June 2011 Newsletter

Note from the President- For the longest time this year we wondered if we were ever going to see spring.  Well, spring came and went so fast that I am not sure that we actually had a spring.  The Trilliums were in bloom for two weeks and they were tattered with frost burn.  The Hostas started emerging and then they got burned by late frost.  Since the Cypripedium orchids are late I really thought they would be in bloom for people to come see after this month’s meeting……….then we got the heat wave and down they went along with some of the first year grafted Japanese Maples.  At Pace Gardens it was 48 degrees at night and the next day was 93.  The day after that it got up to 97.  The heat even killed one of the Cornus “Stellar Pink” that is an eight year old 10 foot tall tree.  One thing about Michigan weather; if you don’t like it just stick around a while, it is going to change!

Our EMHS Annual Plant Sale is over and EMHS made $420.00 profit to further our education efforts.  Thank you EMHS Members for making this year’s sale a great success.

Saginaw Valley Hosta Society has offered to open their Hosta and Companion Plant Sale to EMHS before the public sale dates mentioned later in this newsletter.  I will bring their availability/price list to the June meeting so EMHS can do a group order.  This will save time and confusion for their sale chairman and treasurer.  You will be asked to make out your order on a piece of paper and give Mary your payment.  Mary will then make out a single check to SVHS for the total amount.  I will pick up all plants to have at Pace Gardens for you to pick up instead of you having to drive to Saginaw.  Thank you SVHS for this opportunity!

Thank you Mark for a fantastic presentation at the May Meeting!!!

I hope to see you Thursday June 9^th at the meeting.

Glen

2011 Calendar of Events
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 11th- 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

Next Meeting- is June 9^th, 2011 at 6:00 PM at the home of Jerry and Bernadette Perrou, 1078 E. Tobias Road in Clio. 

Directions from the East; Take M-15 to Vienna Road (M-57) and turn West onto Vienna Road.  Drive 8.1 miles to Lewis Road (blinking yellow light) and turn left (South).  Drive 0.5 miles to Tobias and turn right (West).  Drive 0.6 miles to house on left. Directions from the West; From the intersection of I-75 and Vienna Road, drive East on Vienna Road 5 miles to Lewis Road (first blinking yellow light past town) and turn right (South).  Drive 0.5 miles to Tobias and turn right (West).  Drive 0.6 miles to house on left.  Our EMHS Meeting sign will be out at the road.

Vienna Greens Golf Course has given us the authorization to park in their parking lot so there is no longer a need to carpool out of necessity.  It is walking distance to their house (on the right side of Tobias before you reach the Perrou’s) from Vienna Greens and would be a lot safer than parking on Tobias Road.  For those that want to bring refreshments, please be sure to only bring cookies or finger foods as there are no tables for us to use.  Also, everybody please bring your own water or soft drinks.  The Perrou’s do have a bathroom available for our use. 

2011 Recycling Effort- All you have to do is bring your containers to the EMHS meeting and they will be collected for delivery to the drop-off.  Thanks Barb and Jane.

SVHS Plant Sale- SVHS is holding a public plant sale on Wednesday, June 15^th, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at Andersen Enrichment Center,  120 Ezra Rust, Saginaw, Michigan.  The second sale date is Friday, June 17^th, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at Downtown Saginaw Farmers Market, South Washington and Thompson.  There will be many varieties of Hosta for sale and Melva has held back only one of each variety of Hellebore, so if you are after the Hellebores, go early.

Hosta Stones- The 2011 Hosta Stones are still available for the Member price of $25 for the plain and $30 for the colored.  For those that are not EMHS Members the prices are $30 for the plain and $35 for the colored.  The stones have to be ordered in advance so please contact Mick and Cathy Hodgson at cehodgso@hotmail.com to place an order.  We also still have a few of the “in stock” stones from previous years that are on sale for the price of $20 each.  Please contact the Hodgsons’ for a list of availability.

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

May 12, 2011 Meeting Minutes

There were 45 people in attendance

Refreshments were served before the meeting.

Called to Order at 6:45 PM

The Presentation- Mark Hanner gave a wonderful informative presentation on Japanese Maples.  The PowerPoint presentation featured pictures of many cultivars, general care of J. Maples, pot culture, and other aspects of this beautiful specie.  Mark’s presentation ended at 7:30 PM.

Business Meeting- New Business
            The EMHS Annual Plant Sale purchases were handed out to those who ordered.  Two purchases are to be mailed via USPS to their respective owners.  Three other orders were given to members that live close to the purchasers so that the plants could be delivered in a timely fashion.

            Glen gave a short recap of the plant sale and announced that EMHS netted $420.00 profit from this year’s sale.

            Bob and Nancy Solberg donated a Hosta “Smiley Face” to be used as a Special Prize Drawing item.  The ticket sales brought in $79.00.  The winner of the plant was Bill Kapustka. 

            Nancy Reno spoke about the Lapeer area Master Gardener Tour.  The tour will be held on July 30^th and feature eleven local gardens.  Tickets will be available at the June and July EMHS Meetings.  More information can be obtained from Nancy Reno or Barb Hunter. 

            Barb Hunter announced her annual Memorial Day Plant and Art Sale. 

            Cathy Hodgson announced that she still has 2011 Hosta Stones for sale.

          The Door Prize drawing was held and many went home with new plants, garden items, or other trinkets. 

There was no old business

Next Meeting- is June 9^th, 2011 at the Jerry and Bernadette Perrou’s house.  The Perrou’s have a beautiful yard with huge specimen Hostas.  Glen suggested that only cookies or similar snacks be brought to this meeting as there will be no tables, people should bring their own water or soda, and that people car pool as the parking is not good at the location.  Glen is to check with Vienna Greens Golf Course to see if we can park there and walk to the Perrou’s. 

Meeting dismissed at 8:00 PM

May 2011 EMHS Newsletter

Note from the President- Even though Mid-Michigan is below the normal temperature for this time of year it appears that spring has finally started for us. The Hellebores are already starting to set seed, the Trillium are up and beginning to bloom, and the Japanese Maples are starting to leaf out. There is color bursting from the bare ground as well as the little buds we watched all winter. What sight could be more welcome this time of year?


Mark Hanner will be doing a PowerPoint Presentation on Japanese Maples for our next meeting. For those that have not already seen this program, you are in for a treat. For those that have previously seen Mark’s presentation, there are changes that will just add to the interest. So don’t miss this meeting which will be May 12th at 5:30 PM at the Mayfield Twp. Hall in Lapeer. The doors will open at 5:30, refreshments will begin at 6:00 PM, and Mark’s presentation will start at 7:00 PM.

Also at this meeting we will start selling raffle tickets for the Hosta Stone that was signed by Van Wade. Instead of Van accepting the Hosta Stone that is given to the hybridizer of the plant featured on that stone, Van Wade signed the stone to be used as a fund raiser for the club. Tickets will be sold at every meeting until the drawing is held. One thing that will be different for this raffle is that you will be asked to put your name on the ticket so if you are not present at the time of the drawing you can still be identified.

Next month begins our summer garden meetings. We look forward to seeing this years gardens and getting ideas for our own yards. May 12th is our last indoor meeting for 2011 and I hope to see every one of you there.

Glen
EMHS President

Next Meeting-The next meeting will be on May 12th, 2011 at the Mayfield Twp. Hall in Lapeer. Networking at 5:30 PM, Refreshments served at 6:00, Program at 7:00. The speaker will be Mark Hanner. Mark will give a presentation on Japanese Maples showing leaf type, texture, color, and form.

Refreshment Committee for May- is Maria Rowland, Jan Zawisa, and Deb Brown. Of course anyone is welcome to help out by bringing any snack that is fitting to the occasion.

2011 Calendar of Events
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

2011 Recycling Effort- Jane Schade spoke at our last meeting regarding the recycling efforts extra plastic flower containers. We have had members offer to collect the containers at our monthly meetings and deliver them to the drop-off points. All you have to do is bring your containers to the EMHS meeting and they will be collected for delivery to the drop-off.

SVHS Plant Sale- SVHS is holding a public plant sale on Wednesday, June 15th, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at Andersen Enrichment Center, 120 Ezra Rust, Saginaw, Michigan. The second sale date is Friday, June 17th, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at Downtown Saginaw Farmers Market, South Washington and Thompson. There will be many varieties of Hosta for sale, but please don’t expect to find a lot of Hellebores as they have sold out of the Hellebores already.

Hosta Stones- The 2011 Hosta Stones are still available for the Member price of $25 for the plain and $30 for the colored. For those that are not EMHS Members the prices are $30 for the plain and $35 for the colored. The stones have to be ordered in advance so please contact Mick and Cathy Hodgson at cehodgso@hotmail.com to place an order. We also still have a few of the “in stock” stones from previous years that are on sale for the price of $20 each. Please contact the Hodgsons’ for a list of availability.

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

Recycling of plastic plant containers

Please bring your extra plastic pots to any EMHS meeting to have them picked up for delivery to a Recycling Drop-off.  This is a worthwhile effort that saves space in landfills and why not reuse them whenever possible.  For more information you can contact Jane Schade. 

April 14, 2011 Meeting Minutes

Networking began at 5:00 PM

Refreshments were served before the meeting was called to order.

The meeting was called to order at 6:40 PM by President Glen Pace

The Presentation:
Grey Gitzen gave a very informative presentation on Hellebores with wonderful pictures of the various species and some of the beautiful cultivars.

The business portion of the meeting followed the presentation.
Jane Schade talked about the recycling program for this year. EMHS Members were encouraged to bring their excess pots to meetings so that they can be taken to the recycling drop-offs. Some members have offered to transport all pots brought to the meetings to the drop-off points.

Raffle tickets were sold to raffle off the Hostas that were traded at Hosta College for a Hosta Stone. Ticket prices were as follows; 1 for $2, 3 for $5, or 7 for $10. The plants involved were H. “Little Treasure” and H. “Dragon Tails”. The raffle grossed $85.00 for a net profit to EMHS of $55.00.

The Door Prize drawing ensued to end the meeting. A thank you was given to all the people that donated items for the door prize drawing as well as those that brought food for the refreshment table.

The next meeting will be on May 12th, 2011 at the Mayfield Twp. Hall in Lapeer. The Speaker will be Mark Hanner giving a presentation on Japanese Maples.

The meeting was dismissed at 8:25 PM

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

March 17, 2011 Meeting Minutes

Before the meeting Clayton Oslund sold a number of varieties of Hosta and companion plants. Clayton also sold his new book “What’s Doin’ the Bloomin’ ” and autographed the book for persons wanting it signed. Refreshments were served before the meeting.


Meeting was called to order at 6:00PM by EMHS President Glen Pace. All attendees were welcomed to the March Meeting of EMHS. Visitors from SVHS and other visitors were asked to introduce themselves.

Presentation was given by Clayton Oslund of MN. The presentation was about “Bringing Natures Beauty into Your Shady Garden. Clayton’s presentation was a new approach to the spring ephemeral plants of the Great Lakes Region by being done in time-line instead of the typical flower color. His new book is written using the same premise. The PowerPoint presentation was full of beautiful photographs of both native and non-native spring flowing plants. Clayton was extremely informative and most learned a lot about spring flowering plants and everybody learned something new. A lot of attendees learned there are plants available that they want to acquire for their own gardens, especially double flowering Bloodroot, double flowering Trillium grandiflorum, and some of the Chinese Podophyllums. After a short break Clayton spoke on Cypripedium orchids and gave a brief description of how to do tissue culture.

After the presentation a short business meeting was conducted.

EMHS members were reminded that it is time to pay their annual dues.

Hosta Stones were made available and sold.

EMHS Annual Plant Sale plants to be delivered at the May meeting.

Next meeting is April 14th at Mayfield Twp Hall. Grey Gitzen of SVHS will speak on Hellebores.

Respectfully submitted,

Glen Pace EMHS President