****Summer 2015****
President’s Message
Hello, my friends.
Summer is here and we are busy tending our gardens. The Cornwall Garden Club beautification
projects look lovely. Thanks go to all
who are working so hard to keep Cornwall beautiful. Your efforts are appreciated by many.
But don’t forget to take time to relax and enjoy your own
garden. That is what summer should be
all about.
Rachel
Plant Sale
If it’s Mother’s Day weekend, it is time for the annual
Cornwall Garden Club Plant Sale. This
year’s sale was held on My 9; and, with the Sands Ring Homestead still in need
of major repairs, we returned to the park grounds in front of the Cornwall Town
Hall for the sale.
Our plants came from several local growers - Devitt’s,
Hoeffner Farms, Wallkill View Farms and Orange Nursery. As ever, our growers sent us beautiful plant
material with lots of variety and in excellent condition.
The Silent Auction, Baked Goods Table, Members’ Plants and
Grandma’s Attic all contributed to a successful day. Due to the hard work of our members, we
earned enough to meet our budgeted financial goal for this year.
Thanks to all and a special thanks to Ilene
Osinski who will take a break after serving as plant sale chair for six
years. Any club member interested in
working as a chair for the plant sale next year can contact Andrea.
March Meeting
After a long and cold winter, Cornwall Garden Club members
welcomed spring with our Spring Luncheon and Installation of Officers. The event was held at Painter’s Tavern. We began the festivities with a social hour –
greeting friends and enjoying a delicious appetizing table prepared for us by
Painter’s.
Marie-Elise Pearson’s gave the blessing that brought smiles
to all.
“We have weathered your winter, and now welcome your spring.
We have gathered round tables, our friendships we bring.
The good Earth awakens, bringing hope yet again,
As we plan for its beauty, gather tools, call a friend.
How thankful, how grateful, how gladly we try,
To enrich what God naturally and yearly supplies.
So Lord, send us sunshine and rain in a shower,
We are ready; we are able; we have Garden Club Power!”
Lunch was followed by a brief business meeting. We thanked outgoing President Jayne Petersen
for her service to the club. We were
honored to have Jane Madis, District Director for District X, Federated Garden
Clubs of N.Y.S., Inc., as our guest. She
conducted the installation.
Table exhibits were creative stretch designs titled “Mother
Daughter Stretch.” As ever, the designs
reflected the artistic talents of our members.
April Meeting
“Successful Vegetable Gardening” was the topic of our
program for the April 16 meeting held at the Cornwall Presbyterian Church. Master Gardeners Edie Sherman, Lisa Ritweger
and Lily Norton from the Cornell Cooperative Extension shared their knowledge
on growing vegetables. The presentation
included what varieties to select, planting, cultivation and disease and insect
control.
The evening included floral designs titled “Staff of
Life.” The exhibitors inspired us with their
beautiful still life designs.
Michele
Farr’s horticultural exhibit of a daffodil provided a wonderful illustration on
how to properly present a specimen for display.
Linda DeGroat shared information from her recent visit to the Azalea
Festival. Eileen Wood gave a most
interesting horticultural talk about winter sowing. She demonstrated how to use plastic gallon
jugs as little greenhouses to start spring seedlings.
And, of course, no April meeting would be complete without
talking about the upcoming plant sale. Members
were given their assignments for the day and urged to assist in publicizing the
sale to friends and family.
June Meeting
The members of the Cornwall Garden Club hit the road for our
June meeting held on Thursday, June 25, at the private gardens of Mr. Arthur
Ross in Garrison. Mr. Ross has established
an interlocking series of gardens, often using native plants, to create a
gardener’s delight. He gave us a tour of
the gardens and explained how he built them from the rocky woodland. One of the most impressive features is the
waterfall, a rivulet running down an immense granite wall of rock to a koi pond
below.
After our tour of the gardens, Mr. Ross graciously provided
us with his beautiful deck – complete with a garden and Hudson River view – as
the location for our business meeting and lunch.
The hostess committee brought drinks and
desserts. Here is the recipe for one of
the cookies we enjoyed.
Lemon Oat Lacies
This is a light,
crisp cookie – perfect for summer. The recipe
is courtesy of Quaker Oats, and it makes about 80 cookies. It is easily divisible to make a smaller
amount; but these cookies freeze very well, so why not make a lot and store for
later use.
Ingredients:
2 cups (4 sticks) of
butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
2 cups all purpose
flour
3 cups Quaker Oats
(quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 tablespoon grated
lemon peel
1 teaspoon vanilla
Powdered
(confectioners) sugar
Beat butter and sugar until creamy.
Mix in lemon peel and vanilla.
Add flour and mix, then oats. Mix
well. Cover and chill for 30
minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°. Roll dough
in hands to form balls about 1” in diameter.
(Flour hands if needed to keep dough from sticking.) Place balls on an ungreased cookie
sheet. (Using parchment paper makes for
easy clean up.) Flatten each cookie to
about 2” in diameter using the bottom of a glass dipped in powdered sugar.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown. Allow to cool for 1 minute on the cookie
sheet so the cookie will firm up a bit, then remove to a wire rack. Cool completely. Sprinkle tops of cookies with powdered sugar
if desired.
Arbor Day
It seemed as though winter was back when we held our annual
Arbor Day Tree Planting. Although the
calendar said it was April 24, a chilly wind made us shiver our way through the
ceremony. 
Cornwall-on-Hudson Mayor Brendan Coyne joined our president Rachel
McKible in planting an
The Arbor Day committee will continue to care for the tree
throughout 2015. Frequent watering will
ensure it survives its critical first year to become a beautiful asset for the
Village.
Community Beautification
Cornwall Garden Club members have been working hard on our beautification
projects. Stretching from Chadeayne
Circle to the Village Bandstand, our gardens are looking wonderful and are
bringing the joy of flowers to our community.
State Fall Conference.
The Federated Garden Clubs of New York State, Inc., will
hold its Fall Conference on September 28-29 at the Poughkeepsie Grand
Hotel. Ann Bloom is chairing the
event.
The conference title is “Linking Friends, Sharing Ideas, and
Having Fun,” and the Tuesday, September 29, session is open to all. The day will begin with registration followed
by a presentation on floral design using supermarket flowers. Other morning sessions will be “New Plants
for 2016,” “Turning a New Leaf,” “Parliamentary Procedure,” and “Stretching and
Body Awareness for the Prevention of Injury in the Garden.” Lunch will be followed by the presentation
“Linking Fun Techniques in Floral Design.”
The fee for Tuesday’s events is $45.00, with reservations
due by August 27. Please contact Ann to
save your space.
District X Spring
Meeting, Installation of Officers and Luncheon.
The Cornwall Garden Club was the sponsor for the District X
Spring event “Vino Con Amici” held on Saturday, April 11, at Casa Vicina in New
Windsor. District X members enjoyed an
afternoon with gardening friends, a delicious lunch and a program on how to
pair wine with food followed by the installation of officers for 2015 – 2017.
Many thanks to those Cornwall Garden Club members who helped
plan and run the luncheon.
Garden Visit
When we think of Philadelphia and gardening, the spectacular
Philadelphia Flower Show immediately comes to mind. But the Philadelphia area is also the home to
several beautiful gardens that make a brief overnight stay most
attractive. Just a few hours away, these
gardens make a delightful destination for a brief get-away.
Chanticleer is located in Wayne, Pennsylvania, about ½ hour
from Philadelphia. The gardens were established in the early 20th century as part of the summer home of
Adolph Rosengarten, Sr., and his wife, Christine. The gardens include woodlands, meadows, ponds
and a cutting garden.
Located in Kennett Square, the extensive Longwood Gardens
are an interesting contrast to Chanticleer.
Much larger, Longwood embraces a more formal approach to gardening. The immense conservatories filled with exotic
blooms, the structured plantings and the Italian fountains all reflect an
organized approach to gardening. Longwood’s
grounds are graced with many interesting and impressive trees that add to the grandeur
of the gardens.
Whatever your preference – Chanticleer’s cottage garden look
or Longwood’s formal gardens – a trip to either – or both! – will be enjoyed by
gardeners and those who appreciate and love the beauty of nature.
Upcoming Events
Mark your calendar for the following upcoming events.
July 15 – July meeting.
Trip to Skylands, the New Jersey Botanical Garden in Ringwood, New
Jersey. Meet at 9:30 a.m. at the CVS
parking lot for carpooling. Please bring
a bag lunch and a folding chair. The
hosting committee will provide drinks and dessert.
August 18 – August meeting.
Cornwall Public Library at 1 p.m.
“Murder in the Garden” Nancy Kolacz will give a presentation on how
victims in literature met their untimely ends by poisonous plants. This program is open to the public.
September 24 – September meeting. Cornwall Presbyterian Church at 6:30
p.m. “Something Sweet” Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardener
James Alton Thomas will give a presentation on making jams and jellies.
September 28-29 – Federated Garden Clubs of New York State,
Inc., Fall Conference. “Linking Friends,
Sharing Ideas, and Having Fun” The
Tuesday, September 29, session is open to all.
Contact Ann Bloom.
October 14 – District X Fall Meeting and Fund Raiser hosted
by the Garden Lovers of Middletown.
NOTE: Change of date for the October meeting. Our October meeting will be held on Thursday,
October 15, at noon at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Cornwall.
Photographs for this Capers post by Margaret Vatter and Andrea Hamburger
Enjoy These Summer Days!
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