Happy gardeners at the Plant Exchange (photo by Erminja Maganja)
Erminja Maganja, Publicity Chair
Garden Club members assembled on March 20 for the always-popular annual Plant Exchange. President Lori Slocum opened the meeting with club business, announcing that two board seats will be vacated this year: vice president and publicity. She asked members to consider serving on the board. Those interested, please contact any board member for more information about the roles and responsibilities. The term is two years.
Club Secretary Lisa Lebsack announced two local events sponsored by the Denton County Master Gardeners Association (DCMGA). (1) The DCMGA Spring Plant Sale on Saturday, April 29, at the Trinity United Methodist Church in Denton. There will be a large selection of native, adapted, and hard-to-find plants. Master Gardeners will be on-site to answer questions. (2) The DCMGA annual Garden Tour on Saturday, May 13, includes a tour of four Master Gardener yards in Oak Point and Lake Dallas. For more information, visit www.dcmga.com.
The main event—the Plant Exchange! Spring is a busy time for gardeners, with yard work and winter clean-up chores. It involves pruning, plant division, bulb thinning, and making room for new perennial and seasonal plantings. Sharing one’s bounty comes naturally, and we love sharing our more prolific or unusual plants with others. Meeting attendees were eager to preview the variety of plants on display. Members were particularly generous this year, bringing their treasures in boxes and bags, completely covering the exchange tables. There were 54 members and guests in attendance, with at least 150 individual plants in the exchange. Lori invited each contributing member to briefly describe their donated plant(s) and characteristics. Ticket numbers were drawn at random, and participants came forward to select from a large variety of specimens, including amaryllis, lilies, iris, canna, coreopsis, Mexican petunia, coleus, columbine, oxalis, and many herbs, plus several indoor plant selections, including African violets, spider plants, foxtail, and aloe. Happily, everyone left with new plants to introduce into their garden or home.
Coming up on Monday, April 17, is our field trip to Aunt Sue’s Barn in Ponder. This event is space-limited, and all tickets have been sold. If you have a ticket and are unable to attend or if you wish to be added to the waitlist, please contact VP Programs Linda Lilley at [email protected] or 501-269-5737.
Our club year ends with our grand finale on Monday, May 15—the Robson Ranch Garden Tour for club members. Stay tuned for more information. The Garden Club is on hiatus June through August, resuming in September.
For questions about the Garden Club, contact Erminja at [email protected] or 916-804-5551.