Plant sale dates

The 2012 Marine Hills Garden Club plant sale will be May 4 for pre-sale orders and May 5 for the open/public plant sale.

Canceling the January meeting

Due to severe weather forecasts, we will not have our January meeting.

Please let Debbie know if you plan to attend the February 1 Chinook General Meeting and Flower Show. We need two clerks to help, and we need to submit 8 - 10 designs and at least one craft. The program is a presentation about hardy ferns.

web link with information from Cisco segments

Radhika shared this link with information from Gardening With Cisco shows:  http://www.king5.com/on-tv/gardening/Gardening-with-Ciscoe-show-information-89520297.html

Hardy Fuchsias

In preparation for our club's 2012 growing project, here is an essay I wrote about hardy fuchsias. We plan to select a variety for each member to grow and report about.

Every Puget Sound region garden can benefit from the addition of some hardy fuchsia plants. There is a size, color, and type flower to suit everyone. The small (shorter or low-growing) varieties are particularly useful placed near the front of a border or scattered in a small garden bed.  They won’t outgrow the space or require pruning to control size. Planting three or more (an odd number) of the same variety provides repetition for unity in garden design.  Hardy fuchsias also perform well in a pot, as a single plant or in a grouping of other plants.

Very hardy (or truly hardy) fuchsias may be labeled as VH or H3. Hardy fuchsias may be labeled at H or H2. The very hardy varieties will bloom from June to November. The hardy varieties will bloom by July.

A few of the many great smaller (shorter) varieties of very hardy upright fuchsias are Golden Herald, Santa Claus, Rufus, Pat’s Dream, Army Nurse, and Drame.  Golden Herald has beautiful golden foliage, and its single flowers have red sepals and purple corollas. Santa Claus is a prolific bloomer, and its flowers have red sepals and white corollas. The large flowers of Rufus have sepals and corollas in a beautiful shade of coral-red. Pat’s Dream has lots of single flowers with red sepals and violet corollas. Army Nurse’s double flowers have red sepals and purple corollas. Drame’s foliage is a golden color and its semi-double flowers have scarlet sepals and violet corollas. All of these have been strong performers in my Puget Sound garden for at least four years.

Plant hardy fuchsias in the spring after danger of frost (generally early May). Before planting in the ground, acclimatize them for a week, giving them a little more sun each day. Select locations with reasonably well-drained soil in part sun or full sun (preferred by most of the hardy fuchsias). Plant fuchsias a little deeper than they were in their original pots. Add a balanced slow-release fertilizer.

Water your fuchsias deeply once a week. Water them in the morning. Fuchsia will be happy to receive some additional slow-release fertilizer a couple times during the summer. Cut branches freely to add to flower arrangements.

Leave most of the bare branches on the plants to provide some winter protection. You may trim a little for neatness. When new growth begins to appear in the spring, trim to within a few inches from the ground. The plants will generate all the new growth needed for a beautiful show in summer and fall.

Meeting Date Changes

Please note the following changes to dates:

November meeting is on the 15th (not the 22nd as shown in the yearbook). Diana will give a presentation and slide show about the El Junque Rain Forest.

The December Christmas party will be on December 13.

The Design/Ikebana presentation will be at the April meeting.

The May garden tour will be of the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island on May 19. (I went there today - it is fabulous!)

Photo from October meeting

We had an informative presentation on vines and climbers.

Plant sale photos

Here are some photos from the April plant sale.

July 20 potluck

Here is a photo from the club summer potluck at Debbie Angel's house.

Committees

Here are the committees for 2011 - 2012:

• Awards: Diana, Debbie, Donna, Caroline
• Horticulture: Maxine, Laura
• Library/scrapbook: Maxine
• Plant sale: Judy, Arlyce, Radhika,Tina
• Sunshine: Donna, Penny
• Programs: Caroline, Radhika
• E-mail/communications/yearbook: Tina, Diana, Debbie

New officers elected

President: Debbie Angel
1st VP Programs: Caroline Liddell
2nd VP Plant Sale: Judy McDonald
Secretary: Cheryl Weatherby
Treasurer: Judy McDonald
Parliamentarian: Valerie Roloff

Radhika Kumar will assist Caroline with programs.

Additional committee assignments were made last night, and I will include in my next post.

Here are photos from the meeting 3/15.

Plant Sale Order Forms

Reminder: Get your plant sale order forms to Judy McDonald at the March 15 meeting.

Time to plant annuals will be here before we know it! See you at the meeting. We will have a great presentation "Plant Something Different - Characteristics of Black, Gold, and Chartreuse Plants."

Raspberry Almond Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies

Here is the recipe for the cookies Ulla brought to the Christmas party.

Raspberry Almond Shortbread Thumbprints

Ingredients for cookies:

2/3 cup sugar

1 cup butter, softened

½ teaspoon almond extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup raspberry jam

Ingredients for glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 ½ teaspoon almond extract

2 – 3 teaspoons water

Preheat oven to 350

Combine sugar, butter, and almond extract (1/2 teas.) and beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy (1 – 2 minutes).

Reduce speed to low, add flour. Beat until well-mixed (1 – 2 minutes).

Shape into 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.

With thumb, make indentations and fill with jam.

Bake about 14 minutes until edges are lightly browned.

Let stand for one minute before removing from sheet.

In small bowl, stir together powdered sugar and 1 ½ teaspoon almond extract.

Gradually stir in enough water for a thin glaze.

Drizzle over cooled cookies.

Makes 3 ½ dozen.

Store in airtight container for one week or in freezer for three months.

Judy's picnic cake recipe

2 cups of flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1 cup butter, 3 1/2  tablespoons  cocoa,  1 cup water

1/2 cup buttermilk  ( or add a little vinegar to milk to sour it)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

Mix flour, sugar, and baking soda together well with a spoon.  Before doing that, melt the butter, cocoa, and water just till boiling  (stir now and then and dont't cook on high or it will stick).   Pour this mixture into the flour mixture and mix well with mixer.  Then add the buttermilk and  vanilla and mix well.  Now add the eggs and mix well.  (If you add the eggs sooner, they may cook because  of the hot liquid.)    Pour in a large shallow pan  (Mine is 10 1/2 by 15 )  Probably a jelly roll pan may be too shallow.  Bake approx. 30 min. at 350 degrees.  I check it at around 20, so that it doesn't overcook, but so that it is done and springs back when touched.

Five minutes before done, start the frosting.

1 stick of butter (1/2 cup), or margarine;  1/3 cup scant milk (not sour), and 3 1/2 tablespoons cocoa      Cook this mixture just to a gentle boil.  (Use the same pan as before saves cleaning and works fine)

1 pound powdered sugar (3 1/2 cups)   Place in small mixing bowl  and add the liquid and mix well 

1 tsp vanilla is then added and  then add 3/4 cup  chopped nuts.

Pour immediately over the cake and let cool

Sounds like a lot of work, but most of this is explanation and it goes rapidly, since the liquids are cooking while you assemble.

Federal Way Symphony Garden Tour slide show

Colleen's photos in a slide show on her web site.

Summer potluck photos

Worm composting class

Composting with Worms

Thursday, July 29, 6pm-7:30pm

Federal Way City Hall Council Chambers (33325 8th Ave S, 2nd Floor)

Learn how to set up and maintain a worm bin during this interactive course. Composting with worms is great for people without yard waste service who no longer want to send food to the landfill. Plus kids think ‘red wiggler’ worms are fascinating! Bring your bin if you need help setting it up, and bring your questions and we’ll troubleshoot together. The class is free and light refreshments, educational materials and door prizes are provided.

Summer potluck at Debbie Angel's house

Club members,
Potluck July 13 at 5:30 p.m. at Debbie's house.

Federal Way Symphony Garden Tour

Tickets now on sale for the
Federal Way Symphony
11th Annual Garden Tour
Saturday, July 17, 2010
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Featuring eight private and uniquely different
gardens in Federal Way and Northeast Tacoma

Guest speaker: Horticulturist Richie Steffen, curator of The Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden, will speak about "Great Plant Picks for the Northwest" at 11 a.m. at the Lakehaven Utility District Water Conservation Garden, located next to French Lake Park in Federal Way.

Other highlights: Artisans, unusual plants, WSU Master Gardeners, and musicans in the gardens.

Tickets: $15 on or before June 30. After this date $20.

Federal Way Symphony  Tel: 253-529-9857

Ticket outlets:
Federal Way—Jan's Plants | Oriental Garden Center | Marlene’s Market & Deli
Auburn—Branches Garden Center
Burien— Herr Backyard Garden Center                    
Des Moines—Furney’s
Puyallup—Watson's Greenhouse and Nursery         
NE Tacoma—Browns Point Diner

Old Goat Farm photos

A few more photos of May 29 tour of Old Goat Farm.

Photos of tour at Old Goat Farm

Here are some photos from Old Goat Farm.