Gardeners to cultivate floral subjects at Flower Camp
By Mary Margaret Pecht, Sentinel reporter, mmpecht@lewistonwsentinel.comArticle Photos
MILROY - The Hartman Center will be abuzz with flower lovers on Sept. 19 and 20, when the Juniata Valley Master Gardeners' Flower Camp takes over the facility.
Flower-loving visitors to the Milroy camp will have an opportunity to share ideas and learn ways to preserve the beauty of flowers for winter use, as well as learning about winter gardening and preparing the flower garden for winter.
"When you look at the garden in the fall of the year, all around are flowers, and what do you do with them? How can you preserve the beauty of them for your winter pleasure?'' asked Linda Notestine, a member of the committee planning the flower camp.
"One of the sessions will be about how to prepare your garden for bed. And that's really the measure of success in your garden, so you don't have a disappointment when things don't come back in the spring because it froze out or wasn't fertilized or mulched properly, or from improper pruning at the end of the year,'' she continued.
"This program will really show that fall is not the end of the gardening season. It's really the beginning of '09. It's a misconception that fall is the end of the season.''
Also on the camp agenda are workshops on cooking with herbs, medicinal herbs, drying flowers - with air, microwave or silica gel - designing with dried flowers, roses and their care, container gardening, native plants, year-round color in the garden and a variety of crafts.
"And fun,'' emphasized committee member Deanna Spickler. "We want this to be a fun time, as well as very informative,''
That includes a bonfire, hayride, snacks and socializing, as well as sharing ideas and learning from one another, she said. A just-for-fun hat decorating contest - with, of course, flowers - also is on the agenda.
The flower camp committee - Notestine, Spickler, Tina Miller, Diane Cowan and Kathy Mengel, all of Lewistown, and Diane Peachey, of Belleville - gathered Tuesday to talk about the camp.
Notestine said she read about the concept in a gardening magazine.
"In Virginia, there was a husband and wife who got a camp and converted it into a year-round camp where garden enthusiasts can get together and have fun,'' she said. "I thought, 'If they can do it in Virginia, why can't we do it in Pennsylvania.'''
"In Mifflin County,'' Spickler added.
When the idea was presented to them, the Master Gardeners responded with enthusiasm.
"The group always responds,'' Diane Cowan said, weaving wheat as the others talked.
Smiling from her seat beside Notestine, Mengel added, "Volunteers are always available.''
The volunteers were available and they got busy. A variety of classes were selected for the camp and participants will have six opportunities to choose from 12 offerings. Or they can choose among four crafts.
Internationally known speakers have been secured and will work beside some locals. They include Craig George, director of Hershey Gardens, who will present two separate tracks on roses; the "Garden Guru'' from ABC 27-TV and radio WNNK and WHP; Kathy Quarles, from Country Garden Nursery, Mechanicsburg; Cindy Law, from Tait Farms, Boalsburg, on cooking with herbs; John Tonzetich, of Lewisburg, on native plants; and Mareta Digan, of Lewisburg, on medicinal herbs.
One of the local presenters will be Ruth Notestine, a Lewistown dry-flower expert who has judged at the Philadelphia Flower Show, an award-winner herself and author of a booklet on dry flowers. Others include Bill Beason, a professional floral designer at Martin's Greenhouse, Mifflintown, and a Master Gardener, and Thomas E. Walker, County Extension Director for Mifflin and Juniata counties and Director of the Penn State Learning Center in Lewistown.
Jennifer Stewart, of McVeytown, will kick off the camp with a motivational talk on Sept. 19, with one choice of a program to attend on the opening evening.
Peachey, who quietly worked on a craft called "knotless knitting'' on tiny gourds -a craft she will teach in a workshop - noted that she wanted to learn about roses, The tracks are designed so even the craft leaders will be able to attend informational sessions of their choice.
As the committee met, Tina Miller toyed with prickly teasel bears. She will teach that craft at the camp, and Cowan will teach wheat weaving.
Also on the crafts list is flower pounding, which will be taught by Debra Tate-Anderson, of McClure.
Notestine explained that flower pounding is the art of putting flower petals between fabric and pounding out the natural dye, leaving an imprint on the fabric.
"There's quite a knack to it,'' she said. "There's an abundance of flowers in the fall - you can experiment.''
Notestine said the committee let the season of the year dictate the subjects for the camp.
"We want people to realize gardening is year-round. There is year round color in containers, color in the garden with different shrubs having yellow or red bark, different textures of bark,'' she said.
"There's a lot to look at in the winter. You have to think of the birds and butterflies that are in your garden - what are these birds and butterflies going to eat in the winter?''
Herbs are plentiful in the fall, so the group chose to include classes on medicinal herbs and cooking with herbs, Notestine added.
Notestine said campers already have registered for the event from various parts of the state, but local gardeners are being targeted.
"If they don't sign up, it's a lost opportunity,'' she said.
There is a Flower Camp fee, which covers breakfast, lunch, snacks, lodging in either the main lodge or a cabin, and handouts. The fee is nonrefundable within 14 days of the event.
Reservations for Flower Camp are on a first-come, first-served basis, through Aug. 1. A maximum of 40 people can be accommodated.
For an informational brochure with registration form, contact Mifflin County Extension at 248-9618.
