Here is a wonderful opportunity to learn about garden topics, given by the Master Gardeners, who are among our members as well.
Spring is in the Air!
18 Mar 2018 Leave a comment
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Spring is in the air!
Get more from your garden this year!
It is always exciting to get those first seeds safely tucked into the ground. But you
can get much more out of your space by using innovative techniques. Succession
planting is ideal for crops such as beans and salad greens because staggered seed
sowing will yield continuous harvests. It is a great way to get the most our of your
garden space.
The same garden space can be utilized go grow several different veggies through-
out the growing season. Follow a crop of spring vegetables, like spinach,
arugula, peas or scallions with summer vegetables like heat-loving cucumbers
tomatoes or squash. When fall arrives, plant lettuce, radishes or kale in that same
spot.
Interplanting is another good way to use your garden space to harvest the most. Plant
fast-maturing crops among ones that mature more slowly. Plant lettuce between young tomato seedlings or radish seeds alternately with carrot seeds.
Use people power and weed, prune and rake by hand whenever possible.
A tidy blanket of good organic mulch keeps your soil less stressed during the
summer.
Know your fertilizer needs. Many gardeners either under- or over-apply fertilizer. Contact your local Cooperative Extension office for specific sampling and instructions.
The numbers and letters on fertilizer bags like “NPK 29-2-4” represent the percentage
of each ingredient in the product by weight. N = nitrogen, helps with the greening in grass and encourages growth. P = phophorous, stimulates root growth and helps seeds to sprout. K = potassium helps grass withstand disease and drought.
Nature can cure what ails you. Research suggests that we are genetically hard-
wired to tap into Mother Nature’s great outdoors when we need to cure what ails us. Green surroundings improve mental alertness.
Determined-to-flower hellebores have been blooming in my garden for weeks,
shimmers of brilliance from “Josef Lemper”, “Pink Frost” and “Winter Bliss” blend
with naturalized snowdrops, deep-purple grape hyacinths, lavender colored Glory of the Snow and bright blue Scilla- the entire colorful show courting potential pollinators.
Spring is here – you can practically taste it.
Thank you, Gotti K. for this contribution to our website!
Form & Structure by Guest Blogger
14 Mar 2018 Leave a comment
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We have a guest blogger!
Because of the harsh spring around here, many of our activities, although indoors, needed to be adjusted or even cancelled. That’s what happened to our drop-in this past week. However, Gotti K. was kind enough to let us share her offering, even though we had such bad weather.
Hoping you enjoy her words; her wisdom and generosity continue to inspire our club, even during these dreary days.
Form and Structure
A garden is both a haven and a laboratory – gardeners seek respite from stressful world. Gardeners seeks to simplify
Patterned foliage is the story of 2018
New Trends in Europe:
Hot colors are soft blues and blue greens, mauves, pink, reddish pink and orange-red.
Trendy with fashion and interior decorating styles now.
Blues and blue-greens are great in a garden area of light shade. Think Hostas, ferns, grasses and sedge.
Hydrangeas new varieties: re-blooming, simpler to prune
tolerant to heat, humidity and wind.
Succulents are the 21st century houseplant infatuation
New cultivars: Great shrubs
Abelia grandiflora: Funshine – yellow, Pinky Bells – pink
Buddleia : Miss Pearl, Miss Violet, White, lilac, blue, purple
Quince: Peach, pink, scarlet
Blooming right now: Hellebores, Forsythia, Pussy Willow, Mahonia
Hosta: gardenworthy:
Blu
example of Mouse Ears hosta
e Mouse Ears 6″ tall, Green Ice 2″ tall,Green Thumb miniature
Heuchera – Coral Bells, humidity tolerant
foliage ages to silver: Electric Plum, Pink Panther
Heucherella is a combination of Heuchera and Tiarella
Red Twig Dogwood – Arctic fire, Arctic Sun
Botanical diversity is better for insect pollinators
Off to the garden for healing, relaxation and mindfulness
Photos from NJ Home & Garden Show
13 Mar 2018 1 Comment
in Garden
Here they are!!!!
we’re adding them here to our Gallery page, but in the meanwhile, enjoy the preliminary offerings.
click here for NJ flower show!
Drop-in Tutorial starts our March Meeting
05 Mar 2018 1 Comment
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Our Horticulture Chair will do a Drop in tutorial at 10:30. She has a wealth of knowledge to give us. Come at 10:15 ,we will have the Business meeting at 11 am, followed by lunch. Our speaker will be Leslie Dempsey, at 1 pm presenting care of houseplants and outdoor Spring and Summer maintenance. With her Irish sense of humor it will be a fun meeting. Bring any problem plants and she will try to cure. Leslie can give tips on making our gardens shape up for the coming joy of Spring and Summer.
We look forward to seeing you all and welcoming our prospective members .
March Meeting – “SEASONAL CARE IN SPRING AND SUMMER”
03 Mar 2018 Leave a comment
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NAVESINK GARDEN CLUB
PR Contact: Joanne Mallon ngcpublicity@gmail.com
THE NAVESINK GARDEN CLUB HOSTS “SEASONAL CARE IN SPRING AND SUMMER”
Are you tired of winter? Spring is just around the corner, so what are some things you can do to begin preparing your plants and garden for the sunshine months?
On Tuesday, March 13th at 1p.m., the Navesink Garden Club will host “Seasonal Care In Spring and Summer” featuring speaker Leslie Dempsey. Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, Leslie, who is known for her lectures that are peppered with Irish humor, will be giving a delightful presentation that focuses on spring and preparing for a summer outside. Leslie is the sole proprietor of Leslie Dempsey Home Plant Care with over 20 years’ experience in garden maintenance and outdoor “minding”. As part of the program, Leslie invites you to bring in your plants for diagnosis and help.
The public is invited to attend this program free of charge at The Atrium at Navesink Harbor, 40 Riverside Avenue, Red Bank, NJ.
The Navesink Garden Club invites people interested in horticulture and design to attend our meetings, enjoy a warm and friendly welcome and learn what interesting projects the club engages in. Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month from September to June at the Atrium. The business meeting begins at 11 a.m. and the program at 1 p.m. Visit us at www.navesinkgardenclub.org for information on our current happenings.
The Navesink Garden Club is a member of The Garden Club of New. Jersey, Inc. Members come from far and wide. For additional information about the club and its programs, contact Membership Chair, Terry, by emailing her at http://www.cweed7@outlook.com. Like us on Facebook.
42nd Annual Rutgers Home Gardeners School
02 Feb 2018 Leave a comment
in Events, Garden, Horticulture, members, News Tags: community, event, gardeners, Home, rutgers, school, spring
Here is the annual event from Rutgers. They were kind enough to send us a copy, so we have posted it here for you.
Home-Gardeners-School-Rutgers-March-2018
Let Happiness Grow from Your Garden at the 42nd Annual Rutgers Home Gardeners School
Horticulture experts, handpicked by the Office of Continuing Professional Education, to offer a unique learning experience for gardeners, including 38 workshops [19 new] and hands-on demonstrations
December 18, 2017
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.: — Whether your outdoor plans include festive gatherings with friends or peaceful moments of solitude, get your yard or garden ready with expert training at the 42nd Annual Rutgers Home Gardeners School. Registration is now open for this once-a-year event, which will be held on Saturday, March 17, 2018, from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m., at the Rutgers University Cook/Douglass campus in New Brunswick, N.J.
The Home Gardeners School is made up of 38 individual workshop sessions that cover a wide array of horticulture topics. This format allows attendees to select the workshops that are most relevant to their gardening interests so as to create their own unique, customized schedule for a fun day of learning. Expert speakers from commercial horticulture and landscape design firms, as well as faculty and staff from Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE), provide attendees with the opportunity to learn from highly-respected professionals with a wealth of experience.
Kicking off this year’s Home Gardeners School is a new demonstration workshop called “Easy Garden Walkway Ideas.” This demo will teach you the A-B-C’s of walkway techniques including base preparation, installation, and natural walkway material options. Another new workshop is “Welcoming Migrating Birds Back to Your Yard this Spring,” in which participants will learn how to create landscapes that provide food, shelter, and nesting for our native avian visitors. Also new is a workshop that deals with those tricky spaces that almost every yard and gardener has to contend with: spots with unusual growing conditions. In “Unique Plants for Unique Spaces,” attendees will hear about these areas and the plants that will grow successfully in them. Other new workshops for 2018 include Organic, Low Maintenance Landscape Care, Designing Intimate Gardens, Easy Breezy Succulents, Growing Tropicals in Containers, Beds and Borders, Growing the Perfect Jersey Tomato, to name a few. With a total of 21 new or revised workshops this year, you are guaranteed a day of learning experiences that will give you a garden your neighbors will envy.
This year there will be two new keynote presentations happening simultaneously during lunch. In “Keeping Your Pets Safe and Happy Outdoors,” Brian Voynick, DVM CVA (Owner/Director, American Animal Hospital and Host of The Pet Stop on News 12 New Jersey) will offer suggestions and solutions for creating a safe and happy space for your beloved pets. Nicholas Polanin, County Agricultural Agent, RCE of Somerset County will present “The Rutgers Master Gardener Program – 34 Years and Growing Strong.” Polanin will discuss the history of this great program as well as how you can join this exclusive community of “green thumb” volunteers.
The registration fee for this event is $85, but a special early registration discounted price of $70 is being offered through February 28. An additional discounted fee of $60 is available for Master Gardeners (certificate required) through February 28, as well. Participants can purchase a convenient $13 box lunch when registering or bring their own bag lunch. Pre-registration is strongly recommended.
Continuing our tradition of altruism this year, the Home Gardeners School organizers invite attendees to bring food donations to the event. These items will be distributed to New Jersey families in need through Rutgers Against Hunger (RAH), a universitywide initiative working to address the issues of hunger across the state. Look for the RAH table (look for green bins) to make your non-perishable canned or boxed (no items in glass, please!) donation.
New this year, we are also inviting participants to donate items for our furry friends to benefit Happy Paws Rescue (a 501(3)(c) organization focused on rescue and adoption in the New Brunswick area) and Scarlet Paws Rescue (a 501(3)(c) non-profit collaboration of Rutgers staff, faculty, students and community volunteers that rescues stray animals on the Rutgers campus). Find their tables to drop off your donations of unopened dry dog or cat food, treats, chews, toys, collars/leashes, waste bags and gift cards, etc.
For more information or to register for Home Gardeners School, visit www.cpe.rutgers.edu/hgs or call the Rutgers Office of Continuing Professional Education at 848-932-9271.
###
Contact:
Ro Mende
Program Coordinator, Office of Continuing Professional Education
rm1338@njaes.rutgers.edu
Our February Meeting is soon!
18 Jan 2018 1 Comment
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NAVESINK GARDEN CLUB
PR Contact: Joanne Mallon ngcpublicity@gmail.com
NAVESINK GARDEN CLUB OFFERS PROGRAM ON “DECORATING WITH SUCCULENTS”
On Tuesday, February 13th at 1 p.m., the Navesink Garden Club will present a program on “Decorating with Succulents”. Alicia Vacchiano, will give an overview of perennial succulents, designed arrangements and fun and interesting ways to use succulents in the garden. Alicia is owner of Plant Design Events, President of Wall Township Garden Club, Membership Chairman in Garden Club of New Jersey and is a Master Gardener. In telling her personal story, Alicia describes her journey from Corporate America to following her passion for plants, gardening and all things in nature. Creating plant arrangements and sharing her knowledge with others through workshops give her the greatest of pleasure.
The public is invited to attend free of charge at The Atrium, 40 Riverside Ave. in Red Bank.
The Navesink Garden Club is inviting people interested in horticulture and design to attend one of our meetings, enjoy a warm and friendly welcome and learn what
interesting projects the club will be doing. Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of
the month from 11a.m. to 2 p.m. at The Atrium from September to June. Visit the Navesink Garden Club at www.navesinkgardenclub.org for information on current happenings.
The Navesink Garden Club is a member of The Garden Club of New Jersey, Inc. and the Central Atlantic Region of National Garden Clubs, Inc. Members come from far and wide. For additional information about the Navesink Garden Club and its programs, contact Membership Chair, Terry, by emailing her at www.cweed7@outlook.com. Like us on Facebook.
Thanks for the Greenery
12 Dec 2017 1 Comment
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Our December activities are usually very festive, and today was no exception. After our general meeting and committee reports, we were treated to a demonstration of design creation by our members Bernice and Judy. Both are highly talented and experienced in the nuances of attractive displays, much needed at this time of year.
Many of us know how expensive and tricky it is to order or buy such items. But the membership makes it look easy. Be brave, all, and march confidently into the local crafts stores with an open mind. There are many ideas and much help if you just give it a try.
After the demonstration, and a lunch break, some of us returned to the meeting room and began to construct our own unique designs. Time to leave, though, and this writer has to keep an eye on candidates in the landscape for great pieces this winter season.
Happy Holidays to all – from the Navesink Garden Club!
Our November Meeting is Full!
09 Nov 2017 Leave a comment
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Full of exciting fun, that is – please read the below if you plan to attend the early part which will be a fun design session with Pam S.
Not too many years ago, Miniature Designs consisted exclusively of dwarf or miniature varieties of plant material massed in small household items which served as containers. Today the designer has the freedom to use florets etc., from standard sized plants and very small modern containers are even being crafted. Designers are encouraged to consider a myriad of Design Types and create them on a small scale suitable for a maximum of 5″ designs. It is important to remember that the maximum allowed for a miniature is 5″ and that includes any staging materials (containers). Pam will bring pictures of designs from our Designing by Types-National Garden Clubs, Inc.
Pam suggested bringing the following.
“Pixie Magic” is a 5″ design–bring itty-bitty things e.g. bottle caps, anything under 2″, tiny doll house items, SCISSORS, fluorescent paint if have it. Think tiny.
“Genie Magic” is an 8″ design–bring a container you would like to use, leaves such as spider plants, ivy, pothos or other small foliage and SCISSORS.
DROP-IN STARTS AT 10:15 IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE. Even if you don’t plan to create, come and observe. It is so much fun.
PROGRAM: Janet Schultz will present “This and That in the Garden” touching on different areas of gardening, including a little about “Hyper-tufa Troughs”. She is a Master Garden with 40 years in the garden center industry
