Membership in The American Rhododendron Society

 

 

Crofton Village Garden Club President Sunny Frank wants you to know that a notice arrived recently from District II about membership in The American Rhododendron Society.

 

According to their website (http://www.rhododendron.org), “The American Rhododendron Society is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to encourage interest in and to disseminate information about the genus Rhododendron.  Members’ experience ranges from novice to expert.  Society activities include public education, flower shows, seed exchanges, scientific studies, and communication through publications and local and national meetings.  ARS chapters are located throughout the United States and Canada and in Denmark, Holland, Scotland, Sweden and Sikkim.”

District II joined as an Honorarium for our speaker at the Semi-Annual Meeting in October 2008.

Sunny will share more information with us at the September meeting, but Crofton Village Garden Club members will enjoy exploring the organization’s website until then (http://www.rhododendron.org).

 

REMINDER:  If your address, phone number, or email address has changed since the last directory was published, please email it to Margaret Woda at mwoda@msn.com

 

Recycling Your Pachysandra

When you pull out the pachysandra that’s growing in places you don’t want, what do you do with it?  The easiest thing, of course, is to throw it away.  I admit to doing that sometimes, but often I recycle it.  Here’s how:

 

After removing any lower leaves and cutting the root so the plant is no more than about eight-ten inches long from one end to the other, tie the root in a knot before planting your pachysandra in your garden.  The plants most likely to succeed are those with hairy roots.

 

If you don’t have a place in your own yard to plant pachysandra, offer some to a neighbor or friend.  When I was a 20–something first-time homeowner, members of Crofton Village Garden Club shared with me their pachysandra, hostas, mums and bulbs – a generous gift that saved me a lot of money and gave them much satisfaction for sharing the fruits of their own gardening labor.

‘Don’t have time or desire to knot those roots on plants you’re giving away?  Just put your plants in a bucket of water and tell the recipient how to prepare and knot them. That knowledge is a gift they’ll appreciate for even longer than those plants, and it will probably be passed on to future generations of gardeners.

P.S. You can also plant your excess pachysandra in a flat to sell at your local flea market or plant sale.

By Margaret Woda

Related links:

• New Crofton Home Owners - Taming Your Yard (Part 1)

Garden Club Plant Sale at Crofton Craft Fair

Look for Crofton Village Garden Club at the Craft Fair tomorrow.

I’ve been dividing the hostas in my yard, potting red maple trees, and even putting pachysandra into flats to sell tomorrow at the Garden Club booth.  Other garden club members are hard at work, too, while community organizations and crafters are busy getting their booths ready, as well. 

Don’t miss it, in the north parking lot of Crofton Country Club, from 10 a.m. ’til 4 p.m. 

Crofton Craft Fair Saturday

Crofton Village Garden Club members have been busy all week, preparing for tomorrow’s Craft Fair at Crofton Country Club. 

These are some of the hosta, red maple and pachysandra plants you’ll find, along with face painters for the kids, crafters from all around, and other Crofton-area community groups.

The event runs from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., rain or shine.

Designing Your Crofton Garden with Native Plants

Did you ever wonder what makes a Maryland garden “authentic”?  Learn how to design a garden for your Crofton home that exemplifies regional character and culture, when David Culp presents

Designing With Native Plants

at Behnke’s Nursery next weekend.

If you’re looking for ideas to implement in your own yard, using native Maryland perennials with exotic plants in stunning combinations, this will be a great opportunity to learn from an expert.   David Culp is a world-traveled plant collector and breeder who teaches and lectures nationwide. 

The free program begins at 1:00 p.m. at Behnke’s in Beltsville on Saturday April, 26.  Be sure to call 301–937–1100 to register in advance.

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Do you like the new header on this website? 

I photographed these tulips a few days ago at the entrance to Homestead Gardens in Davidsonville.  Sunflower photo in this post is from istockphoto.com

Floral Designs for Crofton Village Garden Club

Usually when you see “floral designs” and “Crofton Village Garden Club in the same sentence, it’s because club members are creating beautiful arrangements for a flower show, workshop or donation to deserving recipients, such as patients at the Veterans Hospital in Baltimore.  Not this time, however. 

Garden club members were treated to a floral design demonstration at the April meeting by David Shover of A Blooming Basket.  Even the old-pros among us seemed to be inspired and impressed by his creativity.  Here are some photos of David at work, along with some of his arrangements.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Congratulations to New Officers

The April 2 meeting of Crofton Village Garden Club was Sunny Frank’s first as President.  Congratulations to Sunny and all the other new officers, Sally Moore (1^st Vice President), Mid O’Malley (2^nd Vice President), Harriet Kiilehua (Treasurer), Ute Alford (Recording Secretary), and Jane McClanahahn (Corresponding Secretary).

Many thanks to all the April hostesses:  Pamela Higgins, Honey Boudman, Ann Kane and Gillian Meyers.

This month’s floral Exhibits were designed by Carol Hampton, Jean McLaughlin, Marilyn Reily, and Harriett Kiilehua.

Watch for photos of David Shover’s floral designs, demonstrated at the April meeting, in a post to follow later in the week.

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Community Service Award for Crofton Village Garden Club

Past President Laurie Thomas proudly announced that the Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland presented the Club with a Community Service Award at their March meeting for our Veteran’s Day project. 

The Club was also recognized for our 2007 Flower Show, titled “Win, Place or Show” in honor of Maryland’s time-honored horse racing industry.

Sally Moore and Harriet Kilehua joined Laurie in representing the Crofton Village Garden Club at the meeting held earlier this month at the Suburban Club in Baltimore County.

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NEWS: 

President Sunny Frank is a new grandmother.  She and Tom just returned from meeting Julia Elyse Frank, born Easter Sunday in Indianapolis.

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APRIL MEETING: 

Wednesday, April 2.

How Do Our Gardens Grow?

That’s a question the Maryland Visitor’s Bureau asks, as they point out there’s more to Spring in Maryland than “fertilizer and mulch, buds and bugs”.  They suggest it’s an ideal time to visit Maryland’s public gardens in search of inspiration for our own green thumbs or simply for relaxation after a long hard day of gardening in our own back yards.

Check out the list of Maryland Public Gardens, including these three located nearby in Anne Arundel County:
 

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Helen Avalynne Tawes Garden  
580 Taylor Ave., Tawes State Office Building, Annapolis, MD

www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/tawesgarden.html

This award-winning five-acre garden represents geographic features from across the state, including everything from forested Western Maryland mountains to sandy Eastern Shore beaches.  It was created by and is named for the wife of a former governor, and its located on the property of the state office building that houses Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources.

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London Town House and Gardens  
839, Londontown Road, Edgewater, MD 21037

www.historiclondontown.com

Built in 1760, this one-time tavern and inn overlooks the South River.  Now it is a museum sounded by eight acres of woodland gardens.  The house itself is a National Historic Landmark and appears on the National Register of Historic Places. 

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William Paca House and Garden
186 Prince George Street, Annapolis, MD 21108

www.annapolis.org

William Paca, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and former Maryland Governor, built this Georgian mansion between 1763 and 1765.  The two-acre pleasure garden features a Chinese trellis bridge, domed pavilion and fish-shaped pond.  This site is within a National Historic District and is on the National Register of Historic Places.. 

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I might add that it’s a beautiful time of year to tour Historic Homes Outside the Gates of the Naval Academy, as well. 

Share a Little Coffee with Your Garden

Nothing beats a good cup of coffee in the morning!  Some folks suggest your Crofton garden would be happier with coffee, too.  

My grandmother always told me there was nothing better than coffee grounds for azaleas, and she should know - her yard was a showplace!  Every year, people would pull up in front of her home near 16th and Colorado Ave., N.W. in Washington to take photos of her amazing azaleas. 

I’m not as religious about it as she was - mostly because we don’t drink much coffee at home - but I do spread coffee grounds around my azaleas whenever we have them.  In fact, sometimes I wonder if it would be beneficial to just buy a bag of coffee and use it straight out of the bag.  Instinct tells me that would be too acidic even for acid-loving plants like azaleas, rhododendron, dogwood, holly, hydrangea, juniper, magnolia, pine, and blueberries.

Today I came across a recent article on this very topic:  Anna Hackman’s Coffee Grounds, Garden Friend or Foe?   The author reports on her experience using coffee grounds to rescue some sickly rose bushes.  Intrigued by the good results, yet questioning if it really was the coffee grounds (or was it coincidence?), she embarked on a quest for real research regarding this practice. 

She found a study on the Gardens Alive website, titled Using Coffee Grounds Correctly, which includes a conversation with Will Brinton, founder and Director of the Wood’s End Research Laboratory in Maine, testers of soils, composts, and raw ingredients used in composting.   I won’t try to re-cap the interview here because I think you’ll find it interesting to read the entire post.

She also spoke with a researcher and training manager at Rodale Institute, Dr. Paul Hepperly, who indicated coffee grounds are solely a soil amendment and not a fertilizer.  It was his recommendation to side-dress plants with no more than one inch at a time, and to add more coffee grounds only after the original ones decompose.

I guess the bottom line is this:  A little coffee can be a gardener’s friend in more ways than one - at the breakfast table AND in the garden.  ‘Think I’ll head on down to Starbucks and see if they have some coffee grounds they’d like to give away!

Source:  Margaret Woda, Focus On Crofton

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Metallics in Your Crofton Garden

The Crofton Village Garden Club suggest you put some sparkle in your landscape with the addition of metallic objects.

Copper has long been a garden favorite for its warm patina and rustic grace.  Use it as an accent to areas of your garden that need a little warming up.  Copper has the ability to glow at sunrise and sunset when plated with the warmed colored flowers.  When mixed with cooler colors, it pops out from its green landscape.  This sundial is just one example of how you can dress up your garden with copper.  

Some other metals to try in your Crofton garden:

• Planters made of zink, planted with grasses and evergreens, continue the look. 
• For a cottage look, nothing beats galvanized metal.  Think of a farmhouse tin roof or an old washtub.
• Aluminum and silver give a clean modern look to the patio.  Whether it’s a dining set, bistro table or a chaise lounge, the gleam of silver tones set the stage for a sophisticated space.

Even the foliage you plant in your Crofton garden can reflect the trend in metallic.  Explore Homestead Gardens, Behnke’s and other local plant nurseries for species that have metallic tones, such as copper sedge and silver Artemisia; group them in areas of your yard that need a little boost of high style.

Source: Crofton Village Garden Club Seeds of Thought, 3/5/2008

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Happy March Birthday!

 

Happy birthday to members of Crofton Village Garden Club who are celebrating birthdays this month:

Sunny Frank

Margaret Woda

Mary Jean Anderson

Ruth Bordewisch

We won’t ask how old, but we do wish you many more happy birthdays!