Austin Gardener Published monthly by The Garden Club of Austin

Transcription

1 Austin Gardener Published monthly by The Garden Club of Austin Volume 49 Issue Awards Banquet December Photos by Carol Kay Johnson

2 Austin Gardener 2 President s Message I hope that all of you, who attended the December 3 rd Banquet and Awards program, enjoyed a great evening of visiting, feasting on wonderful foods, congratulating the awards winners, and having in our presence one of our scholarship winners. It was also the time that the new club officers and board of director s members were installed for the New Year, Although we did not have a sign-in sheet, I believe there were at least 53 in attendance. Certificates of Appreciation were given to Barry Lovelace, Marge Trachtenberg, Alice Merculief, and Elizabeth Wong. Certificates of Honor were given to Laura Joseph,, Liz Stansfeld, Robert Day, Joe Colwell, Norman Wagner, and. Awards were also presented to the June 2012 Flower and Vegetable Show winners. Sweepstakes- Brenda Tran, Horticultural Excellence-Brenda Tran, Queen of Show-Laura Joseph, Princess of Show- Brenda Tran, King of Show-Joe Colwell, Prince of Show-Venkappa & Ratna Gani, Club Cultivar Division I-Barbara Powell, Club Cultivar Division II-Joe Colwell. The Bronze Plaque for Horticulture was awarded to Brenda Tran and the Bronze Plaque for Service was awarded to Joseph Yura. Congratulations to all the winners! The beautiful poinsettia table decorations were raffled off as door prizes. Since this was our last club function for 2012, it was also the last time I presided as your President, a position that I held for the last 5 years. That time seems to have gone by especially fast. I want to thank each and every one of you who helped with all the projects and business the club accomplished during that time. I will remain on the Board of Directors and be our club s representative to the Austin Area Garden Council. Another great year of gardening experiences, especially blessed with more rain than the previous year, for The Garden Club of Austin has ended. As we face the New Year, the start of the 60 th year of our club, we know it will hold many challenges. Hopefully, we will all work together with our new president, Laura Joseph, and the other officers and board members, to make it one of the best years in our history. Have a Blessed Christmas Season and a Happy New Year! Sincerely, Wilburn

3 Austin Gardener 3 December Climate for Austin The average daily maximum temperature varies from 66 at the beginning of the month to 61 at the end. The minimum varies from 44 at the beginning to 40 at the end of the month. Extremes are 90 observed in 1955 and 4 in l989. We average about 5 days with a minimum of 32 or below. Precipitation averages 1.88 inches but has ranged from a wet in 1991 to only a trace in A maximum 24-hour amount of 6.19 occurred in Snow is rare, however a trace was observed in 1993 and On average, precipitation is observed on 8 days during the month. We usually receive about 49% of the possible sunshine, and between sunrise and sunset have 10 clear days, 6 partly cloudy days and 15 days with overcast conditions. Dense fog with visibility of 1/4 mile or less is observed on 4 days. The time between sunrise and sunset varies from about 10 hours 20 minutes at the beginning of the month to 10 hours 14 minutes at the end of the month. President The Garden Club of Austin 1 st Vice Presidents Laura Joseph, Robert Day, Marjorie Trachtenberg 2 nd Vice Presidents John and Joyce Fox 3 rd Vice president Elizabeth Wong Secretary Liz Stansfeld Treasurer Annie Hackebeil Historian Carol Kay Johnson Newsletter Editor Sandi Schmidt AAGC Representative Directors: Term extending through 2012 Billie Passmore Term extending through 2013 Joe Defoe Term extending through 2014 Rainee Freeman Marilyn Metcalf The Garden Club of Austin, Inc. was established in 1953 and is currently affiliated with The Gardeners of America/Men s Garden Clubs of America (TGOA/MGCA), the Southwest Region of MGCA and the Austin Area Garden Council. Meetings are open to the public and held in the Austin Area Garden Center on the fourth Thursday of the month except for November (the third Thursday) and December (an awards banquet ). Membership inquiries should be directed to our treasurer, Annie Hackebeil, at Questions or comments concerning the newsletter should be sent to the editor, Sandi Schmidt, at brsch07@gmail.com Gardening Checklist for December-January Here are a few things you might consider during these cool days of late fall and early winter. * Select your Christmas tree early, cut off about an inch of the trunk and stand the tree in a bucket of water in a cool, shady area until ready to decorate. You may want to apply an anti-transpirant spray such as Wilt-Pruf or Cloud Cover to make your tree last even longer. * In mid-december, plant tulip bulbs that have been chilling in the refrigerator. * Apply dormant oil spray to control scale and other hard to control over-wintering insect pests. Follow label instructions to avoid damage to plants. * Keep the water hose handy or turn on the sprinklers occasionally. Soil can dry out, even when temperatures are cold. Trees and shrubbery are nearly dormant now, however, their roots are still quite active, and it may be necessary to do occasional watering in the absence of rain. * Plants growing in containers are especially vulnerable to freezes. Plants that normally would be hardy when growing in the ground may freeze badly when their roots and soil balls are exposed to freezing weather. * Remember, wet clay pots may crack if they freeze. * Rake fallen leaves or go over them with a mulching lawn mower. Do not allow them to accumulate and smother the lawn grass. Either put your leaves in your compost pile or use them to mulch your planting beds. Mulching will keep the soil from changing temperature rapidly, as well as help to retain moisture and protect shallow roots. * Clean up and sharpen your tools. Apply a thin coating of oil to protect against rust. Your tools will then be ready to go come springtime. * Start planning your spring garden. Try something new next year. Your local retailers and gardening catalogs give you lots of choices. That will do it for this month (and this year). Have a great holiday season! Welcome New Member Please introduce yourself to our newest member: Melissa Kitchens, Austin

4 Austin Gardener 4 Success with Sweet Peas After a successful attempt last year at growing bluebonnets in containers, I decided to try one of my all-time favorite annuals in pots too. Results are promising so I d like to encourage you to give it a try. I plan to bring a bouquet of magnificent, homegrown sweet peas to an early spring club meeting. You can too, and it is very easy and inexpensive. Sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) have been around for centuries, and in 1695 sweet peas were first recorded growing in Sicily. Sweet peas are legumes and cousins to peas as well as peanuts. Thanks largely to British gardeners, there are thousands of varieties of sweet peas which can climb, cascade, or clump from pastel to bright red and purple including stripes and bicolors. All are scented. It is interesting to note that Earl Spencer Princess Diana s family is largely responsible for the vast array of Spencer sweet pea varieties known and sold throughout the world. Sweet peas on the fence is definitely part of an early winter ritual. I have satisfied the urge to have these delicate, wildly fragrant and colorful flowers each spring by going to Central Market and buying a bunch or two. Nothing is more beautiful or reminds me more of my youth than sweet peas. I have tried a couple of times over the years to get some started by the fence, and if - and that s a big if - the seeds sprouted, the plants were quickly eaten by snails so I lost interest in growing sweet peas in the ground. First, I bought several packets of sweet pea seeds at Great Outdoors Nursery. They have a huge selection of seed varieties, colors, heights, etc. so I selected 3 types to try. I soaked the seeds over night in cups of water, and planted 6-8 seeds in large pots filled with potting soil and compost with tomato cages for support. I used the largest pots I had available along with heavy duty tomato cages firmly in place in each pot. I watered in the seeds and kept the pots fairly moist, being careful to use a watering can so as to not disturb the seeds with blasts of water. In about 7 days, the sweet peas were sprouting. Presently, the seedlings are beginning to wrap themselves around the base of their supports. I also happened to see a nice variety of established sweet pea seedlings at Natural Gardener so I purchased a flat of mixed color sweet peas and planted them in 2 large pots with supports, and these are growing beautifully with tendrils reaching the top of the cages. I can also see lots of buds forming. Sweet peas are heavy feeders so I added Osmocote to the planting mix and drenched the soil with fish emulsion every few days. All pots are in full sun. I am checking regularly for snails, aphids and other pests. I also highly recommend The Sweet Pea Book by Graham Rice. I bought this charming little garden book online. An excellent guide to growing all kinds of sweet peas with detailed advice for containers and hanging baskets, the book is filled with hundreds of wonderful color photographs which almost smell delicious too. I ll be glad to share. I hope you will join me in growing sweet peas this winter. Once established, sweet peas can take the mild freezes we get and will, hopefully, reward us with buckets of lovely flowers much less expensive than Central Market too. Laura Joseph You re encouraged to submit articles of gardening interest for the newsletter. Remember to give credit to your sources, Write an article for the Newsletter

5 Austin Gardener 5 Dec 18 - Tue Jan 14 - Mon Jan 15 - Tue Jan 24- Thu Club Awards Presented at December Banquet Bronze Plaque for Service Joseph Yura Bronze Plaque for Horticulture Brenda Tran Certificates of Honor Laura Joseph Liz Stansfeld Robert Day Norman Wagner Joe Colwell Certificates of Appreciation Elizabeth Wong Barry Lovelace Marjorie Trachtenberg Alice Merculief Awards from June Show Sweepstakes Brenda Tran Horticultural Excellence Brenda Tran Queen of Show Laura Joseph Princess of Show Brenda Tran King of Show Joe Colwell Prince of Show Venkappa & Ratna Gani Club Cultivar Division I Barbara Powell Club Cultivar Division II Joe Colwell Mark Your Calendar Third Tuesday Lunch Bunch. About 11:15 AM at Luby s Cafeteria located at the south-west corner of Mopac and Steck Avenue TGCOA Board of Directors meeting 7 PM Third Tuesday Lunch Bunch. About 11:15 AM at Luby s Cafeteria located at the south-west corner of Mopac and Steck Avenue Monthly Meeting of TGCOA. Social starts at 7, program and meeting at 7:30 PM. Club Officers Installed At the October meeting, the nomination committee offered the following slate of candidates for These people were unanimously elected at our November meeting and were installed during the December Banquet. President Laura Joseph 1 st Vice Presidents Joyce Fox Sandi Schmidt Marjorie Tractenberg 2 nd Vice President John Fox 3 rd Vice president Elizabeth Wong Secretary Molly Clark Treasurer Annie Hackebeil Historian Carol Kay Johnson Newsletter Editor Sandi Schmidt Web Master Liz Stansfeld AAGC Representative: Directors: Joe Defoe Joe Yura Marilyn Metcalf Laura Holland 2013 Dues Club dues for 2013 should be paid by the January monthly meeting. Individual- $25. Additional members at the same address are $15 each. This includes national as well as local membership. Make check payable to The Garden Club of Austin and bring it to the January meeting or mail it to : Annie Hackebeil 652 S Monroe Street LaGrange, TX Please indicate any changes in address, telephone numbers, etc. Also, if you have an address, or have updated your address, she would like to have that. If you have any questions, please give Annie a call at (if no one is home, leave a message and your call will be returned) or her at <awhackebeil@aol.com>.