President's Message...

Spring! The word has so much energy in it. And hope. As in hoping the tulip bulbs I planted last fall did not get eaten by squirrels. And hope that my plants made it through the winter. Every spring, the same flowers bloom, the daffodils, the hyacinths, the hellebores --nothing changes to much, but I get so excited when they bloom. It is almost like I have never seen them before.    I think we all feel that way.   

I hope you are all enjoying the weather. It is still a little chilly, but that is ok. We need to ease into summer. Things are looking up. People are getting vaccinated and we hope to resume in person meetings in September. I am looking forward to that. 

We are planning a ‘garden plant swap trunk’ get together in May. Bring your plants to swap or sell or give away, bring a chair and plan on having a good time. More details to follow.    
I took a stroll around Bayard Cutting Arboretum today. Swathes of daffodils, and crocus, and chionodoxa colored the grounds and lined the paths. The rhododendron are getting ready to bloom  (in fact, one bush did have blooms). It was very pretty. If you have not been there, take a drive.

Our speaker last month was wonderful. I never thought that solitary bees would nest in the older, woody grass stalks. I will be a little more judicious in my garden cleanup. Speaking of bees,  the other day I was cutting back a plant and I woke up a sleeping bee.   He startled me, but he was so cute.   
Get out and enjoy the early garden! Adventure awaits!

-Anne

Clematis

by

Josephine Borut

Learn about Clematis and how to use it in your garden

Thank You to Zoom

And...

by Carolyn Bantz

Recap of March 21 Webinar:

 Anthony Marinello Gardening for Spring: Ephemerals, Early Bloomers, and Pollinators

By

Ronnie Brancazio

April 18 Webinar 7pm

Ellen Ecker Ogden: New Heirloom Garden

For more information visit the Meetings Page

Boredom

Busters

                Virtual Visits

This month: 

Wave Hill Tropical House, Bronx, NY

Brooklyn Botanical Garden and Planting Honeyberries

Cook's Corner

This month's recipe comes from Kimberly Williams 

Good Mornings Muffins

From the Editor....

Spring has arrived! The flowers are busting out all over the place! Lots of cheery daffodils, bright yellow and purple crocus. The pink Corydalis are popping their heads out of the ground, and the hellebores are puttin' on a show! Speaking of shows, Hicks is doing a re-vamped flower show this year. It's is really a design show, ideas that you can incorporate into your own backyard. The first time I went I focused on the flowers, I was drawn to the bright colors of the Quince, a Yellow Tree Peony, the screaming red of Taurus Rhodie,

I really didnt' even notice the over-all designs. Today, 3/27 I'm going again and I will make a point of looking at the over-all designs to show you. Traveling companions are what make trips memorable and today I'm going with LIHS members Jane Jollon and Maureen Wawrzonek, it is the people that make events special. Below, I have a slideshow of the Hicks Flower & Design show. After the show, lunch at Finley's on Green Street in Huntington, in the igloo. They have wonderful Connecticut style Lobster Rolls and sweet potato fries!

Speaking of Maureen Wawrzonek she told me about a place that you all might be interested in a U- Pick Tulip farm in New Jersey; Holland Ridge Farms, it opens in mid-April, you can pick from over a million planted tulip buds, at just $1 a stem and just seeing millions tulips is worth the price of admission. You have to purchase tickets in order to go and pick your tulips, Holland Ridge Farms, 86 Rues Road, Cream Ridge NJ 08514, check out their website for more information: https://www.hollandridgefarms.com/u-pick-tulips/

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Check out the Garden Calendar page for the April To Do List - its time to get those hands dirty! I took lots of pictures of my spring garden. I've got a hellava lotta Hellebores and I just bought more!

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Don't forget to send in those beautiful garden photos to lihorticulturalsociety@gmail.com for the Virtual Garden Tours! You can send them in right from your phone just send a text to lihorticulturalsociety@gmail.com and attach your photos, easy peasy!

-Ann Wetzel