March Newsletter(for(the(Nordonia(Hills(Garden(Club Since&2000,&and&still&growing we&dig&life!& Our President s Message-

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1 Our Board Members President Lilian Coluccio Vice President Kerry Wichert nd Vice President Carmen Park Historian Secretary Phyllis Kluber Treasurer Sandy Bednarik Our Committee Chairpersons By Laws Wayne Meyer Photographers Carmen & Bob Park Peg Krutko Garden Tour Phyllis Kluber Membership Pam Bof Mary Chieffe Website Editor Bob Park Newsletter Editor Mary Chieffe Refreshments Joyce Stayanchi Bernadette Evans Sunshine & Raffle Elaine Nidy Our President s Message- Oh, how good it felt to go out today, with that beautiful sun shining. When you are in an office all day, you really can appreciate it. So, I couldn t resist going outside to see what s going on in the yard. To my shock, the animals have already started nibbling at the first attempts of my peony and evening primrose to sprout through the ground. It s already time to spray. Now, for those more deer resistant plants, I still marvel over how, even this early in the year, the Lenten Roses already have buds on them that are about to bloom. We were still covered in snow, for a few days, about a week ago. So, for a great list of deer resistant plants, under Expert Resources and a whole lot of other good info, check out Petitti s website at And don t forget, for many of you who like fresh peas, St. Patrick s Day is the marker of when they should be planted outdoors. Yeah, I know, it s unbelievable, but, as long as the ground is not frozen, plant away. Hope to see all of you soon! Best Regards, Lilian March 2013 Ways & Means Alida Moonen moonena@summahealth.org Public Affairs Ann O Neal bear8071@gmail.com

2 2013 Club Programs Carmen Park, 2 nd Vice President cpark54976@gmail.com March 20 Viki Ferreniea, Lead Horticulturist from The Holden Arboretum, will speak about The Holden Arboretum and their New Rhododendron Garden. She is formerly the Director of Horticulture for the New England Wildflower Society. Ms. Ferreniea, a graduate of Swanley Horticultural College in Kent, England, has received the National Diploma in Horticulture from the Royal Horticulture Society. She trained at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Dew, England and is the creator of the North American Wildflower Garden at Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia, PA. Three copies of Ms. Ferreniea s book Wildflowers in Your Garden, published in 1993, will be given away at our March meeting autographed book drawing! April 17 John P. Debo, Jr. will present a program on the history and development of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Mr. Debo, a native of Detroit, studied at the University of Michigan, where in 1971 he received a B.A. in Political Science and went on to receive a Masters Degree in Regional Planning from the University of Massachusetts in Mr. Debo began work with the National Park Service (NPS) at Acadia National Park in Over the course of a 33 year career with the NPS, he subsequently held positions at Fire Island National Seashore, Lowell National Historical Park, NPS Headquarters in Washington D.C., Boston National Historical Park, and most recently served for 21 years as Superintendent of Cuyahoga Valley National Park from 1988 to In August 2009, Mr. Debo assumed the position of Chief Development Officer for the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park where he raises funds for projects in support of the mission of Cuyahoga Valley National Park. May 11 Annual Plant Sale held the Saturday before Mother s Day. Please contact Ways and Means Chairperson Alida Moonen at (440) or moonena@summahealth.org to join the Plant Sale Committee. June 9 NHGC Sunday Annual Member Garden Tour of Homes. Please contact Phyllis Kluber at (330) or phylliskluber@yahoo.com if you re interested in showcasing your home. June 15 Tour of the Cleveland Botanical Garden. July 17 Craft activity. August 21 Annual NHGC Picnic. In this issue: Page 3 Meet New Members Lunch Bunch Goes Downtown Page 4 Beware! Impatiens Disease Alert Page 5 Plant Sale Plans Page 7 Sunshine Update Page 8 Library Beautification Lineup Page 9 Master Gardener Scholarship Event Page 10 Must Do s for March Gardening

3 Membership News Pam Bof Mary Chieffe C mon, We re Going Downtown Downtown 140, that is. Downtown 140 in Hudson provides mouthwatering food paired with an award winning wine list enclosed by a warm environment that makes guests feel welcomed. This special meal will feature a selection of lunch choices, wine tasting, coffee or tea, and dessert for $10.00 (tax and gratuity included, pay at the restaurant). Wednesday, March 27 at Noon Downtown 140 is located at 140 North Main Street in Hudson RSVP to mary.chieffe@gmail.com or Zagat s Rated Top Cleveland Restaurants 2012 Rated Best of Hudson Welcome to Our Newest Member Sue Scanlon 768 Willow Lake Drive Sagamore Hills, OH souperlative@yahoo.com Changes? Corrections? Additions? Check out our online Membership Roster and Membership Picture Roster located in the secure Members Area of our website to make sure your contact info is correct. Contact Mary if changes are needed. Committee Positions The following positions are currently open for NHGC candidates: March is the Month to Pay Your Membership Dues Membership dues for 2013 must be received no later than March 31 to retain access to the secure Members Area of our website and other garden club correspondence. Dues are $15.00 for individuals and $20.00 for family memberships. Make your check payable to NHGC. Send payment to: Pam Bof Dunham Road Sagamore Hills, OH CHAIRPERSONS Photographer Special Events Have fun! Get involved!

4 ! Watch Out for This Garden Intruder Downy Mildew is wiping out impatiens plantings and breeding work across North America. Here is some information to assist in making informed decisions about this disease and your options. What is Downy Mildew? The pathogen Plasmopara obducens is specific only to Impatiens walleriana (pack impatiens) and Impatiens balsamina (Garden Salsam). It does not infect other impatiens species such as New Guinea impatiens. It produces a white fluffy coating on the underside of the leaf and this spreads through air or water droplets. It is not thought to be spread on the seed. It does best in cool, moist conditions (59-73F) and can spread very quickly. Overcrowding of impatiens in beds creates perfect conditions for this disease to spread. How does it develop? Plants that are newly infected have the disease but don t show it for 5-14 days. After this time, the underside of leaves will start turning white. Once the white coating is established, the plant develops other symptoms including wilting leaves, plant collapse, severe defoliation and death. Do all varieties of impatiens get this? All common varieties of the bedding plant impatiens get it. There are no resistant varieties. Part of the problem is that Downy Mildew is very good at adapting to fungicides and does so quickly. How does it overwinter? If the weather was cool and damp and the plants stunt and defoliate, then the weather turns hot and dry, it is possible impatiens will regrow. They will still be infected, but the plants will outgrow the mildew (that doesn t like dry and hot). Once the weather returns to cool and damp, the impatiens will collapse again. Is there something I can spray? Commercial growers have a wide variety of sprays they can use to prevent mildews (of all kinds) from becoming established. But once the problem is established, there are no really effective treatments known at this time for home gardeners. You can try a copper based fungicide such as Bordeaux or Neem Oil, but don t bet the farm on these. Neither will be a solution although they might delay the inevitable. Can I grow impatiens in containers? Sure you can, until the plants are infected by blown-in spores. If that happens, do not save the soil but toss everything into the compost pile or garbage. Fresh soil every year may let you grow a small crop of this plant if you don t have surrounding infected gardens or soils. How long does it live in the soil? Reports say it lives between 3 to 5 years in the soil. Once you ve had it in your garden, you can t grow impatiens any longer, at least not for 3 to 5 years or if anyone near you has it as well. Once your neighbor has it, or anyone within your neighborhood, you won t be able to grow this plant much longer. Home prevention: One way to slow the speed of infection is to grow your own impatiens from seed. If you don t purchase infected plants, then you may be fine for some time. Also, do not water at night. Night temperatures are cooler than high heat day temps, so avoid combining cool temperatures and damp conditions, the two things Downy Mildew needs to grow. Should you see a plant that appears to be suffering (it will have that white coat on the underside of the leaves) immediately pull it up and discard into the trash. Cross your fingers you got it early enough!

5 NHGC Plant Sale Plant Sale Update: Key Points, Potting Party, and Committees Key points to remember: Everyone is important, and no job is too small. You all know what a terrific team we are I am loving the energy I m seeing as everyone gets going on this year s sale. Keep it up! Start preparing your plants larger if possible, with 3-4 stalks or pieces in a pot if you are potting up Avoid daylilies. They are everywhere! If you do bring them, please have them potted 3-4 in a pot, not in clumps or hunks. If you need help potting, contact Alida and she will arrange for help. Potting Party #1 does not have to be the last. Potting Party #1 Big potting party at Alida s house: Saturday morning, March 16 th at 10:00 a.m. We will pot up a variety of grasses, and put them under a big lean-to greenhouse that we will also build. If you have plants you want potted, bring them, along with gloves, a few trowels, and serrated edge knives/tools. If the weather is bad we will pot in the garage! Otherwise I have tables and stations set up outside. My address is 8780 Parkdale Drive, North Royalton. Directions are easy. From Sagamore Hills city hall, go down Valley View to Pleasant Valley, turn left on Brecksville Road. Turn right on Sprague Road. Go 5 miles. Turn left on Ridge Road, then right on Tilby, and left on Parkdale. It s 20 minutes. Committees The planning is underway, and we have had a wonderful response so far to our call for volunteers. Please take a look at the committee list on the next page, think about how you want to help with this year s sale, and contact that committee chair to get started. You can also contact Alida at moonena@summahealth.org or , who will be happy to refer you to committees in need! Wayne will bring a variety of empty pots including hanging baskets to the March meeting for those of you who need additional pots for your garden plants. Thanks everyone. See you Saturday. Alida

6 Committee Name Duties Chair(s) Members Logistics Site set up, equipment planning, plant sorting, clean up, traffic Donna Volunteer Recruitment To call, , or personally recruit volunteers for Plant Sale jobs Ann Milicia Kash Kontrol/checkout Manage $$ and Checkout (writing, cashing out) Sandy Bednarik Elaine Nidy Donations/Raffle Collect donations and prizes, and set them up at the sale Sandy Bednarik Elaine Nidy Mother s Day Gift Table Design, create, and gather items for the Mother s Day table Sandy Rhoa and Mary Ann Drier to chair Elaine Nidy, Jane Lebzelter, Rosemary Z (jewelry idea) Marketing and Advertising Signs, Banners Media, Ads, Flyers Arrange for signs, banners, and other postings Ann O Neal Sue Jerabek Plant Management Manage gathering, reporting, and labeling all plants Alida Kerry to do Old Brooklyn Phyllis Kluber Membership Table Arrange for membership table at the sale Mary Chieffe Refreshments/Bake Sale Food for volunteers and bake sale items Joyce Stayanchi Ann Milicia!

7 Elaine Nidy Raffle Join in our monthly raffles! We will issue a raffle ticket for each food item you donate to the Emergency Assistance Center. So, please remember to bring your canned items each month to help this worthy organization. You can also buy raffle tickets. See the big blue box located near the end of this newsletter for a list of the most needed items. Raffle tickets sell for 50 cents or 5 for $2.00. Our thanks go to Jan Filmeck for transporting the monthly donations to the Emergency Assistance Center. March Refreshments This month s delicious refreshments will be provided by Lilian Coluccio, Rosemary Zamecnik, and Diana Tirpak. Please have refreshments at the meeting by 6:15 p.m. Joyce Stayanchi Bernadette Evans March Membership Meeting 2013 The NHGC meets the third Wednesday of each month. Attend our March 20 meeting at 6:30 p.m. to receive a chance to win a free autographed copy of speaker Viki Ferreniea s book Wildflowers in Your Garden. Three books will be given away! Sagamore Hills Township Hall Valley View Road Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Repurpose Your Treasures As you dive into spring cleaning, keep in mind that we are in need of a variety of items for our monthly raffles. Bring your usable goods to Elaine Nidy at our March meeting to keep our raffle alive and well. Imagine what we can do with the raffle ticket money collected from your donation! NHGC Sunshine Elaine Nidy ctbear24@aol.com Our sincere condolences go to Bernadette Evans for the passing of her sister. Please contact Elaine if you know of any member who could use a card of get well, best wishes, or congratulations from our club.

8 Nordonia Hills Library Beautification Project( Beautification Update Here are the guidelines discussed by the Beautification Committee at their March 8 meeting. ~ New plantings will be placed in the urns each season. Colorful pansies are now in place. ~ Planting beds must be prepared and perennials added to the gardens. ~ Butterfly Garden plantings will surround the birdhouse. Daffodils planted last fall are coming up now along with lavender and small butterfly bushes. Seeds will be planted to enhance the area and a natural mulch mixture of leaves and compost will keep weeds away. ~ Herb Garden plants will fill the bed around the new evergreen. ~ The Sundial area will host a variety of annuals. ~ A Fairy Garden Village will be constructed along the north wall near the hydrangea bushes. ~ Directional signs pointing the way to many of the gardens special areas and elements will cling to a solid birch post. ~ Labels placed throughout the flowerbeds will spell out the name of each plant. ~ Donations of plants are needed for the various gardens and your help is needed to prepare, plant, and mulch the beds. Jackie Seremak has graciously volunteered to water, weed, and apply fertilizer to the gardens into the future. Please contact Mary Chieffe at mary.chieffe@gmail.com if you would like to donate plants or assist with any of the activities listed above. Volunteer today. Your involvement is integral and appreciated! Shades of Brilliance Rhododendron Discovery Garden The Holden Arboretum will hold a grand opening for the new 4.5 acre Rhododendron Discovery Garden which will allow visitors to learn more about these beautiful landscape plants while strolling down winding paths. A new Tree Allee lined with paperback hazels, swamp white oaks, American elms, flowering dogwoods and serviceberry trees will lead visitors from the Display Garden to the Rhododendron Discovery Garden. Celebrate the grand opening of the Rhododendron Discovery Garden and Tree Allee from 11:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m. Saturday, May 18, In addition, a future group trip for NHGC members to The Holden Arboretum is in the works. For more information visit

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10 Spring Forward with these March Hints! Complete the pruning of shrubs and ornamental trees before growth starts, except for spring flowering shrubs. Prune those which bloom in spring as soon as they finish flowering.! Pick a permanent spot for herbs in the garden. Many of them will come up year after year.! Roses can be pruned late in the month. Severe pruning results in nicer long stemmed flowers and more compact bushes. Begin to spray roses for black spot.! Trees which bleed such as birch and maple should not be pruned until after their leaves are fully developed.! Reset frost-heaved plants.! Older flowering shrubs that have grown too tall and are not blooming well can be rejuvenated by cutting the whole plant down to within 3-4 of the ground. It is amazing how fast shrubs will grow back following this severe pruning and they will have much better form and flowers in coming years.! Spring officially begins on March 20 this year. The seasons are defined by precise positions of the earth and sun. March Birthdays Tom Uridel 3/21 Linda Huntley-Gesinsky 3/27 The old believe everything; the middle aged suspect everything; the young know everything. Oscar Wilde April Board Meeting Macedonia City Hall 9691 Valley View Road Downstairs in the Community Room April 1, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. Please RSVP to Lilian if you cannot attend. Garden Tour of Homes Preparations for the spectacular 2013 Tour of Homes are underway! Save the date, Sunday, June 9, and plan to attend both the garden tour and carry-in dinner. Please contact Phyllis Kluber if you are interested in showcasing your lovely gardens.

11 Our Board Members Phyllis Kluber (Secretary), Sandy Bednarik (Treasurer), Carmen Park (2 nd VP), Kerry Wichert (VP), Lilian Coluccio (President) We Want to Hear From YOU! Give Carmen Park a call ( ) or cpark54976@gmail.com with any suggestions you have for our future programs. Suggestions for places to visit together this summer are also welcome. Last summers outings to Kingwood, Cleveland Cultural and Cleveland Botanical Gardens were well received. Visits to The Holden Arboretum and a large daylily garden are already being planned.! Bob Park, Website Editor Mary Chieffe, Newsletter Editor Website and Newsletter Visit us at rpark21643@gmail.com mary.chieffe@gmail.com Don t forget, some of our pages on the website are password protected. That means, it is only accessible to Nordonia Hills Garden Club members. Please do not give out our password to anyone who is not a member. Have a suggestion, addition, correction, picture, or idea for our website or newsletter? Please contact Bob or Mary. We!!! Food Items Needed for the Emergency Assistance Center Members who bring a non-perishable food item to the meeting will automatically be eligible to enter their name in the club raffle for the evening. Just by bringing an item or items from the list below will provide you a chance or chances to win a raffle prize. (Donations for the raffle prizes are needed and welcome!) The food items collected will benefit the Emergency Assistance Center. Please remember to check the expiration dates on your food items. We will also collect items at the Christmas Party. Jan Filmeck has volunteered to take the donated food items to the Emergency Assistance Center. Items Always Needed: Peanut Butter & Jelly, Macaroni & Cheese, Instant Oatmeal, Pork & Beans, Spaghetti & Sauce, Boxed Rice, Tuna Holiday Food Items: Turkey Gravy, Instant Mashed Potatoes, canned Yams/Sweet Potatoes, Cranberry Sauce, Cherry Jell-O, box Stuffing, canned Pumpkin Pie mix, canned Evaporated Milk, Jiffy Corn Bread or Biscuit Mix, Chicken Broth, Cream of Mushroom Soup, canned Crushed Pineapple Holiday Baking: Flour, Sugar granulated or powdered, Cocoa Baking Powder, Sprinkles, Baking Chips (chocolate, butterscotch, etc.), Graham Crackers, Pie Fillings, Puddings, Jell-O mixes, Crushed Nuts, Hot Chocolate, Holiday Candies, Flavored Tea