Flower Show: April 25 and 26

Cottage Grove Garden Club is excited to announce that we are bringing a Flower Show to Cottage Grove.

Flower Shows are intended to inspire and educate gardeners of all experience levels. You'll see which flowers have come through our winter storms with no problems. You'll be inspired to create new and different kinds of flower arrangements. You'll find new plant ideas for your flower borders. Plus, you'll see lots of pretty flowers and have the chance to connect with other local gardeners.

This bi-annual Flower Show is put on by the Willamette District Garden Clubs -- consisting of six different garden clubs within Lane County, including Cottage Grove. Every other year, the Cottage Grove Garden Club works with other Clubs within the Willamette District to put on a flower show. In the past, this show has always happened somewhere in Eugene. This year, we have brought it to  Cottage Grove to share with our local community.


We are also excited to announce that we will be a part of April's Downtown Art Walk!

This year's theme is "Rocking '50s in the Garden" and it promises to be a enjoyable experience for all! Come get inspiration for your own garden through our floral and plant displays, flower arrangements, and informational exhibits.

Friday, April 25, 1pm-8pm
Saturday, April 26, 10am-2pm

Free and open to the public.

Location: The First Presbyterian Church, 216 South 3rd Street in Cottage Grove.

Better Garden and Flower Photography

On Tuesday, April 1, Cottage Grove Garden Club is proud to present Brinsley Burbidge talking about how to take better photographs of gardens and flowers.

Brinsley’s talk — illustrated with many photographs — will be very practical and will show ways in which making memorable pictures is less about buying an expensive camera and more about the way you use what you already have (though he believes that outstanding lens design does help). He will also look at the limitations of letting your camera make all the decisions for you. The talk will examine the challenging issue of getting the color right (one of his personal obsessions) and highlight camera settings that can make all the difference to the final result. He will also show how the use of some small and inexpensive gadgets can make vast improvements to your pictures.

Brinsley believes that photographic software is an essential partner in making winning photographs and will show how even free software can make a great difference. Many of the photographs in the talk will be from around Cottage Grove.

Photographing gardens and plants for most of his life. Brinsley has worked for some of the major Botanic Gardens in Britain and the USA, has run photography departments, and has made botanical expeditions to many countries, especially in Central Asia and South America. He was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society for natural history photography and was responsible, with three fellow photographers, for founding the agency Nature Photographers Ltd.

Please join us, Tuesday, April 1 in the Friendship Hall at the First Presbyterian Church, 216 South 3rd Street (the corner of 3rd and Adams). Our business meeting begins at 6pm and Brinsley's talk begins at 7pm. All guests welcome, refreshments provided.

Lunar Planting: March 4 Program

On Tuesday, March 4, Cottage Grove Garden Club presents Marjory House talking about lunar planting.

Come learn how to utilize the forces of the moon to better enhance garden planting. From seeds to starts, learning how to use lunar forces (i.e., water forces and rhythms) can help plants grow bigger, be more productive, and be more resistant to pests and disease.

The Cottage Grove Garden Club meets in the Friendship Hall at the First Presbyterian Church, 216 South 3rd Street (the corner of 3rd and Adams). Our business meeting begins at 6pm and our presentation on Lunar Planting begins at 7pm.

Horticultural Pruning: February Presentation

It would be highly unlikely to find a single gardener in the South Willamette Valley whose plants were not damaged by last December's strong freeze. Winter is the time for pruning, and on February 4th, Cottage Grove Garden Club will present an experienced horticulturist and entertaining guest speaker, Marty Gascoyne. Marty will inform us on how to properly prune back that damaged wood and shape those plants.

With over 30 years of experience, Marty and Karin -- owners of The Country Gardner -- are committed to sustainable landscape practices; providing clients with a positive experience from beginning to end. The Country Gardener is a small design/build landscape company serving Eugene, Springfield, and the surrounding communities. Marty and Karin provide clients with a unique and creative environment, focusing on natural designs tailored to meet their clients' needs. Recognizing that the landscape around the home provides homeowners with their most frequent connection with the natural world, Karin and Marty make that experience one you look forward to. "We don't just change landscapes, we change lives" is the motto of The Country Gardener.

We have welcomed Marty Gascoyne to the Garden Club on many occasions. He is an informative, experienced, and enjoyable speaker. If you want to know more about pruning, especially after our cold winter storm, this is your place.

The Cottage Grove Garden Club meets Tuesday, February 4th, in the Friendship Hall at the First Presbyterian Church, 216 South 3rd Street (the corner of 3rd and Adams), Cottage Grove, Oregon. Our business meeting begins at 6pm, and Marty's presentation starts at 7pm.

Attracting Birds to Your Garden: January 7, 2014

Gold Finches enjoy a backyard bath.

The Garden Club begins the new year with a special program by Dick Lamster, former president of the Audubon Society of Lane County and Mt. Pisgah Arboretum as well as retired park ranger and manager.

Mr. Lamster will talk about attracting birds to your garden. Included in the talk will be information about flowers and plants attractive to birds, water features, bird feeders and houses, types of bird seed, window strikes, pesticides, cats, bird identification books, binoculars, and more.  Plus, he'll have several free publications and bring samples of bird feeders and houses.

A swallow peering out a bird house.

With Mr. Lamster's exemplary credentials and over 1,200 bird species in his "life list," this is a presentation you will not want to miss! 

Please join us on Tuesday, January 7. Our business meeting will begin at 6pm and Mr. Lamster's presentation begins at 7pm.

All Garden Club meetings are at the First Presbyterian Church, 216 South 3rd Street, Cottage Grove, Oregon.