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South Schuylkill Garden Club has big events in May

South Schuylkill Garden Club’s annual plant sale is coming up soon. The event will take place Saturday, May 13, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Schuylkill Haven Senior Recreation Center on Haven Street.

Start your day early by stopping by for the best selection of locally grown plants for your garden. There will be hundreds of plants including perennials such as premium daylilies, hostas, solomon seal, peony, money plant, sedum and much more. There will be a large variety of perennials for sun and shade along with shrubs and small trees. Vegetable plants from your garden to your dinner plate. A large selection of native plants will be available. Customers will be able to find almost everything for their gardening needs from houseplants to herbs.

Prices start as low as $3 for starting your garden or adding to an existing landscape. These hardy plants are locally grown so they are acclimated for the area.

Speaking of locally grown, that is the trend in gardening. Plant local means planting native that grow in this area on their own. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says native plants are already adapted to the climate and soil conditions in the area. These native plants provide important nectar, pollen and seeds to native fauna. Native plants do not require fertilizers, need fewer pesticides, are less thirsty and can prevent erosion, may not require mowing and promote biodiversity.

The South Schuylkill Garden club is known for its native plants. So, enhance your landscape by bringing back a more natural habitat with native plants. Some native plants that will be available are cranes bill, ginger, monarda, wood poppy, foam flower, ostrich fern, oat grass and many more. Native plants may take a year or so to get established and grow into their new habitat. When you do plant the garden club plants in your garden, remember to leave room for the plant to grow and propagate.

When selecting plants at the plant sale, think about where that plant will be placed in your garden. Then ask yourself while selecting the plants how many hours of sun and shade does that spot get. Does water pool in this spot? Is the spot dry? What is the soil like?

Returning to the plant sale will be annual bedding plants as the club is striving to meet the local demand for new varieties of plants. New and different perennials will also be available for purchase.

South Schuylkill Garden Club expert gardeners and Penn State Master Gardeners will be available to answer your gardening questions. For Additional information call/text or email Nancy at 570-753-9787

The Plant Sale is held rain or shine.

Frank Colosimo of New Ringgold, a member of the South Schuylkill Garden Club, is busy growing vegetable plants that will be available at the upcoming Plant Sale. (Courtesy of South Schuylkill Garden Club)
Frank Colosimo of New Ringgold, a member of the South Schuylkill Garden Club, is busy growing vegetable plants that will be available at the upcoming Plant Sale. (Courtesy of South Schuylkill Garden Club)

Build a birdhouse

South Schuylkill Garden Club will be hosting a unique speaker for its May program. Jack Jones of JJ’s Woodcrafts will discuss how he creates one-of-a-kind birdhouses and feeders from repurposed barn work from the 1800s. Each house is unique, artistic and one of a kind. The program will be held on Tuesday, May 16, at 6:30 p.m. in the library of the First United Church of Christ, Schuylkill Haven.

The program will cover the proper design of a birdhouse and the important features to consider when purchasing one. Jones will cover gardening for wildlife, attracting birds and bird scaping in the garden. The fun part of the program is the passing around of old hardware found in barns to see if the audience can identify the items. He also brings several house for presentation and display. They will be available after the program for sale at wholesale prices.

A retired manufacturing executive, Jones always loved woodworking and gardening and bought and installed a greenhouse to grow his own plants for the garden. In the winter months, he started to make custom furniture for the family. The amount of small leftover from woodworking amazed him. That’s when “JJ Woodcrafts” started making birdhouses from recycled materials.

As his business grew, he moved down the supply chain to acquire more materials through the demolition of old barns. Within each barn, he discovered many old treasures along with different types of wood. Each house/feeder Jack builds is unique, decorated with the old hardware found in these barns that he has dismantled. He wholesales his products to large retailers and sells them at juried craft shows around the Northeast.

Jack has spent hours researching bird to learn as much as he can about them and their living habits. Each house is quality build with care and creativity. Most of the old wood is weathered or distressed with variations of grain, knots and wear. Each house is as unique as the wood used to make it.

After the presentation there will be light refreshments served followed by a business meeting of the club.

Photo Caption: Jack Jones of JJ's Wood crafts will speak on how he creates one-of-a-kind birdhouses and feeders from repurposed barn work from the 1800's. The program will be held on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, at 6:30 PM. Jack Jones will present in the library of the First United Church of Christ, Schuylkill Haven. The public is invited. (Courtesy of South Schuylkill News)
Jack Jones of JJ’s Woodcrafts will speak on how he creates one-of-a-kind birdhouses and feeders from repurposed barn work from the 1800s. (Courtesy of South Schuylkill Garden Club)


Source: Berkshire mont

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