Garden Club Federation of Maine

NGC & Related Links

National Garden Club, Inc. National Garden Clubs (NGC) is a not-for-profit educational organization with its headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It is composed of 50 State Garden Clubs and the National Capital Area, 6,218 member garden clubs and 198,595 members. In addition, NGC proudly recognizes 447 International Affiliates from Canada to Mexico and South America, from Bermuda to South Africa, Australia and Japan, as well as 149 National Affiliates within the United States.

New England Region of National Garden Clubs (NER) is composed of; The Federated Garden Club of Connecticut, Inc., The Garden Club Federation of Maine, Inc., The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, Inc., New Hampshire Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc., Rhode Island Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc., Federated Garden Club of Vermont, Inc.

Pine Tree State Arboretum The Arboretum is currently composed of 224 acres of land with a long history of farming use. In the early 1800s, this area was owned by several neighboring farms. Now called Viles Arboretum.

National Gardening Association The National Gardening Association (NGA), founded in 1973, is a nonprofit leader in plant-based education. They serve a national audience with timely materials designed to foster an appreciation for the benefits of gardening.

Fields Pond Audubon Center Located seven miles southeast of Bangor, Fields Pond Audubon Center features a modern visitor center, an 85-acre pond, and a 192-acre sanctuary with trails winding through field, wetland, forest, and lakeshore. The center offers dozens of year-round public programs, a Maine Audubon Nature Store, and day camps for children. The variety of habitats and trails at Fields Pond Audubon Center are ideal for nature study, wildlife-watching, walking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing.

Plant Explorer Longwood Gardens has launched its Plant Explorer website. Plant Explorer allows you to look up any plant name and provides unprecedented access to Longwood's plant records, plant images, garden information and interactive maps.

SAF and ANLA Three U.S. chrysanthemum breeding companies have joined with SAF and ANLA to sponsor a free educational webinar for growers on chrysanthemum white rust, and advice on how to avoid it in their 2010 mum crops.

Basil downy mildew - Recently basil downy mildew was identified on basil plants in a greenhouse in Maine. This destructive disease, first found in the northeast in 2008, produces an abundance of spores and can spread quickly. Growers should look for yellowing on basil plants that may look like a nutritional problem. Upon closer examination plants infected with downy mildew will have purplish gray spores visible on the underside of leaves. For pictures and more information visit http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/NewsArticles/BasilDowny.html

Hemlock woolly adelgid - Hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) continues its spread in coastal Maine. Adelgid crawlers are still abundant, so if you are living/recreating or working in or near HWA infested areas please bear in mind the risk of spreading the insect this time of year. Check your hemlocks for signs of this pest, especially those within 20 miles of the coast. If you do find HWA, please let us know. To date HWA infestations have been confirmed in the following towns: Brunswick, Harpswell, South Portland, Bristol, South Bristol, Westport Island, Arrowsic, Georgetown, Phippsburgh, Eliot, Kennebunkport, Kittery, Ogunquit, Saco, South Berwick, Wells and York. More information about the life cycle of HWA can be found at: http://www.maine.gov/doc/mfs/HWALifeStages.htm.

The Maine Department of Agriculture is currently testing its new Got Pests?

Tomato Late Blight - No signs of late blight were found on tomato crops in greenhouses in Maine this year. For an update on the late blight situation in other states and links to new factsheets on late blight and distinguishing late blight from other tomato diseases see the New England Greenhouse Update message posted on June 25 http://www.negreenhouseupdate.info/index.php/june/873-late-blight-on-tomato

Asian longhorned beetle - A small infestation of Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) was confirmed in six red maple trees in Boston, MA over the Fourth of July weekend. The trees located across the street from the Arnold Arboretum, a showplace for trees and their beauty, have since been removed and chipped. If ALB is in Maine, we would expect adults to have begun emerging by this date. If you think you have found ALB, please try to capture and/or photograph the beetle and then contact our office or use the Maine Department of Agriculture on-line report form (www.albmaine.org, right hand column). The Maine Department of Agriculture will be conducting a survey for ALB at Sebago Lake State Park on Saturday August 14. If you would like more information about this event contact karen.l.coluzzi@maine.gov

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens At Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, you’ll discover stunning ornamental gardens and exceptional natural beauty, waterfalls, and incomparable stonework and sculpture. Miles of trails allow you to experience waterfront and woodlands that are quintessentially Maine. You’ll find events and programs for many interests, year-round; and the seasonal Kitchen Garden Café and Gift Shop offer delightful – and delicious – selections.