What garden clubs or societies do you belong to?

Nope, not an expert in anything but more of an enthusiastic hobbyist. Some of the native plant people from some of those groups above are the "in your face types" which can be a big turn off when one grows a lot of species that are exotic. I grow almost all of the introduced species up in tight around my home. It is my goal to be 90% native in the near future. I really do grow a tremendous number of introduced species here, nothing invasive but nonetheless I have no desire to get rid of them as they are respecting property lines quite well and have a track record of being well behaved. Let a plant get out of line and I have no problems nuking it.

The Indigenous Plant Forum is sort of dead but it hasn't been around that long and it's the time of year and it was named Indigenous Plants not Native Plants so I don't think all that many people find their way over there. People will start finding their way over there sooner or later.

So, you like the little mini skirt, eh? There's a new little snappy ensemble for the puppy below. By the way, Mitt is a man who is good for his word so please do post a photo. He's got lots of good stuff ladies. He grows Tall Bearded Iris and his yard is filled to the brim. I'm sure I'll get an iris out of him. He knows exactly what I like even if I did twist and contort his words to be able to joke around about sucking a plant out of him.

Equi
You were supposed to send me pictures of the black dress from the party tonight. When I mentioned mini skirt I was hoping you'd shave those legs and put on this dreaded black dress you were complaining about sqeezing your butt into tonight. Instead you send me this picture of the topless dressed neighbors male dog and expect a plant. What's up with that? That has to be some kind of animal abuse you're doing to his dog. Then you wonder why the dog doesn't use your lawn anymore.

Tabasco you can submit your picture and we'll talk about a plant for you. I'm pouring the bourbon as we speak. These bogus pictures Equi sends will get her one of those plastic plants from the dollar store if I can find a plastic poison ivy plant. She seems to like rare plants.

Pins if you want to submit picture with you wearing that red dress we'll talk about your plant. I'm pouring the scotch.

I don't drink but tabasco likes bourbon and Pins likes scotch. I'm going to be so sick later mixing bourbon and scotch but what's a guy to do? I've never given in to women wanting me to drink to get photos before. But, I'm holding up my end of the deal ladies. Down the hatch they go. Now it's time to show me your pictures.

Dear, the dog (we can name him Ralph) is in therapy right now working out inner struggles over gender identity issues.

Shave my legs? I suppose I could do that but then what ever would I use my curling iron for?

Mitt dear, the party for tobasco is in February and I don't know when pins is having her party so you might as well put away the adult beverages for a bit.

Kids came in from sledding and they'll want to have something to eat. By for now.

It' s 2 late. scotc wasn't two bad butt the burbon was nastee.

Can you believe I forgot to get pictures?!? What a shame! lol Glad you liked the scotch. ;-)

Pins! You brut you!

I myself have to get readu for a little cocktail/dinner party real soon! I'll be sure to post a few photos maybe tomorrow.

Hiccup!

Have a great time Equi.

I used to be a member of several societies, not sure what a white glove society is but I can imagine from the posts above. I've not had the time recently to keep up the membership but am casting around for something interesting and there is still the Scottish Rock Garden Club (although I don't live in Scotland ;)

Indigenous Plants is a recent name but the forum itself has been around for a long time, I think it was Wildplants or Wild flowers before. Looking through the posts I made on that forum my first post dates to August 2001 and 6 pages of posts from me to date. It never was a very popular forum but was reasonably active.

I am a member of American Iris Society because it has a good database.

I've spent the afternoon looking for a society or group that had an online hosta database with reliable cultivar information. Does anyone know of such a place?

JoanJ--How about the Hosta Library? http://www.hostalibrary.org/

Baa--you must join the Scottish Rock Garden Club and tell us about what goes on there.. Isn't that the 'mother' of all rock garden societies? All the victorian plant explorers were associated with that group as I recall...

I just returned from the Greater Cincinnati Hosta and Daylily Society meeting today (overflow crowd). No white gloves. Pot luck lunch. No bourbon or scotch. Discussion of "Compost Tea" and Tetraploids. But I was offered some free plants by the fellow next to me, and a tour of a garden next summer. So we had fun.

Sorry Tabasco, I wasn't very clear above was I LOL, I am a member of the SRGC, I've just let the other memberships lapse. I don't know what goes on there as pretty much everything that goes on is in Scotland and I'm at the opposite end of Great Britain. They do have some good information online and a great seed exchange.

Previously I've been a member of the Alpine Garden Soc., Cottage Garden Soc., National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens, Heritage Seed Library and the Seed Guild although that has been gone for a few years now.

Trouble with gardening clubs I've found is that a lot of attendants are in their senior years so it's quite hard to fit in.

I am a member of a local garden club called....Tawas Bay Garden Club. We are what we consider a "working" Garden Club. We get our hands dirty. Our Club maintains probably 12 different garden sites in and around the two Tawas Bay cities. When I say maintain, I mean we plant it, water it, weed it. There is another "White Glove" garden club in the AuGres area which do just that.....afternoon meetings, speakers, tea and dessert once a month.

I also belong to Sunrise Side Master Gardeners Assoc. which is also a working group. There are many volunteer projects on tap as we speak. We do have something educational at each monthly meeting so we can fulfull our educational needs for the year and the volunteer projects help us to keep up our volunteer hours as needed.

I find I just don't have time to do much more besides taking care of my own gardens. I wish I had the energy as you younger gals do....For now, I will just read about all of these organizations that you all belong to....As for getting discounts on plants, heavens, where would I put all of these wonderful bargain's. My cup runneth over....

Deann

Tabasco..........Ment to say thank you for that wonderful link on Hosta.......Thanks....

Deann

I thought they moved those threads over to the Indigenous Plants Forum after it was created like they did with some threads in Carnivorous Plants? Tells you how much I pay attention because I don't even remember a forum titled Wild anything. I do know one thing, I'm glad the Indigenous Plants forum is there but at this time of year it is only natural for it to be a little bit slow over there. It will pick up.

Correction, I am not a member of all of those that I listed. I don't have time. I like to go to the Audubon chapter meetings when they are addressing native plants for native landscapes. Same deal with the Sierra Club chapter meetings. If they are geared toward native flora and fauna, I'll go. They have phenomenal speakers even if I may only attend 1 or 2 meetings per year. Chicago Wilderness and WildOnes pretty much always have monthly meetings that interest me. Some of the organizations listed by me above you have to subscribe to be able to get into their site to read their publications, some you have to subscribe to be able to get on their monthly e-mail list of contributions, and others I am a member of to get access to seed. For the most part, I am in the "working gardener" class so it would only be natural to gravitate toward WildOnes. The County and State don't have any societies per se but they do have "workshops" where you literally meet up one morning a month and work. I can handle two chapter meetings a month because I learn so much from their guest speakers and I can handle two mornings a month volunteering under land stewards but if I joined everything, I'd have no time to play in the dirt here at home.

LOL well, equi,, you can't know how relieved I am to find you are not a member of all those clubs! I had this vision of you racing around Illinois going from meeting to meeting and I wondered how you had time to do any gardening at all!

For anybody interested, here's the link to the "Indigenous Forum". DG could use some more good discussion over there probably. ---a good and timely topic, I think!

http://davesgarden.com/forums/f/wildplants/all/

and a link to the "Wildlife Forum" (which I think ought to be on the Garden Talk tab, too) has lots of information for creating natural garden habitats for fauna...

http://davesgarden.com/place/f/wildlife/all/

Baa, yes, in the UK there must be a zillion societies and clubs to join. Can't do all of them, that is for sure. When we lived there we were members of the RHS so we could get into the show on 'members day'. A lot of fun.

deann, your work with the Tawas Bay Gardeners sounds fun and a great benefit to the community. It sounds like you do a LOT, between that and the Master Gardeners group.

The Illinois Native Plant Society has been trying to get me to take over a Chapter Presidency for a while- not going to happen. Too much work, way too much work. I love Native Plants but I have had experience on Boards and there is no way I can commit to something like that until at such time as my body gives out and won't let me play in the dirt. Even then, I have this joke that me and my one girlfriend are going to hire somebody to drive us over to the Chicago Botanic Gardens and wheel us around so that when we are old and blind we can stick our arms out on either side of our wheelchairs and feel up plants. I have enough organizing to do being room mother at schools right now. That's about all I can handle.

The UK has some of the best organizations. They blow us away here in the US with some of their offerings.

Hey Equil,
Tag! I found you.
So what your saying is that there is to much red tape in these org. as is with most?

Are there any that just enjoy whats around them?

I wouldn't know, I belong to the "I have enough to do with out the committing to another thing ORG"
Dena

Thst sounded very harsh, I am sorry, I didn't mean to offend.

No, didn't sound harsh at all. In answer to your question, WildOnes. See if there is a chapter in yor state. I don't think they have expanded into that state yet but you never know. They'd be happy to recruit you to be a new chapter President so you could start up your own chapter to serve local residents ;)

Not so much the red tape but sheer volume of time one must commit to pull off organizing monthly meetings. Contacts, it's all about who you know and who you can network with to be able to ask them to please come and share their knowledge and expertise. Most will do so but you need about a year to put together a decent schedule of events or people will lose interest real fast. Politics are everywhere, unavoidable. You just ignore them and keep moving forward. What it boils down to is the time element. Time is more valuable than money often times if that makes any sense to you. Right now I have kids who have needs that must be met and I feel as if I am split as it is. These days will fly by all too quickly and maybe then, I will be in a position to consider becoming more actively involved. I did not mention that I already speak and hold workshops for groups in the community. Fortunately I am familiar with the subject matter they want so there is little or no preparation time involved and all I have to do is show up BUT... that is another one day a month that I often don't have the time to give but education is paramount so I go with bells on my toes. I enjoy working with children.

I would love to have the time to Belong to a group of like minded people but, I fear I'd end up blowing them off more often than not due in part to having small children, and my own business, and not to mention a yard full of potential projects that never end, I have vissions and they must be tended to and one must not forget the laundry, for fear the family end up wearing trash bags.

I once asked a few neighbors if they would get together to help clean up our street and the park not far from here and they turned me away, I cleaned up with my sisters and our troop of kids but that was the end of my GETTING INVOLVED in my neck of the woods. Its to bad too because we could have gotten more work finished if there were more hands helping. It was very discouraging.

Dena

grenthumbs - I think that's just the way most people are. I belong to the American Legion. Lotz of members, few volunteers and it's always the same people who do volunteer over and over again. Same at work. If we have a potluck, it's always the same people who bring food and the same people who don't. What gets me though is this group I belong to that hosts a homeless dinner twice a month. People sign up to work and then just don't show up. It gets very discouraging at times. How do you forget a commitment like that! However, I'm not about to give up something I feel strongly about and I try not to think too badly of the people who have let us down.

LOL Yes, I agree. You can only 'do what you can do' and I think that in life there is an 'ebb and flow' of different opportunities and people (especially women) shouldn't feel they have to do it "all, all the time"--. There will be a time and place for everything.

Does that make any sense? In any case, I may be in the minority, but I do think the different garden clubs and societies (whether 'active' or 'white glove') fulfill a community need...

Community service, fellowship, education, fundraising, advocacy and 'fun' are a few benefits of group dynamics, so I think anyone who takes on a responsibility in one of the gardenclubs/plant societies deserves a 'thankyou'---and god bless the organizers who know how to cut through bureaucracy and committee antics and get everyone working together toward a goal. It's a rare gift!

Here's a link for what might be termed a 'white glove' garden club http://www.gardenclub.org/links/links.aspx?path=Root/HelpfulLinks/StateGardenClubSites ---is anyone familiar with them and able to comment?

and the Men's Garden Club

http://tgoa-mgca.org/default.asp

I hear that Beaker! I can't see myself half committed to something, I'm either in or I'm out, but that has nothing to do with my will to help others, I want to, I just don't break my promises unless a kid is on the way to the hospital, that there causes a problem, and I'v had to learn how to say no or end up on the loony list trying to do everything I'v committed to. My Hubby said I'd need to commit to a mental ward if I didn't start cutting down my list of things to do. I have worked at a few soup kitchens and the people were very understanding of my schedual, kinda like an on call if you can kind of thing, and still the guilt of saying sorry I can't come kills me. I have a hard time telling the RI Blood center I can't make an appointment but maybe I can do a walk in?! I have the will and the want maybe someday when I'm rich (yeah) and don't have to scrounge every nickle to support my family and my habbit (planting everything I get my hands on) and I don't have to chase kids all day, I'll have the time. For now, I keep my mouth shut and don't promise any more than I KNOW I can do. Kinda keeps me out of trouble, and sane, if thats what you call my state of being.
: )
Dena

Hi, beaker and greenthumb--you were posting at the same time as mine--so the thoughts seem a little disjointed...

no doubt it's discouraging to not get the support needed to take on a project. There's a lot to the 'many hands make light work' saying, and it's too bad we can't make it happen when things need to be done in the community.

Man o man - miss this thread for a couple of days, and there are 63 posts! Got a lot of great chuckles out of catching up!

Stacy

Well seriously Stacy... you've met me. Do you think I'm the white glove type? What a joke. Dirty gloves with holes by the finger tips to get the last bit of usefullness out of a pair of gardening gloves yes but white gloves? Now, how many of us who garden are white glove types? I know you aren't. Jessamine isn't. Mitt most certainly isn't but then again he is a him. Probably 0, zip, nadda, none of us in this thread which is why it is so hysterical. I can see the little black dress I suppose because we all have to clean up sooner or later. Later would be preferable.

And tobasco, Amen to this-

How about a little black dress with some nice deer skin gloves with dirt stained fingers? Depending on the soil type, you could almost match the dirt stains to the dress.

I remember once a couple of years ago - I was planting in the morning and we had a wedding to go to in the afternoon. I had not worn gloves, and I couldn't get the dirt stains out from under my fingernails. Ended up having to paint them a nice frosty brown.

In Tobasco's area, Cincinnatti has a wonderful garden show in the spring (right around derby time, for those of us with multiple vices). The first year I went, I wore my carhardts, a sweater and a baseball cap. The majority of the ladies were in matched pantsuits, silk shantung, flowery dresses, etc - with floppy hats, no less. I did break down a little the next year and wear clean "dress" jeans, but I just can't see myself in a silk shantung pantsuit and a hat carrying pots of plants and dirt around.

Tobasco - if you haven't been to that show, by all means GO! The exhibits are wonderful, and there are always great plants in the sale tent. Bring spending money. My parents used to live in Georgetown, about an hour south, and my mom and I would go every year. I bought a lot of firsts there - my first sweet woodruff, pulmonaria, delphinium cheninsis, and toad lilly. All (amazingly) are still alive and kicking.

Hi, stateham--yes, the April Flower Show is really great. It is put on by the Cincinnati Horticultural Society (white glove, and of which I am a member.) ;-)

http://www.cincyflowershow.com/spring.asp

In fact, last spring the DG Ohio River Valley RU was timed to coincide with the Flower Show so that the out of towners could visit the show (but the weather was terrible that day.) Something for everybody at that show, that's for sure! I'd like to enter the 'daffodil show' that weekend and see if I can win a prize...

So, no men are commenting about the Men's Garden Club of America link and no takers on the Federated Garden Club link discussion???

My membership and involvement with the Federated Garden Clubs sure in the heck weren't white glove soires !! Just good old fashioned fun in the soil. We attended some regional workshops that were informative and lots of fun. May I suggest that clubs and their members, no matter their affiliation, will vary greatly in their forms and activities.

Hmmm, maybe we scared Mitt away?

Yes; "clubs and their members, no matter their affiliation, will vary greatly in their forms and activities" which is why there are probably so many out there from which to choose. I've sampled quite a few and they all offer something that is worth while. Even the white glove club that I went to had really nice people. They just weren't my type. Not that I know exactly what my type is but more so what isn't.

I don't know the name of it, but there is a wonderful garden club that cleaned out all the poison ivy, bushes, weeds, etc. at the intersection of I-85 and Shallowford Rd here in Atlanta and made it a beautiful paradise. They didn't use expensive plants, but used lots of what they had, like yellow daylilies, coreopsis, butterfuly bushes, etc. They are amazing!

Hi pins--that's a great project to take on for a garden club! There are so many ugly little patches of 'public' property that could be a little patch of beauty! Those small differences do make big differences in quality of life, don't they?!

One local garden club makes garden flower bouquets for the Old Folks' Homes every month (even in winter they manage to create some beautiful displays), helps to organize the Home and Garden Show charity benefit and keeps up a garden for a homeless shelter. Besides having a lot of fun and having the speakers come in every month. Something for everybody. (I belong)

My other garden club has members bring a flower or arrangement for judging by a certified GCA judge to each meeting, and this practice is really a learning experience! The judge very gently but meaningfully explains what is wrong or right about each entry. It really makes me take a close look at each flower or arrangement to ID a 'fine flower'. Very interesting. Some of these members do enter big shows and are very serious gardeners.

I would like to start a little garden club for families on our cul de sac so we could 'co-op' purchase spring bulbs from Brent & Becky's. Our yards in general are so plain--mostly 'easy maintenance' suburban lots....

I think Mitt is still around lurking. But he's only interested in the partying that goes on at garden clubs, I guess!

t.

He he he, I was teasing about scaring him off to try to get Mitt to post again. He works full time + overtime during the week and can't really get on line as opposed to people like us who log on and off throughout the day while sitting at our desks at work if time allows. He's pretty much interested in iris and cottage gardening and has fallen in love with a beautiful little bouncing baby boy (now a toddler) who is going to be his gardening buddy in a few years. Grandpa is out there playing with the baby at night and not in the thread and I think he's trying to put up some squirrel proofed bird feeders so the little one can watch birds through the front window to his house. Mitt is probably going to kill me for ruining his image.

As far as gardening clubs go, a member of my Wild Ones just dropped off maps to sites slated for development that need to be surveyed for indigenous plant material. I need to get out to these sites this spring to check them out to see if it is worthwhile sending other volunteers out to dig up plant material to be relocated before the bulldozers start revving their engines. There are other organizations that do this. We get a few sites a year that have quality plants present and it makes it all worth while. We do this with the knowledge and written consent of the property owners. Most of the plants are remnants from prairies so nice native wildflowers can be had for free by members who are using these types of species in their landscapes. Me, I'm more a wetlands and lowland woodland gardener but I still enjoy digging up plants to be relocated even if I don't ever get anything for myself. The thought of plants ending up under asphalt parking lots of strip malls or in landfills is a little much for me.

OK, Here's one to discuss--- Let us know what you think.

I just received in the mail this a.m. an envelope with free seeds, some Osmocote, and an offer from the "National Home Gardening Club" for a free pruners and to test rototillers in exchange for taking surveys.

They said they would bill me for membership costs later. (!!!?)

Do you believe all this? I think it's very possibly a scam. Does anyone have experience with this "garden club"? (-;

I have heard from others who claim it is a great big tangled web by which they market gardening related goods and services. I received my little packet of token Osmocote which I did keep and I tossed the rest.

I've learned to beware organizations that are backed by commercial establishments. Commercial organizations are not altruistic and do not fund projects (such as passing out rototillers to test) that do not offer a financial return. Their magazine has some nice articles in it but it is loaded with advertising and I can pick it up at any newstand if I want and then they don't have my mailing address to sell to third parties to slam me with more junk mail. If you are interested in signing up for their Ntl Gardening Visa card with the pretty sunflower on it... great but if you aren't... chances are pretty good they'll continue to try to solicit you to get the card anyway and then you'll end up getting offers for debt consolidation and auto loans and all kinds of financial products like GEICO's auto insurance. I do not really see any of this as being associated with gardening in my humble opinion. I think, not positive, that they even have some sort of a gardening book of the month club. Oh goodie, I remember signing up for a few of those book of the month clubs... forget to decline the month's selection and you get sent the book and the bill. I dunno what they're like nowadays but it seems to me as if it is the same old same old. They do have member forums that I browsed through and their forums can't hold a candle to what we have available here. Bottom line is that for the cost of a a pair of pruning sheers to lure us to sign up, I strongly suspect they will make back their initial investment tenfold by selling off our information and profitting again by getting us to participate in surveys that they pay people at malls to take. There is big money to be made in marketing and I would be suspect of their membership benefits and who is actually benefitting from their benefits.

Most would probably be better served joining a local not for profit club that respects the privacy of its members. I doubt seriously if that will happen with the group mentioned above. I am pretty fed up with ending up on mailing lists these days and having an e-mail box slammed with Viagra offers. It all starts somewhere and I am convinced any subscription to a magazine or book of the month club or organization such as the National Home Gardening Club would be a catalyst.

tabasco

I belong to the National Home Gardening Club. I happen to be a life time member and the cost is based on your age. I received a bi monthly gardening magazine and a chance to participate in various test products. In the past I have tested probably 6 or 7 different things. Nothing ever big, like a Mantis, or garden tractor, but non the less different products. I guess its up to the individual as to if they want to join. I happen to enjoy the magazine as it provides me with some good information.

They do have a website you may want to go too and check out.

Equilibrurim.......what newstand did you see that magazine. I have never seen it at any bookstore, newstand here where I live. Not doubting you, just wondered...

http://www.gardeningclub.com/

Deann

Please do doubt me. There are so many gardening magazines out there that have the words home or gardening or national in them with very attractive covers that scream out to me to buy them that I could easily be mistaken. I thought it was at Home Depot but a new Lowes opened up by me just recently and I noticed they had a DIY section. At HD, their magazines are just before you enter the checkout lanes where they have endcaps that have all kinds of magazines. Then there is another section at HD, generally over by customer service, that has DIY books and more magazines.

Don't doubt me on e-mail addresses getting slammed or junk mail coming to you though because my Mother In Law joined them and coincidentally ended up getting hammered last year. I had to have her get a hold of the the Mail Preference Service in New York, then we had to register her for the National Do Not Call List, and I had to start going through her e-mail to opt her out of everything that was coming to her and she finally had to get software to filter out all the garbage coming in to her account. I've never quite seen anything like it. National Home Gardening Club was the only new place she had joined... well... she did join another Bridge Club. My MIL also happened to enjoy their magazine.

that's good to know-- I wonder who gets to 'test' the rototiller?!

tabasco......Well I am sure you all know NotMartha otherwise known as Dori.....Last year she got to test and keep a tiller....I will ask her to post in this forum and tell you all about it, and even show you a picture....

Yeah Dori!! How wonderful!