Dear Club Members:
Many thanks to Paula & Mike Pinelli for hosting our July social at their home! The day was sunny& warm, the food was a great mix of items, and their yard was very pleasant to sit and relax. There were about 14 of us in attendance. Also some stopped by Michael Graupe’s (practically across the street) to buy some plants that were intended for the sale at garden tour. We got to chat with his wife, Doris, and see their parrot too! !
I hope you will enjoy the August guest speaker, Suzanne Elliott, who is an herbalist and gives herbal workshops. She lives in El Granada and makes her products from flowers and herbs in her yard or friends’. I have bought some of these items at an annual December holiday sale in Montara. You will have a chance to make purchases at the meeting (bath salts, creams, herb vinegar, mustard, and gourmet cooking salts). Always good to have something nice on hand for a last minute gift – and the holidays will be here all too soon! Check out her website: www.woodsorrelproducts. com for some beautiful photos of ingredients she uses, home remedies and recipes.
The plants I bought at Annie’s Annuals are doing well with the exception of one or two. Thought the sunflower would take off during the warm spell we had but growing rather slowly; maybe planted too late, as have seen huge ones while walking in my neighborhood.
I bought some bulbs this spring from Tulip World, and was happy to see Gloxinia on their list. My mother grew these as a house plant in various colors. The bulbs I purchased are for the ground (leaves and flower texture a bit different), but with our gopher problem I decided to put in pots on my deck. The first blooms appeared on Mother’s Day and have continued.
The Board met recently and I’m pleased to say that we will be moving forward with plans for Garden Tour 2015. Sharon agreed to coordinate the garden search, using those we saw and liked this year and hopefully procuring others of great quality. Committee members will soon be revisiting those on the list.
See you Wednesday night!
Karen
Update On Our Members
Word has it that Shane finally had
surgery , was in rehab for a bit and is
now home and independent! Great
news!!
Enid now has her neck collar off and is
out gardening……the Energizer Bunny
would have a hard time keeping up with
Enid. Can’t wait to see you at the
meeting!!
Joanne is doing well and barely uses her cane now. !
It’s been a difficult time for these members, but we’re glad to hear
that all is returning normal.
Do you have plants in your garden
you’d like to share?? Bring a cutting
or two to “exchange’ with another
member. We want to start a ‘CUTTING/PLANT
SHARING” time for a few minutes before each meeting.
This is a good way to get some free plants that you know will
grow in our coastal environment!
The Annual Pacifica Fog fest is set for September 27th and
28th. We’ll be marching in the opening day parade, so save
the date!!
Our program this month is with local herbalist Susan
Elliot. Join us for an fragrant and interesting
presentation. For more information see her website
www.woodsorrelproducts. And bring your
checkbook as she will have items for sale.!
What To Do With All Those Tomatoes?!?
Now that August is here, and the one tomato (the cherry tomato) that we can successfully grow on our coast, is ripe. And they seem to be ripe all at once. Here are some ideas for utilizing all those little gems. It’s easy to add them raw to salads, or roast them for quiches and casseroles. You could also sauté them for an easy weeknight pasta dinner. Really, when it comes to tomatoes, the possibilities are endless.Recipes Using Grape or Cherry Tomatoes http://www.thekitchn.com/
• Grilled Cherry Tomato, Corn, and Goat Cheese Pizza!
• Summer Farro Salad with Tomatoes, Cucumbers & Basil
• The Perfect Tomato Salad
• Gnocchi Skillet with Chicken Sausage & Tomatoes
• Roasted Tomato and Goat Cheese Quiche
• Tomato & Mozzarella Caprese Skewers
• Polenta Tart with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
Recycle Your Garden Pots
Put your nursery pots back to good use: the County of San Mateo Recycleworks has a list of nurseries that take back rigid black plastic pots and reuse them or return them to growers. Check the website for a current list of participating nurseries. www.RecycleWorks.org
The North Coast County Water District has information on drought tolerant plants and plants “native” to Pacifica. In this time when we are expected to limit our watering, here
are some good choices for gardeners that want to keep
planting during our drought. Check out their website:
www.nccwd.com
