Slocum Garden Club

Is an heirloom plant a native plant, or visa versa? This was the question posed to members of the Slocum Garden Club at their May meeting at the Adena Museum and Gardens in Chillicothe during their annual heirloom plant sale which featured both. The museum gardeners offered over 160 heirloom flowers, herbs and vegetables.

Are native and heirloom plants the same? Wikepedia identifies an heirloom plant as a cultivar that was commonly grown during earlier period, but which is not used in modern large-scale agriculture. One school of thought places an age point on cultivars, with 1951 as the latest year a plant can have originated and still be called an heirloom, since that year marked the use of hybridizing. Everyone agrees that an heirloom plant must be open-pollinated; that no genetically modified organisms can be considered an heirloom cultivar. A native plant is a term to describe plants indigenous or naturalized to a given area in geologic time. This includes plants that have developed, occur naturally, or existed for many years in an area. In North America a plant is often deemed native if it was present before colonization.

Beverly Norman and Mary Beaumont of Slocum Garden Club are propagating the hyacinth bean (lablab purpureus) plant, which meets the criteria for a heirloom plant. Club members are also growing the mortgage lifter tomato. In the 1930’s, in Logan, W. Va., M.C. “Radiator Charlie” Byles, a radiator repairman, developed this plant. Without any experience in breeding, he successfully crossed the German Johnson tomato, with a Beefstake, an Italian variety, and an English variety. He sold the first seedlings of his new tomato in the 1940s for one dollar to customers who drove up to 200 miles for his famous plant that bore tasty tomatoes averaging two and a half pounds. With these sales, he managed to pay off his $6,000 mortgage in only six years, thus the name Mortgage Lifter.

Beaumont convened the business meeting at the Red Lobster Restaurant in Chillicothe and received the current reports. Two members, Rose Mary Montavon and Beaumont had completed a trip in April to Modesto, Calif., participating in the Modesto Garden Club’s Tour of Homes and Gardens. The Modesto club is the largest garden club in the U.S. with more than 500 members. Slocum and Modesto Garden Clubs have formed an ongoing alliance.

Karen Beasley reported on the Ironton-In-Bloom sponsored trip to the Biltmore Mansion in Ashville.

Beverly Norman, Region 10 flower show chairperson provided information on Scioto County Fair flower shows, which will occur on Monday, August 6 and Thursday, August 9. Several changes have occurred, for example: set-up for the Monday show will occur on Saturday, August 4. The new plant-of-the-year is Burpee’s Pop Art Red and Yellow Zinnia.

Work schedules were discussed for plantings and cleanup at the club’s beautifications projects at James Irwin American Legion Post in Minford and at Best Care Adult Daily Living site in Wheelersburg. Members were encouraged to participate in the planting of native plants in flowerbeds at Shawnee State Resort and Park, an alliance between the Park, Region 10 garden clubs, and Porterbrook Native Platns in Racine, Ohio. Slocum club is examining native rain garden plants for use in the Shawnee Park flowerbeds.

Shawnee State University is offering 4-acre plots in Sciotoville this year, expanding its Community Pantry Garden Project. Slocum Garden Club, located in the Sciotoville community for 62 years, voted to give 457 vegetable and flower seed packets towards instituting the project. The seed gift is being made in the memory of the late Robert Montavon, a well-known local gardener, who was instrumental in educating numerous young people in gardening through his “Green Thumbs” 4-H club.

Members will be visiting Springbrook Meadows Lavender Farm in Hillsboro on June 30 to learn how to use lavender in garden therapy activities. Anyone interested in joining the club is encouraged to call 776-4005.

Lucasville Garden Club

The Lucasville Garden Club met at the home of Joan Adaway, who presided at the business meeting, receiving the current reports. Adaway also provided the program, which featured a beautiful slide show tour of Keukenhof Gardens of Amsterdam.

The Keukenhof Gardens, located just outside of Amsterdam, is the world’s largest flower garden. This historic park has approximately 32 acres, with 15 kilometers of footpaths, and over 7 million flower bulbs – planted by hand. There are 4.5 million tulips in 100 varieties, and a Walk of Fame with tulips named after famous people. The Keukenhof Garden was established in 1949 to give growers from all over Europe the opportunity to present their hybrids in a live flower exhibit and it is only open two months of the year (mid-March to mid-May). As a part of this presentation, Anne Frank’s home was also featured.

The home of Anne Frank is located on a canal in Amsterdam and has been dedicated as a museum. This is three-story building, where the family was hidden, owned by Otto Frank, Anne’s father. The exhibit highlights all forms of persecution and discrimination.

Lucasville Garden Club will participate in the Shawnee State Park flowerbed renovation, on May 12. The annual Club Plant Sale will be held on June 9, at the home of Alice Barker. The club plans a trip to the Amish greenhouses on Four Mile Rd., Jackson in May. Continued to Page 2

Coleen Crabtree won a blue ribbon for her Iris Specimen and Melanie Hawk won a blue ribbon for her spring arrangement.

Green Triangle Garden Club

Gardeners’ Day Out for the members of the Green Triangle Club occurred in May with a trip to the Four Mile Amish greenhouse and the Mennonite bakery in Jackson. Located at the crossroads of two county roads, in a very rural area, is an old fashion bakery, with great doughnuts, breads, cheese, and pies. And across the way is a huge greenhouse operation, run in ancient terms, with a huge variety of plants and shrubs. Each religious group is true in character and dress, so a visit to Four Mile is like a step into another century.

Sherrill Day, President conducted a brief business meeting, with a discussion of the club’s participation in the Shawnee Park Flowerbed Project, with Dr. Frank Porter of Porterbrook Native Plants, Racine, Oh. and Jenny Richards, Park Naturalist. Members also were asked to suggest nominees for several club awards in gardening.

The June meeting is scheduled at the home of Marilyn Albrecht, and will feature underwater floral designs.