Philadelphia Flower Show

Margaret Elizeus is sharing her photos from the
Philadelphia Flower Show!

Thanks Margaret for sharing your photos!!

February 2013 Meeting Notes

Mary Ann Kurtz asked members to let her or Linda Brown know when they joined if it was earlier than 2000. LAGC hopes to informally celebrate member anniversaries.  Members approved using the blog for monthly news instead of the newsletter which will be discontinued.  Rose Mary Highman will provide the monthly news and Esther Nagy will maintain the blog.  Members may contribute to the blog by sending photos, recipes, and garden ideas to Esther.  Our blog is only open to LAGC members.  Because LAGC donated to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy Association, we received four tickets (single use) to Falling Water or Kentuck Knob.  Let Mary Ann know before you head for these places. 

Since LAGC only has one fundraiser (plant sale) the board suggested a 50/50 raffle as a painless way to help with speakers’ fees.  February’s meeting was the first time it was used with our club netting $22 and Colleen Fingal winning the other half of the pot. Tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5.  For the picnic we’ll try a Chinese raffle, so start saving new or slightly used garden or cooking items for the baskets. To increase our plant sale revenue, Mary Ann suggested that we wait till 11:30 a.m. to markdown plants.  She noted that other clubs rarely discount.

Dot Sims and her husband Ron

Bill Goff introduced our speaker Dot Sims who presented a wonderful slide slow and narration “Perennials for Difficult Sites.”  Dot is not only a Penn State Master Gardener, but also co-president of the Shaler Garden Club and member of the Men’s Federation of Gardeners.  Dot is an enthusiastic speaker and recommended that sites be evaluated for amount of sun as well as type of soil, drainage, and the amount of deer ‘friends’.  Dot and her husband are not timid gardeners so they move plants, try new plants and expand beds by replacing grass. They added a waterfall and fish pond to improve a soggy hillside.  She uses mulch and ground covers to cut down on weeding. Take homes from her talk are: keep a diary; use drawings/sketches; keep a landscape book with photos and websites; and keep a folder with receipts.  Enjoy the plants’ beauty and work with the plants to give them the best chance to succeed in our gardens.

Dessert:  Claudia Hickly  

                       Arrangement Rose Mary Highman

Submitted by:  Mary Rose Highman