2015 August-October Newsletter

Member Garden Clubs & Plant
Societies:
ABQ Urban Homesteaders
Brad Weikel, 819-3447
Albuquerque African Violet Club
Sharon Shannon, 865-0171
Albuquerque Area Master
Gardeners
Dorothy Duff, 281-5165
Albuquerque Aril and Iris Society
Helen Crotty, 281-2136
Albuquerque Daylily Society
Margo Murdock, 822-9410
Albuquerque Rose Society
Bill Farmer, 823-9818
BCEMCA
John Zarola, 929-0414
Cactus and Succulent Society of
New Mexico
Richard Reif, 867-2399
High Desert Designers
Shirley Tetreault, 294-4331
Ikebana International
Peggy Atencio, 856-1326
NM Dahlia Society
Jim Lohkamp, 821-5757
New Mexico Floral Artists
Debi Harrington, 296-8208
NM Orchid Guild
Keith Mead, 898-0975
Petal Pushers Garden Club
Carol Stomp 298-3824
Uptown Garden Club
Debra Sorrell, 615-8564
Valley Gardeners
Mary Ann Moreno, 266-8498
Xeric Garden Club of Albuquerque
Beth Herschman, 450-2078
Affiliates:
New Mexico Garden Clubs, Inc.
NMGC, Inc. Judges' Council
District I NMGC, Inc.
District I NMGC, Inc. Judges
Council
Associates:
NM Native Plant Society
George Miller, 352-9019
Rio Grande Botanic Garden
Catherine Hubbard, 848-7181
August-October, 2015 Newsletter
President’s Message:
Mid-Summer Greetings to All!
It's mid-summer and by now you are probably reaping bountiful blossoms, vegetables and
fruits from your gardens. I love this time of year!
Since our Spring Issue of the newsletter, our many Council Clubs have been busy staging
Cactus/Succulent, African Violet, Iris/Aril, Rose, and Daylily Shows and Sales. All of these were
magnificent! Not only do these shows bring in new members and much needed income to the
clubs, but they help educate our community. In the past few months, together we have held our
annual Garden Fair Plant Sale, graduated another class of Master Gardeners, staged our Annual
Garden Tour, introduced our new Friends' of the Albuquerque Garden Center, completed a class
of Flower Show Judges' School, provided educational Gardening U courses, staged Floral Design
classes and workshops, manned the Master Gardener Hotlines, held a Children's Sunflower
Camp, and enjoyed fellowship at our many meetings. We have remodeled and made great
changes in our Garden Shop and in our Library. And, our gardens look the best in years thanks to
those who volunteer and do more than their part to maintain them.
In addition to our dedicated volunteers, there are three wonderful paid employees that we could
not mange without and we never thank enough! Laurie Rivera does a wonderful job managing
our office and showcasing our facility for rentals. Her smiling face and pleasant personality is
often the first contact with both members and the public. Thelma Escalante is our hard working
and talented gardener who does a magnificent job keeping up with gardening chores. However,
she does much more around our facility than gardening and always with a smile. Keith Mead is
doing a great job as our custodian and always has things clean and ready for our Council/Club
event even if it immediately follows a rental event. He also is quite handy at keeping our facility
maintained. All three of these employees are very humble and represent our organization well.
THANK YOU - Laurie, Thelma and Keith!
In the coming months, we will hold our very popular Tomato Fiesta, State Fair Flower
Shows, a Dahlia Show, the annual Harvest Fair and Garden Market, Holiday Fair, and more
Gardening U classes and workshops. It takes hundreds of volunteers to put on all of these great
events and I am so grateful to the hundreds of volunteers who put in thousands of hours! You are
all so committed and always willing to step up to the tasks. THANK YOU!
In October, we will elect Council Officers for 2016. We are currently in need of a 2nd VicePresidential Candidate. If you would be interested and willing to serve Council in this capacity
in 2016, please give Laurie Rivera a call at our office and she will pass your name on to the
hardworking Nominating Committee. If you know of someone whom would be suited to this
position, please talk to them and pass their name on to us!
This has been a wonderful year so far, one with many changes, but I feel we have accomplished
much together. Look for more changes in the future as we move forward to grow our
organization. Come join us in our meetings and let us hear your concerns and your ideas! You
may also give me a call.
Blessings, Debi Harrington
505.206.0930
www.AlbuquerqueGardenCenter.org (505) 296-6020
10120 Lomas Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM 87112
The Council of Albuquerque Garden Clubs is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
Council News:
ALBUQUERQUE GARDEN CENTER
GARDENING UNIVERSITY aka "Gardening‘U’ "
__ August 17 - “Delightful Dahlias” - These tubers have quite
a history and 16 types of blooms! They are contagious!
__ September 21 - “Cornhusk Wreaths 3 Ways” - maybe more,
in this fun and easy Workshop. These make perfect Fall Décor!
- $20 materials fee
__ October 19 - “Bulbs, Bulbs, and More Bulbs” - in the garden
and layered in ‘Bulb Lasagne’ Containers!
*Each Class/Workshop/Nature Walk costs $10 each or less,
plus any materials fees that are listed. Classes will meet from
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. at the Albuquerque Garden Center unless
otherwise noted. Please check our website for additional
daytime courses not listed: AlbquerqueGardenCenter.org.
Garden Shop, Open 9:30-2:30 Monday-Friday
Open Shop and Bulb Fest, Friday September 4
from 10 am to 2 pm. We have been making lots of changes to
the garden shop recently and we want to show them off! So to
celebrate, we’re hosting a special event called Open Shop and
Bulb Fest. We’ll have music, refreshments, and loads of bulbs
for fall planting. There will be a door prize every hour, and lots
of specially priced items. You’ll be amazed at the selection of
bulbs we’ll have, interesting new varieties of daffodils, tulips,
crocuses, hyacinths, and
alliums – wait until you see
them.
During August we’ll have
seeds for fall planting, tools to
plant with, and soil
amendments to add. We’ll
repeat the Margo’s Mistakes
sales – come see what I bought
that hasn’t sold. It’s the
Friday before Tomato Fiesta
(August 23) and the day of
Tomato Fiesta. We’ll also be open for our annual Harvest Fair
and Market Garden from 9 am to 4 pm. By October we should
have our new chip reader for credit cards installed and maybe
even have ApplePay available. Keep checking back with us to
see what other changes we’re making.
Margo Murdock and Debbie Spencer, Shop Managers
Club News:
Uptown Garden Club
Uptown Garden Club would love to invite visitors and
potential new members to our meetings. We meet the 3rd
Wednesday of the month at the Garden Center from 10:00-11:30
(ish), depending on how much fun we're having! There are a
few exceptions to that schedule during the year, but if you come
join us regularly, you'll always know what's next!
Our theme this year will be "A Garden With Wings" as we
focus on pollinators, a new garden design and letting friendships
take wings within our club. On August 19th we will have an
amazing presentation on monarch butterflies by the Wings of
Enchantment Butterfly Farm. These incredible butterfly
"farmers" will share with us the importance of planting for
butterflies and what these beautiful creatures are looking for
when they come to your garden. September we do not meet
because everyone is extremely busy with the State Fair. Uptown
has many great horticulturists and designers so look for
their entries at each of the flower shows. October will be the
beginning of our new theme and our new yearbook. We are
planning a hands-on wreath making workshop for the meeting
on October 21st. These workshops are always fun, provide lots
of laughs and camaraderie AND you get to leave with
something wonderful that will have your favorite pollinator
"doodad" (an official, technical term) attached! What more can
you ask for? We are serious gardeners, growers and designers
who meet together to share ideas, encouragement and our love
for all things "garden club"! If that sounds like something
you'd like to find out more about, please come to our next
meeting. Or call Debra Sorrell at 615-8564 for more info.
Petal Pushers Garden Club
We cordially invite all who would be interested to attend our
meetings as guests or potential members. We meet on the
fourth Tuesday of the month at 9:30 am. For more information
please contact Carol Stomp 298-3824.
August 25th - 9:30 am
Guest Speaker, Suzy Andrego (President NMGC)
Topic, “Preparing Flowers for State Fair entries”
Meeting at Theresa Edens home (for more information phone
Carol Stomp)
September 22nd - 9:30 am
Guest speaker, Esther Russell
Topic, “How to Dry Miniature Flowers”
Meeting at Garden Center
October 27th, 9:30 am
Speaker, Maclovia Zamora, Herbalist
Meeting at Ruppe Drug Store, 807 4th Street SW, Albuquerque
ABQ Area Master Gardeners
It is time to spread the word about the 2016 AAEMG CLASS
to your family and friends!
This year, in an effort to better inform our applicants about the
volunteerism requirements and the use of computers, we are
having our Informational Recruitment Meeting PRIOR to the
first day of registration. It will be held on Thursday, August 13,
2015 at 4:00 pm at the ABQ Garden Center. We strongly
encourage anyone interested in the 2016 MG Classes to attend
this meeting.
Registration will begin on Monday, August 17, 2015. The
application for the 2016 MG Class will be available that
morning, only online, at www.abqmastergardeners.org. The
application form must be downloaded, and then mailed or
delivered to the Extension Office. As always, they will be
considered in the order they are received and all are time
stamped by the EO secretary. As you all know, our classes
have become more popular every year and fill very quickly.
If your neighbors, friends and family have a passion for
gardening, for volunteerism and for great educational
opportunities, please tell them to consider the 2016 AAEMG
CLASS. Complete information, including an NMSU brochure,
is available on the Master Gardener website.
Gardening Questions?
The Master Gardener Hotline:
(505) 292-7144
March-October, 9:30-2:30 Monday – Friday
Albuquerque Rose Society
We will meet at the Albuquerque Garden Center, September 9,
October 14, and November 11 at 7:30 pm. Programs will
include Rose Gardens from Gardens of the World, narrated by
Audrey Hepburn; an overview of the American Rose Society’s
Handbook for Selecting Roses and Roses in Review; and a
presentation by our floral designers to show us the Elegance of
Roses in Holiday Décor. We will also be having a very special
celebration of “The Special Roses of Albuquerque,” those
members of the Albuquerque Rose Society who have been our
most honored and most enthusiastic rose ambassadors.
State Fair Flower Shows, September 9, 11, and 15. We want
to invite you to exhibit roses in the Rose Section of the state fair
flower shows. So many roses prefer to bloom in the fall, so if
yours do too, be sure to enter. And stop by our display on
CLUB AND SOCIETY EXHIBIT DAY on September 18.
Removing Spent Blooms at the Albuquerque Rose Garden
continues on Tuesday evenings beginning at 6:00 pm, weather
permitting. We work through August and into September.
Helpers are welcome with both roses and weeds! We were
about to ask for help with controlling the Jupiter’s Beard near
the east entrance to the library but our prayer was already
answered. Thank you to Kathy Daniels, Catie Glover, and
Thelma Escalante from Master Gardeners for volunteering to do
this for us!
NM Orchid Guild
New Mexico Orchid Guild (NMOG) will present a program on
Masdevallias and Draculas: The Species, hybrids and culture at
their August 9th meeting. A nice selection of warm growing
Masdevallias will be available to purchase.
On September 13th NMOG will conduct a hands on repotting
program. Bring that overgrown orchid and for a nominal fee we
will assist you in repotting it.
Our special guest speaker at the October 11th meeting will be
Jason Fischer of Orchids Limited in Plymouth, MN. Jason is a
very popular internationally known speaker. Watch our new
website nmorchidguild.org for his topic
NM Dahlia Society
The NMDS will have a General Membership Meeting in the
Patio Room on August 30 at 2:00 PM to discuss the September
Flower Shows. In addition to the State Fair Flower Shows we
will host a flower show in the Pinion Room at the Garden
Center on Sunday, September 27. Entries will be accepted
starting at 7:00 AM and must be completed by 10:00 AM. All
meetings of the NMDS are open to the public. The general
public may exhibit flowers in all shows. The showroom will
open to the public beginning at 1:00 PM.
High Desert Design Club
High Desert Design Club was established specifically for the
advanced study of floral design. We follow the criteria set forth
by National Garden Clubs, Inc. with a specific
design each month. Our next meeting will be at 1:00 p.m.,
8/12/15, in the Patio room of the Albuquerque Garden Center.
We welcome all new comers to visit our club before joining. In
August we will study a “Line Mass” design. Members are
encouraged to bring a container and plant material for this
hands-on workshop. We hope to see you on Wednesday,
8/12/15. If you have questions you can call Shirley Tetreault,
President, High Desert Design Club at: (505) 259-2263
Xeric Garden Club
Family Fun Day & Garden Tour
The Xeric Garden Club with give a guided tour of its
certified Wildlife Habitat Garden Monday August 3rd at 10
AM. Docent Mary Ann Brewington will speak about the four
requirements for a habitat garden with an emphasis on five
favorite xeric trees. She will also discuss watering needs of
xeric plants and best practices for your garden. Children
activities include bee origami, face painting and making leaf
prints along with fun activity sheets about pollinators.
Young children are welcome with adult supervision.
Albuquerque Garden Center, 10120 Lomas Blvd NE. Free.
Saturday August 15 | 1:00 – 2:30 PM
Landscaping & Planting Strategies for Climate Change
The Xeric Garden Club of Albuquerque presents a talk and
book signing by Judith Phillips. Judith is a designer, garden
writer, teacher and principal of Design Oasis, with 35 years
of experience designing arid-adapted and native gardens in
New Mexico and the Southwest. She will be autographing
her just released book Growing the Southwest Garden.
The Albuquerque Garden Center Patio Room 10120 Lomas
Blvd NE. Free.
Monday September 14 | 10 – 11 AM
Favorite Xeric Plants for Autumn
The Xeric Garden Club of Albuquerque will give a guided
tour of it certified Wildlife Habitat Garden with an emphasis
on favorite plants for fall. Beth Herschman will guide
walkers through the garden and note plants that are late
bloomers or provide seeds or other food for our garden’s
inhabitants. The human bonus is a colorful lively garden in
the fall. Beth is a master gardener and retired landscape
designer, president of the Xeric Garden Club and past
president of the Albuquerque Garden Council. Albuquerque
Garden Center, 10120 Lomas NE. Free.
Saturday, September 26 9:30 AM the Xeric Garden Club
will
visit the Valle del Oro National Wildlife Refuge Open House.
851 Second Street SW.
Preparing the Habitat Garden for Winter
Monday October 5th at 10 AM
The habit garden is unique in many ways. Winter cleanup
and preparation is quite different from traditional
gardening. Docent Dianne Rand will tour you through the
Xeric Habitat Garden and talk about how to prepare these
gardens for the critters over the winter. Albuquerque
Garden Center, 10120 Lomas NE. FreeVisitors are welcome
to attend our events listed above.
For further info please go to www.xericgardenclub.org
New Mexico Floral Artists
New Mexico Floral Artists , a floral design club, meets the 4 th
Monday of most months from 11 am to 1 pm, to study and
practice contemporary floral design. Meetings are free and open
to the public. New members are always welcome with dues of
$25 per year.
NMFA’s upcoming programs include: August 24, 2015 – 11
am – 1 pm – “Designer’s Choice”: members will create a design
of any type to share and will build their own creative style
container (free for members/$20 for guests) Lunch of Potluck
salads. Bring you favorite salad to share.
September 28th – 11 am to 1 pm – “Building Basics and
Backgrounds”: members should bring materials to create any
design type and good design mechanics will be applied. Learn
how backgrounds can enhance your overall design and how you
can build your own. Lunch will be provided.
October 26th – 11 am – 1 pm – “Terrific Tables”: Learn the ins
and outs of NGC table designs and gain insight into beautiful,
functional Holiday Tables. Bring your favorite side dish or
dessert and meat and rolls will be provided.
Questions? Contact Debi Harrington @ 206-0930
Upcoming Garden Council & Club Events:
August 3, 10-11:30am: Xeric Habitat Garden Family Fun
Day and Garden tour. Free!
.
New Mexico Dahlia Society
2015 Dahlia Festival, Sunday, September 27, 2015, 1-4pm,
Albuquerque Garden Center, Free admission
Dahlia enthusiasts: Please join us and enter your gorgeous
dahlia blooms in the Fourth Annual New Mexico Dahlia Society
Show at the Albuquerque Garden Center. In addition to the
horticultural division (judged) there will also be Judged floral
design division and Non-judged dahlia centered photography
division. Please bring your dahlia blooms, photos, and floral
arrangements to the show to share the beauty of dahlias with the
populace. The public is welcome to submit entries to the show
from 7am to 10am Sunday September 27 th, on the morning of
the event. Dahlia Society Members will be available to assist
you in entering and classifying your horticultural blooms.
A brochure is available online at www.dahliasnm.com, at the
Garden Center, or by calling Jim Lohkamp: 505-821-5757
August 13, 4pm: Master Gardener Recruitment Informational
Meeting. Info on the 2016 Master Gardener Class.
August 15, 1-2:30pm: Talk and book signing by Judith
Phillips, “Landscaping & Planting Strategies for Climate
Change”
August 17, 6:30-8:30pm: Gardening “U”: Delightful Dahlias,
$10 class fee.
August 23, 11am-3pm: 9th Annual Tomato Fiesta! Family
fun! Admission $5, children under 12 get in FREE!
September 9-20: State Fair Flower Shows at Expo New
Mexico. Check article in this newsletter for information.
September 14, 10-11:30am: Xeric Habitat Garden Tour with
Beth Herschman, Favorite Plants for autumn.
September 21, 6:30-8:30pm: Gardening “U”: Cornhusk
Wreaths 3 Ways, $10 class fee, $20 materials fee
September 27, 1-4pm: Dahlia Festival, Free admission
September 29-October 20, Tuesdays: 4 week Drawing &
Watercolor course, see info this issue.
October 4, 9am – 4pm: Harvest Fair & Garden Market. Free
craft and plant sale, gardening advice, demos!
October 5, 10 -11;30am: Habitat Garden Tour, “Preparing
the Habitat Garden for Winter”. Free!
October 19, 6:30-8:30pm: Gardening “U”: Bulbs, Bulbs, and
More Bulbs - $10 class fee.
Autumn Botanicals in
Drawing and Watercolor
Preserve the autumn in your own botanical art. This
art session introduces step-by-step drawing, and
watercolor with encouraging guidance. You learn
drawing techniques and the watercolor glazing
technique used by Master botanical artists to create
their detailed plant illustrations. Instructor selects the
plant specimens for the class. Beginner and
experienced are welcome.
FOUR Sessions
Location: Albuquerque Garden Center, 10120 Lomas
Blvd. NE, Albuquerque
Dates: Tuesdays
Sept 29, 2015
Oct 6
Oct 13
Oct 20
Limit: 9
Instructor: Lisa Coddington, Santa fe, NM
www.LisaCoddington.com
Time: 10:00 – 1:00 except October 13 is 9:00 – 12:00
Fee: $162.00 (includes specimen fee)
Supply list sent upon registration
Contact Lisa Coddington for payment:
Lisa@LisaCoddington.com
New Mexico State Fair:
Be a Winner!
Enter the New Mexico State Fair Flower
Shows!
Enter your best petunia, sunflower, squash, zinnia,
rose, chili, tomato or marigold! Bring them all!
Whether you are experienced or a novice, we can help
you enter. Ever designed a flower arrangement? Create
one, bring it to the fair and we will help you enter it in
a flower show! You don’t have to live in Albuquerque,
just in New Mexico.
If your garden club is interested in exhibiting on the
Exhibit Day to promote your club to all New
Mexican’s at the State Fair…Then call Suzy Andrego,
Show Chair and she will make room for you – (505)
259-3318.
Show Dates: September 9, 11 & 15
Club & Plant Society Exhibit Day: September 18
Youth Shows: September 12 & 19
Entries for all show dates accepted between 7-10am on
day of show ONLY through Gate 4 on San Pedro NE.
For more information and show schedule:
www.exponm.com. Click on State Fair, premium
book, Floriculture, then Design, Horticulture, or Youth
You’re Invited
to join the NEW ‘Friends of the Albuquerque
Garden Center’!
Become a ‘Friend’ and contribute to the
missions of the Albuquerque Garden Center.
Your tax deductible donation will allow us to
enhance and expand our gardens, complete
much needed building improvements and offer
numerous educational opportunities in our
community. We offer many levels of giving
and each level has wonderful ‘Friends’
benefits.
For more information, visit our website:
www.AlbuquerqueGardenCenter.org
This beautiful handmade quilt, “Painted Daisies”, was
made for the Albuquerque Garden Center by Master
Gardener Erin Fitzgibbon. It is hand quilted and the
craftsmanship is fantastic! We are raffling it off with
the proceeds going to our new ‘Friends of the
Albuquerque Garden Center’. Raffle tickets are $5 for
one and $25 for 6 and are available at the Garden
Center, the State Fair Flower Shows & the Harvest
Fair October 4, 2015.
Drawing will take place at the Harvest Fair at 3pm.
Did you know that the Albuquerque Garden
Center hosts private events too? We still have
some availability this year and are booking till
January 1, 2016! Please check our calendar on our
website for available dates and our rental
information for pricing and other information, or
just call Laurie at (505) 296-6020!
“Cornhusk Wreaths 3 Ways”
Our Gardening “U” Class for September!
This is a fun and easy workshop.
These make perfect fall décor!
$10 Course Fee + $20 Materials Fee
Register today: 296-6020
Upcoming at the Garden Center:
Desert Composting Workshop
Saturday, November 14, 2015
9am – 5pm
Learn how to compost your food and yard
waste, an easy and fun way to recycle and to
build healthy soil in your yard and garden.
The classes will cover the science, art, methods,
choices, and benefits of various high desert home
composting methods.
Cost is $25
Email at register@nmcomposters.org
Or call: (505) 929-0414