Tuesday, January 19, 2016

February 2016 Newsletter

Note from the President-   The EMHS 2016 year has already begun.  I have already filed our 2016 tax forms with the IRS, the speaker for our February 11th meeting has been confirmed, the EMHS Annual Plant Sale list is being worked on, and now I am writing the first Newsletter of 2016.  Those that ordered the Hosta Finder at the December meeting can tentatively expect the book to be here by the February meeting.  EMHS is off to a good start, but it is obvious that our growing season is still a few months away. 

This is a perfect time of year to look at the plant catalogs and decide what new additions to purchase for the gardens this year.  For Hosta catalogs you can go to the Hosta Library and click on the “links” section for a list of Hosta growers as well as some growers listed at the top of the Hosta Library page.  The URL for the AHS Hosta Library page is; http://www.hostalibrary.org/   This site is also a good place to go to find out information on Hosta you may already have growing or some you may be looking for as long as they are not new introductions as those will most likely not be entered into the data base. 

Another way to find new Hosta to purchase is to attend Hosta College in Piqua, OH on March 18 & 19, 2016.  There is always a room full of vendors offering the latest and greatest in the Hosta world and in other areas of gardening.  The Hosta College website has been updated with this year’s class offerings, the gift plant for registered participants, and the Schedule.  Please check out the possibilities at the 2016 Hosta College by going to; http://www.ihostohio.com/portal/glhc/

The EMHS meeting is a great way to help make it through one of the cold February evenings.  Our next meeting is on February 11th, 2016.  Our speaker that night is Don LaFond from Pinckney, MI.  Don is a member of the North American Rock Garden Society (NARGS) and will be speaking to us about his style of gardening,  what makes it different from what most of us do in our gardens, and why he has chosen this style as his specialty. 

Remember that our meetings also include a potluck so start thinking about what favorite dish you can bring to this meeting.  As always the club will furnish the plates, cups, flatware, and coffee.   To be different and expose you to something different I will be making Kugel from my adopted Aunt’s recipe.  You are in for a treat if you have never had Kugel. 

I look forward to kicking off another year of fun with EMHS and hope all of you are as excited.  The purpose of EMHS is, “to promote the interest of hostas and shade gardening; to extend horticultural education and activities to its members and the community.”  Let’s all look forward to a year of enjoying our common interest, Hosta and shade gardening.

See you at the February 11th meeting,
Glen Pace
EMHS President

Next Meeting- February 11, 2016 at the Mayfield Twp. Hall, 1900 N. Saginaw, Lapeer, MI 48446.  This is our regular meeting place located just south of the point of M-24 and N. Saginaw, (the driveway just north of the Cemetery). 

The speaker will be Don LaFond of the North American Rock Garden Society from Pinckney, MI.  The topic for Don’s presentation will be Rock Gardening in Full Sun.   This presentation will feature plants that many members may have never seen before.  This is a presentation you will not want to miss if you have interest in plants that will grow in full sun, require minimal to no fertilization, and are unusual when compared to the Hosta that most of us grow. 

The doors will open at 5:00 PM for Networking, Potluck Dinner at 6:00 PM, Presentation at 7:00 PM, Break at 8:00 PM, and Business Meeting at 8:15 PM.

Review the December 10, 2015 Meeting Minutes on the blog.  We will vote to accept the minutes at the January 11, 2016 meeting.

2016  Calendar of Events     ?denotes need for topic, speaker, and/or place
Jan – no meeting
Feb 11- Mayfield Twp. Hall-  Don LaFond
Mar – Hosta College – no meeting
April 14- Mayfield Twp. Hall- Julia Hoffley
May 12- Mayfield Twp. Hall, Bonsai (Becky inquiring)____
June 9- ?______________________, ?_________________
July 14- Garden Tour at the Arms Garden
Aug 11- Garden Tour at the Balabon Garden
Sept 8 – ?_____________________, EMHS Plant Exchange
Oct 13- ?_____________________, ?__________________
Nov 10- Annual Board Meeting
Dec 8- Christmas Party, Mayfield Twp. Hall

Consider Hosting an EMHS Meeting- above you see the EMHS 2016 calendar of events with a number of openings for meeting places.  We ask that you consider hosting a summer garden meeting at your garden.  Sharing our gardens is a way for all of us to learn; we get ideas for new plantings, insect control, garden art, and learn how other gardeners express themselves through their gardens.  We all have something to share, please share your knowledge with the rest of us.

2016 Hosta Finder- The members that ordered (and paid for) the 2016 Hosta Finder book at the December meeting can expect to pick up their book at the February 11th meeting.  The books have been ordered, paid for, and per Steven Greene we should have them in our possession for the February meeting. 
For others that may be interested, you can order the Hosta Finder for $22.00 each, 2-9 copies at $17.50 each, and 10 copies at 14.50 each.  We will bring this topic up at the February meeting again and the club will do another group order if we can get at least 10 orders. 

Hosta College- Each year during March, the Great Lakes Region (GLR) of the American Hosta Society hosts a gathering of approximately 360 enthusiastic gardeners from the Midwest and other parts of the US, Canada, and even Europe. This gathering is called Hosta College, and it takes place at Upper Valley Career Center in Piqua, Ohio.

Hosta College begins on Friday night with several different activities from which participants can choose. The vending area offers a large selection of plants (even though it may be snowing outside!), garden accessories, tools, and other garden-related merchandise for shoppers. The Bookstore features gardening books at fantastic discounts, stationery, society clothing items, and other Hosta College souvenirs. The auditorium and other areas provide slide presentations, talks by gardening experts, and opportunities to socialize with new and old friends from Hosta College. An auction of rare and unusual plants will be held on Friday evening. On Saturday, following a brief period for shopping in the Vending or Bookstore, classes begin at 8:30 a.m. Students attend 5 classes they have chosen from a program of over 70 classes taught by a faculty of approximately 50 volunteers. Mid-day each student has lunch from a delicious buffet included in the registration fee.

This year the dates are March 18 and 19.  The Hosta College website has been updated with the 2016 class listings and class descriptions which can be viewed at; http://www.ihostohio.com/portal/glhc/

From EMHS, Mark Hanner will be teaching a class on Japanese Gardens- Elements of Design and Glen Pace will be teaching a class on Trillium- More Than Just the White One.  Please consider joining us at Hosta College for a weekend of learning, vending, and fun. 

Name Badges- If you need one of the new EMHS name badges, please put your printed name on the sign-up sheet at any meeting or you can email Glen with your request.  Glen will try to have your name badge at the next meeting. 

The EMHS T-shirts featuring Joseph Tychonievich's Hosta Addiction self-test are $18.00 each.  The only three left are XXL.        Contact Glen at PaceGardens@charter.net
The proceeds from the sale of this shirt go to promote our “Purpose” which is, to promote the interest of hostas and shade gardening; to extend horticultural education and activities to its members and the community.


Comments to the EMHS blog:  I am mentioning blog posting to let you know that your comments to the blog can be published too.  All you have to do is go to the EMHS blog at http://easternmichiganhostasociety.blogspot.com  and comment to a blog posting which will alert me that you have made a comment.  Once I deem the comment valid for publishing I will okay and it will automatically be posted.  Please note that I cannot edit or spell check your comments, all I can do is to publish, ignore, or delete your comments.  All comments will be screened by me to deter any vulgarity or inappropriate comments being published to the EMHS blog.    Glen

Club Members selling Hosta or related products;
Please call or email to set an appointment before visiting
Daniels, Marlene- Bottle wind chimes.
     810-664-8317, gardenfairy50@aol.com
Hanner, Mark/Becky- Pottery.
     810-631-4292, mhanner@aol.com
Hunter, Barb- Hosta, Daylilies, Pond supplies.
     810-664-7531, baha@chartermi.net
Lisik, Phil/Ginger-Hosta, Daylilies, other plants.
     989-642-5772, lisik46@yahoo.com
Pickard, Carolyn- Daylilies, Hosta.
     989-871-2873, robfamily5 @yahoo.com

Websites of Interest:
American Hosta Society-
American Hosta Society Convention-       http://www.americanhostasociety.org/Activities/Conventions.htm  
AHS Hosta Library Website-
http://www.hostalibrary.org
Michigan Hosta Society Website-
Hosta College Website-
http://ihostohio.com/portal/glhc

Hosta Society Membership info-
American Hosta Society
,  $30 individual, $57/2 years, $34 family, $62/2 years
Send dues to: Sandie Markland, AHS Membership Secretary, Post Office Box 7539, Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948

Michigan Hosta Society, 
Dues are $15 per household for up to two people, good for 2 years. Make checks payable to: The Michigan Hosta Society and send to; Michigan Hosta Society, 2509 Wembly Lane, Troy, MI 48084-1280

Eastern Michigan Hosta Society, Dues $5 per year per household, Make check payable to EMHS and mail to: Barb Hunter, EMHS Treasurer, 316 Davis Lake Rd. Lapeer, MI 48746

Saginaw Valley Hosta Society, Dues $20 per year per household, Make check payable to SVHS and mail to: Marge Greskowiak, SVHS Treasurer, 10025 Lakewood Dr., Saginaw, MI 48609

EMHS Board of Officers:
President                     Glen Pace
     PaceGardens@charter.net      989-244-4029
Vice-President             Becky Hanner
     BGHanner@aol.com             810-631-4292
Treasurer                     Barb Hunter
     baha@chartermi.net               810-664-7531
Secretary                     Marlene Daniels
     gardenfairy50@aol.com         810-664-8317
Past President             Mark Hanner
     mhanner@aol.com                  810-631-4292
Fund-Raising              Mick & Cathy Hodgson     
     cehodgso@hotmail.com         810-664-8985

Saturday, January 16, 2016

December 10, 2015 Meeting Minutes

The Meeting – was held at the Mayfield Twp. Hall
Networking – 5:00 PM, setup refreshments, decorate for Christmas Party
Refreshments – the meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM
by President Glen Pace.  Everyone enjoyed the lovely Christmas potluck and ham dinner.
Business Meeting – the meeting was called back to order at 7:18PM by President Glen Pace he gave thanks to the board members, the membership and Jan and Ken for all the hard work that goes into making our club a success.
Approval of Minutes – there were no corrections to the minutes from the October 8, 2015 meeting.  Motion to accept the minutes was made by Don Mosher and seconded by Pat Maitland.  The membership voted to accept the October minutes.
Treasurer’s report – Barb Hunter explained that she would not be giving a treasurer report if there is a guest speaker that night, but she always has the reports with her if you wish to view them.  With that being said, we have 3 reports tonight.  September 2015 beginning balance was $xxx.xx, total income of $xxx.xx, no expenditures leaving the club with an ending balance of $xxx.xx for September, 2015.  October 2015 beginning balance was $xxx.xx, total income of $xxx.xx, total expenditures of $xxx.xx leaving the club with an ending balance of $xxx.xx for October, 2015.  November 2015 beginning balance was $xxx.xx with a total income of $xxx.xx, total expenditures of $xxx.xx leaving the club with an ending balance of $xxx.xx.  Don Mosher made a motion to accept all of the three treasurer reports given, and Elaine Rappley seconded it.  The membership voted to accept all three reports.
Speaker for April 2016 – The club has tentatively reserved speaker Julia Hoffley as a speaker for our April 2016 meeting.  The speaker cost is $250. 00.  President Glen Pace asks the membership if they would like her to speak.  Paulette Johnson made a motion to accept Julia Hoffley for speaker in April 2016, Deb Brown seconded the motion.  The membership voted to accept the motion.  Glen will call and make the reservation for her to speak.
A speaker is needed for the October 2016 meeting and we also need volunteers to host the summer meetings.  There is a sign-up sheet at the back of the room.
Hosta Finder – The Hosta Finder is available through Steven Greene for $22 each.  If 2 or more are ordered the price is $17.50, if 10 or more are ordered the price is $14.50 this includes postage.  Please see Barb Hunter and sign up if you would like the club to order to receive the cheaper price.
Hosta College – March 18-19, 2016.  Mark & Becky will be teaching a pottery class and Glen Pace will be giving a presentation on the Woodlanders.  There are lots of vendors, great classes, and the opportunity to see friends from all over the Midwest.
T-Shirts - Glen asked the membership what they think we should do with the remaining shirts, we have (5) 2XL and (2) 3XL left. One suggestion was to donate two to Hosta College.  Barb Hunter made a motion to donate them to Hosta College and Pat Maitland seconded the motion.  The membership voted to accept the motion.   Two shirts sold at the meeting and there are (3) 2XL left for sale at $18.00. 
Plant Exchange – The board would like to know if there are any changes that need to be considered for the upcoming 2016 Plant Exchange. There were no suggestions so the Plant exchange will remain as it was in 2015.
Announcements – Members ask if a bus trip could be possible sometime in 2016.
Break – The club took a break at 7:50PM and resumed at 8:03PM
Gift Exchange – Participation for those that brought a gift to exchange.
Adjourned – 8:45PM

Respectfully submitted
Marlene Daniels

Secretary