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Garden Club News
From Sheri Murphy, President
Somehow it is already September – not sure how that happened so quickly, but the cooler evenings certainly are an indication that the “long summer nights” may be behind us!
I would like to thank Susan Hildebrandt for planning our August program featuring her friend and fellow Master Gardener, Donna Schneider. She was very generous in sharing quite useful information, including the do’s and don’ts of orchid care. I, for one, realized it’s a miracle my orchid is still clinging to life, considering ALL the things I was doing wrong! Which also goes to show you do NOT have to have a green thumb to belong to this group! (wink!)
We as a garden club continually strive to offer programs of interest to all, so please join us for some educational opportunities such as these which provide helpful information as well as a chance to share a little camaraderie with your fellow islanders…green thumb or not! And if at any time throughout the year, you think of a topic or program that may be of interest to you and others, please let us know! We are always open to and welcome new suggestions.
So on to our final program of the season, which will focus on tree health and care. Andrew Petrarca, owner of Petrarca ArborCare, will be on hand to give garden club members and non-members a walking tour of DeRivera Park, pointing out various trees with their associated pruning/feeding/general health needs. If any of you have questions about general tree health in your own yards, this is the program for you. We will meet at the DeRivera Park garden directly across from the Boathouse restaurant, at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 10th. This tour will take place rain or shine, so come with your questions and dressed for the weather, including comfy walking shoes!
In closing, I must share some rather unfortunate news concerning our hanging baskets surrounding DeRivera Park. I don’t need to tell you this summer has been brutally hot, with some crazy wind, rain and dry spells all mixed in. Valiant and ongoing efforts on the part of the watering volunteers have kept the baskets beautiful until just recently (thank you Barb Mehling and her crew!!). A good number of baskets though withered from the heat and adverse growing conditions, requiring the club to remove them much earlier than anticipated. Keeping these baskets healthy throughout the season is a continual learning process, with this season giving us several takeaways that we plan on incorporating next year.
Thank you for your support and understanding as we were quite disappointed to have to do this! Never fear – our beautification efforts will continue stronger than ever with the knowledge we gain along the way!! Hope your own gardens are faring better than some of our baskets!
And as always, our most current and complete source of information concerning all garden club matters can be found on our website, www.putinbaygardenclub.com. Happy Summer-enjoy it while we have it!
The previous piece is published in this month’s Put-in-Bay Gazette. The Gazette has been producing incredible independent Put-in-Bay island news for over 40 years. If you have any interest at all in what is happening on South Bass Island, we urge you strongly to subscribe to the Put-in-Bay Gazette. One-year online subscriptions are only $15, and print subscriptions are available as well. To subscribe please click here.
