May 2021 e-News for

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May 2021

Volume 8, Issue 9

O lily of the valley, why do you so please the eye?

Other flowers there are more sumptuous and grand,

With brighter colors and livelier patterns,

Yet they have not your mysterious fascination.

Where lies the secret of your charms? What do you prophesy to the soul?

With what do you attract me, with what gladden my heart?

Is it that you revive the ghost of former pleasures,

Or is it future bliss that you promise us?

I know not. But your balmy fragrance,

Like flowing wine, warms and intoxicates me,

Like music, it takes my breath away,

And like a flame of love, it suffuses my burning cheeks.

And I am happy while you bloom, modest lily of the valley,

The tedium of winter days has passed without a trace…

Tchaikovsky

Even as a little girl, I was infatuated with the delicacy and aroma of a handful of Lilies of the Valley from my mother’s garden. It’s no wonder that my bridal bouquet was of the same but a decidedly more lavish bunch. A symbol of rebirth and humility in the Language of Flowers, Lily of the Valley also suggest a “return to happiness” which Tchaikovsky may have been seeking in his poem.

Lily of the Valley is not a lily but a fragrant herb and possibly the only species in the genus Convallaria in the asparagus family (Asparagaceae). Convallaria majalis, the scientific name for Lily of the Valley, translated means “that which belongs to May,” and is at the heart of our May Day nosegay tradition. Adopted from France's Fete du Muguet, the first day of May has been celebrated since at least 1561. When offered a sprig of Lily of the Valley, accept it graciously for it brings good luck.

We will have a brief General Meeting on Tuesday, May 11th during a short break between presentations at GCA’s Annual Meeting. The Annual Meeting is scheduled to begin the business meeting at 9:00 a.m. MST with Brian Vogt as one of the speakers. This session will conclude at 10:30 a.m. Our General Meeting will begin promptly at 10:30 a.m. and finish by 11:00 a.m. when the Club Projects will be showcased at the Annual Meeting followed by the introduction of the 2021 Honorary Members.

The tedium of winter has passed and I wish I could give you each a Lily of the Valley posie for good luck, the return to happiness you will feel when you are protected from this virus, and joy over the rebirth of a social life.

Mark your calendar!

Monday, May 3

Photography Field Shoot

9:30 a.m. Location TBD

Wednesday, May 5

President's Council Meeting

10 a.m. Meg Nichols' house

Thursday, May 6

Got Photos? Zoom Sharing

4:30 p.m.

Wednesday, May 12

GCA Annual Meeting

Tuesday, May 11

GCD May Meeting

11 a.m. - Noon, Zoom business meeting only

Saturday, May 15

eNews deadline

Monday, May 17

Flower Show Committee Meeting

1 - 2 p.m.

Tuesday, May 18

"Overcoming Your Fear of Entering a Flower Show"

Zoom Workshop, 1 - 2 p.m.

Thursday, May 20

GCA Program Perks

"Painting with Flowers", 5 - 6 p.m.

Tuesday, May 25

"Creating a Large Statement Floral Arrangement" with Kitzel Ruth of the Perfect Petal

11 a.m. - Noon, Nina Sisk's House

Garden Club of Denver

Denver Botanic Gardens

Garden Club of America

GCA ZONE XII

Interested in a

GCA job?

GCA is “Searching for Leaders” so click here for the Volunteer Interest form, located at the top section called “Searching for GCA Leaders!”

While submitting the form does not guarantee that you will get a position on a GCA committee, it is an important first step in the process. Please update your information on the GCA website while you are at it!

Need help finding a COVID Shot?

Call, email, or text Kathleen Thomas at [email protected] or 303-898-3900. She can help you!

Table to Farm:

More than Just Local

By Amy Mower

Table to Farm is a term that is beginning to shift the thinking for those of us who would like to support the farmers and ranchers that are using carbon management techniques. In this past year, GCD has heard a lot about regenerative farming and its benefits for climate change and food security. But what can we do to access the farms that are using these practices? It turns out that there are participating restaurants in the Denver metro area that are adding a voluntary surcharge to do just that.

In 2020, Boulder County received a USDA grant to encourage composting and food waste reduction. The grant brought two non-profits together, Mad Agriculture and Zero Foodprint, to create Restore Colorado. This is a private-public initiative to award grant monies to farmers and ranchers to support improved land stewardship. Mad Agriculture has been working on the ground with Colorado farmers to listen to their needs and goals. Zero Foodprint came to Colorado from California after starting a collaborative that collects a 1% fee from participating restaurants and companies. The resulting program, Restore Colorado, is an avenue for farmers and ranchers to receive the necessary dollars to spawn better soil, grazing, and farming techniques.

This is the beginning of a grassroots movement bringing the “power to the people.” Every one of us can help bridge the gap between rural and urban life by supporting the environment and our food system. We all know by now that to affect climate change there has to be a multi-prong approach. By frequenting participating Zero Footprint restaurants/companies, we can support this change. For more information, check out these two websites: Boulder County and Zero Foodprint.

Chart borrowed from

Zero Footprint website.

Program Perk

by Tish Szurek

Our last Program Perk for the year will be via Zoom at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 20. We will be discussing GCA’s video of “Painting With Flowers and How It All Starts In Your Garden” featuring Christin Geall. The video is available on the GCA website under the Videos and Publications tab. We will send out a link and sign up for the Zoom call in early May.

Photography Committee

Gets Into It

By Suellen White

The first Monday in April, ten members of the photography committee met at DBG for a field shoot. Everyone had their phone cameras aimed at the early spring flowers. From Fritillaria in the Steppe Garden to violas in the woody garden to hyacinths in the annual garden, the photo choices were abundant. But it was the Pasque flower (Pulsatilla vulgaris) in the Alpine garden that dazzled everyone.

The Pasque flower grows close to the ground to keep out of the cold climate. Its fine silky hairs help insulate it. This early spring bloomer provides essential early season nectar for honeybees. Everyone gave it their all to capture the flower’s beauty. Courtney Marsters took to the ground to “get into it.”

After each first-Monday-of-the-month photo shoot, we share photos on Thursday at “Got Photos?” This month we created collages with the application, Layout. (For those of you who want to know more about Layout, click here.)

Pulsatilla vulgaris, Pasque Flower,

photo by Suellen White.

photo collage in Layout by Suellen White.

Courtney Marsters at Denver Botanic Gardens.

Photo courtesy of theSpruce.com

Companion Planting

in Your Garden

By Alice Hughes

Neighbors can be your best friend, or you wish they would sell their house and move to a distant neighborhood. The plants in your garden cannot move away from their neighbors, so you must choose wisely how you want your plant neighborhood to flourish. One way to build good plant communities is to consider companion planting. Companion planting has been used for thousands of years, but it had a resurgence in the 1970s and has been active in the organic farming circles since then. While it is applied mostly for growing vegetables, companion planting translates well to flower gardens as well.

Certain plants grow rapidly, crowd others and take more than their fair share of water, sun, and nutrients. Other plants are outstanding citizens and do good by adding nutrients to the soil, drawing beneficial insects into the garden or by confusing insects in search of their host plants. By growing plants with good companions, you bring peace and prosperity to your garden town.

A good example of companion planting goes back thousands of years in Native American cultures. Three Sisters Planting is an age-old grouping that involves growing corn, beans and squash (often pumpkin) in the same area. As the corn stalks grow, beans naturally find support by climbing up the stalk. Beans, as all legumes, fix nitrogen in the soil, which supports the large nutritional needs of corn. Squash grows rapidly and the large squash leaves shade out weeds and serve as natural weed block. Good plant companions work in support of each other. Stop by the Three Sisters Garden at Denver Botanic Gardens to see this in action.

The stars of the companion plant world are legumes, alliums, and marigolds. Did you know that lupines, a member of the legume family, fix nitrogen in the soil? Alliums supposedly repel or distract rabbits, slugs, aphids and many other pests. Marigolds are considered the “wonder drug of the plant world” by producing a pesticidal chemical from their roots that controls certain nematodes, and they attract beneficial insects.

Janet Manning is trying one of Jodi Torpey’s tips from her Blue Ribbon Vegetable Gardening book (available on Amazon). She planted peas and snow peas in the large containers where she’s planted green beans in the past. The peas and snow peas will be ready to harvest when it’s time to plant the green beans; they will provide some shelter for the emerging bean seedlings and also help fix nitrogen in the soil.

For more information about companion planting visit these Websites:

Farmers Almanac

Fine Gardening

Gardenista

The Spruce

Miniature Arrangements

by Nina Sisk and Cora Wheeler

Several GCD members gathered in March for the Floral Design Miniature Workshop. We were reminded what a fun, quick style this is to brighten up your day.

This month we celebrate the talent of those participating and their lovely creations. "A picture is worth a thousand words." See below for some of the arrangements.