Mt. Cuba News

Dear gardening friends,

Thanks to Mother Nature, spring seems to have arrived rather early this year. The warm temperatures have drawn out early blooms and the smell of the season is in the air. What are you seeing in your garden right now?

Please check your mailboxes this week to see our Spring-Summer 2012 Program Guide. There are many new classes to enjoy - everything from field trips to art classes to always popular hands-on workshops. Jack Hubley, tv personality from Lancaster, PA, and Judy Glattstein, author of several gardening books, will be making guest appearances here and we hope to see you too.

Mark your calendars for two very special events coming up in the next few months. The Eighth Annual Wildflower Celebration is Sunday, April 29, from 10AM to 4PM here in our glorious gardens - as always, admission is free. On Friday, May 11, Mt. Cuba Center will be open from 10AM to 3 PM in honor of National Public Gardens Day. Admission is free, free-strolling is encouraged, plus there will be plant giveaways and family fun activities. Two chances this spring to see Mt. Cuba Center in all of our spring time beauty!

For more information and to register for tours and classes, visit www.mtcubacenter.org, or call 302-239-4244. As always, whether it's onsite or online, I look forward to sharing the beauty of Mt. Cuba Center with you.

Sincerely,

Eileen Boyle

Director of Education & Research

SPADE AND TROWEL CLUB CATCHES A WAVE FOR

Hawaii: Islands of Aloha, theme of the 2012 Philadelphia International Flower Show, inspires the creativity and imagination of local garden club members putting finishing touches on their upscale Store Window, a Competitive Class exhibit.

 A switch for these ladies (and gents) who usually choose an exhibit demonstrating their landscape design expertise, Spade and Trowel Club’s display which they titled “Here’s Looking at You” features window dressing for an eyewear and accessories boutique and requires decorative use of fresh flowers to tell the story. The class, “Ala Moana Boulevard,” will be judged on Saturday March 3 and again on Wednesday March 7.

 Co-chairs Sharon Small, Margaret Hennes and Jane Owen, all of Kennett Square, and their energetic committee have been meeting since May of 2011 to develop the plan for this exhibit. Other contributors are Alice Bucher, Tala Graham, Sandy Yeatman, Jackie Blake, Ann Bryce, Caryn Hetherston, Edythe Joines, Gerrie Lunger, Nancy Olson, Kurt Wolter, Suzanne Pusey, Kris Qualls, Jon Olson and Rod Ellingsworth.

 Jane Owen and Tala Graham of Kennett Square ‘s Spade and Trowel Club

admire Tillandsia (air plants) and Orchids at Waldor Orchids in Linwood NJ.            

The Flower Show opens March 3 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia for members of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, and March 4-11 for the general public. Go to www.theflowershow.com for more information.  The new FlowerShow app for smartphones, available on or about February 20, provides maps, calendar of events and schedules of performances, lectures and demonstrations, lists of exhibitors and vendors and much more.

Mt. Cuba News

Dear gardening friends -

I'm inviting you to get connected online at Mt. Cuba Center Connect! Today marks the release of our third distance learning class, "Moss Gardening." I'm so excited about this new addition to our program that I'm offering the friends of Mt. Cuba Center a discount on the price of the class. Instead of $25, use the promotion code "bluets" when purchasing the class, and you'll pay just $20.

In the class, you'll find videos featuring two of our most moss-savvy gardeners, Renee Kemmerer and Marcie Weigelt. Renee will show you how to select and prepare your site for growing, how to encourage moss that may already be there, and how to transplant from another site. Marcie wields her flat-blade knife and demonstrates the process of removing moss in preparation for transplanting, as well as how to keep your moss bed clean - a "very Zen-like" experience, according to Marcie! Our guest instructor is Dr. Alice Waegel, who shares her knowledge of the biology of mosses.

This is the one class that I know will always fill up quickly when we offer it onsite at our wonderful moss bank. With the online class, there's unlimited enrollment and you can enjoy it any time you like. Go to www.mtcubacenter.org and click on the Distance Learning button to get started. And whether I see you onsite or online, I look forward to sharing the beauty of Mt. Cuba Center with you.

Sincerely,

Eileen Boyle

Public Programs Manager

Garden Club of Springfield Invitation

The Garden Club of Springfield invites members from Garden Clubs in District I to their February Meeting, Wednesday, February 22 at 11:00 AM at the Springfield Township Building, 50 Powell Rd., Springfield, PA. The speaker will be Eva Monheim, noted horticulturist, writer, artist, lecturer and certified arborist. Her topic is “Arranging the Spring Harvest” She will demonstrate endless variations of arrangements using fruits, vegetables, foliage and flowers.

Her website is http://www.evamonheim.com/about.html

A nominal fee of $5 will be charged for the lecture. All arrangements will be raffled off after the program

January at Mt. Cuba

Happy New Year! Greetings from Mt. Cuba Center! On behalf of the staff here, I wish you the best that 2012 can bring.


Take a look at the image above - do you see how the bare tree branches have a beauty of their own? Guest speaker Vincent Simeone will take a look at the hidden characteristics of trees and shrubs in Enhance Your Winter Landscape (Saturday, January 14, 1-3PM, $25.) There will be a dessert reception and book signing as well. Gregg Tepper discusses the unique ways in which native plants appeal to each of our senses in the Sensory Appeal of Native Plants class (Saturday, January 21, 1:30-3:00, $20.) He'll share surprising fact, true stories and outstanding photographs of favorite wildflowers.

I hope you've had a chance to look at our distance learning program, Mt. Cuba Center Connect. Our fern and hummingbird classes are ready and waiting for you to enjoy at any time of the day or night. (Don't forget to use the promotion code "lonicera" for a 20% discount on the hummingbird class!) Coming in late January - "Moss Gardening," an always popular topic at Mt. Cuba Center, and the virtual version will never sell-out.

Take a few minutes to visit our website, http://www.mtcubacenter.org/, and see everything that is going on here. Even in the quiet season, I look forward to sharing the beauty of Mt. Cuba Center with you onsite and online.
Sincerely,
Eileen Boyle
Public Programs Manager

Mt Cuba Center Launches Distance Learning Program

Mt. Cuba Center, the region’s premier native plant garden, has launched Mt. Cuba Center Connect, an online resource for the study of native plants, accessible from a computer or mobile device. Mt. Cuba Center Connect captures a selection of Mt. Cuba Center’s live education programs, informational handouts, and plant videos and makes them available online and on demand. The first class, The Ferns at Mt. Cuba Center is now available for purchase for $40. Go to http://www.mtcubacenter.org/ and click on the Distance Learning button to learn more.


Additional classes will become available in the next few months. Topics include Hummingbirds in Your Garden, Moss Gardening, and The Meadow Plants at Mt. Cuba Center. “These are some of the most popular classes that we offer at Mt. Cuba Center,” says Eileen Boyle, Public Programs Manager at Mt. Cuba Center. “But our facilities and small parking lot limited the number of people who could participate. Online classes have no limitations when it comes to enrollment.”

The former estate of Mr. and Mrs. Lammot du Pont Copeland, Mt. Cuba Center is a non-profit organization set on nearly 600 acres in the rolling hills of northern Delaware. Their mission is to foster an appreciation for plants of the Appalachian Piedmont and the conservation of their environment through garden display, education, and research.

For more information, contact Jeanette Zipf, Communications Coordinator, 302-239-4244, X. 243

November at Mt. Cuba Center

Chilly weather, brilliant color, and the first snow of the season. What else can it be but November at Mt. Cuba Center!


Coming up this Saturday - your last chance to see the meadow with its fall highlights during Meadow Studies - Late Fall. Take home one last meadow plant too! (November 5, 10:30 AM-12:30 PM, $10.) Also, there are a few seats left for the Historic Ramble: Ghosts of the Past (November 5, 10:30 AM - 1:30 PM, $25). Hear local historian Nedda Moqtaderi share the rich legacy of family farms and active milling complexes that once dotted the land which is now Mt. Cuba Center. Dress for the weather for this class, as you will be outside for part of the day. Also, we wind up another season of public garden tours this week. I cordially invite you to enjoy one more walk through the fall garden before it goes to bed.
Our November schedule includes classes for artists (Nature Art Cards, Thursday, November 10, 9:30 AM-12:30 PM, $20), bird watchers (Autumn Sunrise at the Bird Blind, Sunday, November 13, 7-9 AM, $25) and plant lovers. (Grow Wildflowers from Seed, Wednesday, November 16, 9:30 AM - 12 Noon, $20). No matter what your interest, when it comes to native plants, you'll find something to learn with us. As always, we want to be prepared for your visit. Visit http://www.mtcubacenter.org/ or call 302-239-4244 for reservations.

Finally, don't miss your chance for a free preview of our new distance learning program, Mt. Cuba Center Connect. Check your inbox for a separate message from me with information about registration and enrollment and how this program can make the study of native plants more accessible to you.

As always, I look forward to sharing the beauty of Mt. Cuba Center with you, onsite and online!

Sincerely,
Eileen Boyle
Public Programs Manager