DHS Newsletter
Sue Mazi, DHS Corresponding Secretary
May 2012 Spring has sprung!! I love this time of year, even though April’s weather seemed colder than March. It’s always an exciting time of year–watching to see what is going to pop out of the soil. I love perennials and each year the garden evolves, whether I want it to or not.
The Dunnville Home and Garden Show was a huge success! Our booth was gorgeous, thanks to the many volunteers who helped out. Congratulations to the winners of our raffle: 1st prize (Teak arbour) Sue Tew of Dunnville, 2nd prize (metal garden bench) Gord Pyle of Dunnville, and 3rd prize (garden planters) Bruce Nevils of Dunnville. We gave out over 1000 seed packets to folks who visited our booth, and signed up 18 new members. It was great to see everyone. A huge thank you goes out to everyone who helped with setting up, taking down and supervising our booth. Great job!
Saturday, May 12th is our annual plant sale. This year it will be held at our new home, the Dunnville Optimist Hall. The sale will be held from 8 a.m. till approximately 12 noon, rain or shine. We would appreciate any donations that members may be able to make of any kind of perennials, annuals, trees, shrubs etc. Each plant must be potted and labelled with the name of the plant and sun conditions required. If you have something that you’d like to donate please bring it to the Optimist Hall parking lot between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. the night before.
The Dunnville Town flowerbeds are going to need attention soon. We need teams of volunteers to help with prepping, planting and weeding of the various beds that we look after. The flowerbeds that we look after include the Anchor project in Wingfield Park, the BIA “Dunnville” sign at the east end of town by Inman Road, the “Dunnville” sign at the west end of town by Robinson Road, the “Dunnville” sign in down-town at Queen & Main Streets near the bridge, the Dunnville Public Library, Centennial Park, the Floral Clock at the bridge and a few others throughout the town. You don’t have to commit to a lot of time; an hour or two here and there when it’s convenient to you would be appreciated. Please see Lori Maracle if you would like to help out. This qualifies for community service if there are any high school students who would like to get involved.
Garden Tip of the Month: Get outside! Break off wilting Tulip or Daffodil heads but continue to feed and care for them until the foliage has died back naturally. This helps to store energy in the bulbs. It is best not to dig or move flowering bulbs until their foliage has died back. Pansies, Snapdragons, Dianthus, Petunias, Geraniums and Impatiens should be ready to plant by mid month. Toward the end of the month, it should be warm enough to plant out the more tender annuals like Salvia, Zinnias, Marigolds, Lobelia. Lightly side dress perennials with an all-purpose 5-10-10 or 10-10-10 fertilizer. Avoid spilling the fertilizer on the plant, and use care not to damage the shallow roots when you cultivate it into the soil. Carrots, lettuce, potatoes, corn, beans, peas and most popular vegetables (with the exception of the warmer weather crops) can be seeded or planted into the vegetable garden at any time now. Wait until mid to late May before planting the warmer weather crops like tomatoes, squash, cucumber, pumpkins and peppers. With a little luck, you may begin to see the first fruit on your strawberries by late this month. The birds will enjoy them very much if you don’t provide some protective netting over them. Happy gardening everyone! This is the month we live for!
Sue Mazi, DHS Corresponding Secretary.
Essential advice for the gardener: grow peas of mind, lettuce be thankful, squash selfishness, turnip to help thy neighbor, and always make thyme for loved ones. ~Author Unknown
