Grantsburg sign clean up

Anyone with time is asked to stop by the Grantsburg sign to help with cleanup. The old zinneas and any weeds can be pulled and discarded nearby in the brushy area. This would be a big help and make the sign look better for the winter. In the spring we trim back bushes and perennials so you need not do that. Thanks so much.

Meeting Minutes, October 11, 2012

Seven garden club members were present for the meeting.

The treasurer was not able to attend the meeting so there was no treasurer's report. Everyone was told that the minutes from the September meeting are available on the blog.

Pam showed us a pamphlet that she created and printed as advertising for the garden club. It looks great! At the November meeting she will show it again and hopefully, we will have enough members present to discuss the pamphlet again and decide how many we would like to order for the club. There is money budgeted for club advertising (such as the pamphlet) that is separate from the money budgeted for advertising the annual plant sale.

We still need to collect annual dues from some of the members. The price is still only $5.00. What a deal. Memberships to the Horticulture Society are due, as well, if you would like to join them.

We discussed that the Welcome to Grantsburg sign looked great this year and we still need to come up with a group to do fall clean up at the sign. Pam will post it on the blog asking for volunteers.

We discussed that we will keep the same theme this year for our spot for the Holiday in the Park. We still need volunteers to help with that. We will revisit that at the November meeting, too.

We still need to do some planning of events for next year so we can plan for our yearbook. We will discuss that in November and we need to elect new officers for the next year. Kris H. indicated that she will NOT be able to be the Vice President for the next term. Mary G. will NOT be available to be the treasurer for the next term.

Sign up sheets for volunteers for committees and for refreshments were passed around. We still have many open slots that need to be filled.

Pam D. attended the Grantsburg Chamber of Commerce meeting today. She discussed that a little bit. Pam had a survey for us to answer regarding attracting more tourism to Grantsburg. It was interesting discussing it and being able to write down our input.

Our November meeting will be about making braided wheat items. We are looking for a source of wheat. Anyone know where we may get some?? The next meeting is on November 8.

Pam provided us with a trivia game about gardening that included questions relating to the presentations and guest speakers that we had at our meetings this year. It was so much fun. Tim T. was the big winner and took home the door prize (which he gave to his lovely wife, as it was a beautiful blue wallet purse). Thank you so much, Pam, for the fun trivia game. You put a lot of work in to it and it was wonderful.

Janet provided the refreshments. We sure hope that Nori, Carrie and Rosemary will be better soon.

See you all in November.

Submitted by Janet B.

Fun time at the October meeting

Seven of us gathered for the October meeting (watch for meeting minutes). Since our planned hosting of members from Pine City Garden Clubs did not work out and we were only 7 in number we decided to have the meeting at the food table!! Janet, thanks so much for the goodies.

After the business part of the meeting, at which we did a survey for the Chamber's new Grantsburg revitalization initiative, we played a gardening trivia game. Pay attention at those presentations because many of the questions came right from what we've learned from speakers and workshops. For instance, what are three of the 5 Bs of creating fall and winter interest in the garden. Sue got this one correct for 3 points with birds, branches and bark. The other two are berries and benches.

The winner got the door prize. After three rounds Janet and Tim were neck in neck. Two rounds later Tim pulled out in front naming two reasons why a gardener might want to test soil for 6 points. He gave his prize to Becky as he could not fit the feminine light blue clutch wallet into his shirt pocket and was afraid of sitting on it if he put it in his back pocket. Congrats Becky on Tim's win!!

We missed everyone who could not attend. Nori, Carrie and Rosemary we hope you are on the mend and will be at meetings again soon.

Oh and Rick was nominated for VP and was the incorrect answer to about three of the trivia questions. That's what happens when you skip garden club!

Wheat Weaving in November

Our November meeting should be pretty fun. We will be teaching ourselves how to weave with wheat. Evidently, wheat weaving is a very old tradition used to entice the wheat spirits to provide a good harvest!! We will be enticing the creativity spirits to help us come up with pleasing ornaments!

Some years ago a wheat weaver conducted a workshop for the club. We are hoping some members recall what they learned and can help us find our way. To get an idea of how this will work and what supplies we need, I have embedded a couple of videos from YouTube. You can learn how to do most anything from YouTube! Enjoy!

PS: If anyone know a source of wheat, a local farmer perhaps, we will need a good quantity so we don't have to worry about making mistakes!!

A note from Kim...

In regards to winter hardy perennials, I have a book which I highly recommend "Growing Perennials in Cold Climates by Mike Heger & John Whitman.   Mike Heger is considered one of the nation's leading experts on growing perennials in cold climates.  He worked at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum before founding his own nursery.  John Whitman was a grower at Bachman's.

It is a beautiful book that recommends specific varieties by common and  names, how & when to divide and transplant. It also gives sources for hard to find varieties.   I think it would be helpful to anyone who loves perennials and hates it when they don't survive the winter.

I will try to make it to the meeting on the 11th and bring my copy so people can look at it to decide if they want to add it to their library.I have also included the link to it on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Growing-Perennials-Cold-Climates-Revised/dp/0816675880/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349553185&sr=1-1&keywords=growing+perennials+in+cold+climates

Regards - Kim McDonald  

Planning for 2013

I had a lot of fun at our last meeting talking about answers to some of the questions I posed on the website prior to the meeting to get us all thinking about what we want to do in 2013. While I did not write down specific answers (I'm such a bad note taker), here are some of the things we talked about:

Meeting new people, talking about gardening, visiting gardens and sharing gardening information are some of the reasons why we joined the club whether more recently or as founding members. I think we all like the refreshments as well!

Becky's favorite garden tool is a short shovel that can be used from a kneeling position to dig weeds or plant.

Preen and Osmocote, for weed suppression and time release fertilizing, are favorites among gardeners in the club. Liquid Fence and Deer Stop (from Menards) were mentioned as deer and rabbit repellents. Deer Stop is pleasant smelling and will not clog spray nozzles.

Spray Roundup along the edges of gardens to keep grass from encroaching on beds--be careful to use a narrow spray to avoid killing desirable plants! Can also be used next to fences and buildings as well as sidewalk cracks. Can also be applied to a broom and swept on weeds to avoid contaminating desirable plants (done by an Amish garden, I believe).

Linnea, though not at the meeting, mentioned at the summer potluck and container garden competition in August that she likes to add a little Miracle Grow to her watering can once a week to give her containers and hanging plants a boost.  She has luscious planters and pots.

Weeds being the most disliked part of gardening, animal and bug pests are also high on the list, as well as soil that needs amending. Testing your soil was recommended. This can be done through the University of Wisconsin.  Here is a handy link for testing http://uwlab.soils.wisc.edu/lawn-garden/. Kits are also available at garden centers.

If anyone remembers any other specifics discussed, please make comments on this blog and I will follow up.


Most popular topics for 2013

I handed out a list of possible topics for presentations in 2013 for members to indicate what topics appeal to them. Here is the tally of the results (I misplaced or did not get back one of these handouts. I got back 4 but thought there were 5 so I will update this list if I find the 5th handout). I combined a few and noted these.  Slash marks indicate individual interest in the topic. I included topics with 3 or more members indicating interest.


/// Bulbs, spring blooming

///// Construction, any type of hardscaping such as walls, pathways, trellises, pergolas, etc

/// Cooking freezing canning drying with garden produce

/// Flowers, perennials, flowers which are winter hardy in Minnesota, selection and propagation.

/// Ferns, all aspects of gardening with ferns

/// Fruit, berries, grapes, any type of small fruit such as blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and grapes

///// Garden Art, introducing art and whimsy to the home garden combine with hands on workshops in willow weaving, trellises, and making benches and planters

/// Gardens, shade, selection of plants, design and maintenance of gardens designed for shade

/// Gardens to visit, gardens to tour in Minnesota

/// Ground covers, selection and propagation of plants that act as a dense covering for the ground.

/// Irrigation, use of man-made watering systems

//// Landscape renovation of current for low maintenance or new ideas including landscaping around water not to include water gardening.   combined

/// Pest control includes all types of pest control such as organic, chemical, biological, or integrated pest management

/// Vegetables, plant selection and general methods of vegetable gardening

/// Wildlife, living with, methods of gardening and living with wildlife, includes methods of animal control.

Our next meeting is:

October 11, 6:30 Grantsburg High School, room 111. Idea sharing with Pine City area Clubs. Members for other clubs are invited to talk about their clubs events and programs. This should be a great opportunity to infuse fresh ideas into our 2013 planning!! Business includes dues, program planning and signup for 2013. Also, Holiday in the Park planning!! Rosemary and Janet will provide refreshments.

Reminders will be sent out early next week.