******FALL 2015******

The past few months have been busy ones for the Cornwall Garden Club.  Community gardens were nurtured, meetings were held and trips were taken.  Here’s a brief look at recent club activities.   

July Meeting

In July, club members met at the CVS parking lot to carpool to Skylands, the New Jersey Botanical Garden.   The gardens are just south of the New York – New Jersey border, so the drive wasn’t too long.

 

The gardens were just beautiful.  Originally a private estate, a hardworking group of volunteers now does much of the work of tending the gardens.   We visited the Octagonal Garden surrounding the Octagonal Pool, the annual and perennial gardens and the hosta garden. 

Our tour concluded at the Visitors Center courtyard, where we arranged our lawn chairs in a large circle and enjoyed our bag lunches.  The hosting committee treated us to dessert, and we held a brief business meeting. 

Skylands is a terrific local destination for gardeners.  If you didn’t attend our July meeting, remember to make the trip in the spring when the azaleas, rhododendrons or lilacs will be in bloom.  And if you did make the July trip, you now know that visiting again is certainly something you should do. 

  

August Meeting

The Cornwall Public Library was the location for our August 18^th meeting, which was open to the public.  We met at 1:00 p.m. for our program, refreshments and business meeting. 

The program was a light hearted presentation on how victims were dispatched in literature by using poisonous plants.  Nancy Kolacz, the presenter, makes it a point to grow many of these deadly specimens in her own garden.   Nancy included much humor in her talk, and a good time was had by all. 

The meeting also included design exhibits using a line mass design and a horticultural exhibit of a toad lily.  Horticultural talks on sedum and genetically modified plants were given.  And no meeting would be complete without a lovely refreshment table prepared by the hosting committee. 

September Meeting 

“Fall Vegetables in the Garden” was the topic of our meeting held on September 24 at the Cornwall Presbyterian Church.  The meeting included transparency design exhibits titled “Looking Beyond,” horticultural exhibits a horticultural talk and delicious refreshments.   

                             

Fall’s Glorious Blossoms

Chrysanthemums are everywhere this fall.  These beautiful autumn days have been filled with their glorious color.  Cornwall Garden Club members planted, watered and tended chrysanthemums at various locations and in various ways.  

The Main Street urns sported sunny yellow mums and the baskets on the Canterbury Creek Bridge and the town parking lot overflowed with blossoms.  Chadeayne Circle was brightened by an assortment of different colored chrysanthemums.   And many Main Street businesses added to the festive air by adding more flowers and fall décor to their storefronts. 

 

The burlap wrapped mums used for decoration for the Sands Ring Homestead fundraising event were repurposed by the Garden Therapy committee as gifts to residents at the New Windsor Country Inn.   Committee members delivered the plants and visited with residents. 

Garden Club members also delivered a mum to our dear Honorary Member Jeannette Stowe.  Club members also visited Jeannette on her birthday. 

Winter might be fast approaching, but for now, let’s enjoy the final flowers of the season – the hardy and so very colorful chrysanthemum.  

 Fall Harvest Treat

Our local orchards have produced a bumper crop of fruit this year.  Why not use some of that harvest to bake a seasonal treat.  Here’s a family favorite from Tina DeSmedt-Wells.  

Grandma Market’s Open Fruit Cake

Pre heat oven to 400°Grease 8 inch x 12 inch pan (double the recipe for a larger pan)

½ stick butter (1/8 lb.) softened         

1 cup flour

¼ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon salt (or less)

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Sugar and butter for glaze

Fruit of choice – Italian plums, apples, peaches

Mix flour, salt and baking powder together.

Add sugar and egg.  Mix well.

Add butter and vanilla.  Mix all together.  (Works best by squeezing by hand.)

Put in pan.  Arrange fruit on top.

Place small pieces of butter on top and sprinkle sugar on fruit to glaze.

Sprinkle with a little cinnamon and nutmeg. 

Bake for ½ hour at 400°.  

Hen of the Woods

Dawn Vacek found this “Hen of the Woods” mushroom recently.  According to AmericanMushroom.com, the “Hen of the Woods” mushroom is an edible wild mushroom common in the Eastern United States.  It appears in the fall, often at the base of oak trees. 

The name “Hen of the Woods” refers to its appearance which looks like a chicken with ruffled feathers.  The Japanese name for this mushroom is “Maitake.”  This means dancing mushroom and refers to the fortunate mushroom hunter dancing with joy when finding a specimen. 

Remember that wild mushrooms can be extremely poisonous and eating some varieties can cause death.  Do not eat wild mushrooms unless someone highly experienced in species identification has given the okay. 

Upcoming Events

Mark your calendar for these upcoming Cornwall Garden Club events.  

November 17, Tuesday, at 6:30 p.m. - Workshop and meeting at the Cornwall Presbyterian Church, Cornwall-on-Hudson.  Learn how to make a “Fresh Greens Centerpiece” for your holiday table.  Those wishing to participate in the workshop should RSVP to Fran Clifford by October 30.  The cost for materials will be $20.00 for members and $25.00 for guests, with payment in cash or by check due at the meeting.   

December 6, Sunday, at 5:00 p.m. – Our annual holiday celebration will take place at the Powelton Club.  “A Season to Celebrate” will begin with a social hour at 5:00 p.m., followed by dinner and dancing.  There will also be a brief business meeting.  The cost per person is $40.00.  Please RSVP and send your payment to Brigid Flynn by November 15.

And Don’t Forget

Please don’t forget to complete your preference sheet for 2016.  The preference sheets are used to help in the formulation of our committees for the upcoming year.  When possible, individual requests are honored, but this is not always feasible.  Bring your sheet to the November meeting or send it to Michele or Marie-Elise. 

Cornwall Garden Club annual dues in the amount of $20.00 for active members and $25.00 for associate members are due by November 30.  Checks, payable to the Cornwall Garden Club, can be brought to the November meeting or sent to Arlene.