March 2009 Petal Pusher
President's Message
Dear Friends,
Are we there yet? Has Spring finally sprung? With the temperature hitting eighty degrees today one dares to hope that the worst is over. What a long winter it has been and what damage it has done to our gardens. The frost has destroyed so many of our lovely perennials and damaged the leaves of so many shrubs. We are waiting now to see what begins to come up or leaf out of what appear to be dead branches. There is still hope and another couple of weeks may make all the difference. I hope so. I wanted to put a couple of camellia flowers in a vase one evening and it was hard to find any without the telltale browning on the petals.
On this happy note, are your soils tested, have you done all your soil preparation, are you ready to plant all your new seedlings? If you are, you are one step ahead or even maybe two ahead of me.
Now we have lost the frost and the bugs have arrived! Aphids, azalea lace bugs, and many types of scale insects, white flies and pine bark beetles become active in March and April. Watch for them and treat them immediately. Once the camellias finish flowering paint the under sides of the leaves, trunk and branches with Horticultural oil and Malathion for scale. Don’t wait too long as the heat can affect the spray and burn the shrubs.
March is the first time you should be fertilizing your shrubs according to David Linvill. Fertilizers are beneficial for shrub growth. They can also be injurious to plants if used improperly. Improper use is a common problem in domestic gardens. Piling the material so that it is very concentrated in a single area usually results in the death of the roots directly below. Also don’t pile the fertilizer next to the stem of the plant as this may burn the cambrium layer under the bark and kill the plant. Apply fertilizer at the dripline and slightly beyond scattering it all around the plant. Brush off the leaves and then water. Apply fertilizer at the rate of 1 tablespoon per foot of height of the plant. If you do some severe pruning, fertilize the plant to the height it was as it has the root system to use that amount of fertilizer.
Don’t forget to fertilize your perennials and ground covers which will benefit from getting their vitamins every bit as much as the shrubs. Give them one teaspoon per square foot of area. Watering well will prevent damage from any fertilizer sticking to the leaves or crown of the plants. Your roses need fertilizing once a month from March through Sept. Add 1 cup of Epsom salts per plant as this provides extra magnesium which they like.
There is so much to do and so little time to do it. Remember it is supposed to be fun. It is our peace and relaxation and our opportunity to create something beautiful, full of color and joy, not only for ourselves but for the birds, butterflies and our neighbors.
Anne
The March Meeting of the Landings Garden Club The March meeting of The Landings Garden Club will take place on Monday, March 23rd in Bailey Hall at the Skidaway Island United Methodist Church. The Board meeting will begin at 9:00 AM, followed by refreshments at 9:30 and the General Meeting at 10:00. In place of a program at the church this month, those in attendance will take a one hour “tree walk” in Forsyth Park, starting at 10:30, which will be led by two members of the Savannah Tree Foundation. The public is invited at no cost. Hostesses for the meeting will be Marion Lottich, Sandy Humphrey, Ruth Casey and Jean Holland. May Luncehon Announcement ____________________________ Dear Garden Club Members, Due to program scheduling complications we will have to vote for officers one month early. The Nominating Committee presents the following Slate: President Anne Gardner Vice President Lisa Hall Treasurer Jan Kemp Recording Secretary Leslee Bowler Corresponding Secretary Anne Guira We are still filling Committee Chairs and need volunteers for Ways &Means and Gate Decoration. Anne Guira Chairperson | Causeway Clean-up News There is nothing good to say about Mother Nature as she relates to the Causeway Cleanup in March. It was cold, windy and gray on the marsh, but it could have been worse. We could have had the predicted SNOW!. March has come in like a lion. Let’s hope the lamb is not far behind. The exciting news this month is that we had 6 new volunteers! One of them is a DNR ranger from the State Park who says she will bring her supervisor next time. Pretty great! The Landings Garden Club is extremely grateful to the following 22 volunteers who picked up 31 bags of trash that morning: Leslee Bowler, Sandy Humphrey, Barbara Werneke, Dianne Gannon, Leslie Curtiss, Meg Bremer, Holly Holdsworth, Brigitta Nooney, Bill and Dixie Diffenderfer, Ralph and Peggy Schilly, Ed Conant, Anne Howard, Sally Johnson, Jeff and Ann Fenstermacher, Liz Ward, Carolyn Lebo Scott Walton and Tim and Nancy Strobel. _______________________ By-Law Amendment Notice of By-law amendment as read to members at the General meeting of Monday Feb 23 as approved by Board: - To amend Article 4 Section 2 Annual dues by striking $30 and inserting $35 for active members -To amend Article 4 Section 3 Annual dues by striking $40 and inserting $45 for inactive members. Edith Teifeld—Parliamentarian These by-laws may be amended by vote of members present at membership at next general meeting March 23 |
LANDINGS GARDEN CLUB GENERAL MEETING - February 23, 2009
The general meeting of the Landings Garden Club was called to order by the President Anne Gardner at 10:00 AM.
Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Nancy Strobel read the Collect.
Treasurer's Report: Jan Kemp reported a checking account balance of $7,507.81 as of February 23rd and a money market account balance of $5,221.51.
Recording Secretary: Minutes of the January meeting were approved as published.
Committee Reports:
Website: Sally Jones reported 132 visits to our website. The Landings Association has linked the site to their site.
Trip to Ossabaw: Sandra Wolf reported that 25 members and 8 husbands have signed up for the April 27th trip. Anne Howard will have a coffee for those members not going.
Birds and Conservation: Linda Sue Babcock reported that it is important to clean bird feeders, using ten parts water to one part bleach. Be sure to clean up underneath the feeders.
Village Library: The committee is waiting until the weather warms to work on the beds.
Horticulture: Irene Thornly reported that we should not fertilize plants until it is warmer. She added that Hester and Zipperer Nursery has very nice herbs in stock and that Miracle Greenhouse has good plants at reasonable prices.
Hospitality: Peggy Schilly thanked Carol Jennings, Meg Bremer, Adriana Fisher, Janet
Morley and Nan Higginson for bringing refreshments. She passed a clip board for members to sign up for next year. She announced that the annual meeting and luncheon will be in the Azalea Room at the Plantation Club on May 13th.
Arbor Day: Lisa Hall reported that Debbie Roth planted White Oak seedlings with the children at the Presbyterian Church Pre School. Everyone had a good time.
Causeway Cleanup: Nancy Strobel passed a sign up sheet for the March 2nd causeway cleanup.
Membership: 43 members attended this meeting.
Nominating Committee: The committee, chaired by Anne Guira, is meeting regularly.
Other Announcements:
President Anne Gardner announced that the March general meeting will be at 9:30 AM. We will leave the church at 10:15 AM for the Forsyth Park Tree Walk which begins at 11:00 AM.
The Bamboo Farm’s Spring Festival is March 22nd. There will be a great selection of plants for sale.
Margie Hardesty announced the Telfair Academy’s Artful Table is March 13th. She asked our creative members to enter a contest of designing table arrangements for the luncheon.
All phone books can be recycled in the paper bins at the Recycling Center until the end of March.
Meeting adjourned at 10:45 AM
Program: "Exotic Fruits and Flowers in Coastal Georgia" by Dr. Richard Wallace, Professor of Chemistry at Armstrong Atlantic State University.
Susan Otter for Leslee Bowler
Nature Trail Fire
Excitement on the Nature Trail. Poor old Nature Trail cannot get a break. Several Saturdays ago, bells were ringing. whistles were blowing and fire engines were busy. Seems there was a fire on the south end. Nancy saw the excitement so we went to see the damage. It was well beyond the south end bridge, behind the Association Building Maintenance area - a wide swath of blackened land and bottoms of trees. It did not impact the trail itself but there was a burn out.
LS
Ossabaw Island Trip Update
All monies for those going on the Ossabaw Island trip on April 27 are due by March 23. If you paid a deposit of $40 per person, an additional $30 is needed. If you paid $70 per person, then you are all paid up. You can pay at the March 23 Garden Club meeting, or leave your checks in my tube at 6 Maraduke Lane. Please call me with any questions. Sandra -1349. Remember, we will leave at 9 AM and cruise for about an hour. When we arrive at the dock on Ossabaw, we will be met by Jim Bittner, who will conduct us on a tour of the island.
Lunch will be brown bag. There is a restroom on the boat and more facilities are available in the clubhouse on the island, which we will visit after debarking. The boat has an ice chest to keep drinks cool, and refrigeration is available at the clubhouse. Don’t forget a hat, sunscreen, and insect
Dates to Remember:
March 23 Monday
9.00 Monthly Board Meeting
9.30 LGC Monthly Membership Meeting S.I. United Methodist Church
10.15 departure for Forsyth Park and the Savannah Tree Foundation Walk.
March 21 Saturday
9.00am – 4.00pm Annual Spring Festival at The Bamboo Farm and Coastal Gardens, Hwy 17 . Plant and shrub sales - many unusual species. Organic Strawberries - pick your own. “Ask a Master Gardener”, children’s activities and much more.
March 22, Sunday
1.00pm-4.oopm The Landings Association Lawn and Garden Show Association Field.
HELP! HELP!
The LGC will be doing the Children’s Garden and needs to have a minimum of SIX members to man the activity. Help a child to choose a plant, pot it and then take it home. All Master Gardeners are requested to give an hour to the “Ask a Master Gardener” table. This is still under review and may end up as an “ask a local gardener” if we are not allowed to use our badges. We will have a reference book out for helping with hard to answer questions. Clip boards will be circulated at the next meeting.
April 3, Friday & April 4, Saturday
8.30am-3pm Savannah Area Council of Garden Clubs, Inc Annual Spring Plant Sale Botanical Garden 1388 Eisenhower Drive
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April 4th, Saturday
Annual Plant Sale The Bamboo Farm and Coastal Gardens, Hwy 17This is where several members of the LGC have spent their Saturday mornings this winter planting seeds, transplanting and caring for plants we hope you will come to buy and put in your gardens. As you can imagine these are healthy, loved and cherished plants. There are also beautiful hanging baskets.
April 27, Monday Ossabaw Island Trip 9:00am from Butterbean Beach Coffee Morning with Anne Howard, 10:00am - 11:00am R.S.V.P. To give us an idea of how many would like to visit Anne Howard for Coffee and Chat, April 27th. Please email gardneranne@bellsouth.net. A “Yes” or “No” and your name is all that is necessary. No email? Call 598 8762
