December 2011

Co-President’s Letter

As I sit here writing this greeting and thinking of how beautiful the fall coloring is this year, I am so full of gratitude for our club and all the things that the club does. This past week alone, the membership committee did an outstanding job preparing the new member orientation, the Edible Gardening Group gave a most informative workshop on composting to build up soil health, and that was just the events that I personally attended. I missed the tour to Sierra Azul, the 4MLB, our Herb Group workshop and the planting of 1,000 daffodils on Boot Hill. Many thanks go to all of you who either organized or participated in these events. Looking ahead to this month, we will hear local writer and animal lover Gary Bogue talk at our meeting.

Remember this is our Holiday Potluck and Boutique so come early, it starts at 6:30, bring a dish to share and any gently used holiday items you no longer need to our boutique for Maudie and her team to sell back to you. Read on to see other events that will happen this month. The green and grapevine wreath workshop is a must event on my calendar. Even in this busy holiday season we find the time to come together and enjoy our love of gardening and our camaraderie of spirit. Wishing all of you warm wishes for a festive holiday season and a very healthy and happy new year!

Sondra Bierre, Co-President

December duties..........in the garden

...if our rainy season has started and it looks like it has, this is the time to scatter Calif. poppy seeds for an orange burst next spring. The seeds need to be a bit moist after scattering so don't let them dry out completely if the rains completely stop. You may need to protect them from the birds too. You can scatter them among weeds or plants you can remove once the poppies germinate and start to grow. I do mine in a parking strip. This year some seeds from last year have already started to grow so who knows when they will bloom. You need to weed the area when the plants are small so that they have plenty of root room to grow and bloom.'

...check any pots that are under eaves and don't benefit from rain fall and keep them watered. The exception is most succulents that would just as soon be dry all winter. Prevents them from rotting at the roots.

...if we get a real freeze, be sure plants are all watered and use decorative mini-lights to help raise the temperature around them a bit. If you cover plants with plastic be sure it doesn't touch the foliage and you remove it during the day.

...for color all winter try pansies, Iceland poppies and primrose. Many of my primrose come back every year.

...don't work or step in beds when they are soggy because it compacts the soil and smushes the oxygen out of it.

...so many fun gifts to get the gardeners on your list - a magazine subscription keeps giving all year - buy a different one for yourself and share; a nursery gift card is fun to spend mentally many times before you actually visit the nursery; the soil knives for sale at the meetings are a treasure of a garden tool for all occasions; sharing a plant from your garden is a way to have the recipient remember you every time they see the plant in their garden; membership in one of the Bay Area horticultural organizations (Heather Farms, U.C Botanical garden, SF Botanical Garden, Markham Arboretum, the Herb Society) is another gift that keeps giving all year long with newsletters, classes and special events. By the way UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley has a holiday special - 2 for 1 membership through December 16 with reciprocal arrangements with The Gardens at Heather Farms, SF Botanical Garden, Markham Arboretum and many more.