Annual December Christmas Greens Sale for 2020 has been cancelled.
Seal Rock Garden Club
Holiday Greens December greens sale is cancelled
2020 Greens Sale Cancelled
Seal Rock Garden Club members would typically be getting ready this month to go into wreath production in anticipation of our wonderful Greens Sale held in early December. Unfortunately, this is not a typical year. With Covid 19 cases rising again, we are reminded of the need to wear masks and socially distance to prevent further spread. Making wreaths, swags, and centerpieces requires many people working in close proximity for extended periods. We have discussed a number of alternatives that would allow us to bring our customers a quality product and conduct a sale that would be safe and enjoyable for everyone. In the end we have decided to cancel the Greens Sale for 2020. We trust that our many faithful customers will understand our decision and come back to us in December, 2021. Thank you for your continued loyalty.
Carrie Davis, SRGC President
Carol Brescher, Greens Sale Chair
About Us
History of the Club
Founded in 1948, Seal Rock Garden Club is a 70 year plus community non-profit organization formed for coastal gardeners to share their knowledge of plants and to provide a social setting for individuals interested in gardening, conservation and support of community gardening projects. A housing barracks for conscientious objectors during World War II, the clubhouse originally located at Camp Angell, Waldport was purchased at auction for $306 and was moved to its' present site in Seal Rock in the 70's.
Meetings
Monthly meetings are held every 3rd Wednesday of the month, from September to June with presentations on gardening topics relevant to coastal gardening. Meetings begin at 11:00am, with monthly presenter, followed by general meeting and lunch provided by members.
***As of October 2020, we are conducting our meetings via Zoom, with programs planned 1 month prior to meeting***
We meet when the weather starts to turn cool and rainy, allowing us maximum time in the garden during the warmer, drier summer growing months. Field trips to private and public gardens are available to members as well as visitors throughout the course of our "club season". Experts from Oregon State University, private enterprise, University of Oregon and others in their field of expertise present informative lectures and demonstrations on horticulture, flower arrangement and master gardening. Presentations begin at 11:00 a.m. followed by a business meeting and a light lunch. Our meetings are free and open to the public. The club is a non-profit organization, 501 (c) (4).
Special Events
Each year members are involved in two major fund raising events, the Greens Sale in December and the Flower and Plant Show in June.
Our annual Christmas Greens Sale takes place in early December. ***This event has been cancelled for 2020 due to Covid***
Locally grown greens are crafted and designed into wreaths, swags, and table arrangements made by members. Holiday gifts, small live decorated trees and a raffle of gift items are available for purchase. Funds from the Greens Sale are used for maintaining the clubhouse and grounds.
**June Plant Sale 2020 has been cancelled due to Covid 19***
The Flower and Plant Sale in mid-June is an end of the year event with the clubhouse decorated with spring flowers and the surrounding yard full of sale plants suitable for coastal gardens. Mark your calendars for our Plant Sale. Gardeners start lining up early to buy plants. Sales are brisk. A portion of the funds raised go to nonprofit organizations that support gardening, education, conservation and local civic gardening projects.
GROWIN' COASTAL
Kudzu vs. Wild Cucumber ????
By Sally Noack
Common Names: Kudzu, Japanese arrowroot
Scientific Name: Pueraria montana (syn: Pueraria
montana var. lobata, Pueraria lobata)
- Description: Kudzu is a fast growing perennial vine in the Fabaceae (pea) family. The dark green leaves alternate on the vines, have three distinct leaflets that are sometimes lobed, and are hairy on the undersides. The taprooots can grow to be quite massive, and can weigh hundreds of pounds. The pea-like flowers are dark pink to purple, (sometimes red), and they are often pleasantly fragrant, like grapes. Kudzu mostly spreads vegetatively, but it also can spread by seeds that grow brown, hairy, flattened pods.
- The plant grows a bit like English ivy (Hedera helix) or manroot (Marah oreganus, also called wild cucumber). However, the leaves, fruits, and flowers of these plants are quite distinct. Ivy has small yellow-green flowers and dark purple berries. A vining native perennial in the cucumber or gourd family (Cucurbitaceae), manroot has white flowers and green spiky cucumber-like fruits, while kudzu has purple flowers and dark brown pea-like pods. All three plants have lobed leaves, but kudzu is the only one with 3 separate leaflets.
- The reason why common names can be confusing: the following describes another plant sharing the name wild cucumber, but it is not our manroot. "In late summer you may notice trees or shrubs festooned with crowns of white flowers that obviously are not the woody plant blooming. Look closely and you'll notice the leaves and individual flowers look just like that of a cucumber -- this is wild cucumber or balsam-apple, Echinocystis lobata. The name Echinocyctis comes from the Greek echinos for "hedgehog" and systis for "bladder", appropriately describing the spiny fruit. A vining native annual in the cucumber or gourd family (Cucurbitaceae), wild cucumber is often overlooked until it it large and sometimes has engulfed the other plants it is growing on. It occurs throughout much of North America, including all of Wisconsin. Its native habitat is along streambeds, swamps, and moist thickets or roadsides. As a fast-growing, warm season annual, wild cucumber grows from seed each year, germinating after the last frost." Remember, Manroot is a perennial.
- Similar Symptoms, Different Causes: A friend asks, "Why are some branches of my lilac (Syringa spp.) showing wilted leaves, dieback, and/or weakened growth, and even death?" Here are a few answers: 1) Physical tree or shrub damage, which can be caused by lawnmowers or weed-eaters scarring the base of the plant and disrupting the flow of the nutrients to branches. 2) The Red-breasted Sapsucker (a woodpecker) is responsible for some tree damage in our area. Sapsuckers drill 1/4 inch holes in the bark of trees and large shrubs, especially those with thin bark, in horizontal or vertical lines. These holes are often mistaken for insect damage by beetles and other bark boring insects. However, insects inflict random bark damage; their holes are fewer and smaller and not in orderly rows like sapsucker holes; and there is often boring dust (frass) in or on the ground around them. Sapsucker damage does not indicate that the tree or shrub has an insect problem as sapsuckers drill for tree sap, not insects. (For more information and control of sapsucker damage see https://pnwhandbooks.org/node/269). 3) Insect damage by the Lilac (Syringa) - Ash borer (Podesesia syringae). This insect resembles a paper wasp. Adult moths overwinter in the bark, emerging from small exit holes in spring. They mate, deposit eggs on the bark at the base of plants leaving telltale sign of frass or sawdust, and the young larvae tunnel under the bark. At maturity the life cycle begins again. After infestation, plants will eventually show branch dieback and weaken growth or die. (For more information including management/control of this insect pest see https://pnwhandbooks.org/node/6938).
- Other Gardening News: 1) Garden Gate magazine May/June 2019 and April 2019 issues have wonderful articles and photos of butterflies, their larval caterpillar stage and their host plants, and spring gardens. I found both issues packaged as one item at Costco. 2) Better Homes and Gardens magazine published a special issue entitled "Succulents" which has lots of great information and ideas for using succulents in gardens and containers, etc. 3) A note on best practices: please try to use the least toxic control method for weeds, plant pests, and diseases. Recently court cases regarding glyphosates (such as Round-Up) as cancer causing agents have been won against chemical manufacturers (reference: Science Magazine, May 22, 2019). Please always follow the package directions if you use any chemical. More information is available at your local OSU Extension Office.
by Betty Bahn and Sally Noack
"Growin Coastal" is the work of members Betty Bahn and Sally Noack. This garden-wise contribution is culled from their many years of coastal gardening experience, research and education. Their presentations, "Horticultural Table Notes", at our monthly meetings guide members on practical, timely how-to measures on what to do in the garden, information on garden events, and in-depth answers to questions and whatever and anything anyone wants to talk about. "Growin' Coastal" aims to continue to offer their guidance here in written form. In this issue, we offer Sally's contribution to "Growin' Coastal" as Betty's appeared in an earlier posting.