September Newsletter - Gardens for Charlestown

Gardens For Charlestown
September 2010
"Our fear of death
is like our fear that
summer will be short,
but when we have
had our swing
of pleasure,
our fill of fruit, and
our swelter of heat,
we say we have had
our day.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Garden News
www.gardensforchar lestown.com
A Note from the President
I’m writing this while waiting for hurricane Earl to
do whatever it’s going to do. It’s apparently not much of a
storm anymore, but it does remind me that summer is
winding down. A lot of this summer was too hot for me,
but it’s always sad to see the garden season come to an
end. In spite of the heat and the lack of rain, the garden
really looked wonderful this year, and I appreciate all of you
who worked hard to make it that way. If you still need to
put in some time to meet your 10 hour commitment for the
year, don’t forget the two remaining clean-ups on
September 18th and October 20th. There’s always plenty
to do to get the garden ready for winter.
Another great way to contribute some time is to volunteer
for the Creepy Halloween Carnival, which is scheduled for
October 24th. Cathy Reese has once again agreed to head
up the planning effort and I’ve heard she has several new
and even creepier events in mind. The carnival was a great
success last year and it takes the efforts of a lot of people
to make it happen. If you’re interested, please contact
Cathy at cjrdvm15@hotmail.com.
As I told you last month, the garden is going to
create a holiday tree for the Festival of Trees that will be
part of the Charlestown Holiday Stroll on December 4th.
Janet Dennis has come up with a design that I think you’ll
all love, so be sure to note the date on your calendars.
Hope to see you all in the garden a few more times
before we all go into our annual New England winter
hibernation.
Pat
Middleton Place,
“America's Oldest Landscaped Garden”
By Joe Trepiccione
One of the remanding wings of Middleton Place House .
The Octagonal Sunken Garden, once a bowling green.
Middleton Place is one of South Carolina's most enduring
icons- a proud survivor of the American Revolution, Civil
War, changing fortunes, and natural disasters. Guests stroll
through vast garden "rooms," laid out with precise symmetry and balance, to the climactic view over the Butterfly
Lakes and the winding Ashley River beyond.
Middleton Place was home to the Middleton family from
1741 to 1865. Here lived Henry Middleton, a President of
the First Continental Congress; Arthur Middleton, signer of
the Declaration of Independence; Henry Middleton,
Governor of South Carolina and later Minister to Russia;
and Williams Middleton, a signer of the
ordinance of Secession.
Today, as they did then, the gardens represent the Low
Country's most spectacular and articulate expression of an
18th-century ideal- the triumphant marriage between man
and nature.
I visited Charleston, South
Carolina this summer and
found Middleton Place to be
breathtaking. To learn more
about Middleton Place, visit
www.middletonplace.org.
The Reflecting Pool at Middleton Place..
“Wood Nymph” by Rudolf Schadow (c.1810).
View to the Butterfly Lakes and rolling terraces.
photos: by Joe Trepiccione
Weeds to Know: Hairy Galinsoga
By Daphna Cox
Tiny daisy-like flowers help identify hairy galinsoga.
photo: by Daphna Cox
A summer annual, hairy galinsoga (Galinsoga quadriradiata, also known
as common quickweed or shaggy soldier) is one of the most difficult-tocontrol weeds in vegetable gardens. Perhaps that is because a single
plant can produce up to 7,500 seeds, and seeds germinate quickly
throughout the summer. Growing up to 2 feet tall, it can also be identified by its hairy, egg- to triangle-shaped leave and tiny yellow and white
flowers. Be sure to pull out these weeds as soon as you see them, as
they rob nutrients and water from your garden and can even reduce
yields of vegetables like snap beans.
If you see a mystery weed and want to identify it, email a picture to
daphnacox@comcast.net.
Before vinegar (5%) treatment
One day after vinegar (5%) treatment
One day after 20% acetic acid treatment
Natural Weed Killers: Test Results
By Irene Kochevar
Pulling weeds on the garden path is not fun, nor a good use of gardeners’ time. Vinegar was suggested as a non-toxic alternative to commercial weed killers. But would it kill tough Charlestown weeds? I did an
experiment on three weed patches spraying portions of them with vinegar (5% acetic acid) or 20% acetic acid (recommended by several websites.) Both contained a bit of dish soap to help them adhere to the
leaves. The photos, taken one day later, show that these treatments are
effective—at least in the short term. Stay tuned for 1 week and 1 month
results.
Creepy Carnival: Call for Volunteers
By Cathy Reese
The Creepy Halloween Carnival will be held on Sunday, October 24, from
11am- 3pm. We will have games, crafts, face painting, goody bags, pony rides,
pumpkins for sale, a bake sale table, and lunch items for sale (hot dogs, sausages,
maybe grilled cheeses, etc). We will need a big turnout from the gardeners to help
make this event a success (and it's a good way to finally get your Community
Service hours in!) Wearing a costume is encouraged but optional. If you have older
kids who can help with the games, they are welcome to help. This was a really fun
event last year, so let's make it even better this year!
These are the things we need done- please email Cathy Reese at
cjrdvm15@hotmail.com to tell her what help you can offer:
• Bake sale items
• Morning set-up (9am-11am) (6-10 people)
• Afternoon clean up (3pm- finish) (6-10 people)
• Crafts table in the shed (Amy and one other person)
• Face painting (2 people)
• Monitoring games along Main St (1 or 2 people)
• Run "Pin-the-nose On the Jack-o'-lantern" game (1 or 2 people)
• Run the Bobbing for Donuts (on a string) game (1 or 2 people)
• Run the Mini-pumpkin scavenger hunt game (1 or 2 people)
• Man the bake sale/pumpkin sale/ticket sale table (2 or 3 people)
• Man the grill for lunch and sell lunch items (2 people)
• Buying and delivering pumpkins for sale- anyone have a connection with
Ricky's or somewhere else?
• Buying and delivering Boxes of Joe for the bake sale table
• Buying and delivering helium balloons for decoration
• Placing ads in the Bridge etc
• Redecorate the 10 small bottles for Spooky Bowling (they are in the shed)
• Fill goody bags.
photos by Christine Downing
Calendar, Events, and Activities
Scott Phillips/www.finecooking.com
Recipe:
Apple-Blackberry
Crisp
Adapted from Fine Cooking No. 94
www.finecooking.com
Heat the oven to 375°F.
INGREDIENTS:
Saturday, September 25, 11-5: Historic House Tour For more information
on this semi-annual walking tour of Charlestown’s historic homes, visit the
Charlestown Preservation Society website at
www.charlestownpreservation.org .
Sunday, October 24: The Creepy Carnival returns to the Garden, with
spooky games, snacks, and more (see article, above). To volunteer for this
event, contact Cathy Reese at cjrdvm15@hotmail.com.
Garden Etiquette: As always, take all garden refuse, etc. home with you.
Trash is not picked up except when scheduled after events. Also, you are
responsible for weeding the gravel pathway in front of your garden plot.
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Pinch salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
8 Tbs. slightly softened unsalted butter, cut
into pieces
1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts
4 cups sliced apples (1/2-inch slices)
2 cups blackberries
2 Tbs. to 1/3 cup sugar, depending on the
sweetness of the fruit
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 Tbs. lemon juice
DIRECTIONS:
Make the topping:
Combine the flour, both sugars, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Rub in the butter
with your fingertips until it's well blended and
the mixture crumbles coarsely; it should hold
together when you pinch it. Add the hazelnuts.
Refrigerate the topping until you're ready to
use it.
Make the crisp:
Put the apples and blackberries in a large
bowl. Taste the fruit and sprinkle on the sugar
as needed (use 2 Tbs. sugar for very ripe fruit,
or up to 1/3 cup for tarter, less-ripe fruit).
In a small dish, dissolve the cornstarch in the
lemon juice. Gently toss the mixture with the
fruit.
Pour the fruit into an 8- or 9-inch square (or
similar-capacity) glass or ceramic baking dish.
Set the pan on a baking sheet to catch overflowing juices. Top the fruit with half of the
topping (keep the other half refrigerated) and
bake for 20 minutes.
Sprinkle the remaining topping over the crisp
and continue baking until the fruit is tender
when pierced with a knife, the topping is crisp,
and the juices are bubbling, another 25 to 35
minutes. Let cool for 20 to 30 minutes. Serve
warm.
Cleanup Schedule: Come and join fellow gardeners to take care of the
garden and help fulfill your required 10 hours of volunteering for GfC.
Saturday cleanups are from 10am – 12 pm and Wednesday cleanups are
from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm.
Saturday
Wednesday
September 18
October 20
Please record your hours worked for the garden in the black binder. The
pages list gardeners' names and have space for date and time worked. (If
your name is missing, let us know). The binder is on the back shelf of the
small tool shed (not the large one).
2010 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
How to Make Garden Lanterns
Make your own candleholders from recycled
tin cans
by Michelle Gervais / Fine Gardening # 87
adapted from www.finegardening.com
Supplies you will need:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Leaves with interesting, bold shapes
Vellum or tracing paper
Masking tape
Permanent black marker
Metal cans, labels removed
Sand and water
Towel
Hammer and nails
Spray paint in white or off-white as well
as colors of your choice
• Copper wire
• Votive candles
Light your way with recycled materials and natural
inspiration. photo by Scott Phillips
1. Prepare the can
Fill the can with sand, add water, and place it in the freezer. The frozen mixture will give structure
to the can and a surface against which to pound, so that the can does not become misshapen.
2. Make the template
Select a leaf that will fit the size of the can nicely and trace its basic shape with a permanent
marker onto a long piece of vellum paper. (Alternatively, if you are painting the lantern a dark
color, tape and trace the leaf directly on the frozen can.)
3. Position the design
When the water is completely frozen, take the can out of the freezer and tape the vellum paper
tightly around the can, positioning the leaf shape exactly where you want it.
4. Punch the holes
Rest the can on its side on a folded towel to keep the can from rolling around and to protect the
work surface. With a hammer and a sharp nail, punch holes though the paper and into the can
along the lines of the design. I like to punch larger holes at the peaks in the leaf shape, at the
intersections of veins, and along the stem to give some dimension to the design. I also tend to
space the holes on the edges of the leaves closer together than those in the veins, giving them
more weight. Change nails frequently, as they dull quickly after repeated punches. When the leaf
is finished, make two large holes opposite each other at the top of the can for hanging wire.
When the design is complete, remove the vellum paper, invert the can in a bowl, and allow it to
thaw. Remove the sand and water, rinse the can well, and allow it to dry completely.
5. Paint the lantern
Spray the inside of the lantern with white paint to diffuse the candlelight and give the lantern a
brighter glow. (Tip: some cans, such as canned tomatoes, already have a white coating inside.)
Then choose a color for the outside and spray on two light coats, allowing the paint to dry
between coats. This paint is not only decorative but also offers a little protection from the elements if you leave your lanterns outside. Alternatively, you could skip the paint and just allow
your lantern to rust over time.
www.gardensforchar lestown.com
2010 Waiting List (as of 7-28-10)
Benjamin Costello & Deborah Knell
Amber Bevilacqua
Lynn Kimmel
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
Allison Scrivens
Kerry Savage
Mike Moyer
Kerry Savage
Michael Moyer
Erin Maloney
Cathy Shanks
Stephanie Robinson
Michele Weisman
Nancy Nichols Kearns
Megan Devendorf
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.
Newsletter Committee:
Daphna Cox, Editor
Joe Trepiccione, Designer
Beth Schulz, Roving Reporter
9-29-08
4-28-09
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
4-6-10
4-11-10
4-24-10
4-11-10
4-24-10
5-4-10
5-17-10
7-2-10
7-6-10
7-16-10
7-26-10
Tomatoes, mandevilla, and a last burst of flowers in the Garden in early September. photos by Pat McSweeney
Gardens for Charlestown, Inc.
P.O. Box
290044
•
Charlestown, MA
02129
www.gardensforchar lestown.com