Capitol Hill Garden Club

Members Show Their Own Gardens

2012-01-26T13:12:00.008-05:00

January 10, 2012: President Vira Sisolak (l) welcomed members back from the holidays.

This was the annual meeting when several members discuss their own gardens. Fran Zaniello was enthusiastic about her front garden and back garden at her Capitol Hill townhouse and especially about the crepe myrtle she could not have in Kentucky.

Carol Casperson spoke about her gardening in Anacostia and also showed slides of a visit last summer to Perennial Pleasures Nursery in East Hardwick, Vt.

As a last minute fill in, Wendy Blair discussed her annual one month of gardening at the family summer cottage in Ontario:

Greens Workshop 2011

2011-12-21T14:20:00.013-05:00

December 7, 2011:

The Dish on Indoor Gardening

2011-11-10T07:37:00.010-05:00

November 8, 2011: At our regular November meeting, Melanie Pyle, who is in charge of indoor plants at the Smithsonian Institution, presented a slideshow overview of indoor plants in the Smithsonian museums and then demonstrated the creation of dish gardens. Basically she created arrangements using plants rather than cut flowers.

Pyle recommended Home Depot and Lowes as sources for inexpensive plants. To create fuller dish gardens, she removes plants from their commercial pots, minimizes the soil around the roots and divides clumps. Then Pyle creates an arrangement in a container, using flexible plastic liners in porous containers. She uses Spanish Moss to hide the mechanics and give a finished look to the dish garden.

Pyle suggested creating foliage gardens in which the variety of foliage shapes and colors created interest. To remove the dull from foliage, she spritzes the arrangement with a leaf shine product. She warned against combining tropical plants with temperate plants, saying tropicals looked better with tropicals. Pyle said overwatering was the biggest problem for indoor plants. She recommended sticking a finger "up to the second digit" into the soil and, if you feel any moisture, don't water.

At the end of the demonstration, the dish gardens and excess plants were raffled as door prizes.

Thirty Nine Years at Eastern Market

2011-10-27T09:34:00.004-04:00

Since 1972, on six or seven Saturdays each fall, the Capitol Hill Garden Club has sold spring-flowering bulbs on the sidewalk market at historic Eastern Market. Along with one or two farmers, we are the longest continuous outdoor vendors at Eastern Market. The annual bulb sale not only raises funds for club programs and activities, but engages the community in horticulture, neighborhood beautification and club membership.

Woody Plants for Capitol Hill

2011-10-13T12:29:00.016-04:00

October 11, 2011: At the regular October meeting of the Capitol Hill Garden Club, Kevin Conrad, curator of the Woody Plants Germplasm Repository at the USDA, led us through a list of interesting woody plants appropriate for our local environment. He started with Buddleia 'Purple Haze" and ended with Yucca filamentosa.

Kevin Conrad on Woody Plants

Buddleia 'Purple Haze'

Callicarpa dichotoma
Camellia 'Winter's Charm'
Cercis 'Don Egolf'
Chimonanthus preacox
Chionanthus retusus
Clethra fargesii
Cornus mas 'Variegata'
Corylopsis spicata
Daphne genkwa and Daphne odora
Daphniphyllum macropodum (varigated)
Rhaphiolepsis Gulf Green
Deutzia crenata 'Nikkoi'
Fothergilla gardenii
Gelsmium sempervirens 'Margarita'
Hamamelis 'Arnold Promise'
Hepticodium miconioides
Hybiscus 'Diana' or 'Minerva'
Hydrangea petiolaris
Hydrangea 'Blue Bird'
Ilex 'Red Sprite'
Ilex 'Sparkleberry'
Lagerstroemia 'Seminole', 'Zuni', and 'Chickasaw'
Loropetalum 'Burgundy'
Mahonia beali
Magnolia 'Wada's Memory'
Malus 'Red Jewel'
Nandina domestica and var. alba
Pieris japonica
Rhododendron fortunei
Rhododendron prunifolium
Salix caprea
Stewartia pseudocamellia
Styrax japonica
Syringa
Viburnum 'Eskomo' or 'Cree'
Yucca Recurvifolia

Vice President Carol Edwards welcomed members to the October meeting (l); Treasurer Lorraine Fishback (r) walked us through the budget proposed by the executive board. The proposed budget was adopted.

Bulb sale scheduler Joyce Jones reported on member participation in the bulb sale fundraiser (r); member Charles McMillion (r) introduced the speaker.

New Members Party 2011

2011-09-28T20:57:00.010-04:00

September 25, 2011: Members gathered at the Canning home and garden to welcome new members and discuss the new club year. Members provided the finger food and the club provided the beverages.

Community Outreach at Fall Festival

2011-09-28T20:32:00.003-04:00

September 24, 2011: Members E.J. Truax and David Healy volunteered at the CSX booth to demonstrate the planting of spring-flowering bulbs to festival goers at the Barracks Row Fall Festival. As part of its community outreach and green initiative, CSX was a festival sponsor and donated Darwin tulips and King Alfred daffodils for planting along 8th Street SE.

Festival goers were asked to plant a bulb in a 1-pint cup for eventual replanting in the community. After planting a bulb for the community, participants were invited to take a bulb home for themselves. This gimmick was as popular with adults, as it was with children. Several participants requested information about our garden club.

Carol Edwards Reports on New Cultivars

2011-09-22T10:59:00.002-04:00

A Report of the Good, the Bad, and the Untested

by Carol Edwards for the Capitol Hill Garden Club

At the 2011 University of Maryland Extension Master Gardener Annual Training Day, Alan Summers gave an enlightening lecture on new cultivars. Mr. Summers is a former Maryland nursery owner, who had often seen his customers frustrated when trying to choose from among the many cultivars of particular plants. In this article, I share his advice, which I hope you will find as helpful as I have. But, let me first set the context with my experience.

As you probably know, many new cultivars of popular perennials, shrubs, and tress become available on the retail market every year. I read about these plants in gardening magazines or catalogs. They seem so appealing. As I spy one of these introductions in our local nurseries, I always read the label, which generally provides information essential to my purchasing decisions. When it comes to plants, I may be an impulse buyer, but I am a responsible impulse buyer!

Here is the big problem. How reliable is the information on the label or, for that matter, in the magazine or blog article? For instance, what specific traits, if any, have been tested prior to market release? Has this cultivar been subjected to growing conditions and practices similar to mine? Has the testing been done by a party with a major financial interest in the sale of the plant? Have the trials included a large number of plants or only a few? I could go on, but you see where I am headed.

The lack and poor quality of plant testing have led to some colossal failures recently. For example, some of the recent Echinacea (coneflower) cultivars have proved to be very disappointing—subject to leggy, spindly growth and color reversion. Some red cultivars of coreopsis (tickseed) have been unable to winter over reliably north of zone 8. (We are located in zone 7.)

So, how is a gardener to know whether to believe the label? Truthfully, there is no way to know with new introductions, particularly those not developed through non-profit research facilities. You can take the plunge, risking the loss of your investment, or wait a few years and track how the cultivar performs locally.

To conduct due diligence, Mr. Summers recommends consulting with staff at local garden centers. (As big-box stores replace dedicated garden centers as the primary source for retail plant material, reliable advice is growing more difficult to obtain. That’s another article, however.) Ask specific questions, such as how long other customers have grown the cultivar. Does it hold its color and shape? Do the flowers or stems flop over? Is it winter hardy? Will it take heat and humidity? Are the mature plant dimensions accurate as described? How fast does the plant grow? Who tested the cultivar? What was the purpose for developing the cultivar (particularly important when assessing agricultural plants)?

With those questions and more in mind, here are some of Mr. Summers’ observations about particular cultivars and some of his favorites.

For those of you that have property in or north of zone 6, avoid Encore and Marshy Point azaleas and the ‘Dazzle’ or ‘Fili’ series of crape myrtles.
Although cultivars are often not as dwarf as described on the plant label, the red azalea ‘Bixby,’ the ‘Flutterby Petit’ series of butterfly bush, Rose of Sharon ‘Lil Kim,’ Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Mini Penny,’ and forsythia ‘Golden Peep’ seem to stay small reliably. The new cultivar of Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia), ‘Lacy Blue’ stays less than 24 inches tall.
Mr. Summers' favorite crape myrtles are in the ‘Whitcomb’ series.
The flowers of Hydrangea arborescence ‘Ryan Gainey’ do not flop as do many of this plant’s cultivars, such as ‘Incrediball.’
Notable cultivars of Hydrangea macrophylla include ‘Penny Mac’ and ‘Double Delights Perfection’ with its improved reblooming capability. The new lilac (Syringa), ‘Bloomerang,’ will show some reblooming in the fall.
Hydrangea paniculata ‘Bombshell’ forms a mound and remains fairly small.
Thuja (arborvitae) ‘Steeplechase’ is denser and fuller than the popular ‘Green Giant.’
Although the red and orange thornless flowering quinces (Chaenomeles) hold their color, the pink does not. Neither does the yellow Knockout rose.
The ‘Double Play’ series of Spirea has larger blooms than other cultivars.
He likes the Pieris japonica (Japanese andromeda) ‘Katsura,’ with maroon new growth and ‘Passion Frost,’ variegated and pink flowered.
Among the best of the boxwood (Buxus) cultivars are ‘Chicagoland Hardy,’ ‘True Spreader,’ and the popular substitute for English boxwood, ‘Vardar Valley.’
His favorite recent hollies (Ilex) are the dense, tall and berried ‘Centennial Girl’ and ‘Red Beauty.’
He also touts the new colors of butterfly bush (Buddleia), ‘Grande Vanilla,’ ‘Peach Cobbler,’ ‘Sweet Marmalade,’ ‘Miss Ruby,’ ‘Tangerine Dream,’ and ‘Miss Molly’ (dark fuchsia).’
The ‘Showoff Starlet’ forsythia flowers all the way down to the base of the plant year after year.
If you are in the market for a deciduous azalea, Mr. Summers recommends ‘My Mary.’

So there you have it. Of Mr. Summers’ recommended cultivars, I grow ‘My Mary’ and agree that it is a forgiving, lovely azalea, with its small trumpet shaped yellow and red flowers. I have also tried ‘Katsura,’ the absolutely stunning Japanese andromeda that, alas, needs better drainage than I gave it.

I hope this article will be the start of information sharing about recent introductions. Have you tried any of these or other new cultivars? What have your experiences been?

The Year Round Garden

2011-09-14T23:08:00.012-04:00

September 13, 2011: At the first meeting of the new year, members of the Capitol Hill Garden Club heard Janet Draper, curator of the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden at the Smithsonian Institution, discuss ways of creating year-round interest in even small gardens.

Vice President Carol Edwards (l) welcomed members back for the new year. Bulb chairs Pat Hanrehan and Sandra Bruce (r) discussed plans for this years spring-flowering bulb sales at Eastern Market.

Wendy Blair (l) introduced Draper (above at laptop). Using the Ripley garden for demonstration, Draper recommended foliage and plant structure for creating interest beyond the temporary bloom time of various plants. She also recommended specific plants which do well in our climate and require a minimal amount of maintenance from year to year.

Draper suggest Yucca for its bold structure, specifically Yucca recurvifolia 'Margaritaville' and Yucca filmmentosa. For shade, she praised Hellebores, which will reseed unless you cut off and remove the seed pods. She favored the Hellebores x hybridus a/k/a Lenton Rose over Helleborus niger, the white Christmas Rose which doesn't do so well hereabouts. She praised Hellebores argutifolius for its serrated foliage and chartreuse flowers and also Hellebores foetidus.

Mahonia bealei was praised for its late winter flowers and the following blue berries that are eaten by birds. Draper recommended the early spring blooms and fall color of Hamamelis a/k/a Witchhazel but warned against 'Arnold Promise' which is susceptible to a fungus. Corylus avellena 'Contorta' a/k/a Harry Lauder's Walking Stick was praised for its odd catkin bloom in the spring and bare contorted branches in the winter. She agreed with E.J. Truax's suggestion that the Walking Stick is best displayed elevated. [Nobody won the Jeopardy quiz by placing Harry Lauder from 1870 to 1950.]

Asarum splendens was recommended for a ground cover and Hakenochloa macra 'Aureola" a/k/a Japanese Hakone grass for its form.
Carex dolichostrachya 'Gold Fountains' was praised for its clumping form; Draper advised to remove old foliage in the early spring. Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' was praised for its silvery foliage and blue spring flowers. Draper recommended Euphoria characias ssp wulfenii for its long-lasting chartreuse heads and Lonicera nitida 'Baggeson's Gold' for its golden foliage.

Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum' not only has a name which one can use to impress friends but also has foliage ranging from spring pink to summer green and white to fall yellow, she said.

Draper said Hydrangea quercifolia with its white "ice cream cone" flowers made a strong statement in a garden and the variety of Hostas offered a palette of colors and shapes.

Eucomis comosa 'Sparking Burgundy" with its summer pineapple-like white flowers made for summer interest she said.

2011 - 2012 PROGRAM LIST

2011-09-06T11:04:00.001-04:00

Dr. Raupp Still on the Case in "CSI: Garden Pests"

2011-07-28T08:54:00.003-04:00

July 28, 2011: Dr. Michael J. Raupp recaps his April 10, 2011 lecture to the Capitol Hill Garden Club in this Youtube video:

2011 Bulb Giveaway Application Due September 15

2011-07-05T11:02:00.012-04:00

July 5, 2011: The Capitol Hill Garden Club is giving away free spring-flowering bulbs for use in public spaces on Capitol Hill. Daffodils and crocus have been chosen as they come back and proliferate every year. The garden club tries to assure that no qualified applicant will be turned away!

Individuals and groups are invited to apply. Applications are due by September 15, 2011. The bulbs will be distributed in October for planting this fall.

In order to fill out this form and print it, you can download this form to your computer by clicking the download arrow at the bottom of the window above.

Pleasant Evening for Annual June Garden Party

2011-06-13T09:51:00.011-04:00

June 4, 2011: We caught a break from the unseasonable heat and humidity. The annual June Garden Party was pleasant. About 50 members attended an al fresco potluck decorated with bouquets of fresh cut flowers from member yards and gardens.

President Vira Sisolak addresses the gathering:
--photos by Bill Dean

Blue Star Memorial on Capitol Hill

2011-06-02T08:04:00.004-04:00

May 29, 2011: National Garden Clubs, Inc., dedicated a Blue Star Memorial at Congressional Cemetery.

The ceremony can be seen on the District I Blogspot.

Magical May Walk at Harbour Square

2011-05-13T13:00:00.051-04:00

May 10, 2011: This year the club toured the grounds and rooftops of Harbour Square, the Modernist cooperative apartment complex that was designed by Washington architect Chloethiel Woodard Smith as part of the 1950s/1960s "urban renewal" of the DC waterfront. Long-time member Edee Hogan and her fellow gardeners at Harbour Square gave us a tour of the renovated landscaping and gardens.

Harbour Square centers on an extensive water garden.

There is also a woodlands garden which is surrounded by a loge which connects the water garden elevation to the "English" garden elevation.

We discussed what to do with the "English" garden. As a compromise with blowback from the wholesale destruction of this historic neighborhood, Smith incorporated Wheat Row and two other Federalist houses in the Harbour Square development, hence an "English" garden.

We then went to the roof to see a private rose garden and enjoy the spectacular views of Washington and the Potomac Valley. DC became magical as the sun set and the lights came on.

--photos by Bill Dean.

What's Bugging Your Garden

2011-04-22T12:16:00.017-04:00

April 10, 2011: Dr. Michael J. Raupp, professor of entomology and extension specialist at the University of Maryland, gave an energetic advanced class on bugs. For practical purposes, Raupp suggested ignoring scientific taxonomy and instead concentrating on the destruction. He divided insects into chewers and suckers and subdivided them into beetles, caterpillars, sawflies, grasshoppers, aphids etc. and mites.

Raupp encouraged noting plant damage or failure in a garden journal so that in the following year once can look for the culprit in advance and perhaps head off the damage.
Raupp authors the Bug of the Week website.

Mary Blakeslee (left) gave a report on the USNA's Lars Symposium and Carol Edwards introduced the speaker:

Peeps^® invaded the refreshments table:

--Photos by Bill Dean

Sherwood Recreation Tree Planting

2011-04-22T10:06:00.003-04:00

March 26, 2011: As part of E.J. Truax's project to improve the landscaping at Sherwood Recreation Center, volunteers planted trees in conjunction with Casey Trees. More photos are online here.
--Photos from Casey Trees.

Club Receives 2010 State Awards

2011-03-30T13:24:00.004-04:00

March 22, 2011: At the annual awards meeting for National Capital Area Garden Clubs, Inc., Capitol Hill Garden Club received a citation for outstanding garden club achievement and a certificate of appreciation for community gardening.

In addition, the club received an Arbor House service citation and a certificate of recognition for increased membership.

Philadelphia International Flower Show 2011

2011-03-26T11:27:00.000-04:00

For an overview of this year's flower show go here.

Club Receives 2010 District I Awards

2011-03-17T11:43:00.006-04:00

Cheverly, MD, March 10, 2011: Member and District I Director David Healy accepted the District I 2010 awards certificate on behalf of Capitol Hill Garden Club from District I Awards Chairman Danielle Brabazon:

Container Gardening Featured at March Meeting

2011-03-16T15:33:00.006-04:00

March 8, 2011: Elizabeth Philbrick, manager of the plants department at Frager's Hardware, presented an informative talk and demonstration on container gardening.

Member Lynn Church, who is also a board member of Friends of the National Arboretum, advised the club of FONA's plans for preserving the USNA collections through the establishment of a trust fund endowment. Here Lynn holds the Save the Azaleas & Boxwood brochure:

March 26 Tree Planting Scheduled

2011-03-01T10:58:00.004-05:00

Calling all hands. EJ Truax is spearheading a tree planting at 9 a.m., Saturday, March 26, 2011 at the Sherwood Recreation Center, 640 Tenth Street NE. In conjunction with Casey Trees, 19 trees will be planted as part of the landscaping project at this city recreation center.

To help out, contact EJ at truax1934@verizon.net
Click on invite for larger view.

Shepherd Ogden Proposed Intensive, Year Round Vegetable Gardening for Capitol Hill

2011-02-09T13:54:00.006-05:00

February 8, 2011: Organic gardening guru Shepherd Ogden promoted intensive, year round vegetable gardening for small Capitol Hill plots to a large gathering of members and guests.

Ogden suggested covering paths between beds with grass clippings and other green matter, which in the fall could be raked on top of the beds, covered with leaves, allowed one good rain and then covered with plastic to winter over.
Ogden encouraged members to plant bedding plants rather than seeds in the garden. By starting seeds outside the garden, one has more control over the conditions for germination, and, by planting only bedding plants in the garden, you avoided the down time and vagaries of germination. He said if one planted several seeds per plug, that one should cut off the less vigorous plants, rather than pull them out by the roots, so as not to disturb the roots of the vigorous plant.

When Ogden does plant seeds in the garden, he uses a broom handle to create a seed hole, drops in a seed, and then waters the row to allow soil to fill in the hole. He recommended using a post-hole digger to dig holes for seed potatoes.

With regard to lettuces, Ogden demonstrated planting lettuce in short rows across the bed rather than lengthwise. He suggested planting one row, and then when it germinated, planting a second, a so forth, till the end of the bed. Then as the first row was harvested, reseeding it, and then reseeding each successive harvested row, so that one had a seemingly endless maturity of lettuces.

Ogden showed several methods of "caging" plants so that they were not susceptible to wind or fruit touching the ground. He urged the use of untreated with bamboo; at the end of the season the can be cut and put on the mulch pile along with the remaining plant matter. For short tomatoes, he suggested using wire cages on their side to form wire tunnels or quonsets.

Ogden promoted planting seasonal crops together rather in succession. If one plants later crops down the center of a bed and earlier crops to either side, the side crops will cut down on weeding and will be mature and gone by the time the later crop needs to develop to maturity. Ogden also suggested planting radishes with carrots, as the radishes mature and are pulled, the carrots will not require thinning.

Ogden was an enthusiastic speaker, almost in constant motion. Following his presentation, he answered dozens of audience questions.

President Featured on WAMU

2011-01-31T08:08:00.002-05:00

January 28, 2010: President Vira Sisolak was featured on a segment of Metro Connection on WAMU

MS. VIRA SISOLAK

13:34:39

I'm Vira Sisolak. I live on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. We're immediately east of the capital out to the Anacostia River. I first moved to this neighborhood in 1967 and a couple years later moved away, but moved back permanently in 1974. We live in a historic district. Most of the houses were built between 1860 and 1910. They're row houses and they're generally brick. I'm president of the Capitol Hill Garden Club. We have over a 100 members.

MS. VIRA SISOLAK

13:35:14

The focal point of this neighborhood is Eastern Market. And around the market, there are many things that occur. One of the things is that the garden club sells bulbs there every fall. We try to keep Capitol Hill as a unique neighborhood, even though we're very close to the capital and not far from downtown. People here feel that's it's a neighborhood that belongs to those of us who live here and as such, we try to maintain relationships with the people who own the stores and the restaurants.

For the entire segment go here.

Members Panel Perseveres

2011-01-12T15:14:00.012-05:00

January 11, 2011: Though the weather outside was frightful-freezing rain, freezing sleet and then some snow, dozens of members braved the elements to hear three members discuss their successes and problems with Capitol Hill gardening.

The first order of business was mechanical:

President Vira Sisolak welcomed the members (l); newsletter editor Wendy Blair introduced the speakers:

Sharon Ferguson discussed the death of a red bud in her 6 x 8 front yard and her redevelopment of the space with a crepe myrtle, various perennials and a black stone "fairy" path to nowhere. She retained a local landscape designer as a "coach" at an hourly rate. The first hour was a discussion of plants and the drawing of a schematic; the final hour was a post installation review with some tweaking.

Pat Taylor discussed three unresolved issues from 2010. The first was the fig thief who was taking the figs from her alleyway fig tree even though they were green. She netted against birds but it turned out to be squirrels. So back to the drawing board.

The second was a crepe myrtle which replaced a redbud in her enclosed back yard. With her drip irrigation, conditions were so good that the crepe myrtle grew beyond her 10 x 10 expectation and now she is resigned to a back yard shade garden.

The third is the pruning of her front yard Japanese maple. She had tried to prune it herself based on Japanese maple at the USNA Bonsai Garden but was unsuccessful. She saw a well pruned Japanese maple on a garden tour last year and learned that an expert pruner came twice a year to keep that specimen in shape. Her talk ended with an aside on the invasiveness of sea oats.

Ed Peterman discussed the multi-year redevelopment of his back yard. He started by relocating the back walk and installing a large patio adjacent to the house. He then joined 3 neighbors in having all their back fences replaced. Ed added a low fence walkaround to screen trash cans next to the garage at the far end of the garden. Along the brick wall on the east side in put a kidney shaped herb bed to take advantage of the heat from the wall. He put a perennial bed along the west fence and across the way he installed a large vegetable garden.

In honor of his grandmother, Ed anchored the yard with a sour cherry tree (which so far has produced 7 cherries all eaten by birds) and in the back a Stewartia tree. Ed discussed using lanterns along the western fence for candlelight, removing the crabgrass, improving the soil, the joy of laying sod, reserving a spot near the Stewartia for a small water feature to be heard but not seen, and plans for artwork, but not too much artwork, in the garden.

Greens Workshop 2010

2011-01-03T09:07:00.003-05:00

December 15, 2010:

Death of Jean Ladson

2010-11-17T18:10:00.004-05:00

Jean Thomas Ladson, the namesake for the Jean Ladson Outstanding Achievement Award that Capitol Hill Garden Club received this year from the Central Atlantic Region of National Garden Clubs, Inc., died November 1, 2010. She was an acclaimed floral designer and, from 1969 to 1971, president of National Capital Area Garden Clubs, Inc. She lived in Islamorada, FL.

Her obituary is here and here.

Lanni of Volanni Featured at November Meeting

2010-11-12T12:57:00.015-05:00

November 9, 2010: Michael A. Lanni, the owner and floral designer for, Volanni, a custom florist located on Capitol Hill, discussed his floral design philosophy and created several designs. Joyce Jones introduced Lanni (r):

Lanni rolls up aspidistra leaves to line the interior of clear class containers:
Lannie tries to limit the use of Oasis (wet floral foam) inside vases. One technique he uses is to create a grid of bamboo or branches to set atop the container and then place the horticulture within that grid:

Another technique is to fill the container with palmetto fronds: He takes a frond, gathers the leaflets together in a bunch, snips off the petiole, inserts the bunch into the container and, after the container is filled, cuts off the ends of the leaflets to a uniform height:

Lanni then places flowers or other design elements in the grid created by the leaflets; he says he gets some of his inspiration from Ikebana:

The three arrangements in the clear glass vases on the right were awarded as door prizes:
The refreshments table featured a Pontorno arrangement:

Central Atlantic Region Award

2010-11-10T15:46:00.006-05:00

October 26, 2010: The Jean Ladson Outstanding Achievement Award, with a $100 check, was awarded to Capitol Hill Garden Club by the Central Atlantic Region of National Garden Clubs, Inc. The award was presented in recognition of the club's annual bulb give away program, which since 2004 has resulted in 52,000 daffodils and crocus being planted in public spaces on Capitol Hill.

Central Atlantic Region comprises affiliated garden clubs in seven states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Delaware, Maryland and National Capital Area Garden Clubs, Inc. The Jean Ladson Outstanding Achievement Award is "awarded to a club or group of clubs presenting the most outstanding garden club work that is not eligible for any other C.A.R. award." Capitol Hill won first place in the large club category for clubs with over 50 members.

District I Director David Healy conveyed the award to President Elvira Sisolak at the regular November 9, 2010 meeting of the Capitol Hill Garden Club. Sisolak thanked former president Pat Taylor who had originated the bulb giveaway program. Sisolak said, "I think we all . . . have a right to be very proud of our Giveaway Program. What we are doing for our community in giving away these bulbs is very important."

Ed Bruske's Slow Food

2010-10-20T13:54:00.006-04:00

October 12, 2010: Ed Bruske was a newly minted master gardener when he last spoke to the club at St. Monica's about composting. This time he appeared as an evangelist for the slow food movement.

In a former life, Bruske parted ways with the Washington Post and is now a blogger, personal chief, school lunch watchdog and urban farmer on a sun-filled corner lot in Columbia Heights.

His presentation was as much about vegetable gardening as it was about slow food. He surprised members when he stated that the DC Forester was willing to negotiate the type of trees planted in tree boxes. Bruske said he was able to get columnar oaks to limit the amount of shade on his farming and yet this seemingly flies in the face of the city's effort to create symmetry in tree-lined streets from block to block and to avoid monocultures in order to prevent widespread deforestation in the event of pests or diseases.

It wasn't clear whether slow food was simply foodie trendiness, or a political movement waging battle against agri-business, an economic movement yearning for an Amish lifestyle, or simply affluent folk who are too many generations removed from the family farm. In the end, it seemed odd to preach farmers markets and seasonal eating to a club who has been selling at, and buying from, the farmers line at Eastern Market since 1972.

Annual Fall Party

2010-09-29T17:50:00.000-04:00

September 26, 2010: Joyce and Floyd hosted our annual fall party to meet and greet new or prospective members.

President Vira Sisolak spoke to the gathering:

District Flower Show Awards

2010-09-29T17:40:00.004-04:00

Upper Marlboro, MD, September 25, 2010: Two Capitol Hill members received awards in horticulture and in design at the District I small standard petite flower show Memories of a Lady's Manor at Darnall's Chance House Museum.

David Healy received a first place ribbon for his miniature chrysanthemum and Bill Dean received a second place ribbon for his miniature rose:

Bill received a second place ribbon for his garden medley arrangement and David received honorable mention for his. The Garden Medley class required: A traditional line design featuring small vegetables; not to exceed 8” in height, width, or depth. Designs to be placed on white pedestals of various heights.

Think North Carolina

2010-09-16T13:38:00.007-04:00

September 14, 2010: Bill McLaughlin, the horticulturist plant curator at the U.S. Botanic Garden, advised members to look to North Carolina native plants when incorporating natives into Capitol Hill Gardens. He said our inner city climate and clay soils were more like the North Carolina piedmont. For more interesting natives, he suggested looking farther afield into Florida, Texas and even Mexico. McLaughlin said closely related plants, despite their geographic differences, tended to serve the same insect and bird populations.

His entire presentation follows:

Native Plants for the Urban Jungle

Vice President Carol Edwards presided at the first meeting of the new garden club year.

Mary Blakeslee introduced the speaker; Bulb Co-Chairs Gail Giuffrida and Sonia Conly gave club members their marching orders for this year's annual bulb sale fundraiser--38 years and counting.

Native Plant Program for September 14, 2010 Meeting

2010-09-01T13:33:00.005-04:00

Bill McLaughlin, the horticulturist plant curator at the U.S. Botanic Garden, will present a program on "Natives for Capitol Hill." His focus will be how to integrate native plants into small gardens. McLaughlin was celebrated this summer for his agave at his home in South Arlington.

McLaughlin is a lifelong DC area native with wide experience in local gardens. He has a BS in ornamental horticulture from the University of Maryland and has been with the U.S. Botanic Garden since 1986. In 1996, he was charged with plant selection and design review for the National Garden which features roses and Mid-Atlantic native plants.

The entire 2010-2011 program is listed here.

Autumn 2010 Bulb Give Away Application

2010-06-29T14:07:00.003-04:00

In order to fill out this form and print it, you can download this form to your computer by clicking the download arrow at the bottom of the window above.

Une Noche en La Habana

2010-06-09T14:24:00.018-04:00

June 5, 2010: The annual June garden party was hot, humid and fabulous! The theme was Havana nightclubs before the revolution.

Edee arrives:

Vira and Bill:
Cocktails:

David, Doris and Janice:

The buffets:

Many thought the food year was better than usual:

Joe and Tony "Cuban Pete" Pontorno:

Vira thanks Johann:
Joyce and Floyd:

The potluck recipes follow and will be updated as received:

Welcome to Our New Updated Blogspot

2010-06-09T12:18:00.003-04:00

June 1, 2010: In order to take advantage of more bells and whistles available only on the new Blogspot template, we have moved from http://chgcdc.blogspot.com/.

You can still review previous Blogspot posts by going through the archives at http://chgcdc.blogspot.com/.