Minutes 3-12-09 Meeting

The North Manchester Garden Club had their first 2009 meeting, Thursday, March 12^th, at the Blocher room located in the public library.

President Rhonda Swaidner called the meeting to order just a little past 7:00. Attending members and guest were asked to introduce themselves. Members shared how long they had been in the garden club and guest shared why they were interested in gardening. There were 13 members and guest present. The minutes from our last meeting in October were read and passed with one amendment from Dana Walter. Eleven additional Honey Hoes were found bringing our total on hand to 23.

Our 2009 schedule of meetings was discussed and a draft was submitted to Rick Bauer for posting on our web site and in this year’s calendar.

Volunteers were sought for watering of the Eel River Gardens. The new irrigation system has been installed, but the sections along South Market Street will still have to be hand watered. Dates were set to clean up winter debris and spread new mulch. Members were encouraged to plant their sections as time allowed but before Memorial Day weekend.

A brief break was taken to allow everyone to enjoy refreshments provided by Danna Walter and Deb Bauer. Dana, proud of her Irish heritage, added a “touch of the green” in celebration of St Patrick’s Day.

The meeting was then turned over to our garden club member and featured speaker, Leesa Metzger, owner of Metzger’s Landscaping. Leesa presented a power point program that highlighted many new ideas in gardening which included creating outdoor living spaces and “Thinking Green” gardening ideas. Leesa’s program showed one of this year’s trends was taking ordinary back yards and patios and transforming them into beautiful outdoor living spaces. She also shared several ideas on how to reclaim, reuse and recycle your old garden landscaping features; giving them a new life instead of sending them to the landfill. Another topic showed the use of color to create interest and add a focal point. Functional fire pits and water features are also popular this year.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45. Our next meeting is Thursday April 9^th at the Manchester Green House at 7:00 PM.