President s Message. May Program: Austin Gardener Page 1. Published monthly by The Garden Club of Austin

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1 Austin Gardener Page 1 May 2014 Published monthly by The Garden Club of Austin Volume 51 Issue 5 President s Message Hello gardening friends, Thanks for making our club auction such a big success this year, and special thanks to Colonel Dick Peterson for enabling us to collect almost $900 for club activities. I am especially glad to have more of Joe Yura s seed grown cycads and mountain laurel. Both are happily planted in the backyard and doing well. We had a great time at the Austin Food and Wine Festival and did lots of work on the Friday before moving, arranging and decorating the large tent area with plants. We also covered scores of pots with burlap for a more finished look to the plant arrangements. Helping out on a grand scale were Liz Caskey, Elizabeth Wong, Molly Clark, Laura Holland, Kay Tanner, Joe Yura, Robert Day, new member Sher Neely, Jane Fountain, and Laura Joseph. Group fun began immediately following the placement of all plants. Molly and Kay won the opportunity to attend the grand Taste of Texas event, and Elizabeth Wong and Joe Yura attended the Rock Your Taco VIP evening event. All of us participated in the best of Austin s food and wine scene, and we enjoyed working with Katie Williams, our fearless C3 leader. If you want to join in the festivities for Austin Food and Wine 2015, sign up early. Our club will receive a limited number of free passes to this extraordinary Austin event in exchange for our volunteer efforts next spring. Mark your calendar now to attend another Sunday Stroll and field trip to 1610 Virginia Avenue. We are planning a fun and information- filled afternoon on Sunday, June 29 beginning at 3:00 pm and ending with a cook out in the backyard. Because of our annual June 7-8 show and sale and the June 29 field trip, there will be no additional meeting in June. Besides touring Austin s most beautiful, always evolving garden at 510 Cater Drive, there will be a host of exciting activities to choose from during the Stroll, and supper too so make plans to come and bring your family. All we need is a bit of advance notice so we ll have plenty of food to grill. So far, Robert Day and Sher Neeley have agreed to be grillers, but we need more help. May Program: Texas has a large history of tropical activity such as landfalling hurricanes and even large flood events brought on by tropical rainfall. We will discuss how hurricanes form, where they form, and the impacts not only on the Texas coast, but across South Central Texas. Paul Yura was born and raised in Austin, TX and received his Bachelor of Science degree in meteorology from the University of Oklahoma. He joined the National Weather Service in 1992 and has worked as a forecaster and lead forecaster in Norman, Oklahoma, Brownsville, Texas and Charleston, South Carolina. Paul became a Warning Coordination Meteorologist in 2002 and transferred back to Texas in 2008 to work at the Austin-San Antonio National Weather Service Office. Paul's primary job is to be the liaison between the National Weather Service and local media, citizens, county, state and federal agencies. He conducts storm damage surveys and leads the community outreach program. Please join us for this informative and timely presentation. You do not want to miss this program! Also, be thinking about your entries in the Plant Show and Sale. Our goal is to have everyone enter at least one plant. It s fun and an exciting way to learn more about plants, be inspired, and meet lots of wonderful people. Laura Holland, Molly Clark and Kay Tanner have tons of new ideas for the show and sale this year. You don t want to miss out! How about volunteering to help? See you on May 22 for another fun and information packed evening with Paul Yura! He is amazing! Laura Joseph

2 Austin Gardener Page 2 GROWING LOOFAHS Elizabeth Wong I first encountered the loofah plant when I purchased loofah seeds from an orchid grower who had a booth at the recent Orchid Flower Show and Sale. He happened to have dried loofah seeds for sale and he showed me a specimen of a large loofah. I was intrigued by the idea of growing a vine that was described as wild and tangly and could produce a fruit you could eat like a cucumber, when young, and when you let it dry on the vine, it becomes a useful household tool for kitchen and bath. What s not to like about a 3-way attractive plant : its ornamental, edible and practical! My source for the seeds is located in Spring, Texas and informs me that loofahs grow beautifully in central Texas. The loofah gourd plant is a tough, heat tolerant, flowering vine, which can be lovely for covering a garden fence or a free standing trellis. Whichever support is used, do plan on providing a strong support, because the loofah will become a rambling, vigorous vine, once established. The botanical, Latin name is Luffa aegyptiaca and is commonly known as Vietnamese gourd, or Vietnamese luffa. Other common names include dishrag gourd, rag gourd, sponge gourd and vegetable gourd and Chinese okra. The fruit somewhat resembles a cucumber and it iscommonly grown and eaten as a vegetable in tropical Asia. Ornamental Vine The plant is an annual, native to South and Southeast Asia and thrives in plentiful heat and water. It is not frost hardy and requires 150 to 200 warm days to mature, with big yellow flowers developing before fruit sets. The flower appears over an extended period of time, blooming sequentially as the vine progresses and can grow 30 feet over the course of a growing season. The ideal soil ph is neutral to slightly alkaline and applying some nitrogen fertilizer to the seedlings will help keep the plants green. Plants started in 4 pots are good for about a one month early start. Working in some organic compost into the ground before planting can help feed the roots and nitrogen is helpful in the seedling stage with potash and phosphorus good for the blooming stage. A balanced all purpose fertilizer is best when ready for transplanting outdoors. The vine does best on a 6-10 feet high trellis or fence with many support points, since the fruit can become quite heavy. After blooming, pollination occurs before a pod will form. Bees of all varieties are attracted to the big yellow flowers and perform much of the work. The blooms will fall off and the pollinated ones will form the start of a loofah sponge at the base of the former female flower. Practical Uses An interesting side note : in Paraguay, panels are made out of loofah combined with other vegetable matter and recycled plastic. These can be used to create furniture and construct houses. Once the fruit matures, then dries out, it is used as a natural scrubber and washing sponge. Instead of cloth, it is also widely used in steaming glutinous rice, in some Asian countries. Food Source Luffa are best eaten when small and tender ( about 4 or 5 inches ) and still green. It is commonly used in soups, and stir fried dishes and cooked with lentils, used as a vegetable with curries, but also as a snack, dipped in chickpea batter and deep fried. In India, 2 varieties of luffa are common vegetables prepared with either crushed dried peanuts or with beans. To quote Jan Pipher, author of an article on annuals for Central Texas, in the magazine, Texas Gardener Before planting, scarify the seeds ( nick or scratch ) and soak them several hours. I found success with germinating the luffa seeds with both methods ( soaking and non - soaking ) To continue with Jans article A Japanese visitor once told me that in Japan they call them water cucumber and eat them in the young tender stage, chiding me for letting them dry out into the familiar luffa bath sponge. I cannot vouch for their edibility but they are a good Texas crop, as far as hardiness goes and have pretty yellow flowers as well. Leave the gourd on the vine until they are thoroughly dried, then peel off the outside hull, shake the seeds from the fibrous insides, saving them for next years crop and you have a good kitchen or bath sponge. I am happy to say that I have several luffa transplants started several weeks ago and they should be ready for our upcoming annual Garden Club of Austin Show and Sale, in early June. I do not have a full growing seasons worth of personal experience to share with our members but I do hope I have successfully tempted and inspired readers to experiment with the luffa / loofah vine along with me. I would like to acknowledge and give credit for sources of information I used for my article : Jan Pipher from the Texas Gardener magazine, a website called luffa.info and Wikipedia. Happy Growing, Graphics/Creative Commons

3 Austin Gardener Page 3 Annual Plant Sale One of our club s fund raisers is just around the corner, the plant sale on June 7 and 8. We would like to encourage everyone to donate extra plants or volunteers that you are digging out of your flower beds. The more donated plants we have, the more money the club nets. The folks that bought plants at our sale last year ranged from experienced gardeners to inexperienced novices so a variety of plants is welcomed. Kay and I have put together some color pots with salvias and petunias. Joe Yura is donating impatients, gerber daisies, African violets, sago palms and clivias. Elizabeth Wong is propagating some loufa plants. And Tom Gretzinger has offered ajuga, baby jade, English ivy and caladiums. We will have a signup sheet at the May meeting for those wanting to volunteer to work the sale. We encourage you to do some plant shopping (we re priced to sell) when you come to see the beautiful plants in the show. You know we have some of the best gardeners in town and they will have their best plants entered. Molly Clark Welcome New Members Introduce yourself and say Hi to: Dwain Osborne Sher Neely Sarah Schwaltz Reggie Leuty Scholarship Awarded for the School Year The Scholarship Committee has awarded a $2500 scholarship to Ashley Nicole Austin who will be a senior at Texas A & M majoring in landscape architecture. Ashley is originally from McAllen. During summers at home she worked in McAllen for a landscaper, helping to design, choose plants and assist with on-site construction. At A & M she has a grade point average of 3.69 and has been on the Dean's list. She is secretary of the college chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and the A & M Regent Scholars' Organization. She also finds time to participate in intramural sports including basketball and softball. Her letters of recommendation stressed not only her work ethic and her enthusiasm but also her special gifts as a designer and clear communicator of her ideas. Her fellow students use her work as inspiration for their own projects. We are delighted to be able to help such a gifted and worthy student complete her education. The Scholarship Committee is chaired by Norm Wagner. Members include Jane Faust, Barbara Wagner, Beverly Bardsley and Joe Yura. Helping the next generation get an education without assuming a heavy burden of debt is a tremendous gift. Club members over the years have generously put money into the scholarship fund. Now the job is to see that these funds are used wisely. Beverly Bardsley The Garden Club of Austin Flower and Vegetable Show and Plant Sale June 7 and 8 You re encouraged to submit articles of gardening interest for the newsletter. Remember to give credit to your sources, both in text and photos. Send articles or news to brsch07@gmail.com. The newsletter is published on the tenth of each month. Friday: 4 to 7 Entries accepted Saturday: 8 to 9:30 Entries accepted Saturday: 10 to 5 Show and plant sale Sunday: 10 to 4 Show and plant sale Sunday: All plants should be removed from the show by 4

4 Austin Gardener Page 4 MAY CLIMATE FOR AUSTIN The average daily maximum temperature varies from 82 at the beginning of the month to 89 at the end. The minimum varies from 62 at the beginning to 68 at the end of the month. Extremes are 100 observed in 1984 and 43 in l954. We average about 6 days with a maximum of 90 or higher. Precipitation averages 4.78 inches but has ranged from a wet 9.98 in 1965 to a dry 0.81 in A maximum 24-hour amount of 5.66 occurred in On average, precipitation is observed on 9 days during the month with thunderstorms occurring on 7 of those days. We usually receive about 56% of the possible sunshine, and between sunrise and sunset have 7 clear days, 11 partly cloudy days and 13 days with overcast conditions. The time between sunrise and sunset increases from about 13 hours 20 minutes at the beginning of the month to 13 hours 57 minutes at the end of the month. Traveling Gnome Molly Clark and Kay Tanner caught the Garden Club Gnome celebrating Cinco de Mayo in their flower bed! That gnome really roams! G day, G Nome The Garden Club of Austin Mark Your Calendar President Laura Joseph 1 st Vice Presidents Lois Koho, Leah Giberson 2 nd Vice Presidents John Fox 3 rd Vice president Elizabeth Wong Secretary Molly Clark Treasurer Annie Hackebeil Historian Luby Garza-Abijaoude Newsletter Editor Sandi Schmidt Web Master Liz Stansfeld AAGC Representative Wilburn Hackebeil Directors: Term extending through 2014 Wilburn Hackebeil Marilyn Metcalf Term extending through 2015 Laura Holland Joe Yura Term extending through 2016 Joyce Fox Joe Defoe 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 The following events are of direct interest to the membership of The Garden Club of Austin. All events are at the Austin Area Garden Center in Zilker Botanical Garden at 2220 Barton Springs Road unless otherwise noted. Additional gardening calendar information may be found every Saturday in the Life and Arts Section of the Austin American Statesman. May 12 - Mon May 22 - Thur June Fri thru Sun June 23 - Mon June 26 - Thur June 29 - Sun Board Meeting 7 PM Monthly Meeting of TGCOA. Social starts at 7PM, meeting at 7:30 PM. Garden Club of Austin Flower Show Board Meeting 7 PM Monthly Meeting of TGCOA moved to Sunday, June 29th Sunday Stroll and cookout, 3PM (see president s message for details)

5 Austin Gardener Page 5 Gardening Checklist for May-June The weather is turning warmer, so I ll give you a shorter list this month. Hopefully your vegetable garden is in. If not you could still plant okra, lima beans and black-eyed peas. If you haven t planted any caladiums in your flowerbed yet, now is a great time to do it. However, if you live in deer country, devise a plan to protect them. Deer seem to love the taste of newly opened caladium leaves. Here are a few odds and ends that shouldn t keep you too busy. Inspect St. Augustine lawns regularly, especially along cement walks and driveways. This is where chinch bugs usually show up first. Check with your local nursery professional to find out about acceptable treatment. Loosen raincompacted soil around plants and flowerbeds to provide aeration. Use shallow cultivation to prevent root damage. Now that the soil has warmed up it is a good time to mulch your flower and vegetable gardens. Mulch helps minimize soil compacting, eliminates the need for cultivation, greatly reduces weed growth, and cuts down on watering. When you do water, be sure to follow recently enacted watering rules if you live in the city of Austin. From May 1 to September 30 no outdoor watering is allowed between 10:00 am and 7:00 pm, except with a hand-held hose or bucket. Single-family homes using an automatic irrigation system or unattended sprinklers are permitted to water Saturday for homes with an odd number address and Sunday for homes with an even number address. By the way, when you do water, try to do it in the early morning (before 10:00 am). The humidity is usually highest then and the wind is usually fairly calm. Thus, you will lose less of your water to evaporation and wind drift. Don t forget to provide supplemental water for plants such as hydrangeas, coleus, caladium, geranium, dahlia, azalea, and camellia. Hot, dry, windy summer weather can be extremely stressful for these plants, especially if they are in pots. Early spring annuals such as pansies, calendulas and snapdragons will soon fade with summer s heat. Clean out the beds and plant summer flowering annuals. Finally, if you haven t yet given your lawn its spring feeding, do so before the real heat of summer sets in. Late April and early May are really the best times to do this. Just a few photos of our members at the Plant Auction. We had a full house, and the club raised over $800. A good time was had by all. Photos by Luby Garza-Abijaoude

6 Austin Gardener Page 6 CLUB CULTIVAR ENTRY CARD EXAMPLE The Garden Show will be June 7th and 8th. If you ve always wanted to enter the show, take your best looking plants to enter on Friday, June 6th. Here s an example of how to mark an entry card. If you aren t sure how to do it, someone will help you at the show. Plant Entries If you re a new member, or maybe have never entered a plant show, there s some very good information about showing your plants waiting for you on our website. org/ 1 E 42 Begonia Cocktail Whiskey Your Name Your Address 1 E 42 Begonia Cocktail Whiskey Your name Your Address Division, Section and Class must be exactly the same as shown in the Show Schedule. Genus and Variety must be correct. Please check with the Classification Committee. Enter correct name and address of exhibitor. Return address labels are handy. The lower part of the entry card should read exactly the same as the top portion of the entry card. At the website, click on Events, scroll down to Garden Show. This will give you a general overview of the show and the times for entries. If you will then click on the red click here at the top of the Garden Show page, you will see all the categories that the various plants fall into, such as Division, Section, and Class. Read through this and see where your plants should be. Do your best to fill out the card. You can always use pencil. The classification committee will also help you at check in. Remember, if you ve never exhibited in a show, you also have the option of entering as a novice. The show chairman will have entry cards available at the May meeting for you to take home. Note that your name and address must be filled out on two sections of each card. The name of the person entering each plant, or stem, remains anonymous until after judging. The bottom portion of each card gets pulled after judging for tabulating the results. If you don t like writing your name and address over and over, use those address labels you get in the mail from various charities. They are the perfect size! Once you ve enter a plant and received a ribbon, you ll be hooked! Besides that, it s just fun! We guarantee it!