May 2008

Table of Contents

by Phyllis LaBorwit, Programs

The Tuesday, May 27th meeting of the Bowie-Crofton Garden Club will be held in the multi-purpose room of the Bowie City Hall at 7:30 P.M. This will be the opportunity you've been waiting for!!  Before the weeds get too big, before the perennial clump gets too large, before the tulips and daffodils fade, before the azaleas finish blooming...we will have another of our Q & A programs. Be ready with your questions about timing to prune, seeding for annuals, dividing, deadheading, pest removal and more...

Learn new methods and share your knowledge. Our BCGC members will be both the questioners and the experts.

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by Jesse Terres

I thoroughly enjoyed Beth Chaisson’s presentation and was surprised to learn that in all probability my backyard already qualifies to be a NWF (National Wildlife Federation) certified Wildlife Habitat. In the few areas where I may be short I’ve already begun making changes to be certain I do qualify. Presently, the City has 41 NWF certified backyards and would like to increase that to 150 by the year 2012, only 109 more. The Garden Club alone could probably make up the 109 by the end of summer. Like me, you too may be surprised to learn you qualify for membership or only have a few minor changes to make to qualify. To find out go online at www.nwf.org/certify, print the application, fill it out, and send it in with $15.00, and you’ll soon know or you’ll know what you have to do to qualify. Mine is in the mail. I’ll let you know how I do.

Don’t forget “A BOWIE BACKYARD HABITAT PRESENTATION,” Wednesday, May 21, at 7 p.m., at Bowie City Hall in the Multi-Purpose Room, the same place where our Garden Club meets. For more information, contact echaissen@cityofbowie.org, or call 301-809-3047. You could also stop by the Office of Planning and Economic Development Department (OPEDD) in City Hall and peruse all those interesting brochures free for the taking.

The Stream Team Program is considerably more comprehensive than I imagined. I thought it was nothing more than putting on a pair of hip boots and wading down streams picking up old tires, bottles, etc., but as Beth explained, it is a very involved program. Again, taking into consideration our Garden Club’s Policy, “It shall be the policy of this club to stimulate interest and share knowledge on gardening, and to serve the Bowie-Crofton area through community service projects which will enhance the beauty of our environment.” We probably should be married to the OPEDD.

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 Jesse Terres, President, called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.

 Program:

 The guest speaker was Beth Chaisson. She is Bowie's senior planner in the Department of Planning and Economic Development. Her focus was on developing backyard habitats in Bowie. She explained the requirements for getting certified by the National Wildlife Federation and how to interest others as to the benefits of doing so. She also mentioned the importance of proper disposal of medication to protect our waterways and our fish. The following link is a reputable source and provides concrete information about how to dispose of old medications safely: http://www.ismp.org/consumers/throwAwayMedsSafely.asp

Minutes: The minutes for the March 25, 2008 meeting were unanimously approved.

 Reports:

Hospitality:

·       The BCGC annual picnic will be held June 7^th at 3:00. Contact Eleanor Leshinsky.

Garden Tours:

·       Please tell Kent Winterson if you’d like to host a garden tour.

Newsletter:

·       Send articles to Don Sminkey! The deadline for the May issue is May 8, 2008.

 Old Business:

Plant Sale: Lots of new members joined! We had fun! We made money! See separate article from Lynne Snyder. Lynne also invited comments on what went well and what can be improved.

Election of Officers: Barbara Eberstein conducted the voting for the slate of candidates for open offices. We will install the new officers in May.

·      Program: George Cornwall

·      Membership: Lynne Snyder

·      Secretary: Kathleen Beres

·      Historian: Francisco Román

 We need volunteers to audit the BCGC’s financial records this year. Contact Jesse Terres to volunteer!

 Master Gardener training will be offered in Bowie this fall on Mondays and Wednesdays between September 3 and October 29. See separate article from Rich Dodson. If you have classroom location suggestions, please contact Rich Dodson.

 Highway Cleanup will take place at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 17^th. Contact Harold Moline for more information. Please come help!

 Jesse Terres is looking for our library of videos. If you have the videos or know where they are, please contact him!

 A door prize was awarded, plants were exchanged, and the meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted, Katharine Leavitt, Secretary

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By the acting 2nd V.P. of Membership, Lynn Snyder

Tamah Sminkey has handed off membership duties to Lynne Snyder and Rose Arslanian. We'd like to extend a special thank you to Tamah and Don for keeping both the computer and paper files so organized, and for taking the time to meet with us to explain everything!

 It's almost time for membership renewal. Please take a minute or two to renew your membership at an upcoming meeting. Thanks!

 The club currently has 140 members in good standing (115 memberships and 25 spouses/family members).

 We have many new members to welcome this month: Jane Sobleskie of Crofton; Steve and Carolyn Thornton of Laurel; and Karin DeAngelis, Diana Hoffman, Jackie and Mike Streeks, Carol Soderholm, Marlene Spinosa, Nancy Thomsen, Teri Rowles, Colleen Marr, Kyle Rammelsberg, Patty Jacobus, Anne Davidson, and sisters Andrea and Teri McClendon all of Bowie.

 New members, if you have not gotten your welcome packet by the time you get this newsletter, please contact Lynne Snyder at 301-464-4642.

Don Sminkey has graciously volunteered to continue maintaining the webpage and putting together the newsletter from the wilds of North Carolina. Lynne Snyder and Rose Arslanian will get the newsletter to the printer and mail it out, and will handle newsletter questions that come up at our meetings.

 If you are still receiving newsletters in the mail, and have internet access, please contact Lynne Snyder at 301-464-4642 or LynneinMD@gmail.com to get your newsletter via email or online. You will get an email each month with the link to the newsletter (on the club's webpage) and a PDF file you can open view/print/save on your computer. The fewer 'hard copy' newsletters we send, the less money we spend on printing and postage, and the more money we can use to further our club's goals!

   Flower Show

June 29, 2008 The National Capital Daylily Club will hold its 2008 Flower Show at Brookside Gardens, 1800 Glenallen Avenue, Wheaton, MD. Come see this judged show with daylilies on and off scape. Scapes are judged by AHS judges for perfection of scape and bloom. The show opens at 1:30 p.m. Daylilies will also be for sale at this event at $5 a double fan. Questions? Contact Faith Bange at 410-798-9207 or e-mail GeraldBange@aol.com.

 Highway Cleanup

Plant Sale

By Lynne Snyder & Gaye Williams

Our 20th annual plant sale took place on Saturday, April 26th, and was a definite success! We had great weather for the sale, and lots of shoppers, both returning visitors and first-timers. The refreshment table was well stocked with goodies and drinks, and our master gardeners were kept busy answering all kinds of questions. Our new historian, Francisco Román, was busy with his camera, as was Kent Winterson, so be sure to take a look at the pictures at the next meeting. Thanks to all those members who helped out by potting up and bringing plants to the sale, and for helping out at the sale itself; we couldn't have done it without you!

Our daylily ladies, Ellen Brous and Faith Bange, were there with cheerful smiles and lots of lilies and other plants. Cardinal Creek brought their usual terrific assortment of annuals and gorgeous hanging baskets. We had a new vendor this year, as well. Davidsonville Nursery (formerly Main's Greenhouse) joined us with lots of herbs and native plants. We hope to see you all again next year.

Lynne Snyder would also like to extend a hearty 'Thank you!" to the members who assisted in preparation for the sale and with the setup and cleanup on sale day; you made her job much easier. Lynne has volunteered to head up next year's sale as well, unless someone else really wants the job.

We had a few plants left at the end of the sale and Jesse Terres delivered most of them (as many as we could fit in his car) to Harold Moline for his sale.

And now, for the numbers you've been waiting to hear! We made $2800.00, including the sale of member plants and the money from our vendors. Lots of new members joined as well; three family and 11 individual memberships came out of the sale. We also sold most of the rest of the white Garden Club T-Shirts, but do have a few left and will bring them to the next meeting.

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Mulching Lawn Mower Rebate

Have you purchased a new mulching lawn mower lately? The City of Bowie is now offering a $50 rebate for residents who have purchased a new mulching mower since April 2nd of this year. The website has two different rebate amounts listed ($25 and $50) but I just called to check and was told that the amount is $50.

If you don't already have a mulching mower, there's no need to go out and buy one. Did you know that you could turn your regular mower into a mulching mower by replacing the blade with a mulching blade or getting a mulching conversion kit? So far the city isn't going to give us a rebate on mulching blade kits or mulching blades, but I think it's worth pursuing. Any volunteers?

See http://www.cityofbowie.org/news/mulching_mower_rebate.asp

Buying a Mulching Mower? Let Us Help!

Beginning April 2, 2008, city residents purchasing new mulching mowers will be eligible to receive a $50 rebate.

A mulching lawn mower:

To obtain your cash rebate, bring proof of City residency and the receipt for the mulching mower to the Finance Department Cashier's Window at City Hall. If the receipt does not specify that the mower is a mulching one, please also bring a manual or other documentation for the mower.

Finance Department hours are Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Editor’s comment: I received my mulching mower rebate recently -- $50 cash – nice!

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 HELPFUL HINTS DEPARTMENT

Submitted by Kent Winterson

With the summer months coming up; and the advent of mosquitoes; and your time spent out doors on the patio or in the garden, you might consider the following:

 Mosquitoes Adios!!!

The best way of getting rid of mosquitoes is Listerine, the original medicinal type. The Dollar Store type works, too (a dollar a bottle).

We were at a deck party awhile back, and the bugs were having a ball biting everyone. A man at the party sprayed the lawn and deck floor with Listerine, and the little demons disappeared. The next year we filled a 4-ounce spray bottle and used it around our seat whenever we saw mosquitoes. And voila! That worked as well. It worked at a picnic where we sprayed the area around the food table, the children's swing area, and the standing water nearby. During the summer, we don't leave home without it. Pass it on.

Some Friends Comments: We tried this on our deck and around all of our doors. It works! In fact, it killed them instantly. We bought our bottle from the Dollar (Tree) store and it cost $1.00 a bottle. It really doesn't take much, and it is a big bottle, too; so it is not as expensive to use, as the can of spray you buy that doesn't last 30 minutes. We cleaned out an old hand-pump spray bottle and filled it with the Listerine-type substance. So, try this, please. It will last a couple of days. Don't spray directly on a wood door (like your front door), but spray around the frame. Spray around the window frames and even inside the doghouse if you have one. Also can be used to dab any bites you receive. It will stop the itching quicker and go away faster.

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Open Garden Tours

by Kent Winterson

Ellen Brous Garden Tour: Ellen’s official garden tour will be on Saturday, June 28, 2008 from 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Her address is 107 Elliott Place, Beverly Beach, MD. Directions: Take Route 214, Central Avenue as far East as it will go. You will dead end looking directly at the Chesapeake Bay. Make a right turn onto Chesapeake Avenue. Go to the end of Chesapeake and make a right turn onto Elliott Place. Ellen’s house is the 3rd house on the left.

 Faith Bange Garden Tour: Saturday, June 28, 2008, from 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Location: 3508 Foxhall Drive, Davidsonville, MD. Directions from Bowie: Take Route 50 East. Take Exit 16 onto Route 424, Davidsonville Road, South toward Davidsonville. Turn right at the light onto route 214 West. Go about 0.6 miles and take a right onto Foxhall Drive.   

 Note: The Bange garden contains over 1,100 daylily cultivars and assorted perennials and specimen plantings. The Brous garden contains over 500 daylily cultivars -- Ellen specializes in the beautiful double daylilies, along with other perennial and specimen plantings. Both gardens are Official Display Gardens of the American Hemerocallis Society and visitors are welcome anytime during the growing season by appointment. Call Faith at 410-798-9207 and/or Ellen at 410-798-8872.

 Susan/Glenn Piatt Garden Tour:  Saturday, June 28, 2008, from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Location: 1731 Lake Avenue, Shady Side, MD (Anne Arundel County.) Directions: Take Route 50/301 East toward Annapolis. Take Exit 16 onto Route 424, Davidsonville Road, South toward Davidsonville. Turn left at the light at route 214 East. Go to Muddy Creek Road where you turn right at the light. Continue on Muddy Creek Road until it becomes Shady Side road. Turn right on Snug Harbor Road. Look for West End Avenue where you turn right. Immediately turn left onto Maryland Avenue. Then turn right onto Mariner Avenue, then make another right onto Lake Avenue. The Piatt house is 2^nd from the corner, on the left.

THIS WEEK IN THE GARDEN

By George Weigel

 Flowers for Mom

If Mom's a gardener, you couldn't have a better-timed Mother's Day.

For years, my Mother's Day present was taking my mom to the garden center and picking out new flowers for the front of the house.

Many perennials and shrubs also have the good sense to bloom in early May -- making them ideal gifts that will keep on giving for years.

If you're going the cut-flower route (and this week also is big for that), here are tips for clueless dads:

·       Look for the same qualities as you would in a head of lettuce: crisp, hydrated leaves and petals. Wilting is bad.

·       Flowers should have good, vibrant color. Spots and discoloration might be a sign of disease.

·       Smell the water where the cut flowers are being stored. It should smell fresh and clean.

·       Avoid flowers with slimy stems. Stems should be crisp, clean and unbroken.

·       Don't hide those just-bought flowers in a dark car trunk or heated closet. Store bouquets in a cool place in water.

Once Mom gets the bouquet, she'll know to recut the stems under warm water, to remove any leaves that will be below the vase's water line and to add a little commercial flower food to the water.

Houseplants for the pots

Don't limit yourself just to the annuals section of garden centers when looking for plants for your pots this spring.

Tropicals such as palms, crotons, copper plants, snake plants and dracaenas -- typically sold in the houseplant section -- all make nice pot centerpieces outside in summer. You might even have some of these around the house already that you can repot out in summer, then pot back up again for inside use again in fall and winter.

Garden centers also are offering more and more tropicals specifically for outside container use. Examples: dark-leafed alocasia and colocasia (elephant ears), tannish/gold phormiums, red cordylines and my favorite, a dark-red tender hibiscus named "Panama Red."

Craig George, director of Hershey Gardens, even uses crotons in his garden beds in summer. He sinks them pot and all in the ground, then removes and cleans them in early fall for a return inside. Perennials and shrubs, too.

Also stop by the nursery and perennial section in your search for container plants. You'll find several varieties with colorful leaves that offer interesting forms, textures and color aside from blooms.

The good thing about these: they're winter-hardy and can be planted in the ground at season's end.

Says David Wilson, a Lower Paxton Twp. gardener and marketing director for Garden Splendor plants: "Resourceful gardeners are getting a double whammy -- easy, quick color in the containers and years of pleasure in the garden later on."

Upright evergreens make nice anchors in doorway-flanking pots, especially dwarf Hinoki cypress, the narrow "Dee Runk" boxwood or "Sky Pencil" Japanese holly and the slim, gold-needled "Gold Cone" juniper. Ditto for ornamental grasses.