Issue link: https://imageup.uberflip.com/i/662914
16 | OCEAN HILLS NEWS | APRIL 2016 | Garden Club Garden Tips Welcome all OHCC residents to the Garden Club general meetings held on the 2nd Wednesday of each month in Abravanel Hall beginning at 9:30 am for refreshments and mingling. The program starts at 10 am. Join us April 13 for a special presentation by Suzanne Carlson, Master Gardener, on the Benefits of Gardening For Aging (or for all ages). Suzanne serves as a master gardener for the Balboa Park Botanical Group and for the San Diego Horticulture Society. Her passion is edibles from a community garden. The word "garden" may conjure memories of warm, fertile dirt in your hands, the smell of blossoms, the sound of bees collecting pollen, the sound of water flowing, or the beautiful, flourishing sight of what humans and nature can accomplish together. Gardens are experienced through the senses and through engagement, active involvement. It is, therefore, not surprising that many believe all gardens are healing gardens! Gardening has many rewards. In addition to being a source of fresh, healthy produce, a visual refreshment of color, texture and space, gardening can ease stress, keep you limber, and even improve your mood. Suzanne will lead us through the history of healing gardens; identify well-known healing gardens, including some located in Southern California and San Diego County; and share the benefits of gardens to individuals and communities. In closing, we will look at ways you can apply her wealth of information to your patio, balcony or home garden. NOTE: We will have a Spring Specimen Table at the April 13 meeting. Let us know what you grow. Bring a cutting to the meeting, along with an information card on the name and characteristics of your plant. We will all be able to learn which plants thrive in our area! Coming Attractions For 2016: Annual Community Garden Tour and Luncheon: On May 11 we look forward to touring unique OHCC home gardens followed by a catered luncheon in Abravanel Hall at 12:30 pm. The Garden Tour is free and open to all OHCC residents. The lunch will be great — a buffet of excellent Indian food. Lunch is $25 for members and $28 for non-members. Please RSVP by bringing your check, payable to OHCC Garden Club, to the April 13 general meeting or to the Clubhouse (by April 30). SUPER FLOWER SECRETS April showers bring May flowers and with those flowers come a flurry of activity — cultivating, planting, weeding, and feeding. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, I want to share a few tips on how you can have the biggest, brightest, flowers on the block this year. So here are a few fast and easy tips on how to paint your summer garden with a dazzling display of color, while at the same time saving money. Before planting your summer flowering bulbs, place them in a bag along with some medicated baby or foot powder, and then lightly shake them up. This will keep the squirrels and other varmints from digging at them. Once planted, sprinkle some crushed mothballs on top of the soil for the same reason. Before planting any flowering plant, make a mixture of 1 cup of Epsom salts and 3 cups of bone meal — sprinkle a pinch of this mixture into each planting hole when you plant annuals, bulbs or perennials. It's a power packed treat that will get them off to a great start. Perennials should not be crowded when planted. After they're planted, sprinkle a little black pepper and presifted flour onto and into the soil to keep whiteflies and other garden thugs away. So go ahead, plant some hardworking annuals, easy-care summer bulbs and perennials this year. You'll be glad you did. ~ Melvina Terry