Bloomin’ T Timesrakeandhoe.org/eBT.apr2014.pdf · 2014. 6. 6. · Bloomin’ Times -- April 2014...
Transcript of Bloomin’ T Timesrakeandhoe.org/eBT.apr2014.pdf · 2014. 6. 6. · Bloomin’ Times -- April 2014...
Bloomin’ Times -- April 2014 -- 1
Upcoming Activities . . .
Community Projects & Service
4/7 Spring cleanup at Shadowlawn
4/11 Spring cleanup at Miller-Cory
4/17 Spring cleanup at Train Station
4/23 Trip to Rutgers Gardens
5/7 Mini-arrangements for Mobile Meals
5/9 Spring cleanup at Claire Brownell
5/15 Spring cleanup at Shdowlawn
5/30 Lyons flower service.
Juniors
4/16 “Playing with the Butterflies”,
at Beth S’s
Meetings
4/9 General Meeting at the ‘Y’
5/2 Board Meeting at Kris L.’s
5/14 General Meeting at the ‘Y’
Trips & Tours
4/23 Horticulture trip to Rutgers Gardens.
5/16 Miller-Cory House Tour for R&H
members
5/28 Secret Garden Tour
Workshops
5/7 Flower Design for Novices, at
Barbara M’s
5/21 Spring Plant Exchange & a ‘Gardening
Vignette’ at Inge B’s. (5/22 rain date).
More To Do (more details inside . . .)
4/13 “Afternoon in Newark”, Tour
arranged by GCW
4/15-17 Landscape Design School
at Holly House. Exam on 4/18.
5/7 1924 Tea at Liberty Hall celebrating
the Elizabeth GC 90th Anniversary.
6/4 Trip to Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn
& Staten Island by the GCW
6/9 Garden Tour & Greenwood Gardens by
Short Hills GC
www.rakeandhoe.org Member of the Garden Club of NJ and National Garden Clubs, Inc
april 2014
Bloomin ’ T T imes
March Program
“All You Ever Wanted to Know About Chocolate”
Prof. Thomas Gianfagna from Rutgers University gave a
wonderful presentation on the origin and propagation of
the cocoa tree. We learned about it’s delicate nature, the
unusual way it is fertilized and bears fruit
(on the stem), and post-harvest processing
to produce the chocolate we all know and
love!
April Program
“Are You A Tree-Hugger?” For this month’s program, we are reaching into the talents
and expertise present in our own club! Master Tree
Stewards will educate & entertain us about trees. You’ll
learn things you never knew about trees, things made from
trees, and even a game of ‘Tree Jeopardy’!
Thoughts of Spring. . . . And Branch Brook Park
Condensed & adapted from NYT, 3/25/14 (D. Hammond)
Blossoming cherry trees are like giant, pink pompoms of spring. With every breeze they seem to cheer the arrival of warm weather, . coaxing it to triumph over the chill of winter once and for all. Most people associate orna- mental cherry trees with Washington, D.C., But an even better association is Essex County Branch Brook Park in Newark. More than 4,500 trees turn the park pink, topping D.C.'s count by several hundred. This collection ranks as the world's largest and most diverse display in a single location. Branch Brook Park sprawls across 360 acres and was largely conceived by Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect who designed Central Park in New York. Work began in 1895 (making it the first county park in the country), but Branch Brook didn't start blushing in springtime until 1927 when philanthropist Caroline Bamberger Fuld gave an initial 2,000 cherry trees to the park. Aside from cherry trees, Branch Brook Park distinguishes itself with meandering water features, unique bridges and architectural gems such as the park administration building, which dates back to 1916. Both building and park are listed on The National Register of Historic Places. www.essexcountynj.org/jestival contains a full festival schedule as well as a blossom-watch webcam.
- submitted by Pam K.
Bloomin’ Times -- April 2014 -- 2
Committee News . . . .
Birds . . . .
The De Korte Park Meadowlands
walking bird tour scheduled for May
12th, has been postponed until
September 16th. More information to
follow.
The Bird Count is due at the May
general meeting. We hope that many
are participating - keep counting!
Photo Contest/Exhibit - Pls. bring 2
or 3 of your best photos for display
and brief review to the April & May
meetings [note schedule change due to
cancellation of the last meeting]. Photos
should be of elements in your garden
(any season), e.g. birds, wildlife,
flowers, leaves, plants/trees and
landscape. Photos will be included in
the June competition. They should not
exceed 8X10” and preferably be
mounted on a white 11x14” frame;
some will be available at cost at the
April meeting or contact Inge B. Any
questions? Pls. call Inge or Linda P.
Flower Arranging & Design . . .
Come to a design workshop for novices
or those wishing a refresher! Presented
by Barbara M. at her home on Wednes-
day, May 7th at 10:30am. There will be a
sign up sheet at the upcoming general
meeting. Cost for the workshop is $15
and covers all materials. Bring your own
scissors.
Space is limited, so sign up right away.
This is the different teaching technique
used in a similar workshop in Fall of 2012.
Barbara will show how each step is done
and the student will do each step along
with her until a design is completed.
An angle design will be demonstrated. A-
fter the design is completed, Barbara will
show how
this can be
converted
into a
Triangle
design.
Awards . . .
Congratulation to
Marylyn Straight, winner
of the Judy Kampe
competition last month!
For the Nancy Wallace
competition at the May
meeting, design criteria are as follows:
At least 3 rooted herb plants in a
container up to 10” in diameter.
Additional fresh plant material may be
used. There is no limit on length of
time plants have grown together.
There is no height restriction
requirement. Containers will be
displayed on a table covered with
green tablecloth.
Please bring your design entry before
12:30pm to be set up. - Erica Fried
Communications . . .
Rake & Hoe has joined the social net-
work! We now have our own FaceBook
page, which is currently under construc-
tion. Please take a peek and ‘like’ our
new page on Facebook: https://
www.facebook.com/rakeandhoe ! Also
share it with your friends and ask them to
‘like’ it! Thank you!
-Jeanne Ryan
Community Gardens . . .
Finally! Spring has arrived! And with it, it’s
time to spruce up our
community gardens.
Please look at the
‘Upcoming Activities’ col-
umn, pg. 1 to see the
cleanup schedules. Thanks
for your help!
Horticulture. . .
Please join us on a trip to The Rutgers
Display Gardens scheduled for
Wednesday, April 23; rain date is on
Friday, 4/25. We will be given a tour by
the Director of
the Gardens,
Bruce Craw-
ford. Our walk
through the Gar-
dens will include
learning some of
their history and
how they evolved
over the years. If
we’re lucky, there
will already be some rhododendron in
bloom! Wear comfortable shoes and
dress for the weather.
Sign up is at the April general meet-
ing. The cost of the tour is $10 (pls
make check out to Margot Partridge);
our tour fee goes toward the upkeep
and development of the Gardens. We
will meet at Lee Perry's house at
9:30am for carpooling. Lunch will be a
local Greek Restaurant after the tour.
Questions ? Contact Margot or Inge
Get ready for the Annual Spring
Plant Exchange! Scheduled for
Wednesday, May
21 at 10am at Inge
B.’s house. Put
aside divided plants
in containers and
bring them to share
with your fellow
gardening friends -
pls. remember to label! Weather per-
mitting, bring a sandwich, enjoy the
garden, and catch up on your garden
news with fellow R&H’ers. Drinks will
be provided.
For those interested, we will also have
a mini-workshop about pollinator-
friendly plants for your garden!
- Margot P.
Bloomin’ Times -- April 2014 -- 3
More Committee News & Announcements . . . .
Deck the Halls
“Pinterest”
Now that groups are starting to meet,
check out ‘Pinterest ‘online as a way to
find ideas and to share them. You'll
find fabulous pictures of all types of
holiday designs.
Here's how to get started:
1. Go to Pinterest.com and click "Join
Pinterest".
2. Choose how you want to sign up--
either with your email address or
through Facebook.
3. Just follow the prompts for entering
username, email address and password.
Then click "Create Account".
4. Once you're in, use the search box
to search for categories like
"Christmas natural designs". You can
also find the Rake and Hoe boards set
up by Beth S. and Diane G. by using
their email addresses.
It takes some experimenting but it's a
lot of fun and has loads of ideas you
won't see in magazines.
- Beth S. & Pat W.
Membership. . .
Pls. welcome our new members and
update your directory!
Paula Long
908-654-1874 cell 908-451-0231
Email [email protected]
2 Floral Court, Westfield
Cathy Becker
908-756-2822 cell 908-377-2237
Email [email protected]
1056 Oak Lane, Plainfield
Juniors . . .
Juniors had a banner GCNJ Flower
Show, winning numerous ribbons and
sweeping 5 of the 9 top Youth Awards
for the entire show. [pls visit the R&H
photo gallery, this issue].
Following the motto, "you have to be in
it to win it," they submitted a total of 30
entries across Flower Design, Artistic
Crafts and Horticulture categories. A
group effort also put together an
educational display. The Juniors
Committee received huge support from
our club members who prepared
materials and assisted the girls as they
worked on their designs.
-Beth S.
Juniors . . .
The Juniors celebrated their flower
show awards at the March meeting.
Then Clare M. made tree huggers of
them all in a fun interactive program
good for all ages.
The girls will be back at Miller-Cory in
April for Spring clean-up. They will also
start parsley seeds for transplanting to
the Shadowlawn butterfly garden in
May. Parsley is a host plant for the cat-
erpillar stage of many butterflies and
including it in the garden is a way to
promote pollinators in New Jersey.
- Beth S.
Publicity . . .
Memorabilia and related items are need-
ed for the June display at the Westfield
Library. Jeanie P. will be collecting
these items at the April and May meet-
ings.
Items should be related to the activities
of the Rake & Hoe Garden Club, e.g.
community projects such as flower ar-
rangments for Mobile Meals, flower
service and Holiday bags for Lyons Hos-
pital, ornaments for Jardine Academy,;
also Juniors’ activities, Deck the Halls
(past and upcoming), and work at the
community gardens. Please include a
brief description of the item(s) you are
lending for the display.
All items will be returned to each mem-
ber. Items will be displayed in a glass
cabinet at the Westfield Library, from
June 2 -30.
Any questions? Contact Jeanie
Secret Garden Tour
Mark You Calendars! The annual
R&HGC Garden
Tour is coming
soon - on
Wednesday, May
28th at 9:00 am.
If you are planning
to attend this fun-filled Club event, please
bring a CHECK ONLY for $10.00 made
out to Carole Smillie to the next meet-
ing.
R&HGC Annual Luncheon
Please sign up for our annual luncheon,
June 11th at Echo Lake Country Club.
Cost is $30. (cash or check), to Adah L.
GCNJ Courses
Landscape Design School, Course II, Series
XVII, is scheduled for April 15-18.
See The Newsleaf for more details.
GCNJ Annual Luncheon
Pat W. will collect checks & registra-
tion forms for the GCNJ Annual Meet-
ing and Luncheon, Thursday, June 5th,
9:15am at the Bridgewater Marriott.
This year’s theme is, "Bee-You-Tify
Your Garden".
Cost is $48. (checks ONLY, made out
to GCNJ). Deadline for registration is
May 19; forms will be available at our
April meeting or online.
Bloomin’ Times -- April 2014 -- 4
GCNJ Courses
Landscape Design School, Course II,
Series XVII, is scheduled for April 15-
18.
See The Newsleaf for more details.
Announcements & More . . . .
News from
Hetfield House
On Sunday, May 4th the Historic
Committee of Hetfield House (& Levi
Cory House) will host a fundraiser “My
Doll and Me” tea between 1-4pm. Doll
expert Jonathan Green is the speaker
and he brings his vintage doll collection
that includes antique and German dolls.
Mr. Green will appraise dolls at the tea
and speak about the American Girl doll.
A silent auction will include a doll
donated by Mr. Green and a wood doll
house that has been refurbished by
Mary Brader. Young and old are
welcomed to this event, and are
encouraged to bring a special doll in
keeping with the theme. For your
garden, we will also have our annual
geranium sale outside. All donations will
go to the restoration of the Levi Cory
House.
Please save the date! June 7 is our
first ever fundraiser tour of
Mountainside gardens! The garden tour
includes a boutique, art show, and herb
pots for sale; many items will be
supplied by R&H members. A Mardi
Gras themed dinner will follow the tour.
More information follows in the May
newsletter, or contact Alice C.
R&H Cookbook,
“Well-Seasoned”
Need a gift?
. . . a good recipe?
R&H Cookbooks
are still available!
Contact Karen J-G.
This month, we sadly lost a friend & fellow
R&H’er, Letty Hudak. Below is the recipe of
one of her favorite dishes that she shared
with many of us.
Letty’s Coronado Salad Ring
Ingredients
1 pkg. lime Jello (four serving size)
1 pkg. lemon Jello
2 c. hot water
10 oz. small curd cottage cheese
1 can crushed pineapple, drained
2 2/3 c. chopped walnuts
1 c. heavy cream, not whipped
1 c. mayonnaise
1 Tbs. horseradish
Directions
Dissolve both Jello’s in hot water. Add
remaining ingredients in the order giv-
en. Place in ring mold and refrigerate
until firm. When ready to serve, un-
mold onto a platter and fill center with
fresh strawberries. Serves 8, needs no
dressing. - Inge B.
Thanks to the photogra-
phers who contributed to
this issue of the Bloomin’
Times:
Jeanie & Richard P. ,
Anna Daurio & Elise
Morano.
The R&H Photo Gallery
can be viewed online or in your e-mail. - Inge B.
LJB PROGRAM
Plant Sale at the LEONARD J. BUCK
GARDEN in Far Hills, Saturday 4/26
from 10am to 5pm; Sunday 4/27, Noon
to 5pm. Featuring perennials, ferns and
woody plants.
Garden Lectures on, “Creating a
Winter Garden” Saturday 4/26 at 1pm,
and “Native Plants vs. Invasives” on
Sunday.
Guided Tours of Buck Garden begin at
2pm.
Program sponsors:
www.somersetcountyparks.org and
the Watnong Chapter of the North
American Rock Garden.
SHORT HILLS GARDEN TOUR
8 private gardens and Greenwood Gardens
Monday, June 9th. Tickets $30 if preordered by June 1; $40 after. Purchase at
Gero Park parking lot, 315 White Oak Ridge Rd. Short Hills (tickets picked up or
bought on the day)
checks payable to Short Hills Home Garden Club
mail to: Mrs. Sharon Riva
393 Wyoming Avenue
Millburn, NJ 07041
Lunch at the Carriage House Bistro and Bar at Paper Mill Playhouse. Prix fixe $25.
Reservations required. Call 973-609-2429 by May 31.
more info www.shorthillsgardentour.com or call 1-973-761-7263
Bloomin’ Times -- April 2014 -- 5
Community Projects . . .
Mini-Designs for Mobile Meals
On May 1st, we made adorable ar-
rangements in cat food cans and deter-
gent bottle tops for the trays for Mo-
bile Meals. Pat W. did a great or-
ganizing job and eleven members had a
wonderful time making 63 arrange-
ments. Thanks to all who participated!
We hope to make moss terrariums for
the classrooms at Jardine. Information
will be forthcoming.
- Kris L.. (Find more pictures in R&H Photo Gallery, this issue)
More Announcements. . . .
Bloomin’ Times -- April 2014 -- 6
Community Projects . . .
Mini-Designs for Mobile Meals
On May 1st, we made adorable ar-
rangements in cat food cans and deter-
gent bottle tops for the trays for Mo-
bile Meals. Pat W. did a great or-
ganizing job and eleven members had a
wonderful time making 63 arrange-
ments. Thanks to all who participated!
We hope to make moss terrariums for
the classrooms at Jardine. Information
will be forthcoming.
- Kris L.. (Find more pictures in R&H Photo Gallery, this issue)
Features. . . .
Bits ‘n Pieces
Many of you have noticed that some robins are year-round visitors,
while others head south for the winter. Why?
Food availability is probably the major
factor influencing the number of American
robins that overwinter in an area, says
Steve Kelling, a developer of BirdSource,
joint project of the Cornell Lab of
Ornithology and the National Audubon
Society. Heavy snow and ice may also play
an important role, limiting the fruits and berries that the
robins depend on during winter and early spring.
For example, a comparison of maps of snow-covered areas in January and February 1999 with maps showing the reports of robins during the Great Backyard Bird Count of Feb. 19-22, 1999, clearly showed a sharp decrease in reports in areas where there was snow cover. A similar comparison for the western Great Lakes region found only three reports of robins in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan where snow cover exceeded five inches, while some areas with less cover had many more robins, even flocks of up to 1,200. Interestingly, in metropolitan areas like
Minneapolis-St. Paul and Detroit, many robins did overwinter
that year, because ornamental fruit trees like hawthorns and
mountain ash provided a generous food supply.
-Adapted from C. CLAIBORNE RAY , NYT 3/25/14
April Tips for the Garden Finally! Spring may actually arrive in April - the tips of daffo-
dils and even some perennials like daylilies are beginning to
appear in our gardens.
Now is the time to start cleaning up your flower beds, clear-
ing away decayed foliage and stems from last year. For ex-
ample, the browned leaves of hellebores should be cut away
to create room for new green growth. It seems as though
winter and snow came much too early last fall, even before a
final fall clean up of dead foliage and leaves. It’s now time to
finishing the job to allow the new growth to push through.
When we have some pleasant days, go out with your gloves
and tools and start clearing. As you do, if you see any early
weeds, pull them out before they become large and en-
trenched.
When the soil dries out a little more you may want to pre-
pare the bed by working compost or manure into the soil,
especially if you will be putting in new plants. Mulching will
help to prevent new weeds from starting, and keep soil from
drying when summer comes.
Walk around all of your shrubs and check them for damage;
many plants suffered during this past severe winter. Prune
away brown growth and see if the warmth of spring brings
out enough new growth to revive the shrubs, otherwise you
may need to replace them, usually no later than May before
the summer heat begins.
And of course, now is the time to plan
which new plants you want to put in
and where to obtain them. For immedi-
ate impact you can purchase pansies to
put in outdoor containers and enjoy this
very colorful harbinger of flowers to
come.
- Karen J-G
. . . ‘for the Birds! Horticulture Tips
“Insightful Sprouts”
Gardening is a matter of your enthusiasm
holding up until your back gets used to it.
~Author Unknown
Eagle Cam for “Eagle Eyes”
Visit the Duke Farms website to watch a nesting pair of bald
eagles hatch, then raise their family of 3 eaglets
www.dukefarms.org/en/Stewardship/WildlifeCams/eagle-cam/