We hope everyone is safe. We are also hoping to get back to normal soon, but we are still not sure yet. You will be notified by email and Facebook as events start being planned again. Keep enjoying your beautiful gardens and we hope to see you again soon. DATES TO REMEMBER Plant Sale We’ll try again for Saturday, October 3, 2020. We have Palmer Hall reserved for October 1-3
June is the month that has the most amount of daylight hours of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and shortest amount of daylight hours in the Southern hemisphere. Many celebrations take place in the month of June, especially marriages National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month Club Birthdays Donna Borrell 6/2/20 Louise Smith 6/2/20 Connie Smith 6/8/20 Geneva Byrd 6/11/20 Marie Dankman 6/16/20 Joan Prouty 6/22/20 Marilyn Mulcahy 6/29/20 Ross Cockrell 6/29/20 July is the seventh month of the year, has 31 days, and is named after Julius Caesar July 4 is Independence Day (U.S.) July 27: Take Your Houseplants for a Walk Day Club Birthdays Lucy Azama 7/1/20 Libby Haraughty 7/19/20 Susan Burky-Micheli 7/23/20 Steve Richardson 7/28/20 Barbara Denney 7/29/20
10 Things to Do in Your Garden in July 1. Deadhead Perennial Flowers If you haven’t done so already, remove the faded blooms from your spring perennial flowers such as peonies, bearded iris, and Asiatic lilies. When you remove the dead flowers, you make plants look better and you prevent them from trying to make seed that can sap the plant’s energy. Removing faded perennial flowers encourages the plant to send energy to its roots so it will bloom better next year. Trial Garden Tip: Some perennial flowers, such as salvia, will often bloom again later in the season if you clip away the faded blooms now. Trim them back by one third of their height. 2. Harvest Daily As summer heats up, vegetable and fruit crops go into overdrive in the North. Check your garden and harvest daily. Vegetables such as cucumbers, green beans, zucchini, eggplants taste better when harvested young. Strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries also benefit from daily picks; harvest at peak flavor. Trial Garden Tip: Cover berries or other prized produce with netting to protect them from hungry birds or rodents. Note: In subtropical areas such as Central/South Florida, later this month is a good time to start vegetable seeds indoors (then transplant them outdoors come fall when temperatures start to cool). 3. Pot Up Succulents and Cacti Succulents and cacti love hot, dry weather. These easy-care beauties thrive in adverse conditions and won’t die if you leave them unattended when you go on vacation. They come in an almost unlimited selection of shapes, sizes, and colors so you can create your own magical miniature landscapes in pots and planters. Trial Garden Tip: Cacti and succulents can tolerate almost anything -- except wet soil. Make sure your pots have plenty of drainage holes to allow excess water to escape. 4. Plant a Personal Oasis with Container Plants Transform an area of your yard into a personal getaway. Find a comfortable chair, surround it with container plants, such as palms, add a small fountain, and kick back and relax! When fall rolls around, move your palms indoors to enjoy all winter long. Some of the easiest palms include: Majesty, Chinese Fan, Cat, Areca, Lady, Kentia, Christmas, and Fishtail. Trial Garden Tip: In the fall, don’t wait until frost threatens to bring your palms indoors. Move them inside several weeks before frost is predicted so they can slowly become adjusted to indoor conditions. 5. Mulch, Mulch, and Mulch Some More A wise gardener once said: “You can never have enough mulch.” Actually I made that up, but the lesson is true. Mulch is the key to a low-maintenance and healthy garden. By adding several inches of mulch over your beds and borders, you’ll increase soil moisture, reduce weed competition, and improve the quality of fruits and vegetables. Mulches come in two classes: those that decay in one season (such as straw, newspaper, or leaves) and those that take a few years to break down (such as bark chunks, cocoa bean hulls, and shredded bark). Use quick-decaying types in vegetable and annual flowerbeds so that you can till it all under after the season is over. Long-lasting mulches are best used in permanent landscape settings. Trial Garden Tip: Buying mulches by the bag can become expensive. Look for sources that sell mulch by the truckload and deliver directly to your home. Get more tips to keep your garden weed free. 6. Replenish Container Plants By midsummer, cool-weather annual flowers such as pansies and snapdragons have stopped blooming. Remove them and replace with heat-loving container plants such as lantana, pentas, and zinnia. If your cool-weather annuals were growing in a mixed container, tease them out of the pot trying not to disturb the neighboring plants. Then add a bit of fresh soil, tuck in a blooming refill, and water thoroughly. Trial Garden Tip: Some heat-loving annuals, such as petunias and calibrachoa, respond well to a midsummer haircut. Trim back established plants to encourage new growth. 7. Reduce Biting Insects Don’t let flies, mosquitoes, and other biting insects keep you indoors. Instead, repel these nasty creatures naturally. One of the best ways to keep them at bay is with a ceiling fan. Recent studies have shown that a ceiling fan is more effective than bug spray in eliminating flying insects from outdoor spaces. Another way to reduce insect populations is to attract bug-hungry songbirds to your landscape with a birdbath. In midsummer your feathered neighbors will flock to a source of cool, fresh water; while visiting, they’ll eat their weight in bugs. Trial Garden Tip: You can also plant perennial flowers that attract birds. Good choices include coneflower, black-eyed Susan, coreopsis, and liatris. 8. Refresh the Shade Brighten shady spots in your backyard with shade-loving perennials and annuals with colorful foliage. Hostas, for example, look terrific in pots and are available in many colors, shapes, and forms; you can create an amazing garden with them alone. Other shade dwellers with brightly colored leaves include caladium, coleus, and heuchera. Trial Garden Tip: Some large trees, such as Norway maples, are almost impossible to plant under because they have a shallow root system. If plants won’t thrive in the soil under your trees, replace them with container plants. 9. Take a Tour Summer is a great time to harvest new ideas from other gardens and get garden bed ideas. Take advantage of local garden tours, public gardens, or parks to discover tips and tricks you can use in your own backyard gardens. And, if you take a summer vacation, do some research before you go and find out if there are any public gardens nearby that you can add to your itinerary. And be sure to bring a camera along to document what you see. Take note of interesting garden bed ideas, plant combinations, new introductions, or techniques you see as you tour. Trial Garden Tip: The Garden Conservancy sponsors an annual Open Days program that showcases the best private gardens across the country. Check here to see what’s happening in your region. 10. Solarize Soil In warm climates, such as Florida, now is a good time to solarize your soil to eliminate weeds, diseases, and nematodes before fall planting. Spread a layer of clear plastic over the beds and leave it in place for six weeks. For best results, the soil should be slightly moist before covering it with plastic. The sun raises the soil temperature and kills pathogens and pests. Trial Garden Tip: Black plastic does not work as well as clear plastic: It reflects heat instead of allowing it to pass through to the soil.
Five summer perennials for July
July is jam-packed with beautiful flowering plants, so when it comes to picking summer perennials, you’re spoilt for choice.
Achillea
Commonly known as yarrow, achillea are hardy, herbaceous perennials that produce marvellous, flat flower heads, popular with a range of beneficial insects. The feathery foliage is particularly attractive, too.
Hollyhocks
Hollyhocks (alcea) are cottage garden classics. A varied range of cultivars are available, including the sumptuous ‘Halo Lavender’ (pictured), as well as the apricot-bloomed ‘Halo Apricot’.
Rudbeckias
Like all plants in the daisy family, rudbeckias are a hit with pollinators – and provide a hit of colour from midsummer into autumn. An easy cut flower to grow from seed.
Hardy geraniums
Hardy geraniums, such as ‘Russell Prichard’ and ‘Ann Folkard’, are especially useful plants to grow in shade. Once the flowers have gone over, cut the plant right back to encourage a second flush of blooms and foliage.
Echinaceas
Purple coneflowers (echinaceas) are ideal summer perennials for July. Just a few of the cultivars you could grow include ‘Sunset’ and ‘Leuchtstern’ (pictured). If you enjoy growing daisies, here are eight essential border daisies to grow.
How to Get Rid of Bugs in Your Garden Learn how to get rid of bad bugs in your garden without damaging the environment.
By Deb Wiley
Insects are our friends AND our enemies in the garden. Today's gardeners know that some chemicals that eliminate bugs in your garden can also be bad for people, pets, and the environment. They're expensive, and they take time to apply.
To safely get rid of bad bugs in your garden, start with an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to control threats to your flowers, trees, shrubs, and vegetables.
IPM combines cultural, physical, biological, and chemical tools to manage the garden. Begin by starting with the least toxic method, then work your way through six steps.
Using IPM to Get Rid of Bugs
The levels of Integrated Pest Management, in order of use, are:
1. Establish acceptable pest levels.
2. Take preventive cultural measures.
3. Monitor pests.
4. Add physical controls.
5. Use biological controls.
6. Apply chemical controls.
Follow these steps on an individual basis with each type of garden bug, then proceed in order until you reach the control level that's right for you.
Establish acceptable pest levels. What is the acceptable level of aphids in your garden? Some people cannot accept any while others think they'll do relatively little overall damage and tolerate them. Leaf miners leave white squiggly lines in plant leaves; the most effective control is to simply pluck off and dispose of the affected leaves.
Take preventive cultural measures. If you have cabbage loopers, consider not growing plants such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and kale for a season. If you have grasshoppers, plant marigolds, calendula, or sunflowers nearby to attract robber flies, which attack grasshoppers.
Monitor pests. Pay attention to the garden. Look for the presence of pests such as cucumber beetles or other bugs you want to get rid of. There's no point in taking curative measures if the pest isn't present.
Add physical controls. If you find Japanese beetles or tomato hornworms, for example, knock them off your plants into a bucket of soapy water. Wear gloves to minimize the "ick" factor. Webworms, fall-prowling caterpillars that make large nests that look like webs in the leaves of trees and shrubs, can easily be dealt with by removing the webbing with a long-handle tool, such as a rake. Once the webbing is gone, birds will find and snap up the caterpillars.
Use biological controls. Biological controls can take a variety of forms. Sawflies, for example, respond to a natural spray containing spinosad. You can also use "good bug" predators against some insects. Try beneficial nematodes -- microscopic worms that live in the soil -- to combat a grub problem.
Apply chemical controls. The last resort is always to use an insecticide. For example, you can use a variety of IPM controls to control squash bugs such as protecting plants with floating row covers, picking them off by hand, and planting marigolds, calendula, sunflower, daisy, alyssum, or dill to attract beneficial insect predators. But you may still end up needing an insecticide product containing carbaryl or permethrin.
If you're unsure which IPM measure to take, begin by researching the bug you want to get rid of. There are many natural and nontoxic ways to control garden pests.
Finally, remember that many bugs -- bees, lady beetles, green lacewings, and praying mantis, to name a few -- are beneficial. You want them in your yard. Don't eliminate a bug just because it's a bug!
Dear Garden Club Members, My goodness, I just realized I have been a member of Sutter Buttes Garden Club for over 14 years! During that time, I have supported the club in a variety of capacities that were essential to the club; but none have been as rewarding as serving on the scholarship committee. Each year I, along with other committee members, have had the opportunity to review scholarship applications and year after year it becomes more difficult to select the one or two applicants that will be awarded SBGC recognition by receiving a scholarship.
Currently there is a state of turmoil surrounding us that can feel quite gloomy. However, getting to know some of our local student’s through their scholarship application is so inspiring. Reviewing each student application where they outline their achievements and goals it truly lifts my spirit in a measurable way. Just by being a SBGC member you are contributing to a young student’s future at a significant time in their life.
Everyone in the garden club should be extremely proud that you are a part of this important contribution to a students future.
Karen Lazzareschi
Sutter Buttes Scholarship Committee Member
Gardening Collectables Sutter Buttes Garden Club is terribly busy preparing for our annual plant sale we hope to have. Club members are preparing their plants for the sale and lots of energy is going into making this the best plant sale SBGC has ever had. Again, this year there will be a table for those garden treasures that were so popular last year. Please scan your garden shed and bring us those garden tools you no longer use or maybe a lovely piece of garden art or perhaps some of those pots that have been multiplying over time. All donations can be brought to the fairgrounds to Palmer Hall during plant receiving times,
Community Events
IS IT SOIL OR IS IT DIRT? Soil is a living breathing part of the garden and probably the most important element of ongoing gardening success. Dirt is not alive in the sense that it contains little or no viable microbial life.
Healthy soil is imperative to healthy plant life, which in turn supports healthy insect, bird, and other animal life, including us. Without healthy soil it pretty much all falls part. This is not to say all soils should be the same. We know that certain soils are better for growing certain types of plants, but why is that? It is not just a matter of PH, loam vs clay or sand, or mineral content. It is largely about what lives in that soil and what they do that is vital to the plants we are trying to grow.
Think about the community you live in. Who else lives there? What kind of houses do they like and live in? What kinds roads are there? Is there public transportation? Are there methods of communication? What kind of jobs do residents have? Who works for, or with whom? Are there good guys and maybe some not so good? What is the climate like? Are there likes and dislikes? All these same elements and others are also applicable to the largely invisible communities that live in our garden soils.
Billions of small and microbial beings, that for the most part are invisible to the naked eye, make-up these communities. There are generally between 100 million and 1 billion bacteria alone in a single teaspoon of productive soil. Besides bacteria in our garden soils, there are fungi, soil protozoa, amoeba, soil nematodes, and arthropods ranging in size from microbial, to creatures we can easily see. On the larger side there are earthworms and others that visit and utilize the same soil the community does, such as birds, various reptiles, and mammals. We are all participants in their success and they in ours.
This is the first in a series of articles delving into these communities. You will learn about their participation in the “Poop Loop”, their transportation and communication systems, their specific contributions to their communities, how to help protect and enhance them, and what practices we may be utilizing that might be harmful. You will also learn some fun facts about things like fungi cowboys, microbial light rail systems, the value of earthworm slime, and much more. The health and balance of these communities is a major factor in successful gardening. Just as what goes on down there impacts us, what we do can influence the health and vitality of them.
Graduating from Weeding 101 You heard it right! I finally graduated from learning how to weed properly. Or I should say, for now, I've cleared them out.
I'm in my first year of getting the priviledge of sinking my hands into wonderful loamy dirt. Finding streaks up my arms at days end, and leaving everything I touch a bit muddy in my wake is my new normal during this crazy time we're living through.
I am having so much fun.
I've planted my first flowers which are Penny Mickey, "multi colored", Salvia "marine blue, Blue Fescue which is a grass and some butterfly plants. The butterfly plants color will be a surprise to me as they were gifted by Cheri Ruzich. (Probably purple or burple). I can't wait to find out.
I was a bit surprised with myself the day I started putting my flowers in the ground. I was worried I had gotten to many. I dug holes and carefully and thoughtfully put them in the ground. When I stood up to see what I had accomplished it was but a few. Hmmmmm....
I realized it didn't matter at all for I had just fallen madly in love with a new passion that will go on in front of me for many exciting years to come.
Tomorrow I have gravel coming to start the side of my house. I'm going to share with you all of my journey from beginning for as long as it takes.
I've realized that all the beauty that has been shared with me, through our Sutter Buttes Garden Club, was years in the making. Being new to gardening, (started at 70), I had no idea of what it took for you all to get there. My hat goes off to you and bless you all for your patience and guidance.
I'm so excited to be a part of such a wonderful culture.
Come join us. It doesn't matter if your brand new to it like myself and can't tell a flower from a weed, or you have been doing it for years. Our club will welcome you.
Email or Facebook us if you have questions, we would love to hear from you.
Stay Safe
Sharon Reed
The Kindergardener
Something from Amy It has already been quite a summer for my family and I. In early May we committed to taking one hike EVERY weekend. Our travels have taken us to Bidwell Park (twice) and Peregrine Trail in Chico, Fairy Falls Trail to Beale/Shingle Falls, Buttermilk Bend Trail and the Black Swan Trail in Penn Valley, Deer Creek Tribute Trail in Nevada City, Empire Mine Trails in Grass Valley, Riverbend Park in Yuba City and most recently Donner Memorial State Park in Truckee. Next weekend we will check out Lake Oroville.
We have seen so many beautiful things at these times. Through our commitment to a more active lifestyle we have looked forward to each next available day to explore. We have felt the sun on our faces and cool waters in our toes. The wind has been incredible, and we have found some amazing food along the way.
We have encountered many others who are social distancing and also taking advantage of more time to spend in the out of doors with family and friends. What a beautiful way to spend time in quarantine!
Officers 2020-2021
President: Sharon Reed
Recording Secretary: Louise Smith
Corresponding Secretary: Dawn Noonan
Interim Vice President: Marie Dankman
Treasurer: Marie Dankman
Parliamentarian: Liz Hopkins
Directors at Large:
Cheri Ruzich (2018-2021)
Bill Theiss (2019-2022)
(2020-2023) To be Named
Standing Committees and Chairs 2020-2021
Community Beautification: Interim Chair: Liz Hopkins
Membership: Barbara Denney, Marie Dankman, Janet Theiss, Libby Haraughty
News Letter: Amy Carrol-Arellano
Education/Scholarships: Kathy Covert
Conservation/Penney Pines: Susanna Ford
Historian:/Photographer: Lavaune Bell
Hospitality: Cynthia Struckmeyer
Communications: Janet Theiss
Programs: __________________
Plant Sale: Bill Theiss
Yearbook: Libby Haraughty
Yuba-Sutter Fair: Liz Hopkins