Garden Clippings March 2006

McMinnville Garden Club Vol. 5 No. 7

March 20, 2006

Nothing but Northwest Native Plants

By Kali Robson

Covenant Church meeting: 2155 W. 2^nd Street

Social time: 10:30 AM

Business & Lunch meeting: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Optional Brown bag lunch – dessert, coffee & tea provided by hostesses: Marian Blank-Vicki Brink-Jeannie Bruce-Patty Sorensen

Program: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Plant Sale after presentation

Kali gardened with her father as a kid and always enjoyed gardening so it was natural for her to eventually want to learn more about growing plants in detail.

Kali Robson is the owner of, Nothing but Northwest Natives Nursery located in Woodland, WA for three years and is a botanist by training.  Kali holds a B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Botany and is in the process of writing her first book for Timber Press about gardening with Pacific Northwest Native Plants due out in the spring of 2007.  In addition she is writing an essay series on the science and evolution of NW native plants along with designing native plant gardens as a hobby. 

At Kali’s nursery she purchases Pro-Gro soil that comes with a little slow release fertilizer and then adds mycorrhizal innoculent to the plants.  She uses no pesticides in her nursery. For more information about Kali Robson and Nothing but Northwest Native Plants please visit her website at: www.nothingbutnwnatives.com and for essays on the science and evolution of Northwest native plants visit: www.morethanthesum.com.

March 27, 2006

Hands-On Craft Project: Create Your Own Mosaic Flower Pot

1915 NW Wallace Rd., 1:00-3:00

We will be learning from Patty how to do a basic mosaic decorated flower pot. Instructions will also be given for your own future projects like stepping stones, trays, etc. Once you understand the basic process, you’ll likely want to start using mosaic to decorate on a multitude of surfaces! Cost is $3.00. Reservations must be made by the end of the meeting on March 20^th. On March 27, we’ll be working in a garage, so wear warm washable clothes, bring some rags, a glue gun if you have one and go home with a gorgeous pot ready for your spring plants! Mosaic colors will be in earth tones or blues in case you want to bring your own “baubles” to add personality to your pot.

For more information contact: Sandy’s email sandys_hillside@onlinemac.com or call 503-868-7331

President’s Message

McMinnville Garden Club is growing! In September, our first meeting back after the summer vacation, four new members joined and in the past five months we have an additional seven more. This brings our club size to sixty-five strong. It’s wonderful to have new members; you all bring so much energy and knowledge to the club. On behalf of the membership, we welcome all of you and look forward to knowing and interacting with each and every one of you.

Time flies when having fun; now our time is really ramping up to the real fund raising that we do as a club that gives back to the community of McMinnville. In the next several months planning for our annual garden tour/faire will start to unfold and we will once again see the fruits of our labors on June 25^th. We are so lucky to have such dedicated members like you to help make all that we do as a club a great success each year. So, I call on all of you again to get involved and help make our 2006 Garden Tour, “In The Garden”, the success that it has become during the past five years.

In our gardens we are watching daffodils, tulips and buds swelling on bushes and trees just waiting for spring to come and light up our lives once again. Enjoy nature’s gifts. Protect them, respect them, and above all enjoy them!

Happy spring! Kim Jongedyk

Membership addendums for the Yearbook will be available at the March meeting.

A big thank you to the new Yard of the Month committee members: Beverly Mulkey, Rosemary

Vertregt, Anne Silverthorne, and Ruth Miller.

Remember this date! The Oregon State Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc.‘s 2006 State Convention, “Roses, Roses, Roses” will be June 12-14 at the Red Lion at the Convention Center in Portland.

Backyard Habitat

BIRDS AND BEES AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN

 It's now the time to put up those birdhouses. All around you'll see and hear many birds hoping to find homes in your backyards. Welcome them with safe homes made just for them. Try to keep those unwanted guests from raiding their newly built nest and robbing them of their eggs or nestlings.

    You will notice too with the coming of those little ones that the predators are out in force.  And sadly it's the food chain thing, a must to keep nature in balance. Enjoy watching the hawks soaring in the warm spring skies and wonder just how it would feel to do the same. I have enjoyed many varieties of hawks out here in the Sheridan hills.  Tiny Kestrels to the larger Red-tailed Hawks abound up here. Some nest every year in the Oak groves below my house.

GARDEN PLANS

    This year along with your garden of beautiful flowers try adding even more of the new types of Ornamental Grasses. They are not only lovely to look at but provide nesting material for birds and small creatures and also food for hungry young ones and winter storage.

    Many Nurseries have areas of Native Plants now, so take advantage of them as truly they bring in more bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. The nectar gathered from then is more true to what their bodies need to continue their life functions.

BUGS, BUGS, BUGS

    We all have them and thank heavens for that. Just a reminder: please don’t get carried away with pesticides or just start thinking of NOT using them at all. There is such a small amount of insects that do really any harm. ie. slugs, aphids, earwigs to name a few. They will catch the eye of many a bird or Good Bug predator all too soon. No pesticide is selective in its killing process. Birds that eat anything treated with a pesticide will carry this into their eggs or nestlings and cause harm. Let nature take its course and in doing so all will be well. To add to this no-pesticide use a thought (if you have been blessed with a inquisitive grandchild or two they will come to no harm having tested if all things are indeed edible. A bad tasting bug is a bad tasting bug and they will remember it always.)

LOOK UP, LOOK AROUND AND LISTEN and enjoy the coming of Spring. Daffodils are plentiful and tulips are not far behind. Gardens can be worked up, if ever so slowly due to the rains of winter, but cold-season crops can be planted now. If you come across a sleeping grub or cutworm give him a toss near the bird feeder, he will be gobbled up quickly.  Oh yeah, they'll love you for it.

I wish you all a HAPPY SPRING even though technically it's not really Spring until March 21st. By the looks of things outside, Nature has other ideas!

Julie Maahs

Hort. Beat

DON’T SQUASH THAT BUG! By Mildred Reppeto

Most insects are “good” and are valuable in the garden. Three types of beneficial insects are pollinators, predators and parasitoids. Pollinators include honeybees, bumblebees, mason bees and syrphid flies.

Predatory insects eat large numbers of other insects, either as adults, larvae, or both. Many predators feed on only certain types of insects. These include lady beetles, praying mantids, green and brown lacewings, ground beetles, minute pirate bugs, damsel bugs, syrphid/hover flies. (Spiders are also excellent predators.)

To protect these important garden workers, invite beneficials to your yard

• by providing them with habitat and food from the carrot family (Apiaceae), daisy family (Asteraceae), cabbage family (Brassicaceae), and scabiosa family (Dipsaceae). Some of these insects are very small and can only reach the nectar and pollen of small insectary flowers.
• by choosing the least toxic pesticide that is effective for the specific “bad” bugs you have, spray only infested plants, spray in morning when insects are less active, and do not spray plants in bloom. Insecticidal soaps and horticultural oils are also used. Read the labels!

Parasitoids live on or in a host insect and feed on it, which usually kills it. Most of these insects are small, stingless wasps or fles that lay eggs. They are not easily seen. One of the most common is the tachinid. This group destroys aphids, scales, earwigs, beetles, moths, flies, etc.

Syrphid Flies may be brightly colored with bands of yellow, black or white. They resemble bees or wasps. Adults hover around flowers to feed on nectar. Eat aphids, scales, earwigs. About 14mm

Damsels are slender, grayish or tan sucking insects that eat thrips, aphids. About 18-40 mm

Lacewings, brown or green, with transparent wings.

These eat aphids, mites, leaf hoppers, mealy bugs. About 12-18 mm

Mantids (praying mantid) are voracious and devour almost

any moving insect. They patiently sit motionless until their prey is within reach of their front legs. About 18-115 mm

Crab spiders (10mm) and wolf spiders (14 mm) are common in the garden and are considered general predators.

So when you see that common black beetle (16mm) or the bright assassin bug (12-18mm) or a tachinid (8-13mm) or syrphid/hover fly (14mm), think of all the bad guys they get before you squash them!

Sources for this article: Mac’s Field Guide; OSU Extension Service

Flower Show Symposium, mark the date! Check out: http://oregongardenclubs.org/Events_files/symposium2006.htm for details on the April 11 and 12 Oregon State Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc.’s symposium. For more information contact 503.636.5338. The registration deadline is April 1.

Club History

May 20, 1929

The McMinnville Garden Club met at the home of Delia Stout. President Mrs. Sly presided. Fifteen members present – also four guests, three of whom joined the club.

A letter from Paul Maris, Extension Dept. O.S.A.C. (Oregon State Agriculture College) acknowledging note of thanks for Mr. Cuthbert’s lecture, as ordered by the Club at April meeting. A letter was read from Hotel Benton, Corvallis, stating their ability to accommodate delegates to the OR Fed. of Garden Clubs meeting. A letter stating that space has been reserved for our exhibit at Rose Festival. A letter from Miss. M.S. Creighton stating that she would have open garden for columbines, Thursday, April 23, from 2 to 8 PM and that all interested were invited then, or a day or two later. A bill of 60 cents for telephoning was allowed Mrs. Sly and ordered paid. It was reported that the iris and daffodil plantings on the Dayton highway were badly in need of hoeing and weeding and a motion prevailed that boys be hired to do this since all efforts to get it done without expense had proved unavailing.

Mrs. Miller reported that rain had made it impossible for visiting daffodil gardens at Forest Grove. Mrs. Sitton reported on a trip to the wonderful lilac gardens of Mrs. Klager at Woodland, WA. The flower show committee reported they held their flower show in the US Nat’l Bank from Wed., April 15 and continued throughout the week. It was a beautiful exhibition of blooms, very artistically arranged, but was not competitive therefore there were no awards. Miss Sout carried a request from Mr. Ashbaugh, janitor of the Jr. High School, for bulbs or plants that could be planted on the school grounds. Mrs. Wisecarver was appointed to stage our exhibit at the Rose Festival with the privilege of choosing her own committee to assist her. A motion was made that we take next Monday, May 27^th, for visiting Miss Creighton’s columbine gardens, including on the tip Bauer’s Aquatic gardens and other things of interest including a picnic lunch for which Mrs. F.F. Smith volunteered to make chicken sandwiches for the crowd. Her offer was enthusiastically received, and everyone present thought they could go. (One lady joining the club on this account.)

A motion was made and carried that the Garden Club send flowers to Mrs. Tibbetts who has been ill for a long time. Dues and subscriptions for the coming year were paid. Treasury amount $8.05, Receipts $9.50, Paid out (telephone) 60 cents, Balance: $16.95

Dorothy Mathiesen

Websites to Check Out and Upcoming Events for Gardeners

Pest, Weed, and Disease Alerts from the Oregon Department of Agriculture http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/PLANT/alerts_index.shtml

*Oregon Coast Home & Garden Show, Newport, March 3-5, http://www.ochgs.com/

*Home & Garden Show, March 4-5, 2006 – Florence, Events Center, info 541-997-1994

*Salem Yard Garden & Patio Show, Salem, March 17-19, Jackman-Long Bldg. Oregon State

Fairgrounds, info 503-363-6676

*Oregon Daffodil Society Show, March 17-19, Lake Oswego, Millennium Plaza Park, info

(503) 697-5037

*Woodburn Tulip Festival, March 20-April 20– Woodburn, info 503-982-8221,

http://www.woodenshoe.com/

*Daffodil Festival, March 25-26, Amity info 503-835-2181

*Early Rhododendron Society Show, March 30, Florence, Events Center, info 541-997-1994

*Oregon Hardy Plant Society Sale, April 8-9, Hillsboro Fairgrounds

(Several of these events were listed at: http://www.all-oregon.com/garden_events.htm Check this website and the Oregon Garden for additional events.)

Remember to save the date of April 20 as we will be hosting the Pioneer District Spring Luncheon and Meeting at the Covenant Church.

Sunshine

Our thoughts and prayers remain with Marilyn Coats as she faces her new health challenge. Joan Friese

Tune in!

March 9^th at 8:00 PM on Channel 10 treat yourself to OPB’s

Birds of Oregon: An Oregon Field Guide Special.

This is a compilation of their best segments about birds, habitat, and birders.

"Don't grumble that roses have thorns, be thankful that thorns have roses."

McMinnville Garden Club Organized in 1926 PO Box 386 McMinnville OR 97128 http://mcminnvillegardenclub.org Information: 503 434 4344 Meeting Information Meeting Day: Third Monday September through June 10:30-11 AM Social Time 11 AM – 1 PM Optional Brown Bag Lunch Covenant Church, Fireside Room, 2155 West 2^nd, McMinnville, OR Meetings are open to the public. Executive Board President Kim Jongedyk Vice President Sandy Ford Secretary Judy Eggers Treasurer Marilyn Coats Conservation Pledge I pledge to protect and conserve the natural resources of the planet Earth, and promise to promote education, so we may be caretakers to our air, water, forests, land, and wildlife. Ongoing Projects Summer Garden Tour The Oregon Garden Support Scholarships for Horticulture National Garden Week Garden of the Month Blue Star Memorial Marker City Beautification “Garden Clippings” is a monthly publication of the McMinnville Garden Club. Contact Kim Jongedyk, (503-434-9130), or 503-434-4344 for info.

Committee Chairs Backyard Habitat Julie Maahs Garden Tour 2006 Judy Eggers Patty Sorensen Garden Faire 2006 Gaye Stewart Historian Dorothy Mathiesen Horticulture Eveyln Mundinger Hospitality Rosemary Vertregt Membership Sandy Bolmer Newsletter Patty Sorensen Anne Silverthorne Parliamentarian Gaye Stewart Publicity/PR Sandy Ford Scholarship Cindi Miller Sunshine Joan Friese Telephone Mary Whinery Yard of Month Ruth Miller, Beverly Mulkey, Anne Silverthorne, Rosemary Vertregt Yearbook Kim Jongedyk Sandy Ford The newsletter deadline for submission of articles for our monthly newsletter is the last day of the previous month. Please send them to Patty Sorensen. Do you know of any prospective Garden Club members? Be sure to let Sandy Bolmer know names and addresses. We would love to send them our newsletter for three months.