WNFGA News

Several branches in the New York Division of WNF&GA are celebrating milestone birthdays this fall and next year and a special event took place on September 23, 2009 to mark the Tri-County Branch’s 80th Birthday and the NY Division Founders Day. You can read all about the planned festivities in the Autumn 2009 Edition of the New York Division Newsletter.

Also included in the Newsletter are a message from the Division President, Audrey Ehrler, some reminiscences  from the archives about clotheslines (remember those?) and reports on recent and ongoing projects like the Ambler site project. There are some charming photos from recent activities, a schedule of upcoming events and a really amazing bee story.

Be sure to check out the new issue of the New York Division Newsletter right away. You’re sure to find something to make you smile.

“Curses…an unidentified plant…..”

           Under all trees and plants in Heaven, (or whatever your thoughts on final destinations for us farmers and gardeners) I’m sure there are plant labels with names and even Latin ones.  Ideally we should all have on our bookshelves, a copy of “Gardener’s Latin” or a similar volume.  Eleanor Perenyi, writing in her “Green Thoughts” (1981) wishes she had ordered her Lavender plants using Linnaeus…that way, she would have avoided the “Lavender Swindles.”

            Deer cure…or so someone claims…two cups of water, two eggs and a teaspoon of dish detergent.  Spray on plants.

            We are most grateful to Julie Siefker for offering to handle Registration for the next June meeting.  Jenny Rose Carey is swamped with her work at the Ambler Arboretum for the coming months but will of course be available if needed.

            Congratulations once again to the Tri-County Branch on their 80^thyear.  I will be there to help them celebrate, along with Audrey Ehrler and her husband.  I hope to see many of you, then.

            I mentioned in my message to you in the forth-coming magazine, of the death of Norman Borlaug, Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Father of the Green Revolution and native of Iowa.  He was important to all of us, although many people had little knowledge of him and his work with wheat that provided untold millions of families with food.  He said later in life that it was his boyhood on the farm that motivated him to pursue his career in intensive modern agriculture.

            As the Green Revolution continues, whole towns such as Franklin, Massachusetts have applied new techniques to help nature.  Franklin discovered how to deal with storm water pollutants, by using “tree pit areas,” which catch storm water.  The trees capture the pollutants, filter them and the clean water goes back into the soil.  The town has chosen an ornamental flowering tree for its tree-centric storm water drains.

            These could save thousands of dollars and help to beautify the streets of this New England town.

            Don’t forget to send me your memory stories for our book.

            I suppose, like a good labeling gardener, I should label this message with something Latin.  Hmmmmm.

We were off yesterday with our country cousins to the Armada 4-H county fair.  We drove the moo….d setting back roads to arrive in time for the kids competition with wild life, there ages varied and it was sister against brother but all with a sense of accomplishment.  The displays of sunflowers and corn stalks where as high as an elephant’s eye. The impressive displays of canning produce, baking and quilting was quite a sight.   The VFW featured Road Kill for dinner but no fresh scooped ice cream so on our way back we stopped at Cook’s farm who offered COW to CONE.

Editors note: A perfect picture of a summer afternoon in Michigan and a first time visit to a rural 4-H County Fair. If you’ve not had the experience, put it on your list of Things To Do!

            “Summertime … When the living is easy…”

                Such a telling, a beautiful line from Gerschwin’s Porgy and Bess.

                Summer gives all of us time to enjoy the abundance around us and the blessing showered on us.

                All the wonders of the garden become available to us, not only to eat, but I hope that some of you are not only storing, freezing and canning your harvest, but will write some of your memories down for our book. Public Broadcasting is so eager to promote agriculture that it is running series on the importance of farm and garden life.

            Trees are a great part of our lives. Kay Engelhart touched upon this subject which deserves our attention … the awareness of trees as part of nature’s life cycle. Few people realize the value of their trees from just a monetary decorative point of view. But there is much more than that.

                For instance, The Arbor Day Foundation reports that the largest white oak in the U.S. is in Lawrenceville, VA, 86’ high and 5’ diameter. The Foundation stated that it would cost over $84,000 in a season to replace the storm water control provided by this tree. It removes 24 pounds of pollutants each year.

                So we can sympathize with Kay’s mother-in-law, who has been keeping alive against all odds, an elm tree nearly 17’ in circumference, alas, despite all she could do, the tree succumbed, leaving Kay’s mother-in-law devastated.

            So, from trees to bees – 60 Minutes had a sobering section on a recent broadcast, concerning bees; there was nothing on it that you haven’t already read about and discussed, except that a prediction that the U.S. would shut down for lack of bees if we don’t succeed in fixing things.  I’m so proud of all of you and what you have done, are doing and will do, concerning bees.

                In fact, I’m just plain proud of Farm and Garden members.

            Be sure to add to the message on your website, that not only did the Troy Branch in Michigan win a $500 cash prize for the “Plight of the Bee” program to help bees, but so too, did the Pennsylvania Keystone Ambler Branch. The judges were so impressed by the two top entries that a second award of $500 was made. How wonderful that there was a tie. An award also went to Audrey Ehrler’s New York Division.

                Many awards went into our history. Jean DeDecker and Marla Diamond honored members throughout our meeting.

                Barbara Hochstettler’s great knowledge of our organization kept our deliberations moving forward, her gracious tact and clear explanations always on point. Betty Monahan of course, kept us on the straight and narrow and offered many good ideas when not acting as Parliamentarian.

                The entire meeting went smoothly under the watchful eye of Mary Bertolini who managed to be everywhere at once, even greeting members as they went to the registration desk, manned by Aileen LaBret with her skilful performance of duty and with the aid of the host Mayflower Branch. The members greeted everyone in black and yellow bee costumes, and with useful bags that could be used as at home tote bags with tasteful green decorations. These were filled with “Welcome to the Meeting” gifts.

            Congratulations to Carol Leonard and Mary Merten on the “Silent Auction” … great success!!

                Susan Hunt got all of us on historical [and sometimes hysterically funny] “Duck” tours of Boston and then to the Harvard Club in the midst of the Harvard University campus. There, after a splendid luncheon, we heard Allyson Hayward present excerpts from her book on landscapes designer Norah Lindsay.

            At night, a nice tented clambake, garden tour and music at the home of Faith and Joseph Tiberio. Next! Our meeting will be at Niagara Falls.

WNF&GA president Faith Tiberio recognizes the “Plight of the Bumblebee” which threatens our fruit and vegetable crops.  With this in mind, she sponsored a contest in the fall, 2008 issue of Farm & Garden magazine in which a $500.00 prize would be given to the branch who has done the most to publicize and promote help for the bees locally.
 
The Troy Garden Club in Michigan is proud to be the winner of this award.

The picture shows some members gratefully toasting President Faith with a glass of Mead (honey) wine upon learning of this award.  You can check the Troy, Mi website Wild Bee Program page to learn more about the efforts to promote bee education.

The prize money will be used to purchase items for the Troy Outdoor Education Center where instructional beehives have already been set up and will further promote this cause.

In addition, two of our members, Susan Vette and Mary Hrynik won $50.00 prizes for their recipes using honey.

                                      June 2009 Annual Meeting

          The annual June meeting of our beloved organization brought so many of us old and new friends together, that the feeling swept over us that we would wait for our meeting in Niagara Falls with great anticipation. So mark your calendars, June 2-6, 2010. I have already put my first change in a sugar bowl to save for the trip. I do this weekly. By June, it helps.

            To report to you all the great ideas actions and plans which took place will have to be done over a period of time. Most important to you, is that Hazel Herring, Margaret Latham and Carol Leonard met frequently over the course of the meeting, to up-date Linda Lowe our liaison with Temple-Ambler about the Visitor Center / Greenhouse Fund. We are almost at out $50,000 goal, due to the wonderful generosity of you all. You must congratulate yourselves, because you will have pledged and made good, a gift of $150,000 to establish this “home-base” for the National Farm and Garden Association. I believe this to be the largest such gift in our history.  You accomplished this in a short period of three years. Our heartfelt thanks to Hazel Herring and her committee and all of you who created fund-raising events, objects and achievements.

          And more thanks to Mary Bertolini, Aileen La Bret, Linda Coughlin and Joanne Harreld who got us all together in our circle of gardening friendship.  Next month I will report to you in some detail the goings on our meeting and travels, and the lovely, intelligent women and yes, men, who made it fun and easy.

Our meeting in Pennsylvania was a huge success! Everyone enjoyed the 3 days of touring, meeting and networking. After a few glitches were fixed, our time in Plymouth Meeting was perfect. The Keystone Branch, hostesses for this event, treated all attendees to a lovely basket of treats chosen specifically for this event. It included such items as a plant “Monkey”, antique handkerchief, Tasty Cakes, seeds and an aloe plant. Each basket was unique, making choices hard on the recipients. Lucky for us, Jorie Nailor, President of Keystone, was there to help guide us. Rebecca Bakker and Elaine arranged the baskets for us. What perfection! Thursday found us touring Ambler College to visit the Head House and gardens. We saw firsthand the possibilities for our new WNF&GA Exhibition Center. We will still call our project the Ambler Greenhouse, and fundraising suggestions were rampant at a brainstorming meeting that evening. As Hazel Herring said so succinctly: We WILL raise the money. Let’s get busy, as we have only 11 more months to raise this year’s goal of $49,000.00. Following the visit to Ambler, we moved on to the Highlands. After a very satisfying lunch, everyone marveled at the historic home and beautiful gardens. A peek at the Pink Room was on every one’s list of things to do outside. It was warm in the sun, so we gathered back into the bus or vehicles and were off to Wyk. This historic home, just inside the Philly limits, is an oasis of green. The home is filled with lovely furniture, decorative accents and boasts a beautiful rose garden. The heady perfume of antique roses greeted everyone as they stepped into the warm summer air. A special spiced tea and scrumptious cookies refreshed our souls and spirits. It was time to return to the hotel for a quick swim, nap or relaxation before our floral seminar.

The participants selected one of three container styles filled with pre-soaked oasis. The Keystone Branch provided flower stems and greenery which were arranged by members under the guidance of our Floral Designers Branch. The masterpieces were grouped together at tables as centerpieces that evening at dinner. Later, the arrangements were taken to Northview to accent the nooks and crannies of the garden on Friday evening. Our guest speaker, Michael Tooley, gave us an unusual look at the life of Gertrude Jekyll. His slides and wit were informative and entertaining.

Friday morning saw an early start to our National Meeting. Much business was covered by the Council, Officers’ reports, Chairman’s reports and new business. Later that day our hostess, Jenny Rose Carey, welcomed everyone to a perfect evening at her home, Northview. The dinner prepared and served by members of the Keystone Branch was a gourmet delight. Our attendees owe a huge thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make this dinner a memorable event. As the evening grew long, those who wished to participate in the Challenge Class for arrangers migrated to the Carriage House. An array of flowers, greenery and fruits and vegetables were available to make an arrangers choice of design. The empty baskets placed on tables were ready for use as containers. Six arrangements were completed, all beautiful and unique. These were transported to the hotel to be used as centerpieces for our gala installation dinner on Saturday. Members returned to the DoubleTree hotel fully sated and ready for rest.

Saturday morning found us under a heat advisory with temps expected to be in the dangerous range for heat index that afternoon. Everyone left for their choice of Longwood Gardens or Morris Arboretum armed with plenty of advice to keep cool, drink water and watch over each other. The heat didn’t dampen any one’s spirits and enhanced the gardens. Lunch was included for all, as was a stop in the gift shop. The buses returned to the hotel by 2:00 PM, giving all time to rest, nap, swim, shop at Plymouth Meeting Mall, or relax and visit in the lobby. A farewell reception for outgoing National President, Marla Diamond was held in the hospitality room. This was followed by our usual silent auction and cocktail reception. Members enjoyed fast and furious bidding wars on a few items. As dinner progressed, so did the bidding. Just prior to dessert, the auction was closed and high bidders were proclaimed aa victors on their purchase. Recognition awards by Past President Hazel Herring were followed by Marla Diamond’s Farewell address. The installation ceremony conducted by Past President Barbara Hochstettler was quite moving. Our new National President, Faith Tiberio, gave a resounding address that charged everyone to reach new goals and heights. A congratulatory reception for our new President marked the end of a wonderful three day event.

Early Sunday morning, members from Michigan and Ohio boarded the bus to return home. Other members from the New England area, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas said their farewells until next year.

Plan on joining us for a wonderful event next June. Watch this website, or the National Magazine for details.

The national meeting is so close! We are planning a wonderful 3 days of information, networking, touring, and sharing.

Those new to the national meetings will find many exciting events along with an astounding array of ideas. Long time members have much to share in both history and traditions. Members who have attended a few meetings in the past will find friends to greet them and will want to catch up with personal details of family and Branch progress. Everyone brings new ideas, a new way of looking at Farm & Garden.

Our Hostess Branch, Keystone, has worked to bring this year’s event to the next level in technology and touring. With only one day of meetings, we have a whole year’s work to review. There is planning for our future, not only next year, but 10, 20, even 30 years from now. We must remember our past to chart our course for the years ahead. Everyone who attends a National meeting makes a difference in their local Branch.

I can hardly wait to meet this year’s ambassadors of National Information. You are the most important link between National and local. Pack your bags, members, we have lots of work ahead!

As you can see, things are changing at the WNF&GA web site. We trust you’ll like what you see and that you’ll find the changes helpful.

Our main goal is to make the information you need more accessible to you and to provide you with opportunities to participate with your fellow association members.

If you find things that aren’t working, please be patient. The site is under construction and will be changing (possibly from minute to minute). But it’s all for the better.

Thanks for your patience while we make your association web site a more fun and useful place to be.