Monday, February 8, 2016

February 2016

-->
Planters Punchlines

Men’s Garden Club of Wethersfield

February 2016

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Weird and Wonderful Gardens of the World "

@ Men’s Garden Club of Wethersfield February Meeting

Monday February 22 @ 7:00 pm in the Pitkin Community Center



Dr. Richard W. Benfield, Chair of the Department of Geography at Central Connecticut State University will talk about “Weird and Wonderful Gardens of the World”.



Compostable Matter

By Jim Meehan



The Space Between the images

           
Former club member Phillip Iannucci told a story about how it came to be said that gardeners have a “green thumb”.  Hint – it’s not a symbol of natural ability but rather the result of something more like horticultural Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
             
In his heavy Italian accent and mellifluous voice Phil explained how even when a plantsman goes out into his yard without his tools – wearing his “Sunday best”, and with nothing in mind other than enjoying the setting – he cannot help but reach out with his bare hand and snap off that single tiny twig that totally spoils his view – and in the process leak virescent sap onto his fingertips staining them with the gardener’s badge of honor.

             
Would anybody else even notice the offending slender little branch shoot?  Probably not.  But we plant people can’t see anything but that insult to perfection – until we notice the next one.

             
Gardeners are tinkerers – never quite happy with what nature provides.  We are dead certain that just one more flower in just the right spot can actually make the world a perfect place.  And then another.  And another. 

             
Say you are visiting a public garden.  Do you find yourself grabbing your own wrist in order to hold back the pruning pincers of your dominant hand?  Do you see what is there? Or is it what could be there if only they let you have a few hours to fix things? 

             
Have you ever been caught under the cover of darkness plucking weeds from your neighbor’s garden?  Or even worse, have you relocated any of their shrubs that run along the border of your property – or in other places?  Or secretly introduced “something special” into one of their flowerbeds?

             
Even haphazard landscape designers like me – whose idea of a strategic plan is to see a plant that needs saving (like Teasel from Christa Swenkyj’s about-to be-sold property), dig it up, and jam it into the first piece of available space that I see in our own yard – are following their own (largely unknown to them) private blueprint.

            
 Our daughter-in-law and son are both graphic designers – plus she is a gardener. Together they create comic books.  And he also teaches that craft at a University of Art and Design in New Mexico. Recently he was asked by a local newspaper to explain the difference between stories presented in that graphic form as opposed to other media.

             
“Prose and film offer continuous story construction, comics do not. The reader is a participant when reading a comic…filling in the images that aren't shown and designing a story uniquely theirs.”

             
Likewise we gardeners see the blank spaces in the natural world  – and endlessly create our own plots to fill in those gaps.  The rest of you just don’t know all of the fun you are missing.



Story of the Great Elm (1750-1950)

By Jared B. Standish

           

Last month’s speaker, Frank Kaputa of the Connecticut Notable Trees Project, talked briefly about the “Wethersfield Elm”.  The following article, written by Jared B. Standish in 1959, is from the archives of Wethersfield Historical Society.

             
According to a memoranda book kept by James Smith, father of the present occupant of the premises abutting, Mr. Charles H. Smith states that John Smith, an uncle who died in 1818, aged 72, pulled it up near “Hang Dog Hill” to drive home his cows from the public cow pasture in Stepney West District (when he was about twelve years old).

             
Arriving home it was set out in the “Common” front of their home.  According to the record it should have been planted about 1750-8.

             
When it was about 10 to 15 years old, a heavy ice storm broke off the top, causing it to branch out in six arms reaching for sunlight.  In 1884 a large limb fell during a storm, its growth was so luxuriant.  James Smith told his son Edward (age 15) that he could have it if he would cut it up.  Edward made two and a fraction more cords of wood from it than most anyone else would.  A branch from the main limb fell in 1903 and three years ago in July, upon a quiet Sunday morning, a prominent arm thought it had reached out too far and with some expression lay down to an earned rest.  When this limb was sawn into three one-cord piles, the growth rings upon it were counted.  These favorably corresponded with the age recorded within the diary, allowing fifteen to twenty years for loss of youthful rings in the ice storm and its struggle to reach maturity.  The count figured One Hundred Forty-six, with a short balance grown so closely in the hard fibre as to be uncountable.

             
It was said that John Wesley preached a Revival service under its shade while upon a trip through the “New England” states.

             
Richard Belden was the first house owner upon the property beside the tree in 1641 (succeeding Samuel Boardman).  A later generation, Silas Belden, sold the homestead to Josiah Smith in 1742.  Four generations of James Smiths preceded the present occupant.  The old Belden house was taken down in 1864, when the present Smith Hone was built by Mary and her sister, Martha Smith (which has at this time received alterations).

             
In the early periods the “Broad Street Common” is said to have been very wet.  It is quite possible that “These Elms”, including others (of comparable proportions) four at the upper end of the Broad Street Common (on the west side gracing the front of Reverend Elisha Williams’ “NEW WILLIAMS HOUSE”, later occupied by his son, Elisha Williams, Jr. and Mehitable Burnham, his wife who, with his sister, Mary, built it in 1755 and presented it to their father fourteen days before he died) and another nearly as large as the “Great Elm”, which stood upon the opposite side of the Common in front or near the “Boardman Tavern” (where Jared Ingersol resigned his “Stamp Act” commission, September 19, 1765).  It was hollow and it has never been known how it caught fire and burned out inside by 1850.  All of them grew under very favorable conditions in this particular location for this specie of tree, completing a natural old-age limit, at this time 1750 to 1950.

             
In 1910 The American Genetic Association, Journal of Heredity, Washington, D.C., conducted a United States census of mammouth [sic] trees.  Our Village Improvement Association was requested to send a sample of leafage, branch and soil, together with measurements of our Great Tree.

             
This request was complied with, resulting in a complete record being entered at Washington as the “Largest Elm” of its species in the United States.


A reclaimed photograph, taken about 1871, showing the tree in vigorous youth, has been preserved in Washington and at Wethersfield, Conn., and was published in the “Journal of Heredity” during the year 1914.

             
Many statements regarding the age of this tree (and others) have been made in error carelessly, ranging from 100 to 400 years old.  Contest in question have frequently been brought to attention, in reference to other trees bearing close dimensions, in Marietta, Ohio, Hampton, Connecticut, (claiming to be 700 years old).  The “Rathbourn Tree”, Washington Elm at Wallingford, Connecticut, and others.





           
Letter to the American Genetic Association, Washington D.C. from the Office of the Board of Park Commissioners, Wethersfield, Conn., January 24. 1930
             
Dear Sirs:

             
It seems peculiarly fitting that it should devolve upon me to answer correspondence in this matter.  Still being in a position of authority as Secretary of the Board of Park Commissioners and also President of the Old Village Improvement Association (not yet dissolved) – to send to you as before in 1914, a definite statement relating to the “Great Elm”, within our jurisdiction, of which articles have been published widely.



I have caused a resurvey of our tree, which is as follows:

WETHERSFIELD ELM    OFFICIAL MEASUREMENT JANUARY 1930

Elevation        Diameter    Circumference        Spread

6′                    10’5″           32-0                        Diam. 165′

5′                      9’10”         36-6                        Cir.     518′

4′                      9’6″           29-6

3′                      9’9″           30-0

2′                    10’6″           32-0

1′                    12’6″           38-0

Ground level   14’6″           48-0                        
Area 21,382 cubic feet.



The tree is now only a memory, its life having closed this year 1950.



New & Notable: 10 Gadgets to Tech Out Your Garden




If you want to put your best gardening foot forward this spring, it is important to take your first steps in the right direction. Decisions you make in early spring have enormous impact on the health and appearance of your garden later in the season. To help you plant smart, we've compiled a list of 10 tech gadgets that can make your thumb a little greener. These tools use the latest technology and science to help you analyze, monitor, and tend to your plants. Check out this collection of smart tech, from pollen extractors to weather forecasters, that can help make this year's garden your best ever.

             
1) Gardener's Handbook App for Android  Cabbage patch got you stumped? This free Android app is like having a pro gardener at your side 24/7. Armed with 10 chapters chock-full of DIY gardening tips, landscaping ideas, and useful information, you will be well on your way to creating the garden of your dreams.

            
 2) Parrot Flower Power Plant Monitor  Want to be completely tuned in to your plant's needs? Invest in Parrot Flower Power, a wireless sensor that monitors your plant's moisture, temperature, light, and fertilizer levels, and then relays this info to your smartphone or other device via Bluetooth technology so you'll always know just what your plant needs. Available on Amazon; $60.

             
3) Garden Cam  See how your flowers grow—or see what critters may be causing them not to—with the Brinno GardenWatchCam. This 1.3 megapixel time-lapse digital camera can be set to snap photos at intervals from 1 minute to every 24 hours. Just stick the camera in your garden and watch your garden grow. Available on Amazon; $230.

             
4) Bosch Isio  Trim your hedges and shrubs with ease with the Isio shrub shear, a handheld multi-tool from Bosch. The lightweight design incorporates a lithium-ion battery that allows almost an hour of work on one charge—plenty of time, given the tool's efficiency and simple operation. A reciprocating motion lets the tool keep cutting through where others would stall. Available on Amazon; $62.

             
5) Garden Plan Pro iPad  Having trouble plotting your plot? The Garden Plan Pro app acts as a visual aid in laying out your patches before you pick up a spade. It also provides weather station data, gives advice on the best plants for your region, and offers information on more than 140 different species of flowers and vegetables.

             
6) Infragram  A DIY camera for your DIY garden, Infragram uses infrared technology to analyze the health of your plants and garden. Fun for kids and adults, novices or pros, this tool educates while illuminating the secret life of your garden. Available on Amazon; 62.

             
7) Cordless Pole Saw  Go greener with the rechargeable battery–powered G-Max pole saw from GreenWorks. Its cordless design features an eight-inch bar and chain for easy branch trimming. The lithium-ion battery retains memory after power is depleted, so you don't have to program it twice. A collapsible shaft extends from five to eight feet to reach a variety of trimming heights. Available on Amazon; $170.

             
8) VegiBee  Here's the go-to gadget for gardening connoisseurs looking to fine-tune their craft. The VegiBee imitates the high-frequency vibrations of a bee’s wings during pollination. The vibrations release pollen onto a spoon, which the gardener can then use to hand-pollinate other plants. The reward? A 30 percent increase in crop yield and the satisfaction of giving Mother Nature a helping hand. Available on Amazon; $29.

             
9) Netatmo Weather Station  This personal weather station stands above the rest by monitoring the indoor environment as well as the outdoor weather. Among other features, the Netatmo Weather Station measures indoor CO2 concentration and provides the local Air Quality Index report in real time. Netatmo links to your smartphone, keeping track of what is best for you, your plants, and your garden. Available on Amazon; $149.

             
10) Garden Owl    This realistic-looking Garden Defense Electronic Owl takes the original stationary garden decoy a big step further by adding movement and sound. Not only does it look like a great horned owl, but when its sensors detect that garden pests are near, it will turn its head in that direction and hoot, scaring the critters away. Available on Amazon; $45.



How to Tell a Rose Bush is Dead

by Patricia H. Reed




Roses rest over the winter -- even in mild winters -- to build strength for their lush growth in spring, summer and into fall in warm climates. During the dormant period, roses lose their blooms and leaves. Cold temperatures cause tender growth to darken and die back. However, don't give a rose up for dead because canes are leafless, black and dead-looking as other roses emerge from dormancy; take the time to thoroughly assess its condition before declaring your rose a goner.

             
1. Examine canes for swelling buds in late winter from tip to base. Buds may just look like tiny raised reddish nubs as they emerge from the stem.

             
2..Look for green or deep red stems at the base of the plant. Cold-damaged canes that are black at the tip may still be green and living near the base. The delineation between living and dead tissue is usually apparent, at least on young canes. Older stems may be brownish-gray with a thin, barklike skin.

            
 3.Scratch at the skin of a cane with your fingernail looking for green tissue just beneath the surface. This is the plant's cambium layer, which produces new cells. If there is no green, the cane is dead.

             
4. Clean bypass pruners with household antiseptic cleaner at full strength. The cleaner is as effective at eliminating any lingering plant fungi or disease from the tools as rubbing alcohol or bleach -- often recommended for the purpose -- but is less corrosive to metal tools.

             
5. Put on leather gloves.

            
6.  Prune back all canes with dead areas back to green wood, if any, and cut out congested canes in the center of the plant in late winter.

             
7. Clean the blades between each cut when dealing with canes you think may be diseased.

             
8. Check the plant for signs of buds and new shoots in a week or two, Older rose bushes, or the oldest canes on a rose bush, can take longer to bud than younger stems.

             
9. Dig lightly at the base of a plant before removing it and check the plant's roots. Firm, light-colored roots are healthy.



Knock Out Roses - Pros/Cons?

A forum from gardenweb.com



Ok.. So.. I am not familiar with Knock Out Roses.



What are the good Vs. Bad points?



dublinbay z6 (KS)     



Good Points:

Brilliant splash of color, especially on the cherry red ones.



Easy care. Exceptionally disease-resistant.



Bloom and rebloom a lot.



One of the first to bloom in the spring.



Self-cleaning--in that you don't have to deadhead (but the bushes look neater if you do--at least some).



Good starter rose for the timid or unsure. They will feel like an instant success.



Bad points

Individual blooms are not very interesting.



Don't think they are very fragrant, but I'm not sure about that.



Everybody and their second cousin has one. I'm really getting tired of seeing them everywhere (although I own 2 Double Knock Outs).



Can get rather large, a problem if you are looking for a smaller rose. (Double Knock Out seems to be a bit smaller.)



You'll miss out on the incredibly varied and beautiful world of roses if you stop with Knock Out.



That's about all I can think of. There really aren't many down sides to KOs.



Kate



If you ever have a chance go to a rose show. Look at all the roses there. From my beloved modern varities to the Heirloom roses(OGR's), there is different beauty, form, fragrance and color in abundance. But from commercial shopping centers to gas station landscaping, every rose is the same basic Knock Out. It almost has replaced Stella De Oro Daylilies as the "plastic plant" of the strip mall. I've seen KO's used judiciously in the landscape and it adds to the overall effect, but just planted in mass?...I'm so tired of it (along with the basic philosophy of instant gratification without effort).

 Like    Bookmark     May 11, 2008 at 5:21PM

rosesnpots(z8 Tidewater area VA)   



Pros - What Karl said.



Cons -

Boring to look at - each one looks the same no matter what color they are.

Around here, they all have a spindly look about them.



To me varity is the spice of life and in reality, if you select the correct roses for your area as I do, OGRs, Austins, Beales , etc roses are no harder to care for.



catsrose(VA 6)           



They are the fast food of the rose world, pluses and minuses.



gypsysunrise 



Thank you to all who responded! I had seen them at Lowes, and liked how they had so many blooms at once. I bought one that was on a clearance rack, "Rosa RADrazz", and then after looking them up online, noticed a lot of people didn't seem to care for them...so I wondered. lol

It makes sense to me, now... Anything that is overdone can get boring. =)



ecobug(z6a Idaho SW)           



I think if you have them as part of an overall main scheme, using them as a splash of color in with lots of other roses and flowers that they are great...



I also think they are great for folks who want to think that they are growing roses if those are the only roses they have... in my mind they are no different than azaleas and that type of bush except that they bloom longer...



Plant them and enjoy them and get some more different types of roses to put around them... Hopefully you will love the blinding bright color!



diane_nj 6b/7a(6b/7a) 



If they get people who are rose-phobic to try roses, then I am for them. And if they get people who try them to continue to learn more about roses, then I am for them.



I happen to prefer Blushing Knock Out. I find Knock Out and Pink Knock Out (and the "Double" versions of each) to be too bright.



RADrazz is the registered name for the original Knock Out. If you want a true red, get Home Run.



Horti-Culture Corner

From Walt Disney



I don't like formal gardens. I like wild nature.

It's just the wilderness instinct in me, I guess.



Here Is My New favorite Plant



Meehania cordata

Meehan's Mint or Creeping Mint




Looking for a native substitute for Ajuga or Lamium? This could be it! Long, trailing stems run across the ground and root along the way. In late spring the green carpet gives way to hundreds of blue flowers opening to reveal spotted throats. Beautiful from a distance and under close scrutiny. Irresistible in a pot!



Height: 6-10 Inches, Spread: 12-15 Inches, Spacing: 12 Inches, Bloom Color: Blue Violet

           

             
If you are looking for a novel groundcover, Meehan’s mint is the perfect choice. This deciduous herbaceous perennial groundcover spreads nicely in part shade and moist well-drained to average soils with foliage reaching only 1-2” tall. Beginning in late spring, it produces attractive lavender flowers with dark spots on upright stems 3-4” tall above the foliage. Meehan’s mint spreads slowly, but is perfect for the early summer garden when other plants have stopped flowering. This gem is an excellent complement planted among moss and a good companion with a wide variety of plants including Scutellaria serrata, Thalictrum clavatum, Aquilegia canadensis, Carex plantaginea, Phlox stolonifera and Chrysogonum virginianum. - Mt. Cuba Center