The Garden Club of Austin meets on the fourth Thursday of each month with the exception of November (3rd Thursday) and December (awards banquet). Although, all meeting dates are subject to change. All garden club events are at the Austin Area Garden Center in Zilker Botanical Garden at 2220 Barton Springs Road unless other-wise noted.

Additional gardening calendar in-formation may be found at varying times in the Life and Arts Section of the Austin American Statesman.

We meet at the Zilker Botanical Garden Center at 7:00 pm for refreshments and socializing and the program begins at 7:30 pm. Everyone interested in gardening is welcome. Meetings are free and open to the public. Members are encouraged to bring a guest. Please come join us!

JUNE 30Monthly meeting ofTGCOA. Social starts at7:00 PM, meeting at 7:30 PM

JULY 28Monthly meeting ofTGCOA. Social starts at7:00 PM, meeting at 7:30 PM

AUGUST 25Monthly meeting ofTGCOA. Social starts at7:00 PM, meeting at 7:30 PM

SEPTEMBER 22Monthly meeting ofTGCOA. Social starts at7:00 PM, meeting at 7:30 PMBoard Meeting on 7/19 at 7:00 PM

C A L E N D A RJUNE PROGRAM

Published by The Garden Club of Austin • www.thegardenclubofaustin.org JUNE 2016 • Vol. 53 Issue 6

The Austin Gardener

�rchids � ur speaker for this month is Todd Miller with Millers Tropicals of Texas.

He will be talking to us about orchids.

Todd tells us “we received our first orchid about 24 years ago, and we have been hooked ever since.” Miller’s Tropicals started as a hobby in Dallas in 1990. When they purchased their house in 1991, they started to load up the 20x14 greenhouse that came with the house.

They did 30 shows a year on weekends, despite both of he and his wife having full time jobs. That led to a job offer running a midsize orchid nursery in Miami, Florida. They sold everything in Dallas and took the plunge. After 8 months they went off on their own and started Miller’s Tropicals. They stayed for 12 years and learned a whole lot about plants and orchids, but they missed Texas. They moved back and bought a house in Dripping Springs in 2007 and erected a greenhouse, starting Miller’s Tropicals of Texas, a combination of both their previous names. Tom says “We are growing better than ever and look forward to the future back in Texas.” Visit Miller’s Tropicals at millerstropicals.com

Get hooked on these amazing plants

P R E S I D E N T S M E S S A G E

The Garden Club of Austin, Inc. was established in 1953 and is affiliated with the Austin Area Garden Council. Meetings are open to the public and held in the Austin Area Gar-den Center on the fourth Thurs-day of the month except for No-vember (the third Thursday) and December (an awards banquet). Membership inquiries should be directed to our treasurer, Annie Hackebeil, at 979-968-3659.Questions or comments concern-ing the newsletter should be sent to the editor, Dwain Osborne, dwainosborne@yahoo.com

President Dick Peterson

1st Vice PresidentsDana Rocco, Barbara Powell,

Cinda Smith2nd Vice President

John Fox3rd Vice President

Elizabeth WongSecretary

Tess Peterson, Laura HollandTreasurer

Annie HackebeilHistorian

Luby Garza-AbijaoudeNewsletter Layout/Design

Dwain Osborne Web Master Liz Stansfeld

AAGC RepresentativeWilburn Hackebeil

Directors:Term extendingthrough 2016

Joyce Fox, Laura HollandTerm extendingthrough 2017

Willburn Hackebeil, Joe YuraTerm extendingthrough 2018

Laura Joseph, Joe Defoe

AustinGardenerTheRemember to promote us

on your social media

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WE NEED YOUR CONTRIBUTION!We encourage members to submit articles of gardening interest for the news-letter. It doesn’t need to be long, just making the effort to share with us would be much appreciated. Remember to give credit to your sources, both in text and photos. Send articles or news to dwainosborne@yahoo.com.

As we move into the hot summer months, the board will take a hiatus from our regular meet-ings. The wonderful club meetings will continue as usual. Many excellent programs are at the ready, so make sure the 4th Thursday is on your calendar. “Like” us on our Facebook page and when you get an update, repost the meeting information on your social media accounts. Us “old” gardeners are glad to share our knowledge, but we need more and more of the younger gen-

erations to “find” The Garden Club of Austin. Our membership goes up and down, but we really need it to only go up! Invite a neighbor to the next meeting. Remind them not to eat too much before they come, because we always have an ever changing spread of refreshments! See you soon.

Yours in gardening,Dick Peterson

SALE TOP TEN PLUS ONE1. Cherokee Purple2. Celebrity3. Black Cherry4. Sun Gold5. Juliet6. Bella Rosa7. Black Krim8. Champion II9. Early Girl10. Sweet Million11. 7 way tie

CarmelitaFlamme

Arkansas TravellerSuper Sweet 100Large Red CherrySnow WhiteIsis Candy

THE INTRIGUING EIGHT1. Bear Creek2. Gary O’Sena3. Orange Minsk4. Summer Cider5. Brandy Boy6. Vorlon7. Barry’s Crazy Cherry8. Beduin

RANDY’S TOP TEN1. Cherokee Purple2. Spot Yellow3. Pink Furry Boar4. Cream Sausage5. Flamme6. Azoychka7. Black Krim8. J. D.’s Special CTex9. Green Moldovan10. Black and Brown Boar

Our May meeting speaker Randy Thompson, President of Sunshine Community Gardens, gave a listing of tomatoes favorites. Below is this years list of his Sale Top Ten, The Intriguing Eight and his personal Top Ten.Also, visit http://bugguide.net/node/view/15740 for infor-mation on identifying bugs.

Tomato Favorites Cherokee Purple

If you haven’t yet applied mulch to your garden, now is the time to do it. Mulch not only helps conserve water, but also keeps the root zone of the plant at a cooler, more desirable temperature. However, don’t place mulch too close to the trunk of your trees or shrubs. You should also raise your lawnmower to at, or near, its maximum cutting height for the rest of the summer. Don’t collect your grass clippings, but leave them on your lawn. This not only helps to mulch your yard, but the grass clippings contain a considerable amount of nutrients.

Red spider mite can be a real problem on both vegetable and ornamental plants this time of year. If you start to get brown, discolored foliage, it may be due to mite damage. Hold a sheet of white paper below a branch and tap the branch sharply. If some of the dirt specks start to move, you can be almost certain you have spider mite. Check with your favorite nurseryman to get a recommendation on proper treatment. Sometimes a good strong water spray will dislodge them, or maybe Safer Soap, or as a last resort, Kelthane.

Tent caterpillars can also be a problem, especially in pecan trees. If you can just tear the “tent” open, then your local population of wasps will probably do the rest for you. Tent caterpillars usually won’t kill your tree, but they can sure make it look shabby.

Leggy annuals and perennials may be cut back hard and fertilized to produce a new flush of blooms. A good time to do this is just before going on vacation. By the time you return, new blooms should be developed.

Be on the lookout for powdery mildew on crape myrtle, zinnia, photinia, and euonymus, as well as many other plants. A spray made up of 4 teaspoons of baking soda plus 1/2 tea-

spoon liquid dish-washing detergent in a gallon of water has been found to be quite effective. It is also much cheaper than commercial alternatives such as Funginex or Daconil.

To keep hang-ing baskets looking attractive, soak the baskets in a tub of water every few days in addition to the regular daily water-ing. This is also a good time to fertilize baskets since you

should never apply fertilizer to dry plants.

Finally, be sure to use common sense while doing your gardening chores. Try to do your work during the relative cool of the morning or evening. If you must be out during the heat of the day be sure to stop and rest regularly and drink lots of water. Also,

you should protect yourself from sunburn and possible skin cancer by using a sun block with UVA and UVB protection, and invest in a hat with a broad brim.

SOURCE: Norman Wagner

G A R D E N I N G C H E C K L I S T

Gardening Checklist for June/July

PAGE 3

“Well I do find the beauty in animals. I find beauty

everywhere. I find beauty in my garden.”

DORIS DAY

F O O D , F I B R E a n d F L O R A

PAGE 4

Garden Club SHOW and TELLCongratulations to all the winners at the 2016 Gar-den Club of Austin Flower and Vegetable Show and Sale held June 4-5. Thank you to all who entered, participated and donated your time and energy.

Our plant sale was successful again this year, raising over $1,000.

Alice Merculief ’s Ras-berry bougainvillia was Queen of the Show.

Show chair Sarah Schwartz with Laura Holland and Elizabeth Wong.

Venkappa & Ratna Gani with their garlic

which was awarded King of the Show.

A B I T O F T H E T R O P I C S

PAGE 5

Continued on page 6

2016 Flower & Vegetable Show Results

SECTION ABCDEFGHIJKLMN

NAME OF EXHIBIT (name of plant)Danaelia Mariesri/Squirrel Foot FernBougainvillea cv/RaspberryDuranta Erectis/Geisha GirlColeusDwarf Salvia Splendens/MojaveNeoregelia cvPhalaenopsis cvNonePedalantheis cvNoneRose HT/Veterans HonorAristolochia/Pipe VineNoneNone

NAME OF EXHIBITORDon & Pat FreemanAlice MerculiefAlice MerculiefDwain OsborneNorman WagnerAndrea WakefieldSarah SchwartzNoneDwain OsborneNoneDon & Pat FreemanRobert DayNoneNone

D I V I S I O N I W I N N E R S

SECTION OPQRSTUVWXY

NAME OF EXHIBIT( name of plant)NoneAllium sp/GarlicPhaseolus cv/Climbing IndianRubus/Natchez BlackberriesGrape Tomatoes/JulietNoneRosmarinus Officinalis/RosemaryHerbs/MultipleNoneFicus cv./Brown Turkey FigSpearmint Spicata/Kentucky Colonel

NAME OF EXHIBITORNoneVenkappa & Ratna GaniVenkappa & Ratna GaniJoe & Joan YuraDiana ChanNoneAlice MerculiefLaura JosephNoneElaine AllanWilburn F Hackebeil

D I V I S I O N I I S E C T I O N W I N N E R S

JUDGES: Steve Reynolds, Annette Dominguez, Dolores Rumpf, Harriet Houston, Julie Johnson, and Alys Honey

S P E C I A L A W A R D S

QUEEN OF SHOW DIVISION 1 Bougainvillea CV. /RaspberryPRINCESS OF SHOW DIVISION 1 Duranta Erectis/Geisha GirlKING OF SHOW DIVISION 2 Allium Sp./GarlicPRINCE OF SHOW DIVISION 2 Ficus Cv./Brown Turkey FigBEST COMPETITIVE CULTIVAR DIVISION 1 Dwarf Salvia splendens/MojaveBEST COMPETITIVE CULTIVAR DIVISION 2 Spearmint Spicata/Kentucky ColonelSWEEPSTAKES WINNER Alice MerculiefHORTICULTURAL EXCELLENCE AWARD Alice Merculief

NAME OF EXHIBITORAlice Merculief

Alice Merculief

Venkappa & Ratna Gani

Elaine Allan

Norman Wagner

Wilburn F Hackebeil

PAGE 6

Gardens at First LightPhotography by Stacy Bass • Words by Judy Ostrow

Judy Ostrow is my oldest, dearest friend who lives in New En-gland and writes for various national, regional, and local publica-tions and digital content as well as publishing home design, home repair and decoration “how to” books on a national level includ-ing “The House that Jill Built” profiling 10 women who built their own homes to “Painting Rooms” a fantastic book on how to choose and use paint like an expert.

Judy’s current endeavor was a team effort with photographer Stacy Bass, “Garden at First Light”

The photography is exquisite and Judy’s narratives draws you right into each inspiring garden and space. When Central Texas gardeners peruse this beautiful gem, they soon discover New England flora is no different than Central Texas except New En-gland’s versions of flora is more annual than perennial. This book is a wonderful source of inspiration if you are thinking about restructuring your garden and landscape.

I have a copy if anyone would like to see it.

The book can be found at http://www.amazon.com/Gardens-First-Light-Stacy-Bass/dp/0986268909

Some reviews on Amazon say it best:

“Gardens At First Light” is a masterpiece of light, shadow, com-position, color, everything!!! While reading and viewing the book

I felt I was on a wonderful adventure through spectacular gardens in unbelievable environ-ments.”

“Gardens At First Light” is Stacy Bass’ second garden pho-tography book, and in my opinion, it is a far better book than her first (“In the Garden,” 2012). The quality of the photos in both books is above criticism, and the quality of the books themselves is very nice, both (from different publishers) with fairly glossy pages and high quality printing.

The difference between the two books lies in their organization, in the choice of photos, and in the focus of the writing. (Bass has collaborated with a different writer for this new book: Judy Ostrow, an east-coast writer of home improvement books and magazine articles”

“This is a thoroughly gorgeous book--from cover to cover. The photos are amazing, and the commentary and sketches enhance the entire book.”

B O O K R E V I E W

2016 Flower & Vegetable Show Results, continued

by Sher Neely

SECTION AABB

CCDDEEFFGGHH

NAME OF EXHIBIT(name of plant)NoneCucumis sativus/Capsicum annuum Homemade picklesNoneTomato PreservesSalsaNoneNoneNone

NAME OF EXHIBITORNoneJoe & Joan Yura

NoneSarah SchwartzJoe & Joan YuraNoneNoneNone

D I V I S I O N I I I S E C T I O N W I N N E R S

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Garden Club ScholarshipAward announcedThe scholarship committee recommended and the board of direc-tors has approved the awarding of two scholarships for the 2016-2017 school year. Both recipients are studying for their master’s degree in landscape architecture in the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin.

Rachel Warburton did her undergraduate work at Pitzer College in Claremont, California. Her interests include edible landscapes and sustainability. As an undergraduate she managed a community garden and taught a gardening and food course at an alternative high school. She also worked for the Robert Redford Sustainability Conservancy designing edible landscapes. In Austin she currently works as a research associate for the Center for Sustainable Devel-opment. Her special project there involves exploring the possibility of putting regenerative rainwater harvesting systems on the UT campus. She is also active in the planning for the Festival Beach Food Forest that volunteers are trying to create on Lady Bird Lake just east of I-35. Rachel’s long-term goal is to design thera-peutic edible gardens in settings such as hospitals, nursing homes, schools and similar institutions.

Kelsey Ross did her undergraduate work at Carleton College in Minnesota. She built her first flower and vegetable plot when she was ten years old. Her interest in plants really took hold during her time at Carleton where she majored in biology with a particular interest in plant ecology. She co-managed the student farm and also worked in the biology research lab studying the effects of deer grazing on a prairie landscape. (Welcome to Austin, Kelsey! We need you!) Her senior thesis project involved a study of coral health and fish biodiversity in Zanzibar, Tanzania. After finishing her degree Kelsey plans to stay in Austin designing sustainable public and community garden spaces and helping the city retain its green spaces as it grows.

The scholarship committee is chaired by Norman Wagner. Mem-bers include Joe Yura, Beverly Bardsley, and Barbara Wagner.

A N N O U N C E M E N T

W hen I first started using plant lists for garden planning, there was no Internet! Yes children, at one time we used printed lists and books for

our research. But now, there are great sources of informa-tion for your research, but you first must remember “lo-cation, location, location”. Great books and websites can lead you “down the primrose path”, but sadly primroses may not grow in your region. Need I mention that Texas is vast? Even native plant lists for Texas must be divided into growing regions. So Internet searches and databases must allow you to hone down your potential plant selections to your geographic region AND even your microclimate.

One of the best local sites is really an outgrowth of the Xe-riscape movement that got me started in landscaping. The City of Austin Grow Green program was developed by the Watershed Protection Department when they finally real-ized that the seven principles of Xeriscape could be adapt-ed to include reduction of contaminants in our waterways by using the right plants and methods. Xeriscape kind of went away and Grow Green emerged as its replacement, now with a funding source added directly to the utility bill. I participated in the creation of the original plant list published by Grow Green. Over the years it has been revised and now has a web search version to supplement the popular printed booklet and a .pdf version shown here: (https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Water-shed/growgreen/plantguide.pdf ).

The searchable database is located at https://austintexas.gov/department/grow-green/plant-guide. It is now pretty easy to find appropriate plants for Central Texas.

Another great site is the Lady Bird John-son Wildflower Research Center. (https://www.wildflower.org/plants/) Since this is a nationwide organization, you have to be careful to enter your location and climate for your particular garden. I think this is a great tool to see what is easiest to grow or

what you might be able to grow successfully some years by “pushing” the envelope.

The final favorite is hard for me to type, being from Austin and an avid Longhorn! Texas A&M Agrilife Extension does have several great searchable databases at https://dallas.tamu.edu/hot-topics/plants/. Any plant list can have controversial plants listed. Invasive species sometimes depend on where they are located. Texas Superstars have some of these plants listed.

Not to be vindictive, the other two lists I suggested may also include somewhat invasive plants. Most of the time what is invasive and what is not depends so much on the location and proximity to protected waterways and/or wildlands or preserves. So, use your diligence in selecting plants from any database and make decisions based on your personal convictions.

(info@dickpeterson.com)

D I C K ’ S E A S Y C H A I R R E S E A R C H

PAGE 8

Caught on the WEB by Dick Peterson

What to do? They are now eat-ing my begonias but it all started during the drought a few years back and the bare circle in the middle of my Saint Augustine lawn in the back yard became bigger and bigger. Looking out that window one afternoon much to my anguish, those little Evil Doers were pulling the grass up and eating the roots!

They rapidly graduated to all my succulents; bird netting has saved some of it, but what a sight. And, I’ve had to save a few birds from the netting. Now there is an “owl” swinging from the back patio roof rafters and one of several rubber snakes placed strategically about the gardens, patio and front porch. One of the Evil Doers now sits on the fence post and hangs out with the “owl” and the “snake” eating his pecan. I’ve not captured a picture of the Evil Doer with them yet but am working it. So my back patio is one of their favorite places to eat whatever their daily blue plate special is and commune with the “owl” and “snake” swing-ing in the breezes while they all commune with nature and taunt me.

Today they are invading my front porch eating my begonias. They are becoming so brazen I’m concerned they will just slash the screens and get into the house.

What to do? I desperately need your input. Should I:

1. Shoot the Evil Doers (I don’t own a gun let alone know

how to use one)2. Poison the Evil Doers (but I would need a “for squirrel only” and hope all the other critters can read.3. Trap and relocate the Evil Doers.4. Embrace the evil doers and put a squirrel feeder out somewhere where the corn will create ugly growth below the feeder?5. Give the trio (Squirrel, Owl, Snake) a group name like SOS, or6. Other _____________.

Please let me know your thoughts.

G A R D E N I N G P R O B L E M

That Retched Eight Letter Word ...SQUIRREL!

PAGE 9

by Sher Neely

“Squirrels are problemsome, destructive and potentially

even dangerous. It is a common situation and can leave you

feeling desperate for answers. Squirrels are wily little creatures.

They are persistent, smart, agile, cute, yet totally bad

and sometimes even seem unconquerable.”

Read more at www.controllingsquirrels.com

June Climate for Austin and Vicinit�

89˚ 94˚ 69˚ 73˚

105˚EXTREME TEMPERATURES

AVERAGE DAILY MAXIMUM/MINIMUM TEMPERATURES

14.96inOccurred in 1981

Occurred in 1980

In beginning of month Minimum at beginning of monthEnd of month At end of month

Occurred in 1967

Occurred in 24hr period in 1964

of precipitation observed

8Clear days

amount of possible sunshine in June.

15Partly cloudy days

7Overcast days

13hours 59minutes

14hours 05minutes

EXTREME PRECIPITATION RANGE

GENERAL CONDITIONS TIME BETWEEN SUNRISE AND SUNSET

A trace

6.50in

AVERAGE MONTHLY PRECIPITATION

Beginningof month

Endof month

SOURCE: Norman Wagner

69%

3.72in 7days

with thunderstorms occurring on fiveof those days.

53˚Occurred in 1970

90˚Or higher for average

of 21 days

C L I M A T E A T A G L A N C E

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