Palos Heights Garden Club Newsletter

August, September, October, November 2013 Edition

The Palos Heights Garden Club promotes gardening through sharing knowledge, talent, and resources while developing community pride, environmental concern, and a sense of fulfillment.

Monthly Meetings
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
SETUP BEGINS AT 5:30 P.M. HOSPITALITY

August 26 Wayne Gruber

http://gardensontheprairie.com Fall Gardens with Winter Interest Plus Maintenance Tips
Wayne will have some interesting plants for sale and books by Stephanie Cohen - http://www.theperennialdiva.com/books.html

September 23 Nina Koziol

http://www.thisgardencooks.com From Pen to Print: Writing and Photographing Local Gardens
Join garden writer Nina Koziol for a peak at some of THE very talented, sometimes eccentric, gardeners she has interviewed for the Chicago Tribune and Chicagoland Gardening since 1995. We'll take a "walk" through several very breathtaking gardens and what it was in each one that inspired her writing.

October 28 Harvest Night

Members are encouraged to bring decorations for the tables. Each member is requested to bring a dish to share: bread, appetizer, soup, main dish, salad, dessert, etc. We will dedicate the evening to the Paschalls, Gene and Beth, commemorating their many years of service to PHGC and LK. 6:30 p.m. is our start time. We plan to be eating by 7:00 p.m. We thank all who arrive early each month to make our meetings so special. So bring your appetite and an index card with your dishs name on it, and please indicate if your dish has nuts in it.

November 25 Nancy Kuhajda

Whatever She Wants Be ready to laugh!

Ask Donna Q. Am I a horrible gardener if I'm glad the season is winding

down? There's nothing else to do now except weed, weed, weed. A. Whoa!! You're not horrible, just misinformed. Winding down? We're getting our 'second wind' as the temps dip down. Cool weather signals it's time to change out those exhaustedlooking summer annual containers for something fresh and fall-ish. Small containers look great with a single decorative kale plant. Fill your large containers with a mixture of mums, kale, calibrachoa hybrids, and some small grasses for height to catch the cool breezes. Place some straw, colorful gourds and small pumpkins around the base to harmonize with all of those glorious fall colors. Pumpkins are great accent pieces placed in your garden borders. If you have ornamental grasses, don't cut them down. Grass plumes look beautiful in the misty fall weather, especially with a light source behind them. Hydrangea blooms look fabulous dried and wired on a plain green wreath. Replace them when they get wind-whipped and shabby looking with small gourds to last into the end of November, or when the squirrels find it. Plant mums in plastic 'Trick or Treat' containers from the resale shops. Just remember to make some drainage holes or you'll have a stinky mess in no time. You mentioned weeds. Fall is one of the best times to selectively spray weeds as they are storing energy into their roots for next year. Identify which weed you have from the University of Illinois Extension Weed Science website: http://weeds.cropsci.illinois.edu/weedid.htm This is an excellent source of weed photos during various stages of emergence, when flowering, and at maturity. Eradication is greatly improved if you pair the right herbicide with the right weed. I just love to take 10 minutes to sit in my garden and marvel at the things that I have planted in the right place, with the right companions. I don't allow myself to see the weeds, or the plants that need deadheading, or the ones that are outgrowing their designated spot. I look at my garden with "new eyes" and enjoy its whimsy and beauty. It's refreshing. The Palos Heights Garden Club will not meet in December and January. Meetings for 2014 will be Feb. 24 March 24 April 28 May 19 (Dues collected at April/May meetings) June 23 - July 28 Aug. 25 Sept. 22 Oct. 27 Nov. 24

http://phgc.blogspot.com - Always check our website for updated information.

Photos are at http://phgc.smugmug.com