October 2015 October Birth Flower October's birth flower the marigold. Marigolds were first discovered by the Portuguese in Central America in the 16th century.marigolds are often given as a sign of warm or fierce, undying love, or as a way of saying that you're content with being with the recipient. The other October flower is cosmos, a symbol of order, peace, and serenity. Please mark your calendar for these upcoming Meetings and Events Next Meeting - November 4 ABIGAIL HITCHENS - Proprietor and Floral Designer at Petals in Thyme Abigail will be demonstrating a tropical arrangement that can be yours with a donation for a ticket in our draw. 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 1
DECEMBER 2 CHRISTMAS MOCK TAIL PARTY AND AGM Location: Lighthouse Community Church Time: 6:00 p.m. Entertainment: Fig Leaf Jazz Band Cost: $20.00 for members and $25.00 for non-members. These costs are being subsidized by the WBGC. There will be a sign-up sheet at the November meeting. If you plan to attend, bring your cheques, payable to the Wasaga Beach Garden Club, to the November meeting. Please register for this evening of fun and entertainment. IMPORTANT: Also, our Annual General Meeting is held on the same evening. Our President and Directors will present their annual reports and we will induct new members of the Executive. Please plan to attend so that we will have a quorum when we vote. Your participation is needed and appreciated. Garden Sayings Thanks for this one, Russ Talbot 2
How to Winterize Your Garden Tools As soon as you harvest the last of your fall broccoli and radishes, it will be time to say goodnight, sweet garden, for the winter. And once you ve pulled up your dahlia bulbs and dug lime and compost into the soil, you should prepare your garden tools for their winter rest. The best way to store garden tools is to hang them inside a garage or basement so they won t get wet from a damp floor. Some people add a little motor or vegetable oil to a bucket of sand and dip tools before hanging, which removes bits of rusts and lightly coats tools to protect against rust during the winter. winter. Here are more tips on storing garden tools for Hand Tools: After you round up your hand tools, give them a soap and water bath and sharpen blades with a mill file. Oil moving parts with spritz of WD-40, and hang on a pegboard to keep them dry and organized. I paint the handles red so they re easier to spot in the garden come spring. Digging Tools: Remove soil and debris from shovels and spades with a wire brush, then wash with soap and water. Remove rust with steel wool, and sand the rough spots on wood handles with medium grit paper. Seal the wood with polyurethane or rub with linseed oil. Cutting Tools: Remove dirt and debris from shears, nippers, knives and loppers. Sharpen blades and remove any remaining rust. Oil hinges, and open and close tools a couple of times to distribute and work in the oil. Tillers: Run the gas dry or add a fuel stabilizer that will keep the gas fresh for a few months before you need it again. Clean tines and remove rust. If you don t have room indoors to store the tiller, raise it on a couple of cinder blocks and cover tightly with a tarp. Hoses: Remove, clean and store nozzles; drain hoses and store inside away from daylight so they won t crack under freezing temperatures. Coil the hose and hang in on the wall or store in a garbage can. Flower Pots: Empty and clean all containers before storing, which will help prevent disease when you plant new flowers or veggies in spring. Cover and store plastic pots outside they can take freezing temperatures. Wrap clay and terracotta pots in newspaper to prevent chipping when you stack them. Store these pots inside to avoid cracking during a harsh winter. 3
Bulb Like a Pro! Squirrel Proofing Your Bulbs Use this three part system to deter squirrels. Step 1: When planting tulips ALWAYS plant them with daffodils to prevent squirrels from devouring them all. Daffodils are poisonous to squirrels so they help to deter them from finding the tastier ones! Step 2: Use chicken wire mesh to act as a barrier when the squirrels are trying to dig for their tasty treats. We place it approximately an inch below soil level so as they start digging they will hit it and move on to something easier to get. This trick also helps to remind us where we planted bulbs when we re weeding, renovating or adding to our gardens we ll hit the chicken wire before we dig up our bulbs or split our bulbs. Helps tell us where we can and cannot dig. Step 3: Critter Ridder is the final deterrent for squirrels. The mix which consists of black and cayenne pepper helps to hide the scent of the tulips below. How to Properly Plant Bulbs When looking at your bulb package, you ll notice all bulbs are unique. Some are 4 inches tall, others are 48 inches tall, and they all need to be treated differently. It is important to check the depth they are supposed to be planted. A general rule is they are usually planted 4 times the depth of the bulb. When you dig your hole, make sure to have good soil and drainage at the bottom (wet clay will cause the bulbs to rot), and then sprinkle fertilizer in the bottom of your hole. Yes there is a top and bottom to your bulbs. Typically the point is the top. Pointy end up! If you cannot find a pointy side, see if you can find any remnants of last year s root growth, if yes, that end goes down. If that fails and you cannot figure out the top from bottom, don t guess, put them on their side! They might take a little bit longer to find the surface, but they will! Article by Lorraine Mennen 4
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 email: 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. Volunteer Opportunities The Wasaga Beach Garden Club (WBGC) is currently seeking a new Secretary and two Directors. If you could assist the club by volunteering a couple of hours each month please contact a member of the Executive. Your participation as an active member of the WBGC is appreciated. 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
2015 Wasaga Beach Garden Club Executive President Maureen Andersen 705-429-8714 Vice President Judy Huish 705-429-5541 Secretary Chris Smith 705-422-2256 Treasurer Linda Marshall 705-429-1622 Director, Communications Eva Caulfield 705-352-0767 Program Director Russ Talbot 705-429-8714 Director Marlene Fraser 705-352-0752 Wasaga Beach Garden Club Committee Chairs Plant Sale Coordinator Judy Huish 705-429-5541 Plant Sale Coordinator Linda Marshall 705-429-1622 Archivist Denise Hoskin 705-429-6957 Refreshment Coordinator Susan Walley 705-429-6308 Garden Volunteer Coordinator Linda Marshall 705-429-1622 Volunteer Hours Judy Huish 705-429-5541 Visit our web site at http://www.gardenontario.org/site.php/wasagahs And also Like Wasaga Beach Garden Club on Facebook 6