April 2011 Newsletter

Note from the President- We have been teased by Mother Nature this year more than in recent years. I have been looking through my digital pictures of the past seven years of springs and this is the first April that I have not had all the Hellebores in full bloom. Before the last 6 inch snowfall (when I was writing the March Newsletter) I had Hellebores, Eranthis, Galanthus, and Cyclamen in bloom. Then we had a 6 inch snowfall that covered them totally. Then last week in my area we got another two inches of snow-ice-slush on top of that. Over the past three days we have had enough above freezing temps to melt about seventy percent of the winter precipitation from Pace Gardens, but there are still areas in the dense shade that are snow covered. I am hoping to have a few blooms of the Hellebores to bring to the April meeting, but that is totally up to Mother Nature.


Our last meeting with Clayton Oslund as our speaker was a huge success. Besides an extremely informative presentation with beautiful photographs, Clayton sold Hosta, Arisaema, Epimedium, and other companion plants to us at fantastic prices. We also got to purchase his new book and get it autographed. I appreciate the layout of the book and the means in which he categorized the plants. Now we have a way to ID plants by bloom time instead of just by bloom color. Clayton also donated a number of plants to our door prize drawing and gave all of us that wanted it, a copy of his first book on The Gardens of Hawaii.

The wholesale Hosta Order that Clayton offered us through Shady Oaks has been completed. The order was finalized with 15 varieties and a total of 192 plants. Doing this type of plant sale is not for the impatient person for sure. Availability of any one variety of plant from a wholesale company can change daily and it did for our order. We got 15 varieties, but a total of more than 40 varieties were originally requested. Trying to coordinate this order was not easy, but I wish to thank all that were involved and especially those that were quick to pay for the plants they ordered since the entire $620.00 was charged to my credit card. If you are interested in purchasing plants please ask the people that ordered them if they will part with some of their plants. This order was offered to the entire membership at cost and absolutely no profits were made by me for coordinating the order. All plants, shipping, and tags were billed to the people that were involved in the order at the actual cost. Those orders will be available for pick-up at the April 14th meeting.

I want to thank all people that brought refreshments to the March Meeting. I knew we would have visitors and even some visitors brought food. We have one of the best groups I have ever encountered and each of you should be commended. It does not go unnoticed.

Our next meeting will be about one of my favorite plants, Helleborus. I hope to see you on April 14th.

Glen

The Next Meeting- for EMHS will be on April 14th, 2011 at the Mayfield Twp. Hall in Lapeer. The speaker will be Grey Gitzen from Saginaw, MI giving a presentation on Hellebores. Grey’s presentation covers more than just H. orientalis although that is the most popular variety grown in the US. Most of you will be pleasantly surprised at the variety in the bloom color, size, and shape (including singles, semi-doubles, and doubles) as well as the variety of leaf shapes of these beautiful spring bloom perennials.

Refreshment Committee- for the April meeting is Jim and Ellie Vrable. The Smith’s were scheduled but have other commitments and will not be attending. Any refreshment help would be appreciated.

Hosta Stones- We still have some previous years Hosta Stones available at the discounted price of $20.00. The discounted price is only applicable to stones that are already in inventory. All special order stones will be at the regular price. The new 2011 Hosta Stones can still be ordered by contacting Mick & Cathy Hodgson at the address or phone listed at the end of this newsletter. Prices are; $25.00 for natural and $30.00 for colored for EMHS Members and $5.00 more for non-members.

Membership Dues- If you have not yet paid your 2011 EMHS Membership dues please do so by sending your check to EMHS Treasurer Mary Smith. Dues were to be paid by the March meeting. Mary will have the most up to date printout of the membership list at every meeting if you need to check on your membership status.

Dick Pickard, Carolyn’s husband had a heart attack on March 29th. Dick is now at home recuperating. Our thoughts are with him for a speedy recovery.

SVHS Meeting April 13th- EMHS President, Glen Pace will be doing a Japanese Maple grafting presentation at the Saginaw Valley Hosta Society meeting on Wednesday April 13th, 2011 at 7:00 PM at the Rustic Inn in St. Charles, MI. There will be a hands-on grafting session after the presentation. Kits are available for the cost of $7.00 per tree grafting kit. If you are interested in attending the meeting please contact Melva Bond at bigcliff1@msn.com . There is limited seating available so please contact Melva ahead of time.

American Hosta Society National Convention is June 23-25, 2011 in Marlborough, Massachusetts. The web site is http://www.americanhostasociety.org/Conventions.html . This year’s Convention is hosted by the New England Hosta Society. For all the information and to register you can go to http://www.hosta2011.org/ .

Door Prizes- are objects that have been donated to the club for that specific purpose. EMHS appreciates any donations to use as door prizes. Drawings are held at most monthly meetings.

Raffle Prizes- are things that have been either traded for or purchased by the board or things that have been donated to raise money for the club. Raffle tickets are sold at each meeting and the drawings for those items are done when the minimum amount of money has been raised to cover the cost of the item.

Want to run for office?- Since we have asked at the last three meetings if members wanted to run for office and be on the EMHS Board I felt we should include a list of the duties of each Board position. Below are the duties as decided and approved by the board last year.

Officer’s Job Duties as approved by the EMHS Board at the October 18, 2010 Board Meeting:
President- Coordinates meetings, presides over meetings, obtains and secures speakers for meetings, confirms hall reservations for meetings, writes and emails newsletters and any other notifications, calls board meetings as needed, oversees the EMHS blog site and publishes all minutes and newsletters on blog, conducts door prize and raffle drawings as dictated.

Vice President- Assumes the duties of President when the President is absent. Co-signatory on EMHS checking account, helps set-up hall for meetings, sends thank you notes to speakers or hosts for current meeting.

Treasurer- Keeps the EMHS checking account up to date and balances account on a monthly basis, keeps receipt book up to date and purchases new receipt books as needed, writes and mails checks as needed for EMHS business, keeps records of monies received and paid out for special events, has an up to date Treasurer’s report ready for each regularly scheduled meeting, has all financial records ready for an annual audit that the Past President will over-see.

Secretary- Keeps EMHS Membership List up to date on a monthly basis, takes minute notes at the monthly meetings and writes the Meeting Minutes for each meeting (these will be emailed to the President to publish on the blog), mails newsletters by USPS as dictated by membership list, alerts members via email/USPS as to their dues status when applicable, secures the Mayfield Twp. Hall for meetings, sells raffle tickets at the meetings and assists with drawings.

Fund Raising Coordinator- Oversees Hosta Stone project and keeps record of all monies involved, brainstorms for ways EMHS can increase revenue and helps to initiate those ideas into reality.

Past President- The “go-to” person for the rest of the EMHS Officers, assists other Officers with answers to problems that arise in their duties, oversees an annual audit of the EMHS financial records and checking account.

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EMHS Annual Hosta Sale- This is a reminder that the plants from our annual sale will be delivered at the May 12th meeting.

The Garden Park in Holly, MI is having a plant sale on July 8-10th. The flyer states there will be 250 varieties of Hosta and 2500 varieties of Daylilies for sale as well as garden art and other items. For information you can contact Alon Marie: 810-728-3252. To see the gardens for yourself or to get a map: gardenparkinc.com .

Hosta Tailgating June 10-11, 2011- This is an upcoming event that will take place this year in Avon, OH. You must be a member of the American Hosta Society (AHS) or for us the Michigan Hosta Society (MHS).

You must be a member of the MHS to come join in the fun. MHS dues are $15 for two years of which $2 goes to the Region each year; for us this would be Region 4 (Great Lakes) of the AHS. For further information contact Bob at bobsinke@comcast.net

The concept is quite simple and fun filled. Hosta and plant enthusiasts would come together on a Friday afternoon to share their gardening experiences, concerns, and questions, bring plants to swap or sell, and/or purchase available hostas, perennials and conifers. Friday evening would bring us together for a cookout. Attendees would bring a cooler and beverages and be able to cook on an available grill. Attendees would also be responsible for their own lodging at a nearby hotel. We all could casually share friendship and “plant talk”.

On Saturday attendees would be provided maps listing nurseries, available greenhouses, garden centers, and open gardens. You would be able to attend as many venues as you want.

On Saturday night we would all return for another cookout. Some attendees may want to drive home on Saturday after touring the area. The idea is that everyone plans his or her own time. There are no fees for the event. However, a small auction will be held to defray the costs of printing out the Saturday Schedule. Attendees are encouraged to bring hostas for swapping or trading. As you can see there is no set schedule, Dress is very casual, the cost is minimal BUT you can still enjoy hosta friends and surely make some great purchases of rare and unusual plants. Hopefully a few vendors will participate in the event.

The first Hosta Tailgate will take place at Jon Soucek’s house in Avon, Ohio.

2011 Calendar of EventsApril 14th- Grey Gitzen presenting a slide show on Hellebores
May 12th- Mark Hanner presenting a slide show on Japanese Maples
June 9th- Garden Meeting at the home of Jerry and Bernadette Perrou in Clio
July 14th- Garden Meeting at the home of Carolyn Pickard in Millington
August 12th- Garden Meeting at the home of Dyane Moore
September 8th- EMHS Plant Exchange at the home of Pam Walmsley in Grand Blanc
October 2011- No meeting scheduled
November 2011- No meeting scheduled
December 2011- Annual Christmas Party/Potluck, date to be announced

EMHS Officers:
President, Glen Pace pacegardens@charter.net 989-244-4029
Vice-President, Carolyn Pickard (no email) 989-871-2873
Treasurer, Mary Smith brooktrout@tds.net 989-871-9833
Secretary, Marlene Daniels gardenfairy50@aol.com 810-664-8317
Past President, Mark Hanner mhanner@aol.com 810-631-4292
Fund-Raising, Mick and Cathy Hodgson cehodgso@hotmail.com 810-664-8985