MHGC Awards presented in June 2026 for 2025 activities

 Chinook District Awards

Past Director Susan Nash Award – Community Service: 1^st place and 3^rd place

Past Director Ann Crain Award – Yearbook, 30-44 members: 1^st place

Past Director Esther Banholzer – Yearbook Cover, 21-35 members: 1^st place

Past Director Barbara Smith Award – Arbor Day Project: 1^st place

Past Director Linda Haas Award – Certified Wildlife Habitat: 1^st place

Past Director Marion Nancarrow Award – Best Craft: 1^st place to Debbie Angel

Past Director Dianne Green Award – Best Horticulture: 2^nd place to Debbie Angel

Grow Green, Plant Trees Award: 2^nd place for club, 3^rd place to Dorothy Hitchcock for individual

Smokey Bear Poster, 5^th grade: Jude Snyder

Smokey Bear Poster, 4^th grade: Leila Snyder

 

Washington State Federation of Garden Clubs (WSFGC) Awards

Arbor Day: 2^nd place

Community Service: 1^st place, 2^nd place, and 3^rd place

Growing Project: 2^nd place

Horticulture Essay: 1^st place to Radhika Kumar

Social Media/Website: 2^nd place

Garden Therapy, Passive: 1^st place

Yearbook: Honorable Mention

Youth Involvement: 1^st place

Civic Achievement: 1^st place

District Newsletter: 1^st place (Debbie Angel, editor)

Community Garden: 1^st place

Berta Deming Award for most blue ribbons: Debbie Angel

 

Pacific Region Awards

Native Flora Education Award: 2^nd place

Civic Achievement Award: 2^nd place

Newsletter: 3^rd place (Chinook District Newsletter, Debbie Angel)

Published Article Award: 2^nd place to Radhika Kumar

 

National Garden Clubs (NGC)

Certificate of Appreciation

Radhika's Essay about Peonies and Garden Club Friendships

 A Bomb Paeonia Roots Friendships

“From the earth we came; to the earth we return. In between we garden.” (Alfred Austin, English Poet Laureate (1835-1913). Luckily, because I belong to a garden club, I never garden alone. Whenever I fall in love with a plant, I reach out to my gardening friends to ask if they grow it and if they would share a start? One such plant was the Paeonia ‘Red Charm’ that I first saw in a Denver garden. I love peonies. They are low maintenance, deer and slug-resistant, survive benign neglect, don’t need constant division, and can live for decades in the one spot. Botrytis blight is controlled with pruning. I grow peonies—the pink, delicately fragrant ‘Sarah Bernhardt’, the nun-like white ‘Duchess de Nemours’— but I had never seen a merlot-red peony so huge it made my eyes pop. Its seductive color left me drunk with craving. I coveted its sturdy stem, its lush foliage, the perfect 9-inch roundness of its flowers. I wanted its explosion of ruffled, petaloid petals surrounded by a ring of larger guard petals, so tightly packed it was no wonder it was classified as a “bomb peony.” The flower’s elusive scent of cloves instantly wafted me back to India, my birth country. I had to have it.

This peony, I learned, was a hybrid created by crossing a Paeonia lactiflora and a Paeonia officinalis. Introduced in 1944 by Illinois grower Lyman Glasscock, it won the American Peony Society’s gold medal award in 1956. I asked my gardening friends: Could they help me find a start as I’d had no success at the nurseries? My British-born friend Audrey Plummer, a lover of fuchsias, stepped up. She spread the word. Dutch-born friend Carolina Wagemans, who grew dahlias and even had one named in her honor, brought in a start for me. Following instructions, I planted the tuber in full sun, in well-draining soil, avoided planting it too deep to encourage it to flower, and gave its promise of huge flowers some structural support.

After a couple of years of impatient waiting, I saw the first buds, with ants slurping their sweet sap. When the flowers opened, way earlier than the other peonies in my garden, I called Audrey and Carolina, thanked them and sent them photos of the first bloom. I took one flower to my house-bound neighbor. It almost toppled over her bud vase! I took another to the assisted living center which my garden club supports. I was immediately surrounded by residents, who said, like I had, that they had never seen a peony so red and so full.

Sadly, both friends have since passed away, becoming one with the earth they loved so well. I mourn them still, but I also remember how three first-generation immigrants obliterated national borders by sharing a bomb peony hybridized in America. The wine-red flowers are a toast to our shared love of gardening. The plant they gifted me is thriving, so I know that friendship and memories, like peonies, endure.

Book Donations for Olympic View K-8

 Here are some photos of the books the club donated. Thanks for your generous donations to go along with the books purchased from club funds.

April 21 Meeting at 4:00 p.m. at Kent East Hill Nursery

 Reminder that our April meeting will be at 4:00 p.m. at Kent East Hill Nursery. We will begin with a program by Jason Billingsley about pollinator-friendly plants. 

April is also the month that we collect dues for the coming year. So please bring $12 for your annual dues.

April 27 Arbor Day Tree Planting

 Mark your calendars for the Cherry tree planting at Hylebos Blueberry Farm Park. Tentative time is 10:00 a.m.

March 14 Blueberry Pruning

 

Visit the Hylebos Blueberry Farm on Saturday, March 14, for a Blueberry Pruning Seminar from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Participants will receive instruction and hands-on practice with one-on-one guidance.

For those who just want to volunteer at the farm, everyone is welcome! Bring your favorite tools. Extra tools & snacks will be provided 

Books for Olympic View School

 March 17 Meeting: Remember to bring any books you would like to donate to Olympic View school for K-8. We hope to exceed last year's donation of 210 books.

Books for Olympic View Elementary School

 In March, we will be taking books to the library at Olympic View. The librarian will invite children from low-income families to select books. Marilee will purchase books about gardening and the environment from the funds we've designated from the club account. Members are encouraged to purchase additional books to add to these. You may purchase books on any topic, either fiction or nonfiction.

Christmas Joy from MHGC

 On December 11, Marine Hills Garden Club completed our annual project serving the Life Care Center in Federal Way by delivering many gifts and floral arrangements. Each year, we get a wish list from staff at Life Care Center for residents who do not have anyone to provide them with Christmas gifts. This year, our members decided to provide gifts for five residents (three men and two women). Our members signed and purchased gifts listed on the wish lists. We delivered five huge gift bags. The bags included many clothing items such as sweatshirts, pants, long-sleeved and short-sleeved tees, hats, pajamas; electric shavers; backpack; art supplies; radio; baby doll with blanket and sleeper; hair supplies; and much more. We provided another 20 gift bags for residents with items like calendars, snacks, lotions, lap blankets/throws, playing cards, puzzles, games, cosmetics bags, tote bags, fidget toys, socks, note pads, and more. Additional items were given to the Activities Director, Rachel, to use for bingo prizes.

Throughout the year, we provide a floral arrangement each week for the reception area. For Christmas and Valentine’s Day, we create and deliver dozens of small arrangements for the dining tables and for staff and residents to enjoy. On December 11, we delivered 29 arrangements made by 14 of our members.

On December 10, club members also delivered 24 Christmas arrangements to the Brookdale Foundation House to add cheer for their residents.

Members of Marine Hills Garden Club find these annual projects very rewarding, and most members participate by making floral arrangements and buying gifts. 

Wreath for Blue Star Marker

 Debbie created the wreath for the Blue Star Marker in Celebration Park and placed it today:

Chinook District Holiday Luncheon

 The holiday luncheon was lots of fun for all! Here are some photos from the event: decorated tables, winning "Eleves and More Elves" and "Most Elegant". 

Here is the raffle table, showing the two baskets we donated. Also the two arrangements Debbie made for the silent auction.

 

Here is Maxine and Carrie in costumes for the skit:

Secret Santa Gifts and Floral Arrangements Reminder

 If you are getting any "Secret Santa" gifts for Life Care Center residents, please contact Dorothy Hitchcock to arrange to get them to her, so they can be included in her delivery.

If you are able to make small floral arrangements for Life Care Center or Brookdale Foundation House, please let Lydia know so she can keep track of what is going to each location. She can tell you the delivery arrangements.

Photos below are from last year:

Chinook District Christmas Luncheon December 3

 If you are helping to decorate/set up a table, please arrive at 9:00 to help. If you are not setting up for the luncheon, the doors open at 11:00.  I encourage you to arrive then, so you will have time to see all the tables and designs. There will be a silent auction for designs created by members of Designers Guild.

Chinook District Luncheon

December 3, 2025

Grace Lutheran Church

22975 24th Ave S.

Des Moines, WA 98198

 

Delicious lunch, unique entertainment,

raffle baskets, design auction.

Prizes for table designs will be awarded.

Christmas Party December 16

We will have our annual Christmas party at Judy McDonald's house on December 16 at 5:30 p.m. If you haven't let Maxine know if you are attending, please tell her right away, as she is in charge of purchasing the gifts. Once again, we will have the game where members draw numbers and take turns opening wrapped gifts, with each person having the option to either unwrap a new gift or "steal" a gift that someone else has already opened. 

Bring an appetizer or dessert.

Carnivorous Plants

 Mary Beth Lanza gave an excellent presentation about Carnivorous Plants at our October 21 meeting. Here are a few photos of her plants.

Photo from planting the Cherry tree in April

 Here is a photo taken on April 28 when club members planted the Kwanzan Cherry tree we donated, along with two blueberry bushes, at Hylebos Creek Blueberry Farm Park.

Upcoming events

November 5, 10:00 a.m. – Chinook General Meeting and Flower Show, Auburn First United Methodist Church

November 18, 5:30 p.m. – Marine Hills Garden Club Meeting. Program: Sue Goetz “Landscaping for Winter Color”

December 3, 11:00 a.m. – Chinook District Holiday Luncheon (Table decorating 9:30 – 10:30). Pay Marilee ASAP if you want a ticket of one of our club tables. Location: Grace Lutheran Church in Des Moines

December 16, 5:30 p.m. – Marine Hills Garden Club Christmas Party at Judy's house. 

A few photos from 2023 activities

 Here are a few photos from club activities in 2023:

October 17 program "Creating Floral Arrangements"

 Debbie Angel will demonstrate some basic arrangement styles and techniques that you can use to create small arrangements, such as those we take to the care center for Christmas or for your dining table. 

October 19 Meeting is 3:00 p.m. at Kent East Hill Nursery

 Please note the special time for our October 19 meeting. As this is a special meeting at Kent East Hill Nursery, we are meeting at 3:00 p.m. We will have a program by Jason Billingsley about great plant choices for the fall. 

I will pass out yearbooks to any members who have not received their yearbook/directory. We will also get new name tags. 

Since we can't meet in-person at Brookdale Foundation House yet, we arranged this special meeting for an almost-outdoor venue for a safe gathering. The weather forecast looks good, but dress warmly.