Bus Trip to Bonnieheath Estate Lavender and Winery, Whistling Gardens and Kerry s Hostas

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1 August 2015 One birth month flower of August is the Gladiolus. Flower of the Gladiators. Strength of character, sincerity, generosity, are traits symbolized in the Gladiolus. Gladiolus (from Latin, the diminutive of gladius, a sword), sometimes called the sword lily, is a genus of flowering plants, iris family (Iridaceae). The genus Gladiolus contains about 260 species, of which 250 are native to sub-saharan Africa, mostly South Africa. About 10 species are native to Eurasia. There are 160 species of Gladiolus endemic in southern Africa and 76 in tropical Africa. The species vary from very small to the spectacular giant flower spikes in commerce. These flowers are variously colored, pink to reddish or light purple with white, contrasting markings, or white to cream or orange to red. Please mark your calendar for these upcoming Meetings and Events Next Meeting - Visitor Night Our next meeting will be held on September 2, 2015 at the Lighthouse Community Church on Sunnidale Road. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. Our speaker will be LORRAINE ROBERTS. Her topic: A Recipe for Continuous Bloom in the Garden. Lorraine will be bringing her book A Recipe for Continuous Bloom in the Garden and a beautiful planter for our draw. Please let your friends and neighbours know that this our annual visitor night and they are welcome to attend this exciting evening. If we all bring a small plate of finger foods there ll be lots for our members and guest to enjoy. Bus Trip to Bonnieheath Estate Lavender and Winery, Whistling Gardens and Kerry s Hostas The bus only holds 56 people and seats are selling fast. Don t miss the bus on this event. Date: August 23, 2015 Cost: $60.00 per person (includes lunch and all entrance fees) Departure: Wasaga Beach - 6:45 am SHARP from Oakview Woods (between Dog Park & Oakview Gazebo) As your cheques are received, your seat will be reserved. Make cheques payable to Wasaga Beach Horticultural Society; bring cheques to our monthly meetings or send to: Maureen Andersen, 16 Sparrow Lane, Wasaga Beach, Ontario L9Z 2A4

2 Sept. 13 is the deadline for our annual Container Contest There are two categories in our contest; Single Planter and Group of Planters. Send the pictures of your beautiful planter or group of planters to Russ Talbot before the deadline. We will be voting on the winner at our October meeting and Potluck Dinner. Garden Sayings There's one good thing about snow, it makes your lawn look as nice as your neighbor's. Contributions to the Newsletter Contributions to the newsletter may include recipes, gardening tips, gardening questions and pictures and should be forwarded to Eva Caulfield by There will also be a question box at our meetings where you can deposit any gardening related questions you may have. We will research and post questions and answers in the newsletter or respond during the next meeting.

3 Thank you Trudy Rawson for sharing these pictures of the Trudy Lily; a gift from Keith Hennick. Trudy says It is such a wonderful fragrant lily. From Arlene Edwards My hypertufa bowl and the other is a pic of my "False Indigo" - it was just a mass of flowers this year! Thank you both for sharing!

4 Things To Do in your garden in August: The peak of garden performance is the first week of August. That is to say, that most gardens look their best right now. Within a month flowers go to seed, seed attracts foraging birds, days shorten, temperatures drop and all in all the hectic 'growth period' comes to a close while the 'harvest' takes over. It is all so predictable and just the way that Mother Nature planned it. We just have to go with the flow and follow her lead. - Stop fertilizing permanent plants. Perennials, shrubs, roses, trees and the like cannot make practical use of fertilizer that is applied after early August. If you are inclined to fertilize these plants, better do it this weekend. - Keep fertilizing... Tomatoes, annuals. All of the plants that will die this fall benefit from regular feeding through the balance of the season. I use Plant Prod water soluble fertilizer on my container plants every couple of weeks. I use rain water from my barrels, when they are full (which is certainly not today). - Weed. If you followed my advice and kept on top of your weeding in June and early July you will have noticed that they are slowing down. So can you! Weed when they raise their ugly heads but otherwise read a good book and enjoy a cool drink. - Sow your last carrots, leaf lettuce, mesclun mix, radishes, bush beans and beets for a late fall harvest. - Put some stakes on. Support your tall growing perennials like the giant rudbeckias, coneflowers, hydrangea (with their heavy flowering heads), etc. I recommend 'link stakes' (a Mark's Choice product at Home Hardware) to make the job easy, invisible and re-useable for many years. - Plant. Yes, you can plant in the heat of summer: perennials, shrubs, evergreens... virtually all of the plants that you plant in spring are available now (though the selection is not the same) but you do need to water more frequently. I found a great deal on perennials that had reached their peak at a local Home Hardware garden centre (a Mark Cullen Approved Garden Centre!) Chances are good that you will find discounted plants at your local garden retailer right now. - Relax. I am not going to make anything up just so you have a long list of stuff to do. Truth is you have worked hard for this break. August is the month that gardeners take extra time to relax, sit back, read, enjoy a drink and a visit with your favourite family and friends...and observe the changes taking place right before your eyes. My hummingbirds are back, the butterflies are hatching from cocoons, fireflies light up the evening air and bats are swooshing overhead gobbling up mosquitoes. Article copied from Gardening with Mark Cullen

5 Refreshments Susan Walley, our Refreshment Coordinator brings cold drinks to our meetings, Trudy looks after tea, Arlene makes the coffee but if you would like to help these ladies give Sue a call. Let s be environmentally friendly What are you collecting for your favorite cause? Jean Dickson is still collecting pop tabs so let s all keep collecting for her. Let us know if you re collecting pop tabs, grocery tapes, cosmetic containers or any small item. Bring a basket to our meetings and we will provide space at our meetings then you can take your baskets home at the end of the evening. What a great environmentally sound idea that will keep these items out of our land fill sites. In the interest of the environment, remember to bring your mug to each meeting. This will help us to cut down on number of foam cups we throw in the trash Wasaga Beach Garden Club Executive President Maureen Andersen Vice President Judy Huish Secretary Chris Smith Treasurer Linda Marshall Director, Communications Eva Caulfield Program Director Russ Talbot Director Marlene Fraser Wasaga Beach Garden Club Committee Chairs Plant Sale Coordinator Judy Huish Plant Sale Coordinator Linda Marshall Archivist Denise Hoskin Refreshment Coordinator Susan Walley Garden Volunteer Coordinator Linda Marshall Volunteer Hours Judy Huish Visit our web site at And also Like Wasaga Beach Garden Club on Facebook