2014 Spring Garden Club Presentations

We have solidified our spring garden club programs for 2014. Mark your calendars for these events:

January 7: Attracting Birds to Your Garden
February 4: Horticultural Pruning
March 4: Lunar Planting
April 1: Photographing Plants and Gardens
May 6: Water Gardens
June 3: Invasive Plants

All Garden Club meetings are at the First Presbyterian Church, 216 South 3rd Street, Cottage Grove, Oregon. Meetings start at 6pm, presentations begin at 7pm.

Rain Gardens

A Rain Garden is a “sunken garden bed” in your yard where you can direct runoff from your roof, driveway, and other impervious surfaces on your property. They allow the rain to soak into the ground naturally rather than flowing into storm drains where it can negatively impact fish and other wildlife in our streams and rivers.

For our November program, Sandi McIntosh, Outreach Coordinator for the Upper Willamette Soil and Water Conservation District will talk about rain gardens, including  how to locate one in your garden, which plants work best, how to maintain them, and why they are worth the effort (hint, they improve water quality and are attractive to wildlife).

Please join the Garden Club on Tuesday, November 5 at the First Presbyterian Church. Our business meeting begins at 6:00 pm and Sandi's Rain Garden presentation begins at 7:00. Refreshments provided, all are welcome.

Shrooming in Your Garden and Hunting

For our October educational program, Terry Gatchell, a mushroom and edible wild plant expert, will present a slide show and talk about mushrooms in the South Willamette Valley region. Tapping into his decades of experience, Terry will provide guidance for gathering and identifying mushrooms in the local area and for cultivating 'shrooms in your own garden.

Please join the Garden Club on Tuesday, October 1 at the First Presbyter­ian Church (at the corner of 3rd and Adams). Our business meeting begins at 6:00 pm with refreshments following. Terry's presentation begins at 7:00.

The "Fruits" of our Labors: An end of summer show-and-tell

Share you summer garden adventures with the Garden Club!

What happened in your garden this summer? What inspired you? Our September 3rd “program” will be a special Garden Club show-and-tell. We want Garden Club members to show off their gardens and share their garden’s bounty!

Are your flowers especially pretty? Bring a bouquet for our tables! Or perhaps you grow dahlias and you’d like to show us the difference between a dinner plate, a collarette, and a pom pon?

Maybe your tomatoes or cucumbers are tasty. Bring a sample – well identified – so we can chose our varieties for next year. Or, perhaps, a jar of specially canned jam or pickles for us to enjoy.

Did you spend the summer building bird houses, making garden art, or otherwise being creative? Bring in a sample, or pictures, or maybe even directions so we can do our own.

Are you doing hardscaping, perhaps a new patio or a new greenhouse? Did your summer travels take you somewhere inspiring? Are your hanging baskets especially beautiful? Bring in photos to share! We will show digital photos on the screen and lay printed photos on a table.

This special September social event will rely on you to make it spectacular. We’ll have our business meeting at 6pm, and social activities begin by 7pm.

Garden Smarter, Not Harder

Gardening can be a very physical activity, which can be difficult for people with disabilities or people who are just getting a tad older. Luckily, the concept of “adaptive gardening” can make gardening easier for everyone.

On Tuesday, June 4, Master Gardener Pat Patterson will join the Garden Club to talk about gardening smarter, not harder. Pat will talk about innovations which can make gardening easier, accommodating physical problems, and the process for thinking adaptively. Her talk will include many pictures, plus she’ll bring a collection of adaptive gardening tools for show and tell, and encourage questions from the audience.

Please note that Pat’s talk starts at 6pm with our business meeting following at 7pm.