Next Meeting - OCTOBER 7 OUR FAMOUS POT LUCK DINNER

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1 September Birth Flower September 2015 The Aster is a fall-blooming herb with daisy-like flowers is also called the September flower and is said to symbolize love, faith, wisdom and colour, which blooms in pink, red, white, lilac and mauve. All of these varieties will be yellow in the centre and although the flower resembles a daisy it is in actual fact a relative of the sunflower. This flower has also been known as Michaelmas Daisy, starwort and frost flowers and was at one time thought to of as a love charm. Please mark your calendar for these upcoming Meetings and Events Annual Container Contest There are two categories in our contest; Single Planter and Group of Planters. We will be voting on the winner at our October meeting and Potluck Dinner. Next Meeting - OCTOBER 7 OUR FAMOUS POT LUCK DINNER Meet between 5:30-5:45pm, dinner is at 6:00pm, bring your own plate and cutlery and your favourite pot luck dish. Please remember to bring serving cutlery for your pot luck dish. Our speaker for the evening will be Frank Solty of Solty s Garden Centre Topic: Pruning Woody Plants 1

2 DISTRICT 16 FALL SEMINAR Date: October 31, 2015 Location: Masonic Temple, 99 Morrow Rd. Barrie Arrive: at 9 am --- Start at 9:30 am Speakers: am and pm are speakers Lorraine Mennen from Pathways to Perennials Topic: Combination Planting for Continuous Bloom and Carol Pasternak, the Monarch Butterfly Crusader Topic: How to Bring Butterflies to Your Garden Flower Show: Open to all D16 Society members Contact Gwen Beacock for flower show entry details thebeacocks@rogers.com Catered Lunch Registration: $35.00 per person - paid in advance of Oct 17 Garden Sayings Autumn is a second spring when every leaf Autumn is a season followed immediately by looking forward to Spring. is a flower. - Albert Camus Dr. Raymond E. Ives Horticultural Awards The Dr. Ives Horticultural Fund of District 16 (founded in 1976) has funds available for horticultural students living in Simcoe County. At present, all students who are enrolled in a 2 or more year horticultural program are eligible. This includes Master Gardeners in Training. Applications can be found on the D16 website under News and then Dr. Ives Horticultural Award for D16. The annual deadline for applications is October 15. The fund is assisted by District 16 Societies and is helped by your memorial donations. This is a registered charitable organization with Revenue Canada. We would ask that you lend a hand to promote the award to enable us to support more students in our love of horticulture. For information contact us at ivesfund@gmail.com On behalf of the committee, thank you for your help. Judith Rogers, Committee chair

3 Contributions to the Newsletter BAKING SODA IS BEST AS A PROBLEM PREVENTER IN THE GARDEN Always keep a simple solution of 1 teaspoon of baking soda to 1 quart of water mixed and ready for action in your garden. As a spray, it stops fungal diseases on everything from roses to pumpkins. It is effective at combating fungal diseases such as black spot and powdery mildew. You can add a couple of drops of "Ivory liquid dish soap (original formula) to help it stick to the leaves. Bicarbonates stop the spread of fungi, but if you have a big problem, remember to clean up all debris around affected plants. If you've had trouble in the past with fungal disease, start spraying susceptible plants before disease symptoms start and continue at weekly intervals to prevent the problem. This solution works great on those white phlox! * DELUXE BAKING SODA SPRAY* for fungus and insects 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 tablespoon insecticidal soap 1 tablespoon canola oil 1 cup plus 1 gallon of water 1 tsp vinegar sprayer container Mix all ingredients with the 1 cup of water first. Add the vinegar last to prevent bubbling over. Add the 1 gallon of water, stir to combine and add to your spray bottle. Spray plants covering the top and bottom of leaves. Spray weekly for prevention of pests and fungus. Thank you to Arlene Edwards for this great tip. Contributions to the newsletter may include recipes, gardening tips, gardening questions and pictures and should be forwarded to Eva Caulfield by evacaulfield@gmail.com. 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

4 Xeric Plants; Versatile, Reliable and Colorful Ten Best Xeric Plants these classic favorite drought tolerant perennial plants are renowned for their reliability in the dry garden. Tried and tested, these plants are tough, resilient and low maintenance. 1. Artimesia species and varieties: Artemisia abrotanum - Southernwood, Artemisia absinthium Wormwood, Artemisia pontica, Artemisia stellerana, Artemisia schmidtiana - Silvermound, Artemisia canescens, Artemesia ludoviciana - Silver King 2. Centranthus ruber - Jupiter's Beard 3. Eryngium, or Sea Holly, Eryngium giganteum - Miss Willmott's Ghost, Eryngium planum - Flat Sea Holly 4. Euphorbia polychroma Cushion Spurge 5. Festuca glauca - Blue Fescue - these do well in partial shade in my garden. 6. Iris - bearded Iris dwarf and German bearded irises - lovely in bloom, or out. The blue green sword like foliage is a great foil for other more delicate textures. 7. Lavendula angustafolia - lavender - not only a great xeriscaping sub shrub, but a delightfully scented addition to pot pourri, as well as a bee magnet. 8. Nepeta mussinii - catnip - pretty blue spiky flowers attract many beneficial insects, as well as the odd feline. 9. Perovskia atriplicifolia - Russian Sage - there are now some smaller growing types available that don't have the distressing tendency to topple over. Not to worry, these respond well to a severe pruning to make them more bushy. 10. Salvia varieties and species; Many ornamental sages as well as the culinary one are tough and reliable. Hard pruning in early spring will force new lush growth from the woody stems. Salvia argentea - Silver Sage & Salvia superba Use this 10 Best Xeric Plants list to start planting your xeric garden; many of these plants have been chosen because of their long history of growing success in many varied climates and soil types. This ensures that they are easy to care for, versatile and robust; all the attributes of a perfect xeric plant. Copied from Drought-Smart-Plants 4

5 Things to do in your garden in September: Welcome to September. It is time to harvest, prune, compost and more... Prune. This is the best month to prune cedar hedges (though any month will do) as one last surge of growth will occur about mid month that will soften the look and fill in bare patches. Prune all summer flowering shrubs, boxwood, yews and junipers. Sow grass seed and fertilize. If you want a fabulous looking lawn, apply Golfgreen Iron Plus now (a Home Hardware exclusive). Fall application of fall lawn fertilizer is for mid October through November. Sow grass seed now. The cool evening temperatures and heavy morning dew makes for the very best time of year to grow new grass. This is why ALL Canadian golf courses and sod farmers sow grass seed this time of year. The earlier in September the better. Harvest. Pick tomatoes, peppers, squash as they become ripe and enjoy. Compost. As you begin pulling out spent annuals and cutting down some straggly perennials etc. be sure to put all of that good raw material in your compost bin or pile. Natural, soft plant parts (and whole plants for that matter) rot down in the nicest way to become the best possible addition to your garden soil. Start now, if you don't compost, as fallen leaves will come soon. Fallen leaves are, of course, your #1 resource for great compost. Plant fall flowering... Mums, asters, sedums and rudbeckias. All of these wonderful plants produce fabulous fall colour. Protect pollinators. Don't clean up your garden too much. Remember that a little bit of messiness, rot and decay are the friends of beneficial insects, frogs, toads, snakes (good snakes) and the like. You want these creatures for healthy biodiversity in your garden. Spring Bulbs are planted now. Tulips, daffodils, narcissus... all of the colourful plants that you associate with spring are now in at your garden retailer. Buy while the selection is best. Put bone meal or bulb booster in the planting hole to promote root growth. Use blood meal or hen manure to cover the top of the hole to help deter squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits and other small rodents from digging up your bulbs. Article copied from Gardening with Mark Cullen 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. 5

6 2015 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 6