Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Seeds, Seeds, Seeds

From Rosemarie Parker Seeds, Seeds, Seeds Gardener.Parker@gmail.com

Please help our chapter process the second round of the 2009 NARGS seed exchange. This year, one time only, ALL chapter members are eligible to order seeds in this round, even if you are not a member of national NARGS. This is a great deal, $5 per 20 packets up to 100 packets. If you volunteer to help, you can fill your own order, choosing your own substitutes if your first choice is gone. And the first 20 volunteers can take a free packet to count towards MY order. The very extensive round 2 seed list is posted at www.nargs.org/seed/exchange.html.

Thanks to Susanne Lipari, we will be meeting in a great room (#211) of the Plant Science Building, the same building as the monthly meetings. Parking will not be a problem as all sessions are evenings or weekends. There are jobs for people who need to stay seated, and ones who need to move around. Based on last years statistics, we will need nearly 200 person hours of work, so the more people who volunteer the better. It will be interesting, maybe even fun, and I promise to arrange for munchies every session.

Please let me know if and when you can attend one or more of the workdays listed below (Gardener.Parker@gmail.com or 607-257-4853). Too few or too many people per session are inefficient, so I really need an RSVP at least a few days ahead of each session.

Workdays:

Sat 3-7 12:30-4:30 pm
Sun 3-8 12:30-4:30 pm
Tue 3-10 6:30-9 pm
Th 3-12 6:30-9 pm
Sun 3-15 12:30-4:30 pm
Sat 3-21 9-noon (before rock garden workshop @1pm)
Wed 3-25 6:30-9 pm
Sat 3-28 12:30 (if needed)

Thanks!

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Great deal on Round 2 NARGS seed exchange

As you know, our chapter is running the surplus seed distribution for the NARGS seed exchange. (Contact Rosemarie Parker Gardener.Parker@gmail.com to find out how you can help.)

This year, NARGS has opened up the surplus distribution to chapter members and is charging only $5 per 20 packets.

February 18, 2009

Dear Chapter Chairs and Newsletter Editors,

The Main Seed Distribution is now over and we are preparing the remaining seed for the Surplus Seed Distribution, which will be handled by the Adirondack Chapter. We have a lot of choice seed left this year (see www.nargs.org/seed/SeedExchange-2008-Surplus.html for the list) and have decided to do two new things to help get the seeds out to our members:

1) We are increasing the number of packets that members can order to 100. So now members can get 20, 40, 60, 80 or 100 packets of seed for $5 per 20 packets. That is just $0.25 per packet!

2) We are opening up the Surplus Seed Distribution to all chapter members. If you have chapter members who are NOT NARGS members they can now take advantage of this ONE TIME opportunity to get the same great deal on seeds as NARGS members. We are hoping this will encourage some of your local members to join NARGS once they see the great selection of seeds available.

We are asking that you inform your chapter members as soon as possible of this offer, so that they have time to get the Order form and send in their order (orders must be received by March 20). Especially let any of your members who are seedaholics know about this. We will be asking the chapter members to include the name of their chapter on their order form so that we know they are not just someone who stumbled on the surplus list on the website.;-) They must also use the “official” Surplus Seed Order List which they can get by contacting me at seedintake@twmi.rr.com. I can also send you the file for the surplus list if you would like to print it out for your interested members.

The Surplus Seed Round will run from March 7-20; after the 20th the seed will be split up among the chapters who request leftover seed. If you would like a share of the leftover seed you must send the Adirondack Chapter a self-addressed shipping label along with a note asking for leftover seed for your chapter. Please send this request to:

Adirondack Chapter-NARGS
c/o Rosemarie Parker
532 Cayuga Heights Rd
Ithaca, NY 14850

You may also want to share some of this leftover seed with a local horticultural organization (botanic garden, university, trade school, Master Gardener program, local nurseries, etc) as a way to build goodwill and as a source of future recruits for NARGS.

Please encourage your members to start collecting seed for next years seed exchange-details on donating will be in the Summer issue of the Rock Garden Quarterly.

Regards,
Laura Serowicz
NARGS Seed Intake Manager
15411 Woodring
Livonia, MI 48154

'Good rock garden plants' on NARGS website

I know the NARGS National website contains a lot of helpful information. Yet, it’s not always easy to find it! I know they are involved with redesigning their site – a project that has been months in the making. Being involved myself with a redesign where I work, I can be sympathetic with how complicated a process this can be.

All that said, a while back I found this whole secion of the NARGS site that I didn’t know existed on Good Rock Garden Plants. I quickly “bookmarked” it so I could find it again. Here’s the URL: http://www.nargs.org/gardening/plant.list.html#. It contains photos and an alphabetical listing of many plants suitable for the rock gardening.

So until the time when we can get outdoors and our hands dirty, enjoy this great resource from the comfort of your living room.

ACNARGS People

Here's the leadership team for 2009:

  • Chair/trips: Billie Jean Isbell, bji1@cornell.edu, 607-539-6484
  • Vice chair/program: Donna Kraft, dkraft@twcny.rr.com, 315 696-8626
  • Secretary: Carolyn Yaeger, cao2@cornell.edu, 607-844-9462
  • Treasurer/Plant sales: BZ Marranca, mmm10@cornell.edu
  • Program: Carol Eichler, ceichler@twcny.rr.com, 607-387-5823
  • Plant sales, Wurster Garden Coordinator: David Mitchell, dwm23@cornell.edu, 607-342-3660
  • Plant of the Month, Co-secretary: John Gilrein, basecamp@alum.syracuse.edu, 315-492-0844
  • Membership: Susanne Lipari sel3@cornell.edu 607-387-9308
  • New member hospitality: Judy Fogel jfogel@twcny.rr.com 607-275-3332
  • Newsletter editor/Webmaster: Craig Cramer, cdcramer@twcny.rr.com

Rock Garden Basics Workshop March 21

From Carol Eichler:

Join us for our March program which is being offered in a slightly different format than usual - with 3 different speakers. We thought we'd focus on the "Basics of Rock Gardening" - in a mini-seminar format - to inspire you to make plans to build your own rock garden - or to refurbish an existing one.

Michelle Jones Ham will start us off "Easy Plants for the Rock Garden," offering inspiring photos and suitable plants that she has grown successfully.

David Mitchell comes next to talk about "Soil Mixes." David has been doing quite a lot of experimentation with different materials and formulas that he'll be sharing. Others are invited to chime in about their own experiences.

Lastly, Robin Bell will close by talking about "RG Construction Techniques." We hope the weather is cooperative so that we can go outdoors to view the different rock garden styles used on the Wurster Rock Garden, since it was designed to show these different styles.

Note we are meeting at 1 p.m. at Tompkins County office of Cornell Cooperative Extension (615 Willow Ave., Ithaca) for a program that should run about an hour longer than usual.

Many of you know Michelle Jones Ham who was a member of our Chapter for many years and served as our Chair before a new job meant she had to move. She didn't stop rock gardening and she cease her involvement with NARGS. Instead she became the driving force behind establishing a new Chapter, the Genesee Valley Chapter based in Rochester which is very much alive and well. In fact, they hosted the 2007 Eastern Study Weekend while still in their infancy. Michelle is also active at the NARGS National level, serving on ad hoc Committee to address membership issues and currently serving as Manager of the slide collection.

Our own members David Mitchell and Robin Bell are both notable for their wonderful gardens and plant knowledge. Robin has been a frequent speaker. You can be sure they will provide us with a wealth of knowledge - from their own gardening experience - often the best kind!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

March 7 seed exchange session

From Rosemarie Parker (Gardener.Parker@gmail.com)

Hi all, I expect to get more volunteers (in fact, not all of you have actually stated that you would come; I am ever hopeful). But I wanted to let you know ASAP that the first day of "picking" is going to be Saturday, March 7th, barring dire events in the meantime. Don't worry if you are busy that day; last year's crew had 8 work days total so there are lots of opportunities. Looks like 4 hour stints are about all anyone can take. You don't have to stay the whole time. I'm easy about what time to start - suggestions welcome. I just thought it might be helpful to put a note on your calendars.

Thanks for volunteering, and I will get back with more specifics when I have them.

More info about seed exchange.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

February newsletter

Here's the February ACNARGS newsletter in printer-friendly .pdf format.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Volunteers needed Round Two of seed exchange

From Rosemarie Parker:

Our chapter has committed to do the second round of the 2009 NARGS seed exchange. This mostly means filling orders from the remaining seeds, and mailing them off. Susanne Lipari has found us working areas on Cornell campus, and I'd like to get a tentative list of who is willing to help. It should be interesting, maybe even fun, and I promise to arrange for munchies.

I want to schedule several workdays, most likely in the first three weeks of March. If you volunteer, I'd like to try to meet your preferred schedule as much as possible. So, if you would be willing to come select seeds and stuff envelopes, even for an hour, please let me know. And tell me your preferred work times: weekends (morning, afternoon, evenings?) or weekdays (around lunch, late afternoon, evenings, whatever?). The actual dates and times can't be set until we know when the seeds will arrive!

Send your contact info (e-mail, telephone) and preferred times to gardener.parker@gmail.com or give me a call at 607-257-4853. We'll also have a sign up at our Feb. 21 meeting.

Join NARGS

From Bobby J. Ward, Exec. Secretary, North American Rock Garden Society (NARGS), the umbrella organization for our Adirondack Chapter and other NARGS chapters around the continent:

NARGS is for gardening enthusiasts interested in alpine, saxatile, and low-growing perennials. Annual dues in the U.S. and Canada are $30, payable in U.S. funds. VISA/Mastercard accepted.

Benefits of membership include: Rock Garden Quarterly with articles on alpines and North American wildflowers, illustrated in color photographs and pen and ink drawings; annual seed exchange with thousands of plant species; study weekends and annual meetings in either U.S. or Canada; and book service to members.

Join on-line at www.nargs.org. Or write: Bobby J. Ward, Exec. Secretary NARGS, P.O. Box 18604, Raleigh, NC 27619-8604, USA.

Controlling forest invasives talk

From Pat Curran:

The Finger Lakes Native Plant Society presents a slide show and talk by Charlotte Acharya of Cornell Dept of Natural Resources on Controlling Forest Invasive Plants: Linking Management Practices with Outcomes.

A diverse group of organizations are performing invasive plant control. Charlotte surveyed the leaders of these organizations to discover what management strategies were being used and if their management had resulted in prevention of new species establishment, invasive species population reductions or protection of native plants. The lessons are applicable to small areas as well as large.

Tuesday, February 17th, 2009, 7:00 to 8:30 PM at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, 615 Willow Ave., Ithaca.