June 2012

Hello Gardeners -

What a weekend! My poppies are blooming (and are almost as tall as I am!), my peonies are blooming, my false-blue indigo is blooming -- it feels like it's the middle of summer. I hope everyone had a great weekend and enjoyed the sunshine.

This email is going to be a smorgasbord of different things but I think it will be easier than sending multiple emails.

1. A HUGE thank-you to our members who took care of the downtown, Town Hall and Come-Unity center planters. They look wonderful. I had stopped at the Come-Unity Center on Friday and they were so thrilled and happy with the planters.

With the planters, we need volunteers to water. This is especially important if we continue to have such warm days and lack of rain. For our new members, we do have water available downtown but you will need to bring containers to use to water. Even if you can do one week, that would be appreciated.
The weeks of
June 3-9
June 10-16
June 17-23
June 24-30

July 1-7
July 8-14
July 15-21
July 22-28
July 29-Aug 4

Aug 5-11
Aug 12-18
Aug 19-25
Aug 26-Sep 1

2. The Lettering Lounge put together two different designs for our Welcome to Williamson signs. Due to time, we are not going to do the contest for this raised bed although we may do it for our next raised bed. Please take a look at the signs and we will discuss it further at our meeting.

3. Reminder - we have a meeting on Monday, June 4th at 7pm.

4. Reminder - If you are free on Thursdays, the WPHS gardeners will be working on the gardens. Please join them and bring your tools.

5. Mark your calendars! -
June 6, 7pm Pultnyeville Peace Garden
Williamson-Pultneyville Historical Society will host its monthly program meeting at the Pultneyville Bicentennial Peace Garden which is located in the south lawn of the W-PHS’s Museum at 4130 Mill Street in Pultneyville.
The program will include a presentation by Joyce Lorraine of the Bicentennial Peace garden project, a description of the Pultneyville garden by Lynda Parmelee, master gardener, and the story of the local encounter with the British by Joan Carey, President of the W-PHS.
Refreshments will be served and as always the monthly meeting is free and open to the public.

Happy Gardening!
Subrata

May Minutes 2012

May Minutes 2012

Attendees: Scott Utley, Cynthia Daughtery, Ginny Jones, John Ferrante, Linda Ferrante, Ed Jorolemon, Betty Morley, Esther Plyter, Darrell Plyter, Subrata Paul, Carol Hopkins

1. April minutes approved.

2. We have approximately $1800 in the treasury. Discussion on t-shirts to identify our club. Club fee will pay for the t-shirt and all members will get a t-shirt. Will need to decide on color of t-shirt and design. Looking for artist to create design. Lettering Lounge can create whatever we have set up. $53.17 paid for mulch for raised beds, solar lights for green space and stain for the community center planters.

3. Two wooden planters for the community center on main street have been donated. John will stain them and get them ready for planting. We can ask the community center to water them. Janis wants them on the wall but will need to take a look as they are designed to be on the ground.

4. Sign for raised beds. Looking to create something similar to the one on Ontario. $96 for a 2x3 sign and Chamber of Commerce will split the cost. Getting a design and according to lettering lounge we can do anything. Does the town have an image that we use so that there is some kind of continuity or branding? Suggestion: Do a contest encouraging students and artists to create a sign. Indicate that we reserve rights to use parts of the sign for our sign. Just need to give general dimensions. Give directions on what we are looking for with regards to words and descriptions. Set up description and then give to Sun and Record as well as high school and middle school. If we get more than one good design and they are similar, we can use different ones. Have it submitted to post office or by email. Question on whether to go to a 3x4 or 3x5 sign. Needs to be a little bigger so it can be seen as people can see it. John will follow up on pricing of signs. Current bigger signs are $1600 and now need maintenance. Set up committee to follow up on this. Looking for volunteers for this. John to meet with Lorraine to talk about plants for the planters and also to see what chamber can provide for any additional money they can provide. Will it be 50/50 or something else.

5. New raised bed for west lake road. There is a farmer with a farm there who will let us put in a raised bed. We will Ned to put in a sign for that. The cost is les than $100.00 to put in the beds. Talk to Perry to make sure we have permission for this.

 6. Lynda Parmlee to help John select plants for the planters. Last year, the grasses took over and the flowers were not so apparent. Lorraine reecommended begonias for those areas that get a lot of shade. We need something with height. Begonias grew 2 feet last year so they at a good choice. What did we use last year to raise them? Was it 5 gallon buckets? Can we cut a disk and wedge it in there? How about raising them off the sidewalk due to rust on the sidewalk? Lynda recommended plastic tubing for the bottom to stop the rusting. Plastic pots used last year need to be prepared. May 11, 9:30 am, John, Ed, Scott and Darrell will take out dead plants, loosen soil, remove trash from planters and cover planters in preparation of Apple Blossom. Will look at planters to see how to not use as garbage cans. John to bring a cart so they can be moved if needed. If you are available, please join them.

7. Planting of flowers. Will wait until the weekend after Apple Blossom Festival. Planting will be Wednesday, May 23rd, at 9:30. If you are available, everyone will be meeting in downtown Williamson, near the Green Space.

 8. After Fall planting and before Spring planting, when we take the trees out, we can put a plastic bag to cover the planters. Or we ned to move them over so they can go onto pallets and store until springtime. John has scrap plywood that we could use that to put the on.

9. Plant Sale. Eric and Subrata will set up a table at their house and sell plants through craigslist, etc. Will start selling as soon as we have enough plants, and it will be during the weekends. Subrata has extra pots if needed. Japanese maple trees.

Ed to dig some up and plant them for the sale. Two will go to Sodus Garden Club. We will not be setting up a table at Apple Blossom this year.

May 2012

Hello Gardeners!

Well things are coming up green and lush in our gardens. I'm hoping to get my vegetables in this weekend and am thinking of trying some of the container gardening techniques I've learned from the Mary Moss-Sprague lecture.

Just a quick reminder:

1. The Sodus Garden Club is having their plant sale this Saturday, 9-noon. They are located at the Sodus Primary School located on Route 88 south of the village. They have some great plants and wonderful deals - go early and bring extra money!

2. Downtown planters/Town Hall planters. Planting will be Wednesday, May 23rd, at 9:30. If you are available, everyone will be meeting in downtown Williamson, near the Green Space. Please bring your gloves and garden tools.

3. Cornell Cooperative Gardening Series Part IV: Attracting Birds to Your Yard. Ontario Library, Thursday, May 24, 7:00 pm Join Master Gardner, Ruth Schutt as she shares her over 30 years of gardening knowledge with us. Learn how many varieties of plants can be used to bring Mother Nature's symphony to your yard. Registration Required: call 315.524.8381

Finally, we have some plants for the Williamson Plant Sale. For those who have donated, if you have time, please email me what you've dropped off at our house as I want to tag them before we sell them. I hope to have things ready to sell next weekend, and will put up the ad on Craigslist after this week. I have extra pots if needed. If you need help digging up plants, please call. Enjoy the gorgeous weather!

Happy Gardening Subrata

April Minutes 2012

Hello Gardeners -

Well Eric and I have taken the plunge and are mulching and weeding and edging our gardens. It's so hard to believe that it's only April as my roses are leafing out and my peonies are definitely making their presence known! I hope everyone is enjoying their gardens.

Williamson Garden Club Meeting Williamson Library at 7 PM on April 2, 2012 Present: John Ferrante, Linda Ferrante, Lynda Parmelee, Betty Morley, Scott Utley
Note taker: Linda Ferrante

Lynda Parmalee reported on her Orchid presentations at the Ontario Garden Club and Senior Center in Clyde. Her reported that there is an Orchid grower, Allen Sulsman on Jackson Road. The Genesee Region Orchids Society has a listing of growers. Another source for orchids is Marlow Orchids in Scottsville. John noted that Mike DeVito from Walworth, who was an past presenter to the WGC indicated he could come to one of our meetings next year.

 John mention that a woodworker friend of his, Bill Wheaton, had volunteered to donate two planters to the Garden Club which could in turn be given to the Community Center after we filled them with soil and flowers.

The 2012 WGC plans call for putting a permanent metal sign up on our raised bed planter near the corner of Ridge and Fisher roads. The cost of a 2x3 foot sigh from the lettering Lounge is $96. John noted the sign would have to be mounted on plywood. We might want to consider a larger sign if the club members agree.

Williamson Pultneyville Historical Society will dedicate their Peace Garden on June 6th, 2012. Joan Carey has asked if the WGC could help weed and groom the garden before the dedication. John agreed to attend the WPHS meeting on April 3rd to discuss the plans with Joan.

Mary Moss-Sprague will give a presentation April 26th on Vertical Gardening at the Ontario Library (reservations are requested). May 24th the library will have a presentation on Attracting Birds.

The Master Gardeners Plant Sale will be May 12th at the Wayne Cornell Extension Center in Newark on Rt 88. Sale opens at 8AM but come early because thing go fast. At approximately 10:30 remaining items get marked down. Master Gardeners do presentations at Wayside nursery = check with the nursery for subjects and dates.

Planter plant selection for 2012- The club will have to go to Masons We asked Lynda Parmalee who is a master gardener to come and she is available the second week in May.

A Mural will be put on the west end of the pocket park by the Williamson Chamber of Commerce.

 Eric will check with Mike Orr of the BID to see if additional planters could be purchased for Main Street.

We still have to decide how we are going to prevent the down town and town hall planter from becoming trash receptacles between the removal of Christmas trees and the spring flower plantings

Next Members Meeting: May 7th at 7:00 PM

2012 Lecture Series for Williamson Garden Club

These are the lectures WGC is doing this year.

The last two are members-only events.

Membership is $ 10/year.

 Strawbale gardening 7/18/12 7:00 PM Mary Moss Sprague

Thyme for Herbs 8/15/12 7:00 PM Kasha Grisley

Stone wall construction 9/19/12 7:00 PM Gerry Benedict

Terrariums (hands on) 10/17/12 7:00 PM Wendy Mendola

March 2012 - Minutes

Hello Gardeners!

 It's hard to believe that it's March already. Eric and I saw crocus (crocii?) popping their little heads out of the ground with their small white flowerheads! hopefully being so close to the house will protect them from any snow or cold. March Items:

1. Our member's meeting is on Wednesday, March 7th. if you have any agenda items, let me know.

2. The Ontario Library is hosting a lecture on stonewall construction. Thursday, March 22, 7pm. You will need to call and sign up for the lecture.

3. Grossman Nursery is hosting a Garden Club meet & greet on Saturday, March 24th. GROW will have a table there. if you are interested in helping out at the table, let me know.

See you on Wednesday! Subrata

 -----------------------------

3/7/2012 Meeting Minutes – Williamson Garden Club

Attendees: Lynda Parmalee, Perry Howland, Subrata Paul, Eric Herriman, John Ferante, Scott Utley

1. We are moving the meetings to the First Monday of every month.

 2. Lynda Parmalee is doing a talk on Orchids in Clyde next month. She’s hoping to show her 15 orchids. Orchids love to be outside – in the summertime. They are tropicals. Don’t let them get below 50. Peter’s root & bloom mix at ¼ strength. Water weekly. Will send more information at a later date.

3. John has obtained 2 wooden planters that have been donated to the Garden club. They will need priming & staining. There are plastic inserts. Tentative plan is to give them to the Williamson community center as part of plan to beautify downtown. Sunday, John is leaving for Florida.

4. Perry: Talked with Ronnie Lawrence. 20 acres, hay lot. Laurie VanNostrand works for him. Ronnie is willing to work with us – Welcome to Williamson sign. This would be our fourth raised bed in Williamson. Raised beds – sign. $96 metal sign. Chamber would share the costs. Apple emblems .

5. Lynda: Plastic sheet for signage = 2ft X3 ft. cost = $6 per sheet. For signage. She has flower stencils (tulip). Eric Suggested to delay tulip bulbs for peace garden dedication. Date for the peace garden dedication - June 6, 2012 (Wed) possibly 9th.

6. John asks about Chamber of Commerce membership (not yet sent in yet). Subrata to send in the form and check.

7. Lorraine Mason is looking for someone to work on chamber of commerce website. Need to be able to dovetail with Quickbooks & Wegman’s SKU’s.

8. Upcoming events: 3/24 Grossmans 11-3 table/PR opportunity. Last year 20 – 25 garden clubs attended. Subrata is looking for volunteers to help her at the presentation. If you are available to help out, please let her know. Kris is in South Africa but will send Subrata pictures for the Garden Club powerpoint presentation. If anyone has pictures for the Garden Club, please send them to the grow14589@gmail.com.

9. Ontario Library lectures: Master Gardener presentations - 3/22 Stonewall construction, 4/6 vertical gardening, 5/24 Attracting birds. You will need to call and register for these classes

10. June - 6/20 Garden Tour Sodus Bay 5 Gardens + strawbale + village $10 per person tickets available at the first garden. 4-8. Lynda P. is working the tour. Did we want to meet as a group and see the gardens?

11. Williamson Garden Club lectures: Third Wednesday of the month: 7/18, 8/15, 9/19, 10/17 Current plan: Straw Bale Gardening Hands on Terrarium Hands-on how-to-build a rock-wall Herb Garden / Kitchen garden Woodlot management – Jim Miller. John may be interested in hosting @ his place. Pond Management class (Betty?) Suggestion: Wreathmaking (Kris and Ed) & Hytpertufa (Betty Morley) We are doing a mix of “open to the public” and “open to members only” classes this year

12. We would like to do more garden tours this year. If you are interested or know of someone who is interested, let John know.

13. May 9th, Lorraine Mason is teaching a container gardening class. It is $ 6, supplies are provided and it is from 7-9pm.

14. Q: What do we want to request from Mason Farms for downtown planters? Need more color. John has talked with Lorraine. We want plants that pop and attract the eye. Make selection first week in May. Lynda P. starts wave petunia from seeds. Canna bulbs?

15. Lynda recommends using material in soil to provide moisture control. That way we have some flexibility in watering the plants

16. We should check our pots to see how they survived. & planters. John’s action item.

17. Discussion on what to put on bottom of planters to avoid rust spots.

18. Q: What are we doing for apple blossom? Don’t know when it is. Q: Similar prep for George Ehrsman & the elementary school presentation. We need to put something into the planters for apple blossom. Into raised beds planters? Dusty miller . Wave petunia? LED lights. Solar strings for tree decoration. Dollar tree sells solar lights. Did we want to buy some for green space? Magazine: Gardener’s supply as an alternative for solar lights, etc. Eric spoke to owners of new bakery. They were amenable to putting an electrical source outside if we want lights for the tree.

February 2012

Hello Gardeners!

With the unseasonably warm weather, it has been hard to not go out into the garden and play around. I believe it's 50 degrees outside today! I hope everyone is enjoying the weather and thinking about their spring plantings.

Pull out your calendars for our February events -

Saturday, February 4th, 9 am - with the warm weather, we are going to pull out the Christmas trees and take down the decorations. We will meet downtown in front of the green space. If we have enough volunteers, it should take less than an hour to get them all down. We would like to replace the trees with something else so that the planters are not empty for 2-3 months. If you have suggestions, please let us know.

Wednesday, February 15th, 7pm - Members meeting. We will discuss our plans for 2012. We are meeting in the small library room at the Williamson Library.

Thursday February 23rd 7pm - the Ontario Library is hosting a Landscape Design class with the Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Program. It is open to the public but you must register by phone

Happy Gardening! Subrata

January 2012

Hello Gardeners!

Happy New Year! I hope everyone is keeping warm during this cold wintery weather!

It is a wonderful excuse to sit inside and think about things to do in the garden this coming year. I wanted to give people a brief update for this year's officers and some changes for 2012.

As we start planning for 2012, please let me about days that do NOT work for meetings and lectures.
For example, the Charrette meets every first thursday of the month, the American Legion meets every second thursday, the Town Board meets every 2nd and 4th Tuesday, etc. I don't know when the WPHS meetings are or the Chamber of Commerce meetings. Let me know by Monday, January 9th of any days that would conflict with our meetings.

Officers for 2012
John Ferrante and Scott Utley - co-Presidents
Linda Ferrante - Secretary
Scott Utley (backup: Subrata Paul) - treasurer
PR: Perry Howland
Photographer/newspaper: Kris Jorolemon (to send photo/writeup to newspaper after events)
Coordinatory of events - Subrata Paul
 If you are willing to take on a role, let John Ferrante know.

We would like to do recruiting this year as well as plan for our 2012 project, etc. There are a lot of great one-time roles you can take on if you would like.

For 2012, we will be doing things a little differently. We are not having lectures for January-March, just our regular members meetings to plan for the year. We are thinking of alternating lectures that are open to the public with hands-on, learning projects for members only. For example, we are hoping to have a terrarium building class, a stone wall building class, etc. We will keep you posted as the year continues.

Happy Gardening! Subrata

August Lecture - Beginning Bonsai

The Williamson Garden Club presents
Beginning Bonsai

Bonsai is an art form using miniature trees grown in containers. This is a wonderful gardening experience to use your creativity and ingenuity. Come to this lecture and learn the techniques to create your own bonsai tree.

The Williamson Garden Club is pleased to announce that a Master Gardener from the Wayne County Cornell Cooperative will present a talk detailing the facts about bonsai.

This free public presentation will take place Wednesday, August 24, 2011 at 7 p.m. in the community room of the Williamson Free Public Library.

August Members Only Project - Hypertufa Class

Hello Gardeners!

I hope everyone is having a lovely August. Our vegetables are starting to come in (our first ripe tomato!) and the flowers are really enjoying the rain.

If you have a chance, drive down Route 104 and check out the new raised bed near Motts. We had a small but able group to help put the bed together -- a BIG THANK YOU to John Ferrante, Eric Herriman, Scott Utley, and Penny's husband and son, Bill Bishop and Evan Bishop. We have not yet planted flowers yet but plan to do that soon. If you have mums or stella d'oro daylilies to share, please let me know.

Also just a reminder about dues ($10/year). We've received some check and are happy to accept dues at our next event if you'd prefer not to send a check.

For our members only meeting, Betty Morley has generously offered to host a hypertufa class. It is a wonderful opportunity to create something wonderful for your gardens. Last year, she showed us how to make pots. This year, you can do pots or a leaf casting.

The event will be on Wednesday, August 17th, at 6:30. While Betty will provide the material to create the hypertufa, there are some things that it would help if you could bring
1. sand
2. if you want to do a leaf casting, please bring a hosta leaf (or let me know that you need one). Any leaf with good strong definite veins are good for this project.
3. you will need to bring a strong board to carry your project. It will take a few days to cure.

Please let me know if you can attend so that we have enough supplies.

In case of rain, we will meet on Wednesday, August 31st at 6:30.

Happy Gardening!
Subrata