Hosts Gary and Jana Meiser, the |
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As flames spewed from Gary's weedeater two days before the meeting, it was surely an omen of the blazing hot temperatures in store for us on July 15th. Gary's fervor to make the garden pristine must have been too much, not only for our own weedeater which burst into flames but also for our neighbors' weedeater which quickly conked out the same day. This was our second time to host a PSST meeting in July, bewildered at how we managed to volunteer for July not once, but twice! |
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 Will Crump, Jim McHaney, Jana Meiser, Karen Easley
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A month without rain and still counting, the meeting date
proved to be the hottest day of the year at 103º. With tremendous help from
neighbors Charlie and Ellen Fehrenkamp, we had a great meeting anyway. Ellen created
some beautiful arrangements from foliage clipped from our gardens. Charlie, bless
his heart, got volunteered to barbeque the hamburgers. As Charlie slaved over the hot barbeque, 30 PSST members and guests toured the garden. The garden is only three years old, much to the amazement of people visiting for the first time. Bob Harris and Lloyd Van Epps (below) stepped out of the shade long enough for Mike to get their picture under the Majesty palm. This palm (Ravenea rivularis) came from a 1-gallon pot just three years ago. Gary's secret to success, courtesy of Robert Riffle's advice, is lots of water and plenty of fertilizer. The Roystonea regia is located on the south side of the house in the most protected area possible. It started in a 1-gallon pot three years ago and moved up to a 3-gallon. The wind kept knocking it over, so Gary buried the pot in the ground. It was supposed to be temporary, but it quickly rooted itself into the ground. Two years later, it is nearly as tall as the house, and the base of the trunk is as wide as the pot which is still buried in the ground.
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| Blueberry Cookies cream together: 1 c. (2sticks) butter 1/4 c. w. sugar 3/4 c. brown sugar (packed, I use heb variety) add and beat til creamy: 1 pkg. van. pudding (4 serv. size, instant is ok) 1 tsp. vanilla add and beat in 2 eggs mix together and grad. add: 2 1/4 c. flour 1 tsp. baking soda beat til creamy (fairly stiff batter) add: 1 pt. (at least) fresh blueberries (i use at least 3 cups) optional: add up to 1 c. chopped pecans Use about 1/3 c. batter/cookie (about an
ice cream scoop size, scoop release works well) Like anything else, if using convection oven figure about 12-14 minutes max; also using those "air" cookie sheets will decrease cooking time a little more. Computer tip: Wondering how to get this recipe without printing out this huge page? It's easy. Click and drag. Copy and paste. Place your mouse on this sentence, hold down the left mouse button, and scroll up the page until you see "Blueberry Cookies" highlighted. Let go of the mouse (recipe text should be highlighted). Hold down the CTRL key and press c (keyboard shortcut for copy). Open notepad or some other text editor. Hold down the CTRL key and press v (keyboard shortcut for paste). Voilà. You'll wonder how you ever managed to use your computer without keyboard shortcuts. This works for all kinds of things! |
 Linn Keller with blueberry cookies Thirty members and guests came from the valley, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Victoria, and locally. Burgers were ready at 1:00. Gaby Schmidt fixed a beautiful spinach salad and John Dillard brought homemade potato salad. Linn Keller brought the dessert that disappeared the quickest -- homemade blueberry cookies. They were truly delicious and Linn has generously supplied the recipe for anyone wanting to make their own.
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 Bob Harris auctions a Cycas Revoluta in a bonsai pot donated by Rhapis Gardens |
After eating we held a brief meeting. PSST member Lynn McKamey of Rhapis Gardens donated a Cycas revoluta in an
attractive bonsai pot for auction. Peter Hueppi brought several seedlings, including
Phoenix dactylifera, Sabal roseii, Trachycarpus fortunei, Washingtonia filifera.
Bob Harris enthusiastically auctioned these items. Blake Volk brought some Arenga
engleri and Attalea seeds to share with anyone interested. Chairman
Bill Baker of Austin conducted a brief meeting. Bill Baker is now officially elected
as a new International Palm Society director. Congratulations Bill! Old
business is the t-shirt design. Several members have worked on a new t-shirt design
but none are completed as yet. Artistic collaboration is ongoing. And now
for the best part of the meeting... |
Where's the next meeting? Click here to find out Join PSST or get a PSST t-shirt This page created and hosted by Have questions about palms and gardening? Check out these message boards:
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