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The Essex Thymes
The Essex & District Horticultural Society Newsletter
for October 22, 2008
Remember to “Lug A Mug”
Our sympathy goes out to our Director, Stacey Hildenbrand
and her husband Dan, in the death of her brother, Jeffrey LeBlanc, October
11th at the age of 41, in a vehicle accident.
From our President, Sandy Ellenor
Hello Everyone:
October is here and so far we have had a wonderful fall.
I am writing this just after the Thanksgiving weekend and it was
just spectacular weather, warm and sunny and great for finishing up some
of those garden chores. The
worst thing about the beautiful weather for me is that I just keep putting
off what inevitably still has to be done before the snow flies.
Thanksgiving Day I planted bulbs (that I got at the see and plant
exchange), 2 daylilies (that I got at the seed and plant exchange), moved
the grass, dug out some dandelions, put new batteries in my solar lights
and enjoyed the day thoroughly. Then
I decorated a few things for Halloween, which of course is just around the
corner. I only wish this
weather could last. It was
simply beautiful.
November will be our election of officers for the coming
year and best of all, our Christmas party.
If you are asked to go on our Board, please consider it.
Tim O’Hagan has consented to head our nominating committee and I
appreciate that so much. To join our board means an extra meeting a month and we
have a great group of People. If
we didn’t have such a friendly great group our meeting could be done in
about 20 minutes but we like to visit and catch up so it does take
considerable longer but never more than an hour and a half.
We would love to have you join us and help keep our club running
smoothly and efficiently. Many
hands make light work. Many
heads have new ideas.
Our November meeting will be a pot luck dinner so bring a
dish to share, your plates and silverware, cups, etc., a Christmas place
mat if you wish. We are going
to be treated to some lessons on making Christmas arrangements by Pam’s
Flowers in Belle River and I just may have a game or two up my sleeve for
you.
Thank you all for the help and support you have given our
club this year. It’s been a
busy, busy year and we’ve had lots on the go but so many of you have
made it a very fun year too. See
you in November!
Marie Tiborcz has found another Project!
^TOP^
Project #8 – Tea Kettle Bird House
Leave an old tea kettle on your back porch this winter,
remembering to remove the lid. You
just might find a little bird family in it come Spring. Hang a few in a
tree also and see what happens.
…and Dorothy Vriesacker has found another idea!
Decorative Kale will make an even more stunning colourful
display in a fall arrangement if the stems are first put into a mixture of
water and lots of food colouring.
To see the dates and meeting places of our neighbouring
Horticultural Societies and upcoming events of our own Society, please
refer to all previous newsletters this year.
District 11 Meeting
October 19th, 2008
I attended the District meeting held in Watford, October
19th , on a beautiful fall day.
The colours along the way in the wood lots were spectacular with
the sun shining down on the red and gold leaves of all the trees.
Burning bushes outdid themselves with their brilliant burgundy
leaves, so it was an awesome day to go for a drive through the
countryside. I hitched a ride
with our good friends, Albert and Juliette St. Pierre, and shared the
backseat with Margaret Dudley, so it was a wonderful trip.
Watford’s Centennial Hall was decorated beautifully with
all fall mums, straw bales and pumpkin displays. They did a lovely job making everyone welcome to their home
town. After the meeting we
were invited to go over to the next street to visit the garden of Lucy
Buttery, President of the Watford Horticultural Society. It was a delight. Many
of us enjoyed that. It’s
always interesting to see someone else’s garden; we gardeners seldom
turn down the invitation.
Our District 11 Director, Ray Clement, was unable to chair
the meeting as he was attending an out of town OHA meeting so Jennifer
Plaus, Assistant Director did the honours.
This year is an adjustment year – our Annual meetings
will be held in the Spr8ing from now on, not in the fall as previous.
So…..this means our elections for officers will be done at the
April meeting at Ridgetown tentatively April 18, 2009.
Our Society will hose the fall 2010 meeting.
^TOP^
The speaker for the day
was Ron Rossini from the London area.
Ron is our Zone 3 director for Master Gardeners.
His presentation was on Good bugs/Bad bugs.
He told us that 95% of all living creatures on earth are insects
and 1 out of every 4 creatures is a beetle so yes we are outnumbered. Saying that, only about 1% of insects are a consistent
problem. Before destroying
any insects we need to know for sure that particular insect is causing us
considerable damage. Many
times we can live with the damage and it does not kill the plant.
As we try to lean away form strong, harmful and often unnecessary
pesticides, we should increase our tolerance accordingly.
These pesticides are never selective, they kill all the good bugs
who are working to protect our gardens as well as the bad ones who are
creating havoc with our cabbages and tomatoes.
Often times it is best to let nature take its course unless we are
seeing the demise of our plant.
Examples of good insects are spiders, bees, ladybugs,
dragonflies, lacewings, the assassin bug (which looks nearly identical to
the bad squash bug, – check it out – one has sharp pointed shoulders,
the bad one has rounded shoulders), the damselfly, the ground beetle (eats
slugs, snails and dead vegetation), tiger beetle, soldier beetle, praying
mantis, tachinid fly, robber fly and the parsitoid wasp.
You need to know what these guys really look like.
When you see them on your flowers or vegetables they are there
soldiering for you so please don’t kill them.
Think before you spray.
Examples of bad bugs are white flies, spider mites,
leafhoppers, aphids, lily leaf beetles, bean beetles, flea beetles,
Japanese beetles, mosquitoes, squash bugs, Asian long horned beetles,
emerald ash borers, tipsy moths and the mountain pine beetle.
Casey Overgaauw from the
Fort Malden Society has been working on a discount sheet for the whole
district so that our societies can know the nurseries that will offer us a
discount on plants because we are members of a Horticultural Society.
It is a big advantage of being a member. The requirement will be that you show your current up to
date membership card to receive this discount. We should have these lists for you by Spring.
Currently many of the nurseries in our area offer us a discount so
be sure to ask. It is always
on plants only and usually not sale items.
^TOP^
It was a great day!.......Sandy
Tidbits from Lynn Imeson
- Two days after our
last meeting, September 24th, I once again saw two hummingbirds
flitting around the Nannyberry, the Honey Locust and the Magnolia in the
back yard.
This afternoon, October 22nd, we have
discovered that our 12’ high Horse Chestnut – the one whose leaves
have been crispy brown since mid August – now has 1/3 new leaf growth
and also is blooming! There
are 7 – 11 blooms on it.
After seeing not one Praying Mantis in our yard in 2007,
this year we have seen them everywhere.
Unfortunately, some have not had good luck. One had drowned in the pail under an outdoor tap, one was
caught in a spider web, another was a cat’s toy…..and so on.
Happily scads of others were doing just fine including one on the
stable door.
^TOP^ |
