February 2018 Volume 1, Issue 5
View of Lake Placid from Whiteface Mountain
IN THIS ISSUE

Founders Fund Award Info
send your selection to
Nancy by February 25

January Meeting recap

Zone III Flower Show
need your entries

From the archives:
Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain

AGC 2018 Program Schedule
Musings from our President

Greetings of February,

At this time of year, many of you are dreaming of spring, summer, and fall. Others and there are numerous, are doing. Soon we will all be 'doing' and much of it together. Meanwhile, three to do's for all are currently on the table.

  1. Our full calendar for 2018 has been groomed a bit. Please check it out in this letter, and be sure all is on your calendar. I cannot emphasize enough that you do this. The Program Committee has been eminently diligent and thoughtful in this 90th year planning; I am certain you agree we have a wholesome, appealing season ahead.
  2. Please refer to our AGC website, and specifically check out your committee(s) pages. Look for updates. Nothing new? Not to worry now. Our Ad Hoc Communications Committee is preparing to introduce committee chairs to the ease of logging into their individual pages. A giant step for us, we anticipate a trial period as we work toward creating web-friendly communications.
  3. Finally, a fun to do. Each of us is asked to cast our vote for the Founders Fund Award, the only GCA award that can be voted on by each of our 200 member clubs. Please read the three proposals in your winter GCA Bulletin where they are fully described in word and picture. There is also a recap below; and, if you have misplaced your Winter Bulletin, the project descriptions can be accessed online beginning on page 43 by clicking here. Send your selection to me no later than February 25 by clicking here: Nancy Howard

I have been to an annual meeting - Norfolk, VA. The Founders Fund awarding is a highlight. We hundreds of delegates were seated in a great hall. A colorful introduction to the three projects created awesome anticipation. "And the winner is..." led to huge applause, shouts of joy, hugs and heartfelt congratulations from the two runners-up - who also received a handsome sum for their projects. Best, the whole of us had become sentimentally engaged.

Finally, I have been asked to tell how the flower fairy came into our recent photos and meetings, as shown below at our January meeting. Flat Fairy as she has been donned is the creation of our current Zone lll leadership and was given to all zone presidents at the close of the Autumnal Caucus this fall at GCA headquarters in NYC. She is proud of all our Zone lll garden club activity, thinks we should be, too, and will show up in all the right places, grande and petit, to remind us.

Til March,

Nancy
Founders Fund Award information
Roots Rising
Energy Efficient Outdoor Kitchen Classroom
A Therapeutic Garden
January Meeting recap
On January 16 a small but lively group gathered for our first meeting of the new year and to discuss The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohllenben. Flat Fairy joined us for the fun where we had an interactive conversation, enjoyed delicious chicken tortilla soup, and learned about the history of the Hand House in Elizabethtown. Below is a brief overview of The Hidden Life of Trees.

Peter Wohlleben shares his experiences from decades of observing the forest. He often noticed peculiar things, which he then investigated. He learned of unknown workings of trees, of the organisms that co-exist with trees, and the whole forest. Often, Wohlleben begins with an anecdote and explores from there but, even once he has reached quite some depth in a biological phenomenon, he has not broken from his story-telling style. His primary purpose in the book is to reveal that trees have more complex capabilities than most people are aware. Another major point illustrated is the interconnectedness of trees and all parts of the forest. He also shows that this can be generalized further onto the interdependence of all the elements of an ecosystem, with the Earth being the most significant ecosystem. Wohlleben shows that trees support each other in various ways. They adjust their microclimate and other elements of their habitat together, share nutrients, warn each other of attacks, sometimes help out through a coincidence. He points out that this system functions at every level, and is a crucial element to all life!

Read more about Flat Fairy's impression of the book on the AGC Website website member page. Click here: AGC Website.
Zone III Flower Show - attention needed
Your help is needed! This is an important notice to know if you are interested in entering a plant in the Zone III Flower Show in Cooperstown in May. You do not need to be present to make the entry. Another club member can bring your entry. Please contact Airlie Lennon if you would like to enter: airlie.lennon@gmail.com.

Any member of AGC may enter the following categories:

  • Woody plant in bloom
  • Perennials, Bulbs, Corms, Rhizomes, or Tubers
  • Container plants in bloom
  • Container plants with foliage
  • Plants grown from seeds harvested from the garden of AGC member
  • Single plant with its parent plant from which it was harvested
  • AND any plant that does not qualify for the above categories, but is considered unusually spectacular

We are limited in how many entries our club can send so it may be that we cannot send in all of those offered. However, the entries are not restricted to the Horticulture Committee members.

Plant Exchange: Each club is to bring 3 plants propagated by their members for exchange with other clubs.

Please contact Airlie now about your interest or with questions about the Flower Show or the Plant Exchange ( airlie.lennon@gmail.com ) .
From the archives: Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain
When a question came through our website about Pok-o-Moonshine Mountain, we turned to our historian Happy Marsh for insight. This from the archives:

Pokomoonshine (Pok’-O’Moonshine) – In Jan., 1938, ECAGC,*, discussed a bill in the NY State Assembly to carve a huge likeness of Governor DeWitt Clinton on the granite side of PokoMoonshine. Wonderful comments in minutes of Jan. 22. 1938. “In 200 years, trees would be growing out of his eyes, ears, cheek and chin. If there were to be a forest fire, his face would suddenly reveal itself!”

*ECAGC is now known as Adirondack Garden Club (AGC).

For more information about Poke-o-Moonshine Mountain click here.


The Howard family on the top of Poke-o-Moonshine Mountain circa 1974.

Pictured here: Nancy's husband, Norman, with daughters, Holli, left, and Amanda, along with Nancy’s shadow.
Poke-O-Moonshine, with cliffs, from U.S. Route 9  to the north
2018 AGC Program Schedule updated
The Program Committee has updated the calendar for 2018. Please add the dates and times to your personal calendar. We are excited about our topics and look forward to seeing you at the meetings. Additional details will be included in future newsletters.
~
Tuesday, January 16
Book discussion at Hand House in Elizabethtown
Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
Liz Jaques - RSVP by January 9
Brown bag lunch. Hospitality will provide soup, beverage, and dessert
10:30 AM

Tuesday, May 22*
*Note: 4 th Tuesday
Floral Design at Whallonsburg Grange in Essex
Grace Crary and Renee Lewis
Airlie Lennon - RSVP
Brown bag lunch
9:30 AM

Tuesday, June 19
Pruning at East Branch Organics in Keene
Horticulture Committee with Heather Coffin
Lynne Perry - RSVP
Rain or shine! Brown bag lunch
9:30 AM

Tuesday, July 17
90 th Anniversary Open Meeting at the Crowne Plaza, Grandview Room in Lake Placid
Community Invited Conservation Meeting
1:30 PM - Conservation Meeting
2:00 PM - Curt Stager – “Gardens, Weather or Not”
3:00 PM - Refreshments. 
Details to follow
Lynne Perry - RSVP

Tuesday, July 31
Archives Workshop at the Adirondack History Museum in Elizabethtown

  Tuesday, August 7
Please add this date to your calendar!
Visiting Garden Committee has scheduled a visit to
 The Kent-Delord House Museum and Garden in Plattsburgh
Details to follow
 
Tuesday, August 14*
*Note: 2 nd Tuesday
90 th Anniversary continued
American Native Plants at the Ausable Club in St. Hubert’s
Frisky Hickey – Botanical Drawings
Lois Barrett - RSVP
Lunch catered
9:30 AM

Tuesday, September 11*
*Note: 2 nd Tuesday
Annual Meeting at Lyn Flynn’s Home in Westport
Garden Tour and Lunch
Lynne Perry - RSVP
Brown Bag
9:30 AM
           
Sunday, September 30
Pot Luck at Liz Jaques’ Home in Keene
Liz Jaques - RSVP
11:30 AM
A final thought ...


And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery-

Flat Fairy
photographed by Nancy Howard
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