District I

The Garden Post

Fall 2011
Notice of District I Fall Meeting Program: Role of Rain Gardens as a Solution to Stormwater Runoff
by Kit Gage, Co-Director, National Capital Region Watershed Stewards Academy
Plus, more about NCAGC President Vickie Godwins five rain garden projects planned for the US National Arboretum

Member of National Capital Area Garden Clubs, Inc.; Central Atlantic Region; National Garden Clubs, Inc.

10 am,Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Meeting Room in Temporary Headquarters Trailer U.S. National Arboretum
Continental Breakfast provided by District I

Directors Notes
Enjoymentof our gardens, our clubs, and our environment By David Healy, Director, District I Our annual August heat wave and drought become more intolerable each year. I just hate watering and watering to try to keep plants alive. Nothing thrives in these conditions, and there are always losses. This year we allowed the volunteer sunflowers from last winter's bird feeding to take over our garden, and our reward has been a handful of goldfinches that have become resident feeders as the sunflowers mature. This is the first time in 11 summers that we have seen a goldfinch. I'm thinking you could do worse than sowing a bag of bird seed in the backyard or meadow.
(See Directors Notes, p. 2)

Hugs, congratulations to District Is Shirley Nicolai, our new national President

There was dancing in the streets of Washington, DC, in May following the installation of District Is own Shirley Nicolai as the 42nd President of National Garden Clubs, Inc., the largest organization of its kind in the world. Shirley is a member of both District Is Tanta-Cove Garden Club and Fergies Gardeners. She announced her themes for her presidency as service to members and their communities and support of local garden clubs in meeting specific needs; and, she is introducing initiatives related to plantings for public places and protecting aquatic ecosystems. Headquartered in St. Louis, MO, National Garden Clubs includes 6,300 local clubs, 50 state clubs, our National Capital Area organization, and hundreds of international affiliates.
(See NGC convention photographs, p. 5)

Shirley Nicolai NGC President 2011 2013

Photo from www.gardenclub.org

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Directors Notes (from p. 1)

Fall 2011
District I's annual fundraiser is Tuesday, November 8, at Franklins Restaurant, Brewery and General Store, 5121 Baltimore Avenue, Hyattsville, MD. When you eat, drink, and/or shop at Franklins that day, mention DISTRICT I when paying and our District will receive a percentage of the proceeds. With any luck they'll have the Thanksgiving Dinner sandwich on the lunch menu as well as stocking stuffers for kids of all ages. See the flyer at the end of this newsletter for all the details.

The June Presidents Meeting at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens was well attended, and the presidents had a lively discussion about their club projects. Almost everybody stayed for a guided tour of the only national park devoted to aquatic plants. Photographs can be found on District Is blogspot: NCA Garden Clubs will celebrate its 60th birthday at 10:30 a.m., on September 27 at the Plymouth Haven Baptist Church, 8600 Plymouth Road (on Fort Hunt Road just south of Waynewood Boulevard), in Alexandria, VA. There is an invitation from our NCAGC President Vickie Godwin herein to each of you to attend this celebration.
http://ncadistrictI.blogspot.com/2011/06/ annual-presidents-meeting-at-kenilworth.html

Youre invited
A 60th Birthday Party for the NCAGC
It is also our NCAGC General Meeting. Business will be kept SHORT!

AWARDS
Important information you need to know
Some changes to the awards program were announced at the NGCs national convention in May. Some guidelines were changed in an effort to make applying for awards easier. Application forms and rules are on the NCAGCs website: www.ncagardenclubs.org They are also listed in the upcoming issue of the 2011-2012 NCAGC Directory. What to submit to whom by what deadline: Send to your District I Awards Chairman: Yearbooks and newsletters by November 4, 2011 Award No. 18 applications, Citation for Outstanding Garden Club Achievement by January 23, 2012 Send to your NCAGC Awards Chairman: Books of Evidence by November 4, 2011 Award of Recognition nominations by December 1, 2011 Your District I Awards Chairmen will help you with any questions you may have regarding awards. Because Evalee Ciucia may be unable to remain in her position as NCAGC Awards Chairman, watch for an email announcement naming a new NCAGC Awards Chairman. If you have urgent questions, please call or email Vickie Godwin, President, NCAGC.

Yes, there will be cake! Dress: Party

10:30 am, Tuesday, September 27, 2011 Plymouth Haven Baptist Church 8600 Plymouth Road, Alexandria, VA 22308
(Corner of Fort Hunt and Plymouth Roads)

Visit ncagardenclubs.org for complete directions.

Vickie Godwin, President, NCAGC, Inc.

Make your reservations now for the District I OLDE DOMINION HOLIDAY bus tour, Saturday, December 3, 2011, $85 per person, which includes all but hard spirits at Hanover Tavern. Our bus leaves Cheverly, MD, at noon and stops first at historic Hanover Tavern where we will enjoy their FESTIVAL OF TREES and a buffet dinner. Well add a Fort Washington pickup, if reservations merit it. Our second stop will be the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden for an early bird tour of its GARDENFEST OF LIGHTS. The sun will set shortly after our arrival, leaving us plenty of time to enjoy the light displays in the gardens, the holiday displays in the conservatory, and shopping in Ginter's fabulous gift shop. In the early evening, a TACKY LIGHTS TOUR guide will board our bus to show us Richmond homes decorated over-the-top for the season. We'll come-a-caroling home to Cheverly before midnight. The reservation form can be found on the tour flyer attached to this newsletter.

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Club News (continues on page 4)

Fall 2011
Goddard Garden Club hosted a table reserved by District I to promote membership in National Capital Area Garden Clubs with the theme Come Grow With Us during a special event at Behnkes Nursery and Garden Center in Beltsville, MD, on June 4. Behnkes invited garden clubs and gardening-related organizations, plant societies, vendors, and others to exhibit and sell at this event. The Goddard club set up an eye popping, hot pink and bright green exhibit with large rose balloons waving overhead to attract new members, to show the public photographs representative of our District I clubs activities, and to raise funds for the NCAGC, including taking donations for Save the Azaleas tote bags to rescue the US Arboretums azaleas, boxwoods, and other collections. NCAGC Membership Chairman Babs McClendon created new promotional materials for the event, including business cards, brochures, and decals. District IV Director Bette Lewis, who has several clubs and members in her District that patronize Behnkes in Beltsville, spent the entire day at the table working with the Goddard club.

Goddard Garden Club President Christine Hambach (far right) presents a $50,000 check on behalf of the dissolving German Orphan Home Foundation to Kaifa Anderson-Hall, FONAs Program Director at the Washington YouthGarden at the US National Arboretum. Thereafter, the children gave Christine a bouquet of flowers. Christine, a Director on the German Orphan Home Foundations Board, worked with Kaifa and FONAs Executive Director Kathy Horan to get the donation for the Washington Youth Garden as the German Orphan Home Foundation closed its orphanage and gave away the remaining money to qualified childrens organizations. Below: A veggie birthday cake design at a garden fence in the Washington Youth Garden advertises FONAs th preparations to host the gardens 40 birthday party on September 17 on the grounds of the US National Arboretum. Get the details at: www.fona.org

NCAGC members pose for a photo at Behnkes special event in Beltsville in June during a visit by District I Director David Healy. From left: Goddard members Charmane Truesdell and Arleen Ankeney, District I Director David Healy, District IV Director Bette Lewis, and Goddard Garden Club President Christine Hambach.
Photo by Bill Dean on the ncadistrict1.blogspot.com

The Garden Post

Ten District I clubs received award certificates at the annual District I Awards Meeting hosted by Cheverly Garden Club on March 10.
http://capitolhillgardenclub.blogspot.com/
Photos submitted by Christine Hambach

A detectable, energetic vibe at the table attracted visitors and yielded results: - 16 visitors showed interest in joining a garden club and provided their contact information and others spent time at the table and took away handout materials; - One NCAGC coupon book and five Handbook of Design books were sold for a total of $80; - 17 donations at $5 each were collected for the NCAGCs Save the Azaleas tote bags for a total of $85.

Arleen Ankeney, Chairman

Fall 2011

Fergies Gardeners invites you to: 1) Register now for the Clubs, Board members receive awards at District Is March meeting

Potomac Watershed Trash Summit 2011 set for October 19 at George Mason University in Arlington, VA. Get the details at: www.trashsummit.org 2) Mark your calendar now to help clean up the Potomac River watershed this spring: 24th Annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup April 14, 2012

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Club News (continues on page 5)

Fall 2011

Mount Airy Clay Breakers Garden Club tours Jug Bay, museums nearby
Left: The first stop after the eco-tour was Duckett Cabin (c. 1880), a one-room, tenant farmer's cabin with a loft at the Patuxent Rural Life Museums.

Mount Airy Clay Breakers Garden Club and guests, including District I Director David Healy and photographer Bill Dean, took an eco-tour of Jug Bay at Patuxent River Park in June. They observed the effects of global warming and efforts to restore the marsh and the wildlife along the river banks. After the boat trip, some people went on a guided tour of the Patuxent Rural Life Museums where they experienced the history of human habitation along the river.

Above: Mount Calvert plantation house and museum under renovation, one of the most significant historical and archaeological sites in Prince George's County. Its resources represent over 8,000 years of human culture.
Source: ncadistrict1.blogspot.com Photos by Bill Dean

Editors Note: Since the groups June visit, the Mount Calvert Historical and Archaeological Parks website reports the house sustained substantial structural damage from the August 23 earthquake. The house and museum are closed to visitors until further notice. Regularly scheduled Saturday excavations will continue, and the grounds will remain open.

Above: This Great Blue Heron is more interested in fishing than concerned about the boatload of eco-tourists. Below: A team of young women head out to fence a section of shoreline to keep Canada geese away. By killing off thousands of resident Canada geese and fencing the others away from the shoreline, Patuxent River Park has been able to re-establish wildlife along the river banks.

Following another successful spring plant sale, Cheverly Garden Club purchased a park bench and increased its presence as a good civic neighbor in the Town of Cheverly by working with Cheverlys Public Works to place the bench in the park near the Community Center at Town Hall. The club will work with town officials again to plan a brief dedication ceremony.
Michael Giese, President Photo by Dave Kneipp

The Garden Post Club News

Capitol Hill Garden Club is giving away free, spring flowering daffodils and crocus bulbs for use in public spaces on Capitol Hill. The bulbs will be distributed in October for planting this fall. Individuals and groups are invited to apply. Applications are due by September 15, 2011. The application form is on the clubss blogspot: http://capitolhillgardenclub.blogspot.com The club held its annual, end-of-the club-year Garden Party in June.

Fall 2011
Shirley Nicolai becomes the NGCs 42nd President (from page 1)

Couples danced in the streets of Washington, DC, the night of the inauguration of Shirley Nicolai as NGC President.

Above: Club President Vira Sisolak addresses the al fresco gathering of about 50 members. Below: A few of the fresh cut, floral party decorations brought by members from their yards and gardens along with plenty of potluck party foods.

Incoming president Shirley Nicolai, left, at the podium with outgoing NGC President Renee Blaschke

Left: Capitol Hill Garden Clubs extraordinary photographer Bill Dean. Bill takes the fab pics seen on his clubs and on District Is blogspots and in The Garden Post newsletter. Thanks to whomever took Bills photo, thereby giving this Editor a chance to spotlight Bill for his work. Bill and his fab photograhs. Source: http://capitolhillgardenclub.blogspot.com
All photos by Bill Dean except the one of Bill Dean

An ah-h-h inspiring, white chocolate Capitol dome dessert provides the perfect ending to Shirleys inaugural at the gala banquet in the ballroom at the J.W. Marriott Hotel, Washington, DC.
Source: ncadistrict1.blogspot.com Photos by Bill Dean

District I Day at Franklins

Tuesday, November 8, 2011 When anyone pays for food, drinks, and/or merchandise at Franklins on November 8 Kid friendly and mentions District I, Casual dress Accepts credit cards Franklins donates 20% Good food Full bar of the receipt* to District I.
City parking lot at side of Franklins: 25 cents
(free parking at night)

*Excludes tax and tip

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL ANN, 301-773-1991

Franklins Restaurant, Brewery, and General Store, Prince Georges Countys only brewpub, is foremost a family restaurant. This unique Hyattsville establishment gets written up in Washington and Maryland media as a place worth visiting. Franklins serves up inventive dishes and American fare at reasonable prices. The adjoining general store stocks plenty of penny candy, toys, and magic items, and funky, kitschy, and useful finds for all agesa great place to shop for the gifts and stocking stuffers needed in December. Ask your club members, friends, and family to visit Franklins on November 8 and to mention District I when paying for food, beverages, and/or merchandise.

Making memories at Franklins on November 8 makes money for District I.

Franklins Restaurant, Brewery, and General Store

On Route 1 5123 Baltimore Avenue Hyattsville, MD 20781
301-927-2740
Restaurant & Store Hours: Tues., 11am - 9pm Bar closes at midnight. US 1 South to Washington DC

Hyattsville, MD

US 1 North to College Park

Logo left, photos above from Elvert Barnes