UPCOMING EVENTS AT ASHCOMBE

Can you believe summer is coming to a close, the kids have headed back to school and it's already time to start thinking about fall? I can't!!! It just seems like yesterday that we were starting our seeds for the perfect garden (before it was taken over by weeds!) Anyway...fall is just around the corner and so are some great activities at Ashcombe. We have activities for kids and adults -- always something for everyone to enjoy.

Here are some upcoming events for September....

Hypertufa Workshop ~ Saturday, September 10, 10:30-12 noon Host Michael Larkin will guide each

participant to create a round container (made of peat moss, perlite and Portland cement) that can be used on a patio or in the garden year round. Each participant will take home one 14” container and detailed instructions on how to create many more. Please bring a pair of sturdy rubber gloves and dress to get dirty! Pre-registration and payment required. Fee: $30.00

Children’s Homeschool Class: “Garden Bugs” ~ Wednesday, September 14th, 10-11am In this fun class, each child will make adorable decorative bugs from paper, pipe cleaners, beads and magazine pages. Please wear old clothes. Ages 5 and up. Pre-registration required. Register at Ashcombe or online at hahaofpa.org. Fee: $5.00

Basic Orchid Care ~ Thursday, September 15th, 6pm Patti Suhocki will lead this informative program

on orchids. Be sure to bring your questions! Each participant will receive a starter orchid.

Pre-registration and payment required. Fee: $15.00

Birdscaping In Your Backyard - Creating A Habitat ~ Monday, September 19th 6-7:30pm with Michael

Larkin. In this session, we will discuss how to create a bird habitat in your yard. Learn which plants are needed in your landscape to create a place for the entire life-cycle of a species, from fledgling to adult, what foods are necessary, water sources and how to provide a place for raising young. Also learn some helpful hints for winter cover. You will take home instructions on how to create a backyard bird habitat and a recipe to make your own suet. Pre-registration and payment required. Fee: $5.00

“Gardening For All Four Seasons” with George Weigel ~ Satu

rday, September 24th, 10am It takes some planning to have a yard that looks good in all four seasons. This program gives strategies and ideas, then takes a season-by-season closeup look at some of the best plants that peak in each season as well as top plants that give more than one season of interest. Pre-registration and payment required. Fee: $5.00

Children’s Homeschool Class: “Using Herbs In Recipes” ~ Wednesday, September 28th, 1-2m In thistasty class we will whip up some herbal dishes and have fun tasting them. Please wear old clothes. Ages 5 and up. Pre-registration required. Register at Ashcombe or online at hahaofpa.org. Fee: $5.00

Adult Terrarium Workshop ~ Thursday, September 29th, 6pm Learn how to make your own

terrarium from start to finish. Bring your own container or purchase one here. Pre-registration required. Class fee is dependent on supplies used.

TOMATO FESTIVAL

Tomato Festival

Saturday, August 13th, 9am - 3pm

Due to inclement weather and hail damage, tomato and pepper tasting will be extremely limited. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience.

(Programs will be held under the pavillion in the garden area.)

PROGRAMS

Canning Basics with Nina Redding from the Cumberland County Extension

Office 9:00am. FREE. Pre-registration required.

Saucy Salsa Class with Dennis Mawhinney. Learn how to grow tomatoes and make your own salsa. 11:00am. FREE. Pre-registration is required.

Taste test over 30 varieties of tomatoes all day long!

Pepper taste testing all day long!

The Largest Tomato Contest Judging will be at 2pm. Pre-registration

required to compete.

THE BEAUTY OF BUTTERFLIES - Saturday, August 6th

Remember -- this Saturday is Ashcombe's annual BUTTERFLY DAY! Enjoy great displays, special guests and a long-awaited butterfly release at 12 noon. If you're hungry, support our local fire company...Monroe Fire Company will be here selling their delicious barbecue chicken dinner. Come enjoy all the fun!!!

THE BEAUTY OF BUTTERFLIES

Mark your calendars for 'The Beauty Of Butterflies" - our annual butterfly event that is hugely popular and a lot of fun for the entire family. The event will be held this year on Saturday, August 6th from 9am-3pm.

There will be special displays set up throughout the store including displays on:

- PA butterflies and caterpillars

- host plants

- plants for attracting butterflies

- the migratory cycle of the Monarch butterfly

- the differences between moths and butterflies

- the anatomy of a buttery

- our living butterfly house!

We are offering 2 programs as well:

- Tour of our butterfly gardens at 11am and 2pm. These are free tours.

- Book sale and signing with Ron Richael, author of "Attracting Butterflies - A Handbook for Butterfly Gardening"

Our much anticipated butterfly release is scheduled for 12:00 noon

We can't forget the little ones! Our children's activities this year are:

- butterfly and caterpillar crafts

- face painting

- make your own antennae

If you're hungy, Monroe Fire Company will be here serving up their delicious chicken barbecue meal!

YOU CAN RESERVE YOUR OWN BUTTERFLY TO RELEASE (EITHER HERE OR AT HOME) BY CALLING AND ASKING FOR KERRI OR DEB. THEY ARE $10 EACH. DEADLINE TO ORDER IS JULY 16th.

Proper watering techniques for garden plants, shrubs, and trees.

One of the most commonly asked questions, especially during a time of hot temperatures and infrequent rains, is how long and how often should I water my plants? Unfortunately, there is not one simple answer to this question. The correct answer is that it depends on a number of things and will vary depending on them. The one constant is that you want the soil to remain somewhat moist, like a damp paper towel, not crumbly dry and not dripping wet. When watering, you want the plants to receive enough water to replenish the moisture throughout the plant into the root zone. Your answers to the questions below will help determine what constitutes proper watering in your unique situation.

Are the plants in the sun or the shade? If in the sun, is it morning sun or midday and afternoon sun?

Are the plants receiving reflected light and heat from structures, rock mulch, and paved surfaces?

What type of soil are they planted in - poor draining clay, fast draining sand, loamy, highly organic soil?

What type of watering systems are you using – in-ground irrigation set for the lawn; in-ground irrigation with appropriate heads for watering shrubs and perennials and on a separate zone from the lawn; overhead, oscillating sprinklers hooked to a hose; soaker or drip hoses; hand watering?

What type of plants – perennials, trees or shrubs; deciduous or evergreen?

When were they planted (this year, many years ago)?

Do you have mulch down - what type – bark, pine needles, rock, straw, compost?

The same plant in different conditions will require different watering practices. You must tailor your watering to the conditions AND the plant. Obviously, a location that receives afternoon sun and wind (west side) will dry out faster then something that only receives morning sun or no sun. Clay soil holds onto moisture and drains slowly. Sandy soils drain quickly and do not hold onto moisture. Loamy soils have a high concentration of organic material in them, drain appropriately and stay moist longer. If you are uncertain the type of soil you have, dig a hole and fill it with water. If the water does not stay in the hole at all but drains almost as quickly as you fill it, you have sandy soil. If the water stands for a long time in the hole, taking hours to over a day to drain, you have clay soil. Amending clay or sandy soil annually with organic materials such as compost, peat moss, topsoil will help add nutrients as well as change its composition, over time, so it drains more appropriately. Simply amending the hole you plant in does not make a significant enough change to dramatically affect watering technique.
The best way to determine when to water is by checking a few of the plants in each type of condition. Push the mulch away from the base of the plant and dig down a few inches with a trowel. If the soil is crumbly, you need to water. If it is squishy no need to water for awhile. If it is lightly moist, check again in a day or two. You will find you need to water some areas more frequently then other areas – as stated above, there is no “one answer fits all conditions” in terms of watering. Keep in mind too that if you have clay soil, even if the soil near the top of the plant feels dry, the base of the plant may be very wet. It would really help to test how quickly things drain in your yard and utilize that to help you determine the optimal watering schedule.

Plants benefit most from slow, deep watering. This is most effectively achieved via soaker hoses or drip irrigation. Overhead watering is less effective, can promote disease and fungal problems and wastes water. On hot, windy days, you can lose over 50% of the water due to evaporation and runoff before it even gets to your plants. In ground irrigation systems that are set to water your lawn are not appropriate to water most perennials, shrubs and trees. The perennials usually get too much water, and the shrubs and trees usually do not get enough. You run into similar problems with hand watering. You are very likely not giving the trees and shrubs enough water. If your only option is to water by hand, for trees and shrubs it is better to just place the hose at the base of the plant and turn the water down to a trickle, then leave it on each plant for 15-30 minute (depending on the type of soil you have). That will allow the water to fully saturate the plant’s roots. If you are using soaker hoses or a drip system, the type of soil you have will also be important in determining how long to leave them on. If you have well draining soils, several hours is okay; for poorly draining soils 1 hour. If you are using overhead sprinklers, put them on for a set length of time (30 minutes or 1 hour) and check a few plants to determine how deeply watered they are. Use this to set up an appropriate schedule.

Plants that are newly planted require more consistency in watering. It takes about 3 years for perennials and most shrubs to get to their mature size. It takes trees, depending on the species many years. During the initial year(s), the plant is putting a lot of energy into root formation. In order to remain healthy and flourish, they need to be getting adequate water down to the roots. Evergreens require watering until the ground freezes. After the perennials have gone dormant and the leaves dropped off your deciduous trees and shrubs, you will still need to water evergreens. If you have an in-ground system, have a plan in place to get water to your evergreens once the system has been shut off. Because evergreens have needles, they lose moisture through them during the winter. If they do not have an adequate store of water going into the winter, come spring, they will be dead.

Mulching your plants with bark, straws, compost products will help retain moisture and thus reduce the amount of watering you will need to do.

UPCOMING EVENTS AT ASHCOMBE

Concrete Leaf Workshop ~ Tuesday, July 5th, 6-7:30pm Leaf casting is great fun and easy to do! Join Michael Larkin in creating cement hosta leaves for your garden. Learn the tricks to create a

cement mold of a plant leaf. The leaf’s natural depressions and veins are captured in cement mix. They can be painted and used as art for on a wall, stepping stones or bird baths. In this class we’ll make 2 leaves and discuss ways they can be painted later at home. Please bring a pair of sturdy rubber gloves. Pre-registration and payment required. Fee: $20.00

Wednesday, July 6th ~ Canning - Home Grown Goodness. 1-2:30pm Preserving and canning fresh fruits and vegetables is healthy, gratifying and fun! In this class, we will teach some basic canning techniques as well as some new tricks. Whether you are a beginner or want to brush up on your canning skills...this class is for you! The class will be led by Ashcombe’s own kitchen chefs. Each participant will receive a “Ball Canning Starter Kit”. Pre-registration and payment required. Fee: $30.00

Yard Sale ~ Saturday, July 9th Beginning at 7am. Make plans to join us for this annual event.

Children’s Class: “Make Your Own Bird Bath” ~ Saturday, July 9th, 9-10am Each child will make a bird bath for their patio or garden at home. Please wear old clothes. Ages 5 and up.

Pre-registration required. Fee: $8.00

Herbal Luncheon ~ Thursday, July 21st, 11am Our chef will prepare a delicious lunch using different varieties of herbs. Come hungry! Recipes and handouts will be available. Each participant will receive an herb plant. Pre-registration and payment required. Fee: $15.00

“Gardening with Mother Nature” with George Weigel ~ Saturday, July 23rd, 10am Sometimes we make things harder on ourselves in the garden than necessary. By taking cues from the world’s best gardener – Mother Nature – we can become kinder, gentler and better gardeners and save ourselves unnecessary work. Presented by George Weigel. Pre-registration and payment required. Fee: $5.00

GREAT SAVINGS AT ASHCOMBE THIS WEEK!