June Meeting Notes

The meeting was opened by Mary Ann Kurtz, President

·         Anita distributed and reviewed the budget

·         Peggy and Helen talked about our White garden at Passavant Hospital; they circulated a calendar for members to sign up to volunteer to maintain the garden; Please contact either of them with questions

·         It’s time to start planning for next year’s programs; Bill Goff asked members to bring at least 1  program idea to the Annual Picnic so that he can compile a list

·         Lynn Betts brought dahlia tubers to share with club members

·         The Annual Picnic will be held in July at Alan Peacock’s house; an e-mail will be sent with more details

June Program:

Our June speaker, Alan Peacock, Master Gardener and member of the North American Rock Garden Society spoke to us about “Redoing a Garden”.  His slideshow presentation took us thru years of hard work as he manipulated his landscape into the rock garden that he always wanted.  He spoke of his struggle with finding suitable rocks at a reasonable price.  He used his engineering background to successfully install a babbling brook water feature where he took advantage of the natural terrain. When he completed these tasks he thought the job was done.  But then upon reflection, he realized that that his plants weren’t thriving because the soil conditions were not correct.  Pittsburgh clay is not an ingredient for a rock garden.  He got some help in adding sand and gravel to the garden bed.  Was he done now? Nope, not yet.  He noticed that things were still not quite right so he installed an irrigation system to correct watering issues and compensate for his lack of enthusiasm for the chore of watering the garden. The plants look happy and well taken care of in his pictures so his rock garden must be complete, right?  Time will tell.

Redoing a garden is a daunting task for anyone but, if you break the project down into tasks or mini projects it will be easier to manage.  But, I doubt the project will ever be complete.  The garden is continually growing and changing with each season.  Don’t forget to take time to look at the garden with fresh eyes to see what changes can be made to make it better for both you and the plants.

Dessert by Dorothy Schuette
Arrangement by Mary Anne Kurtz