Palos Heights Garden Club Newsletter

http://phgc.blogspot.com

Always check our website for updated information,
especially for our hospitality list.

July thru November 2014 Edition










Monthly Meetings - Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Harvest Night at 6:00 p.m.
All blue underlined text is clickable and will take you to a website.

July 28 Native Plants - Connor Shaw - Possibility Place Nursery
What are Native Plants? from U of I Extension Native plants are plants recorded as growing wild
in an area at the time that scientific collection began in that area.
Benefits of Using Native Plants ~ Can reduce overall costs on an acre of property by as much as 75%
~Increases/restores the native range of species that are important to local ecology and wildlife habitat ~ Can
improve time spent outside by increasing the interest in the yard from butterflies ~ Decreases the risks of
monoculture plantings, i.e. pests, diseases, invasive, etc. ~ Using natives is ecologically responsible ~ Native species
are adapted to local weather patterns and are more tolerant of changes in weather, when they are sited correctly.

RED Set Up Team - Leona Farano, Hank Polson
Hospitality: Walt Eisenberg, Leona Farano, Laurie Martin, Eileen Lange,
Denise Lyons, Georgene Podewell, and Debbie Rea
August 25 Invasive Plants - Cathy McGlynn, - Chicago Botanic Garden
Coordinator of Northeast Illinois Invasive Plant Partnership (NIIPP) (www.niipp.net ) Come learn more about the
threat posed by invasive plants: how to prevent and control new plant invasions and control and manage current
invasions. NIIPPs goal is to minimize the adverse impacts invasive plants have on our open lands and waters in
northeast Illinois, especially on native habitats and their native plants and wildlife.

Blue Set Up Team - Yvonne Freeman, Walt Kay, Bonnie McCarthy
Hospitality: Patt Bailey, Alice Gavaghan, Victoria Lenart, Ron Rodak,
Patricia Stube, Sherry TerMaat, and Barb Weller

September 22 Jeanne Nolan,
The
Organic Gardener and Author of From the Ground Up
Jeanne is a leader in the sustainable food movement and will share her story to help us understand the
benefits of organic gardeningfor the environment, our health, our wallets, our families, and our
communities. She will offer practical tips to help us start growing our own organic food.
RED Set Up Team - Leona Farano, Hank Polson
Hospitality: Rose Bennett, Florence Brennan, Ray & Marge Lang,
Mike & Sandy Morgan, Donna Oliver, Marci Stritch, and Donna Maloney

October 27 Harvest Night Members Only!
RED Set Up Team - Leona Farano, Hank Polson
Blue Set Up Team - Yvonne Freeman, Walt Kay, Bonnie McCarthy
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. 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.


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




November 24 - Kitchen Garden Maintenance - Debbie Rea

Debbie will share how she maintains an organic kitchen garden from year to year--her favorite methods for
planting, watering, feeding, and putting the garden to bed and how she deals with problems such as pests,
diseases, and weeds.
Blue Set Up Team - Yvonne Freeman, Walt Kay, Bonnie McCarthy
Hospitality: Missy Burk, Janet Engstrom, Kathy Lewis, Kay Mangan,
Corny & Liz Morgan, George & Theresa Rebersky, and Marie Van Huis

Ask Donna Q. Why do some perennials seem to live forever, and others don't come
back after one or two seasons? This year was the worst!

A. Great question. Perennials that are long-lived are probably native plants that have adapted to
our conditions. The primary cause of premature plant failure is from wet soils and fluctuating
temperatures in the winter. In an ideal winter the ground freezes solid, we get a good layer of
snow to provide great insulation for the plant's crown, and the ground stays around freezing or
below until spring. When the temperatures go above freezing - for even a short period - the snow
melts, the water can't go anywhere because the ground is still frozen, and ice forms around the
crown of the plant. Dead plant in spring.

Gaillardia (Blanket flower) needs well-drained soils especially in winter to survive, and even if it
was planted in perfect soil it would only live for 2-3 years. Columbines can persist for 3-4 years,
but it will self-seed around the garden so you may not notice it's gone from the original
space. Scabiosa (Pincushion flower) also needs well-drained soils, and requires cooler, less humid
temps than our climate provides. Delphinium, a real beauty but one of the higher maintenance
plants, loves cooler summer temperatures. It's also a heavy feeder, prone to many diseases, and a
favorite food of slugs. Artemesia 'Silver King' will quickly decline if allowed to flower. Removing
the flower stalks will greatly improve your chances of keeping this woolly-leafed plant alive.

If you are purchasing your perennials from stores where plants are sold in parking lots, you may
be purchasing annuals for this area. I've seen a lot of ornamental grasses labeled PERENNIAL*
across the front of the plant tag in huge bold letters, but a quick glance on the bottom of the tag
says *to 20 degrees in very small type. That was "*to 20 degrees". When have we had a winter
that never got below 20 degrees? Not in my lifetime, if ever!

So what do you do? My best recommendation to you is to visit your library or purchase "The
Well-Tended Perennial Garden" by Tracy DiSabato-Aust. Besides listing the Latin and common
names of the plant, she lists the family, description, size, exposure, when it flowers, and when to
prune for maximum flowering. She also provides additional maintenance information to maintain
the vigor of the plant, such as when to divide, when to stake, common problems, and what type of
soil is best for that plant. The 36 lists at the back of the book are worth the cost of the book
alone. She sorts perennials into higher or lower maintenance, deer resistance, clay busting plants,
reseeding plants, plants that prefer wet soils, plants that prefer dry soils, and many more
categories. There is also a planting and maintenance schedule - by month - and a Perennial
Maintenance Journal in the back that you can use to record your experiences with the plants in
your garden. I just checked Amazon, and it's available for about $25. How many dollars have you
spent on plants that haven't performed as well as you expected? You can get the Kindle edition
for about $17 and have the information with you when you shop. Sounds like a great deal to me!
Time to start making a Wish-List for Santa.