Nobleton UCW will be hosting pot-luck Christmas dinner Nov. 26
By Angie Maccarone (905) 859-5174

Nobleton United Church

Thank you to everyone who supported our pastaeuchre evening Saturday.

It was a lively social night, with lots of laughs.

Nov. 18, we are going to have a special worship service for people of all ages. There will be good music and wonderful stories and people of all ages are invited to join us.

Our worship service is at 11:15 a.m.

Our Annual UCW Pot Luck Christmas Dinner is Nov. 26, at 6 p.m. This is held in our Church Sunday School Room. All are welcome.

Kingcrafts Arts Guild

Join us for our 53rd annual studio sale to be held at Kingcrafts House at 12936 Keele St. in King City.

It will run Nov. 17, 18, 24, and 25, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Admission is free.

Come browse, shop for that perfect gift and enjoy a complimentary cup of tea or coffee.

Articles for sale are all handmade by members. These include weaving, traditional rug hooking, needlework, quilting, decorative painting, copper and silver enameling, jewelry, pottery, silk painting, fine art paintings, garden arts, and stained glass.

Raffle tickets can be purchased from members or at the house during the sale. The draw will be held Nov. 25.

For more information, email kinginfo@kingcrafts.ca or check the Web site www.kingcrafts.ca

St. Paul's

Presbyterian Church

Mark your calendars for the annual Book Fair, which will be held Dec. 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This is a great opportunity to meet with friends, get out of the cold, have some coffee and sweets and get some (or all) of your Christmas shopping done. The motto is Shop With a Spiritual Purpose.

Also, the Christmas Pageant this year is called The Mystery of the Manger. There will be the community performance Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. and a school performances Dec. 4 and 5 at 9:30 a.m.

The Youth Group will be travelling to Kitchener this Friday (Nov. 16) at 5:30 p.m. to volunteer at the Operation Christmas Child Warehouse. Any high school aged teenagers in the community wishing to join them can meet at the church parking lot at 5:30 sharp.

Join us Nov. 17 at 10 a.m. as we continue our Bible Discovery series with Rev. Dr. Jeff Loach of the Canadian Bible Society. Loach will be with us next Saturday (Nov. 24) as well.

This Sunday (Nov. 18) at 9:45 a.m., we welcome Alan and Natalie Self of Power to Change (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) to the pulpit. Nursery care is provided during the service and Sunday school for all ages follows at 11 a.m.

For more information about any of our activities or events, please contact the church office at (905) 859- 0843.

Horticulture

"November sees the last leaves fall, As deep snuggling bulbs await spring's call.

November frosts the roofs and fields,

For soon our world to winter yields."

There is still time to plant spring bulbs so they can snuggle deep in the relatively warm early November soil. Tulips, for instance, can be planted as long as the ground can be dug even if the top couple of centimeters (half an inch) of soil is frozen.

While daffodils (narcissus), hyacinths and crocus (vernus, flavus and tomasinianus varieties) ideally should have been planted in September to allow them to develop some root growth, they still can be planted now. They may not have as large a bloom as they might have if planted earlier, but they will grow and they will bloom. The flower size should be normal by spring 2009.

At this time of year, many garden centres are offering 50 per cent off spring bulbs. I have planted daffodils on Christmas Eve Day and on New Year's Day as the ground was diggable even though there was some snow cover. Most of the bulbs flowered the following spring. January 2007 was so mild that when I found some daffodil bulbs on sale for less than half price. I bought and planted a couple of dozen. They bloomed in the spring and one Orangery won a first prize at last year's Schomberg Fair.

I plant large bulbs like those of tulips, daffodils and hyacinths one foot deep, while the bulbs of small spring flowers, such as snowdrops (galanthus) crocus (all varieties), winter aconites (eranthis hyemalis) and small alliums, six inches deep. This lets me plant annuals over top of them when they die off and go dormant in late spring or early summer without disturbing them. Most spring flowering bulbs (tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, crocus, alliums, aconites and snowdrops) are best planted where their leaves will get a good amount of sun until they turn yellow and die. The sun's energy allows the green leaves to feed and build up the bulbs so they can reflower the following spring.

If you bought pots of spring bulbs almost ready to bloom (or already in bloom) in a supermarket or garden centre last winter or early spring, and you still have bulbs that are fairly solid, you can plant them outdoors but, because they were "forced" into bloom out of season, they will only produce leaves for two or three years until the bulbs have built up their strength. Then they will bloom - at first with small flowers but with each year the flower size will increase. "No more plant sales, no more show books, no more judges' withering looks" - at least until March 2008.

The Nobleton/King Horticultural Society ended its 49th year of flower shows, regular meetings and guest speakers with its Oct. 22 meeting, themed "To Everything There is a Season."

The 69 floral entries from eight competitors were judged by Jean Phillips from the Orangeville area. Barb Downey (Castlederg) scored most points with 41 while Nancy Hopkinson (Nobleton) placed second with 36 and won best in show decorative/design with her intriguing arrangement named for the show's theme. Kate Agosta (Bolton) came third in points with 24 and won best in show cultural with her beautiful gladiolus.

Guest speaker Jim Edwards showed us how to effectively use flowers and floral colour when entertaining indoors with his presentation Tablescapes.

The final 2007 event for the society is its Annual General Meeting Nov. 26 at the Nobleton Community Hall. This includes a pot luck supper, election of officers for 2008, presentation of awards and, this year, a photography competition.

By the by, when you are planting chrysanthemums, please note that these perennials like a neutral or slightly alkaline soil thus they usually do not do well planted with or near coniferous evergreen shrubs or trees such as pine, juniper, cedar and larch (even though it loses its needles in fall). If you do have a slightly acid soil, digging three or four teaspoons of baking soda into the ground around the plant will help neutralize the soil. However, rain and (or) snow will wash away the baking soda, so you will have to replace it three or four times during the growing season.

Happy chrysanthemums tend to develop large clumps fairly fast and these clumps need to be dug up, split and replanted every two or three years. The perennial we commonly call chrysanthemum - the florist or garden variety - is often listed in older publications (pre 2000) as chrysanthemum dendranthema but, in more up-to-date publications, is called chrysanthemum morifolium.

When planting spring bulbs, put them in groups of five to seven for a better effect and be sure to give them a good watering. This is especially important this year because of our warm, dry fall.

Many gardeners say rose pruning should be left until spring when all danger of frost has passed. However, gardening expert Mark Cullen recommends pruning rose bushes in the fall to half their height. Another gardening expert, Art Drysdale, says we should hill up each rose bush with a mound of soil 10 inches high. Garden soil is best for this, as it will compact and freeze, protecting the bush from repeated freezes and thaws over the winter. Mounds of leaves and (or) peat moss tend to dry out and blow away unless contained by collars with some soil mixed in. The advantage of using collars is required to build up the 10 inches covering than would be needed for an open mound.

Covering the garden with a mulch of leaves and (or) straw for the winter is a good idea but wait until the ground has frozen for the winter (last year that was mid-January) as by then the mice and their assorted relatives will have made other winter nesting arrangements and won't nestle into your mulch and lunch on the underlying garden plants. Avoid using large whole maple, oak or basswood leaves and the like as a garden mulch as they tend to get soggy and compact tightly on the ground over the winter. This not only prevents air and warmer early spring sunshine from reaching your plants, but smothers their struggling new shoots. Using smaller leaves and (or) grinding up the larger ones is the answer for a good protective mulch.

Seniors' euchre

Nov. 6 euchre winners were Paula Latanville, Iva Hilliard, Mary Sheardown, Herb Workman, Walter Hill and Lou Curtis. The next euchre will be Nov. 20 at 1:30 p.m. at the Drop-in Centre. There will also be a bid euchre game Nov. 20th at 7:30 p.m. at the Drop-in Centre. All are welcome.

Chamber Christmas

luncheon

King Township Chamber of Commerce will be hosting its annual Christmas luncheon and Business Achievement Awards Dec. 13 at 11:30 a.m. at Cardinal Golf Club.

Everyone is welcome to join in at this festive event. The Chamber will be serving a hot buffet lunch with roasted turkey, traditional stuffing and all the trimmings. Carved strip loin of beef, fresh pasta, salmon, salad, soup, vegetables along with a tantalizing sweet table, coffee and tea. Wine will be included, together with a cash bar, all for $40 per person. Include your staff members as well, and help us bring in the joys of the holiday season.

RSVP to Marina Ferrante at (905) 841-7447 or admin@ktcc.ca

St. Alban's bazaar

St. Alban's Anglican Church will be holding its annual Christmas bazaar this Saturday (Nov. 17) at Nobleton Community Hall. It will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and promises to feature a wide variety of items, along with a large and lavish bake table, hand-made Christmas decorations and many one-of-a-kind gift items. A ligth, delicious lunch will be available too.