Paradise Garden Club, Inc. June/July Editor: Adrianne Ayres

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1 THE WATERCAN POST Paradise Garden Club, Inc. June/July 2018 Editor: Adrianne Ayres July s Program Our old friend David Walther from Spring Fever Nursery will be surprising us with new plant varieties and tips on keeping our plants fresh during the hot weather. Mark Your Calendar Remember Odd months, we have a plant sale, a benefit drawing & horticulture display of plants from your garden. Even months, we have potlucks President s Message PGCI Garden Tour 2018-Let me tell you about it. Wait... You were there. Well then, let me tell you what I heard. Compliments on the Tour itself, how friendly and helpful PGCI members are, amazement at all we offer during the Tour, admiration for the creative Container Gardens, always enjoy the plant sale, a lot of info from composting (demonstration), impressed with how well organized the event is, have been coming for years, something we plan to do together (heard from family and friends), and, yes, even compliments on how quick and efficient the Benefit Drawing proceded. And, of course, thank-yous for the cold drinks and cookies. Now that is what I call a successful Garden Tour! June is an eventful month, what with the Garden Tour, and not only our Celebration Picnic at Bille Park Pavilion, but an "after hours" picnic right after the close of the Tour. (Thanks Connie and Bob Prevot). The month of July marks the beginning of PGCI's "New Year" and is recognized both by the Installation of Officers and Chairs for the year and a thank-you to those who gave their time during August is our dark month but we will be back in September, with horticulture displays (a good way to share with each other our garden surprises), speakers, potlucks, benefit drawings, plant sales, and, as always, one or two new experiences. So, see you in September, Julie Jones, President PGCI Motto: Coming together is the beginning. Working together is progress. Staying together is success. Paradise Garden Club, Inc. (PGCI), is a member of the Buttes District CGCI, Pacific Region, and the National Garden Club, Inc. To learn more about the Club s people, programs and activities, visit PGCI June / July 2018

2 Convention Corner Report of Water Conservation Chair Water, water everywhere and. Am I repeating myself, you bet! It is worth remembering and worth repeating, if we don t learn and practice conservation, we may not have all the water we need in the future. In the mean time, crises like the Oroville Dam have garnered attention way beyond Butte and Yuba counties. Enough so that in Sacramento, legislation has been introduced to address two critical elements about water for our State. CA State Assembly Rep. James Gallagher has introduced two bills for consideration. Gallagher states: Cycles of drought followed by heavy precipitation will continue to be a serious challenge water managers have to address and requires a multi-pronged adaption strategy. In addition to unpredictable supply, California continues to face water quality challenges and must make short and long term improvements to infrastructure to clean up contaminated drinking water systems. California faces many water challenges, and we need to invest in developing and deploying existing and upcoming technologies that help us address these issues. AB 2957 will help California attract innovators to help meet challenges in water planning, recycling, testing, treatment, distribution, and more, said Gallagher. And then, regarding specific problems associated with reports of DWR mismanagement of the Oroville Dam, Gallagher says: This legislation AB 1270, will enhance State Dam inspections and require the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to issue an annual report on dams and reservoirs it operates. Hopefully we can prevent another failure of critical infrastructure. While the investigation about the cause of the failure of Oroville Dam is ongoing, one thing has become clear- this was not just the work of Mother Nature. We have to learn from the construction, design, and maintenance issues that led to the failure at Oroville. Not only will this require more comprehensive inspections, but it will require complete transparency from the Department regarding the funding and maintenance of the dams it operates, said Assemblyman Gallagher. You can follow progress on these and similar issues from Assy man Gallagher at: If you are not aware of the current water issues in your neck of the woods; I suggest you contact your supplier s customer relations department. Remember, since the City of Bell fiasco, we all want transparency from our public agencies. You have a right to know. Ward Habriel, PGCI Co-Pres. CGCI Director Chair, CGCI Water Conservation Committee The Last the name of this edible wild plant to: newsletter@paradisegardenclub.org or call Ben at by July 30. Winner receives: 2 Free Raffle Tickets that can be exchanged at any meeting. The winner will be selected by a random drawing among all the accurate submissions received. To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves. ~ Mahatma Gandhi was Colleen Francis Who correctly identified LAST June's puzzle as Azalea [western) Rhododendron occidentale PGCI Page 2 June / July 2018

3 Beautification Aloha! My time has nearly run out. As of June 30 th, I planned on handing the beautification chairmanship to another person. Question is to who? Can you see yourself in this position? It has been a honor to have served you in the chair position. When I look back, the best part was the friendships I made along the way a true blessing. Thank you to my Beautification crew. Aloha, Jim Dill, Beautification Chair "The Earth Laughs in Flowers." Ralph Waldo Emerson Hear ye, hear ye! Get ready for a fabulous new event! PGCI 2018 Creativity Expo: This is an opportunity to display your creative talents. Several years ago, we held a similar event and were blown away with our members fabulous ideas. Ben Saturen has agreed to start the ball rolling. We know that many of you have hobbies: jewelry making, flower arranging, metal working, sculpture, weaving, pottery, authoring, quilting, fine arts, photography, shadow boxes, doll houses --- you let us know what floats your boat. We need your ideas on how to display your talents. This will be a lot of fun but we need a few folks to help us plan. A sign-up sheet will be available at the July 9th meeting. Our first planning meeting will be at Ben's house, 5831 Ingalls Rd, on August 15th at 10:00 AM. Carolyn Melf The club sent these notes in May and June: A thank you to Sandra Galka for her informative presentation about Hospice A sympathy card was sent to Jackie Owens on the loss of her husband To Connie & Bob Prevot, a thank you for hosting the tour meetings & the after-tour party To MaryLou Gilpatrick: Best wishes to feel better after her fall Thank notes to: Jack & August Rockwell, Mark & LeeAnne Burnes, Joe & Anne Wright, Shelby Hank, and Mark & Debbie Wiley for hosting their gardens for PGCI 2018 Garden Tour To Pat Pickard We sent a note of cheer and encouragement A sympathy card went to Jim Dill Jeudie Lovell "Flowers are love's truest language." Park Benjamin PGCI Page 3 June / July 2018

4 Letter from the Editor. I joined PGCI not long after moving to Paradise in late I was, and still am, amazed by the amount of work accomplished by the PGCI volunteers! Kudos to all! Not long after joining PGCI, I was asked to take over the monthly newsletter (Watercan Post) and the annual Garden Tour/Ticket book. I thoroughly enjoy the creativity involved. The people I ve met are truly wonderful and I definitely appreciate their support, i.e., submitting articles, photos, their patience (I m still learning my way around Paradise, Magalia, Chico, etc., in the effort to acclimate myself to the who, what, and where in these areas.) As many of you know, in addition to computer work, I enjoy taking photos always fun! And, for this double edition, I m adding photos from the after-hours potluck held by Bob and Connie Prevot (always fun ), and from the Celebration Picnic at Bille Park both festive events! Meanwhile, enjoy your break in August and I look forward to hearing from you for inputs to the September newsletter, etal! My thanks to Patti Davis, Carolyn Melf, and Ron Watts for their photos of the various tour homes, plant sale, etc., (I apologize if I ve overlooked anyone). Again, thanks to all - Adrianne Ayres After hours Get Together Last 2018 Tour Board Meeting Celebration Picnic Thank you to all PGCI members who created wonderful container gardens for our 2018 tour! Special thanks to Patti Davis for taking and printing photos, and to Adrianne Ayres for making identification labels for each entry. The Benefit Drawing items, (33 gardens), are truly a highlight, which sold 673 raffle tickets! WOW! Once again, thank you fellow gardeners! Patti Davis, Photographer Carol Mordock PGCI Page 4 June / July 2018

5 Once Again, You re an Amazing Group!!!!! I want to thank everyone for coming together, once again, to make our Plant Sale and Boutique such a success!! Thanks to everyone who came to Butte College to pick up plants; Thanks to those who donated plants and handmade items for the Boutique. Thanks to everyone who came to help set-up, and to everyone who donated the canopies, wagons and extra tables. It was another HOT weekend and those canopies really helped keep the plants and all who worked, cool. Thanks to all who signed-up to work the plant sale, answering the customer s questions, working the cash box, and carrying the plants to the customer s cars. A special thanks to Suzanna & Keith Williams, Jim Dill, Connie Prevot, Ron Watts, Joanne Lougaris, and Pam James, who were there to help all weekend. Without you all, we couldn t be a success. And finally, thanks to all who came back to help break down the plant sale and boutique. It s a lot of hard work to put on this event and you all proved to be so AWESOME!!!!!! It just could not have been done without you all!!!! It was an honor and so fun to work with you all!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! Sue Harrington, 2018 Plant Sale Co-chair PGCI Page 5 June / July 2018

6 2018 CGCI annual convention Cheryl and I recently attended the 2018 CGCI annual convention, this time held in Tuolumne. The theme this year was. Cheryl was a voting proxy for Julie who could not attend. The annual convention is when the full CGCI Board meets to do the Clubs business; and, as a Committee chair, I am also a Board member of CGCI. The outline of meetings looks like this: a Pre-Convention Board Meeting; Convention Ceremonial Opening; Business Meetings 1, 2, 3, 4 and the Organizational Board Meeting. Committee Chairs also attend special meetings to focus on the issues of the committees they represent; my committee is Water Conservation. Near the end of Business meeting 4, the committee chairs make an oral report to the entire Board and all members present. I will share my report during our July meeting. This convention was also a National Garden Clubs, Standard Flower Show, complete with judging, and the entries were absolutely stunning. There were hundreds of plant specimens of a wide-ranging variety. Also included were workshops, exhibits, the Club Awards Displays, and, of course, the all important fund raiser Boutique & Raffle. It was a lot to take in, in just four days. Each dinner included a guest speaker and Award Presentations. Each lunch and dinner included special honors tables where seating was specifically requested by the CGCI President. Cheryl and I were Honored to be included at the Wednesday lunch Honors table. Cheryl and I will be making a presentation to PGCI regarding the Awards that are available (some with cash prizes) and what options there are for clubs as well as for individual club members. We will also have a little show-and-tell of resources and goodies we garnered while attending this convention. See you at the July meeting. Ward Habriel, CGCI Board Member and Chair, Water Conservation "If gardeners will forget a little the phrase, "watering the plants" and think of watering as a matter of "watering the earth" under the plants, keeping up its moisture content and gauging its need, the garden will get on very well. - Henry Beston, Herbs and the Earth, 1935 Garden Offerings and Services FREE listings are available here for your gardening related offerings and services. For more information, contact editor at: newsletter@paradisegardenclub.org Ward Habriel : Tractor/backhoe service to Paradise Garden Club members at a discount (Town of Paradise area only). Dennis Barrett : Tractor Service: Backhoe, post holes, grading, and rototilling. Discount to PGCI members. Franci Lamb : Healing Mind, Body & Spirit. Certified Massage Therapist offers Hot-stone and Swedish massage therapy. Gift certificates available for that hard working someone special in their life or their favorite gardener! Franci Lamb : I know this isn't the season to be transplanting irises...but I have several dozen available...probably closer to a hundred...! ramewelamb@att.net. PGCI Page 6 June / July 2018

7 Days of Living History Gold Nugget Museum September 8 th and 9 th, 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM It s nearly time for the museum s annual celebration of local history and the Paradise Garden Club looks forward to participating in this exciting community event. Once again, our project will feature Popcorn Pies where children plant popcorn kernels in a mini-pie tin and create a critter-crow to guard their crop. They also take home an informative sheet filled with popcorn trivia and corny facts fun! Since we do not meet in August, please sign up today you will love it! "The Earth Laughs in Flowers." - Ralph Waldo Emerson Carol Mordock, Youth Chair July s Garden of the Month Home of Bill and Julaine Gipson Laguna Court, Paradise Step into this true backyard Paradise located in the lower area of our Banana Belt. You'll never want to leave this lush and magical place where a beautiful forked creek travels over landscaped rock down into a pond-less pool where it travels out to the front underground to help keep the lush landscape preserved and watered. This once barren hillside was lovingly landscaped by Bill and Julaine who picked out all the plants displayed along the fantasy waterfall. The exit from the home is graced by a partially enclosed atrium looking out from the dinning area onto a peaceful shaded area where you can thrill to the many birds that come visiting this lovely oasis. Don't accept a seat under one of the umbrellas or you may never leave. Directions - Left on Skyway then Left at Pearson. Go to intersection of Pearson and Pentz and turn right. Drive a ways down to Malibu and turn right then make another right onto Laguna Court. The house will be on your left. Robin Robar Candace DeCou Three Butte College Students to Receive 2018 PGCI Scholarships! PGCI members are invited to attend Butte College s gala Donor Reception and Scholarship Awards Ceremony on August 16th. The Donor Reception begins at 4:30 PM, with refreshments being served. The Awards Ceremony begins around 5:00 PM. This year, PGCI will award three $1,000 scholarships. With these 2018 awards, our club will have awarded 72 scholarships for a total award amount of $58,900, making our club one of the highest donors for Butte College students. Reserve your seat at our table by ing me at silver@sfsu.edu or phoning, before July 13 th. Your generosity has truly made a difference in many students lives. PGCI Page 7 June / July 2018

8 Please convey my gratefulness to the Paradise Garden Club for their efforts in gifting us all with a wonderful Paradise Garden Tour experience. Linda Oslin Dear members of the Paradise Garden Club, I want to express my deep appreciation for the work you are doing to beautify Paradise. I am especially grateful for the Daffodils you donated to Paradise Adventist Academy. We planted them in strategic places on our campus and it was a joyful experience to see them blooming this spring. I am also grateful for the Daffodils you provided for us to plant along Pearson Road on our Love Paradise workday. You are doing a wonderful work, and I thank you very much. Sincerely, Monte Nystrom, Principal, Paradise Adventist Academy "The serene philosophy of the pink rose is steadying. Its fragrant, delicate petals open fully and are ready to fall, without regret or disillusion, after only a day in the sun. It is so every summer. One can almost hear their pink, fragrant murmur as they settle down upon the grass: 'Summer, summer, it will always be summer.'" - Rachel Peden Invasion of the Body Snatchers Hello Hollywood! The back half of my property has been invaded by a plant that was snatching, and sticking to, my pant legs, shirt, gloves and my dog s fur. After researching Wikipedia and other sites, I found that we had been invaded by Galium boreale or Northern Bedstraw. AKA: the Velcro plant. There are about 60 species of Bedstraw in North America. It is a low-growing annual or perennial herb. The fruit, or seed, is composed of two rounded nuts joined together and frequently covered in hooked bristles to promote animal dispersal. My dog and I were doing a great job of dispersing those tiny little devils. According to the Wisconsin Master Gardeners, this is a native perennial herb, a member of the coffee family. The tiny seeds can be roasted as a coffee substitute. There is also recorded use as a folk remedy for urinary tract problems and using the juice of the plant for healing wounds. The common name of 'bedstraw' derives from the early Colonists use of the dried foliage as bedding, for themselves, and for their cattle. The dried leaves have a fragrant aroma which was pleasing when used as a pillow or mattress stuffing. The leaves can be eaten in a salad. How lucky are we to have such a valuable plant on our property! I wanted to purge them without using an herbicide and it had already gone to seed, so we decided to hand pull as much of the plant and roots as possible. Three days later, we had most of it pulled and piled into several stacks. We thought that the piles would shrink down, but instead they became little dry hay stacks that did smell a bit like new-mown hay. I try to use what my property provides for me. However, not being an early Colonist or a cattle owner, we passed on the free mattress stuffing and bedding. And we won t be roasting the seeds for coffee either. Just like the Hollywood horror film, the seeds will be back. Carolyn Matheny Seed Saver Chair PGCI Page 8 June / July 2018

9 Benefit Drawing A special thank you to all those who helped make the Benefit Drawing run so smoothly during the garden tour. Thanks to Jeudie Lovell, Carol Mordock, Gwen Quail, Nancy Howe, Nancy Ward, Joan Hardie, Karen Demattei, Julie Jones, Mary Ayres, Mary Stanley, Connie Prevot, Ron Watts, Bob Prevot, Dallas Jones, Chuck Harrington, and anyone else whose name I may have missed. You all helped make the job easy. Margaret Hawe 2018 Garden Tour Benefit Drawing Chair PID Demonstration Garden The Grand Opening of the PID Demonstration Garden occurred Friday, June 29th, at 10:00AM. This event was the culmination of over four years of ideas to planning to meetings (upon meetings, etc.) to preparation to plant selection to plot layout to developing pathways to establishing borders to actual planting to installing irrigation to success. Along the way, the PID Demo Garden ad hoc committee, created a fundraising opportunity, planned work parties, sent publicity to customers, and made public appearances at many different venues to promote this garden. Shortly after the origination of the "Garden Committee", they sought advice from the Paradise Garden Club and Butte County Master Gardeners. These two groups were part of taking the idea into action, including hosting a 'field trip' to the Master Gardeners demo garden at Patrick Ranch in Chico. PID Director, Doug Flesher, was the "idea guy" and originally wanted a vegetable garden as a way we could grow food and share with our community. The problems with creating an open garden design and keeping the pesky deer out didn't seem to agree with each other. Eventually the veggie idea died for lack of support. The subsequent plan was more along the design of a "landscape" example of what grows well in Paradise, and conserves water. That idea expanded to include plants that are deer resistant, fire resistant, drought tolerant natives and pollinators. It is also a way to demonstrate effective irrigation systems. About 20 volunteers, some committee members, some public, and PID staff, plus Kendall Grey from Mendon's Nursery contributed over 300 hours of labor. The PID Board, the management, and staff were always supportive of this project. The "Buy-A-Bloom" fundraiser was effective with over $1500 contributed towards this garden. The garden also received discounts from Paradise Garden Center, Mendon's Nursery, Ace Hardware, North State Aggregate, and Recognition Products of Chico. The Flesher family was excited to be present for the ribbon cutting, and to represent Doug to honor his "idea". A bronze plaque in his honor is permanently on display for all who enter the garden. Overall, this community project will provide education about landscaping in the Paradise area. PGCI is honored to have been part of it. Ward Habriel, PGCI Co-President PGCI Page 9 June / July 2018

10 Birth Flowers for June and July The June birth flowers are the Rose and the Honeysuckle. The Rose has more meanings than one can count! A pink rose means perfect happiness, while a red rose means I love you. A white rose signifies innocence and purity, while a yellow rose conveys jealousy or a decrease in love. Roses are one of the most popular florist flowers, but they can also be grown in the home garden. With between 100 and 150 species of these elegant flowers, the blooms come in all sizes and shapes and range from pure white and pastels to brilliant pink, red, yellow and orange. In fact, some roses are so deep red that they are nearly black. Consider these interesting facts about roses: The oldest rose fossil dates back 35 million years. The Egyptians considered the rose a sacred flower and gave it in offerings to the goddess Iris. They also used them in funeral wreaths. The Sumerians mentioned roses in a cuneiform tablet in 2860 BC. Roses are grown on every continent. The Netherlands leads the world in rose exports. Roses are used in perfumes and cosmetics. The Honeysuckle is a strong symbol for the everlasting bonds of love. There are about 200 species of honeysuckle plants. The flowers grow on woody shrubs or vines and range in color from white, yellow and pink to red. These fragrant flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies, filling the garden with color and movement in early summer. Consider these interesting facts about honeysuckle. Honeysuckle flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds and butterflies. The ancients used honeysuckle berries to make dye. A honeysuckle sachet under the pillow is thought to bring pleasant dreams During Victorian times, honeysuckle was planted by the front door to keep witches away. Honeysuckle is used in cosmetics and perfumes. Birth flowers for July the Delphinium and the Waterlily If you were born in July, you can choose between the loftily tall and mysterious delphinium, or the enchanting waterlily, because both of them are the traditional Birth Flowers for this month. And while they have different meanings in the Language of Flowers, they share a common theme of hearts, which is rather lovely. The delphinium represents bigheartedness, joy and fun; while the waterlily symbolises purity of heart and daily regeneration. Delphiniums are also known by their common name of Larkspur. They are a perennial, mostly living for around 3 years, and form tall spikes of flowers, usually blue, in summer. Interestingly though, as the plant is quite poisonous, it was therefore associated with witches during the Middle Ages. The other birth flower for July, the waterlily, is a plant which is not only beautiful in gardens, but which has captured the hearts of many artists over the years. In fact, if I say "waterlily", does Monet immediately spring to mind? The waterlily also intrigued many artists from the Art Nouveau movement, and its graceful willowed stems and voluptuous flowers were often depicted in paintings, leadlight windows, glass lamps, brooches and serving dishes. PGCI Page 10 June / July 2018