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Flower Show time – must be spring! The days are longer and we are daily walking the ‘hopeful’ journeys through our gardens. Snow drops have been welcome sights, but I think I see color on the Hellebores, and surely crocus are getting ready to open. The Home Gardeners’ School Committee has been working very diligently, and we’re looking for your support for our spring event. We are anticipating a great day at Neumann College. The site is perfect for us, speakers are carefully chosen, and press releases and news stories are going out. Send your registration in now for the early bird discount. Other reminders that come with March include quarterly volunteer hour reporting. Teaching Garden clean-ups, and coaxing the seedlings at the Taylor Arboretum greenhouse. Please send or enter on line your hours for the first quarter. Teaching Garden chairs and co-chairs will be contacting all who signed up for the Teaching Gardens committees. If your name did not get listed, but you would like to join this committee, please contact the chairperson. The second seed-starting workshop at Taylor will be March 15 at 10 am at Taylor. Many thanks to the committee who are transplanting and caring for the first cold crop seeds that were started in February. Our shed is in place, and thanks to Joe Casey and Gerry Paradis, the ramp is now even with the garage door, and we have a step up into the shed when using the ‘people’ door. We had a great crew in January to come out and help us move. We have few tools, so any of you who may have extras and would like to donate tools, they would be welcome. The cookbook has arrived from the publisher. It looks great! Congratulations to Chantal Wildman and her committee. Our March meeting speakers are Donna and Joe Fecondo. They operate the only mushroom farm in Delaware County. Come out and enjoy the program on growing mushrooms.
Arbor Day focuses on the Young How wonderful to hear more and more about the significance of keeping the earth covered with trees to fight global warming. More personally, trees are crucial for many aspects of our daily life. Tall, wide or narrow, trees are responsible for the air we breathe. Very natural for them to absorb that horrible pollutant carbon dioxide, freshen the air and release oxygen so we can breathe. They are important for visual beauty, for cool shade in the summer and for blocking cold winds in the winter. Trees are known to stimulate relaxation, tranquility and help people recover from stress. That's why one day a year on Arbor Day, these natural resources should be honored and revered. And Arbor Day is an ideal time to educate our young people. I am leading to our celebration scheduled for Saturday, April 26 at 1 p.m. in Smedley Park. Rain or shine, it is free and open to all ages. If any of you Master Gardeners have contacts with cub scouts, brownies or church groups and would like flyers to distribute, please call me. I will get you as many flyers as you wish.
Please mark your calendar for Thursday, March 27 at 1:00 PM. Volunteers are needed to put together the registration packets for the Home Gardeners' School. We will meet in the environmental center. Please let Linda or Barbara Meahl know if you plan to come. IF we have snow that day and have to change our plans we can call you to give you a time for the next day.  Things are sprouting in the garden. Do them a favor and gently remove some of the leaves to allow them to poke their heads through. Some protection is still needed. I have Hyacinth that insists it is spring. The buds are in color. I have placed a protective wire mesh over it and keep mounding wood chips around it to keep the buds from freezing. Maybe you have an early flower, too. When starting seed early outside, cover them with wet newspaper to help keep the soil moist. Lift the paper daily to check for sprouting. When seeds have sprouted, remove newspaper. If you have row covers, use them to protect young plants from freezing, sun, scald, rabbit and deer nibbles. If the seeds require light in order to sprout do not cover them with paper. Lettuce and Larkspur like cool temperatures, whereas others like it warmer - 65 degrees. Use any thermometer. Add compost to your soil when planting. Have your soil tested every few years to see if any nutrients are missing.
HOUSING MARKET CONCERNS IN THE WILDLIFE COMMUNITY HARRISBURG - While news about the housing market can be found in just about every newspaper, or seen or heard on the radio and television news, you don't hear much about the concerns in the wildlife housing market. However, the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Howard Nursery has a way that wildlife enthusiasts can help without applying for a mortgage.
"Development consumes 300 to 350 acres of Pennsylvania's landscape per day," said Carl G. Roe, Pennsylvania Game Commission executive director. "Although we can't keep pace with loses caused by urban and suburban sprawl, the Game Commission is working hard to preserve and improve habitat on its 1.4 million acres of State Game Lands and other public and private lands. Homeowners - the human kind, that is - can view the entire selection of nesting structures for sale on the Game Commission's website (www.pgc.state.pa.us) by clicking on the "Great Deals on Wildlife Homes" icon in the center of the homepage. The brochure and order form list the nesting structures by habitat type, to guide landowners in determining which nesting structure is best suited for their property. Available nesting structures, listed by habitat types, along with the size (in inches) and price, are as follows:
Prices listed do not include shipping/handling costs, which range from $7 to $18 per unit, or applicable state sales taxes. All boxes come assembled and with instructions on where and how to place. The bluebird, chickadee, wren nesting box can be either fully constructed or provided in an unassembled kit complete with nails and screws. Once an order is received, a representative from the Game Commission's Howard Nursery will contact the customer to confirm the order and discuss scheduled shipping dates. Completed orders can be mailed (P.O. Boxes are not acceptable for delivery), or arrangements can be made for customers to pick up their orders at Howard Nursery. For the do-it-yourselfer, the Game Commission has a "Woodcrafting for Wildlife" book for sale ($5.66 plus tax and shipping and handling) available through "The Outdoor Shop" on the agency's website (www.pgc.state.pa.us). This book includes plans for 26 different nesting structures for a variety of wildlife species and different habitat types. Landowners looking for even more information about opportunities to benefit wildlife are invited to the upcoming 2008 Pennsylvania Garden Expo, March 6-9, where the Game Commission, in partnership with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, is hosting a display showcasing native plants and habitat improvement projects that they can duplicate on their properties. More information on the Garden Expo, which is being held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex, can be obtained by going to the event website (www.pagardenexpo.org). The website lists expo times and ticket prices, as well information about seminars and exhibitors.
Take Pride in America® Seeks Nominations for Outstanding Volunteers Take Pride in America® is seeking nominations of individuals, companies or civic groups that have demonstrated a commitment to stewardship of America’s public lands. Every year, Take Pride in America presents the National Awards to individuals and groups who have volunteered their time and talent to our federal, state, and local public lands and waterways. Recognizing volunteers for their service is a fundamental component of Take Pride in America and we need your help to say ‘Thank You’! Do you know someone who organized a roadside clean up? Or anyone who works as an interpreter at a park visitor center? They may be eligible for an award in the Individual Category. What about a company that rewards participants in a beach clean up or donates seeds for a garden planting? They may be eligible for an award in the Business Category. There are 10 categories, including Youth, Schools, Public/ Private Partnerships and Local or State Governments. Anyone may submit a nomination; self-nominations are accepted and encouraged! Nominations are due May 1, 2008 at 12 noon EST. Nominated projects and efforts must have been started and/ or completed between May 1, 2007 and April 20, 2008. Winners will be chosen by a selection committee and are invited to attend an awards ceremony in Washington, DC on July 17, 2008. Please consider nominating a volunteer or group for a 2008 Take Pride in America National Award. And take a moment to pass this along to others who work with volunteers on a regular basis; they may have award-winning volunteers on their team. Visit www.TakePride.gov to complete the National Awards application form and for detailed information. Applications must be submitted on-line. If you need additional information on how to nominate an individual or group in one of the 10 award categories, call 202-208-5848. ***** National Award nominations must be submitted by 12 noon EST on May 1, 2008 *****
Fun Garden Vegetables for 2008 I was browsing through some seed catalogs last month and noticed some new and interesting vegetable varieties being offered this year. It seems like vegetables are becoming as colorful as our annuals and perennials, and here are a few I found.
Try a few new varieties of vegetables in your garden this year and let me know how they worked out....sounds like an article for next years newsletter. Joe Daniels
A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO GET SOME UNUSUAL PLANTS The Providence Garden Club of Pennsylvania will hold its 60th Annual Plant Sale on Saturday, May 3, at The Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades, 106 South Middletown Road (Route 352) Middletown Township from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you pre-order between April 1st and April 30th, you have an opportunity to come on Friday, May 2, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. where you can pick up your order and purchase additional plants for your garden. Order Forms will be available at the March meeting, the Home Gardeners’ School or call Karen Barnes, Plant Sale Co-chair, at 610-565-2317. Providence Garden Club is working closely with local growers to offer many hard-to-find species of annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs. A selection of choice plants for containers is included in the sale. Be sure to mark your calendar for this date and plan to come early, as many varieties sell out early in the day. Another feature of the sale is the opportunity to purchase a wonderful selection of time-tested perennials that come from the gardens of club members. If you are looking for reasonably priced plants that are sure to do well in your garden, then be sure to visit the “Hort Table,” where you’ll find these plants. As you know, the excitement of this sale is not only the unusual plants the club is able to order because of its long-term connections with suppliers, but also the special items that come from the gardens of club members. Two weeks in April are spent potting up those special plants that have been heeling in their gardens or are in need of division so you can choose plants that you know will thrive in your garden. Friends who are older and depend on the club to help with the division of the plants in their gardens also contribute wonderful selections. Members will also share some of the secrets for growing these plants. If you have some perennials in your own garden that are in need of dividing and that you’d be interested in donating to the Providence Garden Club Sale, please call Sallie Anderson (610-565-0472). Donations are tax-deductible. All proceeds of this sale benefit local non-profit organizations, including The Helen Kate Furness Library, The Thomas Leiper House, The Scott Arboretum, Tyler Arboretum and others.
After all the years of visiting and working at the flower show, I suddenly realized it must be a prerequisite to purchase stems of pussy willow, a pussy willow wreath or plant before you leave the show. I suppose many of us have bought this plant in one form or another over the years at the Flower Show. I must confess I did buy a wreath last year and it landed on our front door again this year. I thought, let me do some research and find out more about this common plant that I use to take to school every spring for the children to examine. For many of us, the fuzzy silver-gray catkins of the pussy willow (Salix discolor) are a harbinger of spring. A member of the Willow plant family (Salicaceae), pussy willow's range extends from Maine and the maritime provinces of Canada south to West Virginia and across to Montana and Colorado and almost all of the Canadian provinces. Common pussy willow is a deciduous multi-stemmed shrub or small tree and is hardy between USDA zones 4 and 8. While the common pussy willow is the one grown for ornamental purposes and used in flower arrangements, many willow shrubs produce the fuzzy catkins-including coastal plain willow (S.caroliniana) and goat willow (S.caprea) both of which are introduced and grow in the southern US and referred to as pussy willows. Pussy willows are dioecious, meaning both males and females produce flowers. In the case of pussy willows, the flowers are called catkins, a botanical term for modified flowers. Appearing in late winter or early spring, it is the fuzzy, one inch long silvery-gray male catkins that are showy. In the wild, pussy willows are often found along stream beds in gravely, sandy soils and tolerate wet soils. They prefer full sun or partial shade. Providing winter interest and beloved by birds and other wildlife, pussy willows are a good choice for pond edges, meandering streams or swales, or in soggy low-lying areas in the yard. They also make good hedges. So, if you purchased some pussy willow at the flower show this year and you put it in water, and it accidentally roots, try a plant in your yard and then you can enjoy memories of the Pennsylvania Flower Show all year long.
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This year, for the first time, the Game Commission is offering for sale a variety of wildlife nesting structures for several species of birds - from bluebirds to flickers, from ducks to owls - as well as bats and squirrels.
This page last updated Wednesday, July 1, 2009
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