Picnic & Tour of Bill Goff's gardens, June 4, 2024

We had a terrific turnout and the perfect weather for this year’s annual club picnic which was hosted by Bill Goff.  A great big thank you to Bill and his wife Diane for welcoming us to their home and garden.  The variety of salads, appetizers, mini-sandwiches and desserts was enjoyed by everyone.  Water and Paducah Iced tea quenched our thirst.  The iced tea has a citrus ingredient, pineapple juice and was delicious.  We’ll have to get the recipe from Bill!

Although we were hoping to see the peonies in

Bill Goff

bloom, Bill explained that most of the peonies had bloomed early this year so there were only a few pink blossoms for the picnic. We enjoyed strolling through Bill’s mature garden which sits on a double lot. He has been creating and working on his gardens for more than 30 years. Deer and rabbits can be a problem for Bill so he uses Liquid Fence and Milorganite with some success.

Beautiful peony blossom

Dawn redwood

The property in the backyard is divided into 2 distinct areas separated by a fence. The first area is a shady spot which surrounds a lovely patio with eating area and fountain. This garden bed is full of hostas of varied colors, sizes, and different shaped leaves.  Sprinkled among the hosta are a few reddish lilies which piqued members’ curiosity.  It’s called a Martagon Lily, also known as Turk’s Cap Lily. This lily thrives and blooms well in part shade where other types of lilies prefer full sun.  This lily is unique because of its downward facing blooms and many blooms on a single stem.

Martagon Lily

The shade in this area is created by Bill’s Dawn Redwood Tree.  Bill planted this amazing tree many years ago.  It’s a cousin of the Sequoia and loses its needles in the Fall.  It’s architecturally unique because of its vase-like trunk.

On the other side of the fence is the second area where there is a large perennial border filled with mature plants such as: Mountain Mint, Crocosmia Lucifer, Culvers Root, Feverfew, Lambs Ear, Verbena Bonariensis, Catmint, Bachelor’s Buttons, Solidago Golden Rod and a variety of Peonies.  I’m sure there are many more plants which I didn’t recognize!  This area also has a large swath of greenery which promises to display a large variety of daylily blooms in a few more weeks.  Tucked in amongst the plants are perfectly placed decorations such as a concrete statue of St. Francis, a bird bath, sundial and a special metal sign which says “Pap Pap’s Flower Garden”.

We thank Bill for allowing us to tour his garden. From what I can see it’s the perfect place to enjoy your other hobby, photography.  The variety of mature plants and landscaping really makes a relaxing space and I hope you get to enjoy it with your friends and family.

Meeting Notes

We took a group photo in front of the perennial bed.

President Nancy shared a thank you note with members from the Penn State Master Garden Symposium. This year we made a donation to become a Friend of the Symposium and have our club’s name listed in the garden symposium directory.

Nancy will reach out to board members and committee chairs to confirm who would like to continue in their current position in 2025.

Mary Ann Kurtz, Plant Sale Coordinator talked about the success of the 2024 plant sale.  Great job to our members!  Many thanks to Mary Ann for coordinating our efforts!!!  Our profit is $3344. We had 690 plants brought to sell with 92% participation of our club members. 

Three of the plant sale signs were stolen so we might have to budget for more next year.

No changes need to be made in terms of publicity or pricing.

It was determined that we could use 2 more tables for the plant sale setup. Members are asked to bring as many tables as you can.

We discussed whether we should sell plants which are listed on the PA Invasive species list. We’ll get a copy of the list and discuss in the future.

Ideas and uses for an LAGC logo were discussed. Sample ideas for the logo were circulated. Club members were asked what we should purchase to print the logo on such as a t-shirt, apron, ball cap or button. No decision was made and this topic will be discussed at another meeting.

Notes by Colleen Finegal, pictures by Bill Goff and Rose Mary Highman

 

 

May 23, 2023 LAGC Meeting Notes

President Nancy Madeoy opened the May 2023 meeting with What's blooming in your garden. Members responded with peonies, Iris, chives, catmint and rhododendron.

Welcome to our 3 new members who joined last month — Alicia, Kate and John.

A few embers brought plants to share.

 

Please remember that there will be no meeting at the church in June. Our annual garden club picnic will be held on Tuesday, June 27th at Andrea Maire’s house starting at 6:30 p.m.  Andrea said that we may park in the church parking lot across the street from her house.  There are also six parking spots in Andrea's driveway.  Please leave those spaces for those members who may have mobility limitations. Please bring an appetizer, dessert, salad or casserole to share and also bring a chair.

 

Again this year, we'll have our discount towards a purchase of plants at Quality Gardens garden center on Route 228 in Valencia.  Marlow Madeoy sent an e-mail to all members  which includes the document that shows the discount information.  You must print the document and take it to Quality Gardens and show it to the cashier when you check out in order to receive the discount.

 

We're still looking for volunteers to help with the maintenance of the Passavant White Garden.  A sign up sheet was circulated.  We appreciate all the help that you can give tending the garden.  Evan will send a reminder message to each volunteer to let you know which week you signed up to care for the garden.

 

Our annual Perennial Plant Sale held on Saturday, May 20th was a phenomenal success.  We netted about $3,200.  Mary Ann Kurtz gave an overview of the plant sale and we talked about what worked and things that could be changed for next year.  Advertisements seemed to be really helpful; our plants looked very healthy; the holding tables work well for customers and it was suggested to have more holding tables next year.  Mary Ann suggested that we could use more tables and tents. Looking to next year’s plant sale, Mary Ann is asking for a volunteer to put up signs along Route 19 and keep an eye on the signs and also looking for a volunteer to sweep the parking lot prior to the sale.  Let Mary Ann know if you are willing to take on one of these tasks.  It was proposed to have a 50/50 raffle and a donation box next year.  Members are not in favor of either of these ideas. Another idea for next year is to offer tool and knife sharpening. This service would be setup and offered by another group who could charge a fee or accept donations.  More research will have to be done to see if this is a viable idea. 

 

Many thanks to Mary Ann for all her hard work and organizational skills for another successful plant sale. LAGC members really appreciate it!

 

Treasurer Denny gave a report that we had $3,400 in our account last month. After adding in the new member fees and the plant sale profits and deducting expenses, LAGC has a balance of $6,400 total.

 

Two members brought tasty desserts this month.  Linda Brown brought rice krispie treats, mallo cups and sugar cookies. Cindy brought a delicious fruit tray. Thank you!

 

Bill Goff created a glorious arrangement of peonies and Siberian Iris from his own garden which was appropriate in keeping with the topic of his presentation. The Red Charm peony with its huge red blooms was very striking.

Peony Arrangement from Bill's May Garden.

 

Program

 

“The Peony and the Glories of the June Perennial Garden” 

presented by Bill Goff

 

Bill Goff, Penn State Master Gardener and longtime LAGC member showcased the photos that he took of his garden for this month’s program. He stated that his talk was based on his two premises below and he proceeded to prove the truth of these premises.

1. I love peonies.
2. The peony is the undisputed star of the May garden.

 

He explained the many reasons why we should grow peonies such as fragrance, big blooms, dark green foliage, deer resistance, able to withstand cold weather, great for flower arrangements, easy to share plant with other gardeners and long living perennial which may live 100 years.

 

There are 3 types of peonies:  herbaceous or bush type which die back in the fall; tree peony which is like a rose bush and doesn’t die back and shouldn’t be cut back; the ITOH peony or intersectional peony which is a cross between the herbaceous and tree peony and dies back in the winter.  This peony was invented in 1948 by Toichi Itoh, a Japanese peony grower and breeder.

 

Peonies prefer a sunny location in fertile, well-draining soil.  They generally need support for their heavy blooms and it’s best to install the support when you can see the small red shoots coming out of the ground in early spring to avoid damaging the roots of the plant.

 

September and October are the best months to plant, move and divide peonies.  It’s critical to remember that the pink eyes of the plant should be no deeper than 1 or 2 inches below the soil. Bill explained that planting too deeply is quite often the reason why peonies don’t bloom.

 

Peonies do not get many diseases. Botrytis blight happens during damp weather when leaves get too wet. To prevent this from happening, allow plenty of room for airflow around the plant and don’t allow grass or groundcover to grow around the base of the plant.

 

Bill told us that there is no symbiotic relationship between ants and the peony.  A plant will still get blooms even if it doesn’t have ants. If you happen to get ants on your plants then, it’s best to leave them alone.  If you want to bring the flowers inside then a gentle swish in water should remove the ants.

 

Bill’s photos of his own garden showed that there are many plants which are good companions for peonies which bloom in the June garden.  Bill Suggested planting the following: Foxgloves, Allium, Siberian Iris, Oriental poppies, Amsonia, Columbine Bachelor's Buttons, May Daisies, Nepeta, Geranium and Baptisia.

 

Club members thoroughly enjoyed Bill’s presentation and we could see his love of peonies thru the photos of his garden and his enthusiastic delivery when he talked about the variety of colors and fragrances that peonies offer. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us.