May 2012 N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E C H A P E L H I L L G A R D E N C L U B

CLIPPINGS

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The Post Tour Reception is scheduled for May 1, 5:00-7:00 at the Botanical Garden.

Wine and Hors d’oeuvres will be served. Raffle prizes will be awarded and our

donation of proceeds from the tour will be presented to Botanical Garden Director

Peter White. Come and help celebrate the enormous success of another spring

garden tour. Please respond to Anne Montgomery at 929-3801 or GAMontgmery@bellsouth.net.

See page 2 for another invitation

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The Chapel Hill Garden Club cordially invites you to our Spring Garden Party 2012

The Annual Spring Picnic and Auction

Tuesday, May 15th at 10:00 a.m. at the North Carolina Botanical Garden

10:00 a.m. We arrive, drop off our auction items, and luncheon food.

Coffee, sweet rolls and strawberries will be served. Time to stroll the many garden areas.

10:30 a.m. Auction begins with our favorite auctioneer, Don Basnight.

12:00 p.m. Salad Luncheon...all members are asked to bring a salad to serve 6, with serving utensils.

Board members provide desserts table ready. Iced Tea, Lemonade’ and Water will be served.

12:45 p.m. Hat Contest winners announced. Brief business meeting

1:00 Adjournment and informal garden touring until 2:00 p.m.

Clippings

Suggested Auction Items:

plants, herbs, seeds, books, chimes, containers, garden tools, garden art, plant markers

Reminders:

Please carpool as parking is limited

You will need to bring auctions items, salad for 6 with utensils

Wear your decorated hat

You are welcome to bring a friend or two

Don't forget cash or checkbook to pay for your auction items

Be prepared to have fun!!!

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The Final Hour of the 2012 Garden Tour A Reflection

Stepheny Houghtlin, President

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About 3:00 PM on Sunday afternoon, there was a lull in the steady stream of visitors at the Capel garden. I took a seat in the shade on the antique glider and was reward for my afternoon’s effort of trying to be a good hostess. Let-ting the glider rock, there was a twitch of a breeze, enough to rattle the palm fronds. I sat in this quiet moment ad-miring the white screen porch and the Mark Hewitt pots that put one in mind of an island in the Caribbean. I asked myself, what makes a good garden? As the temperature climbed during the afternoon, shade was the first thing that came to mind. There was a sweet fragrance on the breeze, and water gurgling. I looked at all the wonderful trees that enclosed this special set-ting, the bones of the garden established irregardless of the season. But this was the closing hour of the 2012 Spring Garden Tour for the Club. All the organization, the meetings, the alarm bells that sent people scurrying, the endless preparation, it was all but over. Here in this intimate space, filled with whimsy, individual plants healthy and established, I recognized that a good garden needs admiration in order to survive. I’d watched and listened as ticket holders smiled their way through all the gardens. They touched, smelled, asked questions, they photographed their favorite ideas and, be-came inspired. Rising from the glider, I felt certain that all the gardens were breathing in and breathing out the ac-climations they were receiving with a lovely sigh of pleasure. Once committed to the tour, the garden homeowners were on their own treadmill of work, in their own creative mode as they edited their plant inventory, digging, replanting, beginning new projects they could now jus-tify because of the tour. It is quite amazing when you think of it, the generosity of these garden owners to share this private world they have created. No money is paid to either the garden owners or the organizing tour committee; all the effort comes down to great weather and everyone who is involved doing their best. I feel a deep satisfaction on behalf of the Club, the Committee, the Garden Makers, the public, and the town of Chapel Hill for a weekend come true. As I took the last sign down, pulled up a strip of yellow tape from a step, put a card table into the back of my car, it was a mixed blessing. I didn’t want the tour to be over, I wanted to race back and revisit all the gardens again. Yet, enough was enough, wasn’t it. On the TV drama NCIS, occasionally a ‘campfire’ is called for when the cast pulls their chairs into a circle to brainstorm. In my imagination, I have called the CHGC membership into a campfire circle with the Tour Com-

mittee, and all the members who gave their all, sitting in the circle. On the count of three, everyone raises their voices and cheers, "A JOB WELL DONE!” Even as an Episcopalian, I shout back,

“AMEN, SISTERS and BROTHERS!”

Thanks to everyone in the Garden Club who helped

make the April 14-15 Garden Tour a huge success.

Carol Candler

Clippings

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Community Service Updates and Opportunities Vicki Scott & Sue Tiedeman

As our Garden Club year draws to a close, we can be proud of the accomplishments of our various Commu-nity Service projects. SEEDS, the gathering of third graders at McDougle Elementary School to form a Junior Gar-den Club has blossomed into its 12th year. Volunteers and children meet five times in the school year to weed, plant and harvest greens in their raised beds. Every year the final meeting is Salad Day - when both children and teachers enjoy veggies from plants nurtured during the year. This past year two more Downtown Planters - a total of 3 - were adopted by the Club. Two avid volunteers, Linda Rodriguez and Nina Comiskey have transformed these planters into small city gardens, adding to the beauty of Chapel Hill. The Stratford, a nursing facility, has been lovingly maintained by Char Thomann. She has given generously of her time and talent to make the entrance a flowering welcome to residents and visitors alike. Many new homeowners of Phoenix Place, a Habitat Community, have been fortunate to receive gardening tools and advice from Club members. Peggy Pratt manages this project and keeps track of houses being built and occupied. Last we have Freedom House, a Recovery Center where Sue Tiedeman and Vicki Scott have enhanced their entrance with seasonal plants. We can proudly say that the Chapel Hill Garden Club has imprinted their “GreenThumb" in these ac-tivities. It takes many hands to succeed in all these endeavors so make room on your calendar to become a part of them!∞

Where did you see these treasures?

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Clippings

Carol David e-mail: cdavid2@nc.rr.com the number 2 was missing in our yearbook Ardith Pugh 642 Fearrington Post Pittsboro, NC 27312 Cathy Primack’s e-mail to cathypri-mack@gmail.com Shirley Lindley’s to shirley@woodin.net Mary Jean Lowrie 301 Carolina Meadows Villa Chapel Hill, NC 27517 New Address

Welcome New Members

JUNE CLENDENIN 328 CAROLINA MEADOWS VILLA CHAPEL HILL, NC 27517 932-5888 jsc14@bellsouth.net DANEILLE PORTS 19 BLOOMSBURY CT. CHAPEL HILL, 27517 408-0368 619-4148 C daneille.portsocall@gmail.com

SUSIE MOFFAT 30076 VILLAGE PARK DRIVE CHAPEL HILL, NC 27517 933-6530 pmoffat@me.com

CHAPEL HILL GARDEN CLUB LIFE AND PERENNIAL MEMBERS

MAY 2012

LIFE MEMBERS, 30+ YEARS Shirley Clapham: 1976 Sylvia Gatzy: 1975 Ruth Greenberg: 1961 Margy King: 1978 Jessie McIntyre: 1976

PERENNIAL MEMBERS, 20+ YEARS Dot Basnight: 1984 Nina Forsyth: 1989 Ulla Geratz: 1989 Sharon Hamner: 1988 Yvonne Holt: 1985 Bitty Holton: 1986 Mary Jean Lowrie; 1991 Virginia B. Prus: 1984 Jane Wait: 1983

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A Tour to Remember

2012

The Chapel Hill Garden Club P.O. Box 10054 Chapel Hill, NC 27515

Gus St. John, Editor

Member’s Awards at Judges Show

Four members of the Garden Club made everyone very proud as they displayed their flower designing skills at

the recent Piedmont East Judges Council Show.

Left to right, Betsy Nininger, awarded the blue ribbon and The Award Of Design Excellence, Jinny Marino, awarded

the second place ribbon, Ruth Moleski awarded the third place ribbon and Jenny Bryant awarded the Honorable

Mention ribbon. Congratulations to all !