Greetings!
Please join me in offering congratulations and thanks to members of the Blue Ridge Garden Club for hosting a wonderful
Board of Governors
meeting in Lexington. Accommodations, dining and meetings centered around the historic areas downtown and included the campuses of Virginia Military Institute and Washington and Lee University. Many attendees took advantage of downtime between meetings to visit Natural Bridge or hike the Chessie Nature Trail.
Click Here
to read Board of Governors business meeting highlights.
Thank you also to the Conservation and Beautification Committee for hosting the 59th Annual Conservation Forum
"Fracking in Virginia from All Perspectives.
" Attendees heard from speakers and panelists, each presenting "lecture" style educational topics along with unique perspectives.
Congratulations to our very deserving
Award Winners
. First place Common Wealth Award winner is Fauquier and Loudoun Garden Club for the
Healing Grove at Boulder Crest Retreat
$10,000. Second place Common Wealth Award winner is Petersburg Garden Club for the
Lee Park Wildflower and Bird Sanctuary
$6,000. Dugdale Award winner is
Blue Ridge Piedmont Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM).
Conservation Educator Award winner is
Jody Ullmann
, Director of Lynnhaven River Now Pearl School Program.
Read More
on the GCV website.
And, just in
case you missed
Symposium Award Winners
on the website,
Click Here.
My best,
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Esther Carpi
Hunting Creek Garden Club
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In the garden, Autumn is, indeed the crowning glory of the year, bringing us the fruition of months of thought and care and toil. And at no season, safe perhaps in Daffodil time, do we get such superb colour effects as from August to November.
~ Rose G. Kingsley, The Autumn Garden 1905
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Note Important Deadlines in Red
Monday, October 30
Daffodil Committee, KVH 10:30 am
Tuesday, October 21
Strategic Planning Committee, KVH 10:30 am
Symposium/Daffodil Day, KVH 1:00 pm
Wednesday, November 1
Bessie Bocock Carter Award Deadline
Thursday, November 2
Boxwood Garden Club presents Sybil Sylvester, Richmond
Monday, November 13
Daffodil Day Meeting, KVH 9:00
Flower Shows Committee, KVH 10:30
Legislative Day Planning, KVH 11:00
Thursday, November 16
HGW Marketing, KVH
Monday, November 27
Club Historians, KVH 10:00 am
Tues - Wed, November 28-29
Nominations Committee, KVH
Friday, December 1
Massie Medal Nomination Deadline
Friday, December 8
VA State Parks Grant Application Deadline
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Danville
Katherine Laramore
Dolores Settle
Fairfax
Debbie Williams
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Garden Study
Beth Cahill
Jean Gautsch
Holly Kozelsky
Sandi Loganadan
Beverly Pitzer
Mill Mountain
Heather Ellett
Hetty Hoyt
Emily Mangus
Rappahannock Valley
Cindy Coppola
Carter Corbin
Trish Williams
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Gearing Up for 2018 Legislative Day
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Act Now!
Contact your state legislators
now
while they are in their home offices. Choose one or two issues to discuss and arrange a face to face meeting or a phone call.
The
VCN Legislative Preview
is Saturday, December 2 at
The Frontier Project
, 3005 W Marshall St, Richmond. "Watch Parties" will also be hosted in Fredericksburg, Harrisonburg, Reston, Roanoke, Virginia Beach and Warrenton.
Coffee and light breakfast will be served at all locations.
Mark your calendar for
Legislative Day
on January 22 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Richmond.
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Conservation news provided by Wendy Vaughn, Princess Anne Garden Club member and GCV Chairman of the Conservation and Beautification Committee.
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Don’t Throw Them Away! Use Fallen Leaves for Leaf Mold
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The constant raking and leaf blowing is about to begin! Leaf blower noise permeates my cul-de-sac as driveways and lawns are cleared of all debris. This weekly ritual will persist in neighborhoods until the last leaf has fallen.
Why not save some of these leaves for use in our own gardens?
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Leaf mold
is the term used for a special kind of compost that uses only leaves. Leaf mold is the result of letting leaves sit and decompose over time. It is dark brown to black, has a pleasant earthy aroma and a crumbly texture, much like compost. Unlike making regular compost, making leaf mold is a “cold” composting process relying on fungi rather than bacteria. Leaf mold is essentially a soil conditioner. It is far superior to compost as a soil amendment – it increases the water retention of soils, improves soil structure, and provides a fantastic habitat for soil life, including earthworms and beneficial bacteria.
All leaves you collect in autumn are good candidates for making leaf mold. The holy trinity of fallen leaves are oak, beech, and hornbeam. If you have any of these in your yard you’re in luck as these produce the best quality leaf mold. Combining different types of leaves, like a mixed salad, also improves the quality of the finished product.
There are two popular ways to make leaf mold, and both are ridiculously simple. The first method consists of piling leaves in a corner of your yard or into a wood or wire bin. The pile should be at least three feet wide and tall. Pile up your leaves, and thoroughly dampen the entire pile. Let it sit, checking the moisture level occasionally during dry spells and adding water if necessary.
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The second method of making leaf mold requires a large plastic garbage bag. Fill the bag with leaves and moisten them. Seal the bag and then punch holes or slits in the bag for airflow. Set the bags out of sight and direct sunlight (to protect the plastic bags). Check the bag every month of two for moisture, and add water if the leaves are dry.
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After six months to a year, you will have finished leaf mold. Impatient? There are a few of things you can do to speed up the process:
- Use freshly fallen leaves that have a higher carbon-to-nitrogen content which is ideal for quick decomposition. Old leaves that have been on the ground for just a few weeks will have already lost most of their nitrogen content. If you can gather fresh leaves and get the process underway, there will be a good amount of nitrogen to speed the initial decomposition.
- Before adding leaves to your bag or pile, run over them a couple of times with your lawn mower. Smaller pieces will decompose more quickly.
- Use a garden fork to turn your leaf pile every few weeks. If you are using the plastic bag method, just turn it over or give it a shake. Introducing air speeds decomposition.
- If you are using the pile or bin method, cover your pile with a plastic tarp. This will keep the leaves more consistently moist and warm.
Leaf mold is ready to use when it is soft and crumbly. Distribute it around your perennials, vegetable plants no more than 3” thick. Because leaf mold retains so much moisture, be sure to keep it several inches back from the crown or base of the plant. It is fabulous in containers, due to its water retaining abilities.
You can also incorporate leaf mold right into the soil. Add it to new garden beds instead of peat moss to lighten the soil. Use it to enhance the soil in a shade garden, or to improve any soil that’s too sandy or too heavy.
Leaf mold is simple, free, and effective. If you’re lucky enough to have a tree or two (or ten) on your property, you’ve got everything you need to make great garden soil.
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Submitted by Valeta S. Pittman, Mill Mountain Garden Club and GCV Horticulture Committee member.
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Eva Clarke and Tenley Beazley are serious environmental stewards. Both have been chairs of James River Garden Club’s Conservation Committee in Richmond and recently introduced their Queen Bee Challenge to club membership.
Modeled after Queen Elizabeth’s passionate environmental advocacy, the Queen Bee Challenge distills HRH’s green initiatives and practices into initiatives that are applicable to an American garden club audience.
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Restoration News at Stratford Hall
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Three dimensional rendering of Stratford Hall's east garden restoration project, courtesy Rieley and Associates.
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The Garden Club of Virginia Board of Directors has approved a request by the Restoration Committee to implement a new restoration project at Stratford Hall. The project will restore the second terrace of Stratford Hall's east garden to provide a more accurate representation of a Colonial Virginia garden. As confirmed by recent archaeological work, the new design will also reflect the pattern of the original beds, and if appropriate to the period, incorporate flowers for greater seasonal interest in the garden.
Consistent with the approach taken in the house which interprets more than one period, the new design will keep the lower portions of the garden in the Colonial Revival style as designed by GCV Landscape Architects between 1929 and 1931.
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Photos You May Have Missed
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Quick Links to Websites, Publications, Social Media & More
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