SEPTEMBER 2020 meeting
Bluebonnet Garden Club held it’s monthly meeting at the Gun & Rod Club with Sandy Batt, Freda Martin and Gail Pinto co-hostessing. Social distancing along with masks were the order of the day. We were missing our time together these past six months.
Debbie Urquhart presented a program entitled, “Everything’s Coming up Mums”.
March 2020 thru August 2020 meetings
Our regular monthly meetings were suspended March through August because of Covid.
february 2020 meeting
The regular monthly meeting of the Bluebonnet Garden Club was held at Sycamore House wi Sandy Batt, Jody Clough, Freda martin and Gail Pinto as co-hostesses.
JANUARY 2020 MEETING
Sycamore House was the meeting venue for the January meeting of Bluebonnet Garden Club. The meeting was co-hostessed by Donna Bennett, Scottie Davis and Poo Michalak.
December 2019 Meeting
The December meeting was held at First Baptist Church Sycamore House. Co-hostesses were Donna Cummins, Lana McDaniel, Poo Michalak, and JoAnn Porter. Club members had drawn names early in the year and brought garden related gifts to exchange. A lovely lunch was also served.
november 2019 meeting
Rosewood Garden in Caldwell, Texas was the venue for the November meeting. Kathy Groover, Charleen Jones, Betsy Striegler and Debbie Urquhart were co-hostesses.
OCTOBER 2019 MEETING
The monthly meeting was held at the home of Peggy Martin with Linda Blum and Charlotte LaRoche as co-hostesses.
september 2019 meeting
Bluebonnet Garden Club began the new club year with the September meeting being held at First Baptist Church, Sycamore House. Co-hostesses were Patsy Hermann, Nancy Low, Betsy Spiller and Lucille Welch.
They chose a “Back to School” theme using vases filled with crayons, yellow pencils and foam alphabet letters. A beautiful mixture of zinnias, roses, snapdragons, sunflowers and greenery were arranged in the vases that graced each luncheon tabletop. A delicious back-to-school lunch of sandwiches, potato chips and fruit was served and enjoyed by all.
For details of meeting, please see September Minutes listed under “Members” in navigation bar of this website.
may 2019 meeting
Our monthly meeting was held at the home of member, Suzanne Longley. Co-hostesses were Joy Goedeke, Joy Kenjura, and Judy Pendergrass. Members enjoyed touring the beautiful gardens and exchanging seeds or native plants. New officers for the next two years were duly installed!
april 2019 meeting
Co-hostesses for our April meeting were Nancy Low, Patsy Hermann, Betsy Spiller and Lucille Welch. The meeting was held at First Baptist Church, Sycamore House.
march 2019 meeting
The March meeting was held at First Baptist Church, Sycamore House with Sandy Batt, Jody Clough, Kathy Groover and Gail Pinto co-hostessing. Debbie Urquhart centered her design study around a little glass slipper and titled her design, “Found - One Glass Slipper”. Bill Adams, Retired Harris County Extension Agent for horticulture was our speaker and answered many questions about gardening in our area. Carolyn Sander presented a horticulture study on wildflowers.
February 2019 meeting
Our regular monthly meeting was held at the historic Giddings Stone Mansion. Co-hostesses were Sherry Barkman, Debi Meschwitz, Carolyn Sander, and Courtney Swanson. A beautiful design featuring a sphere was presented by Design Study Chairman, Debbie Urquhart. Carolyn Sander, Horticulture Chairman, entertained us once again with her study of “Early Spring Aliens that Invade our Gardens”. Patsy Hermann shared some interesting articles from the National and Lone Star Gardener. A lovely lunch was served and dessert was a variety of cookies served on tiered dishes that also served as centerpieces for each table. Our speaker was Jeb Posten, owner of a local nursery, Plants N Things.
january 2019 Meeting
The regular monthly meeting of the Bluebonnet Garden Club was held at the Gun and Rod Club with Rhonda Ehlert, Ann Lehmann, Freda Martin and Merlene Schumacher as co-hostesses. Gumbo was the dish of the day and it was delicious! Debbie Urquhart, Design Study Chairman, talked with members about the importance of mechanics in creating a design and also guided us to make the cutest little floral “present” using a cardboard gift box and roses.
December 2018 Meeting
The December meeting was held at the beautifully decorated home of Twila Tate. Co-hosts were Scottie Davis, Charleen Jones and Diane Mackenroth. The tables were not only beautifully adorned but there was a gift of a rosebud in a darling lapel pin holding a beautiful white rose. What a treat! Brunch was served before the program began with Carolyn Sander providing a horticulture study about Texas Christmas trees and Debbie Urquhart creating a beautiful design entitled “Magic of Christmas”.
Charlotte LaRoche had a couple of Christmas-themed games that entertained all of us for a while. The meeting was concluded with a Texas or garden related Christmas ornament exchange coordinated by Charlotte LaRoche and Debbie Urquhart.
We managed to get a group picture and thankful that most of our members were in attendance.
November 2018 Meeting
November’s meeting was held at the home of Debbie Urquhart. Donna Bennett and Betsy Striegler served as co-hosts. Carolyn Sander, Horticulture Chairman presented an interesting program about the sweet potato. Debbie Urquhart’s design study was called “A Texas-sized Harvest Feast”. Dale Ramey, owner of the Bluebonnet House Gardening Gift Shop, gave a program entitled “Wild Thing - I think I love you”, telling us all about wildflowers in our area.
October 2018 Meeting
The October meeting was held at the home of Linda Blum with Charlotte LaRoche, Poo Michalak and Peggy Martin co-hosting. A program about cool weather herbs was presented by a representative from the Antique Rose Emporium. Carolyn Sander, Horticulture Chairman, provided a study entitled “Seeds that Made Texas - Spooky Plants that Haunt Texans”. The design study, which was titled “Happy Howl-o-ween”, was presented by Chairman, Debbie Urquhart.
September 2018 Meeting
The regular monthly meeting of the Bluebonnet Garden Club was held at the Shabby Cupboard restaurant in Chappell Hill with Donna Cummins, Joann Porter, Lana McDaniel and Shannon Webb as co-hostesses.Second Vice-President, Carolyn Sander, provided a horticulture study on the pecan tree. Debbie Urquhart provided a design study entitled “Out on a Limb.” Our speaker for September, Michael Kelling, President of the Brenham Beekeepers Association, presented a very interesting and informative program on “Bees in Washington County.”
may 2018 meeting
Our May meeting was held at the home of Debbie Urquhart with Ann Lehmann, Poo Michalak and JoAnn Porter serving as co-hostesses. A report was given on the successful flower show this year and plans are already being made for next year. Patsy Hermann gave a report on interesting articles from the National Gardener and the Lone Star Gardener. Carolyn Sander provided a horticulture study on the Mustang grape. A plant and seed exchange was held among members.
april 2018 meeting
The April meeting was held at the home of Linda Blum with Scottie Davis, Joy Kenjura and Twila Tate serving as co-hostesses. Debbie McDowell of Chappell Hill Lavender Farm provided a program entitled “Growing Lavender in Washington County”. Our horticulture study done by member, Carolyn Sander, was entitled “The Wild Rose”. Charlotte LaRoche, Second Vice-President, did a design study entitled “My Texas Grandmother’s Garden”.
march 2018 meeting
Our March meeting was held at Brenham’s First Baptist Church, Sycamore House. Co-hostesses were Donna Bennett, Freda Martin and Merlene Schumacher. The horticulture study by Carolyn Sander was entitled, “Plants that Made Texas - Texas Mountain Laurel”. Her studies are always so interesting and informative. Patsy Hermann did the design study entitled “Easter Through the Eyes of Texas”…a beautiful design!
february 2018 meeting
The February meeting was held at the Nancy Carol Roberts Memorial Library with Jody Clough, Joy Goedeke, Mary DeSalvo and Judy Pendergrass co-hostessing. Carolyn Sander presented the horticulture study on the Texas Redbud and Debbie Urquhart created a beautiful design entitled “Spring Bursting out in Texas”. Meg Grant, co-owner of Brenham Floral presented our program.
JANUARY 2018 MEETING
The January meeting was held at First Baptist Church Sycamore House with Sandy Batt, Kathy Groover, Charleen Jones and Gail Pinto co-hosting. Carolyn Sander, provided a horticulture study on black-eyed peas and other legumes. Suzanne Longley of Suzanne Longley Farms was our speaker and gave a presentation on Landscaping with Texas Native Trees. She gave numerous examples of various trees that are drought and heat tolerant and provide beautiful color in the local landscape.
DECEMBER 2017 MEETING
Our December meeting was held amongst the gorgeous rooms of Christmas decorations at the home of Shannon Webb. It is always a delight to be in Shannon's home anytime of the year but especially at Christmas time...so many beautiful things to admire. Co-hosts were Donna Cummins, Lana McDaniel, Betsy Striegler and Ann Watson. A beautiful brunch of quiche, fresh fruit, Christmas breads and mimosas was enjoyed by all in attendance.
Debbie Urquhart provided a design study entitled “A Berry Texas Christmas.” She created a Christmas tree form from oasis and decorated it with Ligustrum leaves, sprigs of Spruce, whole green apples, white hydrangea blossoms, white roses, pink roses and gold ribbons. Carolyn Sander, provided a horticulture study on the holly family (Aquifoliaceae). She displayed and spoke about two species of the holly family - Possum Haw and Yaupon.
All got into the spirit of Christmas giving by participating in a Texas-themed Christmas ornament exchange.
NOVEMBER 2017 MEETING
The lovely home of our president, Debi Meschiwitz, was the setting for our November meeting. Co-hosts were Sherry Barkman, Ann Lehmann and Carolyn Sander. Meda Wogan was our speaker and presented a program entitled “Lone Star Christmas”. She gave historical facts and depictions of how the early Texas settlers celebrated Christmas. Freda Martin presented the design study for the month using corn and grasses of the Texas Coastal Prairie. She made the arrangement in bamboo containers with Texas grasses and corn. Patsy Hermann got found some interesting articles in the National Gardener and Carolyn Sander provided the horticulture study on corn and other grasses.
october 2017 meeting
The October meeting was held on October 25th at the Gun and Rod Club hosted by Charlotte LaRoche, Peggy Martin and Rhonda Ehlert. We enjoyed a lovely lunch featuring Chicken Spaghetti. It was delicious! Want the recipe? It's in our recently published Bluebonnet Garden Club Cookbook. We were so pleased to have Dr. Bill Welch speak about horticulture in Washington County in years past. It was a most interesting talk with discussion afterwards. Carolyn Sander gave a very informative talk on "the squashes" and Betsy Striegler presented a beautiful pave' design using a pumpkin as her vase.
For more details of the meeting, see the Member page of the website.
september 2017 meeting
The regular monthly meeting of the Bluebonnet Garden Club was held at the beautiful country home of Lucille Welch, with Patsy Hermann, Nancy Low and Betsy Spiller as co-hostesses. To see details of this meeting, please go to the Member page of this website. September is always packed with lots of information for the coming year. Donna Bennett brought irises from her yard to share. Thank you!
We decided that since we were missing a few of our officers at the May installation and life circumstances required us to replace two of our officers. All look forward to these next two years!
The new list of officers for 2017-2019:
President - Debi Meschwitz
1st VP - Charlotte LaRoche
2nd VP - Carolyn Sander
3rd VPs - Betsy Striegler and Debbie Urquhart
4th VP - Sandy Batt
Recording Secretary - Joy Goedeke
Treasurer - Linda Blum (replaced Rita Meaux)
Corresponding Secretary - Peggy Martin
Historian - Mary DeSalvo (replaced Sarah Painter), Scottie Davis (serving year THREE as a mentor)
Parliamentarian - Linda Blum
L-R...Betsy Striegler, Joy Goedeke, Mary DeSalvo, Debbie Urquhart, Peggy Martin, Debi Meschwitz (President), Charlotte LaRoache, Scottie Davis, Sandy Batt, Carolyn Sander, Linda Blum
May 2017 meeting
The newly opened Nancy Carol Roberts Library was the setting for our May meeting. Donna Bennett, Joy Kenjura, Ann Lehmann and Twila Tate served as co-hostesses. Installation of new officers takes place in May every two years. Patsy Hermann installed the officers by presenting each with a beautiful bouquet of flowers representing the respective offices. New officers are as follows:
President - Debi Meschwitz
1st VP - Charlotte LaRoche
2nd VP - Carolyn Sander
3rd VPs - Betsy Striegler and Debbie Urquhart
4th VP - Sandy Batt
Recording Secretary - Joy Goedeke
Treasurer - Rita Meaux
Corresponding Secretary - Peggy Martin
Historian - Sarah Painter
Parliamentarian - Linda Blum
april 2017 meeting
Our April meeting took us to the lovely home of Rhonda Ehlert. It was a beautiful day for dining on the patio enjoying the gorgeous backyard and listening to the birds chirping their happiness. Co-host for this month were Scottie Davis and Charlotte LaRoche. There was much discussion and last minute details of information about the upcoming flower show. Immediately after the meeting, everyone headed over to Citizens State Bank to present them with the Tip of the Hat recognizing them for their beautiful landscaping around the bank.
MARCH 2017 MEETING
Betsy Striegler graciously hosted the March meeting at her beautiful home. Co-hosts were Lana McDaniel, Ann Watson and Shannon Webb. A beautiful lunch was served with members seated at several tables set in a most delightful way. Hostesses used baskets with lovely flower arrangements for the centerpieces. Merlene Schumacher presented the design study using shades of pink and purple and featuring larkspur as her line material and a split leaf philodendron as an accent to create an interesting design. Her mechanics were covered with Ming fern.
Following are a few photos from the meeting.
february 2017 meeting
Our February meeting was held at First Baptist Church Sycamore House and hosted by Freda Martin and Merlene Schumacher. A special program on Flower Show Tips was presented by Corrie Ten-Have, Life Flower Show Judge. She explained many of the rules for Standard Flower Shows, including the use of “Contrived Flowers,” specific rules concerning functional tables, arrangement backgrounds and underlays and tips on design. This was all great information since our flower show is just a couple of months away!
January 2017 meeting
The January meeting of Bluebonnet Garden Club was held at the home of Rita Meaux, with Sandy Batt, Jody Clough and Gail Pinto as co-hostesses. Members enjoyed a meal of gumbo and potato salad with King Cake for dessert...celebrating the upcoming Mardi Gras season. The program was presented by Linda Thaler, business owner and floral designer. She brought designs that would be used at this year's Heritage Society Gala.
Debbie Urquhart presented the Design Study entitled "Open Your Eyes to God's Creation of Sun and Moon".
A few pictures to enjoy:
January Hostesses...Gail Pinto, Jody Clough, Sandy Batt, and Rita Meaux.
December 2016 Meeting
What a great time we had at our December meeting! Thank you, Rhonda Ehlert, for all the fun and games! It was an enjoyable and relaxed way to walk into the Christmas season! We enjoyed an outstanding lunch at the beautifully decorated home of Patsy Hermann. Co-hostesses were Nancy Low, Diane Perez and Lucille Welch. The DESIGN STUDY entitled "Open your eyes to God's Creation of Land and Plants" was presented by Debbie Urquhart. She used five oasis covered with green button mums and added orchids cut from the stem of the plant. She emphasized that this "flat design" was best suited for a coffee table and should be primarily view from above.
october 2016 meeting
We are thankful for members being flexible with their schedules as the October meeting had to be moved up a week. What a beautiful day to be in the lovely home of Judy Pendergrass. Co-hostesses helping were Debbie Urquhart, Debi Meschwitz and Carolyn Sander. Our guest speaker was a District IV scholarship winner, Laramie Naumann. Debbie Urquhart did an interesting Design Study on light and dark and showed how the same flowers can be used to create three different arrangements.
Co-Hostesses - Debbie Urquhart, Debbie Meschwitz, Carolyn Sander and Hostess, Judy Pendergrass.
Laramie Naumann, guest speaker.
september 2016 meeting
The first meeting of the new year was held at Fireman's Park Kitchen with Sherry Barkman, Charleen Jones, Debi Meschwitz and Carolyn Sander serving as hostesses. Using a "tailgating" theme, they served a light lunch of sliders, coleslaw, chips and banana pudding in a mason jar for dessert. They had encouraged all to wear their favorite jersey to show their support for their team. A few of us obliged! Centerpieces consisted of wildflowers beautifully arranged in mason jars placed atop colorful bandanas.
may meeting
The May meeting was held at the home of Debi Meschwitz with co-hostesses Sherry Barkman, Judy Pendergrass and Carolyn Sander. A lovely lunch of Pizza Pasta Salad containing fresh vegetables from Debi's garden, mixed green salad, broccoli cornbread and cherry congealed salad was served to the 30 members and one guest in attendance. Judy's well-loved champagne cake was served as dessert. Fresh pots of herbs served as centerpieces on each table.
As this was the last meeting of the year, there was no design study or horticulture study. Scrapbook Chairman, Charleen Jones, presented the club history for 2015-2016. Donna Bennett read several articles from the National Gardener.
May hostesses - Judy Pendergrass, Carolyn Sander, Debi Meschwitz, Sherry Barkman
APRIL MEETING
Member, Betsy Striegler, opened her beautiful home for our April meeting. Co-hostesses were Charlotte LaRoche and Peggy Martin. We definitely felt Spring in the air around the tables with lovely baskets filled with a variety of herbs and colorful annuals serving as centerpieces. A delicious lunch of chicken salad on lettuce leaf, spinach/bowtie pasta salad, and fruit salad tossed with a delectable dressing was enjoyed by all. We are all anxiously awaiting the recipe for the fabulous chocolate dessert! Jim Kolkhorst, President of Washington on the Brazos State Park Association, presented our program.
Jim Kolkhorst, taking questions about Washington on the Brazos State Park.
Hostesses ~ Peggy Martin, Charlotte LaRoche, Betsy Striegler
Freda Martin presents a flag she bought and donated to be placed at the Butterfly Garden.
MARCH MEETING
The March meeting was held at the Sycamore House. Hostesses were Charleen Jones, Merlene Schumacher, Freda Martin and Joan Zeiss. They served a lovely lunch of delicious, homemade lasagna, Asian Salad and various mini desserts.
Charleen Jones, Merlene Schumacher, Freda Martin and Joan Zeiss - Hostesses
President, Linda Blum, honors Joy and Raymond Kenjura as Garden Angels, presenting them with garden angel figurines handcrafted by former garden club member, Amanda Hafer. Joy and Raymond have been tireless contributors and workers in the Butterfly Garden since the inception of the the garden. We thank them and honor them for their dedication.
Slideshow...click on picture to see next one.
Debi Meschwitz, Flower Show Chairman explaining the ins and outs of creating a tablescape and giving last minute instructions about members' duties on the big day!
Debbie Urquhart presented a design study on the use of various plant materials and flowers to create movement in an arrangement. Enjoy!
FEBRUARY MEETING
The February meeting was held at the home of our President, Linda Blum. Co-hostesses were Donna Bennett, Donna Cummins, Scottie Davis and Dorothy Utesch. The table decorations and the beautiful decor everywhere certainly got us in the mood to decorate our own homes for the Easter season that is just around the corner. A lovely lunch of Hot Chicken Salad and Mixed Green Salad with Strawberries was served. Dessert was a delicious Warm Lemon Pudding.
The table setting was lovely and lunch was delicious!
February hostesses - Dorothy Utesch, Donna Cummins, Donna Bennett, Scottie Davis and Linda Blum. Thank you ladies for a beautiful lunch!
Debbie Urquhart presented a design study on how to use unusual containers from our kitchen. She used a silver ice bucket for the container and filled it with redbud branches, paperwhites and other greenery. You can see a video below.
January Meeting
The January meeting was held at the home of Rhonda Ehlert. Co-hostesses were Lana McDaniel, Ann Watson and Shannon Webb. Everything centerer around a Mexican theme, with tables set in bright colors and succulents streaming down the center of the tables. A beautiful lunch of Mexican Layered Salad, Chicken Enchiladas, Mexican Rice and Pinto Beans was served. Dessert was adorable cupcakes decorated to look like flowers.
Debbie Urquhart brought our Design Study once again utilizing an antique planter from her home and a glass dome to demonstrate how to reuse and recycle things we have around our home. The focal point of the arrangement was a grouping of pink Camelias snipped from another member's garden.
Following are a few photos of the meeting and a video of Debbie's Design Study.
December Meeting
The December meeting was held at the home of Twila Tate. Co-hostesses were Joy Kenjura, Ann Lehmann and Debbie Urquhart. Beautiful red roses and fresh greenery was used in the stunning arrangements gracing the tables. Debbie used the arrangements as her design study, stressing the importance of anchoring the large twigs and heavy line material with anchoring tape. She also reminded members to always, always hide your mechanics!
Beautiful arrangements!
Rhonda Ehlert directed the annual Christmas Plant Exchange, which featured not only plants but many unique gardening items as well. A modified "Chinese Gift Exchange" was enjoyed by all.
Lana McDaniel, Betsy Striegler and Shannon Webb chat while waiting on the game to begin.
November Meeting
Hostesses for the meeting were Patsy Hermann, Nancy Low, Diane Perez and Lucille Welch. Fall was the theme...centerpieces of potted mums and napkins printed with colored leaves. The hostesses served a lovely lunch of pumpkin soup, congealed mandarin salad and chicken salad on lettuce leaf. Dessert continued the Fall theme of leaf-shaped homemade iced almond cookies. Every bite was more delicious than the previous one. Thanks to each of you!
Debbie Urquhart regaled us once more with her design talents! Taking a colander, lining it first with foil and then with oasis' and using her "dinner" ingredients to make an arrangement is not something just anyone can do. Thank you, Debbie, for once again inspiring us to use what we have around the house and to recycle! Here's a video...
Lazy Bee Honey Company owner, Nathan Wade, gave an overview of the business and told us more than we ever thought there was to know about honey bees. Members were given a few minutes to have a look at some of the honey and other items Nathan and Christy had brought to sell. Most went home with a bag of honey or jelly. It's great to know that he is just a few minutes up the road in Burton, TX if, by chance, we want more. Thanks again Nathan!
Here are a few photos...
Slide Show...click on pictures to see the entirety.
october Meeting
Mike Shoup was the host and speaker at our October meeting at his beautiful Antique Rose Emporium in Independence, Texas. Members brought lawn chairs and sack lunches and enjoyed the beautiful gardens on a very breezy day. Many thanks to Mr. Shoup for sharing his love and knowledge of roses with all of us.
September Meeting
Hostesses for our September meeting were Rita Meaux, Gail Pinto, Jody Clough and Sandy Batt. A picnic lunch was the theme. Fried chicken tenders, broccoli slaw, pimento cheese stuffed celery and cheddar cheese "leaves" were served in a fall themed box. Pumpkin cheesecake layered dessert was served in a pint mason jar. Wine bottles covered with green burlap and tied with twine and holding yellow wildflowers served as the centerpieces.
David Folchinsky, a local caterer and floral designer presented a program entitled, "Endless Possibilities ~ Tablescaping with Recycled Materials". David delighted the members with his whimsical design ideas and also his wit. He used fresh and dried flora as well as recycled paper bags and onion bags, proving we always have something around the home to make a quick arrangement.
David certainly thinks "out of the box"!
Sandy & Scottie say that we are "selfie-sufficient".
Front Left to Right: Linda Blum, Jere Longhofer, Sherry Barkman, Gail Pinto, Charleen Jones, Patsy Hermann - enjoying the picnic.
Left to Right: Merlene Schumacher, Donna Bennett, Mary McCoy, Dorothy Utesch (our oldest member and a member of Bluebonnet Garden Club since 1955!) & Joan Zeiss. What a treasure trove of gardening wisdom around this table. We are thankful for each one!
August Meet & greet
Our August meeting is not an "official" meeting because the bylaws say we meet from September through May. Several years ago we began meeting to hand out our yearbooks. Since our monthly meetings are the last Wednesday of the month, we had events going on in September that needed to be discussed and taken care of. Sooooo...the August meeting, "Yearbook Review/Meet & Greet" began.
We met August 26th at the Methodist Church Fellowship House to review the new yearbook, meet our new member...pictured below..., take a look ahead at our year, get a glimpse at what our 2016 flower show will look like and prepare for the Washington County Fair, which is upon us - September 14th.
We are excited about our new year and can't wait to dive in! If you are a friend of our website just browsing, thank you for visiting. Be sure to check back often. Information about our 2016 flower show can be found on the Flower Show 2016 page. We will have tickets available soon.
Here are a couple of pictures from our meeting...
Charlotte LaRoche introducing our new member, Peggy Martin.
Debi Meschwitz, Flower Show Chairman, giving the details of the 2016 Flower Show.
may meeting
Our May meeting was held at First Baptist Church Sycamore House with Merlene Schumacher, Joan Zeiss, Jere Longhofer and Freda Martin serving as hostesses. A shoutout to Merlene's daughter, Sheila, for the delicious catered lunch.
Hostesses: Merlene Schumacher, Joan Zeiss, Jere Longhofer & Freda Martin
We shared in the excitement of oldest member, Dorothy Utesch, a member of the Bluebonnet Garden Club for 60 years, on her upcoming marriage! She certainly knows how garden club "is done" and we depend on her for her expertise. Congratulations, Dorothy!
Jere Longhofer, Dorothy Utesch (Soon to be Ball...) and Freda Martin
President, Jere Longhofer, brought the numerous awards she picked up at the state convention last month. It was certainly rewarding to see all of the club's accomplishments over the last year.
Joy Kenjura, Parliamentarian, conducted the installation of officers for the next two years, 2015 - 2017. These ladies graciously agreed to the duties of the offices to which they were elected.
Left to Right: Jere Longhofer, Parliamentarian; Charleen Jones, Historian; Charlotte LaRoche, Corresponding Secretary; Rita Meaux, Treasurer; Nancy Low, Recording Secretary; Fourth Vice-President, Sandy Batt; Co-Third Vice-Presidents, Debi Meschwitz, Freda Martin; Second Vice-President, Gail Pinto; First Vice-President, Rhonda Ehlert. Not present was incoming President, Linda Blum.
Thanks to all the ladies for serving in their respective positions. It's going to be a great term!
Last, but not least, our tireless president, Jere Longhofer, was honored for serving with such incredible dedication and professionalism. Jere has been a very active president in our club and on the district level as well. We presented her with a lifetime membership to National Garden Club. Thank you for all you have done and accomplished in our club the past two years, Jere. Well done!
Debi Meschwitz presenting Jere Longhofer with a certificate for Lifetime Membership in National Garden Club.
All of us are looking forward to another productive and fun year! Madam President (Linda Blum), we anxiously await your direction and leadership! Thank you for agreeing to lead us in our gardening endeavors!
April Meeting
What a glorious day for our monthly meeting held at the lovely home of Donna Cummins. It just happens to be one of Washington County's very special Bed & Breakfasts...Southern Rose Ranch Donna and the other co-hostesses, Lana McDaniel, Ann Watson and Shannon Webb, served a delicious Tex-Mex meal with the best Tres Leches you could ever imagine. Thank you ladies!
We met out under the trees in the beautiful outdoor kitchen with the sun shining, breeze blowing and birds singing! Our speaker was Ryan Pape of Papescapes, who talked about water conservation, catching rain water, building raised garden beds, and drought-tolerant plants. A glowing report was given on our recent flower show, "Art in Blossom". We are so pleased to have received so many accolades on each and every aspect of the show. Stay tuned in the coming months for the next one!
Debbie Urquhart presented a design study on a creative and simple way to decorate for graduation. (Video at end of post.)
Here are just a few snapshots from the meeting...not many as we were enjoying ourselves too much to take pictures.
65th Anniversary luncheon
We sent invitations to past club presidents who are no longer active in our club.
These fans were made as favors for all the attendees. Front side is a copy of the very first yearbook from 1949. The reverse side is the program for the luncheon. I think the members of that first meeting would have appreciated this little fan for its practical purpose.
Here they are (a couple of them...) in a candid photo as we sat down to lunch. Our first "garden club selfie" and a photo bomb by photographer, Sandy Batt.
A group photo after the luncheon and fellowship time ended. We were thrilled they all took time out of their busy lives to visit with us and help us celebrate our special 65th year! Thank you, ladies! We love and miss you! Seated: Sherry Spacek, Jeri Baehren; Standing from Left: Peggy Moser, Jan Stevenson, Geneva Walker, Melba Mangum, and Amanda Hafer.
The 65th Anniversary Committee: Patsy Hermann, Freda Martin, Sandy Batt, Merlene Schumacher.
All had a hand in the planning with Sandy writing the script, and Patsy presenting the history of our club as Freda and Merlene joined in portraying two members of the very first year of our club, 1949! Oh, the trouble we can get into at a Goodwill Store!
Here are a few more fun pictures from the day.
Sandy and Merlene testing the selfie stick!
Our president, Jere Longhofer, and member, Freda Martin returned from the District IV Spring Convention just the day before our meeting. Jere announced how proud she was as our club was recognized many times during the awards presentation.
We received 8 awards and 6 Special Recognitions:
*GOLD Club of the Year
4 FIRST Place Club Awards: President's Report, Website, Scrapbook, and Horticultural Education
Special Recognition for our Donations to Arbor Day, Garden Therapy and Scholarship
Special Recognition to our Club for 65 years a a Garden Club
Special Recognition to Dorothy Utesch, District Historian and Jere Longhofer, Area V Coordinator
We received 7 awards for YOUTH:
1st Place in the Smokey Bear Poster Contest - Brant Maxi
2nd Place in the Smokey Bear Poster Contest - Dustin Rybanski
1st Place in the Woodsey Owl contest - Shelby Prazak
1st Place in the Poetry contest - Maya Williams
2nd Place in the Poetry Contest - Liesha Aquilla
3rd Place in the Poetry Contest - Lane Sparks
1st Place in the National Garden Club Essay Contest - Alexis Chaudron
february meeting
"Recycled Clothing" was the title of the program presented by Dena Miller, Home Economist. She gave an interesting program of how we can recycle old clothing by repurposing them into aprons, dryer balls made out of wool to replace dryer sheets, and various bags and satchels. Horticulture Study was presented by Donna Cummins on Native Redbuds and Debbie Urquhart gave the Design Study. Hostesses for February were Gail Pinto, Jody Clough, Sandy Batt, and Rita Meaux, at whose home the meeting was held.
JANUARY MEETING
Hostesses for our January meeting were Linda Blum, Missy Peck, Charlotte LaRoche, Donna Bennett and Dorothy Utesch. The meeting was held at the beautiful home of Linda Blum. Members were shown a powerpoint presentation on floral design. This was in preparation for the upcoming flower show in April. Debbie Urquhart and Carolyn Sander gave instructions and coaching on how to go about interpreting our chosen art piece. A delicious lunch was served.
December Meeting
If we weren't in the Christmas spirit before today, the beautiful home of our December hostess, Betsy Striegler, certainly got us there! Everything was so beautifully and tastefully decorated with details only few are capable of carrying out. Thank you, Betsy and your co-hostesses, Twila Tate, Joy Kenjura and Ann Lehmann. The tables were beautiful and the food really scrumptious. We each came home with the most precious mini arrangement! Thank you, thank you!
Debbie Urquhart presented our Design Study, "decorating for Weddings". We are blessed with so much talent in our club and Debbie is one of those who has much!
A rose is a rose...this precious table decoration went home with each member.
Our december gathering would not be complete without our annual gift exchange. Debi Meschwitz did another outstanding job of keeping it interesting. There were so many fabulous gifts and plants brought in. It's a good thing we didn't have a Chinese Gift Exchange as we would have been there all day! Thank you, Debi! We appreciate your excellent organizational skills and constant upbeat spirit.
October Meeting
Members were treated...not tricked...at this month's meeting! And what a treat it was to have Doug Peck on our program, Debbie Urquhart show us her never ending talent and totally inspire us, and Carolyn Sander educate us...and entertain along the way...on the Beauty Berry. We appreciate each of you!
Doug Peck, Art Instructor, Blinn College, presented our program for October. Doug's love is working with "mud". His work is quite amazing and we were entertained and enlightened by his demonstration. He has graciously offered a piece of art for our flower show in April, 2015. Our many thanks to Doug for his time, talent and inspiration.
In the beginning...
And then...
Amazing...
Masterful!!
Celebrating Baby Showers was the theme of our design study this month. Design Study Chairman, Debbie Urquhart used a baby shower invitation featuring ducks on a yellow background as her inspiration. Very well interpreted! We are grateful for the many talents of each of our members. Debbie is certainly exceptional! Thank you for a wonderful demonstration, Debbie.
Member, Carolyn Sander, presented our horticulture study giving many details about the Beauty Berry. She then demonstrated how to use the Beauty Berry as a design, using a carved out stone. Carolyn, you always come up with something unique!
Beauty Berry used in a design.