Wednesday, October 24, 2012

T & C's Annual Auction


Town and Country Garden Club Annual Auction
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Hope Valley Country Club

11:00am-2:00 pm
11:00  Silent Auction
12:00  Lunch --$20.00
1:00-2:00 Live Auction


Please RSVP to Jo Rotella by November 1st
jrotella@nc.rr.com
919-768-1641

Mail checks payable to Town and Country Garden Club to Jo Rotella

3709 Northampton Road
Durham, NC 27707

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Poinsettia Project for VA Hospital

Heritage GC is again having the Poinsettia Project for the Chapel of the VA Hospital.
Grab the Order form here.

GOT MILKWEED?

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By Marna Towne (Mrs_Ed)
October 18, 2012
In Dave's Garden newsletter

Lure these gorgeous black and orange beauties into your yard with the right plants. 

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In more recent times however, the Monarch butterfly population has declined. Like other butterflies, habitat destruction and pesticide use are often the culprits. While gardeners often supply nectar plants for all butterflies, some are unaware of the needs of the Monarch larva. Many others simply do not know or understand the impact of a simple act like mowing a patch of milkweed has on the Monarch.
As the saying goes — Knowledge is Power. Let's go back to science class for a Monarch Butterfly Lesson.
Identification
The Monarch is one of the most identifiable butterflies in the United States. It's orange and black wings stand out brightly in the summer blue sky, while its size makes it viewable from a distance. The Viceroy possesses similar colors and veining — an extra horizontal strip on its lower wings readily distinguishes this butterfly from a Monarch. The Monarch below center shows two oval spots on the lower wings. These are scent glands that can be seen from the front or back of the wing and indicate that this butterfly is a male. Additionally, females have thicker black veining to distinguish them. 
 
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Like most butterflies, Monarchs experience four stages in their month long life cycles — egg, larva, pupa and adult. Females lay eggs on host plants (milkweed, see below). The oval eggs are about the size of the head of a pin — large enough to be seen by the unaided eye. Approximately four days after eggs are laid, the larva will begin to eat its way out of the hard shell by eating the shell itself.
In the larval or caterpillar stage, the Monarch undergoes five phases, or "instars" lasting nine to 14 days. The body of the caterpillar features a head, abdomen and thorax. They have six pairs of eyes but their vision is poor. To aid them in sensing their way around the milkweed, they have front and rear tentacles. They breathe by taking in oxygen through holes in the sides of their bodies.
During their phases the Monarchs are eating machines, growing so large between phases that they must shed their skin. The molting starts at the head and peels back to the rest of the body. The caterpillar then eats this shed skin before continuing to eat more milkweed.
When a Monarch is ready to pupate, the caterpillar crawls to a spot where it can hang and form a chrysalis. First it makes a silk pad (on a branch or such) to which it attaches its rear end by a spike called the "cremaster." They it forms a "J" shape and begins to split its skin for the last time (to see a wonderful pictorial display of this, check out the pictures from 'kennedyh' in the Bug Files). This last skin is the "chrysalis" — it begins soft but later hardens. During this stage, the Monarch must continue to hang to form properly. When it is close to emerging, the wings will develop their orange and black pigment and the pupa will darken.
The adult Monarch emerges in 10 to 14 days. The wings are still wet at this time and need about three to four hours to dry. After this waiting period, the adult butterfly is ready to fly, provided temperatures are warm enough (60º). Summer adults are ready to mate in three to eight days and the process begins all over again. The summer adult Monarch lives from two to five weeks. The last generation of the summer however live much longer, about nine months, in order to migrate and reproduce in the spring.
Eastern Population Migration
In late summer and early fall a portion of the North America Monarch butterfly population migrates south. Some from the east coat overwinter in southern Florida, but most find their way to the mountains of central Mexico. The University of Kansas Biological Research department operates Monarch Watch, a Monarch butterfly education and research program. According to Monarch Watch, migration dates begin in Canada as early as August 18th. By October 10th, Monarchs in Houston, Texas will begin their journey south.
The Monarch Lab at the University of Minnesota offers wonderful research on the fall migration. They cite day length, temperatures and host plant quality as factors in creating the physiological differences in late season Monarchs. These Monarchs are those that will make the journey south where can overwinter. Journey North, an educational site monitoring seasonal change, tracks both fall and spring migrations of Monarch butterflies. Tracking for Journey North’s 2008 fall season begins August 28th.
The winter roosts in Mexico (and in California for western populations) enable scientists and researchers to monitor and provide colony counts each year. With this data, researchers can see population growths and decline from each year. When the overwintering Monarch's make their trip back north into Texas in March, they will produce the first generation of the year and die. This first generation will continue the migration north through June.
Habitat
Monarch butterflies can be found in many habitats: country roadsides, suburban gardens even city parks. If they find a source of both nectar and host plants, the Monarch will be happy. Host plants are those on which the female butterfly lays her eggs and on which the caterpillars will feed. For Monarch butterflies, the host plants are those within the Milkweed (asclepias) family.
My Mother tells a story about walking country roads as a child and collecting the silky portions of seeds from milkweed pods. The silk was used for life preservers for World War II servicemen. Growing up, this common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) was the only milkweed that I ever knew about. According to the U.S. Government however, there are over 100 species of milkweed — a portion are known important hosts for Monarchs. .
Monarch Watch offers the "Monarch Waystation Program" to help increase and protect Monarch habitats. They encourage citizens to develop Monarch Waystations in any areas possible (gardens, parks, schools, roadsides, unused plots, etc.) This program hopes to restore milkweed habitats and provide feeding stations for migrating butterflies. Waystations sites may be certified and/or registered and provide wonderful educational opportunities. The program sells seed kits of the following host and nectar plants. If you are looking to entice Monarchs to your garden, these plants are ideal choices.


 Butterfly Weed

 Milk Weed

 Cosmos

Joe Pye Weed

Cooking Workshops



http://leenewlin.com/about/cooking-workshops/
Check out this site for great tours classes and more.

November 3rd-Baking Gluten Free and loving it! -   This is a class for people who are avoiding gluten or just want to learn how to use gluten  free flours and products that have wonderful flavors. Joseph Parker, a skilled gf baker, will be assisting me in this class.  If you are sometimes,  or often, fatigued or suffer discomfort after you eat gluten-abundant foods, you should come learn more.  Joe offers abundant passion, experience and knowledge including recipes that are gluten - free and delicious.

November 10th- Healthy Delicious Holidays from Start to Finish- We'll focus  on wonderful holiday recipes that are "reworked"  to keep our immune  systems healthy and strong during the holiday season without sacrificing  taste. Imagine feeling energized rather than bloated after a holiday feast. 

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Ardith's Jottings




Thanks to all Durham Council of Garden Club members the North Carolina Garden Club Fall State Board Meeting was an outstanding success!  I am hearing good things about it from east to west, north to south.  Everyone had a great time.   So give yourself a pat on the back!  As Co-Chair of the Event, let me add my thanks for your generous donation of time, effort, energy and goodies.  You are a superb group of ladies. It was a pleasure to work with you. We put on wonderful party!

Jenene Smith, 1st Vic President, Garden Club of North Carolina sent the following note which i would like to share with you.
 

"Dear Ardith, Mary and all the members of the Durham Council of Garden Clubs,

        Thank you all very much for a  wonderful Fall Board meeting this past weekend.  Everything was so well planned and executed.  The hotel was an excellent facility and the food was delicious.[kudos Jean]

Thank you also for my goodie basket of Durham products! That was a nice surprise.

         Yes, the Mad Hatter's Garden Party was a huge success and I enjoyed every minute of it.

          Thank you also for your warm hospitality that made me feel so welcomed.

     Love,

     Jenene Smith"




  Remember, get out there and enjoy Fall.  Check out the various Fall/Harvest events in your community and throughout the State.  Have fun with the bounty and color Mother Nature has spread before us.
 

Autumn Fest!


 

Garden Walk:  Roses Love Autumn  
Saturday, October 6th from 9 am to 4 pm  

We will be launching our 2013 rose catalog.  Make your
"dream garden" come true, take a walk through our gardens and let us help you pick out your roses.  Basic rose care demonstrations on deadheading, mulching, and irrigation throughout the gardens. 
Demonstration begins at 10 am.
Lots of great sales! 

$10 Roses
$20 Tree Roses
$8 Premium Planting Mix
$30 Rose Caddy

 Attention all Customer Near and Far!!!
All 2013 Bareroot Roses - Buy 3 get a 4th Bush for FREE!
Saturday Only!
Call 1-800-643-0315
(limit of 1 free bush of equal or lesser value)

Gardens Shop Locations:
3312 Watkins Rd, Durham NC 27707
4401 Shopton Rd, Charlotte, NC 28217

www.WitherspoonRose.com

Sale at Kiefer Landscape


That's Right!
All Trees...every size
All Shrubs
All Perennials
All Groundcovers...

50 %OFF
**in stock items only, while supplies last!**


Kiefer Classes

10/28/2012 -11:00 am
Creating Beautiful Planters Year Round