November 2008 Green Thumb Newsletter

Highlights of 2008

The North Bay Horticultural Society has had another great year of working together.

This executive has been so great to work with – always enthusiastic, always dedicated and willing to go the extra mile to help out wherever and whenever possible.

Our society continues to be the garden society in our community that provides its membership and this community with educational speakers and a wide variety of interesting topics at each of our monthly general meetings. We have also continued to offer great workshops this year with a nature walk and talk through Laurier Woods where we learned how to recognize edible plants and mushrooms and an exciting culinary workshop with well-known Chef Daniel at Canadore College.

Our potlucks have always been fantastic and everyone has always been very gracious in bringing delicious and decadent dishes that are thoroughly enjoyed by all who attend. This year, we also featured two silent auctions with our potlucks which brought in hundreds of dollars towards the revenue for our society.

And again for the second year, we were asked by the North Bay Nugget to write and submit articles for the “Gardening Tips” segment published every Tuesday in our local paper. Not only did the Nugget publish our Living Green articles, but they also added them to an additional newspaper segment that went out to another 30,000 non-subscribers. Our Gardening Tips have been thoroughly enjoyed by all. The Nugget and their advertisers continue to receive positive feedback from many subscribers who absolutely LOVE our articles. Thank you to all who contribute towards this very special addition to just one of the many things we do at this society. A special thanks to our editor and many writers. In fact, we hope that our writers never get tired of writing as the Nugget has signed us up for another year!!

As well, again this year the Nugget wanted to feature our member’s own “Beautiful Yards” in the paper. Thank you to the members who worked so hard on their wonderful yards and allowed their gardens to be photographed and showcased in this beautiful flyer that went out to all of the newspaper subscribers.

With all of these extra events and workshops that we do, our many thanks goes out to the hard work and effort put forth by the committee chairpersons who look after these duties that have been going on at this society year after year. To those people we must give credit, as these duties would not take place without the dedication and volunteering done by each one. So to Pat Madill for thoroughly organizing our plant sale, Ruby McLeod who year after year lovingly tends our Civic gardens, to June Charette who pours her heart into our flower show and after all of that organizing this year, the event had to be cancelled and to Geri Openshaw who gives so generously to writing our monthly Green Thumb newsletter and searching out a year’s worth of interesting programs for everyone to enjoy. But I must continue because I know how much these people give and what it takes to make sure that all of the events, meetings and programs come together. So to Betty Foy who puts her all into everything that she does and tries to take minutes at our sometimes crazy meetings, to Ruth Wright who tries to keep the $$ organized and the numbers crunched and who is always willing to lend a hand to help wherever needed, to Audrey Morton who tirelessly writes many of the Living Green articles and puts the bug in our ears every month reminding us to show up on time, to Janet Vos who juggles her career and other interests and then finds excess energy for the youth program as well, to Maureen Ranger who looks after spreading the word through media sources to advertise what we do and then maintains our membership database and reports, to Leoni Paquette who we can thank for room set up and décor for all occasions and then to the young ladies Judy & Jane (who I still can’t tell apart) a big thank you for taking care of what’s really important …….the goodies each and every meeting.

And, to all of those members who recognize that it takes a village to keep an organization thriving and who have joined in and helped with one of the committees, written wonderful articles or lent a hand wherever possible, a huge THANK YOU!!

With much appreciation for each one of you,

Darlene Lecour
President, NBHS

Next meeting

Tuesday, Nov 25th, 7:00 p.m.
The Annual General Meeting
Election and installation of officers
Please come out to welcome your 2009 executive members!
Followed by questions and answers with the Master Gardener and
Guest speaker Rod Johnston, Community Waterfront Friends
2008 waterfront update

It’s that time of the year again…

Membership Renewal Form for 2009
All memberships expire each October.
Please fill out and bring to general meeting with your payment. Or mail to:
North Bay Horticultural Society, PO Box 1482, North Bay, ON P1B 8K6

Single Membership…………$10.00 (please circle desired membership)

Family Membership…………$15.00

Child’s membership ………..$ 5.00

Name………………………………..............................................................

Address………………………………..........................................................

Postal code ………………….. Phone number………………………………..
If you would like your Green Thumb emailed, please include your email address
………………………………………………………………………

GARDENING GUIDE

Mid November to Mid February
Keep bird feeders well stocked - replenish suet frequently.
Reduce watering and feeding of houseplants as they slow down their growth at this time of year.
Rotate houseplants every week so that they have even exposure to light.
Regularly inspect houseplants for insects - spraying with insecticidal soap gets rid of most insects.
Snow can be shoveled onto perennial beds for extra protection.
Remove heavy snow from shrubs and evergreens to prevent branches from breaking.
Use boughs from discarded Christmas trees as mulch over low growing perennials.
Check winter protection - secure and/or replace windbreaks around shrubs.
Examine stored tubers, bulbs, etc. for excess moisture and rotting - repack or change storage area as needed.
Map out garden layout - make a garden wish list for the summer.
Order/buy flower and vegetable seeds early to get the best selection.

2008 Annual Reports from your executive

Phone committee
The phone committee was busy calling the membership during the 2007 year, reminding and informing them about meetings and their agendas and speakers. The committee includes Ida Clavelle, Debbie Caldwell, Katy Larouche, Janet Phillips, Peggy Dillon, Helen Bannerman, and Rupert Wiemer. Helen and Rupert came onboard later in the year.
Thanks to all.

Submitted by Audrey Morton

Volunteer hours
Taking part in any horticultural event counts as volunteer hours – can you believe it? – volunteer hours are needed to enable our society to successfully earn a government grant.
Make sure you come prepared to enter your contribution into the Volunteer Hours book at our next meeting. Our bank account will thank you.
-submitted by Pat Madill

Civic Beautification
Beds were planted and maintained at these locations in the city :

Canadore College (at the back near the pond) – 5 beds planted by society members (1400 plants )in May in time for the June graduation ceremonies.
**Canadore College/ Nipissing University pays for the plants and gives the Society an honorarium of $250.

Dellandrea Place - 3 beds planted by members (400 plants)

Chamber of Commerce – 2 tubs planted by members (100 plants)

North Bay Public Library (at back by Children’s dept.) – 1 large bed planted by members (450 plants)

Waterfront Theme Bed – 1 extra large bed planted by members (2544 plants)

Lilac Bed – has 20 large shrubs cared for by 10 members

Total citywide plantings 6,494.

Thanks again to Kim Tipler, who designed and laid out the waterfront theme bed, an artist who does an excellent job. She enjoys designing the flag and receives an honorarium of $100.

A sincere thank you goes out to all the members who helped to plant and maintain the flower beds. Your help was greatly appreciated.
– submitted by Ruby McLeod

Publicity & Membership

The North Bay Horticultural Society had a busy year again this year and received some great ‘free’ exposure to promote our group. Every Tuesday readers could brush up on their gardening knowledge with the articles featured in the North Bay Nugget’s ‘Living Green’ section. Our creative members have provided their own entertaining & informative knowledge on their love of gardening. We have quite a talented group of writers in our membership & thanks to Rosalyn and Darlene for their leadership on this project. There has been some great feedback on these articles from the readers. The Nugget also requested garden photos for the ‘Beautiful Garden’ section again this year with 15 member gardens. There were many beautiful member gardens featured. Free advertising services have been used to publicize our monthly meetings & special events through three local radio stations, the Nugget Bulletin Board, CBC Radio, Cogeco Cable, Bay Today, MCTV, City of North Bay web site, Chamber of Commerce and, starting soon, in the Community Voices paper. A small advertisement was paid for in the Nugget & some radio time for the Plant Sale. June Charette always seems to get us plenty of extra advertising for our events and Plant Sale with her great contacts. Geri asked members receiving the Green Thumb to also post the ads for the Plant Sale at their work, church etc.

Membership was down this year to 127 from 164 in 2007. In 2007 we had quite a few new members sign up for the workshops and garden tour so that may be where there is a difference in numbers. We know the members were busy promoting memberships with Plant Sale customers and bringing along new members to our meetings, pot lucks or workshops.

Submitted by Maureen Ranger
Society card correspondence report
The following number of cards were sent out this year on behalf of the society : 1 thank you, 6 get well, 4 thoughts, 4 sympathy, 1 congratulations and 2 letters
-Submitted by Peggy Dillon.

Kid's Club Annual Report

2008 was a year where we reduced the membership age for age to age 4. Next year, in 2009, we will raise the minimum age to 7 years old.

We took a visit to Laporte's and were making crafts at the plant sale. We made a garden journal and a seed picture. And as always, we grew plants and played in the garden! We had 5 members in our first session in the spring and 2 in the session in the summer. We met at the library on Saturdays.

Next year we will change our meeting format and run continuously from March Break to Hallowe'en. We will find a different meeting place for our outdoor activities, and hope to meet at the North Bay Public Library again for our indoor activities. We are changing the name from Youth Group to Kid's Club, with the younger members (age 7 and 8) being the Seedlings Kid's Club.

Shaina Lefebvre is a wonderful person to work/play with and she relates very well to the children. Thank you Shaina for all your help and fantastic contributions!! Thank you also goes out to the North Bay Public Library for allowing us to meet in your children's story room!

-submitted by Janet Vos, Youth Coordinator

Treasurer’s report- submitted by Ruth Wright

SALE SUMMARY (PLANT SALE)

Plant Sale $2,231.95
Coffee & Muffins $119.00
Total revenue $2350.95

Christ Church 100.00
M. Ranger - posters 18.70
John Tresize - setup 25.00
Laporte's Garden Centre 72.90
Commanda Gardens 348.00
Rogers Broadcasting 207.90
The Nugget 97.34
Plant sold by mistake 10.00
Total expenses $879.84
Plant sale Net revenue $1471.11

Chef Daniel 375.00 (Expenses $140, net revenue $235.00)

Workshops - Nature Walk 90.00 (Expenses $50, net revenue $40)

YEAR END TREASURER'S REPORT - October 31/08

Investment Savings - $3,630.78
Total revenue $2,350.95

Bank Statement as of Oct 31/07 $1,273.94
Add deposits 7,048.43

EXPENSES
Subtract Expenses 6,055.30
Add outstanding cheques 255.00

TOTAL CURRENT ACCOUNT $2,522.07

REVENUE

OMAFRA Grant $1,000.00
Honorarium 500.00
Membership - General 1,135.00
Youth Program 192.00
Plant Sale 2,350.95

Donations 145.00

Social & Gifts 32.00
Other Sales 20.00
T-shirts 390.00
Silent Auction 818.48 Workshop- Nature’s Bounty $90.00
Chef Daniel $375

TOTAL REVENUE 2008 $7,048.43

EXPENDITURES

Horticultural meetings $ 600.00
Flower Show 34.13
OHA & Products 838.90
OHA District 18 158.00
Travel Expense 91.00
Civic Beautification 1,358.55
Green Thumb 838.90
Plant Sale 879.84
General Office 207.60
Donations 52.05
Workshops (includes 2007 wreath workshop) 350.32
Gifts & Social 190.07
T-Shirts 355.95
Bank Charges 99.99
TOTAL EXPENDITURES 2008 $6,055.30

Amaryllis

1. What is it really? Amaryllis is the de rigueur holiday season plant these days. Christmas cactus and paper whites are hardly unfashionable, and it’s impossible to imagine poinsettias going out of style. Nonetheless, the big, voluptuous blooms in red, white, pink or candy-stripes have returned to the glory of their Victorian conservatory days. But guess what: amaryllis is not Amaryllis; it’s Hippeastrum. The plant with the Latin name Amaryllis is commonly known as belladonna lily. (I’m going to go on calling the winter beauty from a giant bulb amaryllis anyhow; that way people will know what I’m talking about!)

2. From Mexico via Holland. Amaryllis is native to Mexico, but it didn’t come to Canada as a cultivated ornamental directly from there. It went to Holland first. It seems a roundabout route, but the Dutch were and are the world masters at hybridizing bulbs, and they worked their magic on amaryllis before it found its way to Canada in the 18th century.

3. The plant that never sleeps. Many bulbs, like tulips and paper whites, need a cold dormant period before they can bloom, but amaryllis doesn’t. You can force an amaryllis into dormancy by keeping it at about 5° Celsius; then you can bring it out of dormancy to bloom when it suits you. If you never chill it, though, the foliage will stay green and the plant will eventually bloom again. We have one in the office in a north-facing window that seems to be on a 15-month schedule.

4. Summer in the sun. If you prefer to take control over when your amaryllis blooms, here’s what you do. Keep the plant outside in partial sun all summer so the leaves can soak up all the energy possible for the plant to produce a nice show at bloom time. It helps to sink the pot into the ground to guard against dehydration. Get it back inside before it’s in any danger of frost, then force it into dormancy by keeping it in a dark, cool location with no water for about eight weeks. Depending on the variety, it will take from two weeks to a couple of months to bloom once you bring it out and water it again.

5. The bulbs like it crowded. If your amaryllis doesn’t come with a pot, choose a pot that is only an inch or two bigger than the bulb.

6. The bulbs get bigger. Like many of us, amaryllis bulbs increase in girth as they get older, adding about half and inch each year. You’ll need to re-pot every couple of years to accommodate the growth.

7. Not too deep! The three-times-as-deep-as-height rule you apply when planting bulbs outdoors does not apply to your potted amaryllis. Leave the top third of the bulb poking up above the soil.

8. Should you collect seeds? You could conceivably collect seeds from your amaryllis and grow new plants, but the exercise is not for the impatient. First, allowing the plant’s energy to go into producing a seed will mean that there is less energy to go into developing the bulb, which means a smaller bloom next year from your parent plant. Second, the baby plant probably won’t look like the parent. And third, it will take up to five years to produce a flower. Not so easy as buying more bulbs, but the botanically inclined aren’t necessarily looking for an easy fix!

9. Is it a dud? If your plant gets good leaves but doesn’t bloom, give it a second chance before tossing it on the compost heap. Fertilize through the growing period with 20-20-20 and make sure the plant gets optimal light without getting strong, direct sunlight that could scorch the leaves. Then follow the steps in #4 above and chances are you’ll be rewarded.

10. Watering. Amaryllis bulbs are particularly susceptible to rot if they’re left in clammy quarters. Make sure the pot you use has drainage holes in the bottom. When you first plant the bulb, give the soil a good soaking, letting the excess water drain out into the sink; don’t leave the drainage tray full of water. Take particular care not to water the nose of the bulb. After that first watering, don’t give it anything more until growth shows, and then only when the soil is dry. (If the soil dries out before you see growth then water sparingly.) Once the plant has two nice big leaves on it, go ahead and water about once per week.

Master Gardener’s Hotline 495-0920

Have a gardening question? Leave a message on their answering machine and local Master Gardener volunteer will call back with an answer! A free service.

Need to contact us with comments, questions or suggestions?
North Bay Horticultural Society
P.O. Box 1482, North Bay, ON P1B 8K6
Website : Go to www.gardenontario.org and follow the links!
Email : [email protected]
Our meetings are the fourth Tuesday of the month, at 7 p.m.
excluding December, January, July and August.

North Bay Horticultural Society
The Annual Meeting Minutes
from November 2007
will be read at the Nov 25 2008 meeting.

Have a wonderful holiday and see you

At our next meeting
February 25th!!!!!!