Hardy Garden Club 

Virtual Club  Meeting –  January 12, 2021

10:00 a.m.

Club Meeting Summary

 

• Melanie Ruckle, owner of Putnam Hill Nursery, gave a very informative presentation on how she created her garden from the bottom up.  She had beautiful pictures of the plants she used in her garden, and she explained the reason why she placed them in a particular area.  A list of the flowers Melanie discussed in her presentation follows this report.  She also gave us ideas of how to enrich the soil of our annual and perennial gardens without disturbing the existing microbial floras.  Melanie suggest a book about soils that she felt would be helpful to us “Teaming with Microbes” by Jeff Lowenfels.

 

• Many thanks to Joan Moore, Bliss McCord, and Debbie Kurz for accepting the nomination to be members of the 2021-2023 Nominating Committee.  

The Committee will prepare a slate of officers to be submitted at the March meeting. The slate will then be voted on at the April meeting.

 

• GCA Club Award Nominations will be given this year.  Fran Flanigan, our Awards Liaison, will be submitting Hardy’s nominations.

 

• Many thanks to Gina for organizing, and to Joan, Fran, and Sherry for helping, with the winter clothing drive for the Homeless of Baltimore.  

 

• Many thanks to Sherry for her wonderful Christmas floral design presentation at our December meeting.  It was perfect!!

 

• Treasurer, Joan Moore, received a rebate check from Brent and Becky’s for  $115.    

This was mainly from the amaryllis  sale.

 

• December 14, 2020 Zone VI Olmstead Project Virtual Meeting  

- Wendy Smith and Fran Flanigan attended.

The project is to create an image archive of Olmstead sites and will be coordinated by the Maryland Friends of Olmstead Parks and Landscapes. St. George’s GC will organizing Zone VI garden clubs.  This project is intended to tie into the new GCA initiative “When Nature Meets Community” which is sponsored by the GCA Garden History and Design Committee.

We have a group of HGC ladies that have expressed an interest in being involved with this    

project. 

 

• Blue Water Baltimore/HGC Project – possibly in an Olmsted park

It has beenproposed that HGC take part in a spring project of our own which aligns with the new GCA initiative,  “When Nature Meets Community”. The project would take place in an Olmsted park in Baltimore.  More information about this project will be presented at the March meeting.

 

• Conference/Workshop Reminders

 

2021 Photography Conference 

January 21, 2021

Last day to register: January 19, 2021

 

2021 National Affairs and Legislation Conference    February 23 - 24, 2021

Registration is not yet open but will be sent by email to all members

 

2021 Judging Workshop   February 2- 5, 2021

Last day to register: January 26, 2021

This workshop is for anyone interested in the judging process (not just judges).The goal of the workshop is to increase understanding of the judging process from passing to awards.

 

GCA Annual Meeting   May 10-12, 2021

Registration open In early April

Don’t miss the opportunity to:

- attend educational workshops 

- take a behind-the-scenes look at the GCA’s first public, virtual flower    

  show

  - take exclusive virtual garden tours

 

    Philadelphia Flower Show  June 5 – 13

         - Outdoor venue – FDR Park

         - Tickets on Sale now

 

• Hort. Minute: Bliss McCord

Bliss discussed the upcoming 17 year cicadas which will show up in May.  

Nymphs emerge from the ground when soil temperatures warm to approximately 64º F, usually sometime in May. A week after they emerge, the adult cicadas will mate and the females will deposit eggs in groups on twigs near the end of branches of more than 200 kinds of deciduous trees. The eggs hatch in about six weeks. The young or nymphs drop to the ground where they burrow into the soil and feed on the sap of tree roots. Nymphs, resembling wingless adults, are tan/brown with stout bodies and have strong front legs which are specialized for digging and tunneling in the soil, where they will stay until time to emerge and start the process all over again.  

Bliss suggests that you delay spring tree pruning until after the cicadas have died (5-6 weeks after they arrive).  Also cover new shrubs and trees with netting that has ¼” or smaller holes or use tulle, then gather at the bottom of the trunk and secure with duct tape There is no need to cover evergreens as cicadas are not attracted to them.  Please do not use pesticides. 

Consider purchasing the netting now on-line before it is no longer available.  

 

• Conservation Minute: Joan Moore     

Joan demonstrated how to make bird seed cakes for our resident winter birds. There are quite a few recipes and you can cut them into cakes for a suet holder or use a straw to keep a hole open for string to hang them from a limb. Two web sites for recipes and directions follow:

https://www.themakeyourownzone.com/homemade-birdseed-cakes-3/

https://www.themakeyourownzone.com/homemade-birdseed-cakes-2/

 

        * Lard, pork fat, can be found in the baking supplies section at Walmart and other grocery 

       stores.

 

• Next Hardy GC Meeting:  March 9, 2021

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