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Congratulations to Alice Witterholt for spearheading the healing garden at the Dover Delaware Air Force Base. An article discussing the project is on page 12 of The AMERICAN GARDENER, Nov./Dec 2011

Do you want to learn more about baby eagles. WGCF members are familiar with Pat Fisher who runs the New London bird rehabilitation center. Pat alerted an organization called The Feather to an active eagle nest along the Wolf River. Together with other volunteers, a camera was placed and wired to an 80 foot white pine tree.Viewers will be able to watch as the eagles prep the nest, mother eagle lays her eggs in about late March and then watch the babies hatch and grow. The Wolf River Eagle web cam will be linked to WolfRiverCam.com. The feed will run through UStream Live, an Internet video streaming site that can handle the traffic

Emerald Ash borer traps have been seen in Wisconsin. The traps are a triangular, purple kitelike contraption placed in trees during the spring and summer months. The traps’ outer walls are smeared with glue. Inside hangs a plastic bag of pungent manuka oil broadcasting the scent of a distressed ash tree.

The emerald Ash borer has been detected in 15 states and currently West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois and the lower peninsula of Michigan have been quarantined. Ash trees, logs or nursery trees cannot be transported out of the quarantined areas.

The danger to all 16 native species of ash trees comes from the bug’s larvae which tunnel beneath the bark, disrupt the tree’s ability to take food and water and eventually starve and kill it. the agricultural impact to states where the beetle has been detected could be substantial. By Michael Felberbaum AP

Another insect that has been detected in the United States is the hemlock wooly adelgid ( Adelges tsugae). The insect sucks the sap of the hemlock tree. The adelgid female lays 100-300 egg sacs on the hemlock needles in autumn. The tree looks embedded in cottony tufts. The insects feed all winter and into early spring. Soon, the trees are weakened and begin to die. The infestation in National Parks is serious. The Park Service is using a biological control, releasing Laricobius nigrinus, a tiny predator beetle that feeds on adelgid in its native habitat.

Other invasive species include the Burmese python living in the waters of South Florida. They aren’t a problem for humans but eat pets and other wildlife.

The nutria is an aquatic rodent from South America and looks like a big rat. It eats the shoots of water plants and can eat up to 25% of its body weight in plants per day. The loss of plants turn the marshlands into open water. In coastal areas of Louisiana, Maryland, and Mississippi, this process has increased saltwater encroachment inland as well as vulnerability to storm surges and erosion.

Did you know that a Chickadee can change its direction of flight in three-hundredths of a second. The Chickadee’s wing beat is about 30 beats per second.The birds heartbeat speeds up as the surrounding air temperature decreases. An active feeding chickadee on a sub-zero day can be expected to have more than 1,000 heartbeats per minute. When the bird sleeps its heart rate decreases to about 500 beats per minute. Its body temperature will also decrease so that it uses less energy during the extreme cold.

NGC wants WGCF on Flickr:

Share your garden club pictures with the world. Send pictures of your Blue Star Memorial plantings and dedications;your flower shows;your daffodil plantings; your civic beautification projects; your aquatic ecosystems your Plantings for Public & Special Places projects; your glorious hydrangeas ( President Shirley’s favorite flower); your Arbor Day plantings; the list is long. Be sure to identify the club or district and the location. We would like a monthly feature of a garden club’s project- so send a series of 6-10 pictures of your club’s projects.

Mostly, we want Wisconsin represented. Send pictures to Robin Pokorski at RobinP@juno.com. Then visit the site (www.Flickr.com/NationalGardenClubs) and find pictures for your newsletters and flyers and ideas for projects and plantings and staging and, and, and,- it’s all there for you!

Do you love Amarylis bulbs blooming during the Holidays? Now you can order Hionis Greenhouses Amaryllis “Red Lion” , a truly classic red color or amaryllis ‘Candy Cane”, a red striped flower. Each bulb plus shipping costs $12.00 east of the Mississippi and $13.oo west of the Mississippi. To Order: Call: National Garden Clubs, Inc. Member Services at 1-800-55–6007.

BLOOMIN’ BUCKS with Brent and Becky’s Bulbs

Support NGC President Shirley Nicolai’s project “Plantings for Public and Special Places”NGC will receive 25% of each sale. Go to www.bloominbucks.com. click on the pull down menu and click on National Garden Clubs, Inc. and start shopping.

Alert: Cow parsnip,  Heracleum maximum,a weed growing in moist soils has been reported to cause rashes when humans contact the sap directly. Below are photos of a woman who mowed her ditch and came in contact with the weed. The rash does not blister as poison ivy, Toxicodendron radicans, but is very painful and itchy. It has taken 4 weeks with treatment for the rash to subside.

Michigan Garden Clubs reg.form

Central Region Convention “Autumn Tapestry” registration form above.

A Tri-Refresher will be held Oct 2, 2011 in conjunction with the Central region 79th Annual Meeting. The fee is $60 for attending and $66 for Refreshing

Central Region Annual Meeting is Oct. 2-4, 2011 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A registration form is available MGC webpage: http://michigangardenclubs.org.

Congratulations to the California Garden Clubs, Inc., winner of NGC “Make Membership Bloom” contest. The African violet named th their honor will be called” California Victory”  To order a violet go to www.lyndonlyon.com and ask for “California Victory” African violet or call LYon Greenhouse at 315-429-8291

Wisconsin Garden Club Federation | National Garden Clubs, Inc.
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