March 2024 garden clippings

President’s Corner – Elaine Pollak

The daffodils are blooming all over town. Their bright yellow flowers greet us on our walks. The daffodils we planted at the Serenity Garden, the Post Office, and the West End Garden add a cheerful note. Daffodils return year after year and multiply. They are a link between yesterday and tomorrow

As a Club we honor our traditions while looking forwards. Currently, we give scholarships to support the next generation of horticulturalists. The gardens we developed and maintain will be enjoyed for years and years. I have been looking through the directories of the club from our beginnings in 1926 until today. At first, the ladies of the club were interested in flower arranging. Over the years the Club has evolved into the service organization that we currently are.

At the February meeting, Alan Wenner gave an enthusiastic and entertaining talk about the Community Garden. Several of our members are active there. The Community Garden grows and contributes produce to the food bank at YCAP, so children don’t go hungry. The Garden Club makes a yearly donation to the Community Garden.

The monies to support scholarships, the Serenity Garden, our donations to the Community Garden and others are raised through our fundraising. Back in the 1930’s we decorated Christmas trees and charged admission. Then we switched to making Christmas wreaths and swags for sale. Our creations were so popular the club was overwhelmed. We still make wreaths as our November arts and craft. Making one, maybe two, is fun. Imagine having to make dozens on deadline. Plus, for the sake of the evergreens, the assembly room had to be kept cool and the assemblers worked with their hats and coats on. In 2001 we switched again and had our first Garden Tour. A few years later, we added the Faire.

We had glorious weather for the Tour and Faire in 2023. We made more money than we had for several years previously. There is no guarantee that we will be so successful this year. Linda and Colleen have worked tirelessly to reduce costs. However, prices keep going up.

We have added a professional manager for our website. He is necessary and does a wonderful job. Additions may be needed to the website. That costs money. We have been working on the Serenity Garden since 2020. It would be nice if the Club could donate more money and we could complete it. College tuition keeps going up. Our “Conservation Pledge” promises to promote education. It would be nice to award scholarships to more students and or give larger scholarships. We are developing a new committee to recycle all the plastics that Recology does not take. That takes money. A suggestion has been made that the price of the tickets to the Tour be raised. There may be other alternatives.

Every year the Executive Committee takes the previous year’s budget, adds a little for inflation and presents it to the Club in May. Members have time to make suggestions and additions before the budget is presented and passed at the June meeting. Our business meeting is supposed to only be 45 minutes. There is not enough time for lengthy discussions.

We have many new members who have never had a chance to see the budget we passed in June. This year, the Executive Committee wants to involve as many members as possible in the budget development process. We are proposing a separate meeting with no time limit to go over the entire budget. We can examine where our funds come from, what we spend, and where we spend it. Maybe it is time to change some things. We will meet April 23 at 10:00 AM at the Gallery Theater. If you wish a copy of this year’s budget contact our treasurer Charlene and she will send you one. We hope there be many attendees and we can reach a consensus. If you cannot attend but wish to contribute send us an email.

Our excellent treasurer Charlene does a fantastic job!! Due to term limits, she must step down in June 2025. Keeping track of our many obligations and when they must be paid can be daunting. This is an excellent opportunity for anyone who is interested in becoming treasurer to begin to work with her so they will understand the complexities of the job.

We want to honor our traditions while changing what is needed. May we be like the daffodils, dependable, cheerful and bright. They are a link between yesterday and tomorrow. May we also be a link between yesterday and tomorrow.

March Speaker – Lisa Blackburn

Lisa Blackburn will present a program on Native Plants. She was born and raised in southern California. Her interest in plants and geology started during childhood through family camping vacations all over the western United States, developing her interest and experience in her work for the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.

Lisa has served the Native Plant Society of Oregon as President, Secretary, and Vice-President, and is currently President of the Cheahmill Chapter (Yamhill County).

Spring District Luncheon – Thursday, April 18, 2024

Please send your $25 check made out to McMinnville Garden Club to Charlene Drake by March 27.

March Birthdays

• March 06: Candace
• March 09: Kay
• March 20: Jean
• March 22: Rita and Sandra L.
• March 30: Kim
• March 31: Lori

Good Eats by Betty Ballentine

Colcannon Mash

Colcannon Mash, classic Irish dish that brings together Ireland’s two favorite vegetables – potatoes and cabbage.

• 5 potatoes, unpeeled
• 4 T butter
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 T heavy cream
• 4 slices lean bacon, diced
• 1 C finely chopped cabbage

Simmer potatoes in water until tender, drain, cool slightly and peel. Mash the potato until smooth. Add 3 T butter, salt and pepper and the cream. In a frying pan, melt 1 T butter. Add the bacon and cook until crisp. Add the shredded cabbage and sauté until soft. Mix into the potato mixture. Makes a wonderful side dish for Saint Patrick’s Day or any day!

2024 Garden Tour: Sunday – June 9, 2024 (Linda H. & Colleen M.)

Mark your Calendars:
Sunday – June 9, 2024

Check your email for both the newsletter and a PDF of the Garden Tour Poster. Feel free to email it out or print copies of the poster to share with others!

We are very excited to be celebrating the 23 Annual Garden Tour and Faire on Sunday, June 9th.

We want to thank all of the members who have volunteered this year for Garden Tour and Faire Committee leader roles.

At this time, we have the Garden Tour Road Signs Coordinator position open for a club member to volunteer. Below is a brief summary of responsibilities for your consideration:

PR – Garden Tour Road Signs: (April – June)

Organizes signs (40), corrects dates and coordinate a few volunteers to place signs in designated areas throughout Yamhill County.

We have many more opportunities for you to volunteer in the coming months: Farmers Market, Day of Tour Greeters/Hostesses, Member Yard – Tour Signs, Poster Distribution, etc.

If you have any questions, please contact Colleen Moxley or Linda Hansen.

Serenity Garden Update

We recently had someone contact us to donate some $ to the garden for a friend’s anniversary! Why didn’t we think of that and birthdays, etc. before. Spread the news. The link to donate is on the website. We would be glad to send a notification to the person being honored that $ was donated in their name as well as the usual donation letter to the person donating.

Bailey’s Nursery has given us two Ginko trees to go on each side of the entry arch. THANK YOU! We will be planting them on March 7 at 10 AM at the garden. (It is NOT supposed to be raining that day?) Dress warmly, bring garden tools, shovels, gloves, trimmers, etc. We will also be sprucing up the area while we are there.

YSWCD’s Native Plant Sale

Head on over to the Yamhill Valley Heritage Center on Durham Lane/Hwy 18 this Friday 9-6 and Saturday 9-2 to purchase your plants/starts!

Check out all the details at: YSWCD 2024 Native Plant Sale

Their online sales began Jan. 1 – Don’t Miss Out!

Many of these native plants will sell out quickly, so don’t wait too long to order yours! Can’t beat their prices. Preorders will be available at the sale for pickup on March 1 or 2.

Chamber of Commerce Greeters Meetings 8:00-9:00 am Fridays

We are looking for club members to represent the club by attending these 8 – 9 AM meetings. Many months, there is no one from Garden Club there! Bring $1 and a business card for the door prize drawings. Garden Club has business cards. It is important that we support our chamber and its members! Please check with Elaine.

• March 01: Cherrywood Memory Care 2750 NE Doran Drive McMinnville
• March 08: Douglas on Third 703 NE 3rd Street McMinnville
• March 15: Soup Kitchen at St. Barnabas 822 SW 2nd Street McMinnville
• March 22: Staples 1150 NE Hwy 99W McMinnville
• March 29: The Grove 216 NE 3rd Street McMinnville

Horticultural Hints – Christine Pritt

Butterfly Bush: Dark Truths Revealed

Today’s weather app. reads, “40 degrees, feels like 32”. I can think of no better way to respond than to brew a cup of tea, while beginning research about invasive species for our newsletter. Bad News came right away: one of my favorite landscape plants popped up on my computer screen. Seeking more information, I typed in, “Butterfly Bush”, and a poem, The Butterfly Bush, appeared. Not what I was looking for, yet “on

topic” because the poem speaks to the potential allure of many invasive species when we choose them for landscaping. To illustrate, I share only an excerpt:

Read the full article in Our Blog – Butterfly Bush: Dark Truths Revealed

Websites to Explore | Patty Sorensen

• National Garden Club
• Pacific Region National Garden Club
• Pioneer District Website
• Oregon State Garden Club
• Yamhill County Master Gardeners
• Serenity Garden
• Bird Friendly Garden
• Vegetable Planting Schedule
• Improving Garden Soil for Spring Planting
• McMinnville Community Garden

Community Garden Volunteers Needed

The McMinnville Community Garden needs your help!

We are looking for volunteers to:

• Prep for planting seeds and transplants
• Help harvest and clean produce,
• maintaining the beds,
• weeding
• and so much more!

Contact Betty here for further information

Quotable

“I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”

– William Wordsworth, Daffodils