Garden Clippings
GROWING TOGETHER
THROUGH GARDENING -
503-434-4344
IMPORTANT
INFORMATION ON LAST PAGE CONCERNING BILLBOARD LEGISLATION
|
|
|
March 3rd
Arts & Crafts Architectural Trip
The Arts
& Crafts group will leave at
Stop #1 - approx.
Stop #2 - approx.
March 12th – Field Trip – Hanging Tube Planters
Leave
Information
– Judy Eggers
March 16th - Meeting
Social time:
She is past president of Willamette Valley Daylily Club and served six years as American Hemerocallis Society (AHS) Region 8 publicity director, four more as regional vice-president, and six as regional newsletter editor. Presently, she is on the AHS board of directors and an AHS daylily judge, and her garden is an official AHS display garden.
Over two hundred hybrid daylily cultivars are in her collection, and most of these were introduced in the last ten years. Most importantly, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for daylilies with others is a delight!
DON’T
FORGET TO PARK IN THE CHURCH PARKING LOT
“The Making a Difference Campaign” is a national
garden club project. The Pioneer District is collecting inkjet,
laser printer cartridges and cell phones that will be recycled. If you have any that you wish to contribute
to the project please bring them to a meeting and we will forward them to the
Pioneer District.
March 28 at
Bonsai
class will be presented by Elizabeth Estacio.
We should
meet and car pool from
All supplies
will be provided – pot/plant/tools/potting soil
Please send $40. 00 payment directly to
“Hidden Treasures”
GARDEN TOUR AND GARDEN FAIR
Thanks to all of you who signed up at the February meeting to help with the Garden Tour. Sign-up sheets will be going around again at the March meeting for those of you who missed the February meeting or couldn’t quite decide where you wanted to help. It takes a little bit of effort from all of our Club members to make our Tour/Faire successful but it gives us a great opportunity to do something really memorable for our community!
The morning Docents for Day of Tour will be
assisting Jan Elliott as her Horticulture Committee members this year.
The Docents are Mildred Reppeto, Cindi Miller, Patti Gregory, Evelyn Mundinger
and Rosemary Vertregt. As members of the Horticulture Committee, the
Docents will have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the
interesting and unusual plants in each garden and to become better acquainted
with the garden owners prior to the Tour.
Joanne DeWitt has been very busy making phone calls and sending messages to potential vendors. She’s getting a good response with over 20 vendors so far. Good job, Joanne!!!
We have sent in our application for a booth at the Farmers Market from May 28th to June 25th. We have the approval from the City for holding the Garden Faire on Cowls between 2nd and 4th. We are working with Vicki Brink on the posters and tickets. We’ll be meeting with each of the committee Chairs during the next few months to make sure they have everything they need to do their jobs well. We welcome suggestions or comments on how to make the Tour/Faire more fun and more successful so if you have a good idea, give us a call or send us an e-mail.
Judy Eggers Sharon
Gunter
Garden Tour Co-Chairs
Backyard Habitats Marilyn
Coats
BATS (The Flying Kind)
Many
people have misconceptions regarding bats.
After watching horror movies, bats are looked at as being large,
blood-sucking creatures. Or that they
fly into people’s hair and get stuck. A
more accurate image of most North American bats would be a group swooping into
a cloud of bugs and consuming 600-1000 bugs per
hour. This bug control function is an asset to any ecosystem and provides a very beneficial role for humans, helping to rid cities and farmlands of bugs that are annoying and economically damaging.
Bats are the only mammals that can fly. They can weigh as little as 2 grams (less than 1/10 of an ounce) or as much as 2 pounds and give birth to one young or pup per year. They are nocturnal—active at night, resting during the day. Their eyesight is excellent, and to find their way around the dark, they use echolocation or built-in sonar. Bats are not aggressive, short-tempered animals as depicted. They actually have mild dispositions.
Ways to attract bats to our gardens is by planting fragrant flowers so night-flying bugs can make an easy meal for them. Natural water sources are important as well as providing bat houses for them in your yard.
An average bat will eat more than 300 bugs a night. While using chemicals to rid your yard of bugs might make for a quick fix, it cannot rid your yard of all bugs and causes a grave threat to many of their natural predators. If a bat or bird consumes a sprayed bug, they can ingest the toxic chemicals that can make them very ill or kill them. Instead use safer remedies sparingly or let their natural predators eliminate the bugs.
Bats have been given a bad rap and are actually very beneficial to our garden. Being correctly educated regarding these creatures is very important for the sake of our environment.
President’s
Message
Cathy Burdett
Thyme after Thyme
|
|
|
When a group of “avid, addicted gardeners” have an opportunity to sit and share commonalities, the result is fun, fun, and more fun. Time after time I have observed how effortless and enjoyable it is to talk to others on gardening and horticultural topics. The February club meeting was such an occasion.
Celebrating
Thank you to the exceptionally talented members who generously donated the wonderful centerpieces. Each one was unique and reflected the originality of the creator.
Thank you to Patty who prepared the “Oregon Quiz” which was interesting and fun for members to ponder and answer. We live in a wonderful state!
Thank you to each member who completed the “nomination form” for upcoming officers for 2009-2010. This will provide valuable information for Amy Eads, (Nominations Chair) and will save her time and energy from telephoning members for their suggestions. You can still contact Amy if you wish to nominate a member to the Executive Board.
Thank you to Gaye Stewart for her perseverance in the purchase of a bench for the McMinnville Police Department. This was her “President’s Project” and it has taken an inordinate amount of her time to see the project to completion. The dedication ceremony was well attended by our members and when Gaye dramatically removed the sheet covering the bench the response was overwhelmingly one of appreciation. It is a beautiful work of art. A plaque has been placed on it recognizing the generous donation by the McMinnville Garden Club. We can be very proud that we have participated in this completed project.
Internet Links
Pioneer District
Newsletter
http://gardencentral.org/oregon/pioneerdistrictnewsletter/
State web site
http://oregongardenclubs.org/default.htm
Slideshow of Must Grow Perennials for 2009 (Close the ads that pop up)
http://www.bhg.com/gardening/flowers/perennials/new-perennials
Fresh Dirt: (various interesting articles)
http://freshdirt.sunset.com/events
Container Gardening: Herbs, Flowers, and Vegetables
http://www.reneesgarden.com/articles/container.html
Update on the Billboard
Legislation
GREAT NEWS! A bill
has been sponsored by Senator Hass from
You can also head to http://oregongardenclubs.org/ ; their message to us is:
“Now it is important that you call the Representative and Senator in your area and let them know about Senate Bill 607. Ask them to co-sponsor the bill. In essence, it asks for a ban on digital billboards. The more co-sponsors we can get, the better chance we have. Ask them to call for a hearing on the bill and then be ready to send written comments to the committee assigned to hear it. Our work begins in earnest now.”
SO, once again consider taking action by contacting our area’s legislators:
Senator Brian Boquist E-Mail: sen.brianboquist@state.or.us Phone: (503) 986-1712
Representative Jim Weidner E-Mail: rep.jimweidner@state.or.us Phone: (503) 986-1424
