June 1 Garden Tour - Soos Creek Botanical Garden

Our club has a guided tour scheduled for Saturday, June 1, at 10 a.m. Carpoolers meet at Maxine's at 9:15.
http://sooscreekbotanicalgarden.org/

Plant Sale Pics

Through the Garden Gate Show Awards

Donna Mansfield received an award of merit for a pot of three varieties of fritillarias. I'm sorry the photo is turned, but that sometimes happens with photos I've downloaded from my phone.

 Debbie Angel received the Director's Award for this all-green traditional design.

Garden Club News

Here is the spring article I submitted for the Chinook Winds, summarizing our activities this spring:


At our March 19 meeting, the Marine Hills Garden Club appreciated an informative presentation by Cass Turnbull on Pruning Difficult Plants. We pruned the rose garden at the Foundation House (the retirement/nursing home where we have our meetings), and we added 11 rose bushes.

Members Judy McDonald, Maxine Ranta, and Donna Mansfield presented our April 16 program on fuchsias. We also had our member plant exchange at the April meeting. Our plant sale is April 26 – 27. We will also have a table at the Nautilus Elementary spring carnival event. We also provide support for the community garden based on the school.

We look forward to a special meeting May 21 with a presentation by Laura Watson on Clematis. We will be planting hanging baskets at the Foundation House on May 7. Some of their residents have a great time joining us for this activity, and it is rewarding for the members who participate.

On June 1, we will have a docent-led tour of the Soos Creek Botanical Garden.

We will have several members volunteering to help at the Federal Way Symphony Garden Tour. Two members will have gardens featured on the July 21 tour.

Our elected officers for the coming year are:

·         President – Tina Moore

·         1^st Vice President – Programs – Diane Goss

·         2^nd Vice President – Plant Sale – Judy McDonald

·         Secretary – Maxine Ranta

·         Treasurer – Judy McDonald

February District Garden Show Awards

Along with getting the overall horticulture award at the February 6 Flower Show, our club members received special awards. Donna Mansfield received the best horticulture award with this lovely hellebore:\

Unfortunately, I can't get this photo of my design rotated. It won best novice and best traditional design.

Through the Garden Gate Flower Show

Chinook District is putting on a big flower show at the Cove in Normandy Park April 3 and 4. If you haven't got your tickets yet, Debbie Angel has some for $4. The tickets are $5 at the door.

Several of our members are entering designs and horticulture. So attend to support your fellow club members and the district.

I encourage you to bring horticulture, just like for the regular district flower shows. Bring up to 6 specimens in a simple clear vase (I use tall salad dressing bottles). Clean the specimens (remove bugs and dirt), remove leaves that would be under water, and select a container that is the right size for the specimen.

We won the horticulture award at the last show!

Rain Garden Presentation

We enjoyed a presentation by Bev Morrow, a King County Master Gardener, at our January meeting. I have a copy of her PowerPoint presentation if anyone would like it, but it is too large to email.

Much of the information Bev presented, plus additional resources, is on WSU's Rain Garden site: http://raingarden.wsu.edu/

Gardening for Pollinators handouts

I've posted the handout essay and plant list on http://debbieangelgarden.blogspot.com/ from my November presentation on Gardening for Pollinators. Here are some of the photos from slides.

Butterfly Garden Tips

¨  Sunny area (6 hours sun)

¨  Sheltered from wind

¨  Lots of native plants

¨  Variety – for spring to fall blooms

¨  Drifts (scent)

¨  Single flowers

¨  All stages: eggs, larva (caterpillar),
pupa (chrysalis), & adult

¨  Stones for basking

¨  Moist soil or mud for puddling

Christmas Party

The club party is December 18 at Judy McDonald's house. If you haven't RSVP'd, do so right away to Maxine Ranta.

Bring an appetizer or dessert and a gift for the exchange.

Collecting recipes for Chinook District Cookbook

Please share a few recipes that you've enjoyed that originated between family or friends. Bring to club meeting. We will compile about 100 from our club to test and provide for new recipe book the district plans to publish.

Free table setting workshop

The Chinook District Judges Coucil is offering a free table setting workshop at "The Cove" in Normandy Park Sept. 19 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. Refreshments will be provided. Bring your lunch.

Blue Star Veteran's Marker

The blue star marker has arrived! We are now working on finding a good location for the marker and plantings. This is to honor past, present, and future members of the US Armed Forces. We hope to be part of a new Veteran's Memorial being planned for Federal Way.

This photo shows the marker temporarily staged in my garden:

Summer potluck

Here is a photo of most of us at the August 15 summer potluck at Debbie's house.

Awards

Marine Hills Garden Club (MHGC) did very well with awards for the last year. The State and District Awards were presented at the June 20 Awards Luncheon. Here are our results:

State (Washington State Federation of Garden Clubs):
Civic Development (club 30 - 49 members) 1st Place - MHGC
Lois Donahue Award of Achievement 2nd Place - Radhika Kumar
Horticulture Essay 1st place - Debbie Angel
Publications - Other Media (Blog) 1st place - Debbie Angel

Longevity Awards:
Garden Club 50 years - MHGC
Member 41 years (didn't get a 40-year award last year) - Arlyce Pearson & Valerie Roloff
Member 25 years - Lila Knox

Washington Consultant Council Awards:
Landscape Design 1st place - Debbie Angel

Chinook District Past Director Awards:
Shirley Lins award for most outstanding novice design - Diana Giannoulas
Dottie Wilson award to outstanding contribution to her garden club 3rd place - Radhika Kumar
Jeanette Pruin award for most new members 3rd place - MHGC
Sara Jane Rants Honor Club - Honorable Mention - MHGC
Best Attendance at District Meetings 1st place (club with 21 - 35 members) - MHGC

Plant a Tree awards:
Club award 3rd place - MHGC
Individual award 1st place - Debbie Angel

Chinook Awards Luncheon June 20

Mark your calendars for 11 a.m., June 20, for the Chinook Awards Luncheon. RSVP to Debbie. There is no cost for this event. Let's fill a table or two! I think we will win some awards this year.

Garden Tour to The Bloedel Reserve

We had a great day touring The Bloedel Reserve, followed by lunch at the New Rose Cafe at Bainbridge Gardens nursery (and some plant shopping).  I will post a group photo from the gardens soon.

Photo of club at February meeting

We are smiling because we just heard a terrific presentation about butterfly gardening.

Flower Design by Diane Goss

Diane and I are taking the Flower Design class offered by the Chinook District and taught by Diane Green. This photo is one of Diane's first arrangements - well done, Diane!

Plant sale dates

The 2012 Marine Hills Garden Club plant sale will be May 4 for pre-sale orders and May 5 for the open/public plant sale.

Canceling the January meeting

Due to severe weather forecasts, we will not have our January meeting.

Please let Debbie know if you plan to attend the February 1 Chinook General Meeting and Flower Show. We need two clerks to help, and we need to submit 8 - 10 designs and at least one craft. The program is a presentation about hardy ferns.