Flourish Meeting Minutes – 17 October 2009 October 19, 2009

Shaune welcomed us into her lovely home in Kirstenhof for a good chat, and some very tasty tea and treats! Thanks Shaune!

Items raised and discussed

2010 Committee

Due to the rather low turn-out, we decided to postpone the vote for the new 2010 committee to the November meeting.

Fortunately, a number of members expressed an interest in getting involved! Thanks ladies!

We’ve create a new role for 2010, focussing on researching and managing opportunities for our club to get involved in community programs, or specific schemes or charities we’d like to donate to! Shaune proposed herself for the role.

Michelle proposed herself to take the role of secretary.

Thanks ladies.. we’ll confirm these proposals at the vote next month.

Committee members stepping down are: Jo Reidy, Jo Austin, and Ally (I’ll be involved simply as far as managing the blog, and initially to hand-over to the new chairperson).

The roles that still need to be filled, or don’t have any volunteers to fill them yet, are as follows:

Membership Co-ordinator:  This role involves keeping track of attendance and RSVPs, managing our list of the member’s contact details, managing the flourish email account and co-ordinating with the treasurer with regard to payment of subs etc.

Speaker Co-ordinator’s Assistant: this role would involve assisting Caroline with managing and finding topics / speakers/ and venues for our meetings etc

Vice Chairperson: The idea of this position is for one of the members to assist and fill in for the Chairperson when she needs extra help, or cannot host a meeting herself.  This isn’t an entire role in itself, so would be held by a member that already has their own role.   This member would then be prepared and ready to take on the Chairperson role in the following year.

Chairperson: This role simply involves coordinating with, and empowering the rest of the committee members as they execute their own tasks by ensuring they have the tools they require; It’s also a chance to keep an eye on the general vibe of the club, to make sure there is a positive momentum and that everyone is still happy and enjoying it!

2010 Venues

A number of members have already volunteered their homes for next year’s meetings. Thanks!  Please contact Caroline if you’d like to host at your house.

Spring/Summer Photo Competition

The deadline for the Spring/Summer photo competition is the end of February – And we’ll take a vote for the winner at the March meeting at Debbie Turberville’s house!

‘Project Flourish’ Day

The April meeting, at Nikkie’s house, will be dedicated to members showcasing the transformations they’ve been making in their gardens, whether big, or small, complete revamp, or one simple veggie patch.  Members will get a chance to share their pictures, cuttings, success and failure stories and also ask advice from the rest of the club.

November Meeting

The November meeting will be at Jane Jordan’s place, and we’ll be given the privilege of seeing and learning about her gorgeous roses.

Library Books

Constantia Valley Garden Club have been kind enough to offer to ‘refresh’ the selection of books we’ve been loaning from their library!

We’ll be adding Jane Jordan’s book, “My Delicious garden” to our own collection.

Nikkie has a contact at Readers Warehouse – so if you’d like to buy books for the club, please chat with her, and she can arrange a discount.

Membership Subs

Nikkie will take a look at the financial situation, and decided whether or not we need to increase the subs slightly for 2010.

Christmas Party

The Christmas party will be on November 28^th. We’ll meet a little later in the morning, and everyone is asked to bring a plate of eats, and something to drink, as well as a plant to put into the plant exchange.

• By Ally Reidy

August meeting: Hydroponics talk August 4, 2009

At our August meeting this past Saturday, I shared with our members some of my experience and research on the topic of Hydroponics Gardening.  Here is a basic framework of the items I covered.

(Credit for a great deal of this info goes to the book: Hydroponics, by Dudley Harris )

Definition:

HYDRO: Water

PONICS: Labour

Some say Hydroponics was used in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. More recently, in the 1930′s, scientist Dr Gericke of California commercialised early lab experiments, which peaked public interest.  The technology was also used extensively during war times.

The word Hydroponics is a misnomer, as it is generally used to describe all forms of soilless cultured.

Advantages

• No crop rotation

• Virtually no weeds and soil-born pests

• Uniform results

• Cleanliness

• Larger yields

• Less labour

• Better control

• Easy to start off new plants

• Upgrade poorly plants

• Arable land not required

Three Different Types

1. Water culture

• Least adabtable, not used to a large extent

• Modern variation called NFT (Nutrient Film Technique)

• Take a look at this fun idea for a home Water Culture using a collander

2. Sand/Vermiculite culture

• Solid media

  • Overhead feeding

  • Sub irrigation feeding

  • Very easy for home grower

• nearest method to growing in soil

3. Gravel Culture

• Most widely used

• Sub irrigation

  • External reservoir

  • Nutrient pumped in, and flows back into reservoir

• ‘gravel’ describes the size of the stone

• Advantages

  • With this method, the old /new air exchange is very good

  • The nutrients are re-used

  • Gravel lasts indefinitely

• Highest cost outlay initially

• Product: Hydroton: Clay pebble

Small scale Hydroponics

• Use a container about 20/30 cm deep

• Any shape – a window box is a good idea

Container Materials and treatment

• Variety of materials:

  • Wood, plastic, glass, asbestos cement, metal

• Paint the inside of the container with bitumen if necessary

  • Plastic – no need to treat

  • Wood – to prevent rotting

  • Glass – to prevent light from affecting the pH of the medium and nutrient

  • Galvanised metal – to prevent the effect on the zinc levels of the nutrient

  • Asbestos cement – prevent the pH levels being affected

Drainage

• Drainage is very important:

  • 6 mm holes

  • Cover with nylon gauze

  • Then add a 2.5 cm layer of stones, which are around 6/12 mm diameter

Media material

• Variety of Media:

  • Builders sand / Coconut husk / vermiculite / perlite

  • Sand:

    • Inert – ensure it doesn’t contain shell, which affects the pH levels

      • Test this by placing a 6mm layer of sand in a glass tumbler

      • Just cover with water

      • Then add an equal amount of Hydrochloric acid (pool acid)

      • If this effervesces, your sand unfortunately contains shell

  • Coconut husk

    • Buy a brick from nursery, and add to a bucket of water, until it expands completely.

    • Great for summer, as it holds more moisture than other media

    • Perhaps mix it with vermiculite and/or perlite to make it less absorbent

  • Vermiculite

    • Mica based – treated with high heat to make it more porous and absorbent

    • Aerated – hold air and water well

    • Collapses over time – replace every 18 months or so.

  • Perlite

    • Mined volcanic material

    • Almost pH neutral

    • Absorbs water well

    • Can be a bit ‘fly away’ in wind

    • Also collapses over time – replace every 18 months or so.

Planting

• Seeds

  • cover while germinating, with card or sheet of wood etc

  • keep moist – extra overhead watering

• Seedlings – wash the soil off the roots if possible or if desired

• Bulbs, corms, tubers

• Cuttings – as in soil

• Adult plants

Food

• Buy Hydroponic nutrient powder from the nursery

• Follow the instructions on the pack for solution ratios

• Leave overnight after dissolving

• The nutrient reservoir or storage container needs to be

  • Dark – light causes iron to be thrown out of solution

  • Use bitumen to paint the container to darken it

• Seedlings – sometimes a half strength solution is better

Feeding Methods

Overhead

• Simply and easy

• Use a watering can

  • Water till the medium is as wet as a wetted sponge rung out

• Getting nutrient on the foliage is not a problem

• You can optionally use fresh solution of nutrient at each feed – no need to store the nutrient

• Regulate the frequency based on wind and sun

Dry Feeding

• Easiest home method

• Sprinkle a pinch at the base of the plant – and water in

• Nutrient lasts around 2 weeks

• Can be a bit tricky with low growing plants like lettuce

• Use +- 15g/m2 ; A 90 x 20 cm window box would need around a teaspoon of nutrient

Sub-Irrigation

• Sealed tank

• Nutrient led in at the bottom, brought to a certain level, flows out again (into the reservoir)

• Success due to efficient old air/new air exchange

• Gravel is best – or sand

• First Setup

  • Small containers – used sand as a medium

  • Place them in a larger sealed outer vessel

  • Add nutrient solution to the outer vessel

  • Fill till containers are half submerged

  • Leave for 30 minutes, and drain solution back into the reservoir

  • Do this once a day

  • Top the reservoir up with water in case of evaporation

  • Replace the solution +- every 10 days

• Second Setup

  • Larger sealed container

  • Inlet pipe attached via tubing to the bottom of a bucket, filled with nutrient solution

  • Place C shaped tiles or a U-trough along the length of the bottom of the tray

  • Fill with medium and plant up

  • To feed, lift the bucket so the solution runs into the reservoir

  • Leave for 30 minutes, and drop the bucket for the solution to run out again

  • Occasional overhead watering can be beneficial

Drip-System

• Using irrigation tubing and a water pump, to pump water using drip nozzles onto the plants

• Once a day

• Re-use of solution stored in reservoir

• Less labour, and less waste and evaporation

The Wick System

• Don’t need to water/feed manually

• Great for going away on vacation

• Only need to top up reservoir, and change every ten days

• Encourages healthy level of constant moisture

You need:

• A pot with at least two holes (cover all but one of the holes with nylon gauze)

• In the other, place a plastic collar, and thread a nylon wick through it into the pot.

• Splay both ends of the wick

• Place the other end of the wick in the bottom of the nutrient reservoir

• Fill the reservoir with nutrient solution

• Plant up the pot with your choice of medium, and your plant

Important considerations

Light

• Consider the position of your plants – plant’s sun requirements

• Light encourages algae to grow on the medium – cover the exposed medium with card or stones

• Reservoir and container need to be darkened

Rain

• Harmless usually

• Can sometimes disturb seeds/seedlings – cover them with card

• If reservoir is not sealed, rain might dilute the nutrient solution – monitor and top up with nutrient

• Monitor for overflowing as well

Wilting

• Insufficient moisture – increase watering

• Constant wilting – sign that the container might be too small

• More severe wilting – could be bacterial wilting, or root rot

Flushing

• Flush the system with water every 6 weeks

• Gets rid of the built-up salts

Algae

• Harmless

• Can be a sign of poor drainage

• To prevent, cover the exposed surface with stones, or card

Staking

• Some media types cannot support stakes

• External support required

Wind

• Consider building a wind-break for the plants, without creating shade

• External staking once again might help

The future for hydroponics

• Overpopulation is increasing at such a rate that our ability to grow enough food to feed it is in doubt

• In year 1800, we had a population of 900 million

• In 2063 it is predicted that we’ll have 24 billion!!

• To house this population, arable land will be used for industry, housing, and buildings

• Raising crops hydroponically doesn’t require arable land

• With technology for converting salt to fresh water, we shouldn’t have a real shortage, on a large scale.

• Hopefully architects will by default design hydroponic tanks into their buildings

• Many people already raise fresh veg, herbs and fruit on their roofs. This could happen more and more.

• Basements, using artificial lighting are also an option for growing hydroponically

• All this will need government buy in and public education.

Minutes: Flourish Garden club meet: 18th April 2009 April 21, 2009

Venue: Constantia Hills.

 

Host: The meeting was held at Debbie’s house. Debbie has an amazing water feature complete with rock-fall, stream and pond which enhances the peaceful atmosphere in her garden. Thanks for hosting this month’s meeting Debbie.

 

“The best way to garden is to put on a wide-brimmed straw hat
and some old clothes. And with a rake in one hand and a cold
drink in the other, tell somebody else where to dig.”

 

Guest Speakers: Heimo Schulzer & Carrie Latimer of Schulze Design Company (Tel 021 702 3616, www.swgardens.co.za) ED – have a look at the web site!!!

 

Topic: Hard Landscaping. 

 

We certainly picked the experts for the talk on the above topic. Heimo has studied Landscape Design in Germany and Carrie has a degree in Fine Arts and has studied horticulture at Chelsea; both have many years experience in the field of landscaping.

 

The talk included a slide-show presentation of the different features discussed. Carrie suggests we keep an ‘inspiration’ file. She says that success is a collaboration between architecture and coherent structure: one needs to work with the skeleton of a garden to give is shape or form (be it straight or curved). 3 Common issues Carrie discussed in detail were:

1. leveling (terracing, straightening out an awkward slope, steps -  rise 10-15cm, tread 30cm, float a walkway over surface, grass steps, retainer walls)
2. edging (stone, metal, hedge, wooden, brick, cobble edging, using roof tiles, form & function of edging)
3. softening/ greening a space (creepers, container, cut-out using trees, shrubs, grasses. For simplicity be inspired by Mexican landscapers).

 

Points to consider in a new garden was discussed by Heimo:

1. Soil: Where most of your budget goes: soil conditions/ analysis, level changes, adding organic fertilizers (pop up), bone meal etc, mixing soil with clay or sand as required.
2. Drainage/ Irrigation: subsidence area, rainfall in region, adding drains, irrigation systems, watering times, indigenous water-wise plants.
3. Hard landscaping: walls, edging etc.
4. Plants: spend on trees, screen, “form & structure” plants.

 

             News

 

Welcome: Julie (nee Alexander).

 

General: Attendance very good at this meeting; new Flourish email is: flourish.members@gmail.com, Jo Reidy is upgrading the attendance list. There has been good site activity.

 

Library: New books, have a look.

 

Treasury: Most subs are in.

 

What to do in your garden this month was presented by Sally (all of which is available in detail on the Flourish blog):

• Herb of the month: garlic
• plant bulbs
• give lawns a final feed
• lift & divide perennials
• plant summer flower seeds over 2 week intervals

 

Queries:

Q: Should one remove cut worms from the compost heap? A: Possibly manually.

Q: How do you look after your new worm pets in the worm box?  A: don’t over-disturb worms, have a layered tray system for them to work their way up, feed daily, not all plants suitable for worm juice (such as fynbos), keep box damp not wet. Suggestion: possible visit to Mount Nelson for a cooked food worming solution.

Q: How do you remove/ replace a grass patch? A: Various solutions suggested: Dig out deep, dig out and turn upside down to ‘brown’ in summer, dig out and layer area with a thick layer of newspaper then fill hole with soil. Plant 6 – 8 weeks later.

 

 

Plant Giveaways:

1. Sally bought opniopogon grass
2. Ally brought strawberry runners
3. Tracey brought Felucca slips
4. Jeanette bought Alstomeria, an achnodemia buchu, plectranthus ortendali (suitable for shady/ dry).

 

Plant Draw – Nikki & Pippa won muscari bulbs.

 

- by Jo Austin

March Meeting Minutes March 22, 2009

Minutes: Flourish Garden Club Meet: 07 March 2009

Venue: Sally Franz’s house in Rondebosch

Host: Sally. Thanks Sally for having us & thanks for tea!

Speaker: Barbara Hey

Barbara is a herb guru of note and has had 4 books published on the subject. She also takes groups around her own herb garden in Diep Rivier. Call to book her guided tour (costs R30, tel 021 715 7642).

Topic: Beginners guide to growing and using herbs from your garden

Here are some of the herbs discussed and their uses:

1. Basil: several varieties: Make a tea to treat sore gums (use as a mouthwash) or put basil sprigs in a jar to ward off flies.

2. Mertis Comunis: Use crushed berries as a seasoning.

3. Liquorish plant: Fennel: Flavouring for fish or to treat heartburn/ indigestion.

4. Anti ant brew: dried leaves of tansy, or ½ teaspoon borax powder, 2 teaspoons sugar, ½ cup hot water, pour down ant’s nest.

5. Sage: cough solution, put leaves under your pillow at night or make a tea with lemon & honey; use tea to wash out grey hairs.

6. Wilde als (indigenous) stuff leaves up nostrils (don’t answer the front door like this) to clear blocked sinus.

7. French tarragon: grows well in pots & well drained soil. Dies back in winter.

8. Ginko Biloba: used to treat Alzheimers.

9. Mint pelargonium: use leaves to line the bottom of a chocolate cake prior to baking. Gines the cake a mint infusion.

10. Lemon pelargonium: shove under rugs for fragrance.

11. Lovage: use in soups or stews.

12. Rosemary: several varieties and used extensively for seasoning.

13. Bay leaf: Use as seasoning or put a dried leaf at the bottom of the flour tin to chase off weavils or amongst clothes to keep moths away.

14. Bulbine: put on burns, bee stings,insect bites to take away skin irritation.

15. Sour fig: use as a gargle for sore throats or to treat as per bulbine.

16. Lemon verbena: dried leaves hold scent for 2 years. Use in a tea (a handful of leaves with a sprig of mint, a sprig of rosemary and rose pelargonium leaf served hot or cold with honey, delicious, apparently).

17. Rose pelargonium: use leaf stuck into ear drum to treat ear-ache or line cake tin prior to baking as per mint pelargonium.

News

Next meeting

18^th April: Hymi Schulzer & Karrie Latimer to give a very interesting talk on hard landscaping. Be sure to book your place for this one!

Photographic Competition for 2009: Your Garden

The competition will run for one more month to give members a chance to get their photos in.

Library: It was suggested we buy one of Barbara’s herb books.

What to do was read out by Sally and is on the blog.

Show & Tell: Niki bought a succulent.

- by Jo Austin

Minutes: Flourish Garden Club Meet: 07 Feb 2009 February 17, 2009

 

Venue: Lyn McCallum’s home in Bergvliet

 

Host: Lyn. Many thanks to you, Lyn. We thoroughly enjoyed the delicious spread for tea and seeing perfection at work in your garden.

 

Speaker: Lyn

 

Lyn has been gardening for 10 years. In the past she was involved in horse-riding with the disabled. She is a member of the Cape Horticultural society and has won awards at the CHS shows (we loved the succulent collection Lyn has). She is also a member of Constantia Valley Garden Club.

 

Topic:  Soil management and growing an indigenous and organic garden

 

If a healthy soil is full of death, it is also full of life:  worms, fungi, microorganisms of all kinds … 
Given only the health of the soil, nothing that dies is dead for very long.
-   Wendell Berry,  The Unsettling of America, 1977

 

Lyn believes in feeding her soil organically. Lyn makes her own compost and adds Kirstenbosch fynbos mulch, and organic fertilizers (bounce back, rapid raiser, hoof & horn, blade runner).

 

Tip: How to make leaf mold: collect fallen leaves, make a heap, layer with soil and an activator(manure). Takes 2 years. Makes a wonderful “wet” mulch for Fuchsias etc.

 

Lyn is known for her thriving pot plants. She suggests feeding them once a month with either nitrosol, organic sol or kelpac.

 

Plants in Lyn’s garden: A wide variety of indigenous plants including Pygelius capenesis (red bell flowers), Salvias, rare Ericas, Proteas, succulent collection, mix of herbs such as the curly leafed Clary sage and a vegie patch with lettuce, runner beans and sweet potatoes.

 

             News

 

General: This was our first meeting held this year and the first meeting held by the 2009 chairlady, Ally.

Members’ Trish and Caroline have both had healthy babies since our last meet. Our congratulations & well wishes to both moms.

Member’s suggestion: to start a seed bank.

New club email address is: flourish.members@gmail.com.

 

Photographic Competition for 2009: Your Garden

This year the club is running a photographic competition open to members. The theme is your garden and the winner of the competition will get a year’s free subscription to Garden & Home magazine. WOW! The entrant’s photos will be viewed on our blog. Debbie is the co-coordinator of the competition.

 

Treasury: Nikki is to continue as treasurer this year. There are still some outstanding subs and members were reminded to pay their annual subs. EFT details are on the blog site or bring cash to the next meeting.

 

Library: Sally has asked members to suggest books for the club to buy. We are able to borrow the CVGC books for this year so take advantage.

 

Blog site: http://flourishgardenclub.wordpress.com. Jo Reidy will be making some changes to the face of the blog site.

 

What to do in your garden for February was presented by Debbie (all of which is available in detail on the Flourish blog).

 

Queries:

Q: Lawn worms (gosh, what’s that!!) – Lyn’s solution: spray with water and sunlight soap mixture. When they surface, pick them out. Avoid poisons as this will cause long term damage to wild-life.

Q: Dying Lavender bush. A: Don’t over water. Lavender does tend to need replacing after 3 or 4 years.

Q: How often do you water in summer? A: This depends on the type of plants, heat, wind, soil. Expert Louise suggests deep watering (1 hour), not in wind or heat but at the beginning or end of the day. Water once per week and herbs/ veg 3 times per week.

 

Show & Tell: Jo Austin bought an unidentifiable plant that turned out to be a Salvia dolomitica: Indigenous, 1m bush with grey leaves and pretty pink flowers, perennial, likes sun and well drained soil. Cut back after flowering. Water wise.

 

Plant Giveaways:

1. Lyn gave several Coleus x Hybridus. {Ed Thanks Lyn, mine is doing well in the bathroom}. This is a flame leafed ornamental plant native to the tropics. Likes moist but well drained soil. Trim in spring and summer.

 

 

 - by Jo Austin

Gorgeous Pic at October Meeting October 29, 2008

The lovely front entrance of Louise Mulholland’s house, where we had our most recent Flourish Meeting.

Pics from September 6 Meeting October 21, 2008

Here are a couple of pics of some of the ladies enjoying the gorgeous sunny morning at our September meeting in Lakeside!  What a fab day!

Minutes: Flourish Garden Club Meet: 07 June 2008 June 26, 2008

Venue: Caroline Doyle’s house under the Steenberg mountains, Kirstenhof

Host: Caroline Doyle. A big thank you to Caroline for the delicious tea and her presentation of her garden with it’s beautiful mountain backdrop.

ED: I’m keen to try out Caroline’s worm composting bin system (from Footprints recycle center, Wynberg).

Guest Speaker: Louise Nurrish.

Topic: Planting Indigenous Trees in Small Gardens.

Louise has a National Diploma in horticulture and a B-tech in environment studies. It was a privilege to have Louise join us and share her expert knowledge on indigenous trees. Our thanks to Louise.

“Friendship is a Sheltering Tree” – T.S. Coleridge.

The trees discussed were:

Celtis Africana (White Stinkwood)

Cussonia Spicata (Cabbage Tree)

Dais Cotinifolia (Pompon tree)

Diospyros Whyteana (Bladdernut)

Harpephyllum Caffrum (Wild Plum)

Kiggelaria Africana (Wild Peach)

Nuxia Floribunda (Forest Elder)

Olea Europaea subsp. Africana (Wild Olive)

Rapanea Melanophloeos (Cape beech)

Rhus pendulina (White karee)

Vepris lanceolata (White Ironwood)

Vigila divaricata (Keurboom)

Hopefully the details will go onto the blog site. Interesting tips when choosing a tree for your garden:

• Identify the reason for planting a tree (shade, screen, attract birds, feature etc).

• Plant correctly (square hole, stake, correct position, compost/ bounce back)

• Indigenous trees still need attention in the first 2 years (watering, feed, prune).

• Trees will grow bigger in the wild compared to a garden.

Where to buy indigenous trees locally: Kirstenbosch Gardens, Good Hope Nursery in Scarborough.

News

General: Not everyone is receiving emails about the next meeting. This will be addressed. If you’re one of those, then please check the blog site for details. Glenda will go through the original mailing list to see who is still interested in club membership.

Finance: New members will pay pro rata subs. First meeting is free. Name tags will be issued soon.

Library: Sally suggested that each meeting we introduce one of the books in the library to members. This month it was “Attracting birds to your garden” by R. Trender. Leona Norman has donated to our library, thank you very much, Leona.

Blog site: http://flourishgardenclub.wordpress.com.

Ally reported more site activity than in previous months.

Owl box (again): Buy from Ecosolutions. Information about poisoning rats is to go on the blog. Click on the miscellaneous section.

What to do in your garden for June was presented by Trish (all of which is available in detail on the Flourish blog):

• Sharpen garden tools & restore garden furniture

• Fertilize winter annuals

• Reduce lawn watering

• Divide perenials

• Indoor plants make an ideal gift

• Move roses now

• Snuggle up by the fire with a garden club book!

Queries:

Q: When do I prune Fuchsias? Experts’ (team Jeanette & Glenda) answer: August. Cut right back but leave a bit of green.

Q: Is the ribbon bush edible? Perhaps someone knows the answer to this.

Show & Tell:

Echeveria – Ally has grown from a cutting received at a previous meeting.

Cotyledon orbigulatis from Shaun’s garden & an Algavie (can be very invasive).

Carissa – from Glenda, great security plant which birds love.

Feverfew- known as a migraine cure from Karen.

Makaya Bella – from Caroline, seems to like alkaline soil, indigenous.

Plant Giveaways:

1. Jeanette gave a Haymathes Albiflos: Wonderful for difficult, dry, shady areas. Use as a ground cover.

2. Lynn McCullum donated a “Sasha” hybrid Plectranthus with beautiful lime green leaves which will brighten a dark spot or use as a feature plant.

3. A Watsonia: purple colour.

by Jo Austin

Minutes: Flourish Garden club 10 May 2008 May 18, 2008

Venue: ‘Sunbirds’, Constantia Valley.

Host & guest speaker: The meeting was held at the stunning home and garden of Bridget Berg who was our host and speaker as well. Our thanks to Bridget. What a treat to all who attended!

“Above all do no harm”.

The topic presented by Bridget was “bringing wildlife to your garden”. Bridget is a qualified medical doctor, artist and an avid gardener with a passion for creating a balanced eco-system in her garden and for the greater good of nature. She is a member of the Constantia Valley Garden club.

We all learnt a lot about accommodating for wildlife by planting correctly and providing food, water and shelter for a variety of creatures (even pests have their place). The essence of organic gardening was once again stressed upon.

* Refer to Bridget’s list of bird, butterfly, frog and bee friendly indigenous plants on the blog.

Books to read on this topic: “Bring Nature back to your Garden” by C & J Botha.

News

Welcome: Michelle Van Den Berg who attended her first Flourish meeting.

Library: There are books available on loan. If you have any books to donate/ borrow please bring them along to the next meeting. Thanks to Bridget for donating some great garden magazines to our club library.

Blog site: http://flourishgardenclub.wordpress.com.

Ally encouraged members to use the FAQ section of the blog site as well as our ‘what’s on’ section and ‘what to do in your garden this month’. – this will help us keep up to date with our flourish projects, thanks Ally.

What to do in your garden this month was presented by Trish (all of which is available in detail on the Flourish blog):

• Mulch
• Treating your compost
• Pick out pests
• Cut back plectranthus
• Fertilize winter flowering plants
• List of winter vegetables to grow

Queries:

Q: My Milkweed is covered in caterpillars! Experts’ (team Jeanette & Glenda) answer: This is the African Monarch butterfly.

Q: When should we give our plants the last feed for the season? Experts’ answer: Now. No more feeding for the winter season.

Plant Giveaways:

1. Karen gave Chrysanthemoides – birds love them, good windbreak.
2. Jo gave Organic granadillas seedlings – stick them in the ground in a sunny spot with a trellis, give a bit of compost and hope for the best! You should get granadillas in one year for 3 years.
3. Niki gave a Vinca to the club members.

Plant Draw donated by Jeanette: Miscanthus Zebrinus: A ½ meter tall type of grass – grasses are very in vogue in gardens at the moment.

Owl box: Jeanette has the details of who to contact. They cost R800 each and R300 pa to maintain. Suggestion, share with your neighbours.

- by Jo Austin

Minutes to Garden Club 12 April 2008 May 8, 2008

At the home of : Karen Gray-Kilfoils
Guest speaker : Judy McConachie

Firstly thank you to Karen for hosting our third Flourish garden club
meeting and for the care and attention that went into preparing your intro
to your garden. Thank you to Judy for her presentation on the basics on
preparing and planting .. I never new you had to dig a square
hole. Thanks to you all.

Welcome
To Donna – we hope to see you at our next meeting

Fame and Fortune
Tracy Van Maaren in the March issue of Garden and Home

Banking Details
Set up and and banking details available on the blog – Thanks to our
treasurer Nikki Ferris.

Library
Is now up and running – A selection of 20 books kindly on loan from the
Constantia Gardening Club
Members asked to donate books or Gardening magazines for our library

Blog
Please visit share suggestions as to how we can improve our site
http://flourishgardenclub.wordpress.com

Stodels and Starke Ayres
Join their clubs – both nurseries offer discounts and /or free plants

Worm Farms
Available at “Soil for Life” & Footprints

Owl Box
Phoned 021 799 8783 / 7971305 / 797 2090 and was unsuccessful in obtaining
details – the best they could do was advise that a minister or professor in
Piketberg makes them but she does not have name of tel details… HELP !!

Patricia Simons