March 6, 2026
- Mini Presentation – Peggy gave a brief demonstration on horticultural entry cards, appropriate-sized containers, and the use of wedging.
- PM Program – Designs were done as we watched the process. Chris, Mary Ann Way, and Amandalei each completed one. It was educational, and many questions/ideas followed; we are learning! Lynda suggested we utilize design books from our club library. Contact her if you are interested.
February 6, 2026
- Mini Presentation – Amandalei gave a presentation on various ways to preserve flowers for use in making cards and other artistic items. She had a cheat sheet that shows, at a glance, which methods work best with which flowers, along with a more detailed description in booklet form. Her examples are very pretty.
- PM Program – Paul Donnelly gave a presentation on botany. He had a fun assortment of facts about seeds, how they travel, how different seeds pop, and how animals and seeds evolved together. The symbiotic relationships can be fascinating. Great talk, Paul! We all learned and have a new appreciation of bugs, plants, and nature.
November 7, 2025
- Mini Presentation – Nonna did a demonstration on using flowers inside pumpkins for a great table or porch decoration. She did two of them, both up for the raffle. We got some great tips on how to make them last and have usable plants when the pumpkin has gone over. Both had a mix of beautiful succulents and fresh flowers.
- PM Program – our speaker was Taha Ebrahimi, author of ‘Street Trees of Seattle’, An Illustrated Walking Guide… a great talk about how she came to write the book during Covid and her need to be outdoors. The book has neighborhood maps, sketches of trees, and seed pods. It’s extremely user-friendly. The Q and A brought up some other interesting trees that piqued our curiosity. Taha recommended Sibley Field Guide to Trees and also Trees of Seattle by Arthur Lee Jacobson. The last one is out of print but still available from the author. Taha brought some of her own books, which were quickly snapped up. Great talk!
October 3, 2025
- At Homecoming, we review our long and interesting history. Chris Matson gave a brief talk on past events. A few examples: our club used to have 400 members; a past president, Ruth Alexander, hybridized a rose decades ago that now lives in Lynda’s garden; during the depression, the club did charity work at the “County poor farm”. They did cleaning, feeding, and supporting those without jobs, they grew Victory gardens and volunteered at hospitals, and supported Veterans. We have a proud history.
- Honored Past Presidents: Chris Matsen, Nonna Crook, Velva Salterelli, and Amandalei were present. Not present were June DeMers and Jann McAlpine. We thank them all.
- Longevity Award: Amanda, 15 years; Jane Krueger, 15 years; Evie Marwood, 15 years; Krist Sharpe, 10 years.
- Scroll of Honor: Chris discussed what the Scroll of Honor means and its long history of honoring those who have gone above and beyond. JUDY BAKKEN was added this year. Congratulations Judy! We’ve been missing you.
- Past President present: Nonna Crook was given our thanks and a gift in recognition of her five years as president. She got us through the Covid years intact. Thank you!
- PM Program – Linda Maida, a well-known designer, came to give a demonstration on design mechanics. Her friend, Judy Strickland, also a designer, attended. Linda had many tips on design and creative uses of foliage. One tip we especially liked was to make a 1/3 glycerin, 2/3 water mix, dip the stems of thick-leaved plants (fatsia or rhododendron), and let the plant drink the solution. The leaf will turn brown, but be very flexible and long-lasting. Another tip: dip cut stems into hot (almost boiling) water and let them slowly cool. This adds days to the life of your flowers. Just be careful the steam doesn’t come up on the flowers. Linda had a few of us participate in her demonstration. Susan Bean and Evie went home with small pumpkins decorated with flowers. Karen Ford got a taste of design and enjoyed it.
September 5, 2025
- Mini Presentation – Krist put together a very fun assortment of materials for us to make our own journals (garden or otherwise). We put on our creative hats and had fun.
- PM Program – John Bolivar gave a lovely program on native plants, with an excellent slideshow of his photos. He had pictures and information on plants that were new to some of us. John’s photos encouraged us to look closer at nature. His dog had just passed; our sympathies to John.