Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Another Cooperative Extension Workshop

This one has nothing to do with gardening but timely none the less! From Oswego County Today.
Learn about low-cost and no-cost ways to save energy and reduce your energy bills. Just in time for the cold months ahead. Participants receive a kit of energy saving items. Workshops are free and open to the public. Pre-registration is required to ensure there is enough energy saving kits for everyone.

Please call (315) 963-7286 ext 401 to register for one of the workshops. Workshops will be held at the following locations.

The second workshop will be held on Thursday, January 29, 2009 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the Snow Memorial (Pulaski Library), 4917 Jefferson Street, Pulaski. Please pre-register by January 26.


See the original article for deatils on workshops in Central Square, Williamstown and Oswego.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Workshop - Propagating Houseplants

Saw this and thought I'd pass it along. If you you hear of something interesting please send it to me and I'll post it here.

Master Gardeners at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oswego County will be hosting a workshop on Thursday, January 15th, 2009 from 6:30 pm till 8 pm entitled “Propagating Houseplants”. The workshop will be held at the office of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oswego County located at 3288 Main Street, Mexico, NY.
The cost is $5.00 and preregistration is required. You can find all of the details at Oswego County Today. If you need a map to Cooperative Extension click on the address link below.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

December Newsletter

November Meeting Recap

The November meeting was held at Trust Florist and Nursery. Debbie and her staff were extremely gracious in providing assistance and helpful ideas. We all drank hot apple cider and ate delicious goodies as we made beautiful Christmas wreaths and enjoyed fun conversation in anticipation of the Christmas Season!

A very big thank you to Trust's for hosting us again this year! It's always a highlight of our year.


Christmas Party

The Christmas party will be held December 17th at 6:00 PM at the Salmon River Fine Arts Center, 19 Lake st, Pulaski, NY (across from the Firehouse)There are currently close to 60 members of the club and it would be great to see everyone turn out!

Gift Exchange
As in years past we will have a gift exchange. If you wish to participate please bring a wrapped gift, with no name on it. (Value between $5 and $10)We always have fun with this. Please also bring the gift of food for those less fortunate than ourselves. We will be collecting non-perishable food items to donate to a local charity.

Goodies!
The following members are bringing refreshments. If you'd like to bring something too, please do not hesitate to do so.

Claire & Lorice - Cheese and Crackers
Jan & Marilyn - Veggies
Carol - No bake cookies
Chris - Baklava
Linda - Christmas cake
Mike & Sheila - Pumpkin pie
Herta - Rum cake
Marci - Christmas punch and coffee


For those of you unfamiliar with Pulaski here's a map.


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Tuesday, November 4, 2008

November Newsletter

October Meeting Recap

The October meeting was called to order by Marci, after a wonderful potluck Harvest Dinner. There were 22 members in attendance. Our best wishes go out to Lorice, who was home sick and was not able to come to the meeting.

The minutes from September's meeting were read by Jan. Herta gave the treasurer's report, we have $957.00 in the club's account.

Herta had received a letter from the Friendship Shop in Sandy Creek, asking for our continued support in filling Christmas baskets for the needy in the area. A motion was made by Charlotte and seconded by Linda C. to donate $100 from the treasury. Our actual donation last year was $120, but we had a collection can at the November meeting, and the extra $20 was included with the $100 from the Garden Club. There will be a can at the upcoming November meeting again this year.

The planning for the Christmas party has begun. Deedee has been contacted to see if her home is an option again this year. She will get back with us. If anyone else is interested in hosting our Christmas party, let Lorice know.

A card was passed around for CJ. She has had a lot on her plate lately. Please send good thoughts her way!

Kris H. asked if we have ever had a seed exchange and true to past practice, she was immediately put in charge of the project. We all have had the frustration of paying too much for a package of 100 seeds when we wanted less than a dozen. We thought this might be a good thing to do at the March meeting. If you have any suggestions for working out the logistics, so we don't all show up with the same package of tomato seeds, bring them to the next meeting. This may be a way to save some money and have a chance to try different plants without having to order a whole package of seeds.

We concluded the meeting by going around the group introducing ourselves and telling one thing we loved about the Fall. It was an enjoyable way to know each other better and share the joys of Autumn. We're also wondering what happened to the name tags.


November Meeting


We will be making wreaths at our next meeting, November 19th at Trust Florist & Nursery. Bring your own wreath frame or $5 to buy one there. They will provide everything you need for a small fee or you may bring your own decorations. The meeting will start at 5:30 pm. Please note the earlier time! Holly B., Jerri M. and Jan T. are bringing finger food for November's meeting. Marci is bringing hot cider.

Monday, October 6, 2008

October Newsletter

The next meeting will be held October 15th at 6:00 PM. We will be having a harvest covered dish supper so we will be meeting an hour early. Bring a dish to pass. Following the dinner we will work on dried flower arrangements so please bring dried flowers and other necessary items. CJ, David K., and Peggy H. are on the refreshment committee and will be bringing deserts.

September Meeting Recap

September's meeting started with members exchanging plants outside the church hall before the meeting.

The minutes were read by Jan. A motion was made by Phill and seconded by Nancy S. to accept the minutes as read.

Lorice handed out business cards for the garden club that Charlotte had made for each of us. If you are still having trouble getting to our web site, some members have better luck using yahoo, than goggle.

Herta gave the treasurer's report. We had a beginning balance of $1024.15 and an ending balance of 927.46. Our only club expenses have been for the newsletters. A motion was made by Mike N. and seconded by Barb S. to accept the treasurer's report.

Lorice shared the only correspondence for the month. It was an advertisement for a garden tour this coming Sunday, Sept.21st at the Hanford's Sycamore Hill Gardens, 2130 Old Seneca Turnpike in Marcellus, NY. from 11am to 4 PM. It is to benefit the St. Camillus Foundation. Tickets are $5 in advance and $8 at the door. There is a $2 processing fee for group tickets. Lorice read a long list of gardens on the tour and a map and flyer were passed around. Garden club members who have visited this garden, said it is worth the trip and well worth while.

Committee Reports were next. Phill and Barb, the head of the garden tour committee, said they have the gardens committed for next year. It will be the 3rd Saturday in June.

There was a discussion about the dates for the plant sale. A motion was made by Nancy C. and seconded by Marci that we will have two plant sales. The first one will be in the park, May 16th and the second one will be the day of the garden tour. Nancy C. will chair the plant sale committee with the help of Herta and Diane C.

Lorice was not able to contact our speaker so he was a no show. The rest of the meeting was a question and answer session. Inquiring minds wanted to know
- Are there pink forget-me-nots?

Answer, yes and no. Their color is determined by soil and sun. Most members who had pink, also had blue on the same plant.

-Where do you get daylilies that bloom continuously all summer?

Answer, they are called rebloomers and were written about in the last week's paper. You can also go to Grace Gardens. They are growers in Penn Yan for more information.

- Does anyone have lanterns on their Japanese Lantern plants?

Answer, no. The Japanese beetles had them for breakfast.

- Do people pinch their mums?

Answer, yes and no. Members that are not living at higher altitudes do until July. Those living more on the Tug Hill find the growing season is not long enough to pinch their mums and get flowers before the snow blows.

New members at the September meeting were Mike and Chris H., Alice R. and Claire W. This was June F.'s second meeting. Welcome to you all!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

September Newsletter

August Meeting Recap

In August our meeting was held at Grindstone Farm. Grindstone is the largest and oldest organic farm in Central New York. They grow crops for local customers through CSA program (Consumer Supported Agriculture) and individual Healthy Boxes. Surpluses are marketed to a supplier in NYC. There are 8 full time employees, in addition to day pickers.

There were about 20 members in attendance including a couple of new members and guests. We had a fun tour of a few of the farm's 220 acres. As we walked through the fields, Matt explained the why's and wherefore's of organic gardening on a large scale. Some, but not all of the points mentioned were; the flowers to attract pollinators, shorter rows and native vegetation bordering fields to provide homes for birds and predator bugs that will eat pests, crop rotation, planting and harvesting schedules.

After our tour we caravaned back to the u-pick blueberry field next to the pond for a short business meeting and refreshments. These plants were original to the land when Dick and Vic purchased it. It was a beautiful place and could be a site for a future Garden Club picnic.


September Meeting

With Labor Day being early this year the September meeting is going to be here before we know it, so mark your calendars! The meeting will be September 17th at 7:00 pm at the Park United Mehodist Church, 2 Hubble St, Pulaski, NY. Wayne Docteur from Dexter will be our guest speaker and the subject will be mums.

We will also have a plant exchange. Please remember to label your plants with as much information as you can; name, color, height, best growing conditions, etc. Bring 1 take 1, bring 2 take 2, etc. We also have a few members in the club that are just starting gardens so if you have a few extras to bring for them that would be a very nice thing and I'm certain it would be much appreciated!


Planning Ahead

October - We will be having our Harvest Dinner. Time and other activity TBA

November - Our generous friends at Trust Florist & Nursery will be opening their doors to us again for our meeting and wreath making. Watch future newsletters for the date and time for this meeting.

December - Christmas Party. Details still in the works.

Next Year - We will be having a Garden Tour. Co-chairs of the committee are Phill & Barb. More details in the spring.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Some Interesting Websites

I have added some new links in the right hand column for everyone to check out. I'll repeat them here for those of you reading in your email or reader. To our new email subscribers, Welcome!

First up is a link to Grindstone Farm. Our last meeting was a tour of the farm and those of us that attended had a great time and learned a lot about organic gardening. Be sure to check out the Newsletter and Recipe links.

Following along with the organic theme, Jan sent me a link to Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. At this site you'll find more recipes and a cool seasonal farm tour. Scroll to the bottom of their page to find the links.

Another link sent by Jan is for the National Gardening Association. Check out their main page and then look for their Regional page.

I've also added links to our friends at Trust Florist & Nursery and the Oswego County Fair.

If you have a link you'd like to share with the rest of the club please send it to me. If you need my email address you can find it by clicking on "Apple" under Contributors.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

August Meeting

Next meeting is August 13th at the Grindstone Farm at 6:00pm.

The farm is located on Tinker Tavern Rd, 1/2 mile east of I-81. Look for balloons. It will be an outside meeting that will include a tour of the operation of an organic farm.

Lorice will contact Wayne Docteur as a guest speaker for the September meeting. We will also have a plant swap. You get to take as many plants as you bring. Please label your plants. Knowing whether sun or shade, height, color, name and any other information will be greatly appreciated.

Refreshments: Glenda & Edna.

There is some frustration over the blog for the Garden Club. A number of members cannot or have not been successful in logging on. If some one could write up a set of directions, step by step that need to be followed and the URL address, it would help those members that are still trying or seeking help from others. Please help Lorice if you ca be of any help.

Club took first place at the Oswego County Fair. Scroll down for pictures. Thanks to Cathy K and CJ for all their hard work. Also Nancy Daley's hard work was evident in the Horticulture Building.

This is a partial transcription of the newsletter mailed to me by Michael N.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

July Meeting

There is a meeting Wednesday. Being the third Wed. of the month. Please come prepared to volunteer: setting up & clean up. If everyone will pitch in and do a part the picnic will go off smoothly and we will have fun.

We need a true head count Wednesday night. The meat, rolls, ice all will be taken care of by the garden club and we want the count so as not to waste money or run out or short.

Lorice

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Upcoming Events

Do you know of an upcoming tour, open garden or other event that you'd like the rest of the club to know about?

As most of you know, I live in the southern part of the county and I don't always know what is going on in the Pulaski and Sandy Creek areas. I'd be happy to post announcements here, whether local or not if ou feel that hey would interest other club members. Please type them up as you'd like them to appear and supply me with any internet links and/or pictures that you'd like included and send them to me in an email. My time is quite limited right now so I am unable to manage requests that require my writing the article and tracking down any links or pictures. I also ask that you get them to me in timely manner, a request for something that has to be done "today" may or may not get done.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

A Gathering of Gardeners

A Gathering of Gardeners is the annual symposium put on by the Master Gardeners of Monroe County. Last year a small group from our club went in two cars and we all had a great time.

The date this year is September 13th and will feature talks by Stephanie Cohen and Matt Horn. The complete program can be found here.

The cost is $48 with the following discounts offered:
You'll save $5 if you register before August 1st.
You'll save an additional $5 if a group of 5 or more of us register together before Aug. 1st.

$38 for the symposium and plan to kick in for gas and tolls. A bit steep for some of us but we felt it was worth it las year.

They have a box lunch available for $11. Last year we brought our own lunch and picnicked.

Please leave a comment if you would like to attend and I will try and put those who are interested in going in touch with each other.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

The Results are In...And the Winner is????

First place in the Garden Design competition at the Oswego County Fair goes to...US! (aka: The Gardening Friends)! 2nd Place went to the Garden Club from Oswego and Phoenix was awarded with 3rd Place. Congrats to everyone who worked so hard on all the displays!


Oswego County Fair FUN!

Nancy Dailey, our outstanding former President, has put her considerable talents to good use yet again. She has spent a lot of time breathing new life into the Horticulture Building and it shows! Be sure to stop by when you visit the fair and say "Hi!"

Once again, The Gardening Friends Club is participating in the Garden Design Booth Competition. Winter Wonderland is this year's theme. And unlike years gone by...There is actually other competitors!

The Phoenix Garden Club displays their idea of "Christmas in July Fantasy".

The Oswego Garden Club's forecast calls for "Snowy Winter Days". Weather like that is nothing new for Oswego!


Winter Wonderland CAN mean so many things! To me a perfect winter's day includes a snowman out front, cozy chair in front of the fireplace, and a good book. So Cathy Kinn and I, spent about 3 hours completing our "Winter Wonderland". We couldn't have done it without Marci Groman's beautiful fresh wreath and Betty Perkins "Rocking Chair Santa" and her beautiful potted plants that act as our "presents" under the tree. What terrific fun!






Monday, June 30, 2008

Sycamore Hill Gardens

A road trip to Sycamore Hill Gardens has been suggested for a Saturday in August. I believe that August 9th was unavailable but the rest of the month had open dates. Our President would like your feedback as to a date at the July Picnic. So check your calendars ahead of time and if you won't be attending the picnic be sure to contact her ahead of time with your preference or leave a comment here. It sounds like a fun trip!

(No emails to me please, I just have to forward them on to her)

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Garden Walk Buffalo

My sister and I spent a weekend in Buffalo last year touring many city gardens that were open for the weekend. Garden Walk Buffalo is free and I hear that they have over 300 gardens available for touring again this year. If you want a great weekend gardening getaway considering going this year. Garden Walk is always the last weekend in July.




More information can be found at the Garden Walk home page here and there was a great article in the Buffalo news here.



We wrote about our trip last year and posted all of the pictures we took here.





Friday, June 6, 2008

June Newsletter

(Click anywhere on the newsletter to enlarge)

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Plant Sale

Just a reminder that our annual plant sale will be next Friday, June 6, at the opening of the Farmers Market in Pulaski, NY. I can't remember the name of the park but if someone can help me out and leave a comment or send me an email I'll add it here along with a map.

If you are a member of the club please pot up some plants now so they look good next week. They need to be labeled with as much information as you have about them - name, height, color, light requirements, etc. You can start droping plants off on Friday about 3:00 PM so that our sale area is ready to go when the market opens at 4:00. If you can not drop off plants at that time please contact Lorice during the week to make arrangements to get them to her.

If you are looking for quality perennials at bargain prices be sure to stop by and pick some up. If you are not a club member be sure to get some information on how to join!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

May Newsletter

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Monday, March 10, 2008

March Newsletter

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Saturday, March 1, 2008

General Meeting Information

Gardening Friends meet March thru December, usually on the third Wednesday of the month. Most meetings are held at the Park United Mehodist Church, 2 Hubble St, Pulaski, NY. Meetings start at 7:00 PM unless otherwise published. Be sure to check the current newsletter for details.


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