Spring Stuff
Leesa Metzger
March 12^th 2009

In what has seemingly become a tradition, the new Garden Club year began with our resident landscaping and media  expert, Leesa Metzger, presenting 2009 gardening trends.  If there was a common theme, it appears that 2009 will be a year where people try to extend the living space of their home out into their yard and gardens.  Particularly popular are outdoor rooms with fancy fireplaces and fire pits plus decorated furniture.  These backyard retreats are a place the whole family can enjoy and encourage the youngsters to enjoy the outdoors away from their usual electronic devices.  Another popular trend is "going green" in the landscape.  One way of doing this is to reuse old bricks from tear-downs, or reclaim beat-up concrete to use in pathways and retaining walls.  Leesa stated that we will experience a resurgence in "Victory Gardens".  We typically give Eleanor Roosevelt credit for her WWII "war gardens" effort, but the Victory Gardens, in fact, date back to 17th century England.  The renewed interest in Victory Gardens is a combination of concerns for the safety of food, the poor state of the economy, and the mass reporting of bloggers, writers, and journalists.  Unlike Eleanor, the current White House has been slow to jump on board.

Deb and Danna graciously provided the "Irish" snacks. [minutes]
 

Our newly elected Secretary, Martha reads the minutes from the last meeting, last year.

It just happened to be St. Patrick's Day as you can see from the treats.