Monday, April 22, 2024, 6:30 p.m.
The Garden Club of Kent Monthly Dinner Meeting
United Methodist Church of Kent, 1435 E. Main St.
Cost: $16 for meal and presentation; presentation only is free
Dinner menu: Cubed steak, mashed potatoes, green beans and salad. Vegetarian option is a large salad with egg and chickpeas. Both come with rolls, dessert and water, coffee or iced tea.
RSVP: By Thursday, April 18 to backyardpest@gmail.com
For many people, maintaining an outdoor garden isn’t realistic, but bringing greenery indoors is doable for just about anyone. The benefits of houseplants are well known. They are aesthetically pleasing (assuming one tends to the plants’ needs), and that alone has its perks. But studies show that houseplants can improve quality of life. They help clean the air you breathe; reduce stress and anxiety; increase productivity and attention span; and may even promote recovery from illness. Even the responsibility to care for plants — to keep a living thing alive — can add to purpose in one’s life.
Robert McMahon, Ph.D., associate professor emeritus at The Ohio State University, will present “The Captivating Allure of Indoor Plants” at the April monthly dinner meeting of The Garden Club of Kent. His presentation will summarize the basics of properly taking care of indoor plants and will include guidelines for soil, lighting, watering, air temperature, fertilizers, some common insect pests and Pythium root rot. A Q& A with the audience will follow.
“I have been a 'plant geek' since second grade, when I was hooked on gardening, thanks to my parents and grandfather,” said Dr. McMahon. “My first garden consisted of a pumpkin patch that took over half of my parents’ backyard along with tomato and pepper plants, all of which produced a bountiful harvest, and I never looked back.”
He earned his B.A. in biology from St. Olaf College in Minnesota and his M.S. and Ph.D. in horticulture and botany from Iowa State University. He was the coordinator of Greenhouse Production and Management Technology at OSU-ATI for 29 years, retiring in 2015. He is also a past president of Gardeners of Greater Cleveland. Of course, you can’t keep a good “plant geek” down. He continues to work in his retirement as a seasonal staff member of the Lakewood Garden Center.
“I now grow an assortment of container perennials, sensitive plants, carnivorous plants and Bonsai on our balcony in Lakewood,” said Dr. Mann. “My houseplants include three species of holiday cacti, three palm species, Phalaenopsisorchids, ZZ plants, succulents and a Shimpaku juniper Bonsai, to name a few.”
Each year, donated perennials are big sellers at The Garden Club of Kent's Annual Plant Sale, this year coming up on May 24-26, 2024. Now is the time to dig up this year’s batch. The ground is good for digging, so get out in your yard and dig!
If you have perennials you would like to donate, please contact backyardpest@gmail.com.
Please pot your perennials in one-quart or larger pots that do not have any printing or advertising on them (for example, Proven Winners or Monrovia).
We accept all kinds of perennials, but please note that hostas sell very well. (Orange ditch lilies — not so much.) If you’re donating ground-covers, please stick to the most desirable (i.e., most easily sold) varieties, such as Lily of the Valley, European ginger, sweet woodruff, periwinkle, pachysandra and all the pretty creepers — phlox, thyme, Jenny.
If you need pots for your perennials, feel free to take some from behind the hoop house on our property. Keep your potted perennials in a protected spot until mid-May, then bring them to the Ode to Joy for some final nurturing.
When you drop off your perennials: Be sure that they are potted and include documentation on the plant name and, if relevant, the color of bloom. Please leave your donations under the Ode to Joy overhang on the west side of the building. A committee member will take it from there.
WE NEED POTS, TOO! If you have empty plastic pots to donate, please place them in the bin behind the hoop house. Note that we do not need flats, cell packs or small pots; we need one-, three- and five-quart plastic pots.
The Garden Club of Kent
Grounds located at 480 Ravenna Rd., Streetsboro, Ohio 44241
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