Tuxedo Park FYI | Tuxedo Park Garden Club

The Tuxedo Park Garden Club & Friends of the Race Track Preserve Steeple Chase Ceremony and Peony Garden Party June 3, 2023

St. Mary's & Tuxedo Park Garden Club to Dedicate Pam Cromey Memorial Rose Garden on November 7

Please join us in-person or online at 1pm on Saturday, November 7th, as the Tuxedo Park Garden Club and St. Mary's dedicate the Pam Cromey Memorial Rose Garden. The garden is given in loving memory of Pam and all those in our community who lost their lives to Covid.

The garden surrounds the church sign and dogwood tree which were previously given in memory of Phil Swirbul. A memorial allée of dogwood trees is being established along the approach to St. Mary's, and a second tree has been planted in Pam's memory.

Many thanks to Charlotte Worthy and warden Billy Mincey for sourcing and planting the roses, and to the Tuxedo Park Garden Club for preparing the bed for planting.

Pause For a Good Cause Fashion Show Luncheon to Bennefit The Orange County Land Trust, St. Mary's and The Tuxedo Park Garden Club - September 22, 2018

THANK YOU to the Tuxedo Park Garden Club for all of your efforts in making the community look beautiful this fall!

Once again the entrances to Tuxedo Park and many of the public spaces in the village and town have been transformed beautifully by the Tuxedo Park Garden Club. On October 2nd using mums, millet, rudabeckia, kale and cabbages, Michele Lindsay, Sue Heywood, Ann Gladding, Serene Swirbul, Dolores Marchand, Agnes Chen, Daphne Whelahan, Stephen Brodheim, Pam Boorman, Naomi Moon, Nan Hawk, Nancy Hays and Pam Cromey, brought Fall color to the Park, post office, library and village and town offices. As you drive past the Centennial Wall take time to enjoy the lovely Autumnal colors as the mums open and set off the muted colors of the millet and ornamental cabbages.

The Garden Club plants these areas twice a year in the Spring and Fall for the beautification and enjoyment of the community and, judging by the many compliments, their hard work is greatly appreciated. Seasonal annuals are interspersed with the perennials, shrubs and trees.

Next up for the Garden Club will be the decorating and hanging of the Christmas wreaths in early December.

The Spring Plantathon held on May 24th was hosted by Ann Zgonena and Nancy Bourke. Midsummer Farm, a local biodynamic farm, was selling old favorites and new varieties of herbs and flowers. Barbara Laino who owns and operates Midsummer Farm, answered questions from members, friends and residents.

Garden Club members and friends then spent the better part of that day planting annuals and perennials at the Centennial Wall,the South and North Park Gates, Post Office,Library, and Village Office, and weeding, pruning and planting in the Ontio,Club, and South Gate Triangles. Some perennials that had not survived the harsh winter were also replaced.

The previous week the plants had been purchased from several local nurseries and chosen carefully for their suitability in each setting, sun or shade, as well as blending of colours. Coriopsis,Caladium,Reigor Begonias,Nicotina,Persian Shields,Impatiens, Portulaca,Geraniiums..to list just a few!

The next Meeting will be on July 15th when members and guests will be treated to displays of decorative table settings and receive advice on creating these and using flower arrangements to enhance their dinner and celebratory parties.

This month we met for our annual wreath-decorating event. We decorated and distributed wreaths for holiday enjoyment around the Park and the community. We hope you all enjoy them as you go through town. Over the winter months we will meet to plan and order the colorful plants of springtime that we plant during our annual Spring Plant-a-thon. In closing, The National Wildlife Federation suggests in December: " If your holiday preparations leave you with any spare time,...By trimming side growth and tops of (ornamental shrubs) you'll encourage denser foliage ... Once the side growth fills out, you can just prune the top enough to keep the shrub at a desirable height. Snipping the ends of lateral growth on narrow-leaf evergreens will encourage thicker trees. " Wildlife Gardener's Journal.

Thanks to the Tuxedo Park Garden Club, installation of a new rain garden around a drain in the northeast corner of the Village Office parking lot has recently been completed! The new garden will provide filtration for storm water run-off as it makes its way from the Village Office towards Pond #3.

The Tuxedo Park Garden Club has recently received permission from the Village Board of Trustees to install a rain garden around a drain in the northeast corner of the Village Office parking lot. Runoff from the roof of the Village Office and parking lot flows into a corner drain, which empties through a culvert-type pipe above Pond No. 3. The runoff cascades into the pond without benefit of filtration, natural or otherwise. The half moon shaped garden will be lower then the drain and planted with native plants that do not mind having wet feet from time to time. Storm water runoff will collect in the garden and slowly soak into the ground. If the garden overflows the original drain will still be in place to handle excess water. The Orange County Soil and Water District recommended the site for water quality protection and educational value. The Garden Club will fund the installation through a bequest from longtime Garden Club member Ursula Ehlers. Benefits of the rain garden include: Contaminants such as eroded soil, road salt, litter, grass clippings, motor oil are prevented from entering Pond No. 3; compared to grass lawns, a rain garden allows 30% more water to soak into the ground reducing erosion: and native plants benefit Park biodiversity by providing habitat and food for birds, butterflies and beneficial insects. Since water is not standing for long in the garden, mosquitoes cannot breed.

Something is always happening at the Racetrack like the bald eagle flying overhead last week. More often, what's happening is less dramatic but no less thrilling. White crowned sparrows passing through have been enjoying the clusters of dying field thistle. A house wren stopped briefly on a branch in the middle of the meadow. Just last week, sitting on the newly placed bench, enjoying the sunshine, a small flock of palm warblers alighted on the grass a few feet in front of the bench. On their way south, the small wood warblers with a yellow chest hopped about looking for food their tails bobbing. While enjoying the activity literally at our feet, suddenly the dead trees to our right came to life with bluebirds. No longer blue and considered by the experts to be "drab", their muted orange chest, gray-blue backs were rich looking against the brilliant clear blue sky behind them. Perhaps tomorrow the warblers and bluebirds will be gone (the bald eagle seems to have settled in the trees of Tuxedo Lake), but "something" will be happening at the Racetrack. Perhaps the Solitary Sandpiper will be resting at a what appears to be an insignificant puddle or a monarch will flutter through the milkweeds. Take a walk or a seat and enjoy what's happening.

Left to Right Anita Barbour, artist and orgamist for the American Museum of Natural History Holiday oragami tree, Spider Barbour, Professional Naturalist, and John Yrizarry, Tuxedo Wildlife Artist and Naturalist enjoying the new bench at the Racetrack

Tuxedo Park Racetrack has continued to provide multiple surprises each and every visit throughout the summer months. Whether it’s a display of floral life, deemed by naturalists as quite unique in the county, or the sight and song of bluebirds and brilliant black and yellow goldfinches amid the pink flowered thistles you’ll find lots of color.

Now, in the northwest corner of the racetrack, along the wide mowed path that encircles the “track”, a bench has been placed by the Tuxedo Park Garden Club so as to provide a view of the meadow. It’s a great place to sit and enjoy the varied and beautiful plant, bird, butterfly and other insect life. So come, walk and explore or just relax on the bench and take it all in. Look up to the top of a dead tree and you might see an Olive-sided Flycatcher, a New York State species “Highly at Risk”. Look down and you might pick up the feather of a Great Horned Owl or if you are especially quick you might glimpse the Northern Dusky Salamander. Whichever way you look, your soul will be refreshed.

Although winter seems to be well entrenched, spring is not far off. The Tuxedo Park Garden Club started getting ready for spring last fall when we planted bulbs and tidied up and mulched the garden beds for the winter. For the holidays, we purchased and decorated 17 wreaths, which, along with 72 yards of evergreen roping, were hung throughout the Village and Hamlet.

In March we begin in earnest the planning of the community projects, which we will pursue for the reminder of the year. We are a volunteer organization, and we thank you for your generous support of our activities.

On April 7th, at 10 am, The Garden Club is hosting Patti Woods, Grassroots Environmental Education, who will be speaking on ecological approaches to lawn care. If you care to attend please contact Michele Lindsay 351-4034 or Dena Steele 351-2835. Space is limited.Gardening Tip: March is a good time to transplant shrubs and trees, cut back ornamental grasses and prune roses and privet hedges.

Tips from the Garden Club

Alternatives to Dumping Lawn Debris:
Mulching and Composting
“Here’s a fact there’s no getting ‘round: a bare patch of earth isn’t
good for the ground.”
-Trowel & Error by Sharon Lovejoy

Thanks to the efforts of the Environmental and Village Improvement Committees and the support of the mayor and the entire Board of Trustees the Racetrack has been closed to dumping of lawn debris and other matter. As Spring approaches and you consider your property’s maintenance for the year, consider mulching and composting as an alternative to bagging and carting away lawn debris. As Ms Lovejoy writes,
“Mulch, mulch, and more mulch. Through every season (even in the worst winter weather), mulch’s macro- and microscopic armies are at work in your garden. Mulched soil is high in ethylene gas, which discourages the growth of fungus and other pathogens … Microbes in composed pine and hardwood barks enhance microbial activity and suppress disease and root rot. Mulched earth supports unseen billions of beneficial underground dwellers that enrich the soil and improve its structure. Soil protected by a layer of mulch also retains moisture, prevents soil-borne disease from splashing up and onto plants, deters invasive weeds, prevents erosion, and provides a welcoming environment for spiders, ground beetles, and other helpful garden critters…To create mulch: “Save your leaves, and put them through a shredder or run your lawnmower through piled-up leaves to shred them. Or dump the leaves into a trash can and use a weed whacker to shred them. Top your beds with the shredded leaves… Create a big doughnut of mulch …for your trees and shrubs.”

Composting can also be simple or more involved and is viewed as the best way to dispose of garden and lawn waste. Plus composting provides a handy supply of organic fertilizer and soil conditioner. You can just heap waste in a pile or you can create or purchase containers for a neater appearance. A cold (not layered or regularly maintained) compost pile will take up to a year to compost. A hot pile can produce compost in two weeks but requires attention especially to balancing high carbon- and high nitrogen ingredients. Either methodology does not require a lot of space.
For more information and details on Composting and Mulching please visit Cornell Waste Management Institute for “Small Scale or Backyard Composting” at www.gardening.cornell.edu/soils

More Tips from the Garden Club

The Tuxedo Park Garden Club suggests you avoid invasives, which crowd out our native plants often leaving wildlife without necessary food or shelter. A good source of information on invasive plants and native alternatives can be found on http://www.stewardshipbestpractices.org.

Without your donations the flowers and decorations you enjoy in the public areas of the Village and the Hamlet would be missing. Please help us by sending a check to the Tuxedo Park Garden Club, P.O.Box 748, Tuxedo Park, NY 10987. Thank you.

In response to inquiries about deer "resistant" plants we are offering a link to Mohonk Mountain House Garden's list of plants not usually eaten by deer. Click here.

The note cards of Tuxedo Gardens, past and present, are still available. They make terrific gifts, the $15.- cost helps us to care for the blooms we will enjoy all season long!