Managing Pests in our Gardens

November is here! Our final harvests are in and we're closing up our gardens for the wet and cold season ahead of us. Unfortunately, some of us are also preparing for “undesirable guests.”

 

This coming Tuesday (November 6),  Elmer Bensinger of Alpha Ecological will talk with the Garden Club about a green approaches to managing pests in our gardens. Bring your questions, bugs to identify, and products (questionable ingredients) to inquire about.

Our business meeting starts at 6pm, refreshments await you at 6:45pm, and Elmer's talk begins at 7pm.

All is FREE and always open to the public. Cottage Grove Garden Club meets at the First Presbyterian Church on the corners of Adams and 3rd.

Rainwater catchment: October program

Rain water collection.
(Photo provided by and copyright by watercache.com)

Although we are having a beautiful fall, "we all know the rain will come!” Therefore, this is a good time to learn about rainwater catchment.

October's Garden Club special presenter is Sarah Whitney. Sarah has decades of expertise in rainwater harvesting, sustainable living and gardening practices, as well as designing and installing gardens through her company Terraculture (formerly Habitats). Now teaching in the Water Conservation Technician Program at LCC, Sarah will offer guidelines and suggestions about rainwater catchment.

October's meeting is Tuesday, October 2nd at the First Presbyterian Church (on the corners of Adams and 3rd).

6:00pm is our business meeting, with refreshments at 6:45, followed by our special presentation. Please feel free to come on in!

Children's Hour in the Garden

After a summer break, Cottage Grove Garden Club begins again in September with a “Children’s Hour in the Garden.” Beginning at 7pm on Tuesday, September 4, three local children’s authors will be reading from and discussing their children’s books about gardens and gardening.  The Treesure Trove, The Beetless Garden Songbook, Big Rig Bugs, and The Oddhopper Opera are a few of the books to be read by their authors: Herve Perrault, Cindy Roth, and Kurt Cyrus. Children of ALL ages are invited to bring their own favorite garden books, a pillow to lean upon (we do have chairs!) and escape with the musical sounds of rhyme found in the natural world of our gardens.

 

Cover of "Oddhopper Opera"by Kurt Cyrus

An informal Q & A session with discussion follows each author.

Tuesday, September 4. The business meeting begins at 6:00pm, refreshments served at 6:45 pm, and the presentation begins at 7pm.

Please join us at the First Presbyterian Church on the corners of Adams and 3rd, we’d love to see you.


 

Summer 2012



Garden Club members pose for a photo after a tour of the Village Green Gardens.

Summer is here! For the Garden Club, that means our attention has turned to social events, like the tour and dinner we had at the Village Green in early July. Our attentions have also turned to our own gardens and enjoying the summer weather as much as possible.

This blog will become more active again in September when regular meetings resume.

Happy Gardening!

A Willamette Adventure: 2012 District Flower Show



Barb's 2011 entry received
an Award of Merit.

“A Willamette Adventure” is the title of the 2012 District Flower, happening June 15-16 in Eugene. This flower show promises to be full of the very colorful flowers of June. Having been to my first flower show last year*, I encourage you to attend! I found it very enjoyable strolling amongst the flowers, seeing the many different types and kinds, and taking in the floral designs, garden art, and educational exhibits. (There is more information about the dates and times of the flower show here.)


I also encourage you to consider entering the flower show—several of our members did last year, and one (Barb) received an Award of Merit. For those of you, like me, who are unsure how to enter a flower show, I’ve created these following guidelines for submitting “horticulture” (a single cutting of a blooming flower, tree/shrub, or herb). Guidelines for submitting a floral design are somewhat different, please ask me for more information or consult the Flower Show Schedule. (For those of you with computer access, I found this video to be informative: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIMABHD7gKk.)


Entering a Flower Show:

• Pick up a Flower Show Schedule (contact me for one)
• Look through the schedule and see if you have any of the plants listed growing in your garden, for example, roses, columbines, peonies, petunias, magnolias, dianthus, or conifers, flowering trees & shrubs, or herbs. You must have been in possession of the plant for at least 90 days in order to enter it into the flower show.
• The evening before the show, stroll through your garden and collect your favorite blooms and cuttings (look at both the bloom and the leaves of the stems you are cutting). Put into warm water in your garden, and then re-cut the ends when you come in before putting them into a bucket of deeper water, a preservative would be good too.
• Groom each cutting, both stems and leaves: it is okay to pick off bad leaves if it won’t be noticeable, but don’t use any sort of “shine” or “leaf gloss”
• Place the cutting in a clean, clear bottle (mark the bottom of the container with your name) making sure no leaves are under water
• If necessary use “wedging” such as plastic wrap or transparent floral tape to inconspicuously prop your stem to show it at an attractive angle
• Fill out an entry card (contact me, or pick one up Friday morning). You’ll need to know both the common and scientific names of your entries (ask other members for help if you don’t know the scientific names of your plants, or consult a reference book or web site)
• Drop off your exhibit on Friday, June 15 from 7:30 to 9:30 am at the Eugene Garden Club building, 1645 High St, Eugene. (You’ll also need to pick up your entry Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.)

If you have questions please send me an email at cdkim719 at gmail.com

* Starting this year, the District Flower Shows will be happening bi-annually, only in even numbered years. The next Flower Show will be in 2014.