The Hammond Garden Club opened their New Year with a presentation by one of it's members Colleen Scott who is not only a member but an ex-president and a Master Gardener. Straw Bale Gardening was new to most of us and Colleen was a great teacher for all those that thought about trying it.
As we entered the First Baptist Hall on Morris Street we all thought we were looking at a bale of hay or wheat, but as Colleen assured us you don't want to use either of those because they harbor many seeds and you would have sprouts coming up all over. The best part of this type of gardening is not having to get down on the ground to do it, and since most of the ladies in the garden club are in the Social Security age group, (please note I said MOST), not getting down on the ground to garden is a great thing!
The pictures Colleen showed us of the vegetables and flowers that she grew were fantastic. Watering and fertilizing for ten days is the only part that takes time and that is to prepare the bales to accept the plants. No weeds, no bugs and plants and the fruit and vegetables they produce look like they came from a gardening manual.
After her presentation papers were passed around giving us all the particulars of bale gardening, questions ensued and answers were given and we all thought it was a good thing to think about to start our spring gardens.
Our President Carolyn Schwebel then opened the meeting with the Pledge Of Allegiance and called on our Chaplain Mary Thornhill for a prayer. Marilyn's Catering was there with a delicious leafy green Caesar salad, golden brown baked chicken, smashed potatoes that were infused with wonderful seasonings, sweet little green peas and a peach cobbler to die for!
Too full to move, Carolyn had our complete attention as she announced things coming up soon. She said the minutes by Secretary Karen Granier had been emailed to the board and approved. Phyllis diBenedetto Treasurer gave her report and Sue Parrill said that there weren't any gardens to award the Garden of the Month to because of all the freezing weather and would start again in February. Linda Ross said the Link Award went to Salty Joe's Bar-B-Que on Range road.
Carolyn announced that the City of Hammond along with Keep Hammond Beautiful are having a Free Tree Give-Away for Arbor Day on January 19 from 8:00 to 9:30 am. There will be 75 trees to give away with many different kinds this year including Southern Crab Apple, Native Fringe, Sweet Bay, River Birch and American Snowball, 15 of each variety. It will be held at the City of Hammond's Maintenance Facility, 18104 Hwy. 190 East.
Linda Ross stated that the Krewe of Omega parade is on February 2 and you can join the organization immediately after the parade is over for the following year. Glenda Nelson said that Keep Hammond Beautiful will be holding a trash pick-up 2 to 3 days after the parade at Southeastern. Please come out to help get all the leftover beads and trash left behind from the parade to get a head start for all the trash pick-ups that will soon follow for the Cleanest City Contest.
Carolyn announced that the garden club will do Arbor Day in March at the Live Oak Assisted Living Center on Range Road. It was suggested that we present the patients with a small plant that they can keep by the window and watch it grow since none of them are capable of tending a tree or plant outdoors but this could be taken care of from their window sill. A date will be forthcoming.
Linda Ryan said that the fish fry fundraiser will be in the spring, the date had not been decided on as yet.
Margaret Hawkins passed out some brochures for a presentation about Winter Humming Birds. It will be in the Ponchatoula Library on January 23 at 6:00 pm.
Before closing the meeting Carolyn pointed out that all of the beautiful purple, green and gold table arrangements with lots of feathers and beads had been made by Linda Ross and depicted the coming Mardi Gras which is on February 13. They were used as our door prizes from the hostesses and the members that won were ecstatic about their first decoration of the coming season.
In closing I would like to thank all those that helped at the reception following Pat Benton's funeral at St. Albert's Catholic Church. We have had many thank you's from the family for taking care of it for them, and Father Michael complimented us on the "Basket of Flowers" presentation we did before mass he thought it was a beautiful send off for a beautiful lady. Please keep Pat and her family in your prayers, she will be sadly missed by many of us. Rest in peace Pat.
The Hammond Garden Club is a proud member of the District VI, Louisiana Garden Club Federation, Inc. and the Deep South Garden Clubs, Inc. doing our best to unify and beautify our homes, gardens, our city and our nation every day to the best of our ability. God Bless America!
by Linda Broussard
she is a member of the Hammond Garden Club
As we entered the First Baptist Hall on Morris Street we all thought we were looking at a bale of hay or wheat, but as Colleen assured us you don't want to use either of those because they harbor many seeds and you would have sprouts coming up all over. The best part of this type of gardening is not having to get down on the ground to do it, and since most of the ladies in the garden club are in the Social Security age group, (please note I said MOST), not getting down on the ground to garden is a great thing!
The pictures Colleen showed us of the vegetables and flowers that she grew were fantastic. Watering and fertilizing for ten days is the only part that takes time and that is to prepare the bales to accept the plants. No weeds, no bugs and plants and the fruit and vegetables they produce look like they came from a gardening manual.
After her presentation papers were passed around giving us all the particulars of bale gardening, questions ensued and answers were given and we all thought it was a good thing to think about to start our spring gardens.
Our President Carolyn Schwebel then opened the meeting with the Pledge Of Allegiance and called on our Chaplain Mary Thornhill for a prayer. Marilyn's Catering was there with a delicious leafy green Caesar salad, golden brown baked chicken, smashed potatoes that were infused with wonderful seasonings, sweet little green peas and a peach cobbler to die for!
Too full to move, Carolyn had our complete attention as she announced things coming up soon. She said the minutes by Secretary Karen Granier had been emailed to the board and approved. Phyllis diBenedetto Treasurer gave her report and Sue Parrill said that there weren't any gardens to award the Garden of the Month to because of all the freezing weather and would start again in February. Linda Ross said the Link Award went to Salty Joe's Bar-B-Que on Range road.
Carolyn announced that the City of Hammond along with Keep Hammond Beautiful are having a Free Tree Give-Away for Arbor Day on January 19 from 8:00 to 9:30 am. There will be 75 trees to give away with many different kinds this year including Southern Crab Apple, Native Fringe, Sweet Bay, River Birch and American Snowball, 15 of each variety. It will be held at the City of Hammond's Maintenance Facility, 18104 Hwy. 190 East.
Linda Ross stated that the Krewe of Omega parade is on February 2 and you can join the organization immediately after the parade is over for the following year. Glenda Nelson said that Keep Hammond Beautiful will be holding a trash pick-up 2 to 3 days after the parade at Southeastern. Please come out to help get all the leftover beads and trash left behind from the parade to get a head start for all the trash pick-ups that will soon follow for the Cleanest City Contest.
Carolyn announced that the garden club will do Arbor Day in March at the Live Oak Assisted Living Center on Range Road. It was suggested that we present the patients with a small plant that they can keep by the window and watch it grow since none of them are capable of tending a tree or plant outdoors but this could be taken care of from their window sill. A date will be forthcoming.
Linda Ryan said that the fish fry fundraiser will be in the spring, the date had not been decided on as yet.
Margaret Hawkins passed out some brochures for a presentation about Winter Humming Birds. It will be in the Ponchatoula Library on January 23 at 6:00 pm.
Before closing the meeting Carolyn pointed out that all of the beautiful purple, green and gold table arrangements with lots of feathers and beads had been made by Linda Ross and depicted the coming Mardi Gras which is on February 13. They were used as our door prizes from the hostesses and the members that won were ecstatic about their first decoration of the coming season.
In closing I would like to thank all those that helped at the reception following Pat Benton's funeral at St. Albert's Catholic Church. We have had many thank you's from the family for taking care of it for them, and Father Michael complimented us on the "Basket of Flowers" presentation we did before mass he thought it was a beautiful send off for a beautiful lady. Please keep Pat and her family in your prayers, she will be sadly missed by many of us. Rest in peace Pat.
The Hammond Garden Club is a proud member of the District VI, Louisiana Garden Club Federation, Inc. and the Deep South Garden Clubs, Inc. doing our best to unify and beautify our homes, gardens, our city and our nation every day to the best of our ability. God Bless America!
by Linda Broussard
she is a member of the Hammond Garden Club
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