Next week, Thursday December 1st at 6:00 PM is our annual Christmas Party. Details are below.
THE EMHS 2011 Christmas Party will be held on December 1st, 2011 at the Mayfield Township Hall 1900 N. Saginaw in Lapeer at 6:00 PM. This is our regular meeting place for the cold months and is just south of the point of Saginaw and M-24 (the building north of the cemetery). For those wishing to help decorate you can arrive as early as 5:00 PM. This annual event is always a lot of fun and a great way to end the year for the club. The Club will provide the meat (ham) and table set-ups. We do ask that everybody bring a dish to pass as this is our biggest potluck of the year. We will be doing the gift exchange as we have done in the past. If you are interested in exchanging gifts, all you have to do is bring a wrapped non-gender-specific gift with a value of $10. All the gifts will be laid at the front of the room and during the party we will call names from the sign-up sheet of the people who brought gifts. If your name is called you go pick out a gift. Nobody is required to bring a gift for the exchange, but if you do not bring one please understand that you will not be able to place your name on the list to pick one out. This is the only way to assure that all people who bring a gift will receive one.
Special Plant Raffle- There will be a Ginkgo biloba “Troll” at the December meeting. Origin; Johann Wieting; from a tree in Krefeld, Germany. Among the smallest of the ginkgo selections, ‘Troll’ develops into a tight rounded form. The familiar fan shaped leaves are smaller than typical and densely packed along unusually thick stems. Choice and new this fine selection is among the best dwarf ginkgo’s to emerge on the market. 3’ x 3’. Ginkgo trees make great container plants that are totally hardy in our zone 5 climate.
This plant will go home with somebody the night of the Christmas Party as long as enough tickets are sold to cover the cost of the tree. Tickets will only be sold before the meeting starts and again just before the drawing. Be sure and get you tickets for your chance to take a “Troll” home for the Holidays.
Save in your “Favorites”- Searching for the latest EMHS Newsletter in your mail file is never an easy task. Please save the EMHS blog web address in your “favorites” so when you cannot remember the date, time, or place of the next meeting you can simply go to the blog and get the information.
Name Badges- The business that makes our name badges is not able to print in the metallic gold like the original name badges were printed in. During our EMHS Board meeting in October we tried to contact the original printer but we were unable to get a current phone number. After some discussion we decided that I would work on a new name badge. I will work on a couple of prototype formats and present them to the membership in the spring. We will vote on which one is liked best and then order new name badges for those who either don’t have a name badge or want the new one.
New Secretary Elected for HHG- Below is a revised note received from Joanna Kovalscik.
I have been elected as Secretary for The Hosta Hybridizer Group, so if you have anyone that would like membership details, they can contact me at jo43@tds.net. The first meeting of 2012 will be June 2nd. As soon as I have details regarding the speaker, I will let you know.
This is another group that may possibly be misunderstood. People may feel that because they do not hybridize that they are excluded from being a member. Not so! We have several members who simply appreciate hostas and enjoy learning more about them. Membership is open to anyone who is interested in hostas whether they are just beginning their hosta journey or have many years of experience. We meet three times per year at Matthaei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor--June, July, and November. We trade breeding stock, exchange seedlings, swap seeds, and listen to awesome speakers. In July we have a seedling contest and an auction--tons of hosta fun! I encourage all of our EMHS members to join.
The attached 2012 American Hosta Society Auction announcement just came in from Don Dean. I thought you might want to make the info available to our EMHS members. Some folks may desire to contribute plants or seeds to the auction. Donations are most welcome and much appreciated. Let's rally 'round and support the AHS!
Also, for those who are American Hosta Society members, the 2011 On-line Journal will be published on the internet on Thanksgiving Day. AHS members received their 2011 password in the March edition of The Hosta Journal (Volume 42, Number 1), page 5, and can navigate to the OLJ from the AHS website on Turkey Day. :o)
It is my concern that many of our EMHS/AHS members are not aware of the On-line Journal. I know that some members had no idea that the convention issue of The Hosta Journal had been replaced by the OLJ. It would be great if we could give it a little press.
Additionally, non-members can now enjoy the 2010 OLJ which has been made available to the public on the home page of the AHS website. Hosta collectors and hybridizers will find a wealth of information here accompanied by wonderful full-color photographs of our favorite shade plant.
Have a glorious Thanksgiving, and I will see you in December!
Joanna
Thanks to Pam Walmsley- Pam sold 17 Hosta Stones from our excess inventory to members of the Genesee County Master Gardeners. This helped deplete the excess inventory that Cathy and Mick have been storing for years. THANK YOU PAM!
Hosta Stones- The 2012 EMHS Hosta Stone is in production. Cathy and Mick will give an update at the December meeting.
We still have 28 Hosta Stones that are on sale for the reduced price of $20.00 each. The sale stones are from 2005, 2007, and 2008. There are also two 2011 natural stones and one 2011 Iron colored stone left which remain at the regular price. These would make great gifts. If interested please contact Mick and Cathy Hodgson at cehodgso@hotmail.com .
Hosta College, March 16-17, 2012- Plans for Hosta College 2012 are well underway. It is in the same great easy to get to location, nestled up to I-75 in Piqua, Ohio. The building itself is undergoing some major renovations which will need to be adjusted to but the activities remain the same.
Friday night, March 16th there will be a lot going on and as always it is a great chance to visit with friends and to shop. After a long winter of hosta withdrawal it is the perfect place for hosta and plant-addicts. There will be growers selling plants and the book store will be open.
There are a couple of date changes this year that you should be aware of:
Registration dates for HC:
Teachers and Board Jan 6 at midnight
Members Jan 13 at midnight
Others Jan 25 at midnight
Registration closes Feb 1 at midnight
This year’s attendance fee will be $42 which includes lunch on Saturday. It is a real educational bargain.
Plan to come for a great way to start the 2012 gardening year.
AHS National Convention- The 2012 AHS National Convention will be June 13-16, 2012 in Nashville, TN. The Convention is always a great way to learn more about Hosta, see friends from other states, and buy the newest Hosta available. For more information you can go to the Convention Website at; http://www.hosta2012.com/
SVHS Plant Sale- Saginaw Valley Hosta Society has voted to open their 2012 plant sale to members of EMHS. Glen will present more information about this at the December meeting.
2012 Calendar of Events:
January- No meeting scheduled
February 9th at Mayfield Twp. Hall, Jan Everson with slide show of the 2011 Nat’l Hosta Tour
March- No Meeting, Hosta College in Piqua, Ohio on March 16th & 17th
April 12th at Mayfield Twp. Hall, no speaker scheduled at this time
May 10th at the Hanner’s, Hands on paper-crete class. Nominal fee and registration required.
June 14th at The Vrable’s in Chesaning. Member Garden Tour
June 13th-16th- Nat’l Hosta Convention in Nashville, TN
July 12th at the Major’s in Goodrich. Member Garden Tour
August 9th- No meeting place set. Member Garden Tour
September 13th at the Hodgson’s in Lapeer. Annual Plant Exchange
October- No meeting scheduled
November- No meeting scheduled
December 6th or 13th (date to be set) at Mayfield Twp. Hall, Annual Christmas Party
Websites of Interest:
American Hosta Society-
American Hosta Society Convention Website-
Michigan Hosta Society Website-
http://www.hostahappenings.com/
Eastern Michigan Hosta Society blog-
Eastern Michigan Hosta Society blog-
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
Send dues to: Sandie Markland, AHS Membership Secretary, Post Office Box 7539, Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948
Michigan Hosta Society, Dues is $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: Mary Smith, EMHS Treasurer, 3431 Swaffer Rd, Millington, MI 48746
EMHS Board of Officers:
President Glen Pace
pacegardens@charter.net 989-244-4029
Vice-President Carolyn Pickard
robfamily5@yahoo.com 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
