Optimistic Gardeners

by Laura Walker

It’s often difficult to be optimistic when faced with the current state of the world but we gardeners are a lucky lot. We have the good fortune to naturally see possibilities. With hope and positivity, we look beyond the weeds to what might be. Gardens are places of uncertainty and experimentation with dilemma’s to solve but we’re generally resilient folk and make the most of the learning to come. At times we can be fearless.

We use creativity and hope to design our gardens. Every January, we scour over seed catalogs and websites, eager to give it another go next growing season. When we plan our gardens, we look out over a frost covered dead mass of plants and visualize lush flowers and bountiful rows of vegetables.

Orcas Island Garden Club

presents

Lynn Johnson

Gardens in Glass: Crafting a

Terrarium for the Holidays

at the Orcas Center

IMPORTANT MESSAGE: All are welcome to attend and there is no need to sign up, HOWEVER, MATERIALS ARE LIMITED FOR THIS WORKSHOP.

The Garden Club is supplying terrarium building materials for the first 60 participants. We have a limited amount of material for those that bring their own glass container.

Those that would like to attend and just observe will have the opportunity to learn how to build a 'Garden Under Glass' and be entered to win a raffle for a unique terrarium.

Joining from home? See our website for a supplies list.

As a special thank you to our members, ALL GARDEN CLUB MEMBERS ATTENDING WILL RECEIVE A FREE TOTE BAG WHILE THEY LAST! HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Updates from the Program Committee

First a short recap: This fall Karla Lortz spoke about Heaths and Heathers and many of us took home plants. Craig Cogger spoke about soils, emphasizing soil testing. Perhaps you have returned to the section of the recorded talk where he described taking soil samples. Russel Barsh spoke about Native Bees and Hoverflies in our Garden. The final 2024 program is making terrariums with Lynn Johnson.

Plan to enjoy and learn from the following programs this winter and spring:

• January 15, 2025: Linda Gilkeson - Where Have All the Insects Gone? What can gardeners do? (virtual)
• February 19, 2025: Kim Middleton - Attracting Birds to Your Garden
• March 19, 2025: Maria Bullock – Cultivating Plants for Weaving
• April 16, 2025: Richie Steffen – Ferns (virtual)
• May 21, 2025: Margaret Payne - Rustic Garden Styles of Europe, England, France, Croatia, & Spain

Preparations for the 2025 to 2026 garden club programs are well underway. Please join Lene Symes and Laura Walker in welcoming Ginger Moore and Tricia Erly to the OIGC Program Committee. Ginger has led the program committee in the past and brings that experience, gardening knowledge, and creative ideas to the program. Tricia Erly is a long-time gardener who is contributing her knowledge of gardening on Orcas and her interest in our native plants and wildlife to the committee.

A Lot of Buzz on Russel's Presentation

by Laura and Madrona

Last month, we were honored to have Russel Barsh (pictured right), Director of Kwiaht speak to the garden club on the topic of native bees and hoverflies. Russel is dedicated to studying the ecology of the San Juan Islands and his presentation about these amazing creatures drew record attendance at our meeting.

November Program

We had such a fun time at last month's Program presentation, and we hope you did too! Thank you for all who attended and contributed to the snack table!

Pictured to the left is the bountiful spread from the November talk, and pictured to the right is Door Prize Winner Ginger (with her pumpkin sedum prize)!

"Thankful for our generous and talented Garden Club members."

Perri

Vegetable Gardening in the PNW (January 22nd)

Vegetable Gardening in the PNW with Extension Master Gardener Jim Olson. There are six keys to successfully growing vegetables in our area of the Pacific Northwest, preparing your planting location, timing of seed starting, key items for caring of plants and how to recognize and treat problems on plants during their path to your plate at the peak of flavor. The focus is how to use the six steps to prevent problems, and where that doesn’t work, how to treat them. Register ($8 per person) today!

Hanukkah

by Helen Huber

Learn about the celebration of Hanukkah (also spelled Chanukah) including a special quote, instructions on how to play the Dreidal Game, and more on Hanukkah in this month's segment!

'Twas December on Orcas

by Helen Huber

End of Year Two: Review and Redux

by Suzette Lamb

As I prepared to write this month’s column, I went back to see all that I shared prior. I was surprised (and yet not) that my first writing was in January 2023.

Welcome to our nature studio where each month, the Orcas Island Garden Club will feature a different artist who has created diverse, beautiful artwork.

This month, we are featuring Lynn Johnson!

Gardens Under Glass

Lynn Johnson is our workshop leader for this month and a plant enthusiast who has earned her Master Gardener certification in Iowa in 2014.

You can often find her behind the desk at the library, where she's lucky enough to work with both books and plants — two of her favorite things! A few of her terrariums are on display at the library's front desk most of the year.

Do you want to showcase your creative side? Is there someone in your life who has expressed great passion with art, nature, or gardening? We would love to showcase these talents in our newsletter!

Welcome to our brand new series of garden travels. Each month we will feature a garden visit shared by our garden club members. Walk with them as they discover hidden gems and get inspired to visit these treasured places.

This month, we are visiting United Kingdom!

This Little Piggy Went to a Kitchen Garden

by Laura Walker

THE PIGs are a boutique collection of hotels scattered across the English countryside, each one unique and offering restaurants where everything starts with the ‘Kitchen Garden’.

Bringing Your Blooms Inside for the Holidays

by Laura Walker

Many bulbs can be “forced” such as paperwhites, amaryllis, daffodils, hyacinth, snowbells and more. "Forcing a bulb" means to intentionally manipulate a plant bulb's growing conditions to make it bloom flowers earlier than it naturally would, typically by providing a period of cold storage followed by warmer temperatures, essentially "tricking" it into flowering out of season, often done indoors during winter to enjoy blooms when they wouldn't normally be available.

Growing the Giant Amaryllis

by Tony Suruda

Pictured to the right is Tony Suruda’s Amaryllis plants that he patiently grew from seed. After three years, he was rewarded with gigantic blooms. If purchasing bulbs, he advised looking for bulbs 3 inches or more to enjoy multiple flower spikes.

Read on to learn more about amaryllis bulbs by clicking the button below.

Cold Snap Protection Techniques

by Laura Walker

Plants can adapt to gradual change, but extremes are hard on them. Both unusually high and low temperatures along with increasing storm intensity and wind can put our plants at risk.

Terrariums: Gardens Under Glass

Maria Colletti

The art of terrarium making is back in vogue and better than ever. Growing collections of adorable miniature plants in glass vessels is a great way to bring the indoors out and get back in touch with nature—no matter where you live and what time of year it is. Whether you reside in a tiny apartment, spend the bulk of your hours at an office desk, or just want to be better connected to green, living things, terrariums are the ticket. A wondrous combination of nature, gardening, and home decor, terrarium building and tending is both therapeutic and inspirational.

Congratulations to Teresa and Sam Webster for winning the raffle!

Thank you to Darvill’s Bookstore for donating the book, "Terrariums: Gardens Under Glass" by Maria Colletti!

Monthly Member-Only raffle winners are chosen at random from a list of current Garden Club members. To see if you are an active member, contact Karen Hiller.

Why Native Plants?

by Vicki Leimback and Jane Wentworth, WSU Orcas Master Gardeners

The San Juan County Master Gardener Foundation’s annual Native Plant Sale is on January 25, 2025. The sale is online and you can find more information, along with the selection of diverse plants being offered by visiting the 'LEARN MORE' link below.

Storage Space Needed

For many years, the Orcas Island Garden Club has rented a small storage space in the bottom of the old Windermere Building. We were recently notified we would not be able to continue to rent the space. We use the space for our tour signage and materials. In addition, we also need proper storage for the beautiful fourth of July parade props.

We are looking for a space of approximately 6 feet wide by 8 feet long to accommodate our requirements. We need help from our garden community in finding both temporary and affordable permanent storage. Please contact Lilian Bergsma-Lefever if you can help or are needing more information.

Calling All Garden Sleuths

As our gardens settle into rest with the arrival of fall weather, our Garden Tour planning committee is beginning its work to create a great garden tour for 2025. Each year, with the help of our Garden Club members, we search for lovely gardens to feature on our garden tour.  

We need your help to find some great gardens for our 2025 Garden Tour!

2024-2025 Membership to date: 162