Austin Gardener Published Monthly By The Garden Club of Austin, in Austin,Texas FEBRUARY 2011

VOLUME 48, NUMBER 2

FEBRUARY PROGRAM: CHERYL HAZELTINE “Thirty Years of Gardening” 

PRESIDENTS MESSAGE

  Cheryl Hazeltine is an Austin gardener and garden writer. Her book on gardening in central Texas has been in print for almost thirty years. This important book was first published by Texas A&M Press in 1980 as The Central Texas Gardener by Cheryl Hazeltine and Joan Filvaroff.  In l999 it was revised and published as The New Central Texas Gardener by Cheryl Hazeltine and our own Barry Lovelace.  In its latest incarnation, the book has received a complete overhaul.  Single authored by Cheryl Hazeltine, the text is entirely revised and generously illustrated with photographs by Cheryl and her husband Richard Hazeltine.  Cheryl will talk about changes she has seen in gardening over the past 30 years as well as share her recommendations for trees, shrubs, vines, flowers, vegetables and fruits for Central Texas.  She will also answer member questions and sign books. Cheryl’s warmth, expertise and her vast gardening experience make for an exciting evening.  Advance reservations for copies of Cheryl’s new book are due by noon Monday, February 14 to ljoseph@austin. rr.com.   Books are being purchased by the case and will be available to TGCOA members for $15.00 each – no tax or shipping charges.  Copies will NOT be available on February 24 without advance reservation. Mark your calendars now for Thursday, February 24, in the Austin Area Garden Center, 2220 Barton Springs Road. Refreshments and fellowship begin at 7:00 pm followed by our meeting at 7:30. Club cultivars for our June show may also be available. Our meetings are open to the public so bring your friends and neighbors. You are also invited to bring contributions for Show-and-Tell, Trade-a-Plant, and door prizes. Laura Joseph

NEWSLETTER DISTRIBUTION UNDER REVIEW The last couple of months we have outlined a plan to distribute The Garden Club of Austin newsletter, Austin Gardener, by e-mail. So far we have ten people who have opted to receive it electronically. If you want to sign up then please send us your e-mail address to the editors. We promise that we will not sell or give away your address to anyone else. Just send an e-mail to [email protected] with a copy going to Sandi at . Norman Wagner and Sandi Schmidt (editors)

     Wow!  Is February teaching us what winter is all about?  How about the temperatures in the teens and twenties and much lower wind chills? And the occurrence of snow for Austin and the southeastern counties late Thursday and early Friday (Feb 3 and 4). I hope that all of you were able to stay warm, cozy, and safe and that you survived the power outages.  Of course, I know we all tried to protect our pets, plants, and pipes, but this spell will probably prove to have been more serious than we were able to normally guard against.  Until we finally get above freezing, we won’t know the actual toll on everything.      Our January meeting was very interesting. Thanks to Laura for getting some unusual tools to show, some of which went to door prize winners.  The February meeting scheduled for February 24 will also be great.  Make plans now to attend.  Be thinking about volunteering in some capacity for our June 4th and 5th show and plant sale.  Also thanks to all who signed up to man the front gate at the Zilker Garden Fest on Saturday and Sunday, March 26 and 27.  Check with Dick Peterson and Barry Lovelace to see if they need more volunteers for those two days.  Thanks again to Dick and Barry for managing this important job for our club and the AAGC.  Make sure you buy your Zilker Garden Fest tickets at our next meeting.  All members are expected to purchase at least two of these tickets.  The club has already had to pay for them so help the club get its money back.  This is your only chance to purchase tickets for $3.00. Ticket price will be $7.00 at the gate.  Get some for your friends and neighbors.  It will save them money and it will recoup the money the club has had to pay.      Now is the time to drool over the beautiful pictures of flowering plants and vegetables in the seed catalogs that you’ve probably been receiving in the mail.  Remember that not all of these are suited to our area.  Nevertheless, it is a great way to dream, and now is the time to plan for what you will be growing this spring, summer, and fall.       Annie and I will be attending the Southwest Regional meeting of The Gardener’s of America, (MGCA), on Feb. 12, 2011 in Bryan, Texas.  We will be discussing show dates and requesting judges, and other matters and sharing other ideas.       Check the Calendar of Events section of this newsletter for all the upcoming meetings and events.   Sincerely, Wilburn             

Happy Valentine’s Day! 1

DUES INFORMATION

FEBRUARY BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING RESCHEDULED Because of a conflict for some of our members with Valentines Day, a decision has been made to reschedule the February Board of Directors meeting from February 14 to February 21. The Garden Center is not available so Laura Joseph has generously offered her home with dinner at 6:30 pm preceding the meeting at the usual 7:00 pm time. Probably all of the Board members have been to Laura’s home at least once, so you know where it is. For those of you that haven’t, the address is 1610 Virginia Avenue and the general location is between Zilker Park and Lamar Blvd and just south of Barton Springs Road. The easiest way to get there is by turning south off Barton Springs Road at the traffic light for Kinney, go up the hill to the stop signs and continue more or less straight onto Virginia Avenue. Laura’s home is on the right just a short distance down the street. CLUB CULTIVAR AVAILABLE AT MEETING As usual, we will have in connection with the June Show, an “Ornamental Club Cultivar” and a “Vegetable Club Cultivar.”  The veggie will be the “”Large Red Cherry” tomato (I’m 90% sure they will be available.)  But I don’t know what the ornamental will be. It will depend on what the Nursery has.  I will use my “best” (?) judgment and get something for three or four to a 10 to 12 inch pot. I will have them available at the February 24th meeting.  Joe Colwell  

It is that time of year again. Dues for 2011 should have been paid by January 1. If you haven’t yet paid yours, please do so as soon as possible. Adding national and local dues together gives us the following: Individual- $25 ($15 national and $10 local) Additional members at the same address are $15 each ($5 national and $10 local) Spouses of national life members are $15 ($5 national and $10 local) To become a National life member you pay a one-time charge of $200 and then pay local dues of $10 per year To become a Local life member you pay a one-time charge of $100 (you must be a national life member to get local life membership) Notice that for $300 you will not have to worry about national or local dues again. You will have lifetime membership in both the national and local organizations. The above dues are due now and should be paid to our treasurer as soon as possible. The February meeting would be a great time to pay them, or send your dues payment for national and local membership to: Annie Hackebeil 652 S Monroe Street LaGrange, TX 78945-1515 Please indicate any changes in address, telephone numbers, etc. Also, if you have an e-mail address, she would like to have that. If you have any questions, please give Annie a call at 512-300 5941 (if no one is home, leave a message and your call will be returned) or e-mail her at .

The Garden Club of Austin

THE THREE SISTERS Many of you may be planting a vegetable garden soon. Here is a suggestion from the Old Farmer’s Almanac that we carried a few years back in the Austin Gardener. (Editor) Vegetable gardeners have long observed that many plants grow better when planted with companions than each individual plant would do if grown alone. The classic example of this is the legendary “three sisters” - corn, pole beans, and either pumpkins or squash. This trio is one of the easiest and most satisfying to grow. To try them in your garden, in spring, when danger of frost has past, plant six kernels of corn an inch deep and about ten inches apart in a circle about two feet in diameter. As the corn grows, mound up the soil around the base of the stalks until a hill about a foot high and three feet wide is formed. When the corn is about five inches tall, plant four bean seeds, evenly spaced around each stalk. About a week later, plant six squash seeds evenly spaced around the perimeter of the mound. Each of the sisters contributes something to the planting. The corn offers the beans needed support. The beans pull nitrogen from the air and bring it to the soil for the benefit of all three. As the beans grow through the tangle of vines and wind their way up the cornstalks into the sunlight, they hold the sisters together. The large leaves of the sprawling squash protect the three by creating a living mulch that shades the soil, keeping it cool and suppressing weeds. Together the sisters provide a balanced diet from a single planting. By the time European settlers arrived in America in the early 1600s the Iroquois had been growing the “three sisters” for over three centuries. The vegetable trio sustained the Native Americans both physically and spiritually. In legend, the plants were a gift from the gods, always to be grown together, eaten together, and celebrated together.

President Wilburn Hackebeil 1st Vice President Laura Joseph and Steve Reynolds 2nd Vice President John and Joyce Fox 3rd Vice President Johanna Dickhut and Adam Preble Secretary Liz Stansfeld Treasurer Annie Hackebeil Historian Carol Kay Johnson Newsletter Editor Norman Wagner and Sandra Schmidt AAGC Representative Wilburn Hackebeil Directors: Term extending through 2011 Lauren Eischen Rainee Freeman Term extending through 2012 Billie Passmore Irene Franco Term extending through 2013 Christie Rodgers Joe Defoe The Garden Club of Austin, Inc. was established in 1953 and is currently affiliated with The Gardeners of America/Men’s Garden Clubs of America (TGOA/MGCA), the Southwest Region of MGCA and the Austin Area Garden Council. Meetings are open to the public and held in the Austin Area Garden Center on the fourth Thursday of the month except for November (the third Thursday) and December (an awards banquet held in early December). Membership inquiries should be directed to our treasurer, Annie Hackebeil at (512)300-5941. Questions or comments concerning the newsletter should be sent to the editor at 7906 Havenwood Drive, Austin, TX 78759 or telephone 345-0906.

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ZILKER GARDEN FESTIVAL WILL SOON BE HERE

GARDENING CHECKLIST FOR FEBRUARY-MARCH

The Austin Area Garden Council’s annual fund raising event, Zilker Garden Festival, will be held at Zilker Botanical Garden on Saturday and Sunday, March 26 and 27. This is an important event in the life of the Austin Area Garden Council and its affiliated clubs and plant societies, as this is the main fund raising event that supports the Garden Center. There is much work that goes into the Zilker Garden Festival and you are invited (and urged) to participate and donate your time and/or talents to this worthy cause. Many of our members are already actively involved, but more are needed. Our Club has historically been responsible for controlling admission at the main gate. Contact Barry Lovelace or Dick Peterson if you want to volunteer for gate duty. There are a wide variety of other volunteer jobs that need doing such as the information booth, bottled water sales, golf cart driving, tending the plant holding area, kid’s corner, gift shop and others. If you have a preference, get your name in early. Contact our club president, Wilburn Hackebeil and he will tell you who to contact. Zilker Garden Festival tickets will be available at the February 24th meeting. Our Club has about 100 members so we are expected to sell at least 200 tickets. If each member buys just two tickets, that would do it. Tickets are $3 if purchased before March 26 and $7 at the gate. Where else can you get a full day of entertainment for $3 and know your money is going to a worthy cause? Please buy several tickets, and give some to your friends and neighbors. Editor

It’s time to start getting serious about your spring garden! You’ve probably tilled or spaded your garden by now. If not, it’s time to do it. Add organic matter if you have it. Those leaves you raked up and saved last fall would be great. For those of you that neglected to sharpen and oil your gardening tools at the end of the fall season, now is the time, before spring gardening gets under way. An hour or two doing this chore will be time well spent. It’s amazing how great some of these tools work when they are properly cared for. The middle of February is usually the time to prune roses in Austin. It is also the time when potatoes should be planted in your vegetable garden. Other crops that can be planted now include garden peas, lettuce, Swiss chard, beets, spinach, collards, kale and mustard greens. It is almost too late to set out onions, but if you really want some you might give it a try anyway. Why don’t you plan to grow at least one new vegetable that you have never grown before? It may turn out to be one of your favorites. Some of the new dwarf varieties can be grown quite nicely in pots if space is a problem. If you just can’t wait to plant some caladiums then go THE MARCH PROGRAM: YOU CAN DO IT ahead and do it, but it is far too early to plant them directly into the ground. Chances are they would rot, or at least not The March program will be about projects you can do.  grow well. Instead, plant them in pots and keep the pots in We are looking for projects that are fairly simple that people in a warm location (about 70 degrees or more). Then you can the club would be interested in doing. For example, Building replant them (or simply bury the entire pot) in the soil when a Garden Bench in an hour for about $25, or Making A Pot the soil is warm enough (usually about the middle of April). Lifter for about $8 (Hanna is going to demonstrate how to make Fertilize and prune fruit and nut trees by late February. one). Joe Yura’s fence is another great example.  Sandi has all Other tree and shrub pruning can continue in February too, kinds of great project ideas.  I loved her garden markers out as needed. Have a reason to prune; don’t just whack away. of mini-blinds.  This is the sort of thing we are looking for. If If you are pruning oak trees, use a tree wound dressing/sealer you have a project in mind that you would like to share with to reduce the possible spread of oak wilt fungus. your fellow gardeners, contact Steve at [email protected] Inspect your lawnmower and be sure it is in good working or me [email protected] order. A good sharpening job now might last the entire season. Laura Replace the spark plug and clean the air filter as needed. When your lawn needs mowing, lower the blade a notch or two, and then gradually raise it during the next two or three months so it is in its highest position FEBRUARY CLIMATE FOR AUSTIN by June. Wait to fertilize your The average daily maximum temperature varies from 61 lawn until after you have at the beginning of the month to 67 at the end. The minimum mowed it a couple times varies from 41 at the beginning to 45 at the end of the month. (usually mid-March to early Extremes are 99 observed in 1996 and 7 in l951. We average April). Fertilizing before about 4 days with a minimum of 32 or below. then encourages weed Precipitation averages 2.17 inches but has ranged from a growth rather than lawn wet 6.56 in 1992 to a dry 0.28 in 1954. A maximum 24-hour growth. amount of 3.73 occurred in 1958. Snow is rare, however 6 Get some hanging basinches fell in a 24-hour period in 1966 and we had about an kets started. Suitable hanginch on Valentine’s Day in 2005. On average, precipitation ing basket plants include petunias, portulaca, ivy, geraniums, is observed on 8 days during the month. We usually receive about 51% of the possible sunshine, airplane (spider) plants, bougainvillea, impatiens, begonias, and between sunrise and sunset have 8 clear days, 6 partly ferns, and a host of others. Plan to enter them in our show in cloudy days and 14 days with overcast conditions. The time June, donate them for our plant sale in conjunction with the between sunrise and sunset increases from about 10 hours 45 show, or bring them to our April meeting plant auction. minutes at the beginning of the month to 11 hours 32 minutes at the end of the month. February 2011 is not your average February. As of February 6 we have already had 5 days with a minimum below 32 degrees with more in the forecast. During the early morning of February 4 we had about one inch of snowfall.

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MARK YOUR CALENDARS The following events are of direct interest to the membership of The Garden Club of Austin. All events are at the Austin Area Garden Center in Zilker Botanical Garden at 2220 Barton Springs Road unless otherwise noted. Additional gardening calendar information may be found every Saturday in the Life and Arts Section of the Austin American Statesman. February 15 Tuesday. Third Tuesday Lunch Bunch. About 11:15 am at Luby’s Cafeteria located at the southwest corner of Mopac and Steck Avenue. All members are invited to attend. February 21 Monday. TGCoA Board of Directors Meeting. 7:00 pm at Laura Joseph’s home. See related article in this newsletter. February 24 Thursday. Monthly meeting of TGCoA. Cheryl Hazeltine will be our speaker. 7:00 pm Social, 7:30 program and business meeting. February 26 Saturday. Fern Team Workday. Meet at the fern bed for general maintenance from 9:30 to 11:00 am provided the temperature is above 40 degrees and there is no rain. Rework some of the stone borders in Bed A. Any club members interested in participating in this activity are invited to join in the fun. March 15 Tuesday, Third Tuesday Lunch Bunch. About 11:15 am at Luby’s Cafeteria located at the southwest corner of Mopac and Steck Avenue. All members are invited to attend. March 19 Saturday, Fern Team Workday. Meet at the fern bed for general maintenance from 9:30 to 11:00 am. Zilker Fest is the following weekend so let’s get our hands dirty and make the Fern beds look spectacular for the crowd! Plan to park in the back service area to avoid a $3.00 parking fee. March 26, 27 Saturday and Sunday. Zilker Garden Festival. Plan now to volunteer for gate duty or any of a number of other volunteer opportunities. March 28 Monday. TGCoA Board of Directors Meeting. 7:00 pm. March 31 Thursday, Monthly meeting of TGCoA. Program: “Gardening Projects You Can Do”. 7:00 pm Social, 7:30 program and business meeting. (Note: This is the fifth Thursday of the Month.)

The Austin Gardener is a monthly publication of The Garden Club of Austin. Questions regarding contributions, content, or advertising rates should be directed to the editor.

THE GARDEN CLUB OF AUSTIN 7906 Havenwood Drive Austin, TX 78759-8921

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