Charlotte Canion, Texas SuperStar Master Gardener (photo by Erminja Maganja)
Erminja Maganja, Publicity Chair
The RR Garden Club closed out 2021 with its annual holiday luncheon at the clubhouse on Dec. 20. The room was abuzz with members socializing and catching up on life events. Everyone also enjoyed playing Bingo and received a prize—bulbs to be planted to surprise them in their spring garden!
We held our first 2022 meeting on Jan. 17, featuring popular speaker and Texas SuperStar Master Gardener Charlotte Canion, presenting “Attracting Butterflies to Your Garden.” We had 49 people in attendance, including 15 guests. Ms. Canion provided a wealth of information on plants that butterflies and other pollinators need to thrive, including milkweed, sages (salvia), heliotrope, lavender, coneflower, summer phlox, and more. She also informed us of several valuable resources, including:
• Save Our Monarchs Foundation, with a Facebook page by that name and an informative website www.saveourmonarchs.org
• The status of the Monarch Butterfly and what you can do: www.fws.gov/savethemonarch
• The Butterfly House at Fair Park, Dallas—daily butterfly releases, txdg.org/butterfly-house
During the Q&A, a member of the audience highly recommended a PBS NOVA documentary, Butterfly Blueprints, which highlights their life cycle and migration and the scientific secrets of butterflies. It can be viewed on the local PBS Channel KERA.
We hope to see you at our next meeting to be held Monday, Feb. 21, at the RR clubhouse. All RR homeowners are invited to attend. It will be held as a “Lunch & Learn” format, sponsored by TreeNewal, which will generously provide attendees with a soup/salad/sandwich buffet lunch. It will be necessary to register for this meeting in order to provide an accurate count to the Grill. Please watch your HOA email for an announcement and registration link.
The first four people to email me about this article will receive a Save Our Monarchs Pollinator Garden scatter seed packet to sow in their garden. It is a wildflower garden mixture featuring a couple varieties of milkweed, and includes perennial and annual seeds for a great looking garden. It includes 17 wildflowers: ten annuals for first-year color, plus seven perennials for second and successive years’ bloom.
For questions or additional information, contact Erminja Maganja at [email protected] or 916-804-5551.
Stay warm—and let’s get gardening!