The Annual Doldrums Gathering is a joint celebration held for over 20 years now with the Upstate NY Hosta Society, the Capital Hudson Iris Society and the Hudson Adirondack Daylily Society. We are gathering on Sunday, February 16th, 11:30 am at the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Albany County offices, 24 Martin Road in Voorheesville.

Anyone who would like to help set up should arrive about 10:30 am. Everyone is encouraged to bring a dish to share for the luncheon as well as contributions for the Door Prize table and a friend who would enjoy the talk, food and camaraderie. The Upstate New York Hosta Society is the host this year and they will supply the beverages, paper goods and the guest speaker.

Matthew Benson is an author, award-winning photographer, organic farmer and acclaimed speaker for the National Garden Club of America. Matthew is also involved in the restoration of Stonegate Farm, his 1860s Carpenter Gothic estate farm and studio in New York’s Hudson Valley. Matthew’s talk on THE PHOTOGRAPHIC GARDEN is a comprehensive visual learning experience for garden, landscape, and still life photographers. You’ll learn how to explore the garden with your camera; how to apply the fundamentals of composition, light and color to image-making and how to use digital technology to improve and enhance images you’ve taken. Most of all, you’ll be motivated to see like a camera, work like a professional, and imagine and create like an artist.

Looking for something to do during winter that will satisfy your need to see garden related topics? Take note of these lectures and programs coming up…

Berkshire Botanical Garden Winter Lecture
February 22, 2020 at 2:00 pm at Lenox Memorial Middle/High School. Tickets available from:
www.berkshirebotanical.org

Tom Coward will speak about The Legacy of Wild Gardener William Robinson. Considered one of the most respected gardeners working in Britain today, Tom Coward is the head gardener of Gravetye Manor, the former estate of Victorian “wild garden” exponent William Robinson. Tom’s presentation will provide insight into Robinson’s legacy and Gravetye’s unparalleled historical significance.

Spring Garden Day
March 7, 2020 from 9:45 am to 3:30 pm at Tamarac/Brunswick High Schoool. Registration form at:
www.ccerensselaer.org

Keynote Speaker Lorraine Ballato. She is an instructor at the New York Botanical Garden and a Master Gardener in the Connecticut Master Gardener Program as well as for the Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut.

You can also choose from 10 different gardening subjects or a delicious lunch provided by the Rensselaer County Master Gardeners.

Mechanical Removal:
Stiltgrass can also be cut using a weed whacker, mower, or scythe from mid-August through September to prevent it from going to seed. Because stiltgrass is an annual, cutting LATE in the summer when you see the thin flower heads forming on the end of the stalks stops the seeding process and doesn’t give the plant enough time to regrow. Do not cut it earlier in the season because stiltgrass then responds by regrowing, flowering and dropping seed sooner than normal and it’s how people end up with a lawn full of short stiltgrass >>>>>>So the best prevention is a combination of hand pulling when it emerges followed by a timely cut back of larger populations.<<<<<

What Happens if the grass starts to go to seed?
If you miss getting the grass earlier and it starts to go to seed you can solarize it by pulling it and putting in a CLEAR plastic bag. Put the bag in the sun for a few days and it will get hot enough to kill the seed or any seedlings that start to germinate. Even then do not put this in a compost but rather make an area on your property where you can dump the cooked plant materials and keep the vegetation covered with a tarp until it breaks down completely.

Mechanical Removal:
Stiltgrass can also be cut using a weed whacker, mower, or scythe from mid-August through September to prevent it from going to seed. Because stiltgrass is an annual, cutting LATE in the summer when you see the thin flower heads forming on the end of the stalks stops the seeding process and doesn’t give the plant enough time to regrow. Do not cut it earlier in the season because stiltgrass then responds by regrowing, flowering and dropping seed sooner than normal and it’s how people end up with a lawn full of short stiltgrass >>>>>>So the best prevention is a combination of hand pulling when it emerges followed by a timely cut back of larger populations.<<<<<

What Happens if the grass starts to go to seed?
If you miss getting the grass earlier and it starts to go to seed you can solarize it by pulling it and putting in a CLEAR plastic bag. Put the bag in the sun for a few days and it will get hot enough to kill the seed or any seedlings that start to germinate. Even then do not put this in a compost but rather make an area on your property where you can dump the cooked plant materials and keep the vegetation covered with a tarp until it breaks down completely.

Meagan and Graeme’s Big Surprise by Mussar, 2014

Many of our members have daylilies that are special and were expensive for them to purchase. As these plants grow and enhance our gardens, there comes a time when we need to divide them. What to do with the extra fans that we don’t want to plant back in our gardens? They would be perfect for the auction at the Members’ Sale. The Sale is meant to give club members the opportunity to purchase daylilies that are a cut above the ones offered at the public annual sale.

So, as you begin to assess your daylilies, remember the possibility of contributing to the Members’ Sale in May. And yes, I know it’s only January and the gardens are frozen and flat as a pancake – but don’t we all begin to think about spring and what needs to be moved, divided, added, etc.? Seed catalogs and spring garden catalogs are coming in the mail and websites are being updated for the 2019 gardening season. What delightful temptations await….

The Long Island Daylily Society (LIDS) invites you to join us Friday, July 19, through Saturday, July 20, in Long Island, New York, for the 2019 AHS Region Four Meeting. Our guest speaker is hybridizer Gil Stelter, owner of Gryphon Gardens in Guelph, Ontario.

The host hotel is the HILTON LONG ISLAND/ HUNTINGTON 598 Broad Hollow Road, Melville NY 631-577-1506
http://www.Hiltonlongisland.com
Mention “LIDS” to get the group rate of $165 per night.

Your registration includes the Saturday bus tour and four meals: Friday buffet dinner followed by an auction, Saturday grab and go breakfast on your way to three garden tours, Saturday lunch and tour at Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay, NY, and Saturday evening sit down banquet, business meeting and program by Gil Stelter.

Please celebrate daylilies with us on July 19-20. Visit with old friends and make new friends while we all have “Fun in the Sun” on Long Island—you won’t want to miss it!

Check our website for details about each tour garden, open gardens, our speaker, fun things to do while you’re on Long Island, and more –
http://www.longislanddaylily.weebly.com