ASHLAND — A memorial stone exhibition located by the Weeping Cherry at the Historical Society will have a sixth stake added to include the name of Art of Gardening Club member Paul Randles who passed away Feb. 19.
Kathy Bargar, President, commented at the March 6 meeting held at Peace Lutheran Church and how the obituary referred to his being a gifted artist, a fact of which she was not aware.
Randles also loved painting, collected antiques and frequented the Ashland County Fair.
Members were urged to bring 32 oz. cans to Ruth Ann Linder to be used for an October Brethren Care community project.
“Bring recyclables,” Linder said.
In addition to Brethren Care, members were reminded that the club also donates to Associated Charities and maintains two fair flower boxes.
The Vice Presidency is still vacant. Sally Ahlers asked about the duties of a Vice President.
Bargar said, “When I was Co-President, I set up for next year’s calendar and covered for Pat.”
Pat Edwards and Bargar were Co-Presidents last year.
Claudia Dunn, secretary, presented a “Planning Your Garden” program. She opened with Peter Rabbit not being able to resist Mr. McGregor’s garden.
There is a real Mr. McGregor’s garden in Fairytale Town, Sacramento, California. It’s a hands-on learning workshop for school children.
Members received a printout of “Plan the Year with the Home Depot Garden Club Calendar.”
Besides weather and season, location is important in planning your garden. Choose a full site with full sun, good drainage and no standing water.
Apparently Mr. McGregor chose a good site.
One brilliant tip from Reader’s Digest – “Play in the rain”. There’s no better time to visit a garden centre than during a cloudburst. Nurseries are less crowded.
Once the rain eases, go out and pull weeds.
Seed catalogs are a good way to plan what goes in one’s garden. There are more than 200 mail-order seed companies in the United States and seed catalogs have been tempting gardeners for around 400 years.
“The early catalogs mainly were lists of plant and seed varieties and their prices,” according to Dunn. “Seeds and plants came to America from our ancestors who traded with native Americans corn, beans, squash, melons and fruit trees.
“Plants and trees were imported and sold in shops and advertised in newspapers.”
One newspaper ad that members viewed at the meeting featured her Grandpa Lash’s grocery store in New London.
He started in Ashland, one of 27 in the city. Five were located on Orange Street. A.L. Lash was located at 327, according to a September 4, 1993 article on “Historic Ashland” in the Ashland Times-Gazette.
The April 3 meeting will feature a “Who Are We Day” and members should include a gardener’s tip.