President's Letter - February 2021

Greetings, Garden Friends, 

The days are getting noticeably longer and we’ve enjoyed some sunny days in between the gray ones that we know to expect in January. When we took our Christmas tree down a few weeks ago I followed one of Sarah Dimling’s suggestions in the December newsletter and cut the branches off, spreading them out on the garden where I had planted new bulbs last fall. It was a Frasier fir and when we don’t have a snow cover the beds look better with the protective “decoration.”

The Board met on January 19 and our discussion was enlivened with terrific ideas for Visiting Garden tours, programs, and new ways to share what we’re doing when we can’t meet in person. Carole Obernesser is looking at tours that will not involve air travel or buses. There are many attractive possibilities close enough for a day trip. Look for news in the coming months. Amy Miller has a spreadsheet full of ideas for programs, some of them appropriate for small, socially distanced groups, as well as big ones for the entire club, and the Joint Meeting which Shaker Lakes will host in October of this year. Several Board members had suggestions for sharing photographs of our floral designs; Ruth Eppig noted that the Ikebana Society does this every month. Beth Boles called our attention to the GCA Photography publication, Focus, which you can open on the GCA website (members area, Publications). In the January edition you’ll find Ryn Clarke’s Blue Ribbon entry in the America the Beautiful contest, and Laurie Jacobs’ Honorable Mention. Congratulations Ryn and Laurie!

Our February meeting will be a virtual presentation on the Doan Brook Restoration, a project we helped to fund. In the meantime, we can start planning our summer gardens while we nurture our houseplants!

Leigh