chippewa garden club newsletter 03, 2016 · chippewa garden club newsletter march/april 2016 ......

Chippewa Garden Club Newsletter

March/April 2016

Gardens say, Slow down

http://chippewagardenclub.com/

President’s Message National Garden Club, Inc.

President—Sandra H. Robinson

National Garden Clubs, Inc.

4401 Magnolia Avenue

St. Louis, MO 63110

Central Atlantic Region

Director—Mary Washauer

Rumson, New Jersey

Garden Club of Ohio, Inc.

President—Lynn Fronk

353 Pittsfield Drive

Worthington, OH 43085

GCO Cleveland District

Director—Marilee Zarbock

170 E. 194th Street

Euclid, OH 44119

Chippewa Garden Club

Co-Presidents—Kathy Habib

3490 Mark Drive

Broadview Hts, OH 44147

Jo Ann Bartsch

7700 Fitzwater Road

Brecksville, OH 44141

Vice-President-Kathy Ziemba

8207 Montridge Ct.

North Royalton, OH 44133

Secretary-Christine Sparano

7443 Old Quarry Lane


Treasurer-Aggie Goss

8677 Hollis Lane


Co-Finance--

Lynne Evans

9455 Woodchip Lane

Broadview Hts., OH 44147

Laura Springer

3665 Meadow Gateway

Broadview Hts. 44147

Historian-Margaret DeWolf

7001 Crestview Drive


I started gardening when I was seven years old.

Cleveland Public Schools offered a gardening

program where a student could buy seed sets to

fit the size of their garden plot. It was the basic

onion sets, radishes, lettuce, and beans, etc. In

the summer someone would come around to each

garden and give it a grade.

When I moved to Broadview Heights twenty-five

years ago, I had a large vegetable garden BD

(that’s before deer) that I grew mostly from

seeds. Each year I grew one plant that I had never grown before. Some

were failures, and some were successful. Among my experiments were to-

bacco, cotton (I got one cotton bole), sorghum, broom corn, Indian corn, min-

iature blue corn, tomatillos, and miniature pumpkins.

Since the garden is now mostly perennials, I grow very little from seed.

Now I try new varieties of perennials or new tender perennials to grow in

pots. Last year I tried some new elephant ears which are easy to grow and

deer resistant. I have already ordered several more varieties of elephant

ears from a catalog to try this year. I am always looking for unusual suc-

culents. There are so many more varieties of plants available than there

were twenty-five years ago.

Try new plants just for the fun of it. If they fail, so

what, you tried. They may end up being successful

and satisfying.

Kathy Habib

Orchid Mania

Editor’s thanks to Marissa Abraham for

her beautiful Orchid Mania orchid photos

and to Joann Sherman who suggested the

article on poisonous plants and pets.

Email newsletter suggestions to

[email protected]

http://chippewagardenclub.com/


March/April 2016

Dates To Remember

Tuesday, March 8

Board meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Broadview Hts.

Clubroom

Tuesday, March 22

Membership Meeting at 7:00 p.m. at the Brecksville

Human Services, Activity Room A.

Barb Frantzen, OSU Master Gardener, will present

a program on “Combination Planters” in which she

will describe the basics of creating these lovely de-

signs. We will also learn about planting, soil,

drainage and fertilizing. Please make an effort to

attend the meeting and make our speaker who has

taken the time to present this program to us feel

welcomed. Kathy Ziemba

Saturday, April 2

Garden Therapy at Pleasantview Care Center,

10:00 a.m.

“Spring Potager” is the theme of this program, and

Pleasantview residents are invited to celebrate

spring this year by giving vegetables a place of hon-

or in a banquet. Participants will combine flowers

and vegetables to create an edible and beautiful ar-

rangement.

Tuesday, April 5-Thursday, April 7

Garden Club of Ohio Convention at Wright-

Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio Please let

Kathy Habib know if you plan to attend.

Tuesday, April 12

Board meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Broadview Hts.

Clubroom

Tuesday, April 26

Garden Club of Ohio Spring District Meeting,

St. Michael’s Woodside, Broadview Hts.

The morning speaker is Elaine Marsh, Friends of

the Crooked River, Stewards of the Cuyahoga

River. More details to follow.

Tuesday, April 26

Membership Meeting at 7:00 p.m. at the Brecksville

Human Services, Activity Room A.

Master Gardener Bob Heidelman will present a

program on how to create wildlife habitats in our

yards. He will discuss food, water, and places to

raise young as well as flowers which will attract

birds and butterflies. Hope to see you all there.

April 25-29

This is the week is when Chippewa Garden Club

members discuss Arbor Day and distribute tree

seedlings to third graders in the Brecksville/

Broadview Hts. Schools. Lenore Siegman will

announce times and days so watch your email for

more information and sign-up to help.

Orchid Mania


March/April 2016

Annual Chippewa Garden Club Meeting

January 24, 2016

Twenty-seven members enjoyed lunch and conversation, a review of last year’s highlights, the Seibel

Award given to Margaret DeWolf, the Zuzan Award given Judy Guinn, and the Blue Vase Award given

to Kathy Habib. Installation of the 2016 Board followed, and Kathy received the gavel. This year’s

theme is “Gardens Say, Slow Down”, encouraging us all to relax in our gardens and to visit other

gardens. The 2016 Budget was reviewed and passed unanimously.

Jo Ann Bartsch, Kathy Habib, Lynne Evans, Laura Springer,

Kathy Ziemba, Aggie Goss, and Margaret DeWolf


March/April 2016

2016 Herb of the Year

Each year, The International Herb Association selects the herb of the year. For 2016, that herb is

Capsicum ssp., commonly known as peppers or chilies. Bell peppers are an example of a sweet variety of

capsicum while chilies are a hot variety. Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, are native to the

tropical Americas (Central and South America, Mexico and the West Indies), where they have been culti-

vated for thousands of years.

They were first described by a physician on Columbus’s voyage in 1493. Spanish explorers brought them

back to Europe, and they were introduced into India and Africa by the Portuguese. They were not intro-

duced into North America until the early colonists brought them from Europe.

They thrive in full sun, warm temperatures, and well drained soil, high in organic matter. They are not

particularly drought tolerant and need to be kept evenly moist. In colder climates, the growing season is

not long enough to plant seeds directly into the soil so they must be started indoors. There are dwarf

varieties available that can be grown as potted plants. Some varieties produce edible fruit while other

varieties produce ornamental fruit.

They have few pests (aphids and borers ) or diseases (blossom end rot and cucumber mosaic virus.)

Capsicum are rich in vitamin C and may be eaten raw as a vegetable or dried. Dried fruits are used to

make cayenne, chili power and paprika. They have also been used medicinally.

Kathy Habib

Capsicum


March/April 2016

Through the Eyes of Jane Rich

Master Gardener Jo Ann Bartsch presented a high-

ly informative and entertaining program on the his-

tory of the Squire Rich herb garden and how it’s

evolved to what it is today. Charles and Jane Rich

came to Brecksville in the 1830s and built their

home in 1842. He was a farmer as well as a justice

of the peace, and she was a practicing herbalist.

Chippewa Garden Club has maintained an herb

garden on the south side of the house since 1982.

Originally the garden was more formal in design

than it is today. The house and land are now the

property of the Cleveland Metroparks, and the

house is maintained as a museum by the Brecks-

ville Historical Association.

The club saw the need to renovate the garden in

2003, and planting was completed in 2005 after

committee members researched what plants were

used in the 1800’s.

A second renovation was completed in 2014 by a

Brecksville boy scout earning his Eagle Scout

badge. A description of that project can be found in

the September/October 2014 CGC newsletter.

Today the entrance arbor has hops growing up its

slats. While the garden club doesn’t brew beer

from the hops, our meeting revealed that one of our

members does.

The sundial in the center of the garden has several

varieties of thyme growing around it and has been

dedicated to a descendant of the Squire. The gar-

den contains five categories of plants: a culinary

garden, a tea garden, a fragrance garden, a

medicinal garden, and a garden of native plants.

Herb Garden circa 2000

Herb Garden after the 2014 Renovation

Orchid Mania


March/April 2016

Back yards and gardens are wonderful spaces for

humans and animals, but you should be aware

that many of our yards contain plants that are

poisonous to our feline and canine companions.

Many house-hold plants are poisonous as well, and

some cats and dogs are indiscriminate chewers.

My golden retriever certainly is. She loves to lay

next to me and help me weed in the summer by

eating whatever vegetation she can reach, and she

makes a game out of grabbing weeds from my trug

and chewing them.

Toxic effects include irritants which cause inflam-

mation anywhere in the body and effects specific to

body organs. Think of foxglove and its effect on

the heart.

The petmd website lists the following symptoms to

watch for if you suspect your pet has consumed a

poisonous plant:

Irritation or inflammation such as redness,

swelling, or itchiness of the skin, particularly

of the mouth

Difficulty breathing

Difficulty swallowing or drooling

Vomiting

Diarrhea

Excessive drinking or urinating

Heartbeat which is fast, slow, or irregular

It’s extremely important to identify the plant as

quickly as you can in order to assist your veteri-

narian in prescribing a remedy. Perhaps the best

thing to do is to identify now whether your plants

are toxic and decide whether you need to remove

any of them. The ASPCA website lists over 1000

poisonous plants. Which ones are in your home

or yard?

The Pet Poison Helpline lists the following top ten

plants poisonous to pets: autumn crocus, azalea,

cyclamen, kalanchoe, lilies, oleander, dieffenbach-

ia, daffodils, lily of the valley, sago palm, tulips

and hyacinths. (I counted twelve.) But you can

find many websites with many lists, including the

following resources:

https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-

control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/

resources/tips/plants_poisonous_to_pets.html?

referrer=https://www.google.com/

http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/pet-owners/

basics/top-10-plants-poisonous-to-pets/

http://www.petmd.com/dog/emergency/

poisoning-toxicity/e_dg_poisonous_plants

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/24-common-

plants-poisonous-to-pets.html

If you think that your animal is ill or may have

ingested a poisonous substance, contact your local

veterinarian or the 24-hour emergency poison

hotline directly at 1-888-426-4435.

Pat Gabriel

Pets and Poisonous Plants

Orchid Mania

chippewa garden club newsletter 03, 2016 · chippewa garden club newsletter march/april 2016 ......

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