Mason County Garden Club Program

 There was a good turnout for the trail program at the Mason County Garden Club. The food table was really attractive, and the snacks were yummy.

The general tables were nicely decorated too.

Afterwards, I did two loops around the School Forest, and managed to get 3 miles. I love that there is a real, forested trail right in town, but it doesn't have features of interest or much topography.

I managed to get some editing and stuff done in the morning, but the above took the whole rest of the day.

Miles hiked in 2024: 506.3

Ludington School Forest, 2 full loops, 3.2 miles

See Mason County Flower Show

Mason County Garden Club Flower Show 2023- New to Me!

There were certainly more things that were new to me than what I'm sharing, but these are ones that really caught my eye.

I guess I knew that hydrangeas could have sort of a bi-color pattern, but I'd never seen one like this. The color of the blossoms is actually determined by the pH of the soil chemisty, not some genetic pigment coding in the plant. And it's not even that simple, they've also determined that the key factor is that acidic soil allows the plant to take up Aluminum ions and that makes the flowers blue. This is regular Hydrangea macrophylla, but look at the blue and white coloring. Very interesting! Also, the showy parts of a hydrangea are not petals but the sepals. All that to say... this one is beautiful. It took a blue ribbon.

Fairly recently, the panicled Hydrangea, Hydrangea paniculata (duh) has become popular. These have a cone-shaped tower of blossoms rather than the snowball shape. They are interesting. For some reason, all the white hydrangeas were judged together, both the snowballs and the cones. This doesn't seem to be a particular variety, and maybe what I like about it only means it's not fully opened, but it did take the blue ribbon, so there is something about it... Anyway, what I like is that the outer flowers are open, but the inner ones are just buds. It makes the whole thing look somewhat lacy. It was hard to get a good picture with the window behind it. If I faced the other direction, it was all more white hydrangeas behind it making it really difficult to see.

This one completely stumped me. Can you believe it's an ornamental oregano? Oreganum 'Kent Beauty.' I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it. Most of the pictures I found on line are more pink, so this one may be quite unique.

And here's an unusual Rudbeckia. This is a variety called 'Green Eyes.' It's a variety of the "ordinary" R. hirta, Black-eyed Susan. I love the two-tone petals, and the green center too.

This was another one that had me scratching my head. If you'd asked me what it was, I would have said one of the all-white varieties of Feverfew. Nope. It's a yarrow. Achillea ptarmica 'The Pearl.' And I seredipitously got a leaf in the picture. The long, narrow serrated leaf identifies the yarrow. Feverfew has a more fern-y leaf.

Did you guess I would end with a succulent again? Only part of this is new to me. This is a really popular plant at the Philadelphia Flower Show, Euphorbia lactea 'White Ghost.' Most of the ones at that flower show are crested ones (which actually have something wrong that makes them form the "crest"). But there was both a crested and a straight tree-like Euphorbia lactea in this post.

Here's the whole plant at this show. It wasn't really that yellow, but I couldn't seem to fix the color. It's really an off-white.

But the thing that is new to me is that the tips of the upper branches are turning red. I think that means it's getting ready to bloom. This plant has obviously been well cared-for for quite a few years. It's awesome!

In other news: I didn't have as much time to work on my projects today because it took all afternoon to spring Josh from the hospital and get his medications. Of all the crazy things, his usual drugstore was out. They had to transfer the prescription to another store, which took forever, and then they only had enough to get him started for the next couple of weeks. Crazy! But he's now got a phone number to call if he has trouble getting this medication in the future. That's what caused this whole episode. He was unable to get a refill, and when he stopped taking it, bad things happened. One of the clots went to a lung. Could have been quite serious. Thanks for the many prayers.

See MCGC Show 2023- Favorites

Mason County Garden Club Flower Show 2023- Personal Favorites

There may be more entries in "my favorites" than is good to share in one day. Today I'll show you things I really liked but that were not new to me. You know I love to learn new things, so that will be for tomorrow.

One of the popular categories of entry is Table Settings. There were four "picnic" spreads. I'm always drawn to the bright colors.

In the regular Table Settings, this one took first place, and the Table Artistry ribbon. I was listening to the lady who designed it telling a friend about how the orange napkins were almost an afterthought, and putting them in the glasses was strictly last minute, but it tied the whole thing together.

This patriotic table took second place. Both it and the picnic above were arranged by a friend of mine. This one was in the running for first place, but the plates were not pure white. They had a little green edging, and it was just enough to bump the display down.

This setting also took a blue ribbon. Maybe it was a different category. The two above are more like buffet setups, and this one is for people to sit at a table. Anyway, this one is my personal favorite display of the whole show. We each got one ticket. You may have noticed little paper bags in some of the pictures. You put your ticket in the bag for the display you like best. That gives them a people's choice winner, and they also use it as a way to count attendence. I was surprised that I chose one with more subdued colors. However, what did it for me is the perfection of color coordination. There is not one single element that clashes with the rest. The colors in everything are in perfect harmony with everything else.

Another one of the displays was "Bees in Your Bonnet," which was to decorate a hat with flowers. This entry took the whole thing literally, and it's too funny! It was also the only one to have an actual painted face under the hat rather than a blank mannekin or nothing. The only thing the judges noted was that the scarf somewhat overwhelmed the display.

This is another of the miniature displays. Although I get why the one I showed you yesterday won, I preferred this one. Those little rocking chairs with a planter in the seat are pretty trite. I like the assymetry of this one and the off-center holes in the holder. The name of the category was "Tiny Treasures," and I think this fits.

These last two favorites for today are plant entries in the horticultural room. This one is Gooseneck Loosestrife. I haven't seen it very often, and I like it a lot. Not to be confused with the wildflower Lizard Tail, but the flower is similar. It's just funky!

And my last picture for today will be- no surprise it made a favorites list- a succulent planter. There is a list of all the plants. I always appreciate that! Echeveria 'Black Prince' - that's the big one. Graptopetalum- I think one of the pale rosettes. Sempervivum- front and center. Four other Echeverias- the other rosettes, one of which is the Ghost Echeveria which is the one blooming. Sedum rubrotinctum 'Aurea' - I think that's the cluster on the front left. Sedum adelphi 'Firestorm'- maybe the reddish leaves sticking up over the edge of the Black Prince. Ice plant- the trailing green stems. Aeonium arboreum 'Zwartkop'- not sure since I don't see a rosette that looks like it, but maybe it's hiding. Anyway. You know I love this. It's a professional level succulent planter- as good as many at the Philadelphia Flower Show.

I worked all day, alternating between a computer project (the priority one that has my attention), and digging up autumn olive. I really wanted to finish that today, but I just pooped out. I spent a total of 1 1/4 hours digging them up, and I still have 4 bushes to go to be able to mow the next piece of yard. Next time!

Now I'm off to visit Josh. He will probably be released tomorrow. The biggest issue was actually to get someone who could take care of his dog. "Woofie" doesn't know me, and would not let me in the house. But we got it taken care of.

See MCGC Flower Show- Best of Show

Mason County Garden Club Flower Show 2023- Best of Show

Today, I'll show you some of the entries that got special merit awards. Not all of them, because I didn't picture them ALL, and some of the pictures aren't all that great.

First up, because it's so showy is a Dahlia, which took an Award of Merit. The variety of Dahlia is not listed. I don't know much about Dahlias, except that you have to bring them inside every winter. That mean's I'll never grow them!

Another Award of Merit went to this Fuchsia. Again, no variety was listed. I tried to find it, but it turns out there are a lot of them with these long slender flowers. I didn't know that.

This photo took its category in the photography contest, and it also got the Botanical Arts Photography Award. I like it a lot. The plant is Cosmos bippanatus- common garden Cosmos, but the picture is super-artsy.

This one got a Special Award in the miniature arrangement category. The whole thing is about 8 inches high. It has Blue Spruce, a Carnation, a Chrysanthemum, moss, and Smooth Brome Grass.

This arrangement took the Youth Award. It has Baby's Breath, Chrysanthemums, Carnations, and Button Chrysanthemums. I think there are Gerbera Daisies in there too.

The Coleus arrangement got the Growers Award. The class was for non-flowering plants (they do have flowers, but they aren't flowering at the moment), and this contestent listed the varieties! 'Rodeo Drive, 'Main Street Orchard Road,' and 'Gay's Delight.' Very nice.

Tomorrow, I'll show you some of my personal favorites.

I worked on my current project, and some in the rock garden.

If you know our Josh, say a little prayer if you want. He's back in the hospital with blood clots again. I'm going in to see him in a couple of minutes. They hadn't got him in a room yet when I called last.

See MCGC Flower Show 2023

Mason County Garden Club Flower Show 2023

The Mason County Garden Club hosts a standard flower show every two years, and even though I was gone for 18 months, I managed to not miss one!

For a small club, I think they do a really good job with the shows. They found a larger venue for this one, too. Today, I'll just give you a sort of overview. The first two pictures are simply attractive plant-y decor that welcomed people as they came in the door.

Then you entered the main room. You may recall from all my posts about the Philadelphia Flower Show (and two previous Mason County ones) that the primary focus of a "standard flower show" is competition. This is where all the horticultural exhibits were. Think something like the county fair for 4-H.

I don't fully understand the categories, but one of them was "From the Ground Up," which had bulbs, corms, rhizomes and tubers in it. Within that category, there was a whole row of tuberous begonia entries. Today, I'll just show the line-up to give you an idea of the variety of entries, colors, etc. What I don't understand is if all these begonias would be judged against, say, a single iris (which wouldn't be blooming in July, but just "if.") which would fit in the same category.

Flowering Trees and shrubs included Hydrangeas. The white ones seemed to be organized separately from the colored ones. Here's the white row.

It's July, so there were a lot of lilies.

There were whole categories for just foliage. There were ferns, conifers, and hosta. Look at the range of sizes and colors of hosta!

Another room had photography and educational displays, and the third room had things like I show you all the time from Philadelphia- place settings, small niches, etc. I don't know if a small club chooses from a list of the categories they want to offer for competition. Obviously a small group can't have entries like the front porches, outdoor offices, etc that the Convention Center has room for. Not to mention that a small club needs to come up with a viable number of entries in each category.

There is plenty of good material here for a couple more days of blog posts. I'll probably show you some winners tomorrow, and then some of my favorites after that.

For a parting shot, here's the blue ribbon entry in "A Season in the Sun" Flowering Annuals. I think maybe a subcategory of one species in a planter or something. This is a New Guinea Impatiens. Stunning!

In other news, I got "in the zone" on one of my priority projects and worked hard on that all day. That means I didn't move around very much, so I'm a bit stiff. I better switch off with some gardening again tomorrow, but I always feel that if I'm really in a mood to work on something I'm supposed to be doing, I should take full advantage of that!

See MCGC Show 2021

Mason County Garden Club Flower Show 2021

  I'm just going to show you some of my favorite plants and displays from the 2021 Mason County Garden Club Flower Show. Some of them took blue ribbons and some did not. This post is more about me liking them than their techinical merit.

This is a small show, because we are a small town, but a lot of effort goes into this.

First, I give you a textured hosta leaf! No deer or slugs got anywhere near this.

This is Sambucus nigra, an elderberry, but this variety has very dark stems and leaves. I like it.

Euphorbia marginata, Snow on the mountain.

This mixed bouquet is part of a table setting. It went perfectly with the china.

And I liked this one a lot too. It's called "Solar Wind." Remember, the theme is The Solar System. One thing I think is so striking about it is that the yellow of the lilies is a really, really close tone match to the goldenrod. I find this remarkable.

In other news: It was a good day at the vendor event in Holland, and I did really well, but I am beat. I think I'll be going to bed early.

See True Blue Gumby II

A Night on the Town

  This is about as cosmopolitan as I get. I went to town at 4 pm, and entertained myself for four hours. On purpose. I know, scary huh? That I would choose to do peoply things for that long.

I'll start with the last thing on my list and work backwards. Did you know that Ludington has their very own legendary lumberjack, Ossawald Crumb? He was created in 1932 by the son of lumber baron Justus Stearns. The son, Robert, wrote two charming children's books featuring the character.

Local thespian (actor, professor, director, you name it as long as you preface it with the word talented), Rick Plummer, has written a children's play, "The Amazing and Almost True Tale of Ossawald Crumb and the Michigan White Pine." It's being performed at Sandcastles Children's Museum this weekend. Performances are FREE. So, why did I choose to go to a 30-minute play for kids? The cast is a collection of superb local actors and actresses- most of them are people I've seen before in many roles. I knew that whatever this was, it would be worth watching.

Grandmother Pine holds a sacred place in the forest.

The forest creatures gather around her and discuss how there must be both good and frightening things in life.

The Ossawald Crumb, the lumberjack shows up and he is going to cut down Grandmother Pine!

The forest creatures must figure out how to show Ossawald that he should not cut all the trees. I won't tell you their plan, but it involves the Tricky Rabbit. Ossawald gets schooled.

The room was full of small children, and they were all highly engaged with the story. If you have kids, there are two more performances, at 11 am and 2 pm, tomorrow (Saturday Aug 7). As I said, they are free, but you must wear a mask. Limited seating, so get there in plenty of time.

Working back in time, I took myself out for dinner at what is now called the 10 Spot. Four years ago, there was one food truck in this parking lot- see the Summer Bucket List link below. Now, there are five food trucks, tables under a canopy, and music.

You can get various kinds of food at reasonable prices. For $6.50, I got chips, pop, and a Ludington Dog. This is a hot dog with garlic mayo, grilled corn, parmezan cheese, and chili powder. Can you say yummy? You can get meals with things much more substantial than a hot dog and still spend only about $10.

Before that, I went to the Mason County Garden Club flower show. I may have to do a whole post about that, but for tonight I'll just show you my favorite entry. The theme was "The solar system." This one is called "Sunspots." There were several that I really liked, but this was dramatic, and a little unusual, and I thought it had good balance and colors.

In other news: As if that's not enough news, I also wrote a chapter. Before that, Cathy and I went for a walk in a new place. But I am waiting to tell you about that at another time. It rained for about an hour this morning, and I'll give you one guess as to which hour we chose to walk! I leave for Holland before the crack of dawn tomorrow. I think that's enough for one day.

See Mason County Garden Club Flower Show 2019 See Summer Bucket List