Horticulture Society Minutes Blair Horticulture Society Minutes, 2009 Thursday, Jan. 22; Feb. 26; and March 26. For our first three meetings of the year we met in the conference room of the new Washington County Extension Office. Our January potluck was followed by a program by member Judi Seaver on organizations such as the Seed Savers Exchange of Decorah, Iowa – which sent her packages of seeds for our members. At our February meeting Sarah Browning of the Dodge County Extension Office in Fremont, Neb., gave an illustrated talk on “Great Plants for 2009.” As always, we learned much from Sarah’s program. And then in March, Steve Tonn of the Washington County Extension Office spoke on “Home Landscaping Practices that Affect the Environment,” a timely subject for 21st century concerns. Our business meeting agendas for these three months concerned . . .
Thursday, April 23. We carpooled to Heron Haven at 11809 Old Maple Road in Omaha, where we were met by Ione Werthman, who has been instrumental in saving the area. She led us on a tour of the wetland sanctuary that’s surrounded by Omaha businesses and suburbs, and then gave a slide program in the nature center about Heron Haven’s beginnings and the successful effort to save this unique area from developers. At our business meeting we discussed plans for the Plant Exchange; we also voted to donate $50 to the organization. Thursday, May 28. This month we carpooled to the rural garden of Betty and John Wolsmann. Betty Wolsmann described the beginnings of their garden and the assorted plantings and then answered questions after we had strolled around their yard. At our business meeting on the Wolsmanns’ patio we discussed plans and assignments for the June 6 Plant Exchange, and Julie Rohlfing distributed posters designed by member Nathan Kramer for us to post in Blair businesses. Saturday, June 6, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Our second annual plant exchange, this time at the parking lot of the Washington County Extension Office, was a big success, and several participants asked whether we planned to repeat the exchange next year. Contributions by those who acquired plants but didn’t bring any to exchange came to $300, an amount rounded off by Amy Barlow and Nathan Kramer. The funds were given to the County Extension Office for its landscaping project, which includes community education and beautification. In theory, if we’d had strictly a plant exchange, we’d end up with as many plants as we started with. But this wasn’t only an exchange, and although some plants remained, there weren’t very many. Ted Bansen picked up the remainder for plantings at Dana College – including the vegetable starts for a new community garden on the campus. Thursday, June 25. This month we visited the “Hundred Year Farm” of Pat and Richard Hancock between Blair and Tekamah. The farm is a Landscape Steward Site of the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum. Pat told us about the history of the farm and several of the events it has hosted, including a “Barn Again” Festival co-sponsored by the Smithsonian, the Burt County Museum, and the Nebraska Humanities Council, and then took us on a tour of the extensive gardens. We subsequently wandered around, exploring other parts of the yard and historic farm buildings. Thursday, July 23. We’re a small group, but the number visiting Ed Rasmussen’s Fragrant Path in the hills of southern Washington County approached 100! The Washington County Extension Office had earlier asked if it could piggyback on our event, and it must have invited neighboring county extension offices as well, because participants were from Blair, Fremont, Tekamah, Omaha – and Kansas. Ed used a PA system to talk to the crowd and then led a tour of his grounds, where a peacock occasionally engaged our attention. Thursday, August 27. We drove into the countryside, to the hilltop home of Bill and Lorna Wehrmann between Blair and Fremont, to meet with and share a potluck picnic supper with members of the Fremont Garden Club. After enjoying our supper on their deck (we enjoyed the view, too), Bill, a longtime judge of vegetables and flowers at county fairs, described the judging process (every county’s rules are different, we learned) and gave hints on what and what not to do when entering competitions. He then objectively but tactfully judged the flowers and vegetables Blair and Fremont attendees had brought with them and selected the five best entries for prizes provided by Julie Rohlfing. Sunday, September 20. We carpooled to Fremont and the Midland Lutheran College campus, which is an Affiliate Site of the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum. Gary Carlson, NSA curator and Midland professor emeritus, met us there for a campus tour, and we made frequent stops during our stroll to hear his descriptions of many of the trees and shrubs growing there. (My impression is that almost everyone’s favorite was the Korean fir, which has curling, bright green needles with white undersides.) Prof. Carlson told us that several Fremont civic groups also participate in developing and supporting the arboretum. After Midland we visited the Victorian garden at Fremont’s May Museum and then met in its gazebo for a short business meeting. Discussion included the September 27 Harvest Moon Festival at Santa’s Woods on Highway 133, where Julie and Charlie Rohlfing and Myrna Brown will give away free seeds to promote the Horticulture Society and the Plant Exchange. We voted to contribute $50 to the Midland Arboretum. Looking ahead to 2010, Julie asked participants to let other members know if they’d like to be nominated at our October meeting to serve as officers next year, and also to come up with ideas for programs and places to visit. The date for a November planning session will be decided at our October meeting. Thursday, October 22. On a cool fall evening we met at the home of Amy Barlow and Nathan Kramer for a soup and sandwich supper – an event that’s become a tradition for the last meeting of the year. Julie Rohlfing conducted a short business meeting, during which we elected (or rather re-elected) officers, with Julie as president, Sandy Sonderup as treasurer, and Ann George as secretary. We – i.e., the officers and other members who are interested, and most seemed to be – agreed to meet to plan next year’s programs at the Rohlfings’ home at 5 p.m. Sunday, November 8. Participants will bring appetizers, and Julie and Charlie will surprise us with an unusual mixed drink -- something that’s become another tradition. To close the meeting and the year, members described their gardening successes and failures and then participated in a seed exchange. Ann George, Secretary Blair Horticulture Society Minutes, 2008 Thursday, January 31. We met in The Forum at Dana
College, where Omahan Rozely Penzkowski gave us a “British Garden
Travelogue,” a welcome tour in the middle of winter, of lush English
gardens, private and public, and garden shows -- among them the
Chelsea -- that she’d visited last summer. Her talk, accompanied by
slides, together with the pink tulips for our buffet (well, potluck)
table provided by Julie Rohlfing, president, reminded us that spring
will one day make its inevitable appearance. Thursday, February 28 and March 27. We met both times
in the party room at the bowling alley, in February to learn how to
recognize, reduce, and prevent common landscape diseases from Stephen
Wegulo of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and in March on “What’s
New for 2008” by Kathleen Cue of the Douglas/Sarpy County Extension
Office. Both illustrated talks were followed by lively question and
answer sessions. Sunday afternoon, April 20. We met in Omaha, hoping
to see spring in all its glory at the Lauritzen Gardens. Spring,
however, was late and in disarray -- but we did enjoy the many
daffodils and star magnolias on a walking tour led by Horticulture
Society member Judi Seaver. Thursday, May 22. We walked again, this time on a
self-guided tour of OPPD’s Arboretum at 108th & Blondo. It was a tour
of discovery – the Arboretum, which is part of the Nebraska Statewide
Arboretum, is a wonder, with extensive lawns, a variety of trees, all
with helpful, educational labels, and a path through a wilderness
reminiscent of DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge -- although we could
hear the hum of cars on I-80. The Arboretum is a secret that’s in
plain sight. Thursday, June 26. A month after our walk in OPPD’s
Arboretum, we were ready to walk again, this time, on a balmy evening
with a cool breeze, along a grassy, mowed trail through Allwine
Prairie at 14810 State St. between Bennington and Omaha. The 160-acre
prairie had been a farm that its owners deeded several decades ago to
the University of Nebraska at Omaha as a bird sanctuary. UNO has
created a tallgrass prairie that, of course, also shelters birds. Our
tour guide, a UNO faculty member who manages the prairie, talked about
developing and maintaining it, identified wild flowers, and answered
questions. Thursday, July 24. On a visit to Elkhorn, Nebraska,
and St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church there, we learned
about prayer gardens. Del Morgan, who was responsible for the creation
of St. Augustine’s garden, told us that prayer gardens had started in
England and now can be found in many parts of the world and that he’d
learned of them while visiting in Kansas, which has many such gardens.
The garden, maintained by volunteers, includes lawns and berms,
flowers, shrubs, and a variety of trees, among them a young oak that
had its start in England’s Sherwood Forest. Thursday, August 28. Led by Julie Rohlfing, we
visited three drought-resistant plantings in Ft. Calhoun – at the post
office, city hall, and the south entrance into town. Member Judi
Seaver has had a role in all of these plantings and, because she
couldn’t attend that evening, had taken Julie on a tour to tell her
about them. Not being drought-resistant ourselves, we subsequently
sampled Nebraska wines at Ft. Calhoun’s Too Far North. Sunday, September 21. On a beautiful fall day when it
seemed as if all of Lincoln had decided to picnic at the city’s
Antelope Park, we had a potluck picnic there and then visited the
nearby Sunken Gardens, led by Steve Nosal, the Lincoln horticulturist
(Parks & Recreation) who’s responsible for the plantings as well as
the plant selection, design, and upkeep of the gardens. (Arrangements
were made by Nathan Kramer.) A subsequent stop at UNL’s East Campus
took us first to the Dairy Store where, over ice cream, we had a short
business meeting – mostly to discuss plans for next year and possible
dates in November for a planning meeting. On a walk through the
adjacent Maxwell Arboretum, our longest pause was to admire a majestic
bald cypress. Thursday, October 23. We enjoyed our
last-meeting-of-the-year traditional soup and sandwich supper, over
much hilarity, at the home of Nathan Kramer and Amy Barlow. At a
business meeting the three incumbent officers (Julie Rohlfing,
president; Sandy Sonderup, treasurer; and Ann George, secretary) were
elected to serve again in 2009. Other items of business included
discussion of (1) continuing the Garden of the Month program (yes, it
should be continued; this will be an agenda item at our January
meeting) and (2) the possibility of joining the Nebraska Statewide
Arboretum (dues are $100; we’ll also discuss this in January). For the
planning session at the Rohlfings for next year’s programs, the date
of Friday, November 7, and the time of 7 p.m. was convenient for
everyone. The meeting ended with the traditional round-table
discussion of members’ gardening “Successes and Failures” this year. Ann George, Secretary Blair Horticulture Society Minutes, 2007 Thursday, January 25. On what seemed like the coldest night of the year (but the next weekend was even colder), we met in The Forum in Dana College’s Durham Center for a potluck and two-part program. President Don Vanecek showed slides of an Omaha flower show and of earlier Vanecek gardens and gave several tips on composting. Nathan Kramer demonstrated the versatile and useful Website and e-mail program he’d developed for us and explained how to use both of them. Thursday, Feb. 22 and March 22. To the muffled sounds of bowling in the background, we met at the Blair Bowling Center on both nights for illustrated talks by members of the Douglas and Sarpy Counties Extension Office. The talk in February by Trent Erickson was on creating a rain garden and the one on March 22 by Kathleen Cue was on “ten easy steps to create curb appeal.” Thursday, April 26. Spring finally arrived, and we met at the Blair Garden Center, where two staff members described and passed around, to attentive members and Shasta, the cat in residence, new and interesting plants for our gardens. After a question-and-answer session, members strolled through the greenhouse to select plants for their own gardens. Thursday, May 24. Anticipating a garden tour, homemade ice cream, and a plant exchange, we met on a pleasant spring evening at the home of members Nathan Kramer and Amy Barlow. After an interesting circle tour by Nathan of their yard and thriving garden areas that included veggie, herb, bottle, planter, hosta, and flower gardens, we enjoyed ice cream and cookies on their patio under the sheltering branches of their 80-year-old silver maple. Thursday, June 28. Members carpooled to the Omaha home and garden of Lynn and Sheri Hansen to learn about the many varieties – 100 of them -- of hostas that they grow, including several that are rare and unique. One of them, a coteywood, is one of only four in existence. Lynn Hansen told members that he’d assisted the woman who found this ‘sport,’ and they showed it in Chicago and took first prize with it in a national show. Hansen -- remarkably -- was able to list the plant sources for his exotic varieties from memory and could often name the parent plants that were crossed to create them. Their garden also featured up to 300 lilies, mostly Asiatics without spots. After our tour Sheri Hansen served home-baked cookies and iced tea. (Thanks to Julie and Charlie Rohlfing for this report in the secretary’s absence.) Thursday, July 26. By the end of our tour, on a hot summer evening, of the hilltop Silvercreek Hill Vineyard and Winery northwest of Tekamah, a tour that was preceded, interrupted, and followed by sampling wines from an extensive menu in the tasting room, we returned to our cars with bottles of wine to enjoy at home, and in a mellow mood. Thursday, August 23. We began our evening under umbrellas and to the sound of retreating thunder at the College Drive home of Muriel and Lloyd Neve. Member Muriel led us through their sloping front yard garden, with its variety of flowers – especially tea roses – and artifacts from Japan, where they’d lived for 40 years. We marveled at their hillside garden at the back of their house and at the many kinds of vegetables they were able to grow so abundantly in a challenging space. After this tour, we drove to the Baronage home of Clare and Clark Cowing. Clare gave us a tour of their yard, which included a garden “room” bordering the street and a sloping, park-like backyard with whimsical touches and a gazebo. Our evening ended with cold drinks and a sampling of foods (with the recipes available) made by Clare and several other participants that had zucchini as a main ingredient – a refreshing cold soup, breads, muffins, and cookies – and all of them delicious. Sunday, September 9. Carpooling took us to Whispering Hills Vineyards near Carson, Iowa. Before our ample potluck on the deck that adjoined the tasting room, a restored 100-year-old barn, owner Mike Killinger, a Dana College graduate, led us through a wine tasting of the Vineyards’ many varieties, including a surprising raspberry wine that combined well with chocolate. Once again, we returned to Blair with souvenirs of our visit. Thursday, October 25. Nathan Kramer and Amy Barlow hosted our last meeting in 2007, a soup and sandwich potluck, followed a reading of the minutes for the year and by members reporting on their gardening successes and failures (“suddenly, the tomatoes stopped producing!”) and a seed exchange. Members voted to purchase an old Blair street paving brick, to be engraved with “Blair Horticulture Society” to support improvements at the city’s Black Elk-Neihardt Park. The brick will become part of the new interpretive garden area at the park. Julie Rohlfing was elected president for 2008, and Sandy Sonderup and Ann George were re-elected treasurer and secretary respectively. Respectfully submitted, Blair Horticulture Society Minutes, 2006 Thursday, January 26. After we indulged in an abundant potluck at Patty Kubie’s hilltop country home on a windy but balmy evening, Kathy Kuster gave a talk titled “From Vacant Lot to Forest in 15 Easy Years,” in which she described, using anecdotes and photographs, the remarkable evolution of her now sodless yard. Thursday, February 23. Members met at Dana College in The Forum, the Durham Center, to hear Nathan Kramer give a Power Point presentation about “Garden Journaling.” Drawing upon his own experiences and describing the many ways in which a journal can be kept, Nathan encouraged us to start our own journals. Several members brought their journals or early 20th century herbariums they’d acquired and shared them with the group. Kathy Kuster proposed that members bring journals to the February 2007 meeting that they’d started as a result of the program. (This is a reminder!) Thursday, March 23. We met again at Dana College in The Forum, this time to learn, from Anne Streich of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, what to plant in difficult places, places known to those who have them as “hell strips.” President Kathy Kuster passed around a clipping of a feature article on garden journaling from the Living section of the March 16, 2006, Omaha World-Herald in which members Nathan Kramer and Pam Cates were two of three interviewees. Kathy also reminded members of the Society’s plans to clean up several garden areas at Dana in exchange for meeting twice in The Forum without charge. Nancy Beaman and Nathan Kramer volunteered to be the contacts and coordinators for the two cleanup dates. Thursday, April 27. We gathered at the Blair Garden Center to learn about (and later purchase) new and interesting plant varieties. A non-member who, seeing that the Center was open, stopped to make a few purchases, commented on how surprised he was by the flurry of late-evening activity and the number of people there, until he was told that he had inadvertently dropped in on a Blair Horticulture Society meeting. Thursday, May 25. With owners Carol and Bob Lynch as our guides, we toured their 16-acre parklike grounds north of Omaha. Bob Lynch is a retired heart surgeon, and they have named the grounds “CABG Patch” (for Cardio-Arterial Bypass Graft). Carol Lynch explained that in its early years the property had been an orchard. When it was purchased by a nursery owner named Erdman, it became a test site for an unusually large variety of trees and shrubs, many not native to this area, that have since grown to maturity. To learn about the trees and shrubs and to care for them, Carol Lynch became a Master Gardener. The grounds are a Nebraska Statewide Arboretum Landscape Steward Site, and the Lynches plant new varieties provided by the Arboretum. At a short business meeting before the walking tour of the grounds, President Kathy Kuster read a letter from Dr. Janet Philipp, president of Dana College, thanking Society members for their assistance in improving several flower beds on the campus. Thursday, June 22. Our trip to visit the garden of Lynn and Sherry Hansen in Omaha was cancelled because of a death in the Hansen family. Thursday, July 27. We drove into the hills north of Blair to visit the gardens and home of Bill and Debby Kistler. The Kistlers bought their property from the legendary Niels Miller, and they began our tour by telling us about Miller, the Miller home, and a log cabin, the oldest in Washington County, that Miller had moved to his land. Both buildings – the home and cabin -- are still standing. We slowly continued our tour up the hill to their house by stopping to look at and learn about various plants, trees, antique and found objects, and unique potting sheds and other imaginative structures. At the end of our tour the Kistlers invited us into their home for cookies. Thursday, August 24. On a warm and windy evening, we took a meandering tour of the yard of Don and Diane Vanecek, appreciating the many additions and changes -- a pond, more flower beds, and a large vegetable garden -- they’d made since our last visit several years ago. (We also took advantage of their invitation to help ourselves to seeds produced by some of their flowering plants.) The evening ended with refreshments on their patio that overlooks the Missouri River valley. Sunday, September 10. We’d earlier changed the trip that was announced on the printed schedule, a visit to the Weiss Studios and Gardens and to Soaring Wings Vineyard in Springfield, Nebraska, because the Weisses would be out of town that day. Instead, we planned to carpool to Council Bluffs for a potluck and visit to the Western Historic Trails Center, ending with a trail walk to the banks of the Missouri River. I say “planned” because, alas, it rained and we called off the trip. And to demonstrate how rare an event that is, can anyone remember having to cancel a meeting, in recent or not-so-recent years, because of rain? Thursday, October 26. For our last meeting of the year we met at the home of Edie Solomon for a potluck soup and sandwich supper. Because President Kathy Kuster couldn’t attend, Ann George, secretary, conducted the business meeting. After hearing Treasurer Sandy Sonderup’s report, members took three actions: to resubscribe to “Birds and Bloom” for the Blair Public Library, to purchase a book for the Public Library from the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum in memory of Frank Hengeveld (Linda Hangren will order the book and present it to the library), and to contribute $150 to the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum. Members approved Nathan Kramer’s proposal for developing a Horticulture Society “e-list” as a secondary source of communication. They also approved Julie Rohlfing’s suggestion that interested members again assist in maintaining flower beds at Dana College, but without the reciprocal arrangement of using The Forum for meetings free of charge. Officers elected for 2007 are: Don and Diane Vanecek, co-presidents; Sandy Sonderup, treasurer; and Ann George, secretary. Officers and interested members will meet at the home of Julie and Charlie Rohlfing on Tuesday, December 5, at 7 p.m., to plan next year’s programs. The business meeting was followed by a lively discussion of this year’s successes and failures in the garden and a seed exchange. Respectfully submitted, Horticulture Society Minutes, 2005 January 27: Members ignored forecasted sleet and snow, which didn’t materialize, for a potluck supper at Patty Kubie’s rural home. Diane Vanecek reviewed the flaws and merits of a large number of gardening catalogs and recommended does and don’ts on ordering from them. February 24: We met at Carter House to hear Jim Kluck, owner of Dublin Nursery in Schuyler, Nebraska, give an illustrated talk on unusual varieties of trees and shrubs with spectacular fall color, all of which should thrive in the Blair area. He also complimented Blair on its many trees, calling the community an “Arbor City,” thanks to the late Ralph Steyer. Kluck, who has given programs for us before, was, as always, entertaining and informative. His talk prompted many questions and helpful answers. March 24: Kathleen Cue’s illustrated talk on landscaping under trees and her shalls and shall nots, her dos and don’ts, led at least some of us to examine our consciences and past planting practices – and to cast a critical eye on what our neighbors have been doing. We met at the Carter House; Ms. Cue is associated with the Douglas/Sarpy County Extension Service Offices. April 28: Members and interested non-members came out of the cold and into the Blair Garden Center’s greenhouse for demonstrations and helpful advice on container gardening for sun and shade. Julie Rohlfing’s hot coffee was welcome as we wandered through the greenhouse to select plants for our own gardens and containers, hoping that someday soon the nightly freeze warnings would end. May 26: With a threatening sky and cold north wind surging over the bluff at Ridgeview Park, some of us huddled under blankets as city parks director Pat Long described the development and challenges of Blair’s newest park. By the time we arrived at Black Elk-Neihardt Park, the wind had stopped, the skies had cleared, we discarded our blankets and saw a rainbow from the hilltop. As we strolled in the park, Pat told us of its history and development. We wondered at the back-pack-burdened and boot-shod members of a Boy Scout troop we saw several times as they hiked up and down hills getting into condition for the rigors of Philmont Ranch, the Boy Scouts’ New Mexican mecca. Led by Edie Solomon, some of us took the long way back to our cars by following the oval concrete walk – downhill and up, not daring to stop to catch our breaths (I’m speaking, of course, only of myself) because the long climb didn’t faze Edie. June 23: A seven-car caravan crossed the Missouri River into Iowa to visit the California Junction garden of Pam Cates. Pam and two friends greeted us with iced tea and lemonade, which were welcome on a warm and humid evening. Pam led us on a tour of her beautiful cottage garden, complete with animal tracks (pheasant, deer, and raccoon) across her concrete driveway, and then of her equally beautiful and unique home. Kathy Kuster and Julie Rohlfing invited members to Kathy’s garden the following Thursday for a workshop on casting birdbaths using large leaves as molds and making stepping stones with stained glass. And finally, many of us took advantage of a plant exchange before returning home. July 28: We stayed in Blair this month to visit two neighboring gardens, Vesta Thompson’s at 821 Meadow Drive, and Gayla Webb and Marc Blais’ at 2247 Meadow Drive, on an evening that was a respite from this summer’s heat wave. Both gardens were lovely, and we found much to admire, discuss, and learn at each. August 25: We spent much of the evening wandering through and admiring Beth Davis’s large vegetable garden northwest of Blair. Beth, who has a popular booth at the Blair Farmers’ Market, grows heirloom vegetables organically, and she talked about the varieties of chard, eggplants, tomatoes, and squash as she led us on the tour. We especially enjoyed tasting and comparing the more-than 60 varieties of heirloom tomatoes in an array of sizes, shapes, and colors, and seeing her many kinds of squash. Beth generously invited us to help ourselves to her veggies. With oncoming darkness, she invited us into her home for iced tea and lemonade before we carpooled back to Blair. September 11: Thirteen members traveled to Nebraska City for our annual Sunday in September trip. After a potluck picnic in Kirkwood Park, we crossed the street to visit the Lied Center’s biomass energy plant, which burns wood chips from poplar trees grown nearby to heat and cool the Center. Returning to our cars, we drove to Arbor Lodge, the home of early Nebraska settlers J. Sterling and Caroline Morton. Morton founded Arbor Day and served as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture under President Grover Cleveland. Given the choice, after touring the Lodge, of walking the half-mile tree trail on the grounds and then having apple deserts at the nearby Tree Farm’s Apple Café before returning to Blair, or postponing the walk for another day (the weather was warm and humid) and going to the cafe, we opted for immediate gratification and headed for the café. On our way, though, we did stop at the “Whispering Bench,” where Don Vanecek, seated at one end of the long, curved bench, demonstrated its remarkable acoustic qualities. October 29: We met at the home of Edie Solomon for an ample potluck supper of soups, sandwiches, and deserts. At our brief business meeting members voted to subscribe for another year to the magazine Birds and Bloom for the Blair Public Library. They also reelected Kathy Kuster as president, Sandy Sonderup as treasurer, and Ann George as secretary. Ann’s minutes of this year’s meetings were approved. Officers and other members interested in planning next year’s program will meet at Kathy Kuster’s home on Tuesday, November 29, at 7 p.m. A discussion of gardening successes and failures in 2005 featured experiences with the drought, Eva Hauxwell’s pre-Halloween horror story of her struggle with mutant aphids that covered her Asclepius (they refused to die), and Nathan Kramer and Amy Barlow’s descriptions, with photographs, of how they’ve gone about developing several areas of their garden. The meeting ended with a seed exchange. Respectfully submitted, |
