The Garden Path A Publication of the Garden Club of Houston, established 1924
March 2021
Along The Path This year the spring equinox occurs on Saturday, March 20. I think we are all ready for spring and its promise of new beginnings! Covid will not stop the wondrous cycle of nature. This we can count on. I hope all of you got through the freeze without too much discomfort. The snow has melted, and now it is time to venture out to see what’s still alive in your gardens. Clayton Erikson was doing just that when she sent me this photo. I trust you will find survivors in your gardens, too! All the bulbs we purchased from BPM Pre-Order we so carefully planted and sowed for spring blooming will be peeking their heads out of the ground this month. It is my hope that we can also start peeking out of our homes and engaging with each other as the vaccination process begins. If you are looking for ideas, there are plenty of outdoor activities in this Garden Path. For weekly GCH updates be sure to read Quick Dirt. Check out the monthly Civic Notes for something new to do in Houston. This month will be a club focused virtual General Meeting on March 10th with no speaker. Happy gardening! Best, Julie
Garden Bouquets As we prepare for Graffiti, bouquets go to all the workshop leaders. Thank you for sharing your expertise Gay Estes, Liz Wozencraft, Mundi Elam, Meg Tapp, Adele Bentsen, Mimi Kerr Margaret Pierce, Cristi Harvey and Judy Lee. Two large bouquets go to our Graffiti Chairs, Nancy Keely and Estelle Lozmack, for their continued work and commitment to this flower show! Bouquets to Meg Murray for organizing a wonderful bulb planting at Rienzi and to all who participated! The GCH Standing Committees have been hard at work. Multiple bouquets to Meg Tapp for leading the Community Contributions Committee and to Ruthie Kelly for leading our Finance Committee meeting. Spring Flowers to Catherine Zdunkewicz for making sure we are informed and vote for our favorite Founders Fund Project at the March meeting. (Be sure to read the CCC report and the Founders Fund report in this Garden Path.) Bouquets to both of my President’s Assistants, Alix Nakfoor and Susan Cravens, for your continued amazing assistance, a big bouquet to Stephanie Shanks for her work with donations and to Sara Ledbetter for her much-appreciated contributions to anything having to do with technology. THE GARDEN PATH
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Community Contributions Committee Report 2021 By Meg Tapp The nine members of the CCC met four times to evaluate our current GCH Projects and 23 Outside Grant requests. Evaluation guidelines followed by the CCC included those procedures laid out in in our Green Book (Procedures Section, IV, pp 75-77), the stated purpose of The Garden Club of America, The Articles of Incorporation of The Garden Club of Houston, and the GCH Grant Request Guidelines. This is a summary of the CCC report. The full report was e-mailed to GCH Members and is also on our website https:// www.gchouston.org/members-only/home/. CURRENT GCH PROJECTS Considerable time was spent investigating and studying each existing Project. Current and former GCH Project Chairs, professional staff when applicable, and interested GCH Members were interviewed. In most instances, CCC members visited the Project site. A GCH Project is defined as a commitment by The GCH involving money and/or volunteers for longer than one year. The Garden Club of Houston Park: a park in the Houston Medical Center Pollinator garden at Hogg Bird Sanctuary: pollinator garden Houston Hospice: garden Houston Museum of Natural Science: Cockrell Butterfly Center Museum Fine Arts, Houston: south lawn and Alice Pratt Brown gardens Museum of Fine Arts, Houston - Rienzi: gardens, flower arrangements, and Christmas decorating Urban Harvest / Gregory Lincoln Education Center: garden and education outreach The CCC recommends funding for all GCH Projects, with the exception of The GCH Park. It is recommended to discontinue The GCH Park as a GCH Project and move those funds that have been set aside, to The GCH Centennial Fund, in anticipation of a gift to a public space in Houston in 2024. Further recommendation is to wind down the pollinator garden at Hogg Bird Sanctuary, as a GCH Project. THE GARDEN PATH
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OUTSIDE GRANT REQUESTS This year, as in past years, grant requests exceeded available funds. We were able to recommend grants to 82% of organizations which made a request. After careful, thoughtful consideration and discussion, the CCC recommends allocating funds to The GCH Major Gifts Fund and also funding requests of the following 501(c)(3) organizations: Bayou Preservation: Bayou Planting Guide on social media Brookwood: horticulture equipment Buffalo Bayou Partnership: Great Small Trees grove improvements Camp Hope PTSD Foundation: pathways and seating for garden Galveston Bay Foundation: herbarium supplies Hermann Park Conservancy: bird habitat Houston Audubon: Native plants and pathway improvements Houston Parks Board: Stuart Park wetlands plants Katy Prairie Conservancy: 9 Natives Brochures Main Street Ministries: improvements to courtyard Mercer Society: relocate native plant nursery Nature Discovery Center: native plants OHBA Organic Horticulture Benefits Alliance: Spanish language education for groundkeepers Poe Elementary PTO: pollinator garden/outside classroom Scenic Houston: Roadside planting Pease Street Sharpstown Parks Alliance: Ed White Elementary nature center improvements St. Cecilia School: plants for garden TX Association for the Education of Young Children: vegetable garden at 2 campuses
On January 11, 2021, the Finance Committee confirmed that the recommended funds are available. On January 27, 2021, The GCH Board of Directors approved the CCC report. On February 3, 2021, The GCH Advisory Board approved the CCC report. GCH membership will be asked to vote on approval of the report. Community Contributions Committee: Dana Parkey, Adele Bentsen, Sarah Dameris, Ruthie Kelly, Kelli Mize, Patty Porter, Carol Price, Greta Zimmerman, and Meg Tapp – Chair. Please visit https://www.gchouston.org/members-only/home/ for more information on our Projects and for the full CCC report.
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Wow, that was cold! – Meg Tapp
If you are wondering what to do after the freeze, in your garden, here goes: Wait – You may want to get out there with scissors, snippers, loppers, shears, or whatever to take out your frustrations, but wait. The parts of our plants that are brown and dry (even crispy!) do serve a purpose. They gave one for the team and got burned and died to protect the main part of the plant. Let them finish their mission for a couple of more weeks. In March, you can whack away. When you do start cutting back the brown, dead branches, go slowly. Keep cutting back until you notice that what you are cutting is actually alive. You will know because it won’t just break off easily and it will have some green showing at the cut. This is for small trees, vines, bushes, and shrubs. For ferns, you will cut back and wait to see if any new bright green growth comes back later in March or early April. For plants like vegetables, amaryllis, palm, and crinum that may be mushy, you can get rid of that now. Cut the mushy part off and throw it away. Water – Your plants fought hard to stay alive. They need a drink; give it to them. Look - Take notice of what survived and still looks decent; hopefully in your garden but maybe in a neighbor’s. You might want to plant that in your own garden. Feed – Use Fish Emulsion, Seaweed, Humic Acid – Really anything that is organic that is a liquid. Mix with water in a watering can and water your plants when you cut them back. MicroLife is a Houston based company that makes all sorts of organic fertilizers. You can get that brand at Buchanan’s in the Heights, Southwest Fertilizer in Bellaire, Berings, and Wabash. Remember – What was bugging you about your garden before this freeze? Maybe a plant or two were in the wrong spot. Maybe they were getting too big or not thriving because of their sun exposure. Spring is the time to make your garden new again. It is easier to cut back plants that had gotten too leggy or tall since the foliage is brown and thinned out. You can really get in there and see what needs to be shaped. Plant – Get some color in your garden now; it’ll make you feel better and planting some native flowering plants will help the bees. If you planted your tomatoes before the freeze, they did not survive. Now is the time to plant those again. Ask – If you have questions about what to do, GCH is here to help! You can send in your question to admin@gchouston.org and we will get answers for you.
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“Wildflowers” Provisional Update by Greta Zimmerman “Everyone has something in their home gardens they can enter in a GCA flower show!” During a private workshop, Meg Tapp encouraged our Wildflowers to look at their personal plantings with an eye on the prize—a Horticulture Entry Prize! Provisionals learned how easy and FUN it is to submit backyard cuttings for competition. Botanical names, entry cards, and coordinating toppings for Challenge plants were also discussed. The Wildflowers left Meg’s workshop inspired to get snip, snip, snipping in their gardens. Look for their entries this year at Graffiti…and enter your own! We all know, more entries make for a more interesting flower show—so grab your clippers and see what’s in your garden this spring.
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Horticulture Tomato Workshop By Carol Price We had a terrific Horticulture Propagation workshop on February 2nd to learn about tomatoes, led by Meg Tapp. It was a beautiful, mild day in which around 25 members got to see each other in person in her beautiful backyard, using social-distancing naturally. After learning about determinate and indeterminate growing seasons, how to make sure there’s the correct amount of nitrogen in the soil, and a lot of handy information, we all got a couple of baby tomato plants grown from seeds by Meg to grow at home. I personally learned that planting tomatoes in the same place every year is unwise…. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, Meg!
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Ann Kelsey Tree Dedication Beloved GCH member, Ann Kelsey, was instrumental in the creation of Rienzi as a GCH Project. On February 12, 2021, a lovely water oak tree was dedicated at Rienzi in her honor.
Pictured: Debby Francis, Gail Hendryx, Winifred Riser, Betty Kyle Moore, Ann Kelsey, Tom Kelsey, Meg Tapp, Julie Griffin, Laura Kelsey, Meg Murray, Wendy Kelsey Photo by Bart Brechter
Attention all Members!
First of all – a huge round of applause goes to Betty Davis for her monumental effort to recreate the stolen needlepoint Rienzi ornament book. She has hand calligraphed a remarkable 39 pages. Thank you, Betty!
Please take a few minutes and help us identify the remaining “Unidentified Needlepoint Ornaments”. The link below is to a video-montage of these ornaments. https://vimeo.com/503195736 Password = compost Please contact Kim Thomas kjst1221@hotmail.com or Clayton Erikson cgerikson@me.com if you have any information or questions. THE GARDEN PATH
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GCA 2021 FOUNDERS FUND AWARD FINALISTS By Catherine Zduncewicz
This Fund granted its first award in 1936 and today continues with an award of $30,000 to the winner and $10,000 each for the runner-up finalists. Finalists were selected by the Founders Fund Committee who “were cognizant of the purpose of the GCA, to stimulate the knowledge and love of gardening … and to restore, improve, and protect the quality of the environment through educational programs and actions in the fields of conservation and civic improvement.” Each year, all members of a GCA garden club have the opportunity to vote on the winner of the GCA Founders Fund Award. Following the March GCH General Meeting, our members will vote virtually for one of the finalists and our club will then cast its one vote for the proposal receiving the most votes from our virtual ballot. We would hope for unanimous support of our GCH proposal Houston Hospice Family Terrace and Commemorative Garden. The summaries of the finalists’ proposals are given below and for a more in depth description CLICK HERE to review online. Healing a Historic Stream, Engaging All Ages in Urban Water Ecology Proposing Club: Seattle Garden Club, Zone XII Seconding Club: Tacoma Garden Club, Zone XII Once vibrant, Rhododendron Glen in Seattle’s Olmsted Brothers-designed Washington Park Arboretum, has deteriorated into an eroded, invasives-choked ravine. GCA’s Founders Fund grant will help halt siltation, rejuvenate plantings, add an accessible loop trail, and beautify the stream as it descends to a pond bordering Azalea Way, the Arboretum’s most iconic attraction. Visitors young and old will learn how watercourse restoration improves habitat for the Pacific Northwest’s most endangered species, orca whales and wild salmon. Houston Hospice Family Terrace and Commemorative Garden Proposing Club: The Garden Club of Houston, Zone IX Seconding Club: Magnolia Garden Club, Zone IX Thoughtful native landscaping will transform an ADA- accessible patio into a green sanctuary in the historic garden at Houston Hospice. Families can linger in the garden, maximizing its nurturing effect on their spirits as they say their last goodbyes. The natural embrace of the Family Terrace and Commemorative Garden will create the most respectful and compassionate end of life possible and provide peace to hundreds of patients, families, and caregivers each year.
The Vadner Park Civic Project Proposing Club: The Garden Club of the Halifax Country, Zone VIII Seconding Club: The Late Bloomers Garden Club, Zone VIII Inspired by GCA Medalist Doug Tallamy, The Garden Club of the Halifax Country in partnership with the City of Ormond Beach is GOING NATIVE with transforming an invasive, overgrown park into a beautiful native plant oasis. Opportunities abound for education on the vital link between native plants to birds, insects, pollinators, water conservation and even withstanding hurricanes Vadner Park shall be one of a very few exclusively native parks in the State of Florida.
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Floral Design Attention all those entered in Floral Design in Graffiti:
Liz Wozencraft is offering a unique opportunity to come to her house to have one on one sessions to go over your container selection, design style, and choice of plant materials. This is not mandatory but very helpful for Provisionals or anyone else who is entering the show. Please email Liz directly to sign up and request a time at lizwoz@att.net Friday, March 5th beginning at 10:00am Liz’s address: 11311 Piney Point Circle, 77024
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March 2021 Conservation Fall GCA Conservation Study Conference: This Land is Your Land The annual GCA Conservation Study Conference was held virtually this year, and for the first time all GCA members were invited. There are many videos from the conference available for viewing on the GCA website. Just as a teaser, here is a talk that will give you a taste of what is available for you to see. Only watch it if you like beautiful photographs of America’s national parks and wildlife preserves. https://www.gcamerica.org/ members:videos/details/id/251 Longleaf Pine Restoration Project Sadly, the annual MLK day trip to plant seedlings in the Big Thicket National Preserve was cancelled due to covid concerns, but members of the National Park Conservation Association, Big Thicket National Preserve and Big Thicket Natural Heritage Trust presented an online overview of the past decade’s efforts to reforest the Big Thicket with longleaf pine seedlings. The Big Thicket National Preserve consists of 113,000 acres across seven counties. It is an area where four different ecosystems come together: prairie, eastern hardwood, coastal and southwestern desert. You can hear the discussion and other interesting “park talks” at the following link: https://www.npca.org/events/478-park-talks The opening video for the NAL Conference is powerful! This was the invocation by the Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman at the start of the National Affairs and Legislation Conference - and the focus of this year’s conference is Climate Change. Click here or on photo below to watch.
Another highly recommended video from Margaret Pierce! Check out this short, very interesting message about saving our land and water. Click here or on 30x30 illustration below.
Conversation about Conservation over Cocktails It is likely that this event scheduled for the afternoon of Tuesday, March 23, will be held by Zoom instead of inside. Please stay tuned for more details.
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Horticulture News from the Garden Club of America The Freeman Medal Selection Committee met in January 2021 and has chosen the Garden Club of America Montine McDaniel Freeman 2021 plant of the year. According to the GCA Horticulture Chair Sue Thompson, they had an outstanding list of nominations from across the country. The deliberations were thorough, enlightening and enthusiastic. These nominations had been redacted so that the committee had no information either about who had nominated the plants or about from which GCA Zones these plants were nominated. The committee members were so VERY appreciative of GCA's efforts to promote native plants. These professionals were truly impressed both with the caliber of the nomination write-ups and with the plant knowledge of our submitters. You can find details of the Freeman Medal and past winners on the Garden Club of America webpage.
WINNER: Cephalanthus occidentalis, Buttonbush Submitted by Caroline Orr, seconded by Peggy Peters, the Memphis Garden Club
HONORABLE MENTION: Prunus mexicana, Mexican Plum Tree Submitted by Carol Price, the Garden Club of Houston
SPECIAL RECOGNITION: Ehretia anacua, Sandpaper Tree Submitted by Meredith Cocke, River Oaks Garden Club
A special congratulations to Zone IX! All three of these plants were nominated by members of clubs in Zone IX! You may remember that Asclepias tuberosa, Butterfly Weed, won the Freeman Medal in 2014, and was nominated by our own Doris Heard. THE GARDEN PATH
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Gardening Suggestions for March
By your Horticulture chairs, Carol and Heather
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Fill your bird feeders regularly and set out and fill hummingbird feeders. Clean your birdbaths, bird feeders, and fountains. You can add a tiny splash of Clorox to keep algae at bay without hurting the birds and pets. Prune trees and shrubs to remove dead or damaged branches and to create and maintain a nice shape. Wait to prune spring flowering shrubs and trees such as spirea, azalea, and redbud until they have bloomed. Cut back ornamental grasses before new shoots appear and divide clumps as needed – but do not cut to the base, as water penetration can cause rot. Perennials can use some trimming to encourage more lush growth and a thicker habit. Divide bulbs as needed and plant bulbs that flower in warm weather such as canna, gladiolas, amaryllis, gingers, crinums, spider lilies, rain lilies and daylilies. Plant citrus and other fruit trees. For best fruit production, fertilize regularly with an organic fertilizer. Add native, perennial plants to encourage more pollinators in your garden, to reduce the need for irrigation, and to increase the hardiness of your plants. Good choices with a high success rate include salvias, coneflowers, gaura, muhly grasses, Turk’s cap, and Texas native lantana. Include seasonal color such as marigolds, petunias, bachelor buttons, coleus, dusty millers, annual phlox, geraniums, impatiens, begonias, and calendula in your landscape, especially in pots. Plant Perennials (shade) such as firespike, shrimp plant, Persian shield, leopard plant, cat whiskers, ruellias, turk’s cap, and creeping jenny. For sun, try shasta daisy, rudbeckia, gaillardia, verbena, coreopsis, lantana, perennial salvias, bee balm, porterweed, mist flower, and skullcap. Plant summer vegetables and herbs. These include beans, melons, cucumbers, summer squash, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, basil, parsley, and dill. Planting transplants on a cloudy day helps with acclimation to the sun. Prepare your lawn for the growing season by applying a low-nitrogen organic fertilizer (6-2-4) according to directions. at the beginning of March. Top-dress your lawn with a thin layer of organic compost toward the end of the month. Spread mulch around shrubs, flowerbeds and trees (being careful not to smother tree trunks by placing too close and high – you should be able to see the root flare as it touches the ground).
Q & A - Your Questions Answered Sent in by Wendy Askew: I have an asparagus fern that is huge. Can I divide and replant it? Answered by Meg Tapp: Yes! If your asparagus fern survived the freeze you can use the cleanest, sharpest shovel that you have to divide it by slicing off a section that you will plant somewhere else. Be sure to slice off a large enough section of the roots so that the transplant will have enough roots to get established. Prepare your new site first by loosening the soil and adding expanded shale to the soil if it is too clay-like. Create a hole and place your transplant in it, cover with soil, and water it in. If you want to go above and beyond, you can use a product called REV. It is an organic growth stimulant that you mix with water (in a watering can). You would use REV to water in your transplant. You can get REV at Southwest Fertilizer and Buchanan’s.
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GCH April General Meeting Please mark your calendars for a virtual General Meeting on Wednesday, April 14. We will have an exciting speaker who has had many important projects that have made an impact worldwide. Deborah Nevins is the president of Deborah Nevins & Associates, the New York-based landscape design firm she founded over 25 years ago, and a partner in Nevins & Benito Landscape Architecture DPC. She has designed major public and private landscape projects throughout the United States, Europe, and the Caribbean, including two large residential projects in Houston. Her institutional work includes the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens, Greece, with Renzo Piano Building Workshop, a LEED Platinum site that includes a 40-acre public park and one of the largest green roofs in Europe. Deborah's work with DNA and NBLA on the expansion and redevelopment of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston —an expected LEED Silver site with new buildings by Steven Holl Architects—includes the master plan, new landscapes, and the renovation of Isamu Noguchi’s iconic Cullen Garden. THE GARDEN PATH
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Floral Design Tip of the Month Trying to avoid floral foam? Can’t find your favorite antique frog? Consider an alternative to the traditional metal frog — a plastic spiked disc used under furniture legs to protect carpeting! They are clear, inexpensive, and come in packs of 4 on Amazon. The “teeth” are just like those of a metal frog and hold your flowers in place when arranging. * You may need to use some floral adhesive to secure it to the vessel as they are not as heavy as metal or glass frogs.
Y U M
Thank you to Sharel Hooper, Zone IX FD Chair, for this helpful tip!
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Find Something of Beauty GCH Photography Study Group Adele Bentsen and Mimi Kerr
They make it look so easy. Some of the best of the best shared their photography techniques and images with the members in January and February. Let’s start with our first GCH lecture of the year by Nancy Kelly and Gay Estes on Classic and Modern Still Life Photography. After slides showing examples, Nancy gave us some homework to hon our skills. She also generously offered participants the use of her still life set up at her home. Just the next day at the January General Meeting, I enjoyed Kathy Adam Clark’s lecture on nature photography. Kathy shared tips on lens and photographing birds in her own backward. Clue: a tent and a perch for the birds. Taking advantage of Zoom lectures, on January 19 I enjoyed a pop-up lecture by Jim McCormac presented by the Cleveland Garden Club. Jim revealed to his curious audience the beauties of the flora and insects of Ohio. He made a great case for planting native plants. As we enjoyed the photographs Jim explained how he shot his photographs. But, most importantly the message was that beauty is all around us Two days later, I tuned in for GCA’s Photography Conference, “Imagine the Possibilities”. The virtual conference certainly held up to its name. I highly encourage you to check out the videos and additional materials that are on the GCA site. Again, a common theme of the day was, show me how you see the world and go out and find beauty, it is all around us. Here is a teaser of the lectures that are offered on the GCA website from the conference: Finding Home in Flyover Country - Michael Forsberg Nature’s Solace – Sal Taylor Kydd Creating Painterly effect on your Smartphone or Tablet – Laura Simpson Eyes Wide Open – the Joy of Nature Photography – Eddie Soloway Taking your Imagination to the Next Level with Snapseed – Yoni Mayeri Gardens of Paradise – A Brief Look at Photo Composing – Ryn Clark
At the end of the conference, Gay Estes was featured in a video chat with fellow GCA Photography Judges on how photography started in GCA. Congratulations Gay! Congratulations to Ruthie Kelly for winning the Creativity Award in the Focus Contest, America the Beautiful Keep shooting!!!!
America the Beautiful, by Ruthie Kelly
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SAVE THE DATE
Bulb and Plant Mart will be returning to St. John the Divine October 14-16, 2021!
MARCH 2021 Mon. 1
Deadline for April Garden Path
Wed. 3
Advisory Board Meeting 9:30 a.m. Virtual Meeting
Fri. 5
Floral Design One-on-One with Floral Design Chair, Liz Wozencraft Not mandatory but highly recommended for Provisionals By appointment only 10:00 a.m. Home of Liz Wozencraft 11311 Piney Point Circle, 77024
Wed. 10
General Meeting 9:30 a.m.
Tue. 23
Conversation about Conservation Details TBA
Thu. 25
Flower Show Horticulture and Horticulture Design Workshop Open to all 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon Home of Carol Price 14 Remington Lane, 77005
Mon. 29
Photography Study Group Photographing the Moon Challenges and Solutions 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Zoom presentation Instructor: Joe Smith Email Mimi Kerr to sign up mimi.kerr@icloud.com
Wed. 31
Horticulture Field Trip Houston Museum of Natural Science - Cockrell Butterfly Center Greenhouse, and Nine Natives Showcase Garden 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. 5555 Hermann Park Dr., 77030
Corresponding Secretary’s Report January, 2021
THE GARDEN CLUB OF HOUSTON EST 1924 4212 San Felipe, PMB 486 Houston, Texas 77027-2902 Member, Garden Club of America www.gchouston.org Submissions to The Garden Path may be sent to Elisabeth Millard and Melissa Rabalais
Letters of Condolence To Claire Bruce on the loss of her father-in-law, William Kirkland Bruce To Kathy Arcidiacono on the loss of her father-in-law, Achille Arcidiacono To Mary Beth Arcidiacono on the loss of her father-in-law, Achille Arcidiacono To Kelli Cravens on the loss of her uncle-in-law, Achille Arcidiacono To Janet Cravens on the loss of her uncle-in-law, Achille Arcidiacono To Sally Rice on the loss of her mother, Sara Housley Ferguson To Sally Hilliard on the loss of her sister-in-law, Mary Temperance Hilliard To Shelby Jones on the loss of her cousin-in-law, Mary Temperance Hilliard Contact Updates Melissa Rabalais’s new address is 2529 Del Monte, 77019
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