Register Now for Design Workshop

Snow may have caused a cancellation for the Crofton Village Garden Club February meeting, but we’re not sitting around twiddling our thumbs.

District II has invited us to attend a design workshop on February 20, featuring both stretch and floor designs.  The event will be held at Our Shephard Lutheran Church, 400 Benfield Road, Severna Park, MD 21146, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a continental style breakfast and a lunch included in your $25 registration fee.

The Program:

8:30 a.m.  – 9:00 a.m.  -  Arrival and breakfast
9:00 a.m.   -  10:00 a.m. – Demonstrations on floor and stretch designs by several instructors
10:00 a.m.  – 12:00 a.m. – Questions and answers period followed by hands on designing by attendees
12:00 lunch – More questions and answers – not necessarily limited to these designs
12:30 to 3:00 – Open discussion on finished designs with tips and pointers from our instructors

You must register by February 14, so contact CVGC President Sunny Frank to obtain a registration form.

February Meeting Canceled

Today’s meeting is canceled, due to the snow.  If it is rescheduled, the Phone Committee will contact members.

Ikebana Designs by Crofton Gardeners

Four Crofton Village Garden Club members are randomly picked each month to create a horticulture exhibit at the following meeting.  The theme this year is Ikebana, and members have learned by seeing the arrangements as well as making them.

This month’s floral designers are Diane Smith, Leigh Klaus, Pat Stevenson and Moira Leavitt.

Very nice ladies!

Joan Para, Horticulture Chair
PHOTOS: Copyright Margaret Woda

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Learning New Gardening Skills in 2010

Crofton Village Garden Club – Member & Community News

Do your New Year’s Resolutions include “learning new gardening skills” in 2010?

If so, you’ll want to check out the workshops at nearby Homestead Gardens. (CLICK HERE for a complete schedule)

Learn how to choose plants that attract wildlife, grow cool weather veggies, style a bonsai… There are nine workshops in January alone, beginning this Saturday (Jan. 23), and seventeen more in February.

Crofton Kids Win Poster Contest

Poster #3

Kristen Becker, Youth Activities Chair of the Crofton Village Garden Club, has announced the winners of our poster contest promoting fire safety and environmental protection.

Tommy Rampulla is the 2nd grade winner with Poster #3 promoting Woodsy Owl and his slogan “Lend a Hand, Care for the Land.”

Poster #4

Alex Geisbrech is the first grade winner with a Smokey Bear poster (# 4) promoting the slogan “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires.”

Brendon Cliff won the title for fifth grade with this Poster #1 promoting Smokey Bear and his slogan “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires.”

Poster #1

Crofton Village Garden Club members viewed the posters online and notified Kristen of their selections, choosing Tommy Rampulla’s entry as the overall winner!

All students in grades 1-5 attending Crofton area schools were eligible to participate.

EVERYONE who did participate is a winner!  We applaud you and thank you for participating.  We have submitted these three winners to the State Award Chair, and state winners will be forwarded to the National Garden Clubs, Inc. / National Forestry Service Poster Contest.

Members Choose Poster Contest Winners

Kristen Becker, CVGC Youth Activities Chair, is pleased to announce these finalists in the poster contest promoting fire safety and conservation.  Winners will be submitted to Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland, and state winners will be forwarded to the national poster contest sponsored by National Garden Clubs, Inc. and the National Forestry Service.

All Crofton Village Garden Club members are invited to email Kristen Becker (becker.kristen@gmail.com) with your choice of overall winner among all grades and your favorite among the semi-finalists in grades 1 and 2, or you can call her at the phone number listed in your CVGC 2009-2010 Yearbook.  The deadline for voting is noon on Monday, January 18.

Please rate each entry, as follows: 20 percent each for originality, design, slogan, artwork, and overall effectiveness of the message based on either Smokey Bear and his fire prevention slogan (Only YOU Can Prevent Wildfires!) or Woodsy Owl and his conservation slogan (Lend a Hand – Care for the Land!).

GRADE 5

Poster #1

GRADE 2

Poster #2

Poster #3

GRADE 1

Poster #4

Poster #5

Poster #6

Poster #7

KINDERGARTEN

Poster #8

Be sure to click on the tab for Poster Contest at the top of this website to read more about this activity and see pictures of last year’s national winners.

Information provided by Kristen Becker

Fruits and Vegetables in Floral Designs

Crofton Village Garden Club favorite David Shover was featured at our January meeting, and he outdid himself with a fabulous presentation using veggies and fruit in his floral design demonstration.

You just won’t believe what he can do with asparagus, peppers, and even brussels sprout.  Take a look:

Yes, that IS brussels sprout you see

My fruit bowls never looked like this.

Asparagus lines the container for this topiary

Thinking red? Think pepper!

CVGC members enjoy a close-up view of David's designs after the meeting

It’s always a treat for us to have David at one of our meetings, and we hope he comes back soon!

Photos by Margaret Woda

Plans Coming Together for Spring Fashion Show

The “Plant it Pink” Fashion Show/High Tea Committee met yesterday at Pat Stevenson’s house for a planning session.

Marcia Richard made several announcements and distributed a preliminary list of models…  Margaret Woda passed out drafts of the tickets, fliers and programs…  Pat Stevenson talked about vendors… Bernie Robinson described the table decorations…

The committee isn’t ready to make any formal announcements just yet, but I can tell you that a popular Crofton golf professional and a local school vice-principal will model, as well as club members.

A club member will play the piano, there will be a silent auction, and each table is guaranteed to have at least one doorprize winner.

Stay tuned for more information.  The May 2 event at Crofton Country Club, benefiting Susan G. Komen for the Cure and local beautification projects, promises to be a lot of fun!

Last Minute Holiday Decorating Ideas

Here’s a video that Crofton Village Garden Club members may enjoy, as you complete your last-minute holiday decorating with fresh flowers and greens.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone in Crofton from Crofton Village Garden Club.

I Will Survive – A Pansy Peeking Through the Snow

When I saw this pansy standing proudly above the snow earlier this month, I couldn’t help thinking of Gloria Gaynor’s 1978 hit, “I Will Survive”.

Gotta love pansies!

PHOTO:  MWoda

Garden Club Decorates Crofton for the Holidays

Yesterday, when Crofton Village Garden Club members decorated the Crofton Village Green and Front Gate for the holidays, it was one of the warmest days in the history of our 40-year tradition.  Club members have sometimes faced biting cold, wind, and even rain, but this year we lucked out with a very nice day.

Crofton Village Garden Club donates and hangs  the live greens and beautiful red bows for these areas.  But that’s not all.  We also donate wreathes to the Crofton area schools and Crofton Library.

So… the next time you see a garden club member, say “Thank You”.   We work hard to dress our community for the holidays!

Special thanks to Carole Hampton who chairs this committee.

Photo:  Margaret Woda

Crofton Village Garden Club on Twitter

Twitter FollowCrofton Village Garden Club (@CroftonGardener) recently stepped into the social media age by establishing a presence on Twitter.

You’ll also find National Garden Clubs, Inc. (@NatlGardenClubs) posting nearly daily on Twitter, and clubs from Virginia, Hawaii, Georgia, Oregon, New York, California and even Thailand and British Columbia.

Twitter will be a wonderful source of tips on gardening, flower arranging, horticulture, conservation and other topics for our club website.  But club members can follow the club’s Twitter feed on their own and watch for “tweets” matching their own interest.

So come on, Ladies, jump into the social media age.  Follow your garden club on Twitter (@CroftonGardener).

P.S.  If you’re unfamiliar with Twitter and the vocabulary that has grown up around the use of this popular social-media site, here is a link to How to Speak Twitter – A Twitter Glossary on BusinessWeek.com.

Margaret Woda