Feliz Navidad, Fröhliche Weihnachten, Buon Natale!, Nollaig Shona Dhuit

Merry Christmas!

November 2014 Meeting Notes

Mary Ann Kurtz welcomed all members on a cold night. Dandelions are about the only things blooming. Dues are due. Check your directory listing as directory goes to print in December. A place is still needed for our summer picnic meeting. Let Mary Ann or Colleen Fingal know if your garden is available. Colleen updated us on her progress in booking 2015 programs and asked for feedback regarding our preferences. Mary Anne extended a thank you to Bill Goff for his service as Program Chair and to Anita Wagner, Treasurer for four years.

Claudia Hickly reviewed ideas for celebrating our 65^th anniversary next year.   After discussion, there was consensus regarding the following items:

•  Celebration Social - held the 4^th Tuesday of September instead of our regular meeting.  Long-time members will be recognized; former members will be invited; archives and memorabilia will be on display; refreshments will be served; display/computer slide show highlighting 65 years of community service a possibility; photo of our 2015 members will be taken; parts or all of the celebration may be filmed.  A Celebration Social Committee is a must! 
• Plant Sale – Have anniversary plant specials; small for 65 cents and large/unique plants for $6.50.  Hang a banner or sign ‘Celebrating 65 years
• Celebrate the UPMC Passavant Chapel Garden’s 20^th anniversary with a special presentation and recognition for Peggy and Helen.
•  Donate a brick to the Town of McCandless Pathway to the Past.  The donated bricks will form a path at the new McCandless Museum. Brick will be inscribed with Longvue Acres Garden Club 1950-2015 – or Longvue Acres Garden Club founded 1950.
• Donate club archives to the McCandless Museum with the stipulation that members have access to them. Will need further discussion.   Obtain publicity for all events during our anniversary year.  Claudia will be responsible for this.

Other: Thank you to Sarah Graham for the desserts dark chocolate crumb bars and pumpkin snicker doodles.
Go to these sites for recipes:
http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/144808/dark-chocolate-crumb-bars/?keywords=dark+chocolate+crumb+bar 

http://www.recipegirl.com/2007/11/05/pumpkin-snickerdoodles/

Thank you to Peggy Elizeus for the beautiful and unique arrangement of bittersweet and acorns.

Program

Beneficial Insects:  Bill Goff introduced speaker Philip Bauerle who is a Wooster Collegegrad and PSMG Program Coordinator. He had wonderful slides and was very informative about beneficial insects (honey bees and native bees) as pollinators; predators such as the assassin beetle, wheel beetle and praying mantis (at least one growth stage of beneficial destroys the harmful insect); and parasitoids like the parasitic wasp and syrphid fly (the pest is a food source for the developing beneficial larva stage). Philip reminded us that one of three bites of food we eat needs a pollinator. 

Take home points:

• Encourage beneficials by using no or few insecticides.
• Not all development stages of the good bug eat pests, some eat in both larva and adult stage, and some eat in adult stage only.
• Don’t kill a pest caterpillar with parasitic eggs outside its body, the caterpillar is food for the developing good bugs.
• Provide ‘housing’ for beneficials using brush pile, bare ground, leaf mulch or a beetle bank planted with switch grass.
•  Buying lady bugs doesn’t work as they fly away to other properties.
•  Plant their preferred food plants such as monarda, mountain mint, dog tooth mint, and agastache (also deer resistant). They also like carrot family members like golden alexander, parsley, aster family, common milkweed, yarrow and sunflower.
• Warning: New pest to our state, spotted lantern fly, an orchard pest. Report this to master gardeners. See www.ento.psu.edu.
• Further reading: Attracting Berneficials to Your Garden by Jessica Walliser, Farming with Native Beneficial Insects from the Xerces Society; also Penn State site above.

Next meeting: January 27, 2015 

Submitted by: Rose Mary Highman

October 2014 Meeting Notes

 Business Meeting

Mary Ann Kurtz welcomed all members and asked what was growing in their gardens.  Members’ gardens are winding down but asters, anemones, geraniums, zinnias, marigolds, dahlias, and mums are still blooming. Members thanked Bill Goff for arranging last month’s apple tasting and tour at Soergel Orchards.  Anita Wagner reminded all that the deadline for 2015 membership dues is approaching; pay your $15 dues to her. Remember, only current members will be included in the handbook.  Anita reviewed the 2014 budget and noted that we are ahead of income projections due to a successful plant sale and fewer expenses. She then presented the 2015 budget. After discussion, members voted not to increase the dollar amount for donations in 2015 since speaker fees and other potential expenses are unknown.  Claudia asked that the room rental fee be listed separately in the budget and all agreed. The 2015 budget was approved. Mary Ann thanked Anita for serving four years as treasurer.  Gift items for speaker thank you baskets are needed. Give to either Flo Ogden or Colleen Fingal.

Claudia noted the upcoming SIXTY FIFTH anniversary of the Longvue Acres Garden Club. She answered the question that puzzled everyone; where in the world is Longvue Acres?  Her research took her to the McCandless town hall where she reviewed 14 Brown & Vaughn Development Company maps all labeled Longvue Acres! The fourteen maps delineated seven distinct McCandless neighborhoods; which was our Longvue Acres?  Claudia then dug into the LAGC archives, and after much sleuthing, documented that our club’s roots are in Longvue Acres Plan #3 developed in 1948. This is the neighborhood that today includes Bingay Drive, Balmoral Drive and Hazlett Road.  The first LAGC meeting was held in the fall of 1950 in the basement of Gladys Kuhman’s home at 216 Balmoral Drive!   Claudia invited members to think about how best to celebrate our 65^th anniversary and to take time to enjoy our club’s first scrapbook which was on display.

Plant Sale May 16, Saturday.  Make notes about which plants to divide in the spring for plant sale, or divide now and bury them to protect from freezing.

Other:  Raffle winner of centerpiece pumpkin: Kitty Price.  Thanks to Beverly Steiger for dessert and Helen Dean for the arrangement.  Sharon Walston brought plants for members as did Dianne Machesney. 

Program

Fall Clean Up: Savoring the Last of the Season:  Bill Goff introduced speaker Martha Swiss who is a Penn State Master Gardener, garden designer, editor, and gardener of her own acre property. Martha’s slides were excellent and she provided lots of tips and answered questions. 

Take home points:

·        No right or wrong way or rules for garden clean-up.

·        Savor the fall colors and shapes of large view, but enjoy the tiny leaf also.

·        Bag and throw out diseased plants; do not compost them.

·        Clean up now is easier in good weather than in wet, cold spring weather.

·        To cut back or not: If not, does wildlife use for food or shelter. Is plant aesthetically pleasing in winter? If yes, use sharp shears and cut no closer than 2-4 inches from the ground.

·        Woody plants: “if you must,” prune lightly and remember you may be removing spring’s flowers.

·        Only prune oak trees during months of November – April because of oak wilt disease.

·        Might be better to take cuttings from a favorite tender plant, rather than whole plant.

·        If bringing house plants inside, do so about 2 weeks before furnace turn on.

·        Tender plants can be mulched or wrapped but remove in early spring.

·        Turn off water, drain hoses, cover outdoor furniture and empty pots you don’t want to lose.

·        Make notes for spring and later gardening.

Next meeting: November 25, “Beneficial Insects” by Philip Bauerle

Submitted by:  Rose Mary Highman

September 2014 Meeting Notes

Longvue Acres Garden Club Apple Tasting at Soergel Orchards 

September 23, 2014

Program: Bill Goff arranged an apple tasting and tour at Soergel’s Orchard.  The evening was pleasantly crisp with lovely sunset. All present enjoyed the orchard tour with Randy Soergel talking about apples, their growth, their season (July-end of October), tree support, pests, etc.  Randy let Dylan Noker, Jenna’s son, drive the enormous tractor (he was thrilled as anyone, especially under 16, would be). We saw other crops that Soergel grows during the year, e.g., strawberries, raspberries, squash, pumpkins.

The tour continued through the washing and sizing room of the packaging building, then the refrigerator room, and onto tasting. Varieties tasted were, Cortland, Paula Red, McIntosh, Jonathan, Honey Crisp, and a few others. Randy talked of the color inside and out, peel, sweetness, crispness, uses, and we picked our favorites as we compared tastes.  Each of us took home an apple.

Take home points:

·        Outer 3 ft of the tree grows the fruit, not the trunk

·        Grafted dwarf trees can still become tall, takes them a lot longer as their roots are smaller and they may need staking to keep upright

·        Don’t handle a frozen apple, let thaw first. Below 28 deg apples freeze

·        Keep them in cool spot rather than in dehumidifying refrigerator to prevent moisture loss

·        Mix varieties together for complex sauce and cider flavors, keep to one variety for pie because of cooking time

·        An excellent, easy dessert—slice apples and bake at 350 degrees for 30 min. Add spices and sugar according to personal preference

·        Apple skin facing the sun is darker color, try at home on the window sill

·        Have young people, who aren’t sure what direction to pursue, contact him. He is an avid fan of horticulture and its opportunities.

Next meeting: October 28, 2014, “Fall Clean Up; Savoring the Last of the Season” by Martha Swiss. 

Friendly reminder that dues of $15/year are due

What's Blooming In Bill's Garden

2014 Passavant Garden

Margaret Elizeus took this video of the Passavant garden.

August 2014 Meeting Notes

Business Meeting

Mary Ann Kurtz welcomed all members and four guests and then asked what was blooming in our gardens. Many have dahlias, cosmos (Marilyn Gurtner brought pictures of the extra tall cosmos & zinnia she planted from seed), zinnias, helianthus, hummingbird mint, turtlehead **, and iron weed. Flo Ogden brought in arrangement materials from the late Joan Menes’ stash. Sharon Walston will reserve the meeting room for next year, signups for next year’s desserts and arrangements were passed, dues $15/year can be paid this month or next couple of months. Claudia asked if Bill could arrange for us to receive the Penn State Master Gardener newsletter online. Mary Ann has two compost bins she no longer needs.  List of possible programs and field trips were passed around for us to make our top 10 + 2 trips.

Officers for next year: Mary Ann thanked the current officers and committees and announced the new officers, many returning. President-Mary Ann Kurtz, VP-Claudia Hickly, Treasurer-Denny Brown, Secretary-Flo Ogden; Committees: Community Service-Helen Dean, Peggy Elizeus, Directory/Yearbook-Chris Kerin, Historian/Blog-Esther Nagy, Hostess-Sharon Walston, Membership-Linda Brown, Newsletter-Rose Mary Highman, Online Communicator-Janine Zink, Plant Sale-Mary Ann Kurtz, Programs-Colleen and Evan Fingal, Publicity-Bev Steiger, Publicity Plant Sale-Mary Ann Kurtz.

Announcements: Thanks to Colleen Fingal for desserts and Marilyn Gurtner for the arrangement.  Save the date for Plant Sale is May 16^th, 2015.

Program

Container Gardening:  Bill Goff introduced speaker Susan Marguesen who is a Penn State Master Gardener and describes container gardening “a passion of mine” with over 50 at her own home. She showed pictures of planted containers and groupings from small to the large ones holding trees. Favorite tools are The Garden Color Book by Paul Williams, a color wheel (see picture), and Garden to Go by Sydney Eddison.

Take home points:

·        Select containers first, then plants for their “filler, thriller, spiller” characteristics

·        Think of container gardening as decorating.  Group the pots for impact.

·        Match the container styles and plants to compliment their location

·        Larger pots require less water, but large plants

·        Use a color wheel for contrasting colors or shades of one color

·        Be original, plant that old ‘dumpster dive’ find, recycled is good

·        Re-use container soil? Can do if prior not diseased, but add some fresh soil

·        Use composted or manure in bottom of pot so that when the plant roots head downward they get a welcome shot

·        Vegetables in containers do well, but again pot size is important and later in season, they need that bottom of pot manure or compost

·        Over-wintering--can keep many pots outside under a covered table to prevent over-watering, can bring out if day is mild

·        Garden in winter with twig dogwood or similar cold hardy plants/shrubs

Next meeting Field Trip: September 23, 2014, Apple Tasting at Soergels Orchards, 7 p.m. Cost is $5.  If you wish to carpool, meet at 6:30 at the church parking lot, otherwise meet at parking lot at Soergels.

**Turtlehead native plant  http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/chelone_glabra.shtml  

Gardening

What Blooming in Your Garden, Mary Anne

Mary Anne has sent some photos of her beautiful garden!

LAGC Field Trip to Hartwood Acres

    July 22, 2014

What a wonderful late afternoon field trip to Hartwood Acres where Curator Sally Foster  met us. The original owner  of Hartwood Mary Lawrence was a gardener herself and commissioned Rose Greely in the 1930s to design her extensive gardens including herbs, vegetables, etc.  The overall shapes have been kept through the years with the original boxwood, lilacs, and the Franklinia alatamaha tree (named for Ben Franklin) remaining.  The garden and it’s plan was accepted into the Archives of American Gardens at the Smithsonian Institution in 2012 and a plaque  near the garden beds notes this. Sally pointed out not only the grounds but the fine design and stone work of the mansion such as stone carved flowers at the corners of doors and windows, the chimneys, the sandstone terrace,   the hemlock courtyard, and the terrace walls.  She has brought in perennials from her own garden and these bloom from February until late frost.  Her aim is to have more native plants,  plants for pollinators, and those used by Monarch Butterflies.  The county plants the annual beds “meant to wow”  and these and the perennial beds Sally maintains under the lilacs are surrounded by an electric fence.

Sally Foster

Take home points:

·        Appreciate and use native plants

·        Plant butterfly weed and milkweed needed by Monarch Butterflies

·        Don’t forget plants for hummingbirds

·        Peonies in shade last longer and are better colored

·        Volunteer opportunities abound in all the county parks and they need volunteers (and arborists)

Next meeting: August 26, 7 p.m. “Container Gardening” by Susan Marquesen  

Submitted by: Rose Mary Highman

Thanks to Diane Machesney for taking some of the photos.

LAGC Picnic June 24, 2014

Jenna and her husband

 What a great night for a picnic and tour of Jenna Noker’s lovely garden! Her home is nestled away from the street in a neighborhood filled with mature trees and quiet beauty.  Her husband and son greeted the many members in attendance and helped them find their way downstairs to the party; delicious food and wonderful multilevel patios, including a gazebo! 

Jenna’s home is situated on a wedged shaped lot with a steep drop to one side and back.  To separate the maintained garden and provide her a stopping point, she planted Rose of Sharon adjacent to the woods.  Members noted the moist, shady conditions and the many plants growing well there, especially Ligularia. A yellow paned frame and stone walks add interest and color in another section.  The fenced vegetable garden and a greenhouse are used during the seasons.  Several LAGC members live nearby and club members were treated to tours of their gardens as well.

Jenna and her family are not ones to call out ‘finished or ‘too tired’! They are converting a sloped area outside the front door to a butterfly and bird friendly area and rearrange garden plantings as conditions or interests change. Thank you Jenna for hosting this year’s picnic and sharing your very special garden with us. 

 

Next meeting is Tuesday, July 22 for a tour of the Hartwood Acres Gardens.  Meet promptly at 6 p.m. at the SAXONBURG Boulevard entrance NOT the Middle Road entrance.  The Hartwood gardens were recently placed on the historic landmark registry.  Curator Sally Foster will give us a tour of the gardens.