April Newsletter

Gardens For Charlestown
April 2010
“April is
a promise
that
May is
bound
to keep.”
-Hal Borland
Garden News
www.gardensforchar lestown.com
A Note from the President
On a sunny, chilly Palm Sunday, about 40 children and their
parents came to the garden for the second annual Easter Egg Hunt.
Thanks to Bette Task and her helpers, it was once again a wonderful
event with refreshments and crafts along with eggs hidden in two separate areas of the garden for toddlers and older children. This is becoming another great garden tradition that people look forward to from year
to year.
We had a good turnout for the Annual Meeting on March 7.
Bobby Butler was named Gardener of the Year and Bette Task and Toni
Pollak were inducted into the new Gardens for Charlestown Hall of
Fame. Both Bette and Toni are long-time gardeners and former board
members who have contributed to the garden in ways too numerous to
count. We’re grateful to them for all of their work and look forward to
their presence in the garden for many more years.
This year, we are happy to have 5 new gardeners: Toini Jaffe,
Beverly McHugh, Jonathan Beck & Elizabeth Haule, Jesse Porte, and
Kari Cushing & A.J. Nary. It’s always fun to have new members and to
see what creative ideas they bring. Please join me in making them all
feel welcome.
Finally, my sister, who’s an herbalist, aromatherapist, and garden designer, has offered to come to the garden to teach a couple of
fun classes. You’ll find details in later newsletters. Please let me know
if you’re interested.
See you in the garden!
Pat
Easter Egg Hunt 2010:
A bright start to the season.
photo by Christine Downing
photo by Christine Downing
photo by Christine Downing
photo by Christine Downing
photo by Christine Downing
photo by Pat McSweeney
Gardeners of the Month:
Shannon and Billy Devens
As told to Beth Schulz
New Board member and Co-Chair of the Cleanup Committee, Shannon
Devens and her husband Billy are looking forward to a productive season
in the garden.
How long have you been a Community Gardener in Charlestown?
This is our 3rd year as gardeners.
How long have you lived in Charlestown?
We have lived in Charlestown for 3 years.
Shannon, Billy, and Will Devens in Prouts
Neck, Maine, last August.
Where are you both from originally?
Billy grew up in New York City and I grew up in Maryland.
What do you both do professionally?
Billy is a consultant in the agriculture sector. I work for Infinity
Pharmaceuticals as a project manager running oncology clinical trials.
What is your gardening history prior to joining GfC, and what are you
planning to grow this year?
We both spend many weekends helping our families do yard work. Billy
also spent a few summers working as a landscaper. Our major focus is
growing cutting flowers, but we also plan to plant cucumbers, tomatoes,
beets, and fennel.
Any garden horror stories to tell?
Billy has banned me from planting squash. We had one year where
acorn squash took over our vegetable section and then the next year the
culprit was butternut squash. The butternut squash not only became a
menace in our garden, but also crept under the shed and into Penny
Carlhian’s garden…despite constant clipping. Sorry Penny!
Is there anything the other gardeners need to know about the Cleanup
Committee this year, or how to get involved?
Irene Kochevarand and I are co-chairing the Cleanup Committee this year.
There will be monthly cleanups throughout the season on Wednesday
evening or Saturday mornings. We will also have a list of possible
chores that gardeners can take on as a season-long project.
What do you find most rewarding about being a Community Gardener?
The most rewarding part of being a Community Gardener is the
opportunity to meet new people. Also, we love having a place to go
and get our hands dirty!
Garden Technique:
When To Start Spring Cleaning
in Your Garden
By Marie Iannotti, About.com Guide
There's no point in pretending you're not going to be out in your garden the first
warm second of spring. While there is no harm in cleaning up fallen branches and debris,
wait until the soil is no longer wet enough to form a ball in your hand, before walking on
it and compacting it. But don't wait too long to start your clean up. It's much easier to cut
plants back before the old growth gets tangled up in the new growth.
1. Flower Garden Spring Clean-Up
The first task is removing and composting any dead annual plants that remained
over winter. These will not return and any self-seeders will already have done their job.
If you didn't prune back your perennials last fall, they're probably looking pretty ugly as
spring sets in. Many perennials actually prefer to be left standing throughout the winter,
for extra protection. But by definition, herbaceous perennials will die back to the ground
during winter. If you did leave your perennials standing last fall, once you start to see new
growth at the base of the plants, it's safe to begin removing winter mulch and pruning
them down to ground level.
Removed tattered foliage from heuchera
now to encourage growth.
2. Woody Perennial Flowers & Plants
Some shrubby plants with woody stems (artemisia, buddleia, caryopteris, lavender...) need to be cut back each spring, because they only bloom on new branches. These
are pruned in the spring, to limit winter damage and to encourage the plant to start sending out those new flowering branches. It's best to wait until danger of a hard frost is past.
Most of these woody perennials will let you know when it's time to prune them by showing signs of opening buds on the lower stem portions or new growth at the base of the
plants.
3. Evergreen and Semi-Evergreen Perennial Plants
Depending on where you are gardening, some perennial plants will never quite
go dormant, but they may still need tidying up. Plants like Epimedium, Hellebores,
Heuchera and bearded iris retain their leaves all winter. Spring is the time to trim back the
tattered foliage and encourage new growth to come in.
4. Ornamental Grasses
If you left your ornamental grasses up for winter interest, you can cut them back
as soon as you can get to them. You don't need to wait for new growth. Cut grasses to
within a few inches of the ground. They'll come back up when they're ready.
5. Roses
Spring rose care depends very much on your climate. Roses grown in warm climates, where roses never go dormant, benefit from a good pruning and the removal of he
majority leaves, to shock the rose into thinking it was dormant and needs to wake up and
start growing again. Where roses did go dormant, spring care should begin just as the
leaf buds begin to plump up.
Continuing Education:
Come and take a class at the garden
Meg McSweeney-Martin, a certified aromatherapist, certified herbalist and
trained garden designer has offered to come to Charlestown to teach two classes to
interested gardeners.
In one class, you will make a hypertufa planter like the one in the photograph. In the other, you’ll learn to mix essential oils and other natural ingredients to
make medicinal blends that keep bugs away, soothe sunburned skin, relieve sore
gardening muscles or address other health issues.
The classes are about 2 hours long and you’ll leave with either a finished
planter or 3 aromatherapy blends. The planter class is $25 and the aromatherapy
class is $35, with most materials included. If you’re interested, please email Pat
McSweeney at patmcs5@verizon.net. We’ll schedule them at times that are convenient for as many people as possible.
GFC News & Notes
Egg Hunt Thanks:
Gardener Bette Task, who organized the Second Annual GfC Egg Hunt on
Saturday 3/27, wants to thank this year’s helpers: "Many thanks to everyone who
had anything to do with the egg hunt. Thanks to all who "stuffed" eggs, to everyone
who "hid" eggs and any way helped to make the day a big success. I think we have
started a new tradition at the garden. I will start to buy eggs for next year's hunt
right after Easter."
Greenhouse Tips:
Greenhouse gardening is fun but challenging in these days of fluctuating
temperature. When the days are unusually warm, two of the greenhouse gardeners
have offered to open the doors in the morning and close them in the evening to help
cool the greenhouse. Nevertheless, it’s a good idea to check your plants’ water
needs at least every other day (or ask a fellow greenhouse gardener to water them
for you.) Many gardeners have had success by germinating seeds at home and then
bringing them to the greenhouse once they sprout. There is a baggie of extra greenhouse keys on the left as you enter the greenhouse.
Calendar, Events, and Activities
May Cleanup: Saturday, May 8 10am - 12pm
SATURDAY, May 15, 9am - 3pm: GfC Flea Market (rain date: Sunday, May 16).
This GfC tradition will combine flea market goodies FINDS with a garden table offering
seedlings, food, and other garden-related goods. Approximately 20 spaces will be
available for vendors (with priority given to gardeners) at $25 a space. Tables will be
offered for AN ADDITIONAL $10 on a first come, first served basis, and the Salvation
Army (or similar organization) will be available to pick up unsold and unwanted items at
the end of the sale. To volunteer or sign up for a space/table, contact organizer Paul
Breiner at 617-241-7103 or pbreiner@msn.com.
Recipe:
Asparagus Soup
Recipe by Barbara Lynch
Adapted from Fine Cooking April /
May 2008
Makes about 4 cups.
INGREDIENTS:
2 bunches asparagus, trimmed and
chopped
2 shallots, sliced
4 Tbl butter
2 C heavy cream
2 C water
2 Tbl minced chives
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon juice to taste
Directions:
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over
medium-low heat. Add the sliced shallots
and sweat until soft (not browned), 5-10
minutes.
Add the cream, water, 1 tsp salt, and a
pinch of pepper and bring to a boil. Add
the asparagus, lower the heat, and simmer until the asparagus is just tender
(but still bright green), 5-7 minutes.
Off heat, puree soup using an immersion
(stick) blender or in batches in a regular
blender.
For an extra-smooth soup, strain through
a fine-mesh strainer, pressing on the
solids.
Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a
squeeze of lemon juice.
Serve warm or chilled, garnished with
chives.
2009 Board Of Directors
Pat McSweeney, President
Penny Carlhian, Treasurer
Roberta MacCarthy, Secretary
Daphna Cox
Shannon Devens
Irene Kochevar
Catherine Reese
patmcs5@verizon.net
pcarlhian@aol.com
roberta_maccarthy@wgbh.org
daphnacox@comcast.net
shandevens@gmail.com
kochevar@helix.mgh.harvard.edu
cjrdvm15@hotmail.com
Waiting List (as of 3-30-10)
Benjamin Costello & Deborah Knell
Amber Bevilacqua
Judy Stephens
Emily Saari
Cecile & David Desmond
Adam Feire & Alison Sinclair
Liz Flynn
Walter Buhay
Anneli & Peter Schalock
Emily Banis
Jennifer Dziubeck & Matthew Brogan
Nathan Hellman & Claire Pecqueur
David Semple&Jonne Caissie
Mary Wack
Barbara Mackey
Leigh Heffernan
Connie Gallagher
9-29-08
4-28-09
5-14-09
5-15-09
6-1-09
6-6-09
6-17-09
6-25-09
6-26-09
7-6-09
7-21-09
8-18-09
8-24-09
9-10-09
10-9-09
3-8-10
3-18-10
Editor’s Note: We are looking for travel
pictures of new gardens or environs that
gardeners have discovered, suggestions for
improvements to the garden, recipes, tips
and calendar additions for the newsletter.
If you have ideas, please contact Daphna
Cox at daphnacox@comcast.net.
www.gardensforchar lestown.com
Newsletter Committee:
Daphna Cox, Editor
Joe Trepiccione, Designer
Beth Schulz, Roving Reporter
photo by Christine Downing
Gardens for Charlestown, Inc.
P.O. Box
290044
•
Charlestown, MA
02129