2 April 2022
Opening Luncheon
At noon, everyone enjoyed the soup lunch with breads, cheese and crackers, and wonderful desserts. Susan Brandli was the Head Hostess with Jerry Jenkins, Alice Stieve, Pam Plumb, Joanne Gills and Tricia Mrzyglod assisting.
Announcements
Five members attended the Piedmont District Meeting in Richmond on Monday, March 21st. CBGC club won 3 awards: Blue Ribbon for Flower Show Schedule, Blue Ribbon for our Website, and Blue Ribbon for our Yearbook.
The VFGC Convention will be held in Richmond May 1 – 3, 2022.
On March 19th, members helped with the Reedville Fishermen’s Museum cleanup. It was a very busy Saturday morning. Members cleaned up the herb garden, the daffodil garden, and all the gardens at Festival Halle. The volunteers of the museum and CBGC did a great job cleaning up the grounds.
Old Business
Kathie Truxall discussed the Longwood Garden Trip on June 14th – 16th. She will need 5 more people to sign up to get to the 15 participants she needs. The cost is approximately $350, which covers transportation, lodging and admissions. Guests are welcome to go on this trip and the deadline is the end of March.
Carol Cole discussed the May 21st Event at the Tavern. The name of the event is “Spring Has Sprung.” This will be an educational event with demonstrations. Horticulture will be displayed but will not be judged. Alice Stieve will have a demonstration on Nonnative Invasive Plants. Contact Carol if you have any questions.
Commitee Reports
Membership - The meeting attendance was 32 including 2 visitors, Vivian Basl and Connie Taylor.
Birds, Butterflies and Bees - Susan Brandli reported that the signup sheets for the Bluebird Trails were on the back table. Ace Hardware needs more members to sign up for July and August. Alice Stieve and Susan had a special display on “How to prevent birds from flying into windows.”
Civic Development/Youth Projects - Linda Hixon reported on "Ready, Set, Grow" program scheduled for Tuesday, April 12. She discussed using the book We Are the Gardener along with the posters that we have used in the past. There are five first grade classes at Northumberland Elementary School, so she will need 15 members to help with the program. A signup sheet was passed around. The outside planting will be held in May.
Horticulture
Rebecca Elston presented award ribbons for 28 horticulture specimens submitted by 8 members:
Anne Haynie – 8 Blue, 2 Red and Best in Show
Nancy Stogowski – 3 Blue
Kathie Truxall – 1 Red
Anne Crawley – 1 Red
Jacqui Penney – 3 Blue
Sharon Lemke – 2 Blue
Jean Ryan – 2 Blue and 3 Red
Pam VanScoy – 1 Blue and 2 Red
Floral Design
Kathie Truxall presented award ribbons for the Duo design exhibits themed "Friends (like bats) By Day and Night":
Carol Cole – 2 Reds
Kathie Truxall – 1 Blue and 1 Red
As each arrangement was turned, the single creation exposed two different but related designs. For example, one side could be spring and the other winter. Each side of the design was judged.
Program: "Myths of Virginia's Bats"
Susan Watson, a Wildlife Informational Biologist at the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR), presented “The Myths of Bats" discussing both myths and facts about bats, and their ecological roles. She began with a global overview of bats and then narrowed her presentation to the bats of Virginia.
Bats are mammals and the only mammal capable of flying. They have fur and bare live young which they nurse. They also use echolocation to navigate. Bats are very valuable to our environment since they eat mosquitoes and are great pollinators. Therefore, they provide a valuable resource for our Earth. Humans are at very small risk of getting rabies from a bat. The vampire bat is the only type that sucks blood, but they are located in Central America.
Many varieties of bats worldwide have been infected with White Nose Fungus. The Virginia Little Brown Bat has been infected with this disease.
Article contributed by Karen Luzuriaza and Tricia Mrzyglod. Photographs by Karen Luzuraga.
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