Chippewa Garden Club Newsletter

Transcription

1 Native Plants of Ohio March/April 2018 National Garden Club, Inc. President Nancy Hargroves National Garden Clubs, Inc Magnolia Avenue St. Louis, MO Central Atlantic Region Director Regina Brown Garden Club of Ohio, Inc. President Deanna Stearns 6820 Mapleridge Circle NW Canton, OH GCO Cleveland District Director Jane Bodnar Avalon Drive Rocky River, OH Chippewa Garden Club President Kathy Habib 3490 Mark Drive Broadview Hts, OH Vice-President Jo Ann Bartsch 7700 Fitzwater Road Co-Secretaries- Christine Sparano 7443 Old Quarry Lane Sandy Ladebue 6522 E. Sprague Road Treasurer-Laura Springer 3665 Meadow Gateway Broadview Hts., OH Co-Finance-- Lynne Evans 9455 Woodchip Lane Broadview Hts., OH Kathy Ziemba 8207 Montridge Ct. North Royalton, OH Historian-Margaret DeWolf 7001 Crestview Drive Dear Chippewa Garden Club Members, President s Message As the gardening season approaches, I thought you might like to explore some more unusual nursery/ greenhouses in our area that you haven t yet visited. Dayton Nursery, 3459 S. Cleve- Mass Road, Norton, OH (330) They have a large selection of shrubs and perennials. Their website lists available plants and has garden tips. You can sign up for their newsletter. Owner Tom Dayton will present Unusual Conifers at our October 23 membership meeting. Quailcrest Herb Farm, 2810 Armstrong Road, Wooster, OH (330) They are located seven miles south of I71, off route 83. Look for the sign indicating right turn ahead. They will open Tuesday, April 3, and they will hold a 2018 Garden Fair with free admission on Saturday and Sunday, June 9-10 from 10 AM 5 PM. They will limit the days that they re open so check their website (which is currently down) for days and hours, or give them a call. They have a large selection of herbs, scented geraniums, and perennials. Native Plant Garden Holden Arboretum Secrest Arboretum, 1680 Madison Avenue, Wooster, OH will hold their annual plant sale on Saturday, May 12, from 9 AM 1 PM. They have hard-to-find annuals, perennials, woody plants, native plants, and herbs. Parking and admission are free. Plan to get there prior to 9 AM as close parking is at a premium, when you are loading plants. Boyert s Greenhouse, 7171 Wooster Pike (route 3), Medina, OH (330) They re located four miles south of Medina Square. They have a large gift shop and tropical greenhouse along with herbs, annuals, and perennials. Please turn to page 2.

2 Page 2 March/April 2018 President s Message cont. Blooming Acres Greenhouse has two locations: 7561 State Road, Wadsworth, OH (330) and 5201 Darrow Road, Hudson, OH (330) Blooming Acres specializes in annuals in pots, baskets, and prepared combination planters. Mulberry Creek Herb Farm, 3312 Bogart Road, Huron, OH (419) They re located one and a half miles east of SR250. They have a selection of unusual culinary and medicinal herbs and will be open March July Tuesdays Saturdays, 10 AM 5 PM. Corso s Flower and Garden Center, 3404 Milan Road (SR250), Sandusky OH (800) They are located just a few miles north of Mulberry Creek and carry a selection of tropicals, annuals, and perennials. Bluestone Perennials, 7211 Middle Ridge Road, Madison, OH (800) They sell perennials, grasses, and shrubs. Enjoy your outing! Kathy Habib, President Dates To Remember Saturday, March 10 Home Gardener s Workshop, Come Grow with Us, sponsored by Master Gardeners of Lake County at Lakeland Community College Tuesday, March 13 Board meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Broadview Hts. Clubroom Tuesday, March 27 Membership meeting at 7:00 p.m. at the Brecksville Human Services Activity Room A Bobbie Schwartz, award-winning landscape designer from Shaker Heights, will give a presentation on garden make-overs. The presentation will highlight the elements of her book Garden Renovation: Transform your yard into the garden of your dreams. She ll take us through the process of 1) Evaluating what you already have, 2) Deciding what you want, and finally 3) Putting your plan into action. There will be plenty of ideas for you to think about! Bobbie will also have copies of her book available for sale, and she ll sign your copy if you already have one. Bring a guest who might be interested in this fascinating topic. Tuesday, April 10 Pansy Planting, starting at 4:00 p.m. Join the Brecksville Beautification Committee in planting pansies in the planters along Brecksville Road. This is a weatherdependent event so watch your for any changes in date and time. Please Jo Ann Bartsch if you can help. Tuesday, April 10 Board meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Broadview Hts. Clubroom Saturday, April 21 Garden Therapy at the Oaks of Brecksville at 11:00 a.m. The garden therapy committee will help residents with Planting Fresh Spring Flowers in pots for the residents facility. April Arbor Day celebration Watch your for the days and times as well as for a sign-up sheet to volunteer. Help us discuss Arbor Day with third graders in the four district elementary schools as we distribute tree seedlings. Please turn to page 3

3 Page 3 March/April 2018 Dates To Remember cont. Tuesday, April 24 Garden Club of Ohio Cleveland District Spring Meeting at St. Michael s Woodside Event Center, 5025 East Mill Road, Broadview Heights OH. Registration and Garden Club Presidents Meeting at 10:00 a.m. Program to begin at 10:30 a.m. Morning Program: Horticulture with Jeff Griff. 1:00 p.m. Fresh Floral Designs Around Your Home with Jill Duffin. To sit at the same table, make a check out to Kathy Habib for $25, and send it to her no later than March 27. Let her know if you want vegetarian or gluten free. Tuesday, April 24 Membership meeting at 7:00 p.m. at the Brecksville Human Services Activity Room A Our April Membership meeting will feature one of our members, Jeff Ardo! Jeff, like most of our members, is passionate about making his yard lush with plants, but his deer have made this a challenge. So Jeff and his wife sought out a solution and started their own deer deterrent company, En Garde Deer Defense LLC. Jeff will tell us about his business journey, his product, and his services. This topic should be interesting to all of you! Schoepfle Gardens We will carpool to Schoepfle Gardens which is part of the Lorain Metro Park System on Saturday, June 23, The garden is located at Market Street, Birmingham, Ohio, Schoepfle garden consists of seventy acres of botanical gardens and natural woodlands and is bordered by the Vermillion River. The garden features collections of rhododendrons, roses, cannas, shade plants, and varieties of shrubs, topiaries and trees. Rhododendrons Otto Schoepfle was born in 1910 and began his career as a banker. After WWII, he worked for the US Navy Costal Office and then took a position at the Elyria Chronicle Telegram. Mr. Schoepfle purchased the rundown home and property that had belonged to his grandparents and began his garden. He traveled through Europe to learn about botanical varieties and brought home new ideas for his garden. He donated the property to the Lorain Metro Parks in 1969 while continuing to live in the home until his death in The formal garden displays topiaries, dogwood and European beech trees. The shade garden consists of plantings of pines, shrubs, ferns, hostas and astilbes. There are fifty acres of natural woodland along the Vermillion River which allows for birding and wildflower hikes. Local landscapers added the Schoepfle Children s Garden in 2007 with a restored carousel in the center. You can visit the website at schoepfle_garden.php Kathy Habib Formal garden

4 Page 4 March/April 2018 Chippewa Garden Club Garden Mart Squire Rich Museum August 19, p.m. 5 p.m. This is a great time to clean out gently used but unwanted items. This year in addition to garden items we will accept dishes, small furniture, garden pots, tools, etc. People like to buy plants; so if you have any extra, pot them for us to sell. Old baskets make nice containers for potted plants. Give us permission to send unsold items to Goodwill, or pick them up at 5:00 p.m. Please bring your priced items to Squire Rich between 11a.m. & noon. Questions call: Kathy Ziemba Garden Therapy On February 10, 2018, Chippewa Garden Club volunteers presented the garden therapy program Posies, Lace and Love to celebrate Valentine's Day at the Oaks of Brecksville. Residents were engaged in creating flowered covered valentines to celebrate the day which represents endearment and love. A cardboard heart base was first covered with moss and then with artificial leaves and flowers. A ribbon hanger and a green felt backing completed the valentine to create a very sweet end product. Members guided residents in making the valentines while engaging them in conversation and reminiscing about Valentine's days gone by. The history of Valentine's Day and floriography, or the language of flowers, was discussed with the residents. Many thanks to CGC members Susan Forest, Sharon Hemeyer, Sandy Ladebue, Beverly Sirey and Lynne Evans for their work on preparation and for donation of their time. Anyone interested in helping at our next April 21st program when we ll be Planting Fresh Spring Flowers call Lynne Evans at

5 Page 5 March/April 2018 Why Choose Native Plants At our February membership meeting Sonia Bingham who founded Native Roots, a Richfield nursery, with her sister Jennifer, discussed the benefits of growing native plants. Sonia presently works for the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, having previously worked in landscaping. In Costa Rica she saw tropical plants that are often grown in our gardens, growing in their native habitat, and she saw a need to focus on what is native to Ohio. Indigenous plants have evolved to thrive in their natural landscape. Their distribution is often bound by the environmental conditions of soil, moisture, and climate. Our northern Ohio ecological system is the Lake Erie Allegheny Plateau (LEAP). The Cuyahoga Valley National Park system strives for 90% coverage of native plants in their restoration projects. There was a need for local sources and availability of native species. Sonia founded Native Roots to meet this need. Native Roots does not use seed packets to grow their plants. The two women collect seeds from the wild, primarily from LEAP sources in Ohio, West Virginia, and Michigan. It is important to know the population origins of these seeds. Sonia wants to work with such organizations as the Cleveland Metroparks to grow what they want and to provide a resource for home gardeners. For successful propagation she needs to find a native species population, be able to access the property, collect the seeds on time, store the seeds properly, and determine the germination requirements such as temperature and moisture. The benefits of planting native species are many. They improve the water shed resilience because they require little maintenance in terms of water and pesticides. They are self- sustaining and resistant to pests. Native species stabilize erosion and survive fires because of their deep root systems. Native species have mutually beneficial relationships with pollinators. They provide both nectar and pollen sources for bees and butterflies as well as host plants for butterflies to survive. They are a seed and insect source for songbirds and bats. Between 75-95% of our food plants require pollination. Farms that are situated closer to natural habitats produce more crops. Natural habitats can protect vegetables in the home garden by attracting predatory insects. The challenges for native ecosystem restoration are the successful propagation of native species, managing non-native, invasive species, and managing nonnative cool season grasses (lawns.) Please turn to page 6.

6 Page 6 March/April 2018 Why Choose Native Plants cont. Sonia suggested the following native plants that are readily available and have high pollinator value for the home gardener. Echinacea (coneflower): provides seeds for birds and attracts butterflies Liatris: nectar plants for moths,bees, butterflies, especially monarchs Aster: provides seeds for birds, attracts butterflies Lobelia (cardinal flower): attracts hummingbirds, swallowtails, bumble bees Baptisia (indigo) : attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, bees Silphium (cup plant): attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, andbirds which drink water from the cups Monarda fistulosa: attracts sphinx moths, bees, flies, butterflies and hummingbirds, chickadees and sparrows which eat the seeds Some deer resistant native species are: milkweed, columbine, indigo, turtlehead, coneflower, lobelia, monarda, goldenrod, coreopsis and monkey flower Other ways that the home gardener can improve the ecosystem is to remove invasive species such as garlic mustard, Canada thistle and honeysuckle vines. Instead of using pesticides, nonnative medicinal plants such as dandelions can be eaten in salads or cooked. Plantains should be cooked. Home gardeners can also get involved through various organizations. Monarchwatch.org is an organization that is dedicated to the study of monarch butterflies and encourages landowners to landscape with milkweeds and other native plants. Pollinators.org promotes the health of pollinations and has a Million Pollinator Garden Challenge. You can register your site on their website. The National Pollinator Gardens Network website encourages homeowners to create pollinator habitats. Kathy Habib AAS All American Selections When you re on the Internet, click on product-category/year/2018/ for this year s crop of winners. Zinnia Queeny Lime Orange Yummy corn and tomatoes, lots of peppers, plus pak choi and some striking flowers like the zinnia at the left which Jo Ann Bartsch refers to as the to-die-for zinnia.

7 Page 7 March/April 2018 Getting To Know You Having joined in 2016, Jim Armstrong is one of our garden club s newer members. He joined after he attended several meetings where he found the presentations and activities very interesting. During his past two years in the club, Jim has volunteered at the Squire Rich Herb Garden, the Arbor Day activities, Flower Show set-up and takedown, the Home days booth, and Recess Gardening. While he hasn t been on any of the field trips so far, he plans to join us this year. Jim is particularly interested in gardening and not so much in the crafty stuff. In addition to garden club, Jim and his wife Gayle volunteer with the Brecksville-Broadview Heights CERT Team. (Community Emergency Response Team) The Armstrongs have just under an acre with a small wet weather creek running through it. Several years ago they added a small pond and multi-level patios in the back. Jim states that he can usually be found back there in good weather. They have a fenced, raised bed garden, but with too many trees, they don t get much produce. However, he claims it s a good place to hide out. They ve eliminated most of the lawn in the front yard replacing it with flowering bushes and various flowers. At this point, he is mainly interested in expanding the flowering plants and shrubs in order to have something blooming throughout the spring, summer and fall. As you may have guessed, Jim enjoys the outdoors and considers our winters too long. If he finds a plant he likes, he ll plant it. If it grows great, and if not, he ll try something else. Gayle arranges the containers they display during the summer. My own favorite gardening quotation is from Cicero who said If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need. Jim has adopted that as well with his love of gardening and his library of books. Jim is a frequent user of the OSU website. His advice to new members includes attending the plant exchange and checking often. So many great opportunities are presented to us. Pat Gabriel Flower Power Fundraising Finance Chairs Lynne Evans and Kathy Ziemba are again facilitating ordering plants and other items from Flower Power for which the club receives 50% of the sales price. Go online to g.com/ In the upper right hand corner of the Home Page, click on Find A Group, and type in Chippewa Garden Club Broadview Heights Ohio. Click again on Chippewa Garden Club, and you ll find combination gardens, individual plants, and more. The deadline for ordering is May 1. For questions, contact Lynne or Kathy Ziemba.