Garden Drawing Winner

Norchester Garden Club had it's yearly Matzke Park Butterfly Photo and Day Care Drawing Contest. 

This beautiful art work received the People's  Choice Award for drawing.  The artist is Arielle.  Congratulations Arielle, a really good good job. 

Each participant  received a certificate. The Crayons to Computers Day Care received a book about Monarch Butterflies. No photos were received this year for the contest.

35 bags of Mulch spread for Matzke Butterfly Garden

With the cooler weather, we had lots of help this morning weeding, spreading mulch at the Matzke Butterfly Garden.  Janet,Georgeine, Joan, Bill, Tim, Cathy, Carol and also Girl Scouts! Yep! Girl Scout Troupe 100203 and ladies came to learn and help.  Thank you everyone for your great efforts as the garden is looking terrific!

Janet in the weeds with the Girl Scouts!

 Tim talks with Girl Scout about the History and People of the Garden.

Look how lovey the Button Bush in the front walk of the garden looks all cleaned up!

If you enjoy the garden, please sign up for the Kroger Community Rewards Program!  All monies go to maintain the garden.   If you have joined the Kroger Reward Program then on each of your grocery receipts you will notice " 20016-20017 Kroger Community Rewards"  "You are contributing to Association For Better Community Schools". Thank you, ladies of Norchester Garden Club for your support and work effort to keep the garden beautiful.  ABCS (Association For Better Community Schools) is the original organization that saved Matzke Park from being a strip mall. 35 bags of mulch were purchased with the help of the Kroger Community Rewards Program.

Fun Time at the Norchester Garden Club Horticultural Show

Many members of the Norchester Garden Club participated in our Horticultural Show. Meda supplied the theme and decorations for Alice in Wonderland. She was the Red Queen!

Our Expert Judge Cheryl taught ladies the finer points and tricks of presenting show quality plants.  We had a wonderful first time!

 We had a fine selection of plants, wreaths, and cut flowers.

Thick Stem Begonias, non flowering plants

Cactus

Adorable

Educational, see the spinach vine?

Cut Flowers

We had a good time, come join the fun!

Good News from Kroger

Kroger Rewards has send a check for $107.85 for the period of 5-29-2016 - 8-27-2016.  Thank you to the 13 households that buy their groceries at Kroger and support Matzke Butterfly Garden.  With your help we have been able to make major repairs to the irrigation system at Matzke Butterfly Garden.  The Norchester Garden Club thanks you!

The Norchester Garden Club has a yearly challenge project for it's membership.  For the 2016 contest members were challenged to design one of Norchester's End Caps.  Georgeine and Cathy's design won first place.  Then the April floods came and the project was put on hold.  This morning their design was put in place. Tommy, Chuck, and Carol helped as well.

Working in the Matzke Park Garden early morning.  Great job of cleaning out the front bed with the help of the Precinct 4 guys Jonathan and Matt with Cathy C and Carol B.

HORTICULTURE SHOW

"Don't be late for a very important date"  Thursday October 6, 4:00 - 6:00 PM     Norchester Garden Club, Horticulture Show (Learn what grows well in Norchester).  

Come to  "The Mad Hatter's Garden Party" ...   

Norchester Activity Center  13439 Jones Road, Houston, Tx 77070 
                     
                Great plants and refreshments too!

September 1 Norchester Garden Club Event

Matt Raney came to speak and gifted the attendees with this table of plants.  We were able to pick out all that we wanted.  A most enjoyable speaker.

Shirley and Jennifer prepared the table of treats.  Suzanne (from Fairfield) helped prepare for the event  in Shirley's absence. Note the lovely table flower piece with butterflies.

Norchester Garden Club Mtg 9/1 plants given to Membership

Lovely table

Garden Helpers..Where Are You?

The Matzke Park Butterfly Garden is great but it sure does not take care of itself.  That task always seems to fall to the ladies who are able and willing to really get their hands dirty. This is a picture of what it looked like at the beginning of this week.. Until the faithful few showed up for a work party to deal with these weeds. 

Only Norchester Garden Club volunteers take care of the Butterfly Garden At Matzke Park. Help is always needed.  You do not need any special skills or gardening knowledge. Come and learn, young or old. 

 The Norchester Garden Club is in the process of repairing irrigation systems in the Garden at the cost of $1000.  The county does not take care of the Garden other than to mow the grass. Scheduled work days are in the mornings of Oct 7, Nov 3, and Dec 5.

Many of your Kroger Reward dollars helped pay for some of the irrigation and we will need to start paying for landscapers if we do not get enough volunteers. If you have questions or want to help out, please email to 
abcs.park@att.net

Don't Miss This One

The Norchester Garden Club invites all interested folks to our meeting on September 1. This is the first one for the 2016-2017 year.  We meet at the Norchester Activity Center, 13439 Jones Road, Houston, Tx 77070.   

Fellowship and refreshments begins at 9:30 a.m. The club meeting begins at 10 a.m.  Our presenter is Matt Raney, a Landscaper that will be bringing plants and fertilizers to discuss.  Come, learn, and enjoy.

Kroger Signup Time

August 1st.... it is time, once again to sign up for Kroger Community Rewards in order to help the Butterfly Garden every time you shop at Kroger and use your Kroger Reward Card... (or give them your phone number at checkout).    This needs to be done each year at this time to link your card to the Garden's charity NPO number 82607....  Association for Better Community Schools.  This is now a quick process if you have created a "Digital Account".  The instructions are in the Selecting an Organization just below.  Creating a digital account also links you to weekly coupons you can select that automatically apply when you check out.

You can tell if your signup is active and current by checking the very end of your Kroger Grocery Receipt.  If all is well, it will say you are linked to Association for Better Community Schools.

Kroger Community Rewards – Customer Instructions

A Digital Account is needed in order to participate in Kroger Community Rewards. If you already have a Digital Account, then please skip to the section named ‘Selecting an Organization’.

How to Register a Digital Account

Creating a digital account is as simple as 1,2,3! Simply visit www.kroger.com or download the Kroger mobile application from the appropriate app store for your device and follow these directions.

1.      Select the ‘Register’ button.

2.      Enter your information.

3.      Select ‘Create Account’.

Please make sure that you add your card number or create a virtual card number while registering your Digital Account. This is required for the Community Rewards program so that your transactions apply towards the program.

Selecting an Organization

Selecting the organization that you wish to support is as simple updating the Community Rewards selection on your Digital Account.

·        Sign into your Digital Account (if you haven’t already).

·        Select ‘My Account’.

·        Scroll down to the ‘Community Rewards’ section of your account page.

·        Select ‘Enroll Now’ or ‘Edit’.

·        Enter the name or NPO number of the organization that you wish to support.

·        Select the appropriate organization from the list and click on ‘Save’.

Your selected organization will now display in the Community Rewards section of your account page.

Any transactions moving forward using the card number associated with your digital account will be applied to the program.

It takes approximately 10 days for the Community Rewards total to begin displaying on your receipt.

Viewing your Rewards Details

Wondering how much you’ve earned towards your selected organization? You may view the total earned during the last quarter by following these instructions.

·        Sign into your Digital Account (if you haven’t already).

·        Select ‘My Account’.

·        Scroll down to the ‘Community Rewards’ section.

·        The amount earned will be listed as ‘Last Quarter Kroger Donation’.

Additional Details

You must present your Kroger Plus Card or provide your Alternate ID at the register during the transaction in order for it to count towards the program.

Organization selections must be renewed once a year, during the month of August. Simply follow the instructions detailed in the ‘Selecting an Organization’ section in order to maintain or update your selected organization.

Help

If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact our Digital Customer Service line at 1-866-221-4141.

Thank you for participating in the Kroger Community Rewards program!

Sincerely,

KCR Team

Janet (Norchester's Garden Club Matzke Butterfly Garden Director) Reports

that is it's HOT --if you can spare a bit of time, stop by the garden and pull a few weeds. It will only get worse as the summer and fall wear on.

The good news is that we have hired a young college student who is going to
help us this summer.  His name is Jaylynn.

The Parsley Hawthorn tree is planted.

The water is turned off as we have another broken sprinkler head in the button bush bed. We have a plan to fix this and future breakage of the water system.
Thank goodness we have had rain this week.

ABCS reports that the Kroger monies for last quarter are $78.04.  This money is specifically directed to maintenance of Matzke Park Butterfly Garden.  Thanks are due to those who have directed their Kroger reward card monies to ABCS. Don't forget to "re-enroll" your card beginning Aug 1.  This needs to be done each year by logging on to your Kroger on-line account.  The Park Garden's charity ID number for Kroger remains 82607. You can re-enroll at https://www.kroger.com/account/enrollCommunityRewardsNow  If you haven't linked you card to the garden's account you can also sign up at the above link. 

Keep an eye out at Norchester's 4th of July parade for the second year in a row the lovely ladies of Norchester's Garden Club will be in the parade.

Don't forget to check our blog for information regarding the Norchester Garden Club's Photo contest for pre-school and school children.  Guidelines are listed in our last post.

Matzke Park Fun - Another Look

Some of the following was posted in mid April, but is worth another look and options for pre-schoolers have been added:

School is out. The kids are bored.

Bring them to Precinct 4’s Matzke Park Butterfly Garden at the corner of Jones Rd and Grant Rd in Northwest Houston and bring a picnic lunch!  

The park boasts rest rooms, benches, 1 ½ mile walking trail, barrier free playground structures, picnic tables and 20 acres of open grassy space.

Bring a digital camera or a smart phone on a bright sunny day and challenge your and the kids photography skills.  

Look for caterpillars, butterflies, bees, bugs and birds among the butterfly weed, passion flower, butterfly bush, and other flowers both ornamental and native. 

The plants have been selected for food for caterpillars, butterflies and other pollinators.

Start a collection of what and when you have seen them this summer.  It becomes a great reference for later study.

You can also check the message board for what is happening in the park. Matzke Park is open every day of the week. The gardens are behind the Jones Rd parking lot.

Preschool Picture Contest - OFFICIAL RULES

All children in Harris County Texas between the ages of 3 to 5 are eligible to enter the Preschool Picture Contest this summer, with the permission of their parent or guardian.  Rules for the contest are as follows:

1. Entrance in the contest implies that you agree to the rules of the contest and have parental consent to enter the contest.  

2. The age of the contestant is to be based on his or her age as of June 1.

3.  A single picture (drawing, painting, etc.) of any one "Thing that Flies" in the garden (i.e. butterflies, bees, birds, ladybugs, dragonflies, etc.) may be submitted by a contestant.

4.  Submit picture along with your name, age, and contact information to 

Preschool Picture Contest

10502 Brentway

Houston, TX  77070-4004

5.  The deadline for submitting entries is midnight on August 31, 2016.

6.  Scoring:  Judges will award one point per picture and one additional point for the correct identification of the species submitted

The decisions of judges will be final.  Prizes will be awarded in September

Children’s Photo Contest - OFFICIAL RULES 

All children in Harris County Texas between the ages of 6 to 14 are eligible to enter the Children’s Photo Contest this summer, with the permission of their parent or guardian.  Rules for the contest are as follows:

1.  Entrance in the contest implies that you agree to the rules of the contest and have parental consent to enter the contest.  

2. The age of the contestant is to be based on his or her age as of June 1.

3.  Photos are to be taken only by the contestant, must only be taken in the Matzke Park Butterfly Garden and are to only be taken between the dates of June 1 and August 31 of the current year.  Please follow posted rules of observing without disturbing nature.

4.  One photo of each species of "Things that Fly" in the garden (butterflies, bees, birds, ladybugs, dragonflies, etc.) may be submitted by a contestant. There can be several entries of butterflies, for example, so long as each is a different kind.

5.  Email your photos as a jpg attachment, along with your name, age and contact information to ABCS.Park@att.net

6.  The deadline for submitting entries is midnight on August 31, 2016.

Scoring:  Judges will award one point per photo of each different species submitted, one additional point will be awarded for the correct identification of the species submitted, and one point may be deducted for duplicates of the same species submitted by one individual.

The decision of judges will be final.  Prizes will be awarded in September to contestants by age groups:

6 to 8,

9 to 11,

12 to 14.

Businesses and individuals wishing to support these contests may send a donation  before August 15th to:
    Norchester Garden Club Treasurer
    14606 Quail Creek Court   
    Houston, TX 77070      

Please make checks payable to Norchester Garden Club with "Children’s Picture Contest" in the memo. 

Nice Blooms

Some of us are still recovering from the flood waters and the endless issues and decisions that then arise.  NGC member Pat's flower bed is helping to brighten the mood....

Name This Plant

Found in a member's back yard.. we don't recognize this plant.  If you have the answer, please send an email to:  ABCS.Park@att.net

Despite the water or Because of it

We have had plenty of water in Norchester during the past two weeks.  Mother nature provided much more than was welcome.  And streets like Normont, Moorcreek, and Fawnview were particularly impacted.  Yet... here are some recent pictures from our member Pat who lives on Moorcreek where she found nature truly in bloom.  Plants likely totally underwater just two weeks ago.

Too Much Water ?

For many of us in the Norchester area.. our gardens are the least of our worries these days.. Even a few feet of water the the house is clearly a major distraction.  However, it is useful to understand some of the initial things we can do to save our plants.  The following is adapted from some information written by Angela Chandler and put out by our friends at Arbor Gate and we thank Ms. Chandler and Arbor Gate.

Angela Chandler is a lifelong gardener with a passion for learning and teaching. She tends a ½ acre garden in Highlands, Texas that includes ornamentals, fruits, a small experimental nursery, a flock of Buff Orpington chickens, and a Lab mix named Harley. Her gardening adventures would not be possible without her husband, Fred – always willing to help unload leaves, compost and help build beds. Angela is a member of the Harris County Master Gardener Association – Retired, and a member of the Garden Writer’s Association.

Climate analysts have reported their observations that we are in an El Nino cycle. El Ninos have an effect on tropical weather patterns. A recent South Texas Weather Conditions Update indicated that the growth rate of El Nino conditions in the Pacific Ocean this year is larger than any past event. They offer a 70% probability that these conditions will persist throughout the summer and 80% odds that strong El Nino conditions will develop in June and July and continue through next winter.

What does this mean for us? It more than likely means that we may continue to have these periods of unusually heavy rain. The Gulf Coast is familiar with cycles of drought and deluge, and many of our plants are adapted to it. But what happens when the periods of deluge are wetter and longer than usual? A lot of stress on our gardens.

Too Much of a Good Thing
All gardens need water, but sometimes we get too much of a good thing. Floods and long-standing water can be devastating to a garden. The damage that is done will depend on the duration of the event, the types of plants affected, the type of soil they are growing in and whether there have been any contaminants in the flood water.

When plants are subjected to water-logged soils for long periods of time, roots are deprived of essential oxygen. Water fills all of the pore spaces in the soil and roots can begin to suffocate and die.

Vegetables and fruits are more susceptible to periods of water-logged soils. Neither appreciates wet feet for any length of time. Herbs are also resentful of wet feet. Many of our favorite culinary herbs originated in the Mediterranean and thrive in drier climates.

If you have had heavy rain for an extended period, or have experienced a flood, there are things you can do to help your garden recover:

Don’t work wet soil
Working wet soil can do long term damage to the structure itself. Soil particles can become compressed, increasing compaction and exacerbating drainage issues in the future. This damage is not easily or quickly repaired.

Allow the soil to dry out for several days. Push a trowel into the soil and wiggle it back and forth, as you would if you were making a planting pocket for a bulb or transplant. If visible water is in the hole, or if the soil at the sides of the trowel looks glossy, or feels sticky, wait a few more days.

When you do start working, use hand tools such as a spading fork. Tilling with an implement has more risk of compaction than lightly cultivating with a fork. If you must till, save it for drier days ahead.

Don’t rush to replant
Soil biology is damaged when soils are water-logged for long periods of time. Soil microbes that require oxygen to live may die off and those that survive without oxygen may flourish. The anaerobic microbes are what cause soggy soil to have that foul, sour odor. Even good soils can be thrown temporarily out of balance.

This imbalance affects the availability of nutrients for plant use. The soil food web needs a chance to recover. This can happen relatively quickly if the soil was healthy before the storm. If sufficient organic matter, nutrients and minerals are present, beneficial soil biology will re-establish itself once oxygen is available again.

Many seeds have a tendency to rot in soggy soils. If you must replant quickly in the vegetable garden, support the soil biology with added compost, dried molasses, and perhaps supplemented mychorrhizae.

Don’t rush to prune
Stress from water-logged soil may cause some leaves on fruit trees and herbs to yellow and drop off, but the branches are not necessarily dead. New leaf buds will begin to grow in a few days. Wait until you are sure there is die-back before you prune.

Clean up the fallen leaves and any foliage that is rotting. They can harbor harmful fungi and bacteria that could affect plants.

Replace nutrients
Heavy rainfall can leach nutrients out of the soil. A light fertilization will replace those nutrients. Don’t overdo it. It is better to fertilize lightly several times than to push plants that are recovering from stress. Foliar feeding with Ocean Harvest can quickly boost needed minerals to reduce plant stress.

Use only slow-release, organic fertilizers that provide micronutrients and minerals in addition to the macro-nutrients, N-P-K. Arbor Gate Organic Blend is a good choice.

Epsom salts provide essential nutrients, magnesium and sulfur. In addition to aiding the uptake of other nutrients, these can help reduce plant stress. Broadcast over the new seedbed at a rate of 1 cup per 100 square feet.

Be prepared to deal with pests and disease
Water stress weakens plants. Weakened plants are susceptible to attacks. Fungal diseases are common after periods of heavy rain. Pull mulches back from the base of fruit tree, herbs, and vegetables until it dries out. This will decrease the opportunity of fungal disease spores to form and splash on leaves during the next shower. It also helps the soil dry out faster.

Be prepared to take quick action with organic-approved fungicides and pesticides. It can be as simple as a baking soda and vinegar mix.

Fire ants are likely to raise their nests out of the water-logged soil. Use the Organic Fire Ant Solution when they are observed.

Make an action plan for the future
One of the best things you can do after a heavy rain is to assess your landscape. There is no better time to identify problem areas and form a plan to prevent future issues.

Get a clipboard and a camera or your cell phone. Walk the garden making notes and taking pictures of places where water stands for long periods of time. Use this information to help you make future decisions such as raising beds, improving soil texture, and replacement plant selection.

You may decide that you need to seek the advice of a landscape professional if you find that drainage pathways are blocked by landscaping. They can often resolve these issues without destroying beds you have already established.

You may find areas where all that is needed is increased drainage in your soil. Use a permanent material such as expanded shale. This material increases porosity, which makes a healthier soil as well as improving drainage at soil level. Arbor Gate Organic Soil Complete can be used when both drainage and organic content need to be improved.

Make a list of plants that seem more sensitive to wet soils. Like it or not, storms and floods are likely in our area. If you have to replace plants, you may want to look for something better adapted to the possibility that it will happen again.

Dealing with contaminated storm water
If your garden has been inundated with city storm water, chances are you will have to deal with contamination issues. Storm water is often contaminated with raw sewage and hydrocarbons if the storm water infrastructure has been compromised.

If you have seen visibly contaminated water, such as a visible sheen of oil on the surface, consult a professional. You will need a professional soil test from a laboratory that can identify the contaminants and help you assess the situation and develop a remediation strategy.

Do not harvest and eat vegetables or fruits that are growing in the inundated garden. Washing and boiling may remove bacteria, but it will not remove industrial or roadway contaminants.

All is not lost in this case. There are natural bio-inoculants that digest hydrocarbons. Time and good soil biology will deal with sewage exposure. You can actually start with “washing” the garden. Hose down everything to remove mud and surface contaminants. You can follow this with a foliar feeding that includes compost tea in the solution. There are studies that show this helps colonize the leaf surfaces with beneficial microbes – a first line of defense against environmental pollutants.

Matzke Park Butterfly Garden - Children's Photo Contest

Children’s Photo Contest - OFFICIAL RULES

All children in Harris County Texas between the ages of 6 to 14 are eligible to enter the Children’s Photo Contest this summer, with the permission of their parent or guardian.  Rules for the contest are as follows:

1.  Entrance in the contest implies that you agree to the rules of the contest and have parental consent to enter the contest.  

2. The age of the contestant is to be based on his or her age as of June 1.

3.  Photos are to be taken only by the contestant, must only be taken in the Matzke Park Butterfly Garden and are to only be taken between the dates of June 1 and August 31 of the current year.  Please follow posted rules of observing without disturbing nature.

4.  One photo of each species of "Things that Fly" in the garden (butterflies, bees, birds, ladybugs, dragonflies, etc.) may be submitted by a contestant. There can be several entries of butterflies, for example, so long as each is a different kind. 

5.  Email your photos as a jpg attachment, along with your name, age and contact information to ABCS.Park@att.net

6.  The deadline for submitting entries is midnight on August 31, 2016.

Scoring:  Judges will award one point per photo of each different species submitted, one additional point will be awarded for the correct identification of the species submitted, and one point may be deducted for duplicates of the same species submitted by one individual.

The decision of judges will be final.  Prizes will be awarded in September to contestants by age groups:

6 to 8,

9 to 11,

12 to 14.

Businesses and individuals wishing to support this contest may send a donation  before July 15th to:
    Norchester Garden Club Treasurer
    14606 Quail Creek Court   
    Houston, TX 77070     
Please make checks payable to Norchester Garden Club with "Children’s Photo Contest" in the memo. 

Pat's amaryllis

Beauties  grown by a Norchester Garden Club member.

And... and invitation...

Please join us for the next Norchester Garden Club Program on April 7, 2016 at 9:30 a.m. at the Norchester Activity Center, 13439 Jones Rd, Houston, TX 77070.  

All are welcome. Our garden club membership include those from Norchester, Tower Oaks Plaza, Lakewood Forest, Hunters Valley, Anderson Woods, Cypress Forest Estates and Tomball.   

Bob Patterson from Southwest Fertilizer Lawn and Garden will be speaking on organic gardening. He will also answer questions on house plants and tree care (pruning, diseases).

A Helpful Reminder

Certainly most readers of our blog forget very little of what they read here.  However, there may be a few of us who need to "prod the mind" just a bit at times.  Perhaps these are some useful reminders.... about the features of this Norchester Garden Club - ABCS blog.

The blog posts display differently on a laptop or desktop than they do on a tablet or cell phone.  Some of the features do not show up the same or at all. And each kind of computer or tablet may also display things differently..  The following assumes one is using a computer but many tablets will offer the same features. 

Email notice of what is posted here.  Add your email to the box in the right hand column of a post and whenever a new one is added, you will get an email version of it.

Also along the right hand side of a post is a list of "Archives".  The blog has been posted over 180 times since the first one in Feb of 2011.  The first post was a brief history of the Butterfly Garden and the second a brief history of Matzke Park.   Another useful past post is October 29, 2015.  Here I describe how you can support the butterfly garden by signing up with Kroger or Randalls or both. As of April 2016 there are still only 12 families signed up.  Surely we can do better than that. Even so, the check for the last three months was for $59.84 and it all goes to the Garden through the Garden Club. 

One can click on a year or month and see just what was posted. There is a lot of interesting information in the past posts saved in the Archives. 

Also along the right hand column is a list of "Links we Like".. these take you to other web sites that have garden-related information that seemed worth noting.

At the top of the "Links" list is the link to a menu of all the "mostly monthly" Horticulture Reports of the Norchester Garden Club for the past few years.  Just click on it and the menu opens up showing the year, month, and content for each report and  each has a link you can just click to open the report right up.  Now.. what you see when you do this is a "view" of the report file.  You can zoom it out to make it easier to read, you can print it, and you can download it to your own computer if you like. You can't change it and you can't hurt anything playing around with it. Usually at the top of the screen you will have words or small icons for print, save, download, etc... 

The "Comments" option is found at the end of each blog... although hardly anyone ever leaves one.  If you see "No Comments" after earlier blogs, just click on it and leave one.. you can do it anonymously if you choose. If you found any of this post useful... please leave a comment so I know someone reads this stuff. And click the "I am not a robot" box so your comment will be posted.