardens" and since Patrick wasn't there Maggie gave her printed copy to Marianne, and Kathy can get her copy to Patrick next time. Cindy also has hers.
Rosie and I went to Das Essenhaus for a tour and another meeting of the State Convention committee, and in the interest of time, we will have Rosie update us in July. She took a lot of photos, asked a number of questions about our job (program book) and will fill us in on all of it then. When the time comes for proofreaders she will use the internet to send out files for people to check. Sue volunteered to be a reader--thanks, Sue.
A brief report on our get together at "Thyme of Grace"--yum. end of story.
In new business Gene reported that Tim Disco from Notre Dame has agreed to come to our July meeting--he just needed to let him know the date, which is July 12 the SECOND Tues. in July. Thanks, Gene, for taking care of this. We are all looking forward to meeting Tim and dancing the night away.
In addition we may be having a guest in July in the person of Joan Stone, who is the GCI district director. Joan wishes to attend one of our meetings to say hello and support us as we go along. Since she must be invited to attend, we chose the July meeting to ask her, and I will take care of this.
An exciting development--Cindy has stepped up and volunteered to be our Travel Diva. She will keep an eye out for bus trips and tours that might be of interest to members and report to us when she finds something. I will add her to the meeting agendas from now on. This is something I have been wanting to implement since the club began and I really thank her for volunteering to take it on.
We touched upon the subject of a program book--its something that I think could be easily added to the blog and accessed online. Online buddies can print a copy out for non-onliners so everyone has access to it. More on this later.
Then it was Hayden's turn to relate the fabulous "once in a lifetime" experience he had meeting Piet Oudolf. We are so glad for Hayden having had this incredible chance. We know he will make the most of it. Hayden also filled us in on what is coming up with MHA. Three open gardens this month, Rosie's open garden will combine with a sale she is planning on the 14th, so come on back and get yourself some hosta! The featured MHA nursery this month is Nancy Beadles' "Hostas and More" in Fish Lake. There is a coupon online for her shop. The next Pie Night is July 8 at my house--it will be the Garden Fail Festival. Bring the plant you hate the most and we will help you destroy it in one of several ways.
In announcements--Sue told us about a garden in New Paris owned by the DeFries family that will be sponsoring tours, we talked about the Art and Earth trail (link posted in the "Handy Links" section), the Barn Quilt trail, Gardens on the Prairie and Sunshine (?) Greenhouse and a potential fun day out to visit them, and a fun weekend at the New Kitchen Store in Walkerton. As a final note, Marianne brought some of her delicious strawberries to sell.
With that all taken care of, we adjourned (yes, Patrick--we remembered) and got about learning to make hypertufa. Rob got the task of cement mixer, and we all donned gloves and set about our sculpting. Several people decorated the edges of their containers--Marianne was doubtless thinking about PIE when she made hers, since she finished the edge with a lovely pie crust ruffle. Cindy used her thumb to shape her edges and Sue used a little stick to decorate hers. Rosie has sent me instructions and they are in the blog post before this one.
Then we all got to eat some of Rosies delicious lemon bars, death by chocolate brownies and cherry pie squares, washed down with two delicious drinks--a tea blend and a lemonade blend, both concocted by Rosie herself. Watch for recipes to be posted soon. I think I will add a recipe page somewhere--and maybe we need a recipe archivist to add to our roster of "jobs". There is just too much yummy stuff drifting on and off the radar screen. We need to keep track of it.
We were also very glad to meet Perry, who joined us for snacks, and then brought the effervescent Murphy out to say hello. Perry and Rosie have built a beautiful place and we loved getting the chance to spend some time there. Many thanks to them for such a happy evening, filled with stories, hands on work, time with friends and beautiful gardens!

Hypertufa instructions from Rosie

Hypertufa
Always wear gloves when working with Hypertufa!
A hard mix is 1/1/1 by volume of Portland cement, peat moss, and sand. Increasing sand or peat makes the mix progressively softer and weaker and more porous. Some Hypertufa recipes call for perlite instead of sand - I was taught to use sand - he said it made a stronger pot.
We used 3 small buckets of Portland Cement, 3 small buckets of Sphagnum Peat Moss, and 3 small buckets of sand. Remove any large twiggy pieces from the peat moss.
The fibers we used were from Transit Mix - they’re called Monofilament Fibers. Use 2 hands full of the fibers - rub them in your hands to separate the fibers - then rub them into the peat and sand mix.
We mixed the peat and sand - then - added the fibers. Cement was added last. Use your hands to mix the cement, peat moss, sand, and fibers together. You want everything to be mixed well and the fibers evenly distributed through the mix.
Water depends on whether sand or peat are moist to begin with. Add and mix slowly and thoroughly until mixture will stay in a ball with only slight water squeezed out when squeezed in hand. Mixture can be moister if supported from all sides in the mold.
Molds MUST be sprayed with kitchen spray before using. ALWAYS make drainage holes in the bottom of the pot/trough.
Let the pot/trough sit in their molds for a week (I let the last batch I made sit for 5 days and unmolded carefully - then I let them sit a couple more days before I turned them over) - larger troughs can take longer (if you unmold too early, the pot/trough can break). Wire brush to remove unwanted material and finish edges.
After unmolding, the pots/troughs need to sit for a total of 28 days to harden. After 28 days the pots need to be watered regularly to leach out the lime from the concrete.

PIE?????? WHERE??????

At Ben's house. The first ever MHA "PIE in the Garden" night will commence on May 27 (Friday) at 7:30. You need to belong to MHA and RSVP is required since parking will be limited and they need to know how much PIE. Its just a chance to go and see someone's garden--and Ben's will be filled with a ton of new plants from Northwind Gardens.
To join MHA go to www.michianahort.org and sign up. Its free.
This event comes one week before the much anticipated appearance at Fernwood of Piet Oudolf--the world famous (and I am not being hyperbolic by using that term) landscape designer. You can go if you are not a Fernwood member--but you need to register and soon. This event begins at 6:30 with a wine and cheese "do" and then a talk by Piet. Roy Diblik will also be present, so you will have the chance to meet this legendarily (is that a word?) terrific person as well. There will also be a book signing. This may be your one chance to have a chance to actually meet these two people who are a huge part of a real sea change in American landscape design. Hopefully I will see you there!!!!
HTTD
fearless

North Liberty Garden Party

Hey everyone--I just heard about this Garden Event in North Liberty!
On Thurs. May 19 at 6:30 pm there will be a Garden Presentation by the Purdue extension service "Take your Garden to the Next Level". This event will be held at Dogwood Designs in Liberty and is sponsored by the Liberty Merchants and Chamber of Commerce. There will be some light refreshements and they will announce details about a garden contest.
Way to go North Liberty!

Daffy Michael eats PIE

Hows that for a header title? Was last nights meeting AWSOME or what?????
Michael--we know you are not daffy--but its the only way I could fit everything we did last night into one sentence. Just try to rearrange the words Michael, Pie and Daffy and you come up with some very strange mental images.

Tons of thank you's to Bobbi, Dave and Michael--if you want the poster children for a tranquil and beautiful home and life you have to look no further than the little brick schoolhouse on Kenilworth to find it. Martha Stewart may have her chows and himalayans, but Bobbi and Dave have Bud D, Lady and Chrome, a wealth of antiques that are full of meaning and love to them, a yard and land full of beautiful trees and flowering plants and all the ecosystem that comes along with it, and the icing on the cake is Michael, who raises it all to the level of the sublime.
And we had PIE.
OH SO MUCH PIE. And guests--Debbie and Gerry Brown , Wanda came again with Kathy, and Carol Line, the director of Fernwood also stopped by. Thanks so much to all of you for coming--you are always welcome.

To start off with we all arrived early, put on boots of various and sundry types (mine were pink equestrian numbers) and headed off through the wildlife area. Bobbi and Dave put a lot of time and energy into developing this area, and it is maturing and becoming a real sanctuary for animal, vegetable, and people alike. We all got to view Bobbi's infamous "oar-house", the pond, the woods, the daffodils and all the young trees as they were budding out. Michael was quick to identify and clarify any plant mysteries that cropped up, and Dave and Bobbi told us the story of how the area has evolved over time. From the migratory narcissus that came from Bobbi's dad, to the white pines that were foraged from the property to become a large screen on the side yard, every part of their property reflects their love and care for the place they call home.

Then it was back to the "yard", time to pat Lady and feed her some grass and then gather round as we learned the story of the Dosmann trees as only Michael could tell it. Starting with the history of the gigantic Dawn Redwood (and having met it, we had to say we liked it) , he walked us through the yard and taught us a great many things. The different Katsuras--whether carefully raised from seed, or rescued from a neglected spot at Fernwood or relocated here from China, each one of these diecious (only one gender on each plant) beauties was exceptionally lovely. Katsura is one of those trees that should has as a field mark the fact that whenever you see one you say "WOW--what kind of tree is that???"

He showed us Bottlebrush buckeye and we marveled at how those huge leaves came out of small buds, he told us the story of the journey of Kolkwitzia to this country and how all the plants of this species in cultivation are descended from a single line that emigrated here in the early 1900's. Pictured here is the reason why this somewhat humble (yes--"quietly interesting") bush earns its rightful place in the garden:

If anyone would like a baby Kolkwitzia there are many at my house to share. Just ask.

As we worked our way around the house, we learned about Golden Rain tree, which differs from Golden Chain tree--on the Rain version the yellow flowers orient upward, like the Bottlebrush, where the Golden Chain flowers hang down.

We admired the lovely Pagoda Dogwoods, the regal Stewartia, the fascinating color of the Maackia leaves just emerging, the fabulous blooms on the saucer and star magnolias--at their beautiful peak right now--including the Easter eggs that were blooming on the Star mag.


Michael told us the ways and mysteries of Hydrangeas, how to correctly prune viburnums (thanks for that one, Michael--I now know I have been doing it wrong!) The gender issues of Ginkgo (I go you go we all go for Gink go--and PIE) and the amorous adventures of the Katsuras in their yard. Well--what with the oarhouse being there, who is surprised????

We learned how to "coppice" woody plants like willow and dogwood to keep the brightly colored bark at its best, how to distinguish and deal with rootstock growth on grafted plants, and how to tell boy larch parts from girl larch parts.

It was so instructing and informative, and a real pleasure to watch someone in the process of doing exactly what they were born to do.

Then we went inside to warm up and eat the epic amounts of PIE that were scattered across the kitchen. Did anyone count how many there were? Without thinking too hard I count 7 pies with the wonderful bread that Kathy brought. Whatever the number, it was a PIE fest to rival all gastronomic events in the state. How many places do you get to go where you are encouraged not to have A dessert, but ALL OF THEM. So we scarfed on PIE and had our meeting. Here is the rundown of what we talked about:

(First of all I apologize if the meeting was run in an even more haphazard way than usual--I was running on the last reserves of my energy and coherence for the day).

Marianne read the Secretary's report--and Shirley didn't have anything to report. No news from the contact Czarinas.
We will be at Thyme of Grace this Friday at noon. Menu choices were made and a head count taken. Mary Ann will take care of getting in touch with Michelle.
Once again--remember our next meeting is on a WEDNESDAY (June 7) at Rosies. More on this later.
Rosie and I attended the State Convention on the final day. We went to the scholarship and awards luncheon and had a very nice day. I gave Joyce the pin that Patrick made on behalf of all of us and she was very touched by such a lovely handmade keepsake.

Our job tor the upcoming national convention in Middlebury has been chosen. Thanks to Rosie for stepping up--we will be in charge of the program book. We discussed ways for all of us to get involved so Rosie won't have to bear the entire burden herself. Among jobs that need to be done are proofreading, and there may be other ways we can help.


The Indiana Gardens Magazine will no longer be available in print--only as an emailed PDF. For those who have difficulty retrieving files this way, a buddy system was put into place and members will be responsible for printing one copy of the publication to give to one person--the breakdown is this:

Kathy will print a copy for Marianne
Shirley will print a copy for Buscia
Maggie will print a copy for Patrick
I will print a copy for Cindy.


With all that blah-blah out of the way, we got on to announcements. Rosie and Cindy's current situations were brought up, and people encouraged to drop notes to both of them. Private mail me if you need their contact info. www.robfraney@aol.com

Hayden gave us an update on events impending for the MHA. Its free to join--go to http://www.michianahort.org/ and sign up. Lots of fun stuff happening, and they are considering a second luncheon, since the first one was such a huge hit.

If you haven't subscribed to Indiana Gardens, you might want to consider it. They have a 10% off card you can present to participating sellers (Rosie and I both participate) and its a lovely publication, full of information specific to Indiana. Subscriptions are 19.95/year and you can get in touch with them at http://www.indianagardeningmag.com/
or call: 1-888 265-3600.

There are some upcoming events at Fernwood--Mothers Day is iminent which means their wonderful plant sale, as well as the chance to just spend the day soaking up the magic that is Fernwood.


The New Kitchen Store in Walkerton is still sponsoring cooking classes--now in Laporte. I will get a schedule of classes and post it here.

Debbie's daughter Kirsten is going to be spearheading the new Unity Garden in North Liberty. We hopefully will be able to act as a resource for her. As needs and issues arise Debbie will get in touch with me and we can put them up on the blog and/or take them up at a meeting--whichever is more expedient. We also briefly discussed the idea of the group becoming involved in some garden maintenence at Bluebird House. More on that later.

In nature news--there is a frost warning out for tonight and now IS the time to go to Potato Creek and view the ephemeral wildflowers.
With that we all dragged our Pie infused carcasses to our cars--and TRIED to head home--no thanks to me and my fabulous driving. Poor Kathy got blocked in and then attacked by the same shrub that had ambushed my car. (I AM BUSH--I KILL YOU).
A great time was had BY ALL. THANKS EVERYBODY!!!!!!

HTTD!

The Truth about Tulips

Hi everybody! I am looking out my window at today's version of the biblical rainstorms and it seemed like a good time to write something about tulips--since their season is fast approaching. We all love tulips--they give us brilliant color when our eyes are desperate to see it. They come in such an array of forms and shapes, heights and colors. Want over the top baroque? Tulips can give it to you. Ruffled and girly--no problem. Simple and tailored? Exotic and mysterious? Yep. Ever since the Turkish ambassador made a gift of bulbs to Flemish botanist Charles de l'Ecluse in 1530, these wonderful bulbs have filled the world with their color and magical beauty.
There is a fair amount of mystery about tulip culture--and that's what got me thinking about this. I am doing a bit of research into this and will make a post in the Spiffy tips about that---but what I want to talk about here is how tulips fit into history. Most people have heard of the "Tulip Mania" that supposedly siezed Holland in the 1600's and ultimately destroyed the economy--but the fact of the matter is, things didn't really happen that way. Thanks to Wikipedia I have a better idea of what Tulip Mania really was.
After Charles (okay--Chuckie the Botanist) grew the bulbs and they were seen to thrive in their new home in Holland, they became an object of fascination and a status symbol in that country. Classed by color, the broken colored varieties especially the pink and white and purple and white combinations were highly sought after. It takes 7 to 10 years for tulips to bloom from seed, and several years for new clone bulbs that form on the parent bulb to reach maturity, so its easy to see that the supply was limited for these plants. Add to that the fact that when tulips achieve maturity and do bloom, the main bulb disappears, and clone bulbs form in their place--meaning that the plantings of the tulips were not entirely permanent.
Now you have a sought after plant, and a limited supply. Prices go up.
As this began to happen, people began to begin to grow tulips as a source of income. The traditional school of thought is that people of all economic levels from Millionaires to paupers began dabbling in tulips--but research has found evidence of tulip culture for money only in the middle class or higher echelons. People began to purchase futures of tulip crops--and the speculation began. A lot of religious institutions looked upon this practice as a form of gambling and wrote some highly sensational pamphlets about the evils of tulip "mania". These pamphlets formed the basis for the historical perception that all of Holland was staggering around in a tulip induced haze, arresting people for accidentally eating tulip bulbs, trading their estates and lands for a single bulb etc.
What really happened was interesting, but not nearly so cataclysmic. People traded futures and some small fortunes were made or lost. Something quite similar happened when Hyacinths first hit the market. However, when the bottom dropped out of the Tulip market, it really crashed and burned in a way that Hyacinth values did not. Some of what happened was related to the ending of the Thirty Years War, and an uptick in available money in circulation because of that; some of it was related to a legal change in the futures contracts for the tulips. The contracts at first were legally binding--if you agreed to buy 100 bulbs at 5 bucks apiece and when they were ready to go they were only selling for 1.00 apiece--tough toenails for you. Pay up and enjoy your stupidly expensive bulbs. But the florists guild got parliment to change the way the contracts were administered--and they all became option contracts. This meant if you agreed to pay 5 bucks and they were only worth 1 at harvest, you could pay a penalty and the contract would be voided. Add to that the bubonic plague was flying all around and people were generally freaked out, and you have the recipe for a strange set of circumstances, and an even stranger set of reactions to the phenomenon.
So the "Tulip Mania" of old may not have been the first "speculative bubble" as many people have claimed, but it was a period of time when flowers went about doing that voodoo that they do do so well--and people spent some time being hypnotized by a plant. When Holland awoke from the trance, she had a bit of a hangover, and the psychological effects of the rise and fall in prices for a PLANT FOR CRYING OUT LOUD reverberated in their society for a long time. Fortunately for us, they have never lost their adoration for this beautiful genus, and the tulip growing business is alive and well in Holland. Now each winter we can open the pages of those glossy catalogs with their highly colored (and sometimes disingenously photoshopped) photos and dream of melting snow and brilliant colors fluttering in the warm sun. YES I SAID SUN!!!!!!!! THERE WILL BE SUN!!!!!!
Now go eat some pie and wait for the rain to stop!
Hail to the Dirt!

PROGRAM AT FERNWOOD FEATURING MICHAEL--but no pie :-(

Hey folks--this program will happen the Sunday before we get to see Michael at Bobbi's--sounds like it would be really interesting and educational!


Modern Plant Exploration: Boondoggles or Legitimate Science?
Dr. Michael Dosmann, a former Fernwood employee and present Curator of Living Collections at The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, will present a program at Fernwood on Sunday, May 1, at 1:00 pm. The connections between people and plants are some of the strongest bonds known. We eat plants, we use their fibers and wood, and we admire them in our gardens. Toward those ends, intrepid plant explorers have long searched the wilds for the rare, the unusual, and the magnificent. These adventurers have brought back exclusive 'new plants' as well as amazing stories. However, in this modern age when nature is dwindling and invasive plants are on the rise, many rightfully ask if the goals for plant collecting should change - or if the activity should even take place at all. Dr. Michael Dosmann returns to Fernwood to share his own experiences as a plant collector and botanist. He will talk about how plant collecting might be different than it was in the time of Ernest Henry 'Chinese' Wilson 100 years ago, but it is no less important. In fact, efforts to explore and document biodiversity are more important now than ever before.
This lecture is free to Fernwood members - non-members are $20. Register by Saturday, April 30, by calling 269.695.6491. You must have a reservation to attend, so don't delay!

Gardens are for Giving

Hi folks--Great meeting last night! Many thanks to Kathy for giving us all a chance to meet Sara Stewart and learn about the phenomenal transformation that Unity Gardens is bringing about all around the area. More on this later--first the boring stuff (i.e. business meeting). We dispensed with the Secretary's report and Shirly only had one thing to report--that after some minor confusion she took care of business and got our district dues paid. We didn't realize we owed district dues--or we forgot--who knows. If it was anyone's fault it was probably mine--but thanks to Shirley's diligence its taken care of now. Thanks, Ms. Rynearson! In old business--Mary Ann reported back, and our lunch outing to Thyme of Grace will be on Friday May 6 at high noon. We will meet before this and get our menu choices finalized so Mary Ann can call them and give a heads up so they will be ready for us. This will not be a meeting--just a fun day. Plan to attend and enjoy a wonderful lunch. In state club news--Rosie and I will be going to the convention in Merrilville this Thursday. This is the day of the awards banquet. We will do a little recon to help with the "jobs" assignment that as a club we need to iron out. More on this in new business. From MHA--the spring kickoff luncheon was great--you can join MHA for free--just go online to http://www.michianahort.org/, I asked if people still want to try and make a trip to Lurie Gardens--I will get in touch with Ben and see if he wants to make the journey. (I know--is the sky blue???--come on!) With that, we dispensed with old business and went on to new. First off was picking a new date for the June meeting at Rosie's--we don't want to conflict with the other garden club she has coming, so we will meet on WEDNESDAY the 8th of June. Hopefully we can get organized and she can teach us all to make hypertufa planters. On to state convention news, Patrick was nice enough to make a beautiful beaded pin on behalf of all of us to present to Joyce Bulington, the state president. Joyce was a big help to us as we went about forming our club, and I wanted to give her a small momento of our group from all of us. Thanks so much, Patrick, for this beautiful and unique gift. And in more convention news, we all examined and discussed the list of available "jobs" for the club to choose from to help with the 2012 convention. There was some consternation and a lot of varying opinions as to what task would be appropriate for our small, inexperienced club. Rosie had a lot of good insight to contribute that helped us feel more informed. Shirley suggested that we ask for help in deciding and Sue suggested that we see if we can "pair up" with another club to share a task. Everyone felt that these were good ideas, and I will do my best to implement them at the meeting next Thursday with the planning committee. Be warned folks, I am entirely out of my element here--but I will try to get the right thing done. Thankfully Rosie will be there too--and I know her help will be invaluable. With that, we dispensed with new business, and there were a few announcements: "Indiana Gardening" magazine is a terrific new publication available. http://www.indianagardeningmag.com/ or phone them at 1-888-265-3600. Prairie Pride Folk Art Show is April 16-17 from 10-5 Laporte time. Address is 3883 E. 700 N. in Rolling Prairie. Sue had some print material from Rockford regarding public gardens and a shuttle tour. Dave bought some fish emulsion that is putting the evil asian carp to good use. Who remembers "BASSOMATIC" from Saturday night live?? River Street Flowerland is having twig furniture classes. You can visit their website http://www.riverstreetflowerland.com/ Unity Gardens opening day is Sat. April 9 from 12-2 at the LaSalle Square Unity Garden 3701 Prast Blvd. Website is http://www.theunitygardens.blogspot.com/ Which brings us (finally) to our speaker, Sara Stewart, the driving force behind and creator of Unity Gardens. This amazing idea which arose from Sara's experiences as a public health nurse has quickly gained momentum to become a real community wide phenomenon. The simple concept of healthy food grown by a community for a community has taken hold and rapidly become a real force for good in St. Joe County. Along with nutritious produce that is lovingly grown and freely given to anyone, came education about healthy food preparation and meal planning, learning the art and science of gardens for many age groups, as well as opening doors for people both socially and economically. Unity Gardens is a young endeavor, but already they have a legacy they can call their own that is manifest in the partnership of people from diverse backgrounds who come together to create a common good. Sara is to be applauded and helped in this undertaking, and many groups both public and private have stepped up to grow this program. Anyone can create a Unity Garden--there are some criteria that need to be met; for information you can call 574-315-4361. Thanks again to Sara and her beautiful technical support personnel (daughter, Leigh) for an inspiring and informative presentation. We wish them every success, and hopefully we can be a contributing factor to that success either as individuals or as a group. With that, Patrick adjourned us and those of us that hadn't already glommed on to the terrific treats that Shirley provided (as always--thank you, GF) did so. Thanks again to Kathy for her friendship with Sara and providing us all with this chance to meet her.

Maggie found a plant sale!

Hi folks--Henslers is having their annual plant auction--check the link:

http://www.kasersauction.com/images/nursery.pdf

Thanks Maggie!

Up and coming STUFF--get ready for spring!

Hey all--here are a couple upcoming things to help put some SPRING JOY into our lives.

http://riverstreetflowerland.com/component/content/article/1-news/26-third-willow-class.html

http://theunitygardens.blogspot.com/p/our-mission.html

Thanks to Kathy for the Unity Gardens update!
FL

HYPERTUFA AT ROSIES????? FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday Rosie stopped by with a wonderful idea. We have to change the date of our June meeting at her house--we were thinking maybe Wednesday the 8th instead of Tuesday. And if we do this, we can converge under Rosies circus tent and she will teach us to make HYPERTUFA troughs! This is a wonderful way to make gorgeous planters for your yard and garden and I would love to learn. We need to know if this day change will work for everyone so Rosie can begin getting her head wrapped around what we will need to do this. I am sure we can all pitch in to pay for our own materials, or bring stuff or do whatever is required. Please email me or phone and let me know if this date change works for you. I will also have Buscia do some phone calling. HTTD! (and the hypertufa!)
FL

Time to start getting DIRTY

Hi everyone--thanks to all who made the meeting last night. We didn't have a lot of business to take care of, which meant we had plenty of time to visit and stuff.
As for business--we didn't have any minutes read--Shirley has been keeping track of what goes on though. She also shouldered the burden of recording and submitting everyone's dues to the state. This is a time consuming and fiddley task and I really appreciate her stepping up to be responsible for this. Our state dues have been paid, and we all have little ID cards now from the Garden Club of Indiana.
We also discussed our plans to meet for lunch at Thyme of Grace. Mary Ann will look into this further, with the intent of doing this the first Friday in May (May 6). The tenative plan will be to meet at noon. This will not be a meeting--just a fun outing. Our meeting will have happened Tuesday of that same week at Bobbi's. We may have Pat McCauslin from ND as a speaker if his schedule permits--or if we are all VERY GOOD and bake LOTS OF PIE we may be lucky enough to get a visit from Michael Dossmann. I know his mom and dad would be thrilled if he could make it home but its a very busy time for him. In any case there is plenty of beauty to drink in and enjoy at Dave and Bobbi's. In fact Bobbi suggested that people arrive early so we can trek back to the woods to see the zillions of daffodils she has planted. Be sure to bring boots--I have been back there and you will need them. But its a beautiful sight for sure, and something well worth the hike!
That pretty much took care of the old business. As for new business--Sue passed around some literature about some worm casting products available from the Farmer's market and information about a Garden Show on Mar. 19-20 at Ginger Valley.
We discussed the upcoming MHA tailgate flower shows, which will take place at Beutter Park on June 11, July 9 and Oct. 1. The theme for the first one is "Blast from the Past" and we decided that if Dwayne is amenable we will use "Homer" the vintage pickup truck for our display and do a retro "Sanford and Son" type display, complete with costumes. More on this later. Shirley volunteered her Prius for the July show, which is themed "Think Green".

We had a reminder from Shirley about the upcoming Chigago flower show trip. She has a fairly large group going. Date for the trip is Sat. March 12.

The Sept. meeting will be held at Marianne Kemp's house. She is going to tell us about her food preservation adventures, including winemaking.

Our next meeting is Tues. April 5 at Shirleys. Sara Stewart will be telling us about Unity Gardens. Thanks to Kathy for setting this up.

As for announcements--Don't forget the benefit for Unity Gardens at http://www.naturescrossroads.com/. They are donating a portion of the proceeds from any seed sales.

March 5 is the day for 2 great garden events--a Symposium at Fernwood featuring some heavy hitter speakers including Roy Diblik. This event is $90.00 for members and $110 for non members. Also the Warsaw master gardeners symposium is that day featuring Paul James. Late fee for that is 40.00.

And a reminder to check your "Indiana Gardens" for signup information regarding the state convention in Merrilville. The deadline is fast approaching if you want to go. There is a discount for early registration.

After that we talked about seed starting basics. I will write a longer blog to recap everything I covered in that discussion. Suffice to say there were a lot of interesting questions, and I hope that everyone will think about trying this very rewarding pursuit.

When we got done I forgot to ask Patrick to adjourn us--so we actually are still meeting.
We can't be done until he says so!
HTTD!

CAN IT BE??? SPRING?????

Hey everybody--Bobbi just sent me this pic of SNOWDROPS. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anybody else that has spring babies, run out and have them smile pretty for the camera and send 'em along. We can all use the happy!

Hail to the (still frozen but getting better) dirt!

Time for Trees

Hey folks--we had a great time at the Soil and Water Conservation program last night--thanks again to Bobbi for spotting this opportunity. The speaker was from Hensler's Nursery--and he clearly had a deep love for and immense knowledge of trees. He covered everything from selecting appropriate species for the yard to planting tips and disease management. Some of the tidbits I came away with were the fact that municipalities have "tree boards" that you can consult with to help you choose recommended species for your area, root systems can extend out as much as three times the size of the canopy, most tree roots are within 18 inches of the surface, there is a bagworm that appears on arborvitae, and other trees that are recent migrants to our areas. The caterpillars hatch in June and as they go through their life cycles they can do a fair amount of damage. Air temps below minus 18 will kill them off. There are pesticides that will control them, or the bags can be picked off and drowned in soapy water. This works best if its done before June.
There were a lot of interesting questions from the audience as well, and he answered everyone in great detail. He emphasized the importance of uncircling roots in potted plants, careful attention to drainage patterns--especially clay soils, and proper fertilizing and watering of newly planted trees.
We were also provided with a lot of helpful handouts that covered a wide array of subjects.
And they had cookies--what could be better than trees and cookies. Oh--I know--trees and PIE. Or maybe trees and cookies and PIE.
Everything is better with PIE.
Shirley handed out a sheet with info about the upcoming excursion to the Chicago Flower Show. She is sending emails out about it as well. This is basically something Shirley and her family do each year, and she has been nice enough to invite us all to glom on to it. Personally I want to see Buscia's girls dance at the blues bar:-)
It was great to see everyone--as this old fashioned winter maintains its grip on us, it really helps to get a reminder that garden season IS coming and WILL get here.
We will see you all in March--until then stay warm.
And get some PIE.

FLASH FROM ROSIE!!!! GREAT EVENT COMING UP

Hi everyone--Rosie just sent me this on facebook. She has the registration form--Who wants to go????
Kosciusko County Master Gardener Symposium - Saturday, March 5, 2011 - 9 a.m. EST at Lakeview Middle School - 848 East Smith Street, Warsaw. The featured speaker is Paul James of "Gardening by the Yard". Tickets are $30 if purchased by February 23 - includes Continental Breakfast and Lunch.
HTTD

New link

Hey folks--I put a link in the "Handy links for dirty hands" to Debbie Brown's new blog about Bluebird House. If you need a beautiful place for guests or a party--think about Bluebird House. Hopefully Debbie will join our club soon and then she can keep us updated in person with all thats going on!

EVENTS A Plenty!

Hey everyone--thanks to our recent visit to the Porter County Master Gardener show, as well as a newsflash from Ben, I have a lot of upcoming stuff to tell you about. Check your calenders for empty days that you might have free to attend one or all of these fun things! And don't forget the State Convention for the GCI is coming up in April as well.
Here they are in no particular order:

APRIL 2 AT THYME OF GRACE RESTAURANT!!!! Ben and the Michiana Horticultural Alliance will be throwing a mini symposium. The guest speakers will be Ben, who will talk about--what else--GARDENING--Helloooooo--is there anyone surprised by this? The other guest will be someone from River Street Flowerland in Kalamazoo (my FAVE NURSERY) and they will do a hands on demo about container gardening. This place has some of the most beautiful containers you have ever seen--and their design people should have a lot to teach! If you aren't a member of the MHA yet--its free and super easy to join--just go to http://www.michianahort.org/ and sign up. Times and particulars aren't in the newsletter--I suspect they will be put out later.

MAY 7 will be the Garden Party--this annual event put on by the Four Winds Garden Club will begin at 8:30 on Saturday. You can purchase a ticket for the full day or half a day. The festivities end at 3:30. This lovely event takes place at St. John's United Church of Christ, 2701 E. Bristol St. , Elkhart. Tickets are 27.50 per person for the full day (includes continental breakfast and lunch) or 15.00 for a half day, which would frun from 8:30 to noon or from noon to 3:30--and include only one of the meals. There will be vendors, speakers and a make and take activity. For more information you can contact Judy Cook at inbert@msn.com . Reservations must be in by May 2.

Another event on SAT MAY 7 is the 11th annual native plant sale at Gibson Woods in Hammond IN. You can visit their website at gw-wildones.org. This runs from 9 to 2 and the flyer says for the best selection arrive early.
Another fun event is the Garden, Pond and Patio Expo in Crown Point at the Lake County Fairgrounds. This shindig costs 5.00 to get in, but its a very nice show. It runs from 9 to 5 in the Industrial Building.

From Rosie--The Northwest Indiana Hosta Society has their next meeting Sun. Feb. 13th at the Brookstone Estates Condod at 7507 Taft St. in Merrillville.They meet at 1:30 (their are an hour behind us) and their speaker will be Barb Ziolkowski, a master gardener and owner of a terrific place in New Carlisle. She will be talking about Daylilies in the Garden. Barb is a super person--if you haven't met her, now would be a great time!

Gardens on the Prairie in Lowell IN. is a place that must go on the radar screen of totally kewl places to go. They have events going on all season long--visit their website:
http://www.gardensontheprairie.com/ to learn more.
Thats all for now--HTTD!!!

Latest issue of Indiana Gardens

Hi folks--The latest issue of Indiana Gardens is out--let me know if you didn't get it and I will forward the document to you. There is a lot of information about the State Convention in it, so be sure to check it out.

FLASH FLASH FLASH!!!

Hey everyone--Rosie has given me a list of plants available from a wholesaler she buys from. If you want to purchase some really nice potted hosta in 4 inch pots she will add them into her order. To view pictures of the plants go to www.qandznursery.com and click on the availability list. Then click on the plant name to see a pic and description. To get the best discount these need to be placed by Feb. first. Delivery will be the first week of May. Rosie has an email list she can send you for the available plants--there are a few helleborus and daylilies on the list too. Rosies email is :
rosiesgarden@msn.com
You will need to add 1.00 per plant to cover shipping.
Check it out! lots of really nice buys there--thanks so much to Rosie for offering to do this!

Link to Unity Gardens Blog

Hey folks--Kathy came through with flying colors, and we now have Sara Stewart on board to come speak to us in April. I also asked Kathy to get a "wish list" from Sara for things they need for Unity Gardens. She will let me know the results of this and I will post it on the blog. That way when Sara comes to speak to us, we can bring donations of needed items to help Unity Gardens in their efforts.
Here is a link to the Unity Gardens blog--I will also put it in the "handy links for dirty hands" section. There is a series of classes being offered at the Greenhouse starting this Saturday about growing vegetables. So if you don't make it over to Valpo, this is another garden related thing to do. Sounds like this will be an ongoing series that will continue for awhile.
HTTD!
http://www.theunitygardens.blogspot.com/

FINALLY!

Hi everyone--wasn't it nice of Mother Nature to finally cooperate and let us have a meeting? It was so great to see everyone. We are a fun group and I love being around all of you. Rosie regaled us with tales of her upcoming dramatic triumph in Laportes epic production--''Robin Hood and the Neck Talking Merrymen". Bobbie told us a cautionary tale about keeping Depends in the car and going for a big Mac. Maybe they should just include a pair in each biggie meal. Shirleys house is undergoing some kitchen demolition (first kitchen or second kitchen? Is the second kitchen for fixing second breakfast?) with the capable help of Dwayne and Cindy. Buscia is footloose and fancy free for the moment, Sue braved icy roads and transported all her kids safely as she always does, Maggie was home with a bug--GET WELL SOON MAGGIE! and Patrick is getting ready to box and ship after his latest Ebay triumph. We welcomed a new member--Kathy Harrell--thanks so much to Bobbi for inviting her to join. Kathy is well versed in the mysteries of African violets and is a houseplant enthusiast--and she will be a wonderful addition to our group.
Okay--down to business--or at least what we could remember between us since we last met.
Shirley won the "heads up" award by contacting WNDU and WSBT and starting the process of having our club posted on the channel crawls when they show cancellations. Currently they show up on the WNDU website, but hopefully when the process is complete they will run on the crawls of both stations. Thanks to her for taking this initiative. Great idea!
Shirley also passed our balance sheet around so anyone wanting to examine it was welcome to. She and I also discussed filing membership information about Rosie, Hayden and Kathy with the state--we need to email back and forth and get this taken care of. Apologies to Rosie and Hayden for being so lackadaisical about this.
I passed around a letter I received from the Delaware Federation of Garden Clubs thanking me for my donation to the Healing Garden at Dover AFB. If anyone else wants to make a contribution, you can go to the website:
MemorialGarden-Dover.org
and get information about how to contribute. If you send monies just be sure you enclose something stating this is where you want the money to go. At the time I sent my contribution in they were not set up to receive money online, but this may have changed now.
We also talked about the District meeting that Mary Ann, Bobbi and I attended in Oct. That was so long ago I don't remember much of what happened (note to club--next time elect a president with a functioning memory) but a couple things stuck in my head:
Postage has become outrageous so the state and district are going to rely primarily on internet to disseminate information. This includes the quarterly publication "Indiana Gardens" that will be emailed to members as a PDF. Anyone that can't receive this just needs to let me know and I will get you a printed copy. Cindy needs a printed copy of the most recent one.
I was given two copies of the state bylaws. I have one copy and Shirley has one now.
Joan Stone, the District President asked that each club in the district designate a member to serve on a planning committee for the upcoming State meeting in 2012 that our district will be hosting. Rosie was nice enough to step up and take responsibility for this job. She has sent her information along to Joan, but has heard nothing back yet. Thanks so much to Rosie for shouldering this job. Maybe we should bake HER some bread!
ALSO FLASH FLASH FLASH--We never discussed it because we got so involved in other stuff--but Rosie has a very wonderful idea to pass along if anyone wants to purchase some totally kewl hostas at reasonable prices. Watch the blog, facebook and your emails for updates on this.
Okay back to business--the other thing I remembered from the meeting is that clubs are encouraged to apply for awards--there are lots of them. You can go to the state website (link below in Handy links for Dirty Hands) and read about them. Rosie mentioned that there is an award for a program book--and we probably should have one anyway. I will see what I can pull together for that. Does anyone else want to get in on this project? I don't think it will be much to do--but I can think of several ways to stand the idea of program books on its head.
Might be fun.
OKAY--that was all the old junk--on to the new. The main discussion we had was about prorating dues for members that join the club throughout the year--specifically what to do about Kathy since she is joining so close to the end of our fiscal year. Thanks to Rosie for articulating our decision, and Shirley for noting it all down--the decision was basically this: People who join at any time will have to pay the 8 dollars to be filed with the state. That amount is inflexible and has to be collected. The remaining 12 dollars of the dues works out to 1 dollar a month, and if new members CHOOSE to prorate their own dues to pay only for the months that will pass before the new fiscal year, they may do so. If they wish to simply pay the whole 20 bucks regardless of when they join, thats fine too. This proposal was articulated by Rosie, seconded by Cindy and unanimously passed by a voice vote. It was also decided at this time that Kathy will wait and pay her first dues in April, which is the beginning of our fiscal year. At that time Shirley will file all three new memberships with the state.
Then we went on to a fun lunch day at Thyme of Grace. Sue brought up the fact that Michelle (the owner) has very pretty box beds planted in her parking lot, so a good time to go would be when the beds are growing. We decided around the 3rd week of May would be a good time--and Sue said as long as she has advance notice she can make a lunch event. Buscia was nice enough to let me "volunteer" her to take charge of this endeavor, and we will await her "intelligence report" on this. We will need to have the date nailed down by mid April so Sue has enough time to accomodate her schedule.
We also discussed an "I am sick of Winter" event to do. This year our event will be to glom onto Shirley's annual Chicago Flower show trip. She will send out invitations closer to the time--basically the idea is get yourself there and meet up and have a fun time. Go to the bar with the orchids, snore really loud and wake up on the hotel room floor? :-)
As for announcements--we had the following--Porter County Master Gardeners show is this Saturday. Follow this link for info:
http://www.pcgarden.info/gardening_show.html
This is a wonderful event--very well worth going to. If you have seeds or bulbs to trade, be sure and check out the information about swapping. Rosie will be there in the Hosta Society booth, Ben and I will be there in the MHA booth. Great speakers and lots of fun. 10 dollars gets you in and gets you a ticket or two for the swap as well.

The Michiana Horticultural Alliance has 3 dates set for its Backseat flower shows--these will all be in Beutter Park. Please plan on participating (we can participate as individuals or as a garden club) and help this fledgling organization get off to a flying start. There is a lot of potential in Ben's ideas and he has been working so hard to bring them to fruition. He deserves a lot of credit and support for this.
Also the MHA first annual nursery crawl will be on Mothers Day weekend and will continue throughout the following week.
You can find out more about the MHA events on the website--www.Michianahort.org

OKAY--after all this we got down to business and perfected our schedule for next year. We didn't exactly follow Cindy's model of drawing names, but everyone participated and will be contributing next year. This is wonderful because the club will take on the identity of everyone involved with it--and all our strengths and interests will have a chance to be expressed. Here is the calender as it stands now:

Feb. 8th at 6:30--Meet for a program at the Farm Bureau Office on South Michigan. Subject will be Selecting and Planting Trees, presented by Hensler's Nursery. Thanks to Bobbi for spotting this opportunity.

Tues. March 1 at 7 at Shirleys--Maggie was nice enough to round up Pat McCauslin, the head of landscaping at Notre Dame to talk to us. PLEASE NOTE--this date is not entirely firm until I hear back from Maggie--it may be March 8, the second Tues. I will amend this post when the date is finalized.

Tues. April 5 at 7 at Shirleys--Kathy is going to see if her friend Sara Stewart who is in charge of Unity Gardens can come and speak to us.

Tues. May 3 at 7 pm. at Bobbi's. We will gaze in awe at their BEEYOUTIFUL trees.

Tues. June 7th 7 pm. at Rosie's. We will admire Rosie's gorgeous hostas and hear all about these plants she loves so dearly.

Tues. July 12 7 pm. (NOTE--THIS IS THE SECOND TUES IN JULY) My house. We can hang out and look at the flowers. I can tell you all a little bit about junior genetics if you want to know.

Tues. Aug. 2 at Cindy and Dwayne's. We will have a chance to see the amazing and creative place Dwayne and Cindy call home--enjoy the beautiful deck they created, and hear the mystical and wonderful story of the Burr Oak tree. Cindy will also tell us about her many years as a wildlife rehab specialist. Over the years she has shown tremendous dedication to caring for animals who need help, and we can't wait to hear all about it.

Tues. Sept. 13 at 7 pm--place to be determined--either Shirley's or Marianne Kemp's. Marianne is an authority when it comes to food preservation. I think she knows how to preserve just about anything you can think of eating--and if she hasn't done it yet, she is always game to try. She makes her own wine out of just about anything and hopefully she can tell us about it. I will have to find out if she is willing for us to meet at her place--her garden really is a wonder of ingenuity and creative expression and deserves to be seen and appreciated.

Tues. Oct. 4th at Kathy's house--7 pm. Its not too late to gift plants--so lets think about maybe bringing Kathy something to help her with her yard. In the next few meetings we need to ask her about her site so we can decide what would be of use to her. She in turn is going to show us her houseplants, a subject many of us are woefully underinformed about. In particular she will hopefully teach us about dividing African Violets. I adore AV's but I seem to be an unwitting serial killer of them. Maybe Kathy can help me.

Tues. Nov. 1st at Shirleys--7 pm. Crafts. Patrick PLEEZE bring your bead box--and we will think up some other ideas for "make and take". Hopefully we can be more organized about it this year. I can always bring the pick machine.

Tues. Dec. 6th 7 pm. at Shirleys--Garden Recap and Cookie exchange--thanks to Sue for that great idea. We will talk about our garden successes and failures of the previous year. Be thinking about this meeting all the year through--so you can bring photos or examples of your triumphs.

So thats the year in a nutshell! But as a bonus--there were a lot of "side trips" that came up in the discussion--and it would be great to incorporate some of these things into our years' activities. Here are other ideas that popped up:
If anyone wants to spearhead coordinating any of these speak up! Most of them are pretty casual--we can all just get someplace on our own and meet up there.

TRIP TO THE QUIET CORNER IN CHURUBUSCO
JASPER PULASKI TO SEE THE SANDHILL CRANES
LAVENDER HILL FARM
MARY ANN AND BLACKIE'S REDNECK GARDEN PARTY
JF NEW
WELLFIELD BOTANIC GARDEN
LURIE GARDENS WITH BEN
KALAMAZOO--WYETH EXHIBITION (Also River Street Flowerland--my FAVE nursery in the world)
WHO WANTS TO DRIVE A LONG WAY AND GO TO NORTHWIND GARDENS IN WISC.?? ITS WELL WORTH THE TRIP.
B.J. ZOILKOWSKI'S OPEN HOUSE IN JULY
HOSTA SOCIETY BUS TRIP
SUNFLOWER FEST
PIET OUDOLF AT FERNWOOD
BOTANIC BOUTIQUE (May 20-21)

So thats everything! Looks like a busy and fun year!