All Aboard... Discovering Native Plants

Meetings Meetings are held the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 10:00 AM The New Hartford Public Library, Sammon Room 2 Library Lane New Hartford, NY (315) 733-1535           The business meeting is called to order by the President. Attendance is taken at each meeting.. A program with either a speaker or a workshop is  then presented.  Officers’ and Committee Chairperson’s reports, including horticulture, design,  conservation, and world gardening, are given. Finally, both old and new business are discussed.           Members are requested to bring their own beverage of choice to meetings. Light snacks will be provided by a hostess committee according to a hostess schedule. (Please refer to the monthly meeting information for a listing of the month’s hostesses.) An asterisk beside a name indicates the hostess in charge who  should contact the others to coordinate their efforts .           Unless otherwise noted, there will be no meetings in January, February and August. In January  the Officers and Committee chairwomen of the Seed and Weed Garden Club will meet to prepare for the upcoming year.

All  Aboard… Discovering Native Plants Annual Spring Luncheon and Installation of Officers April 21, 2009 11:30 AM Blue Flagg Room Restaurant The Union Station 321 Main St. Utica, NY 13501 315-793-3528 “Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own.”              Charles Dickens            Arrive at the Utica Union Station at 11:30 AM for the annual Spring Luncheon and Installation of Officers for Seed and Weed Garden Club.  Fifth District Director, Stephen Brown, will be on board to officiate at the installation. Our thanks goes to the outgoing officers for a job well done!           The Blue Flagg Room is located in the historic landmark train station, Utica’s Union Station, where we will begin our journey and this year’s Club theme, “All Aboard…”  Here, we will board our train for a year of horticulture and design discovery.  Hostesses: *Ceil Groben, Barbara Falzarine, Betty Lou Frye

Gardening with Native  Wildflowers May 19, 2009 10:00 AM Sammon Room, New Hartford Library 2 Library Lane New Hartford, NY (315) 733-1535 “ There are always flowers for those who want to see them.”    Henri Matisse           Bruce and Gretchen Mero of Cornell Cooperative Extension will hop aboard our program car to present “Gardening with Native Wildflowers.” This program will prepare our members for a new Garden Club project that involves identifying the native plants and wildflowers in the Sherrillbrook Town Park. Both Bruce and Gretchen are Master Gardeners, landscape architects and environmental consultants. With degrees in Environmental Science, Forestry, and Landscape Architecture, the Mero’s have spent nearly 4 years in Iran and Nicaragua while in the Peace Corps. Today they maintain the Woodland Trail and work in the Parker Scripture Garden at the Cooperative Extension. Their presentation will include slides and a discussion of native wildflowers as well as laws that protect the rare natives. Hostesses: *Judy Bertlesman, Mary Bolton, Pushpa Vadlamundi

Touring Members Gardens June 16, 2009 9:30 AM Ceil Groben’s Garden 10:30 AM Deborah Kelly’s Garden “Think  of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.”        Anne Frank           Our train will stop at the homes of Seed and Weed members, Ceil Groben and Deborah Kelly, to view both the native and exotic varieties of plants found within these two lovely yet dissimilar gardens.  After the garden tours, Master Gardener, Deborah Kelly, will host a short meeting on her backyard patio where refreshments will be served.  This meeting will allow members to see how native and non native plants can be incorporated into a lovely garden design. Hostesses: *Deborah Kelly, Shirley Van Marter, Mary Anthony

Picnic in the Park… Trails, Trestles and Bridges July 21, 2009 11:30 AM Sherrillbrook Town Park Route 12 South New Hartford, NY “In summer, the song sings itself.”                                         William Carlos Williams        Crisscrossed with trails, bridges and brimming with natural plants and fauna, the Sherrillbrook Town Park is a unique local jewel situated on the ridge of the Mohawk Valley as it rises to the Appalachian uplands. Our annual summer picnic will be held in the Town Park where our project, “Identification of Native Plants in the New Hartford Town Park” is located. We will collect photos from the other seasons in an effort to catalog the Park’s natives.  Our members will enjoy a wonderful picnic feast supplied by this covered dish gathering. Our dining car will be the pavilion just south of the entrance. Hostesses: *Carol Meyer, Cindy Circelli, Bunny Schruers, Rita Wolber

Day Trip to Cornell Plantations Cornell University Ithaca, NY 607-255-2400 August 5, 2009 7:15 AM  - 7:00 PM “Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience.”                                   Ralph Waldo Emerson        Off we go for a day of gardeners’ pleasure aboard the coach to lovely Ithaca, NY and Cornell University.  We will enjoy Cornell’s Theme Gardens, Botanical Garden, Arboretum, natural areas and Ornithology Lab. We will participate in both guided and self guided tours of trails, exhibits and special gardens.  In addition, we will lunch at Baker’s Acres, one of the largest herb and perennial growers in Central New York.  Here we will see over 20 display gardens on 30 acres. The day will be spent in the heart of the beautiful Finger Lakes region of New York State customized for Seed and Weed gardeners.

Adirondack Scenic Railroad Train Trip to Thendara and Old Forge, New York  Lunch at Van Auken’s Inne Restaurant 108 Forge St. Thendara, NY September 23, 2009 8:45 AM—6:00 PM “ Over all the mountain tops is peace.”                                                          J.W Von Goethe           Be on the platform at Utica’s Union Station for an Adirondack adventure to Thendara and Old Forge. We will ride the rails through the pristine Central New York forests and meadows and the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains during the peak of the fall color.  Here the native trees and shrubs will delight observers as our train chugs along the track. Our Seed and Weed meeting will be held in a private car aboard the train.  A noon lunch will be enjoyed at Van Auken’s Inne located just across the tracks in Thendara. A shuttle bus is available to transport travelers to the village of Old Forge where one could sit by the water, shop or peruse the natural surroundings of the village. We will leave Thendara Station at 4:15 PM and arrive in Utica around 6:00 PM.

Click, Clack... Photographing Nature’s Bounty Sammon Room, New Hartford Library 2 Library Lane, New Hartford, NY October 20, 2009 10:00 AM—12:30 PM 315-733-1535 “There is so much beauty– If you can see it.”                                 Richard A Noyes           Nature photographer and owner of “Essence of Nature,”  Joan Herrmann, will share her knowledge and photographs of New York State natives and exotics. She is a member of “The Artworks” a cooperative of artists in Old Forge. Joan is a former Garden Club member and Director of the NYS Federated Garden Club District 5. She has been a nonaccredited flower show judge, master gardener and is currently a docent at Munson Williams, Pratt Art Institute.  Her many talents include both plant identification and photography.  Please plan on bringing to this meeting some of your own plant divisions to trade or share with Seed and Weed members. Hostesses:*Lin-Lin Lin, Rosemary Gerace, Pat Boley

Decorating for the Season Sammon Room, New Hartford Library 2 Library Lane, New Hartford, NY November 17, 2009 10:00 AM -12:30 PM 315-733-1535  “Be true to your work, your word, and your friend.”                           Henry David Thoreau            Floral Designer, Pat Wiest, currently of  Michael’s Craft Store, New Hartford, NY, will take us on a seasonal craft journey. Pat will guide us in decorating a fresh evergreen wreath with silks, dried flowers and bows. Pat owns her own craft business and is a regular at local Farmers’ Markets and Craft Shows. Please bring along your flower arranging supplies such as wire and wire cutters.   Hostesses: *Anne Hill, Barbara Bonham, Mary Breslow

Annual Holiday Luncheon and Auction Yahnundasis Golf Club Seneca Turnpike New Hartford, NY (315) 732-6123 December 15, 2009 11:30 AM “We make a living by what we get; We make a life by what we give.”     Winston Churchill           Whistling into the spirit of the holidays, our members will indulge in a fantastic luncheon feast while contributing to the Seed and Weed finances. Members will donate a new item or baked goods that will be auctioned off in a friendly competition among friends. The proceeds will help support our Club’s community projects for the upcoming year. Hostesses: *Mary Spath, Cam Sullivan,  Nancy Kelly, Ruth Ridgeway

Executive Committee Meeting January, 2010   While winter rests over our gardens, the executive committee is at work planning club events for the coming year. Members will be taking this time  to pause, to ponder, to  plan...and perhaps to read.  Members’ reading suggestions will be solicited at meetings during the year and may be added here. These books will help inspire enthusiasm for the next year’s garden. The titles will be added to our Club’s website. (gardencentral.org/fgcny/seedandweed) Reading Suggestions Native Plants of the Northeast, by Donald Leopold NewEngland Wild Flower Society Guide… by William Cullina Armitage Native Plants for North American Gardens, by Allan Amitage

Whimsy and Spice and Everything Nice March 16, 2010 10:00 AM—12:30 PM Sammon Room, New Hartford Library 2 Library Lane New Hartford, NY 1341 “No winter lasts forever, no spring skips it’s turn”                                              Hal Borland Julie and Gail, a mother-daughter team, from the Mustard Seed Gift Shop in Little Falls, NY will treat our Club members to a wondrous display and discussion of the herbalist garden and its rewarding products. Lavender, eucalyptus, thyme and rosemary are among the themes that will be included. The Mustard Seed is located in Canal Place, 410 South Ann St., Little Falls, NY 13365. Phone: 210-6317 Hostesses: *Carol Alexander, Wanda Hoeller, Deni Hughes Reminder:  Please  check  Garden therapy  page for April schedule.