We have a couple of events scheduled for the upcoming months. The first is our second annual public plant auction at the Merrifield Garden Center on 24 August. Our auction last year was a lot of fun and made over $1800 which helped us build a good financial cushion as we approach the 2009 convention. Many of our members are providing (or at least babysitting) the plants, which will be auctioned. If you are one of those members, please contact
Rosie Field as soon as possible with the names of the plants you will be providing so that she can assign numbers to them and Bob and Don can do the necessary preparation for the auction (I know Don finds pictures of all of the plants in bloom…I guess Bob exercises his vocal cords practicing the pronunciation of each plant name as he does an excellent job running the auction!). Since this event is open to the public, all members are asked to bring refreshments to share. If you are able to assist in setting up or tearing down, please get back with me.
We also have a Chapter meeting scheduled for 28 September at the George Mason Library. Mark the date on your calendar. Additional information will be provided later.
Those of us who were able to attend the cutting exchange on 13 July at Bob and Eve Harrison’s house enjoyed great food, a beautiful day in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and great camaraderie. It is very hard to believe that Bob and Eve’s property was once a hog farm. They have done a lot of work with the farm and it shows. I have included a few pictures from the event to show what I’m talking about. We had a great turnout and the weather cooperated until late afternoon when the skies opened up. Fortunately we had completed all of the outdoor activities, including the cutting exchange, and were able to bring the tents down before Mother Nature opened up. Larry Martin did an excellent job instructing us on the best way to start cuttings. I’ve never yet had the success that he has, but I’m hoping to do better. We were also able to have a short business meeting to resolve some additional issues for the convention. I’d like to thank Bob and Eve Harrison for opening up their house to the Chapter for this event.
One final note…the dishes that Chapter members brought to the cutting exchange drew rave reviews. Eve suggested that it would be a good idea to collect the recipes and share them with other members. If you are willing to share your secrets, send the recipes to Eve Harrison (cc Rick Bauer) and we can share them with the membership.
See you on the 24th at Merrifield Garden Center.
Please contact any of our officers, listed below, for directions.
