The Celebration Garden Club held its annual Holiday Luncheon at Heritage Hall in Celebration on December 13. We enjoyed an Italian buffet and good social times. Club members brought towels sets and pillows along with them as donations for a local domestic abuse help center. The club had a great year in 2013 and we look forward to new projects and field trips in 2024.
Merry Christmas to all. Brad
The 2023 Poinsettia Fund Raising Sale is history. The club sold over 90 plants and raised over $1,800 dollars. Thank you to everyone who worked on the sale, and purchased the beautiful plants!
On Friday, October 27, Meryl Rachlin led a group of early risers to spruce up and replant some of the plants in the Memorial Garden to get it ready for the Foundation Memorial service next weekend. Some plants don’t over summer well and others just die and need replacing after a few growing seasons.
Thank you to the six club volunteers that showed up to do this big yearly duty. The rest of the year the six sections of the garden are overseen by individual members but sometimes they need a little help. Thanks to CROA with help in buying some plants and with Brian Causey of Exquisite lawn care for removing all of the trimmings. A special thanks to Bob Boyer and Kathy Carlson in supplying some of the other plants.
At the luncheon the club will be collecting towels and pillows for HelpNow, a local organization that provides shelter and advocacy to victims of domestic abuse.
Sunday, October 8, 2023, the Garden Club of Celebration partnered with the Osceola Master Gardeners on Front Street in downtown Celebration. We sold finished plants from Knox, took orders for pine straw and poinsettias. It was fantastic to see many Garden Club members visit our booth. The Garden Club, along with the Master Gardener’s, will be at the Farmer’s Market again on November 5, 2023.
Friday, October 6, 2023, members the Garden Club of Celebration took a private tour of Knox Horticulture in Winter Garden. Greg Grothe, Head Grower of young plants, showed us the different stages of growth of a plant, from a cutting to a finished product. Their massive nursery had a germination room, a misting room, and greenhouses lined with Dutch rolling benches filled with flowers and poinsettias.
This newsletter I am forwarding to all of you is put out quarterly.
Don Kendzior was the club speaker that talked about raccoons and hummingbirds several years and his group puts out his great informational letter (One of my daughters does some of the editing work for him while she lives out in Tacoma, WA). If you like what he has to say and want to get his newsletter each time it comes out, contact him and get on his mailing list. It is full of interesting info.
As you know I am in Europe right now while Jaime and crew ably take care of the club duties. She ran our September meeting, set up the fall field trips, worked on the new web sight with Linda, ran a club table at the Home Expo in November, WILL run two Farmers Market booths, works with Sean on the pine straw sale and writes up the Celebration Newsletter for me. She is a tireless worker and I am so glad she and husband Jeff have joined our board. We couldn’t run the club so well this fall without them. Thank you!! Jeff is our club Secretary but he is also the photographer at club events and is helping me and Paul Dunlop with the Poinsettia sale
Speaking of which, the sale has started and plants can be ordered from the website. Go to our newly redesigned website and see all the changes and additions that Linda Quinn has come up with for us. Kudos to you. We want the site to be informational as well as a marketplace for our sales. We want to get a Master Gardener section implemented this year where you, or anyone in town, can ask questions about their plants and we will try to answer them. We have a number of Master Gardeners in the club(several new members among them)and currently have one member currently being trained. Carolyn Gezon is her name.
So check out the site and while you are there order some plants. Or pine straw! We have already sold 2/3 of the trailer so don’t delay if you want to get some. And wish Sean, who took over from Dave as head of the pine straw sale here in town, quick recovery from a little medical issue. Thanks Sean. We are thinking of you.
Sue and I are currently in Granada, Spain and just halfway through our Spain and Portugal visit. Then we will cruise back home to see you all at the November meeting. We can always use more help with club activities. The luncheon, clean up at the Memorial Garden later this month(thanks Meryl!), running the farmer market booths where we will be selling poinsettias, set up prior to meetings and food goodies for the great hospitality table are all ways we could use your help. (A little by all keeps a few from being overloaded with work to get the job done)
A long letter I ended up putting out where I had intended to just forward the newsletter from Don Kendzior! But so much work has been put forth to run the club this fall. We had lots of meetings his summer to bring everyone to speed and our club helpers have surpassed my wildest dreams as to how the club is running. Thanks again Jaime, Jeff, Meryl, Linda etc, etc.
Brad Wagoner
Celebration Garden Club President (on leave for now)
Here is Dons newsletter.
Autumn Greetings!
The fall issue of N2Nature is here and full of great features!
Main Features:Living Smart: Learn about the tiny house movement.
Saving Nature: See the great work of Bat Conservation International.
Nature Connection: Chip Taylor, founder of Monarch Watch, shares his personal nature connection.
Noah’s Animal Notes: Learn all about monarch butterflies.
Seasonal Features:
Eco-Travel: Explore Costa Rica!
Celebrate the Season: See the vibrant cultural celebration of Dia de los Muertos!
Eco-Tips: Our fall home and garden eco-tips.
Ask the Naturalist: Why do birds migrate? Why do leaves change color? What are citizen science programs?
Naturetainment: Enjoy our nature themed entertainment picks this fall.We hope you enjoy this issue and have a wonderful fall!
The Garden Club is holding its fall Pine Straw sale from September 20 until we sell a trailer full. Usually mid-October. The bales sell for 6.75 each plus a .75/bale delivery fee right to your front door. Pine Straw is a great mulch for use around your trees and shrubs. Each bale will cover around 20 square feet to a depth of several inches. Place your order now!
