THE GARDENERS’ GAZETTE
l b i our 81th
81 h A
i
Sh i Knowledge
l d andd Love off Gardening
G d i - 1934 to 2015
201
Celebrating
Anniversary
Sharing
December 2015
www.lihort.org
Long Island Horticultural Society Journal
NEXT MEETING
DATE:
Sunday, December 13
Please bring canned goods & nonperishable items
PLACE:
The Conference Center, Planting Fields Arboretum
(Driving directions are on the website under the “Programs” menu.)
** PLEASE REMEMBER TO PLAN YOUR ARRIVAL EARLIER DUE TO
THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND AT COE HALL EVENT AT PFA
** NO HORTICULTURE COMPETITION, NO MAGAZINES, NO REGULAR
RAFFLE
** Yes Can Tabs, Yes Food Pantry Donations
Doors open at 12:30 pm. Raffles tickets available for purchase. Speaker starts PROMPTLY at 1:00 pm.
TIME:
SPEAKER:
TOPIC:
1:00 pm
Marion Romeo, National Garden Clubs Master Judge of Flower Shows & Floral Designer
Celebrating the Holidays!
TIME:
2:00 pm:
2:15 pm:
2:45 pm:
3:00 pm:
3:45 pm:
LIHS Business Announcements
Additional time to purchase tickets for Chinese auction
Santa and his Singing Elves
Start of Chinese Auction
Refreshments will be served
1:00 PROGRAM: Marion Romeo is a National Garden Clubs Master Judge of Flower Shows, a Past President of the
Paumanacket Garden Club of Wantagh and the Long Island Rose Society, and Superintendent of the Flower Show at the
Long Island Fair. She served as Federated Garden Clubs of New York State Second District Director for the Garden Clubs in
Nassau, Suffolk, Queens and Kings Counties for the term 2009-2011 and is currently the Editor of the Long Island Gardener
and Webmaster for the Second District’s website www.district2fgcnycs.com. Marion enjoys exhibiting in Flower Shows
and has received many national Garden Clubs top exhibitor awards over the years for her floral designs. She was awarded
blue ribbons for her botanical jewelry creations at both the Philadelphia and Newport Flower Shows.
Come see Marion’s demonstration of four floral designs to decorate the home for the Holidays. The completed designs
with flowers and containers will be included in the Chinese Auction, along with any remaining flowers to be bundled into
bouquets. Perhaps you’ll be one of the lucky winners!
HOLIDAY CHINESE AUCTION
A Chinese auction is a form of raffle. When you purchase your raffle tickets, you will get both halves. Place one half of
each ticket into the bags in front of the prizes you’d like to win. Keep the other half. When the drawing starts, if one of your
numbers is called, take your ticket with you to retrieve your prize.
For the Chinese auction, ticket prices will differ from our regular monthly raffle.
1 ticket for $2*
8 tickets for $10
3 tickets for $5
18 tickets for $20
We have received a lot of wonderful donated prizes, with values from $25 to several hundred dollars! They include gift
baskets, decorative items, jewelry, gift certificates, and more. The proceeds from the Chinese auction go to our scholarship
fund, so please buy lots of tickets!
* If you bring something for the refreshment table you’ll receive one free ticket.
President’s Message
Long Island Horticultural Society
WEBSITE: www.lihort.org
LIHS 2016 OFFICERS
& DIRECTORS
Barbara Loechner, President
Sylvia Cordero-Skidmore, 1st VP,
Program Chair, Newsletter Editor
Josephine Borut, 2nd Vice President
Patricia Sayers, Treasurer
Connie Knies, Corresponding Secretary
JoAnn Semeraro, Recording Secretary
Nanci Allen, Membership Secretary
Anne Schnarwyler, Webmaster
Directors
Priscilla Bauerschmidt (2016)
Judy Basse (2016)
Bob Conticchio (2016)
Bruce Hambrecht (2017)
Carolyn Bantz (2017)
Sharon Rubin (2017)
Luke Tursi (2018)
Ann Wetzel (2018)
Carol Kazden (2018)
In my first message to you as President, I would like to thank those of you
who voted for the new slate of officers for the LIHS Board of Directors at the November meeting. Our three new directors, Luke Tursi, Carol Kazdan and Ann
Wetzel bring with them diverse outlooks, talents and experience which can only
strengthen our Board. Jo Borut is now not only 2nd Vice President, but she has
agreed to be the new editor of our newsletter, taking over from Sylvia CorderoSkidmore. Sylvia has done a wonderful job during her years as editor and now
she will be able to devote more time to her duties as 1st VP and Program Chair.
As for me, I am delighted to be your new President. I believe that gardeners
are born optimists (we have to be or we’d have thrown in the ‘trowel’ after that
first growing season.) Having been a member of LIHS since 2006, I have lots
of ideas about how we can make our society bigger, more rewarding, and more
enjoyable. But my ideas are not the important ones . . . yours are. I will be talking
with many of you over the next few months to find out what you like, what you
dislike, and how the Board and I can make your membership more valuable to
you. I am also exploring the feasibility of doing an online survey of current, and
former, LIHS members to gather additional input. Please contact me at any time,
by email, by phone or in person. I’d love to talk with you.
The holidays are almost upon us and our plans for our December meeting
are in full swing. Last year, the Chinese Auction took in $1,500 for our scholarship fund. This year, I am hoping we can increase that amount. If 100 people each
buy $20 worth of raffle tickets, we can fully fund two $1,000 scholarships to be
awarded to worthy horticulture students next year.
In the meantime, I wish you all a wonderful holiday season and a happy,
healthy and peaceful New Year.
Barbara Loechner
HOSPITALITY TIDBITS
Advisors to the Board
John Danetra, General Counsel
Carolyn Bantz, Horticultural Competition
Email: competition@lihort.org
Barbara Levine, Trip Coordinator
Email: barbara@lihort.org
Bruce Hambrecht, Exhibitions
Email: bruce@lihort.org
Nanci Allen, Scholarship
Committees
JoAnn Semeraro, Raffle Chair
Barbara Loechner, Marketing Chair
Nanci Allen, Hospitality Chair
Sylvia Cordero-Skidmore, Historian
OPEN, Equipment Manager
All Long Island Horticultural Society members are invited to attend Board of Director
meetings. Next board meeting in December
at 7 pm, Syosset Public Library.
Reproduction of the LIHS Newsletter in
whole or part without prior permission is
prohibited. © Copyright 2015
WE WILL NOT BE
HAVING
A
REGULAR
RAFFLE at the December
meeting.
Thank you to all the contributors at the November meeting: Anne Mehlinger, Joan
McGillicuddy, Harriet Berke,
Carolyn Do and to those who
did not sign the raffle sheet.
Thanks to all who brought snacks
& signed The Cookie List: Chris
Douglas, Toni & Stuart Germain,
Laura Weill, Kathy Gaffney,
Dorothy Titus, Marcy Meyer, JoAnn
Semeraro, Carol Samuels, Muriel
Drew, Ronni Pollack, judy Dunn,
Patricia Porcelli & June Scher, and
to those who did not sign the cookie
list.
Pick up a FREE raffle ticket &
sign the Cookie List when you bring
in snacks so we can acknowledge your
contribution.
Donations Welcome
Please welcome our new
members at future meetings:
Jan Stewart, Levittown, NY
Susan Simm, Island Park, NY
Long Island Horticultural Society Journal ~ December 2015
We continue to request contributions for the James & Mary Lee
Fuller Horticulture Scholarship
Fund. Please consider making a donation in honor or in memory of family or friends in any amount. Help us
help worthy horticulture students.
Page 2
Horticultural Competition
Results from the November meeting:
Best in Show: Amaryllis ‘Red Pearl’ multi-media painting
Pat Sayers
First Place:
Eleanor Aldridge
Eleanor Aldridge
Priscilla Bauerschmidt
Judy Basse
Filomena Salamone
Filomena Salamone
Dried arrangement
Pressed Flower Design
Azalea, roses, holly berries, euonymus, hibiscus
Ilex verticillata ‘Red Sprite’
Savoy Cabbage
Coleus hybrid
Second Place: Summer Echo arrangement
Bidens, Helichrysum, Liriope, Tradescantia
Reblooming Iris ‘Immortality’
West Indian Pumpkins
Angel Wing Begonia
Nanci Allen
Harriet Berke
Judy Basse
Carol Samuels
Judy Basse
Third Place:
Harriet Berke
Dicentra, Knock Out Rose, Helichrysum, Heuchera,
Christmas fern
Honorable Mention:
Chrysanthemums, Salvia, Allysum
Chicory in pot
Connie Knies
Filomena Salamone
Thank you to the judges: Carolyn Drab, Ronnie Brancazio, MaryEllen Ryan
and to the Competition Clerk, Carolyn Bantz.
•
•
•
EXHIBITORS’ REMINDER
•
•
•
There will be NO Horticultural Competition at the December meeting.
2015 MEETING SCHEDULE
DATE
SPEAKER
TOPIC
All meetings begin at 1:30 pm, except for the month of May.
Sunday, January 25
2:00 pm
Vincent Simeone, Horticulturalist, Garden Writer, Lecturer
New York and New Jersey Garden Guide:
Getting Started Garden Guide
Sunday, February 15
2:00 pm
Rusty Schmidt, Rain Garden Expert
Rain Gardens, Part 2
Michael Veracka, Professor at SUNY Farmingdale,
Urban Horticulture & Design
Working with Bamboo on Long Island:
the Bad, the Good & New Opportunities
Sunday, March 15
2:00 pm
Sunday, April 19
2:00 pm
TBD
Sunday, May 17
12:30 pm
2:00 pm
SPRING PLANT SALE
TBD
Sunday, June 28
2:00 pm
TBD
Long Island Horticultural Society Journal ~ December 2015
Page 3
AMALFI COAST GARDEN TOUR SOLD OUT
Twenty members of LIHS will enjoy a garden tour of Italy’s
Amalfi Coast in 2016. The dates are May 7 -14. The itinerary will
include a variety of fascinating gardens on Italy’s mainland, as
well on the islands of Capri and Ischia. We will also visit several
places of special interest such as Pompeii and a spectacular duke’s
palace. Our base will be the 4-star Hotel Caravel in the charming
historic town of Sorrento. The price of this 7-day tour is $1,656.00.
This includes a shared twin ensuite room, full buffet breakfast and
3-course dinner each day, airport transfers via coach to the hotel,
tour leader, admission fees, local ground (and sea) transportation,
plus all taxes and gratuities. Lunches and transatlantic airfare are
not included.
Reservations for this trip were on a first come/first served basis
and sold out very quickly. If you would like to be put on the waiting
list, send an email to Barbara Loechner at gardenbee@verizon.
net, or call 516 735-8465.
GARDENERS’ CALENDAR
December 2015
11 11th Annual Tree Lighting & Visit from
Santa at Planting Fields Arboretum, 6-8 pm. No
parking fee! Visit www.plantingfield.org for
more information.
For more garden event happenings, visit Long Island
Garden Events at http://ligardenevents.wordpress.com
For up-to-date news of LIHS meetings, activities, trips, etc., check our website: www.lihort.org.
If you have any suggestions or comments contact Anne Schnarwyler: webmaster@lihort.org.
‘TIS THE SEASON . . .
IT’S TIME TO RENEW your LIHS membership for
2016. At $25 per individual or family, it is the best bargain
around. Please use the form in the newsletter or fill out one
at the meeting. And while you are at it, give a gift of membership to friends, relatives or neighbors who enjoy gardening and would like to learn more about it. It’s the gift that
keeps on giving. Nanci Allen, our Membership Secretary,
will happily accept your renewals (and gift memberships) at
the meetings. You can also mail it to her at 358 Centre Island
Road, Oyster Bay, NY 11771. Please make check payable to
LIHS. For those renewing by mail, membership cards will
be available for pick-up at the January and February 2016
meetings. Any cards not picked up at those meetings will
then be mailed out.
Each year, LIHS membership brings you ten meetings
that include informative education programs packed with
knowledge and inspiration, followed by a hospitality hour.
Almost every meeting includes a Horticultural Competition,
a raffle, our spring plant sale, and refreshments. We also
offer you 11 issues of our monthly newsletter to keep you
up to date with LIHS activities and horticultural news, and
discounts to select nurseries. In addition, there are trips to
local private and public gardens and well-regarded nurseries,
and on occasional, national and international trips to famous
garden locales.
Best of all, there is the warm fellowship of those who
are passionate about plants and gardening. But you already
know that! So spread the cheer, give the gift of gardening
this year and remember to renew your membership too.
LIHS MEMBERSHIP COUPON
New
Renew my/our membership @ $25
Gift ____ # of gift membership(s) @ $25 each (Attach separate
sheet if necessary).
NAME:
_______________ ___________________________________________________
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__________________________________
ADDRESS:
_____
__________
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____
_ ______
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___________
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_____________________________________________________________________________________
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_ ________
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_____________________________________________________________________________________
PHONE:
_____
_ _______
_________________________________
EMAI
EM
AIL:
AIL:
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EMAIL:
_______
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I would like to make a donation of $_________________ to the Scholarship Fund ______ Other _______
MAIL TO: Nanci Allen, LIHS Membership Secretary, 358 Centre Island Road, Oyster Bay, NY 11771
or bring to next meeting. Please make check payable to LIHS.
Long Island Horticultural Society Journal ~ December 2015
Page 4
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE OCTOBER MEETING
Corey Humphrey, our October speaker
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NOVEMBER MEETING
Our incoming President,
Barbara Loechner . . .
Barbara Gellar, our November speaker
talking about Green Roofs . . .
Barbara Gellar, our November speaker
talking about Green Roofs . . .
Laura Weill, LIHS President . . .
Long Island Horticultural Society Journal ~ December 2015
Page 5
Announced by all the trumpets of the sky,
Arrives the snow, and, driving o’er the fields,
Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air
Hides hill and woods, the river, and the heaven,
And veils the farmhouse at the garden’s end.
The sled and traveller stopped, the courier’s feet
Delated, all friends shut out, the housemates sit
Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed
In a tumultuous privacy of storm.
Come see the north wind’s masonry.
Out of an unseen quarry evermore
Furnished with tile, the fierce artificer
Curves his white bastions with projected roof
Round every windward stake, or tree, or door.
Speeding, the myriad-handed, his wild work
So fanciful, so savage, nought cares he
For number or proportion. Mockingly,
On coop or kennel he hangs Parian wreaths;
A swan-like form invests the hiddden thorn;
Fills up the famer’s lane from wall to wall,
Maugre the farmer’s sighs; and at the gate
A tapering turret overtops the work.
And when his hours are numbered, and the world
Is all his own, retiring, as he were not,
Leaves, when the sun appears, astonished Art
To mimic in slow structures, stone by stone,w
Built in an age, the mad wind’s night-work,
The frolic architecture of the snow.
THE SNOW-STORM
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Editor’s Corner
As I write, I am thinking of the spectacular sunrises and
sunsets we have been having. All those hues of orange, yellow, blue, pink, lavender and more bouncing off the houses
in the neighborhood and accentuating the white fluffy clouds
in the sky. It’s a signal to me that autumn is at it’s end and
winter’s arrival is soon to come.
As we await the closure of the autumn season, so must
other things come to a close. This will be my last issue as
your newsletter editor. I have enjoyed putting the newsletter together for the past five years, but it’s time to hand the
reigns over to someone else. Jo Borut has graciously volunteered to become the next newsletter editor. She has been
a long-time member of LIHS, serving on the board and was
the scholarship chair. She also put together the newsletter
for the Long Island Rose Society, so I know she will do a
wonderful job with our newsletter. I even got to have a sneak
peak at the new look of the newsletter!
It’s that time of year for pinecones and holly berries,
balsam and fir, white painted branches, magnolia leaves,
pineapple, and so much more . . . I hope everyone will come
to the December meeting and see Marion Romeo put together some beautiful holiday arrangements, which will be
Long Island Horticultural Society Journal ~ December 2015
auctioned off at our 3rd annual Chinese Auction.
We will also have our holiday party afterwards with our
singing elves and lots of goodies to eat. I won’t be at our
meeting this year, as I will be performing Handel’s Messiah
twice that day. I will certainly miss seeing everyone, but I’ll
be at the January meeting.
Wishing everyone peace, love and joy this winter season, and a very Happy and Joyous New Year with many
blessings, health and prosperity!
Sylvia
Page 6
REMEMBERING BOB WESCHLER ~ SUBMITTED BY SYLVIA CORDERO-SKIDMORE
The world lost a very warm,
giving and ardent lover of horticulture who touched a lot of people.
Although I only knew him for a
short while, this wonderful person
definitely left a lasting impression
on me. When I became the newsletter editor, he would make sure
he personally hand me the poem
he read at our meeting to put in the
newsletter. If he couldn’t make a
meeting, he would ask me to read
it for him.
I always tear up when I think of the last time I saw him
to pick up the can tab bucket to bring to our meeting. He was
so happy and excited I came by and showed me his garden
and the railroad tracks running through the garden. It was
in the winter months, but I can imagine how it must have
looked in full bloom. He explained how he began his garden
and the creation of each building, wishing well, and all the
other things in his town. He also showed me his black gold
compost and explained how it was made, and even dug a
butterfly bush for me to take home. I still have that butterfly
bush in my garden. I treasure those few hours I was with him.
Bob Weschler was born in 1926 and raised in Queens.
He graduated from Andrew Jackson High School in St. Albans, NY in 1944. After one semester at New York University, he joined the U.S. Army as a private and served two years
during World War II in General Patton’s Third Army, 4th
Armored Division in Germany as a Tank Destroyer driver.
One day while talking with friends about life after the war,
a friend made a suggestion that determined Bob’s life path.
“They were sitting around, asking ‘What are you going to do
the rest of your life?’ and one of his friends said ‘Why not
teaching? You always loved teaching.’
After receiving a BA in Physical Education and an MA
in Elementary Education from Adelphi College, Bob was
hired at the Waldorf School in Garden City as the first physical education teacher and woodworking teacher in 1951 and
did not leave for nearly 60 years. From 1951 to 2010, he
taught numerous subjects and classes at the school, including physical education, woodworking, gardening, stone
sculpture, driver education as well as ballroom and square
dancing. He also drove the Waldorf School bus, composed
the school’s first playground rules and regulations, was responsible for checking the student’s eyesight, purchased
Christmas trees and made decorations for all the classrooms,
created the school’s first fire drill manual and conducted official fire drills. He was also responsible for organizing the
first “play day” (now known as “Field Day”), sports night,
Holiday Faculty Luncheon and many other long-standing
traditions that the school’s students and faculty enjoy today.
Long Island Horticultural Society Journal ~ December 2015
In addition to teaching physical educaiton, woodworking and coaching team sports, Bob served as superintendent
of Grounds. As a Gardening teacher, he taught a block entitled, “Pruning as an Art.” Beginning in 1970, with the help
of students, faculty, parents and neighbors, Bob began work
creating the Nature Trial that today circles the school’s property. In 2004, the Nature Trail was named in his honor and
that same year, he received the “Spirit of Waldorf” Award at
the School’s inaugural Gala Dinner.
In 1953, Bob married his wife, Edith and were blessed
with four children. She passed away in 2011.
When Barbara Levine became President of LIHS, she
invited Bob Weschler to become our poet laureate. Barbara
shared: “He had spent many years involved with the Rock
Garden Society and was delighted to be able to be affiliated
with our group. We were lucky to have him. He was a very
active member who added so very much to LIHS. He was
instrumental in organizing our semi annual plant sales. The
guidelines he created are still being used today.
When our Garden Angels volunteered to help spruce up
needy gardens, I could always count on Bob to volunteer to
help.
Our board members were invited to vist his small but
incredible garden. It was a miniature replica of the railroad
line in the town in Pennsylvania where Bob grew up. It was
a memorial to his daughter Bonnie who died as a teenager.
As the trains rolled along over bridges and through tunnels,
the landscaping surrounding them was exquisite. Rock garden plants were abundant. It was quite an amazing place and
Bob was rightfully proud of it.
Bob presented me with a gavel which I passed on to the
next President. Hopefully many presidents will be able to
begin meetings with Bob’s gift.”
The gavel Barbara speaks of was made in the 1950s by
Dr. John Treiber, a dentist in Garden City and a dear friend
of Bob’s. He was the first president of the then fledgling Organic Gardeners of L.I. Club. John opened the meetings that
were held in member’s homes by knocking the gavel on a
table. The Long Island Daily Press posted a picture of John
and Bob as he handed the gavle over to Bob when he became the second president. The club became extinct because
no one would take over as president. When he became a
member of LIHS, he donated the gavel to the Society which
Barbara speaks of.
Bob will be missed by many. His poetry readings at our
meetings, the dedication and hard work he put into preparing for our plant sales, the lectures he gave at our meetings ,
and so much more that he contribtuted to the Society will be
missed. He was committed to the joy of teaching and sharing his knowledge to all his students of different ages in all
facets of life that he met.
Page 7
www.lihort.org
Barbara Loechner, LIHS President
67 Constable Lane, Levittown, NY 11756
Phone: 516-496-7011
Email: president@lihort.org
Sylvia Cordero-Skidmore, LIHS Newsletter Editor
25 Greenvale Lane, Levittown, NY 11756
Phone: 516-938-4788
Email: newsletter@lihort.org
Send $25/calendar year dues & address corrections to:
Nanci Allen, LIHS Membership Secretary
358 Centre Island Road, Oyster Bay, NY 11771
Phone: 516-376-3991
Email: membership@lihort.org
IN THE EVENT OF
INCLEMENT WEATHER
check our website
for cancellations.
The deadline for the January issue is December 15th.
• LIHS is now on FACEBOOK! •
SEND ITEMS FOR THE NEWSLETTER!
We are always looking for essays, plant profiles, garden
travelogues, etc. for the newsletter. Anyone can submit an
article. You do not have to be a garden writer! Send your
writings to me by regular mail to Sylvia Cordero-Skidmore,
LIHS Newsletter Editor at 25 Greenvale Lane, Levittown,
NY 11756 or by email at newsletter@lihort.org. After all,
this is YOUR newsletter – contribute!
IN ORDER TO MINIMIZE WASTE,
PLEASE BRING COFFEE MUGS
TO OUR MEETINGS.
PLEASE DRIVE SLOWLY!
Please be considerate of Planting Fields Arboretum’s
rules and the visitors walking around the park, and drive
slowly when driving through to get to our meetings.
Remember to bring can tabs. The collection box
can be found by the entry at every meeting!
Members receive a 10% discount at:
Main Street Nursery (631-549-4515)
475 W. Main St., Huntington
Oakwood Road Nursery Ltd. (631-673-0555)
223 Oakwood Road, Huntington
Decker’s Nursery and Garden Center (631-261-1148)
841 Pulaski Road, Greenlawn (discount only offered
on Mondays and Tuesdays)
Seemore Carnivorous Gardens (631-751-2581)
559 Route 25A, St. James
Kunz Greenhouses & Nursery (631-473-3720)
117 Hallock Avenue, Port Jefferson Station
Members receive a 15% discount at:
Bayles Garden Center (516) 883-6660
88 South Bayles Avenue, Port Washington, NY 11050
(All tool sharpening - pruners, hedge shears, loppers,
chain saws, etc.)
Just show your LIHS membership card!
I wander forth this chill December dawn: John Frost and all his elves are out, I see,
As busy as the elfin world can be, Clothing a world asleep with fleecy lawn. ~ Robert Buchanan (1841–1901), “Snow”
Long Island Horticultural Society Journal ~ December 2015
Page 8