Wednesday, 

December 5

OTHER REMINDERS 

Art en Fleurs 

A Show of Flowers, Horticulture, Photography and Botanical Arts

Friday, Saturday and Sunday 

July 19, 20, 21, 2013 

The December 5th meeting, Flower Show and luncheon mark the finale of our year-long Centennial Celebration that commenced December 9, 2011 with the festive gala. The deadline for lunch reservations or cancellations is Friday, November 30. Susan Chandler will be happy to assist you and appreciates your courtesy in respecting the November 30 date. Betsy Hough and Louellen Murray have organized a wonderfully creative flower show with the support of committee members who will pass entries, stage exhibits, take photographs, tally results, award ribbons and offer hospitality to visiting judges. They also organized floral design and horticulture workshops during the fall in support of the flower show. Elizabeth Pruett and Laura Gillette have worked their magic with Chef Todd and Onwentsia has been gloriously bedecked by Jody Elting.

Russ Buvala and members on tour.

LFGC members have been anything but idle as the seasons changed. The Club was represented by 5 members at the September, Zone XI meeting in Evanston: Alice Goltra, Zone Director; Judy Boggess, Zone XI Board of Associates; Karen Stensrud, Zone XI Founders Fund Representative; Maggie Coleman, President and Susan Chandler, Program Chair. Betsy Hough represented the club in the floral design exhibit and, in the photography competition, Crissy Cherry was awarded second place for her triptych and Cathie Denckla placed third in the Challenge Class.

Horticulturists, Louellen Murray and Charenton Drake represented the club at the Shirley Meneice Conference in Austin for three days in September. Their full report appears in this issue.

Marina Puryear, Chairman, Visiting Gardens hosted the past President of the Garden Club of Santa Barbara and her husband on a tour of the Krehbiel and Drake gardens. The bonus was Marina's historic narrative driving through Lake Forest and Lake Bluff. There's no one better equipped to provide a view to the past and a current perspective of our unique communities.

The October meeting, organized by Susan Chandler, was held at Craig

Barbara Wood-Prince and Russ Buvala

Treasurer, Sarah Georgi assisted by vice treasurer Leslie Dhamer, and past treasurer Mary Hoffman worked throughout the fall to collect and evaluate funding requests. Thanks to their leadership and thorough organization the Appropriations Committee was able to complete the important philanthropic work of LFGC in early November. Important funding has been provided to worthy organizations whose goals are in line with the club mission in conservation, education and civic beautification.

Complete list appears in this issue.

The November program by author Andrea Wulf was exceptional. Hostesses, Tica Marquardt, Prue Beidler, Beth Kiernan, Margaret Marshall and Kate Morris welcomed over 150 members and GCA guests and provided delicious homemade treats for the reception. Melody Fatheazam and Vanessa Clarke created a beautiful arrangement for the front hall and Mary Hoffman, Holly Meeks and Leslie Dhamer handled book sales. A special thank you to Melody who provided a lovely post lecture luncheon for Andrea and kudos to Susan Chandler who arranged this wonderful program, chauffeured and entertained the author and fretted over the AV equipment. Susan's attention to detail and warm hospitality were key to the success of this event.

I hope you'll enjoy this Garden Gate, brought to you by editor, Holly Meeks; photographers Stephanie Fisher and Cassandra Vermillion and Robin Stuart, who provides an abundance of humor and "good things" from her roost.

Maggie

Andrea Wulf with Program Chairman, Susan Chandler.

Andrea Wulf delivered an outstanding presentation on her book, The Founding Gardeners, for Lake Forest Garden Club members and their guests from the Chicago Council of the Garden Club of America. It was a mix of ecological, horticultural and historical narrative, both erudite and entertaining. Meeting on Election Day, and in celebration of Lake Forest Garden

A full house listens with rapt attention.

Club's 100th Anniversary, over 150 attendees could not help but be intrigued by Wulf's particularly topical subtext which was the "horticultural union" of gardens serving as powerful symbolism for deadlocked delegates at the Constitutional Convention. An illuminating and engrossing lecturer, Miss Wulf was the ideal speaker for an audience more

The author and Carol Blomquist

than receptive to the notion of the healing mystery of gardens and the role of horticulture in the founding of the Nation. Over 100 copies of the book were sold and the author stayed for a book-signing. Program Chariman, Susan Chandler made all the arrangements and Melody Fatheazam hosted Miss Wulf at her home for a lovely and relaxing post-lecture lunch.

Lake Forest Garden Club

Club Flower Show and Christmas Luncheon

Musical Merriment

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Onwentsia Club

11 a.m. Meeting

11:15 Viewing of the Show

12:00 p.m. Luncheon

3:00 Show Closes

The Chistmas luncheon is a gift to our members, but requires

a reservation with Susan Chandler by November 30 

(847) 615-9025

Please see the schedule. 

Austin, TX

September 22 - 24, 2012

There were several presentations illustrating different aspects of "Sustainable Landscapes." Urban ecology, native plants and water usage were recurrent themes.

Robert Hammond, son of a GCA member and co-developer of the High Line in New York City, described how two guys with "no plan, no money and no relevant experience" managed to transform a 1 ½ mile long section of abandoned train track into an elevated, green parkway for pedestrians. Local rancher, Weston Neiman, gave a stirring account of his experience in coping with the severe drought that affects Texas. Through the use of cisterns and strategically placed retention ponds, he avoids reliance on well-water and irrigation for his family and landscape needs. (Click here for more information and a fabulous catalog). Christy Ten Eyck, a local landscape architect, similarly recounted how her company recycles construction materials and utilizes cisterns and retention ponds on their projects. Among her engineering achievements are a see-through cistern and a system for recycling air-conditioning condensation.

Louellen Murray and Charenton Drake with GCA President, Marian Hill.

National GCA representatives took the opportunity to address the 220 attendees of the conference. President Marian Hill was the keynote speaker. She summarized the trajectory and achievements of the GCA which are now spelled out in the publication of the History of the GCA. She noted that women's clubs in general and the GCA in particular have been invaluable vehicles for women to volunteer their significant energies into helping others.

The mandate to propagate and plant was emphasized throughout the

LFGC members provided 16 different varieties of seeds to the exchange.

committee reports. As Ginny Levy of Seed Share put it: "Let's put the garden back into Garden Club." The website has a wish list posted for seeds, and the Propagation Handbook has recently been reissued. It could be offered to new members and used as a resource for workshops. LuLu Lubbers reported that Centennial Tree Project afforded 22,500 new trees to be planted. Partners for plants chairman, Anne Jennings, distributed a step-by-step handout for recognizing and conserving endangered native species in our zones. The Freeman Medal, awarded to a plant of the year, is our way of recognizing underutilized native woody plants that may then be included in every GCA planting project. The award may require the endorsement of a professional grower. The GCA Horticulture Award can be given in recognition of outstanding garden club members and community partners alike. Plant Exchanges, which were formerly an integral part of every zone meeting, could be reinvigorated with a sweepstakes award as well. Scholarships totaling $270,000 have been granted to 74 students in both botany and horticulture this year. To find out more about these and other issues relating specifically to horticulture, the GCA website is our best resource. A section called the Real Dirt features articles relating to gardening edited by Kathleen Van Deveer.

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

In our zone meeting portion of the conference, Linda Grieve asked what the GCA can do for the horticulture committees and requested that we submit copies of our e-newsletters to her. She then solicited information from each of us about our club's proudest achievement, our most enjoyed program and our current activities that the other clubs could replicate. In addition to Charenton's blockbuster project to build light stands, there was a tale of successfully growing acorns in gallon-sized milk jugs buried in the Minnesota snow! Several other outstanding ideas were discussed. Many of them related to water conservation techniques and may be reproduced as links in the Garden Gate.

The final highlight of the Austin trip was a tour of four private gardens. Each was as a prime example of sustainable gardening practices. Christy Ten Eyck opened her property for the tours and it set the bar for excellence not only in its "practice what you preach" expression, but in its attractiveness as well. Ranging though the low hill country among native plantings thriving with minimal irrigation and chemical remediation was a beautiful pathway for us travelers toward returning to our own, unique gardens.

The planned events of the conference were only a part of our learning experience. We met dozens of motivated, mandated, horticultural activists, all sharing the same vision of a world made better, safer and more engaging through horticulture. There were long lines, bumpy bus rides and crowded auditoriums to be sure. But each venue offered the opportunity to meet someone new and investigate all the many, many things we have in common, especially the what-when-why-and-how of what we grow. We hope to share our experiences with you in detail in future programs, workshops and e-news.

Many thanks to the Lake Forest Garden Club for this opportunity to attend the 2012 Shirley Meneice Conference. We did our best to represent you and were proud to do so.

Submitted by Louellen Murray and Charenton Drake

Gardening by the Book: The Garden Club of America Celebrates 100 years of Collecting

May 15  -  July 27, 2013

Centennial Dedication Celebration

June 1-5, 2013

The Garden Club of America invites you to attend the Centennial Dedication Celebration. Register by downloading the reservation form with payment by mail. Contact GCA for additional help or contact Laura Gillette for assistance accessing the member section of the website.

Please join fellow LFGC members in New York for dinner at the Colony Club, a tour of the GCA rare book collection at the Grolier Club and the dedication of the restoration of the 69th Street entrance to Central Park; GCA's Centennial project. Ann Dixon looks forward to planning group activities for LFGC members so please let her know as soon as you have received confirmation of your reservation from GCA.

Report on the Zone XI Meeting

September 19-20

Zone XI members tour the Lurie Garden.

Evanston Garden Club is still enjoying well-deserved accolades from Zone XI's Zone Meeting "A Century of Design: Gardens and Parks," held September 19 and 20. Eighty honored guests were welcomed to Evanston, just north of Chicago on the shimmering shores of Lake Michigan. A fabulous photography challenge garnered many winners including Zone XI's choice for representative photo for the Centennial.

The Business Meeting theme was "Celebrate the Past, Design for the Future." Reports included a power-point presentation with over 250 images of noteworthy club projects, programs and plans. Roundtable discussions followed, focusing on "paying it forward" to infuse fun and encourage involvement.

Dinners at members' homes were enjoyed later that evening. Daniel Burnham, a Chicago city-planning visionary, noted that, "Not a foot of Lakefront shores should be appropriated to the exclusion of the people." This was evident while touring the inventive Lurie Garden, adjacent to Millennium Park. We also were privileged to tour the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool at Lincoln Park and Evanston's own extraordinary Shakespeare Garden.

While enjoying lunch at the Chicago University Club, we heard Andrew Koeser, GCA Scholarship recipient, talk about testing "bio pots", an alternative to plastic. Keynote speaker Adam Schwerner, Director of the Chicago Parks District, gave an overview of his cutting-edge revitalization of Chicago parks. He will pay tribute to the ash tree by creating artistic sculptures made from dead trees throughout the city.

Finally, the gorgeous Awards Dinner, replete with delegate-made centerpieces, celebrated our award recipients and left all with great memories and new friends.

Colleen Mortonson, Zone XI Chairman

 Alternative Christmas Wrapping Paper suggestions

Since much of the additional waste during the holiday season comes from gift wrap and packaging, why not consider these alternatives:

Old maps

Sheet music

Colorful ads/pages from magazines

Baskets

Reusable tins

Scarves and Handkerchiefs

Leftover fabric or fabric gift bags

Lightweight wallpaper

Newspapers

Funny pages

Cake pan, pie plate or baking dish.

Fabulous Forget Me Cookies 

(about 36 cookies)

Cinnamon Walnut Crisps 

(about 36 cookies)

1 stick butter, softened

½ cup sugar

½ cup finely chopped nuts

2 tsp. vanilla

½ cup plus 2 Tbs. flour

1 tsp. cream of tartar

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. salt if using unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350. Cream together sugar, butter and vanilla with electric mixer until fluffy. Add remaining ingredients. Shape dough into teaspoonful balls and place 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Store in airtight

container. Recipe easily doubled.

Bondy Hodgkins

LET US GIVE THANKS

By Max Coots

Let us give thanks for a bounty of people:

For children who are our second planting, and though they grow like weeds and the wind too soon blows them away, may they forgive us our cultivation and fondly remember where their roots are;

For generous friends with hearts and smiles as bright as blossoms;

For feisty friends as tart as apples;

For continuous friends, who, like scallions and cucumbers, keep reminding us we had them.

For crotchety friends, as sour as rhubarb and as indestructible;

For handsome friends, who are as gorgeous as eggplants and as elegant as a row of corn, and the others, as plain as potatoes and good for you;

For funny friends, who are as silly as Brussel sprouts and as amusing as Jerusalem artichokes, and serious friends as complex as cauliflower and as intricate as onions;

For friends as unpretentious as cabbages, as subtle as summer squash, as persistent as parsley, as delightful as dill, as endless as zucchini, and who, like parsnips, can be counted on to see you through the winter;

For old friends, nodding like sunflowers in the evening time, and young friends coming on fast as radishes;

For loving friends, who wind themselves around us like tendrils and hold us, despite our blights, wilts and witherings;

And finally for those friends now gone, like gardens past that have been harvested, and who fed us in their times that we might have life thereafter.

For all of these we give thanks.