2018 Calendar. President s letter Barb Rauckhorst, President NCHS. Newsletter of the North Coast Hosta Society Volume 2 Issue 3

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1 Newsletter of the North Coast Hosta Society Volume 2 Issue Calendar October 7 - An Afternoon of Hostas and an array of Desserts - Joint Meeting with Midland. Loyal Order of Moose, 4444 State Rd. Peninsula, OH Speaker Bob Solberg PM Please respond to Marilyn Ruff (mruff@ohio.net ) to let her know if you will attend the talk that will be given by Bob Solberg on Sunday, October 7th. You MUST register for this event. Seating is limited. You won't want to miss this presentation. Bob Solberg is one of the most knowledgeable people in the "Hosta world". We have lost many of our prominent hosta hybridizers in the past few years, take advantage of this rare opportunity. Bob is young and likely will be around for many years to come, but he doesn't speak in this area very often, so I highly suggest attending this talk. - Barb Rauckhorst October 20 - Annual Meeting - 11:00 AM OUR 20TH ANNIVERSARY And elections The Club House at Pine Lakes Inside this issue Garden Tours P 2 Yankee Swap P 3 Schmid Farm P 4 Great Lakes Region information P5 Misc P6 Deer Repellent P 7 President s letter Barb Rauckhorst, President NCHS Hello Hosta lovers! What a busy summer it has been. The hostas have done well in all the gardens I have visited this year. Since our last newsletter, we have had our Garden Tours, an auction, a trough making event at Dave and Beth Bowe s home and a fun Yankee Swap at the home of Carl and Marilyn Schmid. And in between there was the AHS convention and the Great Lakes Region Tailgate. Thanks to all who opened their gardens and hosted events for us. Tom Rabung has resigned his position as one of our two delegates appointed to the Great Lakes Region Board (GLR). We are required to have two delegates on the GLR board. Without both, it will be very difficult for members of North Coast Hosta Society to register and attend Hosta College. You would have to wait until all teachers, vendors and members of properly represented clubs have registered...by that time classes are filled. Also please think about our Hosting Tailgate in Our next get together is our Annual Meeting in October where we will celebrate our 20th Anniversary as a club and hold elections. Watch for future bulletins regarding this event. See you soon, Barb 1

2 Garden Tours - June 30, 2018 THANKS TO: Our hosts below and to Rohr & Sons Nursery who hosted our picnic Andy and Denise Mullins Barb Huff-Burch (neighbor of the Weavers) Susan and Dwight Weaver 2

3 Yankee Swap - August 11, 2018 Thanks to Carl and Marilyn Schmid for hosting this fun event. Eric Schmid graciously shared some of the plants he divided and replanted after trees were lost in a storm.. More to try for! Not a Birthday present; Jim Will just got the first chance to draw for a secret hosta. Marcia shows Mary what she got when she unwrapped her surprise draw. Some extra surprises to try for.. Ok, is this person going to take from the pile or steal? 3

4 The event at the Schmid farm was a special treat beyond seeing a lovely hosta garden and sharing hostas with each other in a fun way. The Schmid property is full of history not only for the story of the farm, told by Carl below, but also for the amazing collection of Indian arrowheads and artifacts housed in a small building on the property. The property is so rich in these that an arrowhead was found in one of the gardens as they were preparing for our visit. I grew up on a farm where the house and barn were built in My granddad owned three farms in a row. When I was about five years old my dad and granddad decided they no longer need the 32 redwood silo at our barn, so they tore it down. It was stored in an overhead double corn crib for about 50 years. We needed to tear down this corn crib because it wasn t safe any longer. I asked dad if I could have some of the boards. I had to cut them in half with a chain saw to get them up to my house. I wanted to make something out of them. I came upon an arch that I liked. I decided that was what I wanted. So I made the arch and held it together with an old ladder that I got out of the barn. When the barn caved in from a heavy snowfall in 2004, I added one of the lightning rods to the top of the ladder. Now I have memories of the old barn and silo when I look at the arch. Nice to make things, but even nicer to make things that are recycled like this project was. The Building that holds the fabulous Indian artifacts collection. 4

5 I am sorry to say that Tom Rabung has stepped down as a delegate to the Great Lakes Regional (GLR) board. Tom did an exceptional job representing North Coast and will be greatly missed by everyone who had the pleasure to work with him. His vacancy now leaves an opportunity for another NCHS member to represent North Coast in the decision making of such exciting regional events as Hosta College and Tailgating. Let me explain how things are set up. The American Hosta Society (AHS) is divided up into regions. Ohio, along with NY, PA, IN, MI, and KY compose the Great Lakes Region (GRL). I know Kentucky (unlike Illinois) does not border a Great Lake, obviously someone didn't know his or her geography at the time the regions were determined, but none the less, KY is in our region and IL is not. Each local society is required to provide delegates to serve on the GRL board. The number of delegates a club must provide depends on the number of its members. The delegates are liaisons between the GLR and North Coast and will also attend the NCHS board meetings. North Coast currently requires 2 delegates to serve on the GLR board. This means that we need a replacement for Tom to accompany me to the Fall GRL meeting. Sept in exotic Indianapolis, Indiana. The GRL will cover the hotel for 2 nights (since it is more than a 4 hour drive from Cleveland), dinner Friday night, as well as a 1.5 hour private tour of Dow Agricultural Friday, and lunch on Saturday. Unlike the Spring meeting in Piqua Ohio, the fall meeting is organized by various member societies and moves around the region. Last year's fall meeting was just outside Pittsburgh. Delegates are required to attend both the fall and spring meeting. Board members plan and partake in Hosta College. We (the delegates and any club members enlisted to help) arrive at Hosta College at 3pm Friday to set everything up for the event which starts at 6pm. Everyone who helps is provided a free box lunch for dinner just before attendees arrive. Then just the delegates stay for the Sunday Spring Meeting which lasts half a day. GRL will pick up the hotel for Saturday night. I usually make it back home from Piqua Sunday around 4pm. With travel it is a total 6 day commitment. Unique events like the upcoming Fall Forum, Sept in Edenboro PA, would not occur without the GLR. Being a delegate is a great way represent North Coast, to have input and make friends from the region but also an opportunity to work with a great group of fellow hosta enthusiasts. Please consider stepping in and joining me as the delegates from North Coast Hosta Society. -Diane Morris, NCHS delegate to GLR The societies in geographic Region 4 that are affiliated with GLR are: Midland Hosta Society Northwest Indiana Hosta Society (formerly Hosta and Friends Garden Club) Hostas of Kentuckiana Western New York Hosta Society Northcoast Hosta Society of Ohio Miami Valley Hosta Society Central Ohio Hosta Society Daffodil Hosta Society Western Pennsylvania Indianapolis Hosta Society Greater Cincinnati Daylily & Hosta Black Swamp Hosta & Daylily Society Michigan Hosta Society 5

6 GARDEN GOSSIP: BY CINDY HUGHES The Hoop House plants have been moved to the grounds of Emerald Nursery. Thanks to those who helped with the move. Thanks to Tom for graciously agreeing to take care of our babies. Our by-laws require elections to be held at the Annual Meeting. Contact Denise Mullins, Nominating Committee Chair, if you are interested or would like to make a nomination. (denisemullins@neo.rr.com). As we are celebrating our 20th Anniversary at the Annual Meeting, Jim Spuhler has put out a request for members to send him pictures that could be put up on a display board at the meeting. Please contact Jim if you have photos to share. Club Co-Op Supplies As in previous years we are again offering our members Co-Op items. We have the following items available: Liquid Fence Plant Markers Slug Bait Garden Gloves in small, medium and large Handbook on Troughs Please call Carl Schmid at to preorder these items to be brought to the next meeting. No individual deliveries. Membership in NCHS gives the following benefits: Members Only prices on Club special purchase hosta Great prices on our Hoop House plants. Member prices on slug bait, fertilizer, deer repellant, etc. Preferential registration and reduced registration fee for Hosta College The club provides meat and beverages at all of our Potluck picnics and meetings. The opportunity to learn and share information about hosta culture. Developing friendships with other people who love hostas North Coast Hosta Society Membership Family Membership $10.00 for one year - Calendar year Jan 1 - Dec 31 NAME STREET CITY STATE ZIP PHONE AMOUNT ENCLOSED ( )Renewal ( )New ( )1 year ( )2 year Please list names as you wish on your card: Please send your check made payable to: NORTH COAST HOSTA SOCIETY Attn: Jim Spuhler Bridgecreek Circle Strongsville, OH NOTE: this form is also available on our website 6

7 Oh Deer.Nice to know we are not the only ones to suffer from our beautiful four footed friends. For those who would like to try an alternate version of deer repellent, here is a recipe from Mary Lanier, Newsletter Editor for the Hosta Society of Southeast Minnesota. No, That Is a Leafless Hosta, NOT Rhubarb One morning not too long ago, a neighbor gave me a ride to the gym. I got in her car, and she said, What s that? Rhubarb? I had no earthly idea what she was talking about. Turns out that the box of hostas I had purchased at the plant sale had been taken off the deck and placed on the lawn by the guys who power washed our deck the day before. My lovely H. Regalia that Jean Meyer suggested I purchase (and I love it) was now leafless. Straight, naked stalks stood saluting the sky. Just days before I had sprayed the entire garden with Jane Yunginger s Deer Deterrent Recipe and the plants I had sprayed were not bothered. So, if you have people asking about the rhubarb in your gardens, you may appreciate this recipe, too. It works. Thanks, once again, Jane. - DEER DETERRENT 1 Tablespoon BLUE Dawn dishwashing liquid 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil 1 Egg 1 Cup Milk Mix these ingredients thoroughly. ( I whirl mine in the blender.) Pour into a gallon milk jug and fill the remainder of the container with water. Shake thoroughly. Pour mixture into spray container. I use a gallon-size hand-held sprayer. Apply weekly for maximum results, especially during initial growing phase. Mixture may be refrigerated but it is not necessary. I find this concoction to be less odiferous than commercial liquid deer deterrents. See that cute little guy above? He/she and its twin have been visiting our yard over the past several weeks. (Isn t that late for a spotted fawn?) Anyway, they don t know they aren t supposed to like the deer repellents. The have been tasting (EATING) about everything in sight. Haven t reached the stage of nothing but stalks as we did a few years ago; thanks to a culling effort on the part of the city. A few of these guys are OK, when they begin to multiply again, they do become a problem for themselves as well as the residents. It is good to know though that hostas are so resilient. Scott Smith, President of the Georgia Hosta Society, wrote When I was a pre-teen, I recall one of my aunts in Chicago referring to a clump of hosta in her yard as stompers because you could walk on them and abuse them and they would still keep on growing. It was not until I got into gardening as an adult that I realized the plants were actually called Hosta... The next time you worry about weather, deer, pedestrians, nematodes or anything else destroying your hostas, remember how much abuse these plants can take and still come back year after year. From the smallest to the largest, hostas will put up with abuse and yet come back. With a modest amount of care and thoughtful placement, I believe that all our hosta gardens have the potential to persist for years or even decades to come. 7

8 Officers: President: Barb Rauckhorst phone: Vice President: Mike Kovach Phone: Treasurer: Jim Spuhler phone: Secretary: Bonnie Erickson phone: Newsletter Editor: Cindy Hughes phone Directors: Sue Gold phone: Carl Schmid phone: Denise Mullins Phone: FIRST CLASS Invite Other Plant Lovers to Join the North Coast Hosta Society Check out our Website (northcoasthostasociety.weebly.com) and Facebook page (North Coast Hosta Society). Sign up for the tailgate committee WHAT A BUSY SUMMER Pictures will be minimal to avoid wholesale use of ink! To view more visit the website: Northcoasthostasociety.weebly.com Mary and David Bibby did a terrific job of taking pictures and posting them on the website. Thanks so much. (This contribution from Eric Schmid really turned heads at the swap.) 8