Garden Clippings

McMinnville Garden Club

PO Box 386, McMinnville, OR

503-434-4344

OCTOBER 2009 CALENDAR

Fall Container Planting – October 5th

Barb Pehrson will be hosting a fall container planting get-together at her house the week of October 5^th. If you are interested, please contact her at 503-472-1812. Incahoots had a great article about the perfect plants to use in Fall/Winter containers. Check it out at:

http://www.incahoots.biz/blogshop/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/autumn_page_5.pdf

October 12^th Public library Indoor Plant Cleaning: Meet at the public library at 1:00 upstairs in the quiet area. You’ll need to enter thru the employee’s entrance since the library is closed on Mondays. Bring gloves, clippers and small buckets with rags. After we finish, we’ll head over to Cornerstone for some coffee.

October 19 – MEETING

900 N. Hill Road – Hillside Community manor in the “Activity Room”

Social time: 9:30a.m. - 10:00a.m.

Business Meeting and FUN: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Speaker: Roger Gossler – Fall – The Forgotten Season: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Hillside Retirement Community “Activity Room” at the Manor

900 N. Hill Road McMinnville, OR 97128

Born and raised in Oregon, Roger Gossler is considered an expert in northwest woody plants. His interest in plants has been lifelong. In partnership with his family, Gossler co-owns Gossler Farms Nursery, which specializes in magnolias, winter-blooming trees and shrubs and many other beautiful plants. He is a frequent lecturer throughout the United States and a member of the Magnolia Society, American Rhododendron Society, Hardy Plant Society of Oregon, Willamette Valley Hardy Plant Group and the Royal Horticultural Society.

PLEASE DON’T FORGET TO PARK IN THE CHURCH PARKING LOT

*Remember: “The Making a Difference Campaign” is a national garden club project. Our Pioneer District is collecting inkjet, laser printer cartridges and cell phones that will be recycled. If you have any that you wish to contribute to the project please bring them to a meeting and we will forward them to the Pioneer District. They take clean bottle caps, the plastic ones. No medicine bottle caps. *Also bring your magazines to share with others.

October 26^th- FIELD TRIP - Bailey’s Nursery –

Bailey Nursery, Inc. is a fourth-generation wholesale grower of a wide variety of ornamental plants including perennials, roses, vines, shrubs and trees. Bailey's prides themselves as being a leader in the green industry for their "green approach to growing, wanting to protect the environment while growing their company. They do their own propagation and growing- from cuttings to finished product. Company headquarters is in Minnesota, but they have growing facilities in several locations in the pacific northwest; we have such a wonderful climate for growing! We will visit their Yamhill operation just a mile or so out of town. It should be gorgeous there in late October. The nursery is huge and rests amongst rolling hills; the fall color will be spectacular!

Bailey's is nicely maintained with gravel roads and walkways, so comfortable shoes and a warm coat is all that is needed. It wouldn't hurt to bring an umbrella, too.

Meet at the Bethel Baptist Church Parking Lot by 9:30 for a great trip!

October President’s message

“Dig In”
Develop Skills, Increase Civic Service, and Grow Friendships by Involvement & Nurturing

Wow, was it ever great to see so many of you at the September meeting! It looked like everyone was ready to DIG IN for another great year of Garden Club activities. Thanks to everyone who worked on preparing for the meeting, and all who signed up to be committee chairs and hostesses. Here we go!

AND we’ve already dug into three great activities in September! For those of you who were unable to attend the Mike Darcy field trip on September 23, take some time to look at the pictures taken by Suzanne and Patty

http://gallery.me.com/rosuli75#100043 and http://picasaweb.google.com/macbirds1666/GardenClubFieldTrip#

Oct darcygroup His yard is SO remarkable. He started it in 1974 so it has the full canopy of trees, shrubs and low level plants on a large triangular lot that seemed to go back for miles. Lots of different rooms, fun art hardscape and unusual plants kept us busy for quite awhile! We wondered how he grew so many plants in large pots and didn’t take them in for the winter. He said he uses Vietnamese pots. AND he hand waters everything still with hoses. He also feeds his plants just when he puts them in the ground in the spring usually. Mike gets his amendments from "Concentrates", an old "organic" fertilizers, etc supplier, 2613 SE 8th Ave, Portland 97202 @ www.concentratesnw.com I think he said he used blood meal, fish bone, and cottonseed. After the field trip, we had a yummy lunch and a bit of shopping. What a fun day. Thanks again to Judy E. for organizing the trip.

Oct leafcasting The second September activity was making leaf castings at Rosemary’s with instruction and organization by Evelyn on September 25th. It was a perfect day in a perfect setting for over a dozen of us to cast some lovely leaves into permanent art. Thanks, ladies.

October again brings several activities for you to DIG IN too!

On October 12^th we’ll once again, give the library’s indoor plants a nice shower and cleaning up as they settle in for their lazy season. Then on October 15^th several members of the club will be attending the Pioneer District Luncheon at Meriwether Golf Course.

October 19^th is our first speaker of the year at our October meeting, Roger Gossler from Gossler Farms. Plan to be busy taking notes! October 26^th we’ll take an instructional field trip to Bailey’s Nursery organized by Patti G. AND somewhere in-between all those activities, we need to find time to put our gardens to rest for the coming dormant period. Be sure to take a look at the internet links later to super articles about which plants to prune back and which to leave thru the winter for both birds and their own protection. I’ve got a lot less work this Fall than usual as I try to give each plant what it needs this year instead of just shearing everything. Of course, that also means more work in the Spring! DIG IN!

Backyard Habitats – Marilyn Coats

Cleaning Bird Feeders bird_house_107907

It is fun watching birds flitting around at the birdfeeders. But it isn’t any fun cleaning the feeders which is a necessary task!

Properly cleaning feeders on a regular basis is important to kill bacteria and maintain seed quality. Birds also flock to a clean feeder much more often than a dirty one. A dirty feeder can harbor bacteria, mold and other diseases that can decimate bird populations. Infected birds can spread the illnesses creating epidemic conditions that could wipe out entire nesting colonies.

Feeders should be thoroughly cleaned at least once a month, scrubbing them well. They can be sanitized with a solution of one part bleach to 9 parts water. A mild dish detergent is acceptable as well. Use rubber gloves and stiff brushes to ensure thorough cleaning. An old toothbrush is good for the smaller areas. Clean all parts and rinse thoroughly. Before refilling, make sure they are completely dry.

Be sure when you clean the bird feeders that you also clean the areas beneath them, removing old or damp seed. Don’t forget to clean the birdbaths and change the water often. I use a stiff plastic brush to clean the birdbaths.

My two bird feeders have removable bottom screens. They are so much easier to clean as I can just take out the screens and brush them off. I have a sink in my garage (which is helpful) to clean the bird feeders.

My mini HummZinger feeder for the hummingbirds is so easy to clean in the sink using a mild dish detergent. I try to change it quite often as I love watching my one hummingbird. That’s the only one I have seen for awhile as he chases the other hummingbirds away!

This regular maintenance is not a pleasant job, but it will keep our feathered friends happy and healthy and keep them coming to the feeders for us to enjoy.

Norma Parker – Successful Digging Tips

When a plant you’ve cared for simply fails to thrive or is unsuited for its spot in your garden, it needs relocation. Loss of a tree or other structural change may necessitate moving plants to a shadier spot. Another common reason for relocation may be to give a plant greater drainage, since many plants such as Daphne suffer from cold, wet feet in the winter months. Whatever the cause, carefully select the plant’s future home by assessing its micro climate at various times of the day. Finally, here are some guidelines for successful transplanting:

Wait AT LEAST until the plant has finished its bloom season and the fall rains have saturated the ground. It’s best to wait until the plant has entered its winter dormancy.

Estimate the root ball size needed. One rule of thumb is to prepare a hole at least 10 times the diameter of the trunk of the plant you are moving. Of course, the more roots you can preserve, the better. Any torn or damaged roots should be cut off cleanly above the damage. Bear in mind the root system of healthy plants can be more than twice the diameter of the canopy spread.

Add soil amendments sparingly - but a bit of bone meal is often beneficial. Roughing up the sides of the hole will help prevent the returning dirt from forming a pot-like structure.

Keep the roots from drying out between digging and replanting.

If you are moving a large plant, it should be root pruned the previous winter by cutting through the soil just outside the estimated root-ball size.

During the first year after transplanting, keep the plant watered regularly, especially if its root ball has been severely cut back.

Enjoy your beautiful plant as it thrives in its new happy home.

Once the rains settle in, it’s time to clean, sharpen oil and repair all our garden tools. Wiping down tool blades with Clorox or Lysol wipes is an efficient way to prevent spreading plant diseases. Also, to prevent misplacing tools as you work, spray paint them with a Vibrant Color. Flamingo Pink or Sunny Yellow tools are fun and are easy to spot. WD-40 does an excellent job of preventing rust on the metal parts and keeping the tools operating smoothly. Keeping tools in top running order not only saves frustration, it also saves time in the long run.