December 2017 Newsletter

Note from the President- Hopefully all of gardens have already been prepped for the winter months we are facing.  Removing the old dead foliage from your Hosta at this time of year makes it much easier to clean the beds in spring because you don’t have to deal with the Hosta leaves and those leaves are not providing a food source for the slugs that all Hosta lovers abhor.   Another menace for the Hosta gardener is the vole which during will tunnel just under the mulch and eat the crown of the plant sometimes totally killing a plant during a single winter.   Clearing the garden will help deter these little rodents from attacking your gardens. 

Winter also gives us the “down-time” from our garden chores which allows us the chance to go through plant catalogs to find new plants for our gardens.  Take the time to write down what plants you want and where you found it listed because if you don’t order it right when you see it you may forget where you found it whether it be in a catalog or in a computer search.   These lists also become a great way to cut plants from the want list because our want list is generally a lot longer than our available planting space and/or what our wallet allows. 

The September 14^th Annual Plant Exchange was a lot of fun with many plants to choose from for the exchange, wonderful food for the potluck, and an opportunity to visit with friends.  Thank you all for sharing!

EMHS is closing the 2017 year with the Annual Holiday Festivities and Gift Exchange on December 14^th, 2017 at the Mayfield Township Hall in Lapeer, MI 48446.  This is our biggest potluck of the year so please bring your favorite dish to pass and plan on having a lot of Holiday fun.  The details of the event are covered later in this newsletter.

I want to thank all of the people who donated plants, crafts, and other items to the raffle and door prize drawings.  The monthly raffle drawings are one of the fund raisers for EMHS and the door prize drawings are an added bonus for members and visitors attending the meetings.

The Fund-Raising Committee of the Mick and Cathy Hodgson and Gene Arms have done a fantastic job organizing the Annual Plant Sales and have already made the selections for the 2018 sale.  Thank you, Mick, Cathy, and Gene, for your work on this project. 

EMHS Members that shared their gardens with the group for the summer meetings are the best!   We all learn something from every garden we get to visit and hosting a meeting is a great way to let our members see what you can teach the rest of us. 

Next, I want to thank all of the people that brought food for the potlucks throughout the year.  One of the things EMHS is known for is the fantastic potlucks at the monthly meetings and this year was no exception.

Another thank you goes out to the EMHS Board.  This dedicated group of members continues to direct the entire group in an onward and upward fashion.  At our annual Board Meeting, we discuss the plans for the next year which takes a number of hours, but ask you, our members to share your thoughts and ideas of what you would like to see planned for future meetings of EMHS.   At every meeting, we ask if there is any other topics of discussion, this is your chance to share your ideas or you can tell any Board Member so your thoughts can be shared. 

Per the EMHS by-laws 2018 is the year for elections for the Board positions of EMHS President and Treasurer.   Barb and myself have both agreed to stay on in our respective positions for the next two years but ask that anybody interested in running for the positions of President or Treasurer please notify any EMHS Board member of your interest.  Elections will take place at the May 10, 2018 meeting. 

Lastly, I want to thank you, our members, for being the kind, helpful, sharing people you are toward each other and especially to our visitors.  Because of this, our club continues to grow and with that growth comes the ability to contract new speakers which in turn assists us in 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.

See you at the December 14^th meeting,
Glen Pace
EMHS President

Next Meeting- The Annual Holiday Festivitieson December 14, 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 time schedule for the evening is;
1700-   Open doors to Hall for Decorating
1800-   Networking, set-up refreshments, Sign-in
1830-   Welcome and Introduce Visitors Dinner Served
1915-   Business Meeting
1945    Gift Exchange

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.  When 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.

Review the September 14th, 2017 Meeting Minutes on the blog.  We will vote to accept the minutes at the December 14, 2017 meeting.

2018 EMHS Calendar of Events    “?” denotes need for topic, speaker, and/or place
Meeting Dates- Places- Speakers/topic      

Jan – no meeting

Feb 08- Mayfield Twp. Hall, ?_____________

Mar – Hosta College – no meeting

April 12- Mayfield Twp. Hall- ?________________

May 10- Mayfield Twp. Hall, ?_________________

June 14- Member Garden Tour, ?________________

July 12-Member Garden Tour , ?________________

Aug 09-Member Garden Tour, ?________________

Sept 13- Annual Plant Exchange, ?______________

Oct 11- Mayfield Twp. Hall, ?_________________

Nov 08- Annual Board Meeting, Whitey’s in Davison

Dec 13- Christmas Party, Mayfield Twp. Hall

Hosting a Summer Meeting- We need volunteers to host our summer meetings.  I will have a sign-up sheet at the next meeting if you are willing to open your gardens to our group and host one of the summer member garden meetings. 

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.  

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

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 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

Websites of Interest:

American Hosta Society-
http://www.americanhostasociety.org/

American Hosta Society Convention Website-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, 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