By Birgitta Brophy
Even though the thermometer read below freezing, a sizeable group of club members met on February 3rd in the Green Room of the Andes Hotel. Earlier that morning Punxsutawney Phil predicted another six weeks of winter…burr! Can it be we have cabin fever already? No doubt about it!
Lisa Sanders guided the evening’s meeting. On the docket was tightening up dates for future functions and speakers. Be sure to see the list of the planned events open to the public below.
In addition to club events, the group spoke about events happening elsewhere, i.e. Berkshire Botanical Garden’s 29th Annual Winter lecture “Discover How to Bring the ‘Wow’ to Your Own Garden” by Karl Gercens III in Lenox, MA.
Ms. Sanders also provided some extra or already used seed catalogues shared with club members along with plant sources for our upcoming growing season. Subsequently, club members discussed their current efforts in winter sowing with hardy plant seeds. This is a relatively new method for propagating plants from seed outdoors in mini greenhouses during the months of January and February. Here is a link with additional information: https://cce.cornell.edu/orleans/winter-sowing-101
Club participants agreed at our meeting that the recent Andes Gazette Columns be shared on the Andes Garden Club website for use now or in the future.
Upcoming Events – Free and Open to the Public:
Next Meeting: Tuesday March 3rd at 4 pm, at the Andes Hotel Green Room. Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of every month, times dependent on the season (November through March meet at 4 pm, April-Oct. at 5 pm)
Landscape Design Lecture with Charles Bonnes: Tuesday March 24th at 4 pm at the Hunting Tavern Museum. Please join us for a talk about landscape design titled “Concepts for Understanding the Structure and Context of Designed Landscapes.” Mr. Bonnes holds a degree in landscape architecture, and his garden is a regular stop at the Andes Garden Tour. Space is limited so we request signing up for this event at either our Facebook page or via email at info@andesgardenclub.org
Knotweed Presentation: Tuesday April 21st (rain date 23rd) at 4 pm with Catherine Skalda, Riparian Buffer
Specialist & CSBI Program Coordinator at Delaware County Soil and Water Cons. Dist. Location: TBD. Learn about current treatments in the management of this weed in Delaware County and how to minimize spread of this invasive weed.
Catskill Forest Talk: May 12th with Dr. Michael Kudish. More information to follow.
Plant Swap: June
Additional Garden Thoughts: Celebrating Our Nation in the Garden! Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the United States of America can take many forms. This year the American Horticultural Society (AHS) has created seed and plant collections of plants used in gardens in 1776. AHS along with George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, the Museum of the American Revolution and Burpee Seeds (150 years old this year) created four seed collections in celebration of this country’s gardening history. Besides seed and plant collections, the AHS has also curated historic bulb collections (Van Zyverdan Bulb Company and available at the Home Depot). Bulb collections can be chosen for cut flower gardens, historic significance, and lasagna gardens (pre-planted containers) for direct planting. Using these pre-designed historic plantings or creating your own through historic landscape design research can be yet another way to celebrate our country’s anniversary in your yard! ~
For more details: Visit us at www.andesgardenclub.org or on Facebook: Andes Garden Club
Contact information: www.info@andesgardenclub.org ~