February, 2015 - The Rake and Hoe Garden Club

february 2015
Bloomin’ Times
www.rakeandhoe.org
Member of the Garden Club of NJ and National Garden Clubs, Inc
February Program. . . .
Upcoming Activities . . .
Community Projects & Service
Re-Scaping the Suburbs
Pat Brentano is a local artist who works with the NJ
Audubon Society to, ‘re-scape the suburbs”. Her will
describe here innovative program that encourages the
use of pollinator-friendly native plants and trees to bring
balance to the suburban environment.
2/3/15
2/20
3/3
3/16
3/24
Indoor Plants at Jardine Academy
Lyons Flower Service
Seed Planting at Jardine
Ornament Workshop for Jardine
at Mary Lou N’s
Decorate at Jardine
Juniors
The Judy Kampe Competition, “Mini-Landscapes” will
also be judged at this meeting before the program.
Please bring your entries early, so that members have
sufficient opportunity to vote. The winner will be
announced at the meeting, and recognized at the R&H
Spring Luncheon.
2/11
3/18
Floral Design for GCNJ Flower
Show at Beth S.’s
Birds, Bees, & Butterflies at Beth
S’s.
Meetings
2/2
2/10
Coming in March. . . .
New Jersey’s Endangered and Threatened Wildlife
Our speaker, Charlene Smith, is Wildlife Program Coordinator for the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey. Through her program, we will learn about New Jersey’s rare and/or endangered wildlife and the ways we can
help to protect it.
2/18
2/24
3/2
3/11
Board Meeting at Beth H.’s home
Program Committee Meeting at
Kris L.’s home
R&H General Mtg at Westfield ‘Y’
w Judy Kampe Competition
Membership Tea at Diana K.’s
home
Board Meeting at Mary Smith’s
home
R&H General Mtg at Westfield ‘Y’
Trips
2/6/15
GCNJ Flower Show 2015
Trip to Dearborn Farms. Meet to
carpool at Margot P.’s
Workshops
It seems that each year the State Flower Show gets
bigger and better. And our club continues to shine!
This year was no exception; a large number of
members participated, as
consultants, docents,
clerks, designers and photographers. Ribbons of all
colors, as well as show
Blue ribbon design by Barbara M.
ribbons were won in design, juniors, photography,
and horticulture. Please
Irene G., Barbara M. &
Carolynn P. help with
visit this issue’s photo
show set-up.
gallery for examples of
some of the winning
entries.
2/11
2/23
3/26
Assist horticulture check-in at
GCNJ Flower Show
Edible Birdhouse Workshp.
Mntnside Community Rm
Photography Workshop - Know
Your Camera & Using Light
More to Do (details in the News Leaf)
2/12-15/15 GCNJ Flower Show, EXPO
Convention Ctr, Edison, NJ
2/28-3/8 Philadelphia Flower Show,
“Celebrate the Movies”
www.theflowershow.com
Pat W. welcomes at
the membership desk.
Bloomin’ Times
-- February 2015 --
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Committee News . . . .
Birds . . . .
Community Projects (cont’d). . . .
Juniors . . . .
R&H Bird Count - By now you
know, we have changed the format of
our annual bird count three-fold. With
these changes, we hope to see shifts in
bird populations with
changing seasons,
migration, and habitat.
By making the
following ’rule’
changes, we hope that
more members will participate. 1) The
count is expanded to include all of
New Jersey. 2) The location & habitat
of observed birds will be noted. 3)
The count has been divided into 3
periods: Fall, Winter, and Spring. Join
the count & have fun!!
Please remember to save the
caps from your liquid laundry
detergent bottles. They make
perfect little containers for
the mini-designs that we make
for Mobile Meals. Thanks!
The Juniors had a great time preparing
for the GCNJ Flower Show. This year
they entered nature photography in embellished frames and miniature winter
gardens in the Artistic Crafts section.
They also submitted fresh arrangements coached by some of our top designers. As usual they did very well
sweeping all three top flower show
awards and one crafts award. Thanks to
everyone who helped.
Edible Birdhouse Workshop - Meets
at 10am on 2/23, the Mountainside
Community Room. Signup at the
February general meeting. Contacts:
Tracy C., Diana K., and Connie S.
Community Projects . . . .
After a peek into the March
calendar for Community Projects, I
am proclaiming the month of
March to be the . . .
(UN)OFFICIAL
JARDINE ACADEMY
MONTH!!
Please join us in one or all of the events
next month! . . . . .
Tuesday, March 3 at 10 AM - Indoor
Planting workshop with the kids at
Jardine
Monday March 16 at 10AM - Spring
Ornament Workshop for Jardine
Tuesday, March 24 - Tree
Decorating at Jardine
If ever there was a chance to come to
the Jardine Academy and see the
wonderful things that happen there
March is the month!
Bloomin’ Times
Horticulture . . . .
Trip to Orchid Show - On Friday, February 6th, fourteen members of Rake
and Hoe attended Deep Cut Orchid Society's 18th Annual Orchid Show at the Dearborn Market in Holmdel. At the show
we participated in a tour by a member of
the Deep Cut Orchid Society. She
shared with us her experience in growing
and showing orchids. We enjoyed
wandering around
the greenhouse
looking at the orchids; they were
beautiful. We ate
lunch at a Greek restaurant down the
street from the Market.
Horticulture Volunteers at the GCNJ On Wednesday, February 11th, seven
members went to the NJ Convention
Center to help with the Horticulture
Sign-In for the New Jersey Garden Club
Flower Show. We helped with classification and the placement of horticulture.
‘Photography 101’ Workshop - On
behalf of all the participants of the Photography 101 workshop held January
23rd, I want to thank Inge for hosting
and directing a very informative afternoon. Each participant came with a different level of experience and expectations. Inge shared information on the
advantages of printing pictures on a
home printer. Participants learned about
the materials needed and how to identify
and to prepare each picture to
print. The preparation might include
cropping the picture to give the best
effect. Many other subjects were also
addressed. I firmly believe everyone left
feeling just a little more confident. Thank you Inge.
-Margot P
-- February 2015 --
- Beth S.
Visit the Photo Gallery for Juniors’ deigns
Photography . . . .
Photography has found a new home in
our Club! At the last board meeting, a
the ad-hoc committee, ‘Photography &
Artistic Crafts’, was approved.
What perfect timing! Interest in
photography is growing, as are the
talents of our members. This year, 10
members submitted entries in the
photography division at the GCNJ
Flower Show. Three professional
photographers served as judges and
followed the scoring guidelines set by
NGC. In this competitive field, at least 4
blue ribbons were awarded to R&H’ers
with also a number of reds, yellows, and
honorable mentions. Well done!
Another Photography Workshop (102)
is scheduled for March 26 at Inge B’s.
Responding to feedback from the earlier
workshop, the program will continue
with basics for the beginner: know your
camera. For those with a little more
experience, we will also discuss how to
use to manipulate focus and depth-offield, lighting, composition, etc. Bring
your camera!
Sign up at the general meeting. Q’s?
Call Inge or Margot.
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News & Announcements . . . .
Mark Your Calendars!
The American Boxwood Society
will be having a Symposuim "Timeless
Gardens, Timeless Boxwood" at
Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square,
Pa. May 19-22, 2015.
www.americanboxwoodsociety.org.
Rose Pruning Workshop Saturday
March 14, 2015 9 - 11 am (rain date
March 21). Colonial Park Rudolf W. van
der Goot Rose Garden,
156 Mettlers Road, Parking lot A,
Somerset (Franklin Township).
Cost $12, limited to 30 people,
Call 732-873-2459 ext. 21 to register
- submitted by Karen J-G.
Get Your Youth and Community
Garden Growing” workshop by the
Rutgers Cooperative Extension.
Saturday, Feb. 28. Trailside Nature &
Science Center, Mountainside. Topics
include quick container gardening, how
to grow strawberries, merging garden
activities with lesson plans, and the
basics of a successful produce garden.
A fee of $25 for the daylong workshop
includes lunch and all materials. More
details and a registration form are
available at the Union County website,
ucnj.org.
- submitted by Barb Murphy
-- Recipe of the Month --
‘Hit or Miss’
. A new feature column for those to share, or for
those in need. . . .
TO SHARE *Free containers, glass and ceramic.
come look, Diana K’s place.
IN NEED *Diana looking for vintage 1960s Mattel
Lie Detector game, please call Diana K.
if you have a complete, good condition
game
-- happy hunting! --
Thanks!
To the photographers who
contributed to this issue of
the Bloomin’ Times:
Jeanie & Richard P., Margot
P., Barbara M. & Irene G.
********
The R&H Photo Gallery can be viewed
online or in your e-mail.
Gardens of the Garden State.
Wednesday February 18, 2015
7:00 PM to 8:30 PM at the Westfield
Library Meeting Room.
Use kale, cabbage or another green if
you prefer, to make this Italian-style
porridge that’s quick, filling and perfect
for those of us who consider such
things as soupy polenta to be comfort
food—and also love garlic.
Ingredients:
½ lb. kale or cabbage or mix
6 cups water or vegetable broth (if the
broth is salted, or you like a lot of Parmesan, adjust salt below)
1 teaspoon sea salt
¾ cup polenta (cornmeal); organic recommended to insure it’s GMO-free
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 cloves minced or grated garlic, or to
taste
¼ to ½ cup olive oil (with extra for
garnish)
Steps:
Wash and chop the greens and coarsely
cut, removing the toughest stem bits
first.
Bring salted water or stock to a rolling
boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer
the greens until barely tender, just a
few minutes, in the water or stock.
Gradually whisk in the cornmeal.
Cook on simmer until creamy, about
10 minutes.
Fold in the garlic, cheese and the oil;
remove from heat.
Serve immediately in bowls garnished
with more oil and pepper. Grilled Italian-style sausages make a perfect side
dish.
Gardens of the Garden State celebrates
the rich and complex garden world of
NJ. Authors Nancy Berner and Susan
Lowry are a highly regarded garden
writing team, successfully collaborating
on the Garden Guide to New York
City and Gardens of the Hudson
Valley. Longtime volunteers at the
Conservatory Garden in Central Park,
they have lectured widely on the
subject of urban public gardens
-submitted by Jeanie P.
Bloomin’ Times
Farinata
-- February 2015 --
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Features & Announcements . . .
Horticulture Tips
...’for the Birds...& Bees...& Butterflies!
Too Much Salt: Bad on Your Plate
and Bad for Your Garden
A Little Cheer for a Bitter Cold Winter. . .
OneCommunity
of North America's
most .beautiful
birds appeared this
Projects
..
week at a bird feeder in Sussex County's Andover Township.
Mini-Designs
for Mobile
Meals
This gorgeous
avian prize
is a male
painted bunting. Adorned in bright
blue, red and
green, it is absolutely
On May 1st, we made adorable arrangements in
unmistakable.
cat food cans and detergent bottle tops for the
There are more than 35 records of
trays for Mobile Meals. Pat W. did a great orthis bird in the Garden State since
ganizing job and eleven members had a won1958,
the year in which they were first
derful time making 63
arrangements.
Thanksin
to New Jersey.
accepted
as a rarity
all who participated!
We seem to have at least one show up here
annually. Often, these reports are of the
We hope to make moss
terrariums
for beautiful
the
plainer,
but still
green females.
classrooms at Jardine.
Information
When
males will
andbefemales differ in plumage,
forthcoming.
they are said to be sexually dimorphic. They
also keep their amazing
colors year-round.
- Kris L..
Painted
buntings are normally found nesting in the southern
(Find more pictures in R&H Photo Gallery, this issue)
Great Plains, Texas and Mexico, and spend their winters in
Florida, the Caribbean and Central America. They do tend to
wander up the East Coast and Mississippi Valley, and one
actually made its way to James Bay in Canada. These wanderers
frequently manage to find backyard bird feeders, where they
often will stay for weeks at a time. Birders literally are flocking
(pardon my pun) to Andover for a look at this unbelievable bird.
- Pete Bacinski, author appearing in NJ.com
http://www.nj.com/inside-jersey
Winter Energy Cakes for the Birds
There are now many types of de-icers
available commercially. Not only do they
differ in cost, but also in their efficacy at
extremely low temps, and perhaps most
importantly, their impact on the environment - both to your garden, but also to
the surface waters that receive all the runoff once melting begins.
First, cost. Rock salt, or sodium chloride, is the cheapest, but
also the most destructive and less effective. It works well
at the higher range of freezing temps, but treated areas will
freeze when the temperature really dips down (below
15oF). It is bad for pets and wildlife, and also very corrosive
and detrimental to masonry (as are all the chloride salts).
Most plants cannot tolerate high salt concentrations in soil
are therefore also negatively impacted. Penny-wise poundfoolish comes to mind.
Calcium and/or magnesium chloride salts are more expensive,
but remain effective (melt) at much lower temps (to -10oF).
Their chloride component is still harmful to masonry and
plants, but the calcium and magnesium may provide trace
nutrients that plants need.
Potassium chloride is the most garden-friendly of the chloride
de-icers and is not toxic to most plants. However, its deicing abilities are limited at temps colder than 20oF.
Acetate salts such as ‘Safe-Paws’ (calcium magnesium acetate)
are organic and remain effective to low temps. They are
safer for masonry, pets, and plants. Unfortunately, they
cost more.
1 c. lard (no substitution)
1 c. flour
2 c. quick oats
2 c. cornmeal
1 c. chunky peanut butter
¼ c. sugar
Melt peanut butter and lard over low
heat (can be done in the microwave).
Stir in remaining ingredients and pour
into an 8” x 8” pan. Cool and cut into locks to fit your suet
feeder. The extra blocks can be frozen until needed.
-submitted by Margot P.
Bloomin’ Times
Besides the extreme temperatures, icy walks and streets
are yet another hurdle to overcome this bitter winter.
Bundling up helps us face the frigid temps, and salt seems to
be our friend in dealing with ice. Not so! Before you liberally broadcast salt on your steps & walkway, consider the
pros & cons, and chose the best for the job.
Urea is perhaps the most environmentally friendly of deicers, but is expensive and also has a limited melting range
(20oF). This nitrogen-containing organic compound is a
common component of many fertilizers and will help to
feed your garden!
Of course, the best de-icer is prevention. Shovel snow
early and often to minimize compaction and ice formation.
If feasible, use sand for traction. If you still need more, use
the de-icer of choice judiciously. In areas of high impact,
plant plants that are more salt-tolerant.
- Inge B.
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The Rake & Hoe Photo Gallery. . . . . February 2015
January General Meeting. . . .
(photos by ‘Pelikan Pix’.)
Bloomin’ Times
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The Rake & Hoe Photo Gallery. . . . . February 2015
Trip to Orchid Show
(photos by Margot P.)
Bloomin’ Times
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The Rake & Hoe Photo Gallery. . . . . February 2015
GCNJ 2015
(photos by ‘Pelikan Pix’ )
Bloomin’ Times
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The Rake & Hoe Photo Gallery. . . . . February 2015
GCNJ 2015
Award Winners (not all!)
(photos by ‘Pelikan Pix’ & Inge B.)
Bloomin’ Times
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