Download February - Barrie`s Garden Club

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Barrie’s Garden Club
http://www.barriegardenclub.com
Open Meeting Tuesday, February 03/09
7:15 PM
Southshore Community Centre
Dr. Kevin Snelgrove will give chiropractic advice for
gardeners, so we can warm up properly, before we dig in!!
Also, Marilyn Ruyter, from ‘Flower & Sense’ will present
us with some easy to follow steps & tips to create
eye-catching flowers arrangements.
Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? –
here is a tree trivia quiz
Q1. Who was the first person to record that the
number of rings in the cross section of a tree trunk
reveals its age?
Q2. What tree’s name contains all five (5) vowels?
Q3. How many leaves does the average mature tree
shed in the fall?
Q4. What tree was used by the Greeks as a pain
remedy?
Q5. What are the berries that grow on a hawthorn tree
called?
Q6. Why does knocking on wood protect us from harm?
Q7. What was the first patent issued for a tree?
Q8. What is the tallest & living organism?
Q9. What is the oldest living thing in existence?
Q10. Where do we get quinine from?
Q11. What is rice paper made from?
Q12. How much coffee do you get from an acre of
coffee trees?
Q13. Oak trees do not have acorns until they are what
age?
Q14. What should pine, spruce or other evergreen wood
not be used in barbecues?
Q15. What wood can be recommended for BBQs?
Q16. How many cacao beans are required to make a
pound of chocolate?
Q17. How many years does it take before cacao trees
begin bearing fruit?
Q18. What are Christmas trees grown in the wild known
as?
Q19. True or False – if you put a notch in a tree, it will
remain the same distance from the ground as the tree
grows?
Q20. How many seeds from the giant sequois tree are
there in an ounce?
February 2009
Answers will appear in next month’s edition of the
Newsletter
Coming Meetings
Mar 3, 2009 - 7:15 pm Open Meeting
Don’t miss Stephanie Morris. She works as a
landscape designer for Connon Nurseries in
Waterdown. She will lead us on a journey to
re-design an existing, mature garden or start
a new garden from scratch.
The Bus is Leaving – for Canada Blooms!!
The trip will take place on Thursday, March 19, 2009.
Bus will leave from a predetermined location at 8:30 am
Bus will return approximately 5:00 pm. Details will be
confirmed. Watch this space for further information.
There are still a limited number of seats available.
It’s a steal of a deal - $40.00 – which includes bus fare,
taxes, & discount ticket into the show.
No driving or parking worries.
Cheques should be made payable to ‘Barrie Garden
Club’. Give them to Catherine Waffle at the Open
Meeting coming up on Tuesday, 03 February 09, OR
Mail a cheque to Catherine Waffle, 32 Bloxham Place,
Barrie L4N 9K2.
All cheques need to be received no later than the end
of February.
Don’t delay. Decide to go today. Don’t be disappointed.
Ben Needs a New Home
Beautiful Ficus benjamina needs another home.
Chris Yoye, a new member, has a beautiful Ficus up
for adoption. It is has a braided trunk, is about 4
feet tall, and a lovely rounded shape. She
contacted me and I greedily grabbed it, but I truly
do not have the right space. Benjamina has been in
Chris’ family for 20 years and needs a loving home.
Please call Jill (812-3325) if you would to add a
mature indoor plant to you collection. First call
gets the prize. Can be delivered to your home.
Book Review
What better way to spend a dreary winter afternoon,
than curled up on the couch with a hot cup of chocolate
(or something stronger) & a good gardening book. At
least until the seed catalogues start coming through the
mail slot. They are terrific sources of information &
inspiration for those plans you’ve made to renovate the
garden after you made notes on what needs work from
your fall walk-about. You did make notes, didn’t you?
Do you remember where you filed them?? Never mind –
plans change on a regular basis anyway.
One of my favourite books is called ‘The Well Designed
Mixed Garden’ by Tracy DiSabato –Aust.
(& you thot my hyphenated name was tough)
The fact that she gardens in Ohio, gives me confidence
that the plants she recommends will survive here. Her
pictures are inspiring & achievable. There are excellent
chapters on colour, texture & form, followed by design
principles. Great tips on garden maintenance
– she’s not called the ‘deadhead queen’ for nothing.
There are garden layouts she has designed for clients,
together with detailed plants lists. A section on plant
combinations, directory of common & scientific plant
names, with a chart outlining plants by design
characteristics. I know this book is available at the
Barrie Library. She has also authored another book
called ‘The Well Tended Perennial Garden’, so you might
look for that one too. Happy reading & dreaming!!
Reminder
If your e-mail address should change for any reason, or
you acquire a brand new e-mail address, please send a
note to inform both Jill Coghlan (Membership) & myself,
Joan Nieman-Agapas (Newsletter) so we can update our
records & you won’t miss out on any important news or
announcements.
Jill can be contacted at [email protected]
I can be reached at [email protected]
It’s a Wonderful World.........
Bumblebees, like honeybees, are important pollinators.
Did you know bumblebees have holes on their abdomens
called ‘spiracles’. It’s the air rushing through these
openings that creates the most buzz. But bumblebees
also do something honeybees are incapable of doing –
sonication or buzz pollination – using vibration to shake
pollen free. To accomplish this, bumblebees grab onto
the flower & move their flight muscles rapidly, causing
flower & antlers to vibrate, dislodging pollen. Voila.
Fertilization!! About 8% of the world’s flowers are
primarily pollinated in this manner. Some examples
include all shooting stars, members of the Solanum
genus – eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes, & members of
the Vaccinium genus – blueberries, cranberries.
Gardening Myth Debunked
Myth: Newly planted trees need to be staked and guywired.
Truth: Staking a tree can hinder its proper
development. This practice was once a landscape
industry standard, driven by a gardener’s inner
desire to do something useful for the plant to
help it grow.
It’s best to avoid staking unless the new
tree is located in a windy or on a sloped site.
Allowing the tree to sway in the wind encourages
the development of stronger stabilizing roots.
If staked, the tree may become dependent on this
support, preventing the root system from becoming
strong and healthy . If it is truly necessary, tie the
trunk loosely to the stake using fabrics such as
T-shirts or bicycle inner tubes to avoid damaging
the bark, and remove the support after one growing
season.
The Last Word
“There is only one corner of the universe you can be
certain of improving and that’s your own self”
Aldous Huxley