August 2016 Newsletter

Note from the President- No rain has fallen in weeks and the garden hoses are getting a daily work-out.  Does this sound familiar to your house too?  The total rainfall at Pace Gardens since May 1, 2016 is 6.32 inches.  May gave us 1.35 inches of rain, June was the wet month at 2.95 inches, and July with temps in the 90’s most days has given us a meager 2.02 inches and there is no way to keep up with the plant’s needs when there is one spigot of water to tap.  Every day we go out into the gardens to assess which gardens are showing the worst symptoms of drought so they can be watered first or at least as soon as the sun us no longer on that garden so it can be watered without scalding the leaves of the plants.  To find a bright side to this, consider this a test to find out which plants are able to withstand some drought then make notes for future reference.  Share your findings with others and compare notes to make a list of plants you can recommend to others.

Our meeting last month at Gene and Louise Arms was a lot of fun with hundreds of Hosta to look at and everybody got to take a Hosta home with them thanks to Gene and Louise.  Gene said that the volunteer seedling Hosta were plants from Mick Hodgson’s gardens that were self-sown a few years back.  Gene’s Gardens are a great place to figure out Hosta identity simply because he has so many marked named varieties that you can walk through and compare a leaf to plants that resemble your leaf until you find a match.  Off to the side of Gene’s main gardens is a small multi-level garden of Hosta which Ethan (Gene & Louise’s grandson) is the proud owner.  There is a picture on the blog of Ethan with his garden.  Ethan wants to be a Hosta hybridizer and at his age he has the capability of seeing many generations of seedlings from his hybridizing efforts.   Big thanks go out to Gene and Louise for sharing their gardens with us as well as for their wonderful hospitality.  I also want to thank Ethan for showing us his garden and helping people throughout the entire evening.

Our next meeting is at Steve and Marilyn Balabon’s home.  Steve said their house is back in the woods so when your GPS says you are there, you’re not keep driving back into the woods.  I look forward to this meeting as this is my first time seeing the Balabon’s gardens. 

       

A few things to remember about the EMHS Summer meetings at members gardens;
Bring your own folding chair to sit in
Bring your favorite dish to pass for the potluck
Dress for the weather (sunscreen/umbrella)
Be prepared to have a great time
Leave once the meeting is dismissed to give the gardener time to unwind after the meeting

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

Next Meeting- Our next meeting is on August 11, 2016 at the home of Steve & Marilyn Balabon, 8279 Marys Lane, Fostoria MI 48435 and their phone number is 989-795-2700. 

The time schedule for the evening is;
5:00 Tour Gardens/Networking
6:00 Potluck

7:00 Business Meeting

Driving Directions-
            (from our regular meeting place of the Mayfield Twp. Hall) – Drive North on M-24 for 13.5 miles to Millington Road.  Turn left (West) and drive 2.5 miles to Mary’s Lane.  Turn right (North) and drive 4/10ths of a mile to the house.  Steve Balabon says GPS will stop you at the edge of the woods……the house is back in the woods at the end of Mary’s Lane.  The EMHS sign will be at the corner of Millington Rd. and Mary’s Lane.

2016  Calendar of Events     ?denotes need for topic, speaker, and/or place
Aug 11- Garden Tour at the Balabon Garden
Sept 8 – EMHS Plant Exchange, Daniels Garden
Nov 10- Annual Board Meeting
Dec 8- Christmas Party, Mayfield Twp. Hall

Review the July 14th, 2016 Meeting Minutes on the blog.  We will vote to accept the minutes at the August 11, 2016 meeting.

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 two 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
Brown, Deb- Aeroponic Tower Garden.
     505-379-9100, www.debbrown.towergarden.com

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-

http://www.americanhostasociety.org

American Hosta Society Convention-       http://www.americanhostasociety.org/Activities/Conventions.htm  

AHS Hosta Library Website-
http://www.hostalibrary.org
Michigan Hosta Society Website-

http://www.hostahappenings.com
Eastern Michigan Hosta Society blog-   http://easternmichiganhostasociety.blogspot.com

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: Gordon Burnside, SVHS Treasurer, 11640 W Freeland Rd. Freeland, MI 48623

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