“Let’s Talk Dirt”
Newsletter of the Silvis Garden Club
“Fellowship and EducationThrough Gardening”
May 2016
silvisgardenclub.org
Established 2001
President’s Corner – Thank you for all your condolences on the death of my oldest brother, Jim Haronik. He
passed away quite unexpectedly on Thursday afternoon, April 14th. He was the patriarch of our family. Also,
my sister from St Louis became very ill while she was staying with me. In fact, she was in the emergency room
on the day of the funeral. I drove her home on the following Friday. It was quite an ordeal with all the relatives
in town.
I hope you all have had a chance to visit and shop at the greenhouse. Jo, Eileen, Margaret and Bonnie have
done an outstanding job running the greenhouse every day. Also, thanks to anyone who has spent time
planting, watering, and manning the greenhouse for sales.
The
May Meeting – Thursday, May 12th at 6:30 PM. Our speaker will be Phillip Crandall who will be speaking on
Local Honey Farm, Bees & Beeswax. Treats will be provided by Judy Piper and Noreen Bailey.
Birdies for Charity – Each year we participate in John Deere Classic’s Birdies for Charity. Proceeds we
receive each year are used to pay for our insurance premium. Pick up entry forms at our May meeting. Grand
prize is a free 2 year lease of a Lexus car, plus, there are also many other prizes. Please consider filling out 1
form or more and give forms to relatives, friends and neighbors. All pledge donations are tax deductible!
PLANT SALE!
Plant Sale – Our Spring plant sale is Saturday, May 7th, 2016 from 9 am to 2 pm at the Greenhouse. Hope
you have dug those plants and given them time to acclimate and look healthy. Bring your plants to the
greenhouse on Friday between 4 pm and 6 pm. Please label what they are and if they are sun or shade
plants so it’s easier for folks who are pricing. Thank you, Sue Knapp, for handling the plant sale.
It’s good to divide you perennials to make them flourish. See a short list of perennials on the following pages.
Raffle Basket Items – Pam is collecting items to put in baskets to be raffled at the June Garden Walk. Please
bring them to the May meeting or let Pam (309 781-5982) know you have something for the baskets. Thanks
Garden Club Shirts – Is there any interest in ordering shirts this year. We need at least 12 shirts ordered, but
the more we order, the cheaper they will be. Please let us know. Email [email protected], or call 792-0800 or
sign up at our May meeting. Thanks for doing this for us Linda.
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Grab your trowel and shovel and start digging
Perennials that should be divided every 2-3 years:
Aster
Coreopsis
Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’
Garden mums (Dendranthema)
Helenium
Heuchera
Shasta daisies (Leucanthemum)
Garden phlox (Phlox paniculata)
Yarrow (Achillea)
Perennials that should be divided every 3-5 years:
Bergenia
Cranesbill (Geranium)
Campanula
Daylilies
Eupatorium
Nepeta
Rudbeckia
Stacys
Veronica
Perennials that should be divided infrequently: Goatsbeard (Aruncus), Hosta, Lady’s mantle
(Alchemilla), Lungwort (Pulmonaria)
Perennials that should not be divided in early spring: Bearded iris (early summer after blooming)
Creeping phlox (fall) Foxtail lilies (fall) Oriental poppies (fall) Peonies (fall)
DAYLILIES FOR SUMMER LONG BLOOM
One of the most popular perennials in my sun garden is the daylily. It is something you should consider planting this fall
for next summer’s colorful and fragrant blooms.
As the name implies, the daylily blooms only last for one day. But they are prolific bloomers and usually have abundant
flower buds on each stalk; there will be many stalks per plant, spreading the color over several weeks. Some have two
blooming period.
The American Hemerocallis society has referred to the daylily as the perfect perennial because it is available in
A variety of shapes and sizes, and it’s able to survive with very little care in a wide range of climates. It is suitable for all
types of landscapes, is drought resistant and almost disease and insect free, adaptable to various soil and light conditions
and is known to bloom from late spring until autumn.
Today we have a wide color range to select from, including bright reds, pastels, and blends of all colors, sometimes the
throat and stamen are different colors from the petals and also the textures and shapes of petals can vary too. Variation in
heights, bloom size, and substance has been developed by hybridizers, offering many new improvements and varieties in
the daylily over the years.
As a rule, daylilies will like full sun, especially the lighter colored ones; the dark shades of red and purple can tolerate
more shade. Well drain soils are a must. Plant the crown about an inch below the soil surface. Trim the foliage off the
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top to about six inches. I plant mine between 18” and 24” apart; the strap-like leaves will take lots of room when mature,
even the smaller varieties. Water until established or until the ground freezes. Then sit back and enjoy your perfect
perennial for many years to come.
Brenda Garbe, Master Gardener
“The lily was created on the third day, early in the morning when the Almighty was
especially full of good ideas.”
HYBRID LILIES
I’m not sure when the hybrid lily took control of my will-power. They lured me with their great variation of height,
intoxicating scents, and kaleidoscopic color range. For my many years the Regale lilies enhanced my evening gardens
with their perfumed beauty.
Over the past 20 years I slowly began adding Asian varieties. While very hardy, most lacked something the great hybrids
possess. In the mid 90’s I planted a few of the LA Hybrids. Hmmm….pretty nice, no disease and reproduced rapidly,
Still they lacked something. Their blooms didn’t last very long and the colors were lackluster.
A few years later I planted my first IT’s (also called Orienpets). It was love at first sight. Not only did they have
marvelous fragrance, but they were tall (some 6 feet plus), with gigantic blooms. With my ardor growing each season,
additional OT’s were ordered, followed by more LA hybrids with fetching new colors and very strong stalks. Then a new
variety of Asiatics hybrids and Orientals….I was hooked!
These beauties require very little care. One must is a well-drained soil with lots of organic matter; their favorite soil
enhancement is horse manure, Along with the organic matter, I put in bone meal or bulb booster and a little 10-10-10
when I plant the bulbs. They flourish both in full sun and partial shade. Afternoon shade is especially helpful in helping
prolong their bloom time. Here are a few of my favorites:
Asiatic Hybrids – ‘Lollipop’, ‘Angela North’
OT’s – ‘Silk Road’, ‘Scheherazade’. ‘Luminaries’
LA Hybrids – ‘Dani Arafin’, ‘Gold Tycoon’, and ‘Suncrest’
Orientals – ‘Muscader’, ‘Rio Negro’
If there is a downside to lilies, it’s that rabbits like them almost as much as humans, so they require some protection for
the first month after they come up in the spring... With a recent explosion of new hybrids and modern genetics at work,
who know what will be next?
Joyce Robison, Master Gardener
WHAT ARE TRUE LILIES?
A true lily is different from a daylily. Both are often referred to as lilies but only one is a true lily. True lilies can be
confusing to sort out, so first we need to know what they are not. They are not daylilies.
Daylilies grow from tuberous roots with long strappy bladed leaves that grow from the base of the plant.
Flowers bloom for one day only on scapes coming from the plant base.
True lilies grow from bulbs and are defined by 9 classifications: I. Asiatic hybrids, II, Martagon hybrids, III.
Candidum hybrids, IV. American hybrids, V. longiflorum and formosanum (Easter Lily), VI. Trumpet and
Aurelian hybrids VII. Oriental hybrids VIII. Interdivisional Hybrids, Special mixes between two division
hybrids, often referred to by initials: OT- Tall with huge long-lasting fragrant blooms, sun or shade, bloom in
July. LA – hardy, sun or part shade, bloom mid-June to mid-July. NOTE:(OT & LA do NOT do well in full
shade). LO- dappled sun,- blooms in July. Asiapet – full sun, blooms in July. Longipet – not very hardy in
Illinois, blooms in July. IX. Species – Wild lilies (grow from true seed). Some are easy (Tiger lilies) some
difficult to grow and some are short lived.
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“Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination. I believe that people
entirely devoid of imagination never can be really good gardeners.
Mrs. C.W. Earle, Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden, 1897
“The most serious gardening I do would seem very strange to an onlooker, for it involves hours of
walking around in circles, apparently doing nothing.”
Helen Dillon, Garden Artistry, 1995
Silvis Garden Club
P.O. Box 71
Silvis, Illinois 61282
Courtney’s Wedding Pasta Salad
from Bonnie Bull.
Cook 12 oz thin spaghetti
Marinate at least 4 hours in:
1 Tblsp Accent
1 Tblsp Season Salt
3 Tblsp Lemon Juice 4 Tblsp Oil
Add:
4 oz pimentos (diced)
4 oz black olives (diced)
¾ cup bell pepper
1 ½ cup celery
1 ½ cup mayonnaise
¾ cup green onion
Silvis Garden Club
Newsletter of the Silvis Garden Club
P.O. Box 71
Silvis, Illinois 61282
www.silvisgardenclub.org
President: Kathy Hall
Vice President: Wanda Adams
Treasurer: Bonnie Bull
Secretary: Eileen Benhart
Member-at-Large: Linda Soderholm
Meetings; 2nd Thursday of each month, 6:30pm @ McGehee
Center, Schadt Park, 4th Ave. and 12th St. Silvis, Illinois.
Annual membership dues: Individual-$7, Couple - $11
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