Friday, April 15, 2011

Do Your Part To Protect The Bees NOW

Bees "entomb" pesticide-laced pollen

"The presence of entombing is the biggest single predictor of colony loss. It's a defence mechanism that has failed. - Dr. Jeff Pettis, USDA" Source: Pesticide Action Network


Please take a moment to read this vitality important article here: http://www.panna.org/blog/bees-entomb-pesticide-laced-pollen


"Bees are trying to protect themselves from pesticides by "entombing" pesticide-laden pollen. However the deadly three issues of poor nutrition, pathogens and pesticides are causing Bee Colony Collapse! Nopw is the time to plant native plants like Bleeding Hearts, Fringe Cup or Lupine for bee food. Just say no to pesticide use!!!" ~Afia via Facebook

Sunday, April 10, 2011

What's New This Week







Spring garden sales and cherry blossoms. We can now see budding on the trees. It won't be long before they will be filled with leaves again.


Be sure to check out the club happenings, located in Events section on Facebook. The upcoming meeting will show what we will be discussing, speakers, and general information for the month.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

What's New This Week


Spring, that's what's happening. The sky is clear, the sun is making an appearance, and the birds are nesting. Don't you just love this time of year?! Be sure to check out the Facebook page because meeting information is posted in the EVENTS.




















Thursday, March 17, 2011

What's New This Week
















Due to all the storms blowing through this area my little tree has sustained some wind damage. However, spring is here and life is returning to the garden.



Monday, March 7, 2011

Mason Bee Project 2011

I will be posting pictures to my Facebook gardening page, with updates posted here, on my experience with bringing Mason Bees into our yard. We had them years ago and after letting a vine completely cover the nesting box they went away and haven't been back. So, this year one of our garden projects is to bring them back.

You can follow the project here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=634045&id=10150150907395693.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

What's New This Week






















With the warmer weather the birds are active and so are the gardens. Now is the time to begin any spring cleanup you need to do. Doing so now will make things easier throughout the spring growing season. Take 15 minutes, set your timer, and tackle whatever you can do within that time. It need not be complicated; pull a few weeds, prune a bush or two, plant up some peas. Anything you do will bring a great deal of satisfaction and ease the burden of feeling you have to do it all right now. You don't, just do what you can when you find you have 15 minutes of spare time.

03/05/2011 Meeting

The turnout was awesome this month with more gardeners joining the club. The level of experience ranges from the brand new gardener to master gardeners whose specialize in all areas of gardening.

We discussed potential meeting places and agreed to meet at various locations; Shoreline Library, Richmond Beach Library, club members homes, and Sky Nursery. Information will be sent out regarding definate meeting places as we get it.

We realize there will be people interested in the club who have no internet access and discussed creating a flyer that could be left at different locations around Shoreline. The flyer would be updated quarterly with current information such as meeting locations and planned activities.

Next month: Bring any extra seeds or starts you would like to share. Put seed in bags, labeled with any information you can give. Starts can be in sandwich bags or egg cartons (be sure to cut them into individual cells). If you have gardening questions or just want to know something post a comment here or on the facebook page and we will bring it up at the next meeting.

Thank you so much, Sara, for taking the minutes of the meeting. You did a great job.


Shoreline Gardeners' Club Minutes
March 5, 2011
Attending: Sonya, Barucha, Krista, Maryn, Shelley, Jennifer, Dorrena, Ann, Roxanne, and Sara.

Meeting was held at Sky Nursery in Shoreline in the large greenhouse opposite the coffee shop. We had nice turnout for this, the club’s second-ever meeting! General discussion was held, with action items listed below:

Action items:
• Please bring seeds and starts (for sharing) to the April 2 meeting. Place seeds in sandwich bags with labels, and bring starts in labeled sandwich bags or egg carton sections.

• Club members agreed we should create a plant sale calendar – do we have a volunteer?

• We discussed posting quarterly flyers in public places which announce upcoming meetings, speakers, etc. We feel there is a need for flyers for those who do not use the internet.

• Sara volunteered to contact the Lake Forest Park Garden Club to see if they could send a speaker to tell us how their club is run.

• Dorrena volunteered to research possible meeting locations. We discussed meeting at Sky Nursery, Shoreline Library, Richmond Beach Library and Riu Plaza (located south of McDonalds on Aurora). It was decided that some meetings would also be held at members’ houses. We will tackle the scheduling at our next meeting,.

Some Resources Mentioned
Websites:
• The SCG website: http://www.shorelinegardenersclub.com/

• Clubmember Jennifer's website Gaiaceous Gardens: http://www.gaiaceousgardens.com/www.gaiaceousgardens.com/Welcome.html.

• Clubmember Sonya's gardening blog, http://www.seattlegarden.wordpress.com/

• The Hillwood Community Network website:

Facebook pages to "like":
• The Shoreline Gardener’s Club Facebook page (search for Shoreline Gardener’s Club and click on "like"); http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Shoreline-Gardeners-Club/108911425852540.

• The Gaiaceous Gardens Facebook page (search for Shoreline Gardener’s Club and click on "like"); http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Gaiaceous-Gardens/111306472247489.

Books:
• The Sunset Western Garden Book (Sunset also has a great garden section on its website:
http://www.shorelineareanews.com/2011/03/second-meeting-of-shoreline-gardeners.html

Thanks to everyone for attending!

Our next meeting will be held April 2, 1:00-2:30 p.m. at the Shoreline Library, in the small meeting room. Please bring your calendars with you if you plan to host, as we will be setting our meeting location schedule for 2011.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Second meeting of the Shoreline Gardeners' Club, March 5th

We were pleasantly surprised to find a much larger group than our first meeting! We met at Sky Nursery, in an impromptu seating area next to the coffee kiosk. Thanks so much to everyone who came!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Are You Interested In Fuchsias?

I have been interested in them for many years now. My interest first started on the balcony of my first apartment I shared with my husband. I thought it would be great to grow these exotic looking hanging baskets so I started trying to grow them. I can't say they did very well because they looked kinda sad but I tried anyway.

As we moved into our home I knew fuchsias would be one of the plants that I would work on trying to grow. We found a local fuchsia group and learned how to grow show plants which we entered into a few shows and earned ribbons. How exciting is that?!

They were not as hard to grow as I had learned. With a little attention to pinching, fertilizing, and rotating for even growth, they will do surprisingly well here in Shoreline.

As of this month we have joined a different group called Sno-King Fuchsia Society. I hope to share with you my experience as we try to grow plants worthy of the judged show in August.

For more information on the local fuchsia clubs, including Sno-King Fuchsia Society and upcoming events
http://www.nwfuchsiasociety.com/societies.htm

Saturday, February 26, 2011

What's New This Week






















Cold weather, that's what's new. Record breaking freezing temps and snow. You wouldn't think there would be much going on in the garden, would you?
Oh this pan? It's sugar water (1part sugar to 4parts water boiled for 1 minute) cooling for the hummingbirds. Don't forget those feeders if you are feeding the hummingbirds. They could be frozen.

Building Birdhouses

Spring is fast approaching and with it comes the birds looking for nesting places. Consider what birds bring to our lives; music, antics, and life in addition to being natural pest controllers. Where there are birds there is a balance in the environment.

Building simple boxes are easy to do with a few simple tools. The only considerations to keep in mind is where to place them and the materials to use. Do not use pretreated wood of any kind. Do not paint the inside of the birdhouse.

The type of birds that will be attracted to the birdhouse will depend on the size of the opening. The smaller the hole the smaller the bird. Large hole large bird. This also applies to the space inside the birdhouse. A large bird will not use a birdhouse that is too cramped and a small bird will not use a birdhouse that is supersized.

This page gives all the information you need to build simple birdhouses for all types of birds. It includes all the opening measurements and dimensions for the birdhouse itself. Once you have this information the rest is up to your imagination.



Building a Birdhouse
http://kimsey.stonepics.com/birdhome.htm

Thursday, February 17, 2011

And Now A Moment For Garden Humor ...

What do you get if you divide the circumference of a pumpkin by its diameter? Pumpkin pi.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

And Now A Moment For Garden Humor ...

"Why do potatoes make good detectives?
Because they keep their eyes peeled." ~Unknown

Monday, February 7, 2011

A Farmer's Market Comes To Shoreline


"Shoreline Farmers Market
A cornerstone of a sustainable community is the Farmers Market. Our great city and surrounding communities could benefit from a market in so many ways, now we just need to figure out how to make this happen!"

Sunday, February 6, 2011
















So, what is happening in your yard today? Take 5 minutes, right now, and go take a look. You may be surprised at what you find.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

02/05/2011 Meeting

The first meeting was to gather information about what we want out of the club.

The general feeling was to keep the format open to all gardening has to offer. We would like to promote healthy, environmentally safe and clean gardening in all of Shoreline. To share information with other gardeners and to teach as well as learn from each other. Let this be the venue in which we can all come together for a common goal, as a community.

We agreed that we would like to have seed and plant exchanges as well as sales of plants to earn money for the club. Have guest speakers, garden tours, and whatever else the group would like to do. A facebook page will be set up to share information about the club in addition to this website.

Did you know the city of Shoreline has been certified as a Wildlife Habitat? The whole city. That's an awesome thing we are doing here. With the push for green sustainable gardening in every community around the country, we encourage each of you to join us as we learn from each other. Wouldn't it be something if we could make Shoreline a model city for community supported gardening? I think it would be awesome.

Meetings will be the first Saturday each month. 1pm Sky Nursery. More info to follow as it becomes available.

For more info regarding Wildlife Habitat certification in Shoreline:

Boni Biery, the woman behind Shoreline's Wildlife Certification
http://www.shorelineareanews.com/2010/11/boni-bieri-woman-behind-shorelines.html

City of Shoreline certified as Community Wildlife Habitat
http://www.shorelineareanews.com/2010/11/city-of-shoreline-certified-as.html