Great time at Mary and Jim Charmoli's for the annual holiday party!

A group of about 14 enjoyed a delightful evening of seasonal cheer at the annual holiday party hosted by Mary and Jim Charmoli. As usual there was plenty of delectable food.

We had a short meeting before the gift exchange at which officers were elected. They are:

• President, Kris Henning
• Vice-president, Mary Charmoli
• Secretary, Linnea Seume
• Treasurer, Charlene Strabel
• Blog/communications, Pam Davies.

Thank you to the 2018 officers who look suspiciously like the 2017 officers. Members are encouraged to step up to committee positions to support our hard working officers and to volunteer in the future to serve as an officer. The Grantoberfest committee is looking for a chair for 2018!

The executive board (officers and committee chairs) will meet soon to hammer out the program for 2018 and will get the bulletin out to the membership as soon after that as possible. The first meeting of 2018 will be February 8 with a new venue as the school now locks their doors for security reasons making it very inconvenient to continue to have meetings there. Plans are in motion to determine possible locations for meetings that will make it easier for members in the Siren/Webster areas to attend, possibly rotating the revue at every other meeting. 

Here are a few pictures from the festivities at the Charmoli residence compliments of Georgianne.

All around the table: Rhonda, Lucille, Linnea, Janet, Jim,
Charlene hiding in the corner, Becky and Pam  

Charlene, you can't hide from Georgianne's camera!

Mary G, enjoying a full plate of food!

Sandy and Kris hamming it up in the kitchen with Lisa and Mary

Beautiful buffets, more food in the kitchen!

Couple of guys who crashed the party!

Thanks Mary and Jim for hosting the party and thanks everyone who came and brought good holiday cheer and great food!

Holiday in the Park 2017

A group effort by Lisa, Sandy and Pam! (the moon in the background is really just a light).

Holiday Party Details!! One week away!

A message from our hostess:

The club party is only a week away and I have only heard from a few people. I know everyone is really busy. We certainly have been.

Here is what we have so far: (I hope I haven't missed anyone)
     Georgianne - fruit or veggie tray
     Janet - deviled eggs
     Sandy Hinrich - bars
     Kris - pumpkin cheesecake and a "crockpot of TBD"
     Becky - deli meat tray (she will be coming later)
     Mary - salad and will fill in whatever also I have plates, napkins, cups, coffee, tea, condiments
     Charlene - TBD, will fill in whatever is needed
     Pam Hot dish

It appears that we could use:
     hot dishes
     sides
     veggies
     desserts
     beverages
     breads

Here are the directions to our house:

Coming from Siren or Grantsburg take County Road M north (it is about 1/4 mile east of the Dairy).
Go 2 miles to the T intersection.
Turn right onto County Road D.
Go @ 5 miles to the intersection of County Roads D and N. County N will go straight.
Stay on County D by turning left.
Go 0.4 mi.
We are on the left..fire # 9664, white house with wide front porch, set back from the road, split rail fence by the drive.

Note: GPS will put you about 1 mile north so if you pass Erickson Auctions on your right, you've gone too far.

Handicap parking in front of the garage...honk the horn and I'll open that door for you, otherwise we hope to have the drive well cleared for parking in the front and back and you may enter through either the front or lower, back doors.

We do have a very friendly Springer Spaniel who runs the house, however whomever lets him out has to chase him. 

2016 Holiday Party at Tim and Becky's

If anyone needs to carpool please let someone know. We don't want anyone to miss out for want of a ride!

Please let Mary know you are coming, who you are bringing with you and at least what type of dish you will bring if possible.

Voluntary Gift Exchange:If you wish to participate in the dice game gift swap, bring a gift of approximately $10.00 in value. Hand made gifts are especially wonderful. We will make a game of it! Everyone gets a gift at the end, even those not lucky with the dice!

Meeting Minutes: November 2017

Burnett Garden Club Meeting Agenda

November 9, 2017

Meeting called to order at 6:32 PM

Secretary’s report was not available on blog. It was sent to Kris and showed up on Linnea’s "Sent emails” as sent. Kris was not at the meeting, and may have missed the email, as she was out of town for part of October.

Treasurer’s report by Charlene.  Detailed annual report handed out. Current balance $2383.12 .  All seems very organized and efficient.  No questions.

 

Committee Reports: Holiday in the Park can be set up the weekend after Thanksgiving. Lisa S. and Sandy H. are leads on this project.

 

No old business.

 

New business:  Decision to skip January meeting d/t fairly consistent weather issues in that month. Also, no meeting in May d/t planting and potting get-togethers.

Also, cannas were not dug at sign, but attendees at this meeting said that they had lots of bulbs to replace what was lost.

 

Brag time: Pam  went on a trip through Canada to Woodstock, NY. and  enjoyed herself. Charlene canned numerous quarts of carrots from her garden.

 

Next meeting:  Christmas party at Sandra Harmon’s home, Thursday, December 14, 6:00 PM. Sign up sheet for food was circulated.  Gifts can be brought to party for

exchange—$10

PRESENTATION:  Mary Charmoli did an excellent job with telling us about Kokedama (Moss balls) and bringing the equipment and plants, so that we could all make

1-2 of them to bring home.  It was a fun and enjoyable event. Everyone seemed to have a good time, as evidenced by Pam’s photos. Thanks to Mary for doing this project and making it so interesting and fun!!!!

No refreshments, but no one complained.

Members present: Linnea S, Mary C, Pam D, Janet B, Becky T, Sandy H, Georgianne K.

Pam: motion to adjourn

Sandy H: 2nd

Meeting Minutes: October 2017

Burnett garden Club meeting agenda

October 12, 2017

Call to order at 6:45 due to technical difficulties 

 

Secretary report: on blog. Meeting minutes approved by Janet B, seconded by Linnea S.

Treasury report: Balance total: $2433.07 No announcements.

 

Committee Reports: tabled until next month.

                Yearly dues are due.

Old business: none

New business: Christmas party in December at Sandra Harmon's house.

            Charlene is unwell, card circulated to wish her a quick recovery!

November meeting: November 9--Kokedama class by Mary Charmoli—please let her know if you are attending.

Adjourned: 8:55 PM Motion by Janet B, seconded by Rhonda J

Refreshments: Janet B.

PRESENTATION: by Connie Jerabek, WI DATCP

Once we got the technical difficulties under control, Konnie did an amazing presentation. So interesting. She does inspections, licensing, and issues health certificates for nurseries (dealers and growers), and Christmas tree farms.

She presented information on various pests and diseases that keep her busy identifying and dealing with pests and diseases that plague the State of Wisconsin.  She talked about the Gypsy moth, Pine Shoot beetle/moth, Emerald ask borer, Walnut Twig Beetle, Mountain Pine beetle, Sirex Woodwasp, Asian Longhorned beetle.  The biggest source of spreading insects is moving firewood.

Different level of rules for invasive plants. Some you cannot trade, sell or grow, transport. Some you are cautioned not to grow, some you are warned about growing, and some you should not grow (Danger). Some plants we discussed were Yellow Tansy, Blue Dames Rocket, snow on the mountain, Weeping Carragana, Barberry, Ribbon grass, forget-me-nots, some aquatic plants.

She also talked about Hosta virus x, cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), and tobacco rattle virus (TRV).

Worst invasive critter in our area is the Jumping worms.

Linnea Seume, Secretary

• 
  

Kokedama Workshop, who knew it would be so easy!!

Mary Charmoli  presented a fun and informative workshop at the November meeting. "Kokedama, A Japanese Art Form." 

For those of us challenged in the creativity area, the workshop was a great ego boost! We all went home with lovey little gardens in a moss ball. Here are a few of the highlights of the evening.

Remember to click on the images for a larger view.

Mary was very organized with all her supplies in plastic tubs
as well as plastic for the table and a tub for each of us to
contain our mess! 

There are lots of ways to display the Kokedama. They can
also be hung from the string used to wrap them.

Proper mixture of potting soil and cactus soil, and just
the right moisture makes the ball stick together around the
little plant roots.

Soak store-bought moss so that it will lay nicely on the soil ball
then wrap with string to keep it all together.  

Watching and learning. Anxious to get started!

And here they are! aren't they great!

A really big thank you to Mary for this wonderful workshop and for all she does for our club!

Meeting Reminder: Thursday, Nov 9, 6:30

We will be meeting Thursday, November 9, 6:30 PM at Room 115 Grantsburg High School.

The program for the evening will be "Kokedama, A Japanese Art Form" a workshop by Mary Charmoli
We will also be collecting dues, planning for next year and electing officers for 2018
Refreshments will be provided by Rosemary and  Dakota

The "Kokedama, A Japanese Art Form" workshop by Mary Charmoli will be free of charge but please RSVP to Mary at 715-349-8388 or via email if you have not already done so. She will need a count to know how many plants/supplies to bring. She will bring extras but doesn't want to run out nor bring too many. Mary will supply gloves, basins, soil, string, plants, moss, etc so per Mary, no one needs to bring anything but a sense of humor!

As always, Garden Club meetings are open to the public. If you are bringing a potential member or are a potential member and wish to participate in the workshop, please call Mary at the number above to let her know.

Hope to see you all there!!

Nearly 30 Years of Sharing our Love of Gardening!!

Hey everyone! 2018 will be our 30th Anniversary as a club!! We need to celebrate!

Let's all put on our thinking caps and come up with some fun ideas to celebrate throughout the year. 

Share your ideas at the November meeting or send them to Kris or Mary or me. 

Also, think way back about when you joined the club, why you joined the club and what the club has meant to you over the years or any fun or funny anecdotes about the club or just about gardening in our wonderful corner of Wisconsin. Send these to me pameladavies@yahoo.com or put them in the comment section of this post and I will share them with the club (anonymously or not, as you prefer). Maybe we can work these into our celebration!

As for me, I joined in 2007 to meet people and learn about gardening in this new home of mine. I've made great friends and had a lot of fun learning about gardening, participating in projects and activities, creating this blog and just talking gardening with others who love it and struggle to be better gardeners!

October Meeting, Highly Informative

By all accounts (I was not able to be at the meeting) speaker, Konnie Jerabek from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, gave an information packed presentation on invasive plant species in Wisconsin. After a few unforeseeable glitches, the small group of attendees gathered around Konnie's laptop to follow along and to have all of their questions answered.

Konnie provided handouts which include Wisconsin Ch. NR 40 Invasive Species List--Plants only which can be found at the following web link:
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/invasives/documents/nr40plantlist.pdf

And a color handout (reproduced below) on water garden plants including plants to avoid and attractive alternatives. Our waterways being a major source of the spread of destructive plant species, as we well know from the rapid spread of Eurasian Watermilfoil, it is important to be able to identify invasive species, avoid purchasing them or bringing them into Wisconsin, and to dispose of them properly to avoid being a part of the problem.

(Click on the images below for a larger view--from the larger view, right click and select "save as" to save image to your computer for printing)

Or check out this poster (specific to Minnesota but applicable to Wisconsin as well):
http://nsgl.gso.uri.edu/minnu/minnug06003.pdf

We hope that Konnie can return to speak to our club again to a much larger turnout as the information provided was important especially for gardeners!

Our presentation for November: "Kokedama, A Japanese Art Form" a workshop by Mary Charmoli 

Meeting Minutes: September 2017

Burnett Garden Club—September 2017

Meeting called to order at 6:34 pm

The last Secretary’s report was posted on the blog. No discussion. Motion to approve the minutes by Pam Davies, seconded by Janet Byers. Motion approved by all.

Treasurer was absent. Current balance at last meeting (6-23-17) was $2492.66.

No upcoming events were discussed

Committee reports:

• Community plantings: Flagpole plantings dried out early in the summer when we had a dry spell.  Limited watering capabilities. Library and sign plantings did very well and were very showy. Some weeding issues at the sign, but not particularly visible from the highway. Many of us are forgetting to do our weeding. 
• Grantoberfest: Set up this weekend. Take plants or other items to Pam Davies or Georgianne Kleiss’s home or meet at the fairgrounds at 4:00 Friday or early Saturday morning,

No old business.
New Business:  Sign clean-up on September 28 5:30 PM
    Logo—will re-visit topic next meeting

Brag time:  Janet brought pictures of one of her asiatic lilies with 55+ blooms.

Next meeting: October 12—"Invasive Plants” by  Connie Jeravek, DNR

Adjourned. Motionmade by Pam Davies, seconded by Sandy Heinrichs

Presentation:  “Putting our gardens to bed for the winter”—group discussion.
Plant Exchange: Several members brought seeds and plants to exchange Refreshments by: Janet and Linnea

Members Present:  Georgianne K., Pam D., Wanda B., Janet B., Rhonda J., Linnea S., Becky T.,  Kris H., Sandy H.

Meeting Reminder: Thursday, October 12, 6:30 Room 115 Grantsburg High School

We will be meeting on Thursday, October 12, 6:30 PM at Room 115 Grantsburg High School.

Our speaker for the meeting will be Konnie Jerabek who is a plant pest and disease specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. She has received the 2016 Carl E. Carlson Distinguished Achievement Award in Regulatory Plant Protection from the National Plant Board. on Invasive Species--come with lots of questions!! She has the answers!

Business: Collection of dues, planning for next year and nomination of officers for 2018
Refreshment will be provided by Lisa and Jackie O

All meeting are free and open to the public.

Konnie Jerabek

Another Successful Grantoberfest!!

We had another great booth for Grantoberfest this year and netted a new member--also new to the community, Cynde Kleven; a sort of new member, Adrianna Addison; and a maybe!! New members keep our club growing!!

Here are a few words for our 2017 Grantoberfest Committee Chair!

Hello from Georgianne!

First a huge Thank You to Pam and Becky for loads of help; to Janet and Kris for tables; and to all who gave so many plants and other items to help our club!  Linnea, Janet, Pam, Mary G, Becky, Kris.

Our profit was $113.  

One t-shirt for $10, 

3 members for $20, 

and one cookbook for $8; 

the remainder for plants and miscellaneous.  

Yes I am correct: 3 members for $20.

Grantoberfest was very good this year.  The weather was nearly ideal with perfect temps and just enough breeze to keep away gnats, even though our booth was close enough to the petting zoo for optimal enjoyment.  That llama was Cute!

A lot of people came by our booth.  A few shared ideas and experiences, but many wanted more information on plants: culture, types, zone issues, problems . . .  We can explore lots of ideas for future booths, programs, community projects.  And there were lots of thanks for our lovely community gardens, too.

I'd like to share the most unusual encounter -- the man who used to own 8 greenhouses, named DaVine?, east of hwy 87, just into Polk County. He grew tomatoes there. They're vacant now.  He suggested an indoor community effort that reminded me of outdoor community gardens in cities where people want to grow vegetables and more flowers but don't have space at home.  He granted heating could be challenging, but had ideas on that as well. A discussion about this would be benefited by some outreach for needs in our area first.  I didn't want to invite him to do a program for us.  Discussion later if desired.

YIG,

Georgianne

A few Photos of our 2017 Grantoberfest booth!

Thank you to Georgianne for chairing the Grantoberfest Committee!

September meeting--It's good to be back!

While we see each other often throughout the summer with all our club activities, it is good to be back to a regular meeting. On Thursday, September 14 we gathered at our usual place, room 115 of the Grantsburg High School, to get caught up on all our activities over the summer and to start our fall roster of programs and planning for 2018! We shared plants and seeds just in time for fall planting, had delicious treats thanks to Linnea and Janet, and talked about putting the garden to bed!

Kris running the meeting

Sharing plants and seeds

Yummy treats!

Here are some tips on putting the garden to bed (thanks Kris):

Fall Garden Cleanup as determined by Plant Types
Kris Henning & Becky Dickinson, WI. Master Gardeners
Grantsburg Community Education Class, 9-18-00

Herbaceous Perennials
Cut back completely to the ground in fall and rake up debris. Examples:
Astilbe
Daylily
Hosta
Monarda
Peony
Phlox, tall

Semi-Herbaceous Perennials
Cut back dead stems and upper foliage in gall, but leave basal foliage. Examples:
Black-eyed Susan
Penstemon
Shasta Daisy

Evergreen Perennials
Cut back only flower stalks or leggy growth in fall.
In spring, only cut winter-damaged foliage and prune to shape.
Basket of Gold (Aurinia saxatile)
Candytuft
Coral Bells
Pinks
Phlox, creeping

Sub-Shrub Perennials
Don’t prune in fall. In spring, wait until you see new leaves sprouting along the stems, then prune back to healthy wood, but leave at least 6” above ground.
Artemisia
Butterfly Bush (Buddleia)
Lavender
Russian Sage

Meeting Reminder, Thursday September 14, 6:30, room 115

Our first regular meeting will be held on Thursday, September 14, 6:30 PM, room 115 at Grantsburg High School.

The program for the evening is "Putting Your Garden to Bed" and will be conducted as a forum where we can share ideas about winding up the season and getting a head start on next year! We also have our Annual Plant and Seed exchange so harvest those seeds and thin you perennials and bring them to the meeting!!

Let Janet know if you have any plants you'd like to buy from her. She is bringing me an Eyeliner lily (white with black edged petals) to the meeting. Her plants are half price so let her know if you need anything. 

Here is a picture of the white lily I got from Janet a few years ago. I managed to get a picture before the deer ate the blossoms!

Refreshments will be provided by Linnea and Janet

All meetings are open to the public!

And Remember:

Grantoberfest!! is on Saturday September 16 9am to 3pm (setup before). More on that in another post.

Good Showing at the Fair!!

Sunday morning at the Grantsburg Burnett County Fair was a little wet and quiet but Georgianne and I found plenty to see. Remember, you can click on the pictures to get a larger view.

Garden Club planters at the fair were looking great

And Janet had her perennials as part of the new Farmer's Market/Craft Sale. 

Wheelbarrows!

Thanks to Charlene for letting us know about the wheelbarrow competition. Georgianne and I weren't sure whose were whose as they were not labeled so I took a group picture. 

 Group shot. They were all fun. 

Georgianne thought a red, white and blue theme
had been discussed for the club entry. 

Member Entries

Members Linnea, Becky, Rhonda and Sandy made a good showing at the fair again this year. Here are pictures of their winning entries. If I attributed any of them wrongly, please let me know so I can correct it (please not correction, additional entry now attributed correctly to Rhonda). I apologize if I missed any entries.

Sandy

Rhonda

Linnea

Becky

Congratulations to everyone who entered or were part of making the fair a fun place to enjoy the fruits of our gardening efforts!!