The Weeders Meeting
Minutes, April 9, 2019
Jenkins Arboretum
Flower Show, Business Meeting, Guest Speaker, Luncheon
9:30 am Flower Show Registration & Passing
10:30 am Entries Closed
10:45 am Business Meeting
11:30 am Guest Speaker – Dr. Harold Sweetman, Executive Director, Jenkins Arboretum
Topic – Old, Unusual and Useless Gardening Tools
12:30pm Luncheon
After the closing of the registration & passing for the Flower Show, President Lorraine Wallace opened the meeting with a huge thanks to the meeting Chair, Nancy Holmes and The Hostesses: Wendy Quereau, Patty Greenhalgh, Cindy Pierce, Sally Wood & Weezie Johnson (who could not attend but still magically making her food contribution appear via Linda Anderson)!!!
Lorraine also thanked Flower Show Chair Wendy Bailey and her Flower Show crew for organizing an amazing show! A list of all the winners are attached.
Welcome to our Guests: Guests joining us today are Sharon Herman, step mother of Jen Fryberger, and Kelli Czajkowski, guest of Julie DeVuono.
Announcements/Reports:
Treasurer’s Report: Nancy Evans reported on our finances. We have $12,924 available in our BB&T checking account with $1250 restricted for scholarships. Vanguard Account is $33,144. (See attached treasurers report).
Scholarship Fund: Lorraine gives a special “Thank You” to Nancy Evans who has made an unsolicited donation to the Scholarship Fund. Her gift is very much appreciated!!
Sonya Driscoll asks all Weeders with children or grandchildren between the ages of 6 -16 to pay attention to any science teachers their children have that might be eligible for The Hull award, which is given to science teachers who are deemed outstanding in their field. If you know of a good science teacher, let Sonja or Regina know and they will follow-up with an interview.
In their efforts to identify local initiatives that are connected tightly with community, they are continuing to interview candidates eligible for the Community Service Award made available through our Scholarship Fund.
Regina, Sonya and other members of the committee will be visiting the Tacony Watershed to determine their eligibility for the Community Service Award.
Executive Committee Meeting: Meeting has been moved to May 7th at 10:00 at Lorraine’s home. Note to all Committee Chairs, don’t forget that you need to submit your budgets/expenses for the 2019-2020 fiscal year to Nancy Evans prior to the meeting so these costs can be captured in the budget, which will be discussed at the Executive Committee Meeting.
By-law’s: Lorraine extended a huge “Thank You“ to Ellie Penniman, Maria Thompson and Nancy Holmes for all of their efforts put forth with helping to update our By-Laws. What started as a small change mushroomed into a huge project to bring our By-Laws up to date to reflect our current practices. Much has been removed from the by-laws and will be part of a newly developed Policy and Procedure Manual that can be easily updated as needed without the cumbersome task of having to update the by-laws every time a change is needed.
Members will be receiving the new version of the by-laws with explanations of the changes in the coming days. A vote to approve the by-laws will be taken at the May 14, 2019 meeting. Be on the lookout for the email and please take time to review them carefully. Any questions should be directed to Lorraine, Ellie, Maria and Nancy.
Herb Sale: The Philadelphia Unit of The Herb Society of America will hold it’s annual sale on Thursday May 9th from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm at The Historic Yellow Springs in Chester Springs, PA. The sale will be held rain or shine and bring your checkbook – no credit cards accepted. Go to https://www.hsaphiladelphia.org/herb-sale-2019 for more information.
Magnolia Tribute Garden: Marilyn Sprague is asking for volunteers to help with Magnolia Tribute Garden Workday on Wednesday April 24th. A sign up sheet was passed around. She gave a short history of how the garden came to be. It is part of the Independence National Historic Park and is maintained by the gardens clubs of the PCGCA. – West Chester Garden Club, Wissahickon Garden Club and The Weeders Garden Club are the clubs assigned for the 24th.
“The Magnolia Tribute Garden, on the south side of Locust between 4th and 5th Streets, was donated by the Garden Club of America in honor of the founders of our nation, and dedicated in May 1959. George Washington's expressed interest in magnolia trees inspired this garden. Around its walled perimeter are 13 early spring blooming hybrid magnolias suitable for northern climates. They represent the 13 original colonies. Enclosed by wrought iron fences and gates, the plantings include Saucer Magnolias, Narcissus Snow Azaleas, English Oak, Honey Locusts, Cotoneasters, and a ground cover of English Ivy”. (Source: National Park Service website)
Fertilizer Fund – Marilyn Sprague gave a short presentation on one of the Fertilizer Fund projects - Cedar Parks Neighbors. Each month we will try to report on one of the projects, so our club members can have a good understanding of what the money they contribute to the Fertilizer Fund is supporting. (See attached report).
Ronald McDonald House: Volunteers should meet at Laura Mitchell’s home on April 17th at 9:30 to make arrangements for the Ronald McDonald House.
Review of March Minutes: Motion made, 2nded and all approved the Minutes for the March 12, 2019 meeting
Maine Trip: Nancy Holmes reminded those who are going on The Weeder Trip to Maine this summer that the final deposit is due. She will send an email reminder with the total amounts owed.
Bus Trip for annual meeting: Cheryl Cheston reminded everyone interested to sign up for the Annual Meeting Bus Trip (sign-up sheet was passed around), so she can get an accurate estimate for the size of bus that is needed. The trip will include a tour of a private garden called Walnut Hill and Ladew Topiary Gardens, both in Maryland..
Photography Show: Melissa Bullitt reminded everyone of the deadline for the Photography Show at the May meeting. The deadline to have your photo entries to Melissa is May 5th
Archivist Report: Maria Thompson gave a report on historical happenings involving our club. (See attached report).
Gazebo Garden at Ludington Library: Bring your rakes, Felco’s, pruners and gloves to the Gazebo Garden on Saturday morning at 9:30 and again on Monday morning at 9:30 to kick-off the season helping keep this garden in pristine shape!
Strafford Station: Alice Doering reports that the spring cleanup season has begun with the planting of pansies in pots and new daylilies planted along the bike rack (dug from Jenkins Arboretum). We will be meeting every Tuesday at 9:00 am throughout the spring and summer to keep the station looking good.
Horticulture Committee: Michele Bolton reports that there will be 2 challenge plants for the Fall Flower Show. The first one is Iris germanica which was available in limited quantities for $9.00. The second one will be a salvia that will be distributed at the May meeting.
Diane McCallister brought two different hellebores that were available to buy.
Other: Beth Hayes approached Lorraine with the idea of having a “Dumb Question” Q&A session at the end of each meeting. If anyone has any “dumb questions”, please submit to Lorraine prior to the next meeting. Should be fun!!
With no other further business, Lorraine adjourned the business meeting.
Guest Speaker – Dr. Harold Sweetman, Executive Director, Jenkins Arboretum: Nancy Holmes introduced our speaker who gave a fun and engaging talk about his collection of Old, Odd and Otherwise Useless Gardening Tools.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy H. Holmes
Recording Secretary
