leadership
2025 Garden Club Board
activities
Dates to Remember
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| January 13 | Executive Committee Meeting |
| January 14 | Conservation and Sustainability Committee meeting |
| January 20 | Garden Club Meeting at the First Presbyterian Church 9:30-10:00 Social time 10:00 Meeting and Activities 11:05 Speaker: Brooke Karash & Emerson Chase, Yamhill Soil& Water Conservation |
| February 3 | Arts & Crafts (Details Below) |
| June 8 2025 | Garden Tour & Faire!! |
| Fridays at 8:am | Chamber of Commerce Greeters. Click for their Calendar of upcoming Events |
January Meeting Speaker
Our scheduled speakers for January 20 will be Brooke Karash and Emerson Chase from the Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District.
Brooke is the Outreach and Education Specialist; Emerson works for the Natural Resources Conservation Services as a Soil Conservationist and has a degree in soil science.
Brooke was the representative for the Soil and Water Conservation District at the Faire last year. I took her card and signed her up. Emerson has a background in soil science and in warmer weather has done interactive soil demonstrations, but winter soil samples are difficult to dig up.
The Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District provides local leadership in conserving, restoring and protecting water, soil wildlife habitat and other natural resources in Yamhill County. Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District: yamhillswecd.org
Presidents Corner
Elaine Pollak
McMinnville Garden Club PresidentHappy New Year!! 2024 is finally over. We can look forward to 2025. Time for new beginnings. Maybe trying something new. Time to make resolutions to do better, to be better.
The winter solstice has passed and every day, when the gloom lifts, there is a minute or two of additional daylight. The minutes will add up and soon it will be an hour more and then two hours, and then three.
I hope everyone’s holidays were joyful and bright with lots of time for family and friends.
We had a fabulous luncheon at our December meeting. The food was great and the company was even better. Now we can catch our breath and resume our more regular routine. The Club can look forward to crafts and field trips and fascinating speakers.
We have Garden Tour Chairs!! We have vendors for the Faire!! We are all needed to make the Tour and Faire a success. This is our only fundraiser, and the monies raised pay for our scholarships and community beautification projects. Get ready to roll up your sleeves and don your aprons and volunteer at the Tour or the Faire or both.
Happy New Year!! Don’t forget to perform random acts of kindness.
happy happy
Birthdays!
congratulations!
Members celebrating this January are:: Myrna, Christine, Pauline, Beth, Nancy, Alice, MacKenzie, Wendy, Elsie, Ann S.
Good Eats!
A French Bistro Salad: Fresh, crunchy, filling. Best served with a warm baguette.
FOR THE SALAD:
- 1 head of radicchio
- 8-ounce Roquefort cheese
- 1 head of romaine
- 7 -ounce caramelized walnuts or pecans
- 2 granny smith apples
Shred winter greens as you would for making coleslaw. Cut unskinned apple into matchsticks. Toss with the vinaigrette. Last, top with crumbled cheese and sprinkle over the nuts.
FOR THE VINAIGRETTE:
- ¼ C white wine vinegar
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 3 T Dijon mustard
- ½ C good olive oil
Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, and seasonings. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. This salad is best served at room temperature. Refrigerate any leftovers.
Newsletter News
Christine Pitts is our editor!!
Please send your articles to her from her profile page HERE by the 25th of each month.
Welcome New Members
- Holly Juttelstad
Arts and Crafts
January: No January event: Use this time for self-renewal after a busy holiday season.
February: Pretty Pressed Flower Lanterns–These pressed flower lanterns are SO PRETTY and so easy to make!
- When: Monday, February 3
- Where: Kirsten’s house 905 NW Birch St
- Time: 10-12
- Cost: $5/10/15– make up to 3 lanterns if you like!
This is a cozy indoor event, with seating at tables, limited to 18.
*** Register and prepay for classes at the monthly meetings at the sign-up table.
If unable to make the meeting just send one of us a note. We look forward to seeing your smiling faces. Contact Kirsten or Colleen for more information.
**BRING: You will want smooth straight sided glass jars (without ridges) with a wide enough opening to place votive candles or tea lights. Optional to bring: mug, a treat to share.
Note: This summer when flowers were in full bloom, they were cut, pressed, and dried in preparation for this project.
December Arts & Crafts Recap
On December 2, when outside daytime temperatures hovered between 34 & 36: you might have wondered if any fun could be had by extra bundling up to make Christmas wreaths in a huge unheated barn. (Ok, truth be told, there was a wood burning stove to sidle up to, and warm beverages, and the warmth of friendship).
These pictures answer the fun question: Much fun was had by all! Colleen Moxley was kind enough to offer her barn/workshop again for this December Arts and Crafts happening.
Colleen and her co-conspirator, Kirsten Browne supplied all the materials, demonstrated the process, and assisted members during this enjoyable event.
Its All About Soil!
A Master Gardener Webinar: with presenter, James Cassidy
- Date: January 7, 2025
- Time: 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
For more Information & Registration: Click Here.
Mason Bees 101
Join Mason Bees 101 presenter, Ron Spendal.
- Free class, open to the public. No preregistration required.
- Date: January 25, 2025
- Time: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
For more information about this event, visit the Mason Bees 101 event web page.
Conservation and Sustainability Committee
Starting this summer, Oregonians will receive a standardized list of what can and cannot be recycled statewide. The Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act goes into effect July 1, 2025, making it easier for Oregonians to recycle and establishes new packaging fees to companies selling products in Oregon based on the weight and recyclability of the material. Hard to recycle materials such as plastics will command higher fees from companies, incentivizing producers to choose lighter, more sustainable materials.
Styrofoam containers for takeout food will be banned in the state of Oregon sometime in January.
Today, each person in the U.S. produces more than 200 pounds of plastic waste each year, according to the EPA. Much of this waste ends up in our waterways and oceans, eventually becoming microplastics. Despite efforts to improve plastic recycling, no more than 9% of plastic waste generated in the U.S. gets recycled. Remember, our plastic yogurt containers are recyclable at our curbside recycling. Thank you to each and every member of the Garden Club who is committed to improving our recycling efforts. There will be a committee meeting at 1:00 on January 14 at the First Presbyterian Church, Knox Room. We will send out an agenda when we get a little closer to the meeting date.
Local Sustainability News:
We’re excited to announce The Bubble Rap Speaker Series 2025, a Zero Waste McMinnville Production, occurring the first Monday of each month. Talks start at 6:30pm at the McMinnville Public Library in the Carnegie Room. January 6, 2025: Zero Waste McMinnville’s President, Ramsey McPhillips, will discuss, “What is a Circular City?” Learn how we as a community can work together more to make McMinnville a more sustainable and regenerative city!
Horticulture
The schedule above shows a cornucopia of free webinar leaning opportunities.
For more information on each webinar and to register for any of the webinars use this link.
Resources
Quotable
How Lovely Is the Silence of Growing Things.
