Suffield Garden Club, Inc.
Don't Forget
Recipe of the Month
Suffield Garden Club at the Springfield Museum
Stop by the Springfield Museum and see The Festival of Flowers - Saturday, April 6 & Sunday April 7th.
Kudos to our Suffield Garden Club team who entered in the fun at the museum. The painting is "Hamburg Cove" by William Chadwick.
The flowers were used by each team of designers to interpret the artwork into floral design and a table setting.
Flowers include: parrot tulips, stock, larkspur, peony, flowering
cherry, African Violets, ,ferns,ranunculus, ,echeveria, snow drops, and viburnum.
Try this ---
PENNE WITH ROASTED ASPARAGUS
February 4,2013
Bring a small arrangement for a house bound person and brighten their day!! All arrangements will be delivered to Suffield VNA- include a bag or box for easy delivery. Thanks!
Brighten up your winter morning with an easy and delicious treat. Youngsters will love this too.
December/January Recipe
It is a huge problem in nearby Worcester, Mass., with 76 square miles under quarantine and 30,000 trees destroyed.
(Used with permission.)
President's Message
“ We must cultivate our friends, the way we cultivate our gardens .” Voltaire
Apropos of cultivating friends, one of the newest additions to our club is the Cheer Fund. As a club we send flowers or a plant to members who have lost a loved one, who have had surgery or may be in urgent care.
Part of the Suffield Garden Club’s mission statement is “to aid in the protection of trees”. Our town is incredibly fortunate to have so many large, historic trees and plantings along a three mile stretch of scenic road. After the destructive snowstorm last October, we are instigating a Tree Planting Initiative to study and assess damaged trees in the historic areas of Suffield, with the idea of replacing and maintaining new plantings.
We are people dedicated to preservation and cultivation of our resources. This stewardship of our properties is in our purpose and a foundation of the SGC. In the coming year, let’s continue to follow these philosophies. Let’s take care of what we have and share its beauty with the community.
Thank you for choosing me as your President for this year – it is an honor that I am proud to fulfill.
Best wishes to all,
Michelle Holcombe
Suffield, Connecticut
Arbor Day Program for Suffield 4th Graders 2013
Approximately 200 fourth graders received flowering crab apple trees at an Arbor Day assembly on April 24th, 2013. The club has awarded trees to fourth graders annually since 1965.
How to Plant Your Crab Apple Tree
Congratulations! Today you received a beautiful crab apples tree. It may not seem like much right now but in a few years it will be covered with beautiful flowers in mid-spring. Your tree will produce small edible fruits that are tart but excellent for making jelly.
Your tree is bare rooted, which means it hasn’t been grown in a pot. When you get it home put it in a bucket of water to rehydrate the roots and then plant it as soon as possible, preferably within 24 hours.
Crab apples need lots of sunlight so choose a spot that receives full sun (6+ hours per day) and where the soil drains freely. It will grow to 15-25 feet tall and wide at maturity, so be sure to plant it in a spot where it will have plenty of room.
To plant it, first carefully clip off any damaged roots. Dig a hole as deep as the root structure and 1 ½ times as wide. Be sure not to go any deeper than where the tree trunk begins to spur out into roots (a.k.a. root collar). Place the tree in the hole. Backfill the soil and press down around the roots to eliminate air pockets. Water thoroughly. Add a 2-3 inch layer of mulch to this same area, keeping the mulch a few inches away from the tree trunk.
Caring for your tree is easy! Apply a layer of organic compost under the tree each spring, spreading it out to the drip line (e.g., the area under the outermost branches). Reapply mulch every year, bringing the mulch line further out to match the drip line. Water the tree during the summer if the rainfall is less than 1 inch per week.
Crab apples don’t need much pruning once they are established. In late winter, prune any dead, diseased, and/or broken branches. Also, trim off any new sprouts that grow at the base of the tree.
Enjoy!
