Bay Village Garden Club

Newsletter

Bayvillagegardenclub.com

...a member of Garden Club of Ohio

Central Atlantic Region NATIONAL GARDEN CLUBS, INC Cleveland District

Submission deadline for copy - 10^th of month preceding meeting

Newsletter Editor – Deb Manns – Phone 440-871-8179 E-mail dmanns@quanticllc.com

As fall glides into winter, brisk autumnal winds denude our trees and shrubs of their gorgeous raiment. When the leaves hit the ground they complete their transformation from poetic inspiration to plain old nuisance. Since I am a laissez-faire (meaning lazy) gardener, I let sleeping leaves lie wherever possible, i.e., in all the backyard borders and in the front east border. They make great mulch, preventing many light sensitive weed seeds from germinating before they break down into lovely humus.

Though nature is slowing down in anticipation of her winter snooze, Garden Club is shifting into high gear. Committees for the Greening of Bay are hard at work. If you have not yet signed up , please call Anne Massey (871-5923) for an assignment. Remember that Greening is our only fund-raiser. The effort of each member is critical to our success.

The Cleveland Botanical Garden’s Christmas show opens Dec. 1. Be sure to attend. You won’t want to miss all the wonderful star bedecked Christmas trees, especially our own “Cosmic Explosion”. The philosophical premise guiding our designers is “the bigger, the flashier, the better”. I will say no more, lest I spoil your surprised delight in our creation.

By now you have all marked Dec. 6 and 7 on your calendars. Please also mark Dec. 8 at noon for a relaxed pot-luck lunch and Greening post-mortem at my house. We need everyone’s input to make Greening ‘05 a success.

I look forward to seeing all of you at the November meeting.

Laura

Next Board Meeting

SOCIAL SERVICE PROJECTS: The Garden Club will create Christmas arrangements for Bay Village shut-ins. The club will also create wreaths for City Hall decoration. “Greening of Bay” plans will be discussed so be sure to be on hand if you have any questions or suggestions for our Annual Fund raising.

Lu Laing coordinator for the Service Project. The Garden Club donates 24 Boxwood Trees to Local Shut-ins.

This meeting is a great time for people who have volunteered as floaters to take a crash course in learning what we will be doing for our Annual Fund Raiser. Come with your clippers, scissors, and gloves to help create one of our projects, the boxwood tree.

It is a fun and relaxing way to learn how to put together a boxwood tree, and what you will need to know to help Greening Attendees.

Refreshments will be served. Hostesses: Stephanie Uptmor, Coordinator, Gail Cajka, Mary Ellen Carney, Joan Cochran, Rosie Daniels, Joanne O’Donnell, Jane Resko, Valerie Woolerton.

Cleveland Yachting Club
200 Yacht Club Drive
Rocky River, OH

Reservations due by December 6^th
Checks made payable to BVGC for $20.00
Submit to Pam Edlund
379 Bassett Road
Bay Village, OH 44140-1816

New member: Jan Szima, 591 Buckhead Court, Avon Lake, OH 44012-2364; 440-930-7294 ; Sept 03; jszima@aol.com

Sue Roehl

Education Exhibit for the Central Atlantic Region’s “Greening Historic Sites.”

Nan Smith, Sue Nelson, and Sandra Larimer have worked on an educational exhibit for the Central Atlantic Region's "Greening Historic Sites" Project. Of all the garden clubs in Ohio, Bay Village was selected as the club to present our Historic Garden. Having won a National Garden Club Award by the Principal Financial Group made Bay Village a notable selection. The conference will be held October 30, 2004 through November 3, 2004 in Cambridge, Maryland. Themes to the presentation boards were to be designed among two options: "Tracing Our Roots" and "Sprouting New Horizons". Shirley Basista, Garden Club of Ohio President, will be taking the exhibit to the conference and presenting the Seascape Project. Special thanks is extended out to DebManns who enlarged and printed photos of Seascape serving as a backdrop to the exhibit.

The exhibit itself is a blown-up view of Seascape in its entirety. Matted above the backdrop is a map of Ohio and Cahoon Memorial Park, the final docking place for Seascape. Within the historical section of the board are pictures of the Cahoon homestead and family donated by Eric Eakin and the Bay Village Historical Society. A brief history of Bay Village and Cahoon Memorial Park rests here as well. The board also demonstrates the installation and planting of Seascape by members of the garden club toward the center of the board. The dedication ceremony is highlighted in the upper right corner of the board with such notable figures as RJ Stovicek; Designer and Artist, Nan Smith; Past President and Visionary, Mayor Deborah Sutherland, and other notable guests to the event. Along the bottom of the board are actual photos of grasses planted at the site displaying the botanical names and how they fare in Ohio climate. Included will be the genuine model given to Nan Smith by the artist when this dream began. Also, a copy of the brief submitted to the Principal Financial Group and handouts of the botanical grasses will be present.

Thanks to the October folders and stuffers, Roberta Berns, Cathy Miller, and Pat Wearsch. We made short work of the more than 100 newsletters sent out by the Garden Club. If you want to join us, please give me a call, stop over and chat while we stuff and fold. The next date is Friday January 14^th at 9:30 am. Please come to my home, 26052 Lake Rd. that morning. Thanks to everyone who worked in November. Many hands make light work, so call if your available (440)871-8173.

* COVER CROPS. After vegetables are harvested, spade several inches of manure into beds and sow seeds of white Dutch clover or winter rye to grow as a cover crop. The plants will prevent soil erosion during the winter and add nutrients to the soil when tilled into the bed next spring.

* PAPER WHITE NARCISSUS. Plant bulbs in a pot filled with horticultural sand, pebbles, or potting soil and store in a cool place (50[degrees] to 60[degrees]) until shoots emerge, then move the pot into a bright, cool window. Bulbs planted by midmonth should bloom during the holidays.

* SPRING-BLOOMING BULBS. If you haven't set out hardy bulbs yet, get them into the ground immediately Pot up extra bulbs for forcing indoors. Put the pots in a dark, cold place (33[degrees] to 40[degrees]) for 12 weeks, then bring them into a brightly lit room to bloom.

* CONTROL INSECTS ON HOUSE-PLANTS. If aphids, mites, scales, or other insects infest any of your houseplants, slip a plastic garment cover (the kind you get from a dry cleaner) over the plant and spray with insecticidal soap. The plastic tent will contain the spray.

* MAINTAIN TOOLS. Sharpen blades of hoes, spades, and pruning shears, then wipe them with oil (machine oil for metal parts, linseed oil for handles) and store in a dry place for the winter.

* PREPARE BEDS. Before the ground freezes, till a 2- to 3-inch layer of composted manure or mushroom compost into planting beds. Leave the soil in large clumps; freezing and thawing will break them down, and the bed will be ready to plant as soon as the soil warms in spring.

* PREVENT DEER DAMAGE TO TREES. To prevent damage by deer, surround young trees and shrubs with wire cages made from poultry wire or hardware mesh. Use stakes to hold cages in place.

* PROTECT WATER FEATURES FROM FREEZING. To prevent damage to fish and hardy aquatic plants in ponds, use a stock tank heater (available from farm supply stores) to keep the water from freezing solid. Leaving a fountain running also prevents the water from freezing in all but the coldest weather.

* PROTECT YOUNG TREES FROM SUNSCALD. Trees with trunks less than 4 inches in diameter are vulnerable to sunscald, a damaging form of sunburn caused when the low winter sun shines on the tender bark. Paint the trunks with white latex or protect them with a commercial tree wrap.

* PROVIDE AID FOR WILD BIRDS. As colder weather sets in, birds have greater difficulty finding natural food. They seek out bird feeders. Seedeaters such as evening grosbeaks, goldfinches, and pine siskins prefer black oil sunflower and niger thistle. Insect-eaters like flickers and nuthatches favor suet. To provide fresh water in freezing weather, install an electric heater in your birdbath. Avian Aquatics (800/788-6478 or www.avianaquatics.com) sells a variety of birdbath heaters.

* SPREAD MULCH. If you haven't done so already spread a 3- to 4-inch layer of organic mulch around half-hardy plants, over bulb beds, and under trees and shrubs. Shredded leaves, conifer boughs, or straw all work well as winter mulch. Keep mulch 12 inches away from the base of trees and shrubs to discourage rodents from gnawing the bark.

* START A COMPOST PILE. Speed up the composting process by grinding plant waste before you toss it on the compost pile.

Fall rains are sometimes unpredictable, even in the wettest climates. To irrigate new plantings, make sure the rootball and surrounding soil stay moist. For established plants, water when the soil feels dry--1 to 2 inches deep for shallow-rooted plants, such as annuals and ground covers, and 2 to 6 inches deep for small to medium shrubs. Give supplemental water to plants growing under wide eaves.

Central Atlantic Region NATIONAL GARDEN CLUBS, INC Cleveland District

Next Board Meeting

Sue Roehl

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At the Dwyer Center