By Birgitta Brophy
Club News and Updates
The Andes Garden Club has been preparing for the upcoming Andes Community Day on August 1st. We hope you are/were able to stop by our booth in front of the Ballantine Mansion and see our float in the parade! This is such a wonderful day to welcome visitors to our community and get to see neighbors whom we may not see often enough.
Last month, members Lisa Eckley and Birgitta Brophy, provided an event for Andes Central School CROP students called “It’s a Plants Life.” Students during this event used science experiments to learn how plants breathe, eat, and protect themselves in their environment using human analogies to grasp these concepts. As with last year’s program, Ballantine Park was the site which was most suited to be amongst plants and nature. Plants in the park were used as specimens from which to learn. A thank you goes out to Jackie Evans from the garden club, along with the staff from the CROP program who assisted in guiding the children through this fun-filled morning!
A good time was had by all who attended the Lavender Workshop at Lavender Fields at Maxwell’s Farm in Delhi, also held last month. Participants learned how to make lavender wands, used for their fragrance in dresser drawers. They smell so good! Information was also provided about growing, maintaining and selecting species of lavender in the Catskills. Everyone was also provided with lavender punch and shortbread as a treat. Lavender Fields is open weekends or for special events. You too may want to learn how to make a wand or wreath to infuse your home with lavender fragrance!
Upcoming Club Events:
Monthly Meeting: August 4th, at the home gardens of member Birgitta Brophy, at 5 pm, in Margaretville. After our business meeting a brief tour of Birgitta’s gardens will be provided. Everyone is welcome! For more information see our website.
Watercolor in the Garden Workshop: Rescheduled for August, at the Andes Hotel Courtyard. A fee for materials and registration is required to attend. Please visit our website for the date, time and to sign up for this event.
For more details: Visit us at
www.andesgardenclub.org or on Facebook: Andes Garden Club
Contact us at
Growing Together – Spring Flowering Bulbs in August?
So, here we are in the thick of summer, with all the weeding and harvesting that needs to be done, with this past Spring far from our minds. But you may be receiving catalogues filled with colorful Spring flowering bulbs to order. Why? Well, now is a very good time to reflect last Spring’s garden and think if you’d like to add more Spring flowering bulbs.
Spring flowering bulbs are an easy and rather carefree way to bring color into your landscape from early spring through summer. Many of the flowering bulbs are not eaten by deer, will not need to be planted or re-planted annually and are a good early source of nectar for hungry insects. This past mid-April it was wonderful to see the snowdrops buzzing with dozens of bees! Plus, Spring flowering bulbs come in a multitude of colors, heights and forms. So much fun!
If you took photographs of last Spring’s gardens you can look back and remember what looked great and what plant arrangement you may want to alter or add to. With the photo images in mind, make a wish-list and plan what your fall bulb order might include–Spring flowering bulb order time is just weeks away.
If you are planning on planting Spring flowering bulbs here is some information to consider:
Most Spring flowering bulbs perform best in full sun with moist but well-drained soils.
For moist soils use: Camassia/Camassia quamash, Summer Snowflake/Leucojum aestivum, Checkerboard Flower/Fritillaria meleagris and Siberian Squill/Scilla siberica.
After Spring flowering bulb plants have bloomed it is best not to cut back their leaves, instead allowing them to fade from green to straw color naturally. As the leaves lose their color their appearance may look a bit unkempt.
Plant bulbs close to perennials that can hide the fading foliage.
The showy tulips seen in public gardens are a favored delicacy of deer. Specie tulips on the other hand are less likely to be grazed upon.
For more information:
The Culture of Spring Flowering Bulbs, https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.cce.cornell.edu/attachments/5549/The_Culture_Of_Spring_Flowering_Bulbs.pdf?1420562708~