There is a peacefulness of letting go and allowing the garden to settle into fall. Growing annuals can be bittersweet for gardeners. So much work has been put into starting seeds, ensuring water and nutrient needs are met, careful pruning, diligent deadheading and concern over the unexpected storm. Then to watch these cared for plants lose their fruit, color, strength and also their allure to the grazing bee is a bit sad. BUT, there is also a feeling of satisfaction and relief that now nature gets to take control. 

Yes, I have much weeding, dividing and transplanting to do but as soon as I’m done tampering with the space, the birds, insects and reptiles can get comfy. They can find cozy crevices, hollow stems, and piles of spent leaves to bury into during the colder time of the year. Just yesterday, a stellar jay called out his thanks while snacking on a dried sunflower head. I returned his gesture with a smile of satisfaction knowing I can give myself permission to leave my garden clean-up for early spring. I need some fall rest too.

I hope you enjoy the fall and begin thinking about how your gardens might evolve for next year! ~ Laura

Orcas Island Garden Club

presents

Craig Cogger

Understanding Fertilizer Use for Garden Soils

via Zoom

(no in-person presentation)

Craig and Leif

Project Blossom

by Laura Walker

It's finally time to share daffodils bulbs with the garden club members and our Orcas community. Lilian Bergsma-Lefever, Nancy Reas and I spent a morning last week bagging up 1,065 gorgeous bulbs for a total of 213 bags containing five gorgeous bulbs each.

Come by during one of two pick up times (shown below on the flier) to be a part of this fun citizen science project! Orcas Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer your questions and to get you off to a successful start. See you there!

PLEASE NOTE: For an accurate study, we request all planting occur on either Saturday, October 19 or Sunday, October 20.

Try and See

by Helen Huber

After we moved into the new split level house in Hicksville, New York, my sister and I finally had our own rooms! Mine was a pale blue wonderland with an art table, creative supplies at the ready, Barbie station, and basket of library books checked out weekly. I loved my room and Susie loved her cozy pink one next door. When our brother Richy was born, my folks decided that he should have his own room, even though he could have easily fit into a shoebox in their bedroom, so Susie moved into my room, the larger of the rooms with two windows. We came home from a day at the beach with my mom to find that dad had painted our room (and the large TV that took up quite a bit of floor realty) Pepto-Bismol pink. Thankfully he dampened some of the retinal burn by installing white linoleum tiles on the floor shortly after.

Sonoma County Apple Cake Recipe

by Bill and Lene Symes

We learned this recipe from my mother, Sara Symes – where she got it is lost in the mists of time, maybe from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat around County Fair time. Western Sonoma County was the center of a well-developed apple industry when we moved there in the 50s, going back many decades. The hills around Sebastopol were covered with orchards, with Gravenstein the dominant variety alongside Jonathan, Delicious, Greening, Spitzenberg, and other types. Most of that is gone, the trees ripped out and the hills re-planted with vine, as wine grapes are a much better cash crop nowadays. Just as on Orcas, you can find a few old trees hanging on here and there, and some folks plant new ones. Our twelve-year-old standard Gravenstein is now producing the raw material for many apple cakes, crisps, and other early-fall delights. Gravs only keep for perhaps a month in the fridge. After that, we use better keepers, like Akane, Liberty, and Pink Pearl, and late apples such as Cox’s Orange Pippin, Ananas Reinette, and Ashmead Kernel, whatever has produced well this year.

"In the rain the sodden leaffloor shudders faintly as if ruffling its feathers; it is time when bark hangs from old birch and poplar trees, like rags, and the moss gains new foothold on the sodden cedar trunk leaning out over the water..."



Robert Bly

Where Plants Grow as Slowly as My Motivation to Weed

by Suzette Lamb

One of the things that surprised me about Orcas was the varied micro-climates on the island. Driving from our place in East-est Orcas over to the Bullock Homestead often means a 5-10 degree temperature difference. But even between these far reaches, there is so much diversity in the land that my eyes never get bored of discovering something new. That same thing applies on our property.

Bats in Your Belfry?

by Russel Barsh, Director, Kwiaht

Every August, about the time that bat pups take their first flights, we receive dozens of calls from anxious homeowners that have discovered a bat or two in a bedroom or attic, or dozing beneath the eaves above their deck. It’s usually a disoriented pup that wandered in through an open unscreened window or door; or a few lonely male bats looking for a warm roost for the colder days that lay ahead. Happily, bats are good neighbors. They never bite unless handled or harmed; and thus far only a single bat in the islands has ever tested positive for rabies. On the contrary, living with island bats is a boon to gardeners. Bats are voracious consumers of swarming insects in summer and moths and ground beetles in winter. Bat guano is such good garden fertilizer that island hardware stores often sell it by the boxful!

Feel like an adventure?

The Orcas Library offers BAT DETECTORS!

Under 'Equipment Rentals', check out a kit, grab a friend and see if you can find a Townsend's bat!

Welcome to our nature studio where each month, the Orcas Island Garden Club will feature a different artist who has created diverse, beautiful artwork.

This month, we are featuring hand sketching with Hailee Stringfellow!

Sustainable Fashion Inspired by Nature

by Hailee Stringfellow

I grew up developing a strong love of art and science and how they can come together and create something unique. I started designing clothing and creating fashion prints about 9 years ago. I've always tried to include my passion for nature, fashion, and sustainability into my work. But I do enjoy doodling and digital art.

In my day-to-day life, I am the lead designer at a merino wool company called Wool&. However, when I'm not there, I'm usually out working in my yard on new projects and learning how to grow pumpkins and welcome more bees. I recently bought a home built in 1928 with a large landscape and plenty of room to build my dream garden. I joined the Garden Club earlier this year because I love the community and connections, as well as supporting my mom (Laura) in her passion.

Do you want to showcase your creative side? Is there someone in your life who has expressed great passion with art, nature, or gardening? We would love to showcase these talents in our newsletter!

October in the Kitchen Garden

by Ken Wood

This month’s topic is SEED SAVING. But not with a focus on the infinite details of HOW. I want to discuss some reasons WHY we should save seeds from our Kitchen Garden. (I highly recommend visiting the Seed Library at the public library for access to seeds and how-to information).

Welcome to our brand new series of garden travels. Each month we will feature a garden visit shared by our garden club members. Walk with them as they discover hidden gems and get inspired to visit these treasured places.

This month, we are visiting AMSTERDAM!

Tiptoeing Through the Tulips

by Robin Sullivan

It's always been a dream of mine to tiptoe through the tulips in Holland. The bountiful array of palettes and motifs that tulip gardens offer leave me fascinated with the genus, and after years of putting it off, this Spring, I finally had the opportunity to visit the Keukenhof Gardens in the Netherlands.

Meet the individuals leading this amazing club. Be on the lookout for more introductions of other leaders and contributors in upcoming newsletters.



Here's what we grew over the summer...

Jenny Pederson

After forty years, Jenny is stepping down as Darvill’s Book Store owner. Jenny’s parents bought the store from Fred Darvill, officially opening Darvill’s Bookstore in 1976. Jenny worked at a book wholesale distributor in Seattle, then bought the store from her parents in 1984, continuing the legacy of sales and service to the community. Her last day will be November 1st.

CHRYSANTHEMUMS - Tell them you love them

by Carol Owens

Feel the sun kiss your skin. Get your nail beds dirty, and let it soak in for a bit.  

What a blessing, this wild world; what a riot of life and death. Gratitude for life, and remembering...Ohio State University, fall of 1961. A student there, my digs were next door to the hospital, close enough for me to hear the roars as the Buckeyes made another touchdown. Huge golden Mums decorated mouton jackets - Mums; meaningful in so many ways...

September Garden Club Program - WINNER

Congratulations to Geri Turnoy (pictured left) for winning the plant at last month's Program Presentation!

Heath and Heather: One Take Away from Karla (presenter)

A simple difference between a heath and heather is that heaths have needles and heathers have scaly foliage. Heath is in the genus Erica while true heathers are the Calluna vulgaris.

Just look at this beautiful and bountiful harvest from Perri's garden!

Bee-yond Amazing Workshop!

Twenty-one folks eager to learn all about bees showed up for the Mason Bee Cocoon Workshop! We listened to information about mason bees, leafcutter bees and other interesting things we might discover in the tubes. We learned about their lifecycle and how we could care for wonderful creatures. Tubes were cracked open, and the cocoons were carefully extracted, washed and dried. Hairy fingered mites were observed under the microscope. Participants had great fun and hundreds of bees were harvested that day. Thank you to everyone who attended!

Can You Spot a Noxious Weed?

Jason Ontjes led a group of members on a noxious weed walk during a beautiful September morning. We were able to identify probably a dozen different noxious and invasive plants. People were amazed at what they learned! We looked at leaf shape, structure and even the smell of the plants. Participants found it very helpful to see these plants in person and asked lots of good questions.

Visit this link to learn more about noxious weeds!

Amy with Canary Weed Grass

Poison Hemlock

Learning and identifying various weeds

Building Soil: A Down-to-Earth Approach: Natural Solutions for Better Gardens & Yards

Author Elizabeth Murphy

Building Soil by Elizabeth Murphy is a simple book full of practical, up-to-date information about building healthy soils. Simple methods perfect for the home gardener's use put healthy, organic soil within everyone's reach. You don't need a degree in soil management to understand this book; you only need a yard or garden and the desire to improve it at the most basic level.

Congratulations to Elizabeth Star for winning the raffle!

Thank you to Darvill’s Bookstore for donating the book, "Building Soil: A Down-to-Earth Approach: Natural Solutions for Better Gardens & Yards" by Elizabeth Murphy!

A Season of Flowering Plants on Patos Island

by Teresa Webster, PhD, Bioinformatics Scientist, San Juan Islands WSU Master Gardener Intern

In this article I present a 2024 photo survey of native and non-native flowering plants on Patos Island. Due to Patos Island’s unique history, many native plants grow on this island. These plant populations may provide a glimpse of the native plant diversity in the San Juan Islands prior to European colonization. Native plants are important to study and grow, because they have evolved over time to adapt to their local environment, which is critical in this era of climate change challenges.  

Non-native Patos plants are also important to survey, because many are part of the lighthouse keeper history of the island. Finally, as a gardener, who carefully tends her cultivated flowers, I find it humbling to observe how these beautiful wildflowers can flourish without human intervention, showing how plants can thrive in a healthy ecosystem of undisturbed soil.

Save the Date: December 11th

Members! Please help us by collecting clear glass containers large enough to place your hand in for our creative project — Terrariums! If you find them with lids it would be even better. Perhaps you have a special one you intend to bring to the event. Great! Please let us know so we can adjust how many we need to find.

Special thanks to Robin Sullivan, Perri Gibbons, Debra Nicols and the Exchange for collecting and donating clear glass containers for our project!

We want everyone to be able to take one home so please contact Laura with any glass containers you find.

Join the Garden Tour Leadership Team!

Would you like to help us create a great garden tour for 2025?

Each year, our garden tour planning committee works together as a team to create our annual Orcas Island Garden Tour.

This year, we need a Garden Tour Co-leader to help us create a great garden tour for 2025. During the fall, we’ll visit and select gardens for the tour. In the spring, we’ll plan special activities for each garden and work with all our garden owners and volunteers as we get ready to welcome our community and visitors to explore some beautiful gardens on our island. If you’re interested in joining our planning team to help us create the 2025 garden tour, please contact us at oigcprez@gmail.com

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2024-2025 Membership to date: 134