The main thing we learned at Nancy's was that Elvis lives!  He has taken the form of a burro who likes his head scratched and whose best friends are a group of goats.  Nancy has a beautiful place that is home to many kinds of shade plants, especially hosta, which are grouped into themed beds.  It is so instructive to see mature plants of any kind, and Nancy's place is a wonderful spot to learn a lot about how hosta grow and thrive.  And if you had any questions, she was right there to tell you anything you wanted to know about her "babies".  Another example of how gardeners and their plants become such intimate friends. 
And if you left early, you missed Nancy's "to die for" PIE.  She makes strawberry pie like no one else, and those of us that were left thank you for going away and leaving more for all of us to eat! She has posted the recipe on facebook, so if you don't FB, let me know and I will get you a copy of it.  To make it all the more special, we got to enjoy our PIE inside her home, which is truly a creative work in itself.  From the unique style of her home to the extensive gnome collection and friendly cats, Nancy's house is a welcoming place filled with the beauty of her spirit.  I think I may be the only one who got to see the exquisite quilt hanging in her stairway.  Just another special part of a very special place.  If you missed Nancy's, be sure to give her a call and stop out.  Its well worth the trip. 

Porter County Garden Walk June 30 (Sat) from 9-4 LaPorte time (finally an event that is on Rosie's time!).  Visits 6 gardens--looks like maybe Olga's garden is one of the featured gardens.  go to www.pcgarden.info go get more information.  Tickes in advance are 6.00 or 8.00 at the door.  Walk begins at Hayes-Leonard Elem. school at 653 Hayes Leonard Rd. in valpo.

well--we had a great time last night--rosie's program was terrific and insipring. i am looking at a row in the pasture and thinking. bobbi's place was lovely as always--we saw turtle eggs, lots of birds, and watched little mr. regan tearing around all over the place. kathy had a nice time in FL and michael's trees are leafing out finally after suffering so badly in the cold weather. went inside for bobbi's EPIC shortbread, which is the scottish version of PIE. and yummy bean dip and freeze dried okra for the more adventurous among us. thanks again to rosie for the great program--if you are interested in the idea of square foot gardening, she recommends Mel Bartholomew's book on the subject--titled appropriately "square foot gardening".

More on the Community Garden and mosaic project.

Okay--the community garden idea is currently on hold. Phyllis has run into a lot of snags, and it will take a fair amount of time to sort the whole thing out.
On the mosaic project idea--keep looking for your materials but be aware--if you are planning to use dishes, older, thinner china or ceramic is a lot easier to work with than very heavy ironstone or pottery type plates. And some ceramic may not hold up well outdoors. You can always use tile--the decorative glass or vitreous or even tumbled marble tile will work. The glass tile is easy to cut, the stone tiles not so much. Lowes had a couple of styles of glass tile on clearance, and menards sometimes does too. A square foot piece of mosaic glass tile will run you anywhere from 5 bucks on up, depending. For a birdhouse, two squares should do it, unless you are working on some really big house. If you get multi colored tile squares you can recombine the tiles to make a pattern other than the one laid out on the mesh backing (you just peel the tiles off--its tedious, but not difficult).

BIG doings!

Hey folks--I was just talking to Phyllis--the owner of Walkerton's terrific kitchen store (if you haven't been there you should go soon!) and she approached me with an idea. She is getting ready to host her big anniversary event in early June and is trying to decide on a community project to launch or sponsor along with it. Someone suggested a community garden to her. She asked me if I would like to be involved, and if the garden club would like to be involved as well. I am not sure what form of garden she envisions--something that would complement her business--so I am guessing some sort of potager--an ornamental/herb/produce type deal. I need input from people as to whether you would want to be a part of this or not. I think its a really nice idea, and might be a good way for us to do an enjoyable community project. It would probably involve a few work days each year, and beyond that I don't know. Anyway--let me know what you all think. FL

Marianne's brainwave

hi folks--marianne called me with a brainwave--we frequently have mass brainwaves together and this was her latest. i think its a wonderful idea. she was looking online at a seed catalog that had a ton of really neat recipes using garden produce. this is totally up marianne's alley, so she decided she wants to do a dinner party and try these recipes out. so here is what we came up with--for our september meeting, we will do a garden harvest dinner. not sure of the place yet--probably either at our house or mariannes. we will set up big tables and eat outside. all of the food MUST contain something you grew in your garden. marianne wants to try a lot of these recipes, so she will do the bulk of the food, but please plan to contribute one dish of your own. if you absolutely can't think of anything--bring something to drink or something to decorate the table. marianne has volunteered to uncork some of her homemade wine as well, so we can all have a taste. i think this is a wonderful idea, and very much a product of her personality. and send me the recipe for your contribution ahead of time, so i can put them all in a word doc and pass them out. sound like fun? input or ideas on this topic, let me know! fearless

Lots of stuff--Garden club stuff

Okay--Garden club announcement--we will collect dues next month. 20 bucks. This keeps our fiscal year consistent.

Be thinking about a community project you would like to be involved in. We need to come up with a list of possibilites so we can discuss them.

I will get in touch with my friend Susan in IL and find out particulars of the Open Gardens program for this year.

Rosie wants to do an outing in May--not necessarily for the meeting--just a field trip. Any suggestions? I put forth the Quiet Corner and Calendar Garden. I think the Gibson woods native plant sale is in May too. Any body else have a brain wave? I am thinking we can go to Nancy's in June for our meeting, and have a field trip to the Lavender farm maybe in July or late June--whenever the gardens would be at their best. Open Gardens is in August--and this might even be an overnighter and we could go to the Flower Factory and Northwind Gardens too.

Thats all the club stuff for now.

Well that was fun!

Hi folks--what a FUN night. A huge thank you to Cindy for hauling all her stuff and showing us all her examples and helping us individually with our creations. Those of you on FB, be sure to post pics in the dirty hands section so we can see everyones finished pieces.
Okay--we have a lot to discuss. Since we are now beginning again and want a much less structured format--I am not sure how to proceed. Tonight I didn't do anything in the way of a meeting because I didn't know if you wanted to. We should have been a little more structured for Cindy so she could have taught us in a little more organized of a way--she went to a lot of trouble and I know we all benefitted from her knowledge and help, but it would have been easier for her if we had started with a little more of a class like thing. In the end we all made some really neat stuff, so it worked out fine, but Cindy, if you felt a little scattered that is my fault and I am sorry for that. And thanks to Sue for suggesting the project--it made for a really fun night, plus some great shopping adventures beforehand. Buscia, I am so glad to have seen you--and my sympathies for your Cee Cee.
Bobbi and Dave brought little Mr. Reagan, and he is the cutest little bug in the entire world. Rosie brought homemade eclairs, which were the best dessert in the entire world, so all in all, it was an EPIC night! And we had a new set of Dirty Hands in the person of Nancy Beadles, whose gardens we must all tour later on--maybe that can be our May or June meeting. Thanks so much for coming Nancy--we hope you continue to join in our adventures.
Now--to more official type stuff. When we voted, it was unanimously decided we still wanted to collect dues. Does that still go? If so, when do we want to pay them.
Do you want to have any kind of a meeting at all? If not, how do you want to communicate information. I can do it here and send emails out if that's how you want to do it.
Do we want to formalize a set of "topics" for our meetings or just fly by the seats of our collective pants and decide on what we will do next at each meeting?
Do we want to do any kind of charitable or community endeavor? I know Cindy is interested in this. How about anyone else?
I think that's enough to consider for right now. Think about these subjects and let me know your feelings--either by phone, email, write me on facebook, whatever. If I am still supposed to be in charge of this gig, I need to know what that means. Or if I don't need to be in charge, thats fine too--but then we need to decide how to make the organization hold together. Personally I don't know how to do the "Occupy Wall St." model where no one is in charge, but if that's what you all want, we can give it a shot.
So on to next month--the seat of the pants brigade in the driveway decided that our next meeting will be devoted to mosaic. The style of mosaic using broken plates is called "pique assiette". If you have the time and inclination you can google for this term and learn some more about it. As far as what to mosaic--that is up to you--so be thinking and looking. Ideas for good substrates-terra cotta pots, wooden birdhouses, wooden plaques are all good choices. Sue wants to do a birdbath, which is also certainly do-able. Probably what we will have to do is give you a "starter" session, and you will have to finish your project on your own. maybe then we can bring the finished pieces back and all have a grout party the following month or something. I will post a list of stuff you will need later, but for now, start looking for your substrate and keep your eyes peeled for pretty old dishes (cracked or chipped is fine) old jewelry, keys, figurines, glass beads or the flattened glass drops like we used tonight, slate or stone tile, beach glass, thin glass tile (1/8" thick) ceramic tile (this is often thicker than most dishes, so try to find thinner tile) really anything that can be glued to a surface that will hold up outside if you will be making a garden object. slate or stone tile should be small tile--we don't want to mess with the wet saw. More on what you will need later. Remember that a flat surface will be vastly easier to work on than a curved one, but if you want to do a curved surface you will need smaller tesserae (the fancy word for the tiles and stuff) to make the curves. You will also need a glue that sets up really fast, or tile mastic.
Well that's enough for now. Plenty to think about. Please give the "clubby" issues some thought and let me know what your feelings are. I know we have discussed this stuff before, but it's time to put things into practice, and at least for me I need to revisit the ideas. I will need help transitioning from the more formal approach.
Thanks also to Maggie and Marianne for contributing two lovely door prizes for the convention. I am going to contribute at least one of my glass garden structures if they turn out okay, so I think that leaves us with 3 door prizes left to go. Sue I think you were planning to make a bird feeder--is that right? One of the teacup feeders? And don't forget to scrounge together a few nice garage sale items for their ways and means. Although we are no longer members, I told the district director that we would still contribute what had been agreed to when we WERE members, so please help me live up to that commitment. More on this later too.
Well--that's all for now--thanks for such a terrific time everyone! FL

Neat thing for timing vegetable plantings

Hi everyone--Sarah Stewart from Unity Gardens shared this on my FB page--its neat. You input your zip code and it generates a calender to help you know when to start vegetable seeds. Nice app and free!
http://sproutrobot.com/

Some fun stuff--Gardens on the Prairies 2012 Calender

LOTS of fun stuff this coming year at Gardens on the Prairie--follow this link to their calendar--if you think I am going to type all this stuff out--FORGET IT. Look these things over and see if there is something we might all like to go to as a group. GOTP is a very worthwhile trip to take. About 45 min. or so from our house. Not hard to find.

http://www.gardensontheprairie.com/calendar.aspx

New PUTER, NEXT MEETING

Hi all--Just wanted to fly in and tell you we have a new COMPUTER!!!!! the old fossil is set aside waiting to have its hard drive wiped clean so it can go live with marianne. In the meantime--please bear with me as I learn all the new fangled improved ways of this machine.

Okay--on the meeting front--I am looking at early March--the 6 and 7 are tues and wed. the second tues and wed. are the 13 and 14. was thinking about 7 or 7:30. i haven't talked to shirley yet, but we will probably meet at her place, or we can meet here and work in our newly cleaned up basement. we will be making our garden "glows" with cindy's help and direction. She is an experienced Garden Glow Practicioner. If you have any old glassware--like candlesticks and things, bring them along to use. But Marianne and Cindy have been powershopping at Goodwill and should have plenty of materials. Cindy did tell me that things that are FLAT on the bottom work the best. Sue posted info on the FB page if you need to go look and see what they look like. Or i'ts here http://www.gardensandcrafts.com/totems.html. These will comprise some of our contributions to the convention for door prizes etc.
Guess that's all for now--see you all soon! Please email me if you have any input about the next meeting date--if there is a day you absolutely can NOT come, so we can work around it. HTTD!
franeychris@yahoo.com

EVENT FROM SUE

Hi everyone--check out this link to a great Proven Winners Event in April. Its on the calender too.
Thanks to Sue for sending this along. FL

http://www.provenwinners.com/learn/outdoor-living-extravaganza?utm_source=pas_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=pas_2012-01-30

FUN STUFF FOR MARCH!!!! ANYBODY WANT TO GO???

Think Spring and RSF March Workshops!

Animal Topiary Workshop

Saturday, March 3 or March 10, 2012 at 10 am or 1:30 pm
Learn how to plant an animal topiary or replant your animal!
Bring your needle nose pliers and we'll have the rest of the supplies. Your animal will go to camp here at RSF where he will be well cared for. When you pick him up in early May, you'll be amazed at how much she has grown!
Workshop & Camp fee is $20 plus the cost of the animal & plant material. New animals start at $36 and plants start at $1.15. Average small Turtle or frog planted with camp cost is $60. Average replant for small turtle or frog and camp cost is $33. See our online store on the website for photos and prices of unplanted animals.

Moss Basket Workshop

Saturday, March 17, 2012 at 10 am or 1 pm
Select from many styles of baskets and plant up your own colorful combination. Your creation will go to camp at RSF where it will grow into an amazing mass of color!. When you pick it up in early May, you'll be surprised at how full and colorful your basket is - and you made it!
Workshop & Camp fee is $20 plus the cost of the basket & plant material. Average new 14" moss basket planted with camp cost is $60-70.
Come plant with us, have fun, and we'll clean up!

Animals and baskets can be picked up anytime before Tuesday, May 15, 2012

To register, go to the online store and purchase workshop ticket. Date and times are described on the more details page. Only registration fee will be charged at check out at the online store at this time, plant and animal costs will be charged on day of workshop.

A craft idea from Sue

Hi folks--Sue forwarded this link to me with the idea that we could make them for part of our contribution to the Convention. In fact we have a member--Cindy--who is well versed in the ways of these lovely little objects--she calls them "Garden Glows". Click on the link to get a look at them--and let me know what you think. We will have to begin scouting around for glass pieces to use in the making of them--and salvaging around for copper or galvanized pipe. i have some of each. There is a specific kind of glue you need--Cindy knows what it is, and there is a cure time for the glued pieces, so if we wanted to do this, mid March would be the time.
Give me some feedback on this idea folks!! Sounds like fun to me. FL

http://www.gardensandcrafts.com/totems.html

How to find the calender

I thought i posted this already--but apparently--NOT. Okay--to view the calender, click on the link to the left that says "Calendar of events". This will connect you to a link with google calendar. The calendar isn't perfect--you will see sort of a shrunken version of it. But you can see enough to discern days that have something happening on them--events are in blue. Click on the event and the entire entry will pop up for that event. Some days have multiple events--just click on each one to see it. Let me know if this isn't clear. Doin' the best I can here. FL

More upcoming garden fun!

Okay guys--i just got the card about the Valpo Garden show. This is a very worthwhile event--and hopefully the weather will be good. It will be Saturday Jan 21 from 8-4 (9-5 our time) at the Porter County Fairgrounds. Admission is 10.00 and its well worth it. They always have interesting speakers and the presentations are free. They serve lunch there--or you can bug out and go to Noodles and Co. (YUMMMY) or there is a Red Robin, a Chili's and and authentic Spanish place (Don Quixote) downtown. Other places too. We will most likely go--and can take up to 6 more people in the hair mobile if you want to ride along. All you have to do is get here and we will handle the rest. Let me know if you want to ride with us.
Check out www.pcgarden.info to learn more.
COME ON SPRING!!!!! Fearless

UPCOMING EVENT

hi everyone--i just got this invite from the michiana master gardeners:
"13th Annual SeminarThe Well Designed Mixed Garden presented by Tracy DiSabato Aust--America's most entertaining and knowledgable garden writer and professional speaker
Saturday March 10 2-4:30 at Greencroft Community Center in Goshen

Tickets 10.00 presale and 12.00 at the door.

To preregister make checks payable to Michiana Master Gardener's Assn. and sent to
MMGA, Purdue Extension--Elkhart County
17746 E. CR 34
Goshen IN 46528
Free goodie bag to first 120 attendees"Anybody want to go?