The breezes taste / Of apple peel. / The air is full / Of smells to feel— / Ripe fruit, old footballs, / Burning brush, / New books, erasers, / Chalk, and such. / The bee, his hive, /Well-honeyed hum, / And Mother cuts / Chrysanthemums. / Like plates washed clean / With suds, the days / Are polished with / A morning haze.
John Updike
As winter approaches, the Chrysanthemum brings us joy and beauty. The mum, November’s birth flower, speaks to lasting friendship. In keeping with its Asian origin, Feng Shui experts believe that this humble flower attracts laughter and joy.
Friendship, laughter and joy are all great reasons why you will want to attend our General Meeting on November 10th! Cindy Scott and I, your Zoom co-hosts, will do our very best to make each meeting informative, personal and fun. We will have our business meeting at 11:00 a.m. and then our speaker. This month our presentation is aptly named “Tree Talk” with Kim Yuan-Farrell from the Park People and Mike Swanson, a Denver City Forester. After the program, we will break into small groups on Zoom called breakout rooms and have a “BYOL” (Bring Your Own Lunch) together. Each preassigned group of six to eight members will have a hostess to facilitate the conversation with an interesting topic to discuss or issue to contemplate. We welcome your topic suggestions! We will not gather again on Zoom, so enjoy your lunch and each other, just like when we dine in person. You can Zoom together in small groups at a member’s home, wearing your GCD masks of course, and we will gladly provide tech help for anyone that wants it! Honestly, Zoom meetings are easy and informal and nothing technical is expected of you. Cindy and I, on the other hand, have some learning to do!
Mums the word!
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Mark your calendar!
Monday, November 2
Photography Field Shoot
9:30 am at Denver Botanic Gardens
See details below.
Wednesday, November 4
PC Meeting
10 a.m. via Zoom
Tuesday, November 10
GCD General Meeting
11 a.m. - noon via Zoom
Program: “Tree Talk” by Kim Yuan-Farrell from The Park People and Mike Swanson, Denver City Forester. See details below.
Wednesday, November 11
DBG Romantic Garden Decorating
10:30 a.m. - noon
November 17-18
GCA Conservation Study Conference
via Zoom. See details below.
Wednesday, December 2
PC Meeting
10 a.m. via Zoom
Tuesday, December 8
GCD General Meeting
11 a.m. via Zoom
Virtual holiday greens workshop.
See details below.
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The Language of Flowers
GCA Flower Show
by Missy Eliot
The Language of Flowers Flower Show schedule was handed out at the October GCD meeting and is on our website.
Please be sure to read through it and pick a couple of classes to enter next September. Registration formally opens on January 1st, 2021. Please grab a friend and plan to enter. We promise this will be fun and a great way to share our love of botanical arts, conservation, floral design, horticulture and photography with the Denver community.
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All You Need to Know to Join
GCD Zoom Meetings
You will receive a SignupGenius email for our General Meetings at least two weeks before the meeting. As always, every member needs to RSVP so we can record attendance and make the meetings more interactive and fun. The most current General Meeting sign up will also be on the website in the Members’ Area.
You will receive your Agenda and Zoom invitation by email a week before each General Meeting. The Zoom invitation will be resent, as a reminder, the day before the meeting.
Your computer is the preferred device to use because you can see more people. However, any device (iPad or Smart phone) will work. You can even simply call in using your regular phone.
The quickest way to enter the Zoom meeting is to click on the blue link in the invitation. You will enter the “waiting room” and be admitted to the meeting by one of our co-hosts at 11:00 a.m. Please start this process by 10:45 a.m. so you have time to get settled with your lunch and a drink close by and take care of any internet issue that might occur. If you have a last minute problem, please call Bar Chadwick at 303-467-1241
You can access lots of helpful videos to help you understand how Zoom works if you haven’t used it before. GCA has prepared eight Zoom training video-shorts for all club members, starring members of the Virtual Meetings Working Group which includes our own Suellen White! (Note: The links above will bring you directly to the GCA videos, but you MUST be logged into the GCA members area first.) |
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Conservation Study Conference
Open To All on Nov 17-18
by Lise Woodard
Building on the success of the virtual Shirley Meneice Conference in September, many of us are looking forward to “attending” the virtual Conservation Study Conference in November.
Day One will focus on Public Lands. Kicking off the conference at 9:00 a.m. MST will be Douglas Brinkley, a historian, discussing the beautification of America from Lady Bird Johnson to Sally Jewell. The Honorable Sally Jewell will then tell us about sustaining healthy public lands for future generations. Additional sessions will round out the morning, which will be completed by 11 a.m.. In the afternoon session, beginning at 2 p.m., we will be taken on a backyard tour of Glacier National Park. Additional talks will include: saving the Redwoods, conservation groups collaborating with Indigenous groups, and park equity to provide universal access.
Day Two is about the importance of taking care of private Lands. Dr. Diane Lewis, Healthy Yard Initiative creator, will introduce Scott Bosse of the non-profit American Rivers, to discuss what makes a healthy watershed. Additional sessions will follow, including: the role of private conservation, women in conservation, soil carbon storage, cooking for the climate, just to name a few.
Dr. Diane Lewis has offered to host a Zoom conversation exclusively for Garden Club of Denver to answer questions about the Mississippi River Watershed. Denver, being east of the Rockies, is part of the Mississippi River Watershed. It is the largest watershed in the United States. Forty-one percent of the land in the U.S. drains into the Mississippi River and millions of people get their drinking water from the river. Fertilizers, weed killers and pesticides end up in the watershed and harm the Gulf of Mexico, creating dead zones and algae blooms.
Be sure to catch Scott Bosse’s talk, either during the video conference or afterwards on the GCA website. We will schedule our follow-up zoom meeting with Dr. Lewis in December or January. Stay tuned.
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November Program via Zoom
November 10 at 11am
The Park People's Executive Director, Kim Yuan-Farrell, will present a "Tree Talk" along with Denver's City Forester Mike Swanson.
Kim is the Executive Director of The Park People, a small but mighty non-profit doing work in Denver's parks and in Denver neighborhoods to increase and care for Denver's urban canopy. Kim has been at The Park People for eleven years. She has a Masters Degree in Environmental Management (Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies). Kim is passionate about the power of urban forestry, parks and community-driven efforts to cultivate resilient, sustainable communities.
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Macro, Portrait, Panorama?
by Suellen White &
Deborah Foy
The Denver Botanic Gardens was the scene for our first photography Field Shoot of the year. Members watched a great GCA webinar on successful garden photography, then we gathered together to practice the tips we learned. We practiced shooting from different angles and orientations, tried to balance elements in the scene and focused on telling the story of the Japanese garden through capturing vistas and special details. A great time was had by all.
This year our workshops will focus on the skills we need to support the photography classes in the 2021 Language of Flowers Flower Show. Watch each month for video links that provide in-depth instruction on a particular skill. To practice what we learned, we will meet for a field shoot. A Zoom meeting will follow each field shoot so everyone can share one or two photos for some fun discussion on technique. Field shoots will be on the first Monday of each month at 9:30am. Our Zoom Got Photos? meetings will be on the first Thursday of each month following the field shoots. All are welcome to the field shooting and for the follow-up Zoom meetings, whether you enter the photography show, share photos or not. All camera styles including iPhones are supported and welcome.
Next up - Macro Photography!
Field Shoot: Monday, November 2nd at 9:30 am
Location: Denver Botanic Gardens
Got Photos? Zoom Photo Share: Thursday, November 5th @4:00pm
We are excited about the fun photography classes for the flower show and hope to fill each of them with members from our club! Here are a few dates to keep in mind for planning purposes. Remember you don’t need to have your images ready or even know what you want to enter by the time you register. You will have time to work out all the details next spring and summer.
January 1st at 9:00am - Registration opens to GCD members only. Many classes are limited to six participants so look over the list of classes and register early!
February 1st - Registration opens to Broadmoor and Santa Fe clubs
February 15th - Registration opens to all GCA members
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Photo Credit: Deborah Foy |
Suellen White getting the perfect shot. Photo by Deborah Foy |
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Horticulture Tips
For Your Fall Garden
by Nancy Schotters
and Leslie Liedtke
"If it is yellow or brown, cut it down, if it is green, leave it alone."
All of gardening is a gradual process. The sage advice above is an easy way to remember what and when to cut back your garden.
German bearded iris: this should be cut back in December, as their foliage harbors the iris borer.
Rues, Germander, Sage and Lavender: cut back their tops by 1/4 to reshape. If they are in a windy location, cover with evergreen boughs.
Candytuft and Hellebores: Cut them back after they bloom in the spring
Red-Hot Pokers: Tie the leaves up together in November. This keeps the water out of the crown. Foliage should be cut in the spring.
Oenothera, Salvia, Penstemon: The tops will brown; but, the base will remain green. Leave it alone until the spring.
Catmint: wait until spring to cut back
Sprinkle a thin layer of manure (it has iron, boron, magnesium, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium) over your garden.
Store your tools in a pot of sand and mineral oil to keep clean and sharp.
And, remember to take notes about any changes you would like to make in the Spring of 2021!
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GCD Member Perks
GCA members across the country feel the impact of varying stay-at-home orders and miss social interaction with our fellow Garden Club friends. GCA and individual clubs are sharing their virtual programs to keep us all learning and connected. Your Program Chairs, Caroline Rassenfoss and Tish Szurek have created “Program Perks” to share this exciting programming with you. You will receive links to view at your leisure. But the fun doesn't stop there! A week of so later, you'll have an opportunity to discuss these programs on a GCD Zoom, perhaps with a beverage suggestion.
Please don’t miss these opportunities!
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The Garden Club of America Marketplace:
Shopping for Fun
& Shopping for Good
by Missy Eliot
Are you tired of shopping on Amazon? A little bored with the offerings in your e-mail inbox? Maybe you’re looking for a unique and meaningful holiday or hostess gift?
Hop on to The Garden Club of America website and visit the GCA Marketplace! You can buy bulbs to plant, seeds to sow, gardening tools to work with and a full range of gardening accessories, both decorative and practical. The Marketplace also features a thoughtful selection of GCA-branded merchandise including sporty baseball caps and visors, decks of playing cards, fine linens, luxurious bathrobes and cozy throws. An exclusive line of elegant and fun jewelry with a botanical theme is also available.
These and other fine gifts are available only to GCA club members through the GCA Marketplace. To make it even more enticing, a portion of the sales support the GCA and further our mission.
Be on the lookout for the first in a collection of Liberty jigsaw puzzles, created exclusively for the GCA -- available soon but only on the GCA Marketplace!
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Floral Design
Nina Sisk and Cora Wheeler
Our Autumn themed hand-tied bouquet program was fun and educational. A gorgeous recipe and an informative technique video was created by Cora. Twenty members participated on September 24th picking up prepackaged flowers and foliage for a grab and go or selecting their own stems for a socially distanced gathering. Although sometimes our fingers weren't as nimble as we wanted it was a great experience to keep working on this skill. Our hand-tied bouquets allowed us to personalize by dropping into our favorite vessels. . .instant arrangement. The Hand-tied video will be available on our GCD Website for all to enjoy.
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Coming Up for Floral Design
We will continue the tradition of having a floral workshop after our December GCD General Meeting. This year our theme for the workshop will be Holiday Greenery in Outdoor Pots. This program will focus on how-to dress up our entries or any outdoor pot with beautiful and diverse greenery. Our plan is to have a grab-and-go situation for the greenery, an in-person demonstration of creating the outdoor pot design and also a video available. A signup genius will be sent to members.
Pick-up is Tuesday, December 8th 11:30-1:30. Fee $35.
Location: 576 Circle Drive.
November Tip of the Month:
Conditioning of Flowers and Foliage
Conditioning is the preparation of cut plant material prior to arranging. Correct conditioning promotes water uptake and will ensure that flowers and foliage last for the maximum amount of time. The most important general rule is to cut all stems at a 45 degree angle, place in tepid water with floral food additive for several hours (preferably overnight) and let stems stand in a cool place out of direct sunlight. Clean, disinfected buckets are a must. Remove all leaves that will be below the water line.
You can read more about Conditioning and the particular needs of specific flowers on the GCD website.
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GCD Board and Committees
2020-2021
Executive Committee
President: Meg Nichols
Vice President: Cindy Scott
Corresponding Secretary: Bar Chadwick
Recording Secretary: Alice Hughes
Treasurer: Maureen Barker
Director: Missy Eliot
Committee Chairmen
Admissions & Membership-elected:
Jane Davis & Margaret Garbe
Awards & Founders Fund:
Sally Obregon
Bulletin & Communications:
Sarah Young
Conservation National Affairs and Legislation:
Lisë Woodard & Amy Mower
Denver Botanic Gardens Committees:
Cutting Garden:
Genie Waters & Linda Zinn
Fete Liaisons:
Debbie Davis & Nan Procknow
Flower Arranging:
Debbie Davis
Holiday Décor:
Lisa Duke & Ann Ellis
Directory (Roster):
Amy Slothower & Megan Mahncke
Floral Design:
Nina Sisk & Cora Wheeler
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Committee Chairmen (Continued)
2021 GCA Flower Show:
Missy Eliot & Nina Sisk
Fund Development:
Liza Grant
Garden History & Design:
Holley Sanford
Historian:
Muffie Dahlberg
Horticulture:
Leslie Liedtke & Nancy Schotters
Hospitality:
Nancy Jones & Martha Veldkamp
Judging:
Hope Connors
eNews:
Marianne Sulser & Mary Talbot
Nominating:
Missy Eliot
Photography:
Suellen White & Deborah Foy
Programs:
Caroline Rassenfoss & Tish Szurek
Scholarships:
Ann Crammond
Visiting Gardens:
Lindsay Dodge
Website:
Kathleen Woodberry
& Elizabeth Weigand
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