McMinnville Garden Club
PO Box 386, McMinnville, OR
503-434-4344
February 15th – MEETING
Hillside Retirement
Community “Activity Room” at the Manor
900 N. Hill Road
PLEASE DON’T FORGET TO PARK
IN THE CHURCH PARKING LOT
9:30a.m. - 10:00a.m.
- Social time:
11:00 a.m. - 12:00
p.m. - Speaker: Vern Nelson –
A Walk through a Gourmet's Kitchen Garden
Join us to
learn what Vern’s garden includes and how we can duplicate the creation of a
gourmet kitchen garden.
http://www.oregonlive.com/hg/index.ssf/vern_nelson_columns/index.html
*Remember: “The
Making a Difference Campaign” is a national garden club project. Our Pioneer District is collecting inkjet,
laser printer cartridges and cell phones that will be recycled. If you have any that you wish to contribute
to the project please bring them to a meeting and we will forward them to the
Pioneer District. They take clean bottle
caps, the plastic ones. No medicine bottle caps. *Also bring
your magazines to share with others.
Flowers
to Share
Don't forget to bring your yard cuttings! This
can include flowers, branches, bulbs, etc. There will be a flower
container for you to add your finds to and help arrange. During the
meeting, we’ll select someone to take home the great bouquet all ready for
their house.
February 11 - 13 - 9am—6 pm - The Yamhill Water and
Soil Conservation District's native plant sale
2200
SW 2nd Street, McMinnville
Pre-order
forms and plant descriptions available for sale available at the
OSU
Extension office, the SWCD offices or online at:
http://www.yamhillswcd.org/proj_events/native_plant.html
Feb. 13 – OUR
Field Trip, Yard, Garden and Patio Show
We
are meeting at the Bethel Baptist parking lot with a departure time of 9:30
AM. Wear comfortable shoes, consider bringing a sack lunch. We’ll
divide up into cars according to return times. Hope to see you then!!!
Feb. 24-28 - Portland
Home and Garden Show, , Portland Expo Center
We
don’t have a field trip to this show organized. If there is enough
interest, we can add it to our schedule. Check out more information at:
http://otshows.com/shows/phs/
Feb. 26-27
- Yamhill County Master Gardeners’ Bare Root Tree and Shrub Sale
The Yamhill
County Master Gardeners will hold their annual tree and shrub sale at the
Yamhill County Fairgrounds on Friday and Saturday, February 26 and 27, 2010,
from 9 am until 3 pm. 100% of net proceeds go to fund scholarships for students
at local schools. http://extension.oregonstate.edu/yamhill/sites/default/files/bare_root10.pdf
Senior Center - NW Garden Tour Opportunity
3 day tour of gardens from April 28th
– May 1 starting at Portland’s Crystal Springs Garden and
working the way to Seattle’s Carl S. English Jr. Botanical Garden, Hiram M.
Chittenden Locks, and the Olympic Sculpture Park, our privately led tours
provide beauty, insight and information. Tacoma is abundant with interest
and color, and here we visit the 102-year old Victorian Seymour Botanical
Conservatory, Point Defiance Park, Union Station, the Chihuly Glass Bridge and
Museum of Glass. The European formal-style Lakewold
Gardens feature dogwoods, cherry blossoms and a stunning Georgian-style
mansion, and is a favorite among garden enthusiasts. And no tour of this
area is complete without the piece de resistance: Thornewood Castle, a
Tudor-Gothic castle nearly 100 years old, where our private tour of the
residence and sunken Secret Garden ends with High Tea in the Great Hall.
Throw in a musical performance of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic Flower Drum
Song, and we have a trip not soon to be forgotten. From spectacular
rhododendrons and azaleas to colorful Chihuly blown glass tulips, this trip is
a must for nature, architecture and art lovers. Don’t forget your camera
and your most comfortable walking shoes.
Tour price includes: three nights of hotels including roundtrip
baggage handling, three breakfasts, four lunches including High Tea at
Thornewood Castle, one dinner, admission to Crystal Springs Rhododendron
Garden, private tour of Hiram M. Chittenden Locks and Fish Ladder, private tour
of Olympic Sculpture Park, admission to the Museum of Glass, private tour of
the residence and grounds of Thornewood Castle, ticket to Tacoma Musical
Playhouse’s Flower Drum Song, admission donation to Seymour Botanical
Conservatory, admission to Lakewold Garden, all Experience Oregon motor coach
transportation and sightseeing per the itinerary, taxes and gratuities for the
above mentioned, and services of an Experience Oregon Tour Director. $672
per person double occupancy $798 per person single
Contact Cindi Miller 971-237-2512
February 26th - 27th - Master Gardener's bare
root sale.
Yamhill County Fairgrounds on Friday and Saturday
from 9am until 3pm. 100% of the proceeds
to fund scholarships for students at local schools.
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/yamhill/sites/default/files/bare_root10.pdf
February President’s message
“Dig In”
Develop Skills, Increase Civic Service, and Grow Friendships
By Involvement & Nurturing
Is spring coming? At
the beach this past weekend, I saw daffodil buds that were almost ready to
bloom. My Daphne is close to opening up its gorgeous blooms and filling
my deck with sweet smells.
How about the end of
the winter rain? In my yard, I almost feel like I must be lakefront due
to the “squish” factor when walking across it. Moss is growing in the
lawn, on the trees, concrete and most of my wooden outdoor items. BUT I see
plants reappearing in the ground even where the water puddles. Guess I’d
better get my tools cleaned up and sharpened. (Especially my rose pruners.)
Before I know it, I’ll be pruning back my roses on President’s weekend and then
planting my sweet peas. YIPPEEEE
At our January meeting I was inspired by Ann
Nickerson to look closer at the plant design element of my yard and at our
February 15th meeting I’m hoping Vern Nelson will share tips on
vegetable gardening. I’ve got a lot to learn about that type of
gardening. I did get a ground cover planted where I grow my
veggies. Hopefully the soil will benefit from the hydrogen fix and
my veggies will grow healthier than they did last year.
AND there are two special plant sales this
month! The
Yamhill Water and Soil Conservation District’s
native plant sale Feb. 11-13 AND the YC
Master Gardeners’ bare root sale Feb. 26-27. Next
thing you know I’ll have purchased a few too many plants to get in the
ground. BUT remember, this year my resolution is to plant them in the
ground before two weeks go by…..
HORTICULTURE - NORMA PARKER
Winter is our time to relax by the
fire and dream of next summer’s gardens. We long for their beauty, and
wish there were a magic way to produce their glory with less backbreaking work.
Sharon Gunter recommends Low maintenance Gardening by Valerie
Easton as an excellent resource. For example, wouldn't it be great if
there were no weeds! Ms. Easton and I agree the fundamental step in reducing
weeds is to build healthy soil. Healthy organically rich soil will
produce healthy, disease resistant plants that will crowd out the weeds.
Time spent soil building always pays dividends. Next, remember
nature abhors a vacuum. Bare soil is an invitation to weeds. Mulch,
pavers, and landscaping cloth are all effective in eliminating the problem of
bare soil. Another low maintenance approach is to simply cover the
ground with whatever it is you want to grow there. A vigorous ground
cover either allows no space for weeds to start, or if they do sprout, hides
them and soon chokes them out.
The time and money
saved by purchasing disease resistant plants will outweigh the effort required
to pull out and dispose of the unhealthy ones. Before replanting, make
sure you are putting the right plant in the right place. Did the old
plant have problems because it was not in the right micro climate, or was it an
inferior cultivar? Decide which plant will be best suited for your space
and look specifically for that plant, rather than simply buying what catches
your eye at the nursery (a mistake of which I have been guilty)
Shrubs and trees provide structure
and variety to the landscape and are much easier to care for than
perennials or annuals. Careful research before plan selection will
save a lot of digging up and replanting. Remember anything you plant
will grow approximately one foot taller and one foot wider than what is shown
on the plant label.
Winter is a good time for
maintenance and repair of gardening tools, pruning and training grapes, and
applying dormant sprays to roses and fruit trees, but also for exercising
patience if you are tempted to being gardening too soon. Disturb wet soil
as little as possible and remember gardening too early can cause more harm than
benefit. Browse the nurseries, but be reluctant to buy. Plan and
prune, but leave the planting for later with the exception of bare root trees
and shrubs.
Remember our upcoming field
trip to The Yard Garden and Patio Show February 12th. With 40
hours of informational seminars scheduled this year, it is an ideal
place to get fresh ideas and enthusiasm.
When winter comes,
spring cannot be far behind!
This
and That - Cathy Burdett
FUN, FOOD, FRIENDS AND AN EXTRA
ADDED BONUS
Is the
McMinnville Garden Club just a social club that meets once a month to share
gardening information? Absolutely not!
A welcoming
atmosphere, and a group of giggling, laughing and friendly fellow gardeners,
openly smiling and sharing hugs sets the tone of each meeting! The garden club is a FUN event for members.
But there is
more! There is always an assortment of
delicious, mouth watering treats in an endless variety of choices. Hand dipped chocolates, superior tasting
“made from scratch” selections that are provided each month by the club
members. The FOOD choices are so
wonderful that sometimes I enjoy a “breakfast” at the club and coffee and tea
is always available.
But there is
more! Developing FRIENDSHIPS with fellow
gardeners is a natural progression as we stand around before the meeting eating
food and having fun. After all we share
a common bond – gardening!
But there is
more! Members work together on
innovative, creative projects and programs that benefit the community in which
we live and love.
But there is more! Members have access to the club newsletter,
and educational resources, tours, field trips and events. Especially invaluable is the EXTRA BONUS of
listening to interesting speakers on educational gardening topics.
I have been
enriched and intellectually challenged by being a member of the McMinnville
Garden Club!
Backyard Habitats – Marilyn Coats
LESSER GOLDFINCHES
Even though they resemble the American goldfinches,
the lesser variety breed early in the year and have young in their nests well
before their late-nesting relatives.
Family groups join up in the fall and winter, sometimes flocking with
the American goldfinches and the pine siskins.
Their nests are located on an outer portion of a
small tree or shrub, woven with plant fibers, grass stems, bark and moss with
plant-down linings. The females incubate
4-5 pale blue eggs for 12 days, and the young fledge at 12-15 days and then
join the family flocks.
Their diet consists of the fruits of deciduous
trees, plants and grass, plus seeds and insects. They like to visit backyard feeders and are
especially attracted to the niger thistle sock feeders.
It is so much fun to watch the antics of the birds;
and it can really brighten your day when you see these pretty, bright yellow
birds feeding at your feeder.
Internet Links
Pioneer District
Newsletter
http://gardencentral.org/oregon/pioneerdistrictnewsletter/
State web site
http://oregongardenclubs.org/default.htm
Moss in your lawn? http://gardening.wsu.edu/library/lawn003/lawn003.htm
Rose Pruning http://www.weekendgardener.net/how-to/prune-roses.htm
Planting Sweet Peas http://www.reneesgarden.com/articles/swp-direct-tips.html
South Australian Horticultural Calendar http://www.users.on.net/~arachne/agcalendar.html#February