A Picture of Cathy C's Maine rock garden

Cathy is sharing a pic of her new rock garden. One of her many gardens in Rockland, Maine.  She and Lou  retreat to their Maine summer

home to enjoy seafood, fresh vegetables, cool weather and lots of interesting sites, fairs and garden tours to be enjoyed.  She is picking her great leaf lettuce on a daily basis and her sun good cherry tomatoes are just getting ripe. Yum!

Children's Day Care Program Schedule for 2019

We invite your day care classes for ages 4-7 to a FREE forty minute program on the life cycle of the Monarch Butterfly.

    

 
A Butterfly Garden Program Presented by Norchester Garden Club at Matzke Park Butterfly Garden

Each class lasts 45 minutes: A story in the Gazebo by Catherine the Caterpillar; a guided walk in the garden to identify plants and perhaps find a feeding caterpillar; a short craft. 21 children per time slot. Two teachers must accompany each group of seven children. 

Reservations required by Sept 16, 2019 noon.

Reserve by email: jyfitzgerald@comcast.net  

Phone: 281-469-3173

Please identify yourself when phoning so I do not think it is a robo call

         

Oct 1,Tuesday         9:00, 10:00, 11:00

Oct 9, Wednesday   9:00, 10:00, 11:00

Oct 11, Friday         9:00, 10:00, 11:00

Oct 18, Friday         9:00, 10:00, 11:00

Oct  28,Monday               9:00, 10:00,  11:00

Oct  29,Tuesday       9:00, 10:00,  11:00

See the garden at  www.matzkebutterflygarden.blogspot.com/

After you have made a reservation I will send you a required release form to be returned to me with the names of the teachers who will be bringing the children. There will be no rain date.

Matzke Park Entrance is on Jones Road, opposite McDonalds. The garden is beyond the building. There is a large playground structure near the garden. There are benches and picnic tables near the garden as well as rest rooms in the building.  

Direct voluntary contributions to support this activity may be made to:

Norchester Garden Club Children’s Butterfly Project, 10502 Brentway Dr. Houston, TX 77070

This is a 501(c) organization and is tax deductible.  You will receive an acknowledgment.

Garden in July

The garden is looking very attractive, given the heat of July.  Thanks to Ms Joan and the other ladies who provide the attention, improvements, and oversight.  The new bricks highlight major donors and contributors to the garden's development over the past decade.

Summer Greetings

This weekend the troops and I went to 3 farmers markets.  One had some impressive garden fields, plowed right and nice and green. Reminded me of my grandpa Peter's vegetable garden in Omaha, NB. His was mostly an asparagus farm, asparagus as big as your middle finger just delicious. He took his vegetables to a very famous farmers market in Omaha.  As a kid I use to have to pick up the bundles and take them to the end of the row. 

Have you seen the asparagus in our Houston stores! Skinny as a stick, flavorless and half is hard as a rock. 

Anyway, I digress to share with you what I found at the HEB at the Vintage.  

 Wonderful red watermelon from Dilorio Farms in Hempstead. Yes as good as it looks.

Cherries large, plump and not expensive.  Not like the early season ones.

Send me an email if you have found any good vegetable finds and I will post.

Sweet Olive Tree

Thank you Jennifer, for the excellent picture... It didn't transmit the first time so here it is again.  This fine tree is in our Butterfly Garden at Matzke Park, Jones and Grant.

Sweet Olive Tree in Matzke Park

Native to Asia, the sweet olive is a large shrub or small tree that is capable of growing 20 to 30 feet tall in mild coastal areas. In regions farther north, damage from low temperatures limits its growth, so it is more frequently seen at 10 to 15 feet tall. Nevertheless, those who can grow sweet olive are sure to include it in their gardens, for it can fill a large garden space with its fragrance.

Even when tucked into back nooks and crannies, its impact can be significant. The fragrance, which is produced by visually insignificant tiny white flowers that bloom in clusters along the stems, can be smelled from several hundred feet away. One might never notice sweet olive except for its enticing fragrance, for it is a nondescript, green, somewhat rangy shrub. Dark green, glossy foliage is borne alternately along the stems and it is attractive enough.

Sweet olive blooms throughout the season during mild winters. Usually, though, it shuts down for very cold weather and struts its stuff during late fall to early winter and again in early spring. Very long lived and infrequently bothered by pests and diseases, it can be found in many old gardens of the South.

Thank you Jennifer for picture.

"Lest We Forget"

Yes.. time passes quickly and easy it is to forget some of the past events and efforts that have produced what we enjoy today.  Such is the case with our Matzke Park Butterfly Garden.  In reminiscing a bit the other day we were reminded that a few years ago what is now a garden, playground and cricket fields, was a soccer field and untended "forest" just over a decade ago.  And this remaining green space at Jones and Grant was up for sale to the highest strip mall bidder.  But that didn't happen, thanks to community organizations ABCS and Norchester Garden Club.

This 16 minute YouTube video is an annotated slide show with music that documents the evolution of the Matzke Park Butterfly Garden and the role of Norchester Garden Club Members in its ongoing development and maintenance. 
https://youtu.be/YSDtotJKnuI

And a menu with links to many of the Garden Club Horticulture Reports may be found by clicking on this
    http://bit.ly/2ReportsMenu

The following few excerpts from past garden blog posts are a nice reminder of those whose dedication and work resulted in what so many enjoy today.

History of Garden Development  from a Feb 16 2011 Blog Post

     Thoughts and plans for this garden began in 1995 when an organization, The Association for Better Community Schools (ABCS), was formed to save the undeveloped property at the corner of Jones Rd. and Grant Rd. from becoming a strip mall. This 20 acres of mostly vacant field had a number of very old pine and oak trees. Over a number of years ABCS raised funds and worked with Harris County to purchase it from the Cy-Fair school district. The field was used for soccer with minimal maintenance until park development began in June of 2006 with a parking lot and restrooms.

      In 2000, Norchester Garden Club led a fundraiser to provide seed money, and initial plans were developed for a Butterfly Garden at the southwest end of the area.. An auction was held and $1750 was raised. (Garden Development then went on hold until 2007 when Precinct 4 installed water lines for us.)     

                                                 In September 2006, Carol Bennett became Project Leader for the garden project and at that time drew up the garden plan seen here. She worked with Precinct 4 and Mercer Arboretum to complete plans for a Butterfly Garden and Learning Center. The initial two beds grew into three more raised beds. Fencing, benches and a gazebo were also added.

     The garden is a result of many individuals and businesses donating money, materials, and labor. We received a generous gift for 2/3 of the cost of the gazebo, with ABCS making up the remaining third. The gazebo provides much needed shade, weather protection and a wonderful view of the garden. Our sign honors those contributing $500 or more towards the garden. It was constructed with the help of the Precinct 4 Parks Department. Invested in this project, as of December 2010, is $47,336 which came from grants, in-kind donations, gift cards and cash from community individuals and businesses. It does not include the donated labor required to refresh and maintain it.

     The garden has been accepted as a Monarch Waystation. We are number 1905 on the international and national register. Waystation certification has requirements that include sun exposure, drainage and soil types, shelter and density of planting, (shelter for all life stages), number of milkweed plants and nectar plants with sustainable management practices. Bleyl Junior High has a Monarch Butterfly Program for its students and release tagged Monarchs. Matzke Elementary School, just to the south, has brought their kindergarten and 2nd grade students to observe the butterflies. On nice days, teachers bring their students to enjoy the garden. We also have local people raising monarchs for release here.

Goals for the Garden:

• Create a beautiful respite for walkers, joggers and students
• Create a garden designed to attract and nurture Monarch Butterflies
• Provide a learning opportunity for the community and students
• Involve the surrounding community in building and maintaining it

In November of 1911, ABCS board member and garden supporter, Martin Heemer,  donated a fine plaque mounted on a bolder just north of the park office.  It provides a nice overview of the park development.