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| December Volunteers of the Month |
Our December Volunteers of the Month are students from Dr. Harriet Whipple's classes at GCSU. Dr. Whipple requires her students to complete volunteer hours in the community, and fortunately some choose Lockerly. Students worked all over the Arboretum raking, spreading pine straw, clearing out old plants, and weeding.
One specific area where their efforts are most appreciated is the wooded area near the Admin Office Building. Late in the summer, the Merry Magnolias Plant Team applied some serious elbow grease to clean the bridge there. Dick Mueller followed their work with repairs to the bridge. With the path cleared by student volunteers, we have made access to that area easier. It now serves as a nice place for a shaded walk.
If you are part of a civic group, Sunday School class, or business that would like to take on a specific project like our volunteers did, please contact our Executive Director, Katherine Cummings, at 478.452.2112 to talk about your ideas. We'd be glad to have your help.
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| Rose Hill Holiday Open House and Holiday Reception |
If you didn't get your ticket to our Holiday Reception on Friday, December 4th from 5:00-7:00, it
might
not be too late to buy a ticket! We saved a very few tickets for people who may have missed our ticket deadline. If you want a ticket please call
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| Town and Country Garden Club decoration, front dining room |
Vicki Folendore at 478.452.2112 to see if the extras are still available.
Aubri Lane's is catering, the decorations are stunning, and the company will be great. Please join us! Tickets are $25 per person.
Our Holiday Open House is planned Saturday, December 5th from 10:00-2:00. Docents will lead tours of the house from 10:00-2:00. Tickets are $3.00 per adult and $1.00 per child, and may be purchased at the door that day or in advance at the Arboretum Office.
Rose Hill is exceptionally beautiful when it is decorated for the holidays. Whether you come out for our special events December 4th-5th, or for a self guided tour, don't miss this chance to see the work of four garden clubs. The greenery should be up through December 15th.
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Just before Thanksgiving, Carol McRae led a holiday wreath making workshop at Rose Hill. Carol supplied all the fresh greenery, in addition to ribbon and "extras" to dress up wreaths. The photos here don't begin to show how beautiful the wreaths were. With holiday music playing while they worked, everyone, beginners and experienced floral arrangers, had a great time.
If you have an idea for a workshop or class, please suggest it. We'll do our best to accommodate your request. Contact Katherine Cummings at 478.452.2112 or email [email protected]
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| Collect gas points, save on groceries, and support Lockerly |
Did you know that Kroger shoppers still receive fuel points and all other savings benefits when they register to support Lockerly through their Kroger card? Setting up your account just takes a minute, and all you need to do is choose Lockerly as the organization you support.
With the holidays approaching, and all the extra trips to the grocery store that come along with late November and the month of December (followed by the Super Bowl, Valentines, Easter, ...), why not make every trip to Kroger a chance to support the gardens, education program, and preservation of Rose Hill at Lockerly?
Create an account or sign into your account and choose Lockerly as a Community Rewards participant.
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December has finally arrived. Thanksgiving and Black Friday are behind us and our thoughts are now turning to Christmas. As we prepare for the holidays many of us will be putting up Christmas trees. The oldest record of a cut Christmas tree decorated in today's tradition is reported in a travel diary from 1605, which describes a fir tree in Strasbourg, Germany, hung with paper roses, apples, wafers, and candies. Tradition suggests that the first Christmas trees in the United States were wooden pyramids covered with evergreen boughs decorated by children in a German Moravian church settlement at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on Christmas Day in 1747. From that beginning, the use of a real Christmas tree as part of the Christmas holiday celebration in the United States has grown until today more than 30 million real Christmas trees are purchased each year in the United States.
Choosing the right Christmas tree is very much a matter of personal taste. There are many factors to consider such as appearance, availability, price and durability. The most popular choices are Scotch pine, Eastern white pine, blue spruce, Douglas fir,
Frasier fir and Norway spruce. Fraser fir ranked the highest among these in terms of needle retention, firmness of branches, resistance to ignition, and fragrance. The average tree will grow for 6 to 12 years before reaching a marketable size. Pines usually grow faster than spruce or fir, which makes them available at a lower price. Scotch pine has strong branches that will support heavy ornaments and the needle retention is excellent. Scotch pine tends to hold its needles even when the tree becomes very dry. Eastern white pines have slender flexible branches that will only support smaller ornaments. The needle retention of White pine is very good to excellent. Blue spruce branches are relatively stiff and will support relatively heavy ornaments. The needle retention is good but it will not tolerate periods without water. Frasier fir is the most fragrant. It has relatively strong branches to support heavy ornaments and the needle retention is excellent.
The best way to tell if a tree is fresh, is to lightly grasp a branch of the tree and gently pull the branch and needles through your hand. If the tree is fresh, very few needles will come off. It is normal to have some brown needles drop out from inside the tree. Each year a new batch of needles develops and the oldest needles on the tree die. These needles should be shaken from the tree before it is taken into your home. Cover the tree with a tarp while traveling home from the store to prevent it from drying out, particularly if it is going to be on the roof of your car. If the tree is to be kept for several days before setting it up inside the house, place it in a bucket of water and store it in a cool, shaded and protected place. If it has been more than 6 to 8 hours since the tree was last cut, recut the tree before placing it in water. Remove an inch or more each time the tree is recut.
The lower the temperature and the higher the humidity, the longer a cut tree will last indoors. Do not locate the tree near sources of heat such as a fireplace, heaters, open vents, or direct sunlight. A fresh cut tree will absorb a large amount of water especially during the first week. If the water level drops too low, the end of the trunk will form a seal of dried sap in as little as 4 to 6 hours. A tree stand should have a water basin that provides 1 quart of water per inch of trunk diameter. For most trees, the stand should hold at least 1 gallon of water. Replenish the water daily. Do not use anti-transpirants, water holding gels, additives (floral preservatives, molasses, sugar, bleach, soft drinks, or aspirin) or flame retardants on your tree. Clean water is all that is needed to maintain freshness. A well cared for tree should last at least 3 to 4 weeks before drying to an unacceptable level.
Please come see Rose Hill while the house is decorated for Christmas using fresh greenery from the Arboretum. If you didn't get your ticket to the Holiday Reception on Friday, December 4th from 5:00-7;00, there may be one or two extras. Call Vicki at 478.452.2112 to get yours.
If you can't join us Friday evening, please come tour the house during Saturday's Holiday Open House on December 5th from 10;00-2:00. Tickets are $3.00 per adult and $1.00 per child and can be purchased at Rose Hill.
Debbie Foster
Horticulture Director
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We'd like to thank everyone who donated to Lockerly during Georgia Gives Day last month. Some people chose to renew their Friends of Lockerly membership, some chose to join for the first time, and others who simply gave because they share our passion for gardens, outdoor education programs, and historic preservation. Your support helped us raise $1,875.
We are already planning for next year, and with your help, we're going to do some new things to make Georgia Gives Day a bigger event for Lockerly.
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We appreciate our sponsors
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