News for Delaware County Master Gardeners

Vol. 10 No. 9 September, 2005

We welcome the Master Gardener Class of 2005 and are very happy to have them join us in our volunteer efforts. The class members will begin receiving the newsletter with this edition. Many thanks to Lisa Augustine and Carolyn DiPaulo, Master Mentor Cochairs, for organizing the mentors and class refreshments for this training.

Master Gardeners are welcome to attend any class. (Click here for the classes and dates.)

Budget requests from Committee chairs are due by October 4th. You may submit your requests to me or to Ken Paulsell, Treasurer. The budget will be approved at the November Board meeting.

The yearly report is due in State College on October 1. If you have not entered your volunteer hours - or sent them to the office - please do so in time for us to compile the information. Remember to report your Advanced Training hours, also. Included in this mailing is an "hours" reporting sheet for the third quarter.

Thanks to Chantal Wildman for organizing the donations for Operation Brotherly Love. These items were sent to the refugees from Katrina who are being housed in Philadelphia.

We had a great time judging area gardens for our Garden Contest. There were 16 entries, and we saw some wonderful gardens, and some that were not so great, but still proudly displayed. The First Place prizes will be awarded at the Fall Fest.

Speaking of Fall Fest, we have been working very hard to plan our first fall gardening symposium. If you can't attend for the whole day, come out and visit the plant sale, enjoy the Teaching Gardens, and socialize with the MGs who will be volunteering.

I hope that everyone's summer was everything they wished for and if we could possibly add a wish for some rain that would complete the season.

One person's desire is sometimes another's excess, as in New Orleans, Mississippi, and Alabama. Take a moment and imagine your property, garden and house submerged under at least five feet of water for a minimum of a week. All your garden beds, annuals, perennials, shrubs that you got for a great deal, birdbaths, feeders, etc all under water. I picture this in my head and find it rather disturbing but even then I probably don't have any idea of what it is like. Having dealt with water in my basement is sufficiently distressing enough for me and I sincerely hope that none of us will have to experience this.

Having read about the destruction of the coastal marshlands that buffer New Orleans from flooding and storm surges, brings to mind how we alter nature to suit our purposes with often times a detrimental affect.

The Mississippi brought silt downstream to provide a buffer zone by creating marshes but through development it was being lost at a considerable rate. Now that this area has flooded the environmental impact of this seems rather shocking. Consider that the landfills, hazardous storage areas, industrial wastewater, sewage, gasoline, chemicals, unfortunately dead items, rotting food and all other undesirables in the water will have to be pumped out into the Gulf of Mexico without purifying it. It would not be feasible to do this but still the thought of all that "stuff" being pumped into an ecosystem is disturbing. The oyster and shrimp fishing was already compromised. Like a stressed out garden that needs rain, I hope the Gulf can recover.

One other issue that I would like to ask you to consider regarding Katrina's affect is the fate of so many animals in that area. Yes, the Red Cross is handling a large-scale evacuation and relief effort for people but animals are also affected. The Humane Society has always helped pets that cannot evacuate with their owners and others that have been abandoned. They are currently conducting a search and rescue for pets that are stranded and trapped or their owners were forced to leave them behind because shelters would not accept them. The Zoo is struggling to feed 1,400 animals with little resources. Again think about it, you have lost your house, possessions, possibly family members and then you are forced to abandon your pet, which in some cases is their only friend. So after your donation to Red Cross, Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, etc. please consider a donation to the Humane Society, especially if you have animals yourself. FYI: HSUS, Dept DRFHBM, 2100 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037 or go to HSUS.org for more information.

Thank you for allowing me to discuss this and forgo a gardening "article" this month. You are all really caring people so I did not think you would mind.
Thanks, Alyce

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So in effect, the city is moving closer to the Gulf as each year goes by. "But Dohnn Moret Williams and is dog Sebastian, Lola the bosom smuggled lovebird, and the hundreds of other animals carried out of New Orleans are a reminder of how much people love their pets, the extraordinary measures they will take to protect them, and what a great comfort animals can provide in the face of trauma. Animals are victims of this disaster as well, and disaster relief personnel heading into Louisiana and Mississippi to rescue the animals left behind are not just helping animals. They're helping people, many of whom suddenly have nothing, to go on with their lives with a friend at their side.

Tree Vitalize
Free Ridley Creek State Park
Oct. 11, 18, 26
6-9 p.m.

Training includes: Tree biology, Urban Stresses on Trees, Tree ID, Basic Tree Pruning and Root Care, Tree Planting To register contact Julianne Schieffer 610-489-4315 or jxs51@psu.edu

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Looking Ahead….

It seems early to be planning for the Home Gardener School 2006, but I have a request. When you dry your flowers and seed pods: yarrow, teasel, cattails, money plant, clematis seed heads, sea oats, hydrangea flowers, star flowers, etc. please save some for decorating at the Home Gardeners' School. Either make an arrangement or bring the dried items to the March MG general meeting for someone else to make an arrangement from them.
Thank you. Delilah Foldes

Lighten Up!
by Julia King

Heuchera 'Lime Rickey' and Tiarella 'Neon Lights' can instantly illuminate darkened garden corners.

Since most flowering plants do best in full sun, green is necessarily the cornerstone color in every shade gardener's palette. On the upside, various shades of green can make for cool and restful spaces. However, a potential pitfall of working with a single, albeit lovely color is inadvertently creating darkened garden corners with yet even more green groundcovers -- especially when planting around anchoring trees and shrubs.

Variegated hosta and liriope are fine for adding cream, yellow and white to the mix. But for those yearning to venture outside of the lines and bring a bit more flash and pizzazz to their shady groundcovers, there are plenty of dazzling options.

With its shocking lime-green foliage, Heuchera 'Lime Rickey' provides an instant splash of brilliant color. An outstanding groundcover for shade and partial sun, it blossoms in late spring and early summer. Like other Heucheras, this one grows in clumps that reach about 8" across. Its ruffled chartreuse foliage makes an excellent backdrop for its snow-white flowers that stand on stems reaching up to 18".

Another sure attention-grabber for shady spots is Tiarella 'Neon Lights.' Its large, fuzzy neon green leaves feature a black purple pattern. Tiarella also grows in clumps, and this cultivar's magnificent foliage is topped off with spikes of white flowers that can reach 16" high.

Last but not least, Hakonechloa macra 'All Gold' is one of the few grasses that will thrive in shade. At maturity, the graceful arching leaves reach about 12 - 15". The foliage is a vibrant pure yellow. In the fall it turns shades of red and then an attractive tawny color. It colonizes easily, making it an effective groundcover in shade or part-sun.

All three of these unique dazzlers - plus many other groundcovers - can be purchased at the 2005 Scott Associates' Plant Sale Sept. 17 - 18. Any one of this trio is guaranteed to add a brilliant stroke of color to your shade garden.

Julia King is a Scott Arboretum volunteer and a Master Gardener.

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Need Volunteer Hours?

The Shade Garden is in desperate need of weeding. You can come out to weed the garden on your own schedule and at your own convenience. We hope to do a bit of garden maintenance at the next meeting on Sept. 20. It would be terrific if anyone can come out at 6:00 p.m. before the meeting to do a little work before it gets too dark.

We need volunteers that are familiar with the Shade Garden plants to be available to answer questions about the garden at the September 24th Fall Fest. This is our opportunity to show off the Shade Garden. Call Carolyn DiPaulo if you are able to help.

We need a few Master Mentors or other volunteers to prepare and set-up the snacks for the new class on Tuesday afternoons about 3:15 pm. Open dates are Sept. 20, Oct. 4 and 11. Call Carolyn DiPaulo for information.

Saturday, October 1st - 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Glenn Freeman, an expert mycologist, will talk about the morphology, life cycles and ecology of mushrooms. A walking tour after the discussion will take you around the grounds of Bowman's Hill to see the wide variety of mushrooms and other fungi that grow there. The cost of the program is $8 for Preserve members and $12 for non-members. Pre-registration is required.

2005 Garden Contest Winners - Here are a few of the winners of the Garden Contest. Judge - June Wojtowicz.

Prizes this year included free registration to the Fall Fest and a Certificate presented during the Fall Fest.

Congratulations!

	First place Ornamental Garden of Linda and Bill Glancey in Broomall.
	First Place in the Community Beautification Category at the Eastside Ministries in Chester.
	First Place in the Youth Garden at Main Street School in Upland.

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