Evergreen Garden Club Meeting Minutes
Zoom meeting January 16, 2024
Attending: President Winkie Crigler, Connie Anderson, Jean Barquin, Louise Beale, Julia Bellinger, Carol Cramer, Jane DeCell, Jane Dana, Amy Dewey, Doris Dixon, Cathy Farrell, Fossy Fenwick, Betsy Forster, Mary Jane Glass, Kay Glenday, Nancy Gorman, Jeannette Harper, Diana Luka-Hopson, Sara Maner, Claire Marshall, Sally Marshall, Dolly McKenna, Colet Mitchell, Janet Nassim, Lynne Pickard, Donna Roberts, Pam Selden, Laurene Sherlock, Anne Snodgrass, Sharon Stoliaroff, Susie Taylor, Ellen Thrasher, Susan Vanderver.
Before the meeting program, President Winkie Crigler opened a brief business meeting. Treasurer Susie Taylor gave a financial report. The checking account has a balance of $10,503 on hand, and there are two checks to be deposited. Next month we will determine the amounts to be given as philanthropy.
Winkie reminded those present that there are three membership vacancies. Whoever is proposing a new member should find two others to write supporting letters and should coordinate getting all the letters to Xenia Wilkinson by March 1. Xenia’s email is xeniavw@aol.com
Winkie is about to appoint members of a nominating committee for next year’s officers. Please answer if you get a call from her!
Our next meeting is at Fossy Fenwick’s home on February 20. Michael Gildea, the head of Garden and Grounds at the Chevy Chase Club, will talk to us about roses. Susan Vanderver and Molly Fenwick (tentatively) will be in charge of hospitality. If Molly is unable to help, we may ask for another volunteer to work with Susan.
District I of the NCAGC is planning a bus trip to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Henrico, Virginia, on Friday, September 27. The trip might be a “soft opening” meeting in September. Even if we decide not to use it as our September meeting, members are still welcome to go on the trip. All NCAGC meetings are open to all. Winkie recently received an email from Beth Alvarez, who is planning the outing, with more information. Here is a summary of her email:
The trip will originate at the Cheverly United Methodist Church in Cheverly, Maryland, the location from which previous District I trips have begun. Haymarket Transportation has provided a reasonably priced estimate for the trip. The estimate proposes departing from Cheverly at 7:30 am and returning at 6 pm.
We will arrive early enough to schedule a bathroom break before heading off to an 11 o’clock guided tour ($19.50 per person). Participants will have the choice of joining one of two guided one-hour tours, “From Bicycle Club to Botanical Garden” (which covers a longer distance) or “Central Garden Walk” (which has flat terrain and requires less walking). Descriptions of the tours can be found at https://www.lewisginter.org/visit/groups/adult-group-visits/guided-tours/.
Lunch will be in the Robins Room adjacent to the Garden Café from roughly 12:15-1:45. This will allow us to have guaranteed seating and to conduct our business meeting over lunch. There are two dining options for the Robins Room: purchase a meal at the Garden Café and carry it to the venue or pre-purchase a voucher for a light grab and go box lunch. Information on the voucher lunches is at https://www.lewisginter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/LGBG-Cafe-Vouchers-2022.pdf.
After lunch, a second specialized one-hour guided tour at 2 pm can be arranged for those who decide to join it. The cost for the additional tour is only $5.00. Those who do not opt for the second tour can tour the grounds on their own or visit the garden’s gift shop.
Departure for return will be as close to 3 pm as we can manage.
On to the gardens! Susan Vanderver moderated the Zoom presentations. There were three northern summer gardens. Mary Frances Koltes was unable to join us, so Doris Dixon gave the presentation that Mary Frances had prepared to introduce us to her family place on a lovely lake in Wisconsin. She fills lots of hanging baskets and pots with bright annuals. The lake glimmers invitingly, as does their boat, perfect for afternoon trips with a tall, cool drink.
Dolly McKenna has an idyllic place in Dublin, New Hampshire, Zone 6A, on 5½ acres within a larger 85-acre preserve. This property includes a cutting garden, twelve raised beds in a fenced vegetable garden, a potting shed, a fruit grove, chickens, turkeys, guinea hens, ducks, and a stream with a waterfall and a bridge. There may well be more, but I was so awed by this point that my mind stopped taking things in. She goes up to New Hampshire in April to sow seeds, and then again in June because there might just be a thing or two to occupy her.
Anne Snodgrass grew up enjoying summers in Maine, and now she and her family have a place near her childhood property in Naples, Maine, Zone 5B. The property was formerly a camp, and their house was built after the land was divided. Anne deals with cold winters, steep slopes down to a lake, poor soil near the lake, winds, and critters. The evidence suggests she has overcome all of it; the gardens are magnificent. Intriguingly, Anne’s husband, Tony, has outwitted the critters with a mixture of hot sauce and a gel to stick to plant leaves. They are able to grow lovely beds of hostas now, so the elixir seems to work.
Winkie thanked the garden presenters for their slide shows and Susan and Doris for managing Zoom and prepping the garden hosts. With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Jane Glass