Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Saturday Workday -Wildflower Sanctuary

Please join us for a fall work day at the Batavia Wildflower Sanctuary on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 9:00 am.  We will be trimming back woody shrubs and planting some seeds, so please bring gloves, loppers, tarps, trowels, and pruning shears if you have them.  We will be meeting near the gazebo in the wooded area south and east of the boardwalk.
 
Hope to see you there!
Sarah    

Monday, November 9, 2015

Snappy Ginger Spice Cookies Recipe - Treats from our October meeting

Treats from our October meeting brought out the goodness of the season.  For those who asked, here is the Snappy Ginger Spice Cookie recipe that Doris Trout shared with us.  Happy baking and eating....you'll stay warm twice!
 
SNAPPY GINGER SPICE COOKIES

½ cup butter, room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/3 cup molasses
2 eggs
2 ¾ cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 300 degrees.  Cream the butter, brown sugar, ½ cup of the granulated sugar, and the molasses in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 3 minutes.  Beat in eggs until smooth.  Set aside.

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cayenne pepper, cloves and sale in a medium bowl.  Beat into the butter-molasses mixture until smooth.

Refrigerate dough about one hour.

Pour remaining sugar in flat dish. Shape dough into balls (18 grams each-about two tablespoons full of dough per cookie).  Roll balls in remaining sugar, then flatten with a glass.

Bake at 300 degrees for 10-11 minutes on parchment-lined baking sheets.  Remove from oven and keep cookies on cookie sheet one minute, then move to wire racks to cool completely.

NOTE:  Crispness or softness of cookie is affected by how much you flatten the ball of dough as well as bake time.  Doris Trout tells us that she prefers softer cookies so she flattens them to ¼ to 3/8ths inch thicknesses.

Thanks to Doris Trout for the cookies and the recipe!

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Perennials need new homes -Right Now!

Nancy Hollmeier is ripping out one garden completely needs to find new homes for some perennials as quickly as possible.  If you want some

Old fashion large pale pink peonies
Fragrant reblooming white iris
Red dianthus (is reblooming now)
Ye-olde pink phlox
or some onesies, twosies too numerous to mention

Contact Nancy at (630) 482-1133

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Wildflower Sanctuary Work-in-Great-Weather Day

Dear Gardeners,
The weather forecast for Saturday, Aug. 8 looks beautiful, and it would be great if you can give us a hand at the Wild Flower Sanctuary!  We will meet at the top of the hill by the compost bins at 9:00 am, and will be working on clearing and mulching paths, starting from the top.  The Batavia Park District will be delivering woodchips for us to use this week.  If you can, please bring gloves, diggers, pruners, loppers, shovels and something to haul weeds and/or mulch in.
 
Thank you for your help!
Sarah

Saturday, July 18, 2015

The Garden Walk Needs You....Please Give Us 5 Minutes Of Your Time

Members,

Our garden walk is next week!! Please share the following via facebook (if you belong) and/or email with friends, family and clubs.  We really need to push sales in this last week.  We appreciate your help.  You can also share the link to this by copying and pasting the URL above.

The Batavia Plain Dirt Gardeners present their 2015 garden walk; 
Flowers At Our Feet, on Saturday, July 25, 2015 from 9am-4pm.

The walk features 6 gorgeous local gardens and the Wildflower Sanctuary at the Batavia River Walk.  

Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 day of.  Kids under 12 are free.

You can buy tickets in person at the west side Batavia Park District during regular business hours.  You can order online atwww.bpdgclub.blogspot.com (PayPal icon in top right corner).  You can Call Kristyn Harper at 815.528.0691 for tickets.  Tickets will be available for purchase on the day of in the back parking lot of Bethany Lutheran church from 8:30am-11:30 am and at each of the gardens.  

This event is an important fundraiser and supports local gardening projects and scholarships.

We appreciate your help and tending-to of this very important event. 

Thank you so much,

Kris

Monday, July 13, 2015

Wildflower Sanctuary Volunteer-Sustaining Rhubarb Bread

Is your rhubarb producing like never before, and the rain just keeps coming?  On Saturday, Sarah Kimber brought this decadent bread treat to nourish our Wildflower Sanctuary "weeders and picker-uppers".  It is a sweet quick bread with yummy topping that we voted "share-worthy". 
 
Here is the recipe for Rhubarb bread, compliments of Sarah's friend, Dee Frieders: 
 
1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup oil
1 egg
1 cup sour milk
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 and1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 and 1/2 cups rhubarb, finely chopped
1/2 c sugar
1 Tablespoons margarine or butter 
 
Bread:  Cream together brown sugar, oil, egg and vanilla.
Then alternate mixing in sour milk with the flour, salt, baking soda.
Add rhubarb.
Fill two greased loaf pans.
 
Topping:  Cream together 1/2 c sugar with 1 T margarine or butter for topping.  Sprinkle on top of bread dough.
 
Bake at 350 for 45 min.
Enjoy!   

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

The 2015 Garden Walk, Flowers At Our Feet, July 25, 2015



The Batavia Plain Dirt Gardeners
Presents
the 2015 Garden Walk
Flowers at Our Feet
“A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in-what more could he ask?  
A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.” Victor Hugo

Saturday, July 25, 2015
9am-4pm
Rain or Shine

Tickets: $15 in advance, $20 day of
Children under 12 are free

Tickets are available for purchase before July 24th at:

The west side Batavia Park District,
327 West Wilson Street in Batavia
or online at:

Tickets are available for purchase on July 25th at:
The Bethany Lutheran Church Elderday Care Center
(in the parking lot) 8 S. Lincoln Avenue in Batavia
from 8:30am-11:30am
and, if you are with someone who already has a ticket,
you may purchase additional tickets at each of our 6 gardens
For More Information call
Kristyn Harper (815)528-0691

Thursday, May 14, 2015

May 19th - The Beautiful and Useful Plants of South Africa

Our May 19th meeting will feature "The Beautiful and Useful Plants of South Africa: Our Intimate Connection" giving us a a look at some of South Africa’s Useful plants on display at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens in Cape Town. Some of these plants have traveled into our homes, kitchens and medicine cabinets. Plants seemingly are rooted where they grow, but many of these beauties have journeyed thousands of miles to enrich our lives. Join Rosie McVay in Part 2 of her South African plant adventure.

Join us at the Batavia Public Library in the large meeting room:
6:45pm - Social time
7:00pm - Business Meeting and Updates!
7:40pm - Main Feature Program

On the corner of Wilson and Hwy 31.