April 10th Annual Meeting-- Note NEW LOCATION!

Susie Glessner's house is under construction and the project is running behind schedule.  She has arranged for us to use her brother's home very near her house on Argilla Road for the Annual Meeting at 2pm on Tuesday, April 10th.
 

Note from Janet

Jan Blencowe

Hello Fellow Garden Club Members,
 
Our Annual Meeting is coming up on Tuesday, April 10 at Susie Glessner's brother's home at 2:00pm.
 
Please note the following information:
#1. You recently received a notice from Jani Gunsaulus for membership dues.  The amount was incorrect for sustaining members;
Should be: $40.00 Active members and $50.00 for Sustaining members.  April 10th is Deadline for annual dues.

#2. Jani will be stepping down as Membership Chair later this spring.  She has done a great job for the Club for the last five years.  Under her leadership our membership has grown and the Club has added many new contributing members. Thank you, Jani!

#3.  We currently will have several offices open this spring. As your outgoing president, I want to say how much I've enjoyed being your president. All members - both new and old - should consider serving the club in some leadership capacity whether co-chairing the Plant Sale, serving as a committee chair, or as an officer of the club.  It's fun to be involved and to promote the outstanding work  of the club and carry on the fine traditions that have been established over our 80+ year history.

- Membership Chair
- Vice President
 
PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU HAVE AN INTEREST IN SERVING OR WANT TO RECOMMEND SOMEONE.

Many thanks,
Happy Spring
Janet

Winter Moth Alert by Gail Anderson

Experts on all fronts are expressing concern that the warm winter and early spring will bring a devastating outbreak of winter moth larvae. This is the caterpillar of the small white moth that was so prevalent late last fall. The moth’s eggs overwinter and hatch into small green “inch worms” just as leaf and flower buds are unfolding. They can quickly defoliate many deciduous trees and shrubs, especially roses. If a woody plant is defoliated, it will be forced to expend energy producing a second set of leaves after the larvae pupates. Over several years, this can compromise or even kill a tree. We can only hope that the larvae will hatch early in the warm weather and then starve before leaves and flowers emerge.

The key is to treat the larvae early—as soon as they begin to munch. They may be very small at first, so inspect your woody plant material carefully. Home gardeners can treat smaller shrubs and trees. Large trees and shrubs should be treated professionally. Be sure to engage a reliable arborist early. Last year there was a waiting list.

Winter moth caterpillars are pale green with a faint white longitudinal stripe running down both sides of the body. At maturity, they will be approximately one inch long. In late May and early June, they stop eating leaves and flowers and drop to the soil for pupation.

Deb Lambert at Corliss suggests home gardeners treat the emerging winter moth larvae with a naturally occurring bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis subs. kurstaki (Bt). It goes under the trade name of Thuricide made by Bonide. This is a concentrate that is diluted at time of use and sprayed on.

For larger larvae, Deb suggests a biological pest control called Spinosad. Spinosad is a bacteria that was—of all things—discovered in fermented soil near an old rum distillery in the Caribbean. The home gardener’s version goes by the quirky name of “Captain Jack’s Deadbug Brew,” also manufactured by Bonide. This is applied as a spray and may need to be reapplied as more larvae develop.

If you wish to be as organic as possible, Deb suggests Bt for early-stage larvae and Neem oil for later stages. Neem oil is a vegetable oil pressed from the fruits and seeds of neem (Azadirachta indica), an evergreen tree found on the Indian subcontinent and in other tropical areas. It is a natural antifungal, antibacterial, and antiprotozoan agent.

While the three products above are fairly environmentally friendly, they can be toxic to beneficial insects, especially bees. Deb suggests applying the products late in the day after many insects stop being active. The so-called “organic” products may also take longer to work, up to five days for Bt, for example. Early application is key.

It you hire a tree company, determine your comfort level with the spray product(s) they use. Some companies use Conserve, a commercial version of Spinosad. Others companies use pyrethroids, because of their effectiveness. However, phyrethroids are neurotoxins and not as environmentally friendly. Natural pyrethrum—which, according to Mayer Tree, is difficult and/or expensive to obtain, is a compound with insecticidal properties made from extracts of plants in the chrysanthemum family. Bifenthrin, sometimes used by tree companies, is a synthetic phyrethrum, but it can be highly toxic to fish.

For more information:
http://extension.umass.edu/landscape/fact-sheets/winter-moth-overview

TO SIGN or NOT TO SIGN?

We will be voting on whether we want a sign at the Club’s Market Street Island planting at the Annual Meeting on April 10th. Some think the sign will detract from the beauty of the plantings and we can publicize our work in other ways.  Others think a sign would let people know that the island is designed and maintained by the Ipswich Garden Club.


Thanks,

Janet

Here is a photo of the type of sign that we would be required to use. The size and format of the sign has been designated by the Town. Do you have a comment you would like to make? Please use the comment option below to start a discussion.

It's Spring... TODAY!

Spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere on March 20, 2012, at 1:14 A.M. (EDT).

Sempe      The New Yorker 2008

Great Way to Plant Seeds Today!

    To learn more about this terrific method click HERE .

IGC GREENSLET 2012 CUP CONTEST "Early Birds"

The coveted Greenslet Cup!

Donated by Ella Greenslet in 1937, this cup is awarded to the best presentation of a flower/plant arrangement on a set theme. According to Joan Cook, Ella Greenslet was an early member of the IGC. She was an avid gardener and founding member of the Herb Society of America. This year’s theme is "Early Birds". Entries are received and judged at the Annual Meeting. There were many fun and creative entries last year and the winner was Judy Hallberg. Who will win this charming little cup this year?

Looking Ahead-- IGC ANNUAL PLANT SALE

Please write this date in your calendar as we hope to have 100% club member participation at this year's sale.  Chaired by Grace Hanson and Susie Winthrop, the sale will focus on "Great Plants from Great Gardens".  We have decided to back off from books, bric-a-brac, planters and Friday dinner in order to zero-in on digging and selling more quality plants.  As in the past, we  are asking that each IGC member donate at least 20 labeled plants.  Thanks to the amazing efforts of Gail Anderson, labels for most of our plants will be available for copying and printing from the IGC blog.  It's not too early to begin planning which plants you will donate.  Spring is springing!  Our dig day sign-up sheet will be passed around at the Annual Meeting on April 10th - see you there.  Grace and Susie

Save the Dates-- IGC Annual Plant Sale DIG DAYS

Dig Sites for 2012 include the gardens of:

Grace Hanson

Whitney Hatch (formerly Lisa Foster's)

Joyce Kippin

Kerry Mackin

Barbara Ostberg

Susie Winthrop

Work and Dig Days are scheduled for 9am on the following days:

Wednesday, April 18th

Tuesday, April 24th

Thursday, April 26th

Saturday, April 28th

Sunday, May 6th

  

Sign up at the Annual Meeting on April 10th.

IGC Open Forum on Tree Care with Ben Staples -- March 13th

Entrance to Appleton Farms photo by Ben Staples

Our March meeting on the 13th with Master Arborist and photographer, Ben Staples will prove to be a must-attend open forum on "Tree Climbing and Tree Care". This will be a special kind of presentation in that Ben requests that you bring a tree-related question with pictures and samples if possible.  This is a timely program since procedures that affect the health of trees and shrubs such as pruning, root fertilizing and insecticide and disease management  are important tasks that can be done in late winter and early spring. This is a special opportunity to have your tree questions answered. 

Spring evidence of the hated winter moth.

If you would like to share your tree concerns and photos or pix of you up in a tree here on our blog prior to our March meeting... please do so by sending them to Paula by clicking here.


See you on the 13th...
Location: Ipswich Public Library
Time: 7 p..m.
Coordinator:  Alicia Moore
Connie Bergh and Landi VanAlen will hostess.
RSVP by March 6th to Janet Craft at 978 621-7884 
or by clicking here to email Janet.

Here's my photo and question:

 

From Alicia--
two questions:

Ben, What's with this Beech tree

between the Heard House and the War Memorial?

Is this a picture of one dead tree or two, at the corner of East and County, a familiar scene?