December 12 Holiday Brunch and Gift Exchange

Our annual holiday brunch and gift exchange was held Wednesday, December 12 at The Barn in Fields of St. Croix.  

November 14 Wreath Making

We met at The Barn in Fields of St. Croix for a wreath making event.  Instruction was given by Jenn Hovland, Fleur de Louise Floral Studio.

Wreath forms and several varieties of evergreen were provided along with ribbon, pine cones, magnolia leaves and other materials so each attendee could create their own, unique design. 

October 10 Our Annual Business Meeting, Brunch and Silent Auction

Trillium's annual business meeting, potluck brunch and silent auction was held on Wednesday, October 10.

The 2019 slate of officers was presented and members voted.  Our leadership team includes four officers and five standing committee chairs.  Here is a summary of roles within our club.

-  Officers (elected positions) - President, Vice President/Program Chair, Secretary, Treasurer 

- Standing Chairs: Membership, Publicity/Email, Sunshine, Rock Garden Plant Sale, all of which are not elected but appointed by the President.

The silent auction was held that included a wide variety of horticulture related items.  

September 12: Seed Harvesting!

Our Program was a discussion.  The Topic: Seed Harvesting
Two of our members; Pat Murphy and Paula Hemer, facilitated the discussion and share with us their methods of collecting/saving seeds from their gardens.  A wide variety of annual and perennial plant examples were on display.  After the discussion and review of the handout, each member was able to choose their favorites and take seeds for next year!

August 15 - Two Garden Tours

We toured the private gardens of Tammy Diedrich in Woodbury and Michelle Riedel in Oakdale. 

Tammy's gardens very sunny and were jammed packed with a wide variety of perennials, annuals and several pots of tropicals.  The water feature included some very big koi and was surrounded by interesting plants and glass art.

Michelle's gardens were partial shade and included lots of texture and color.  Her use of plants in the many pots on her property were inspirational as well as interesting.  One of our team members spotted a Rusty Patch Bumble Bee which are endangered.  Photo is shown below.

A hot day but the tours were enjoyed by everyone!

August 8 - A Trip To The Arboretum

We visited the University of Minnesota Arboretum and utilized the tram tour to learn more about the facility.  Here are some examples of what was in bloom!

July 11 Riana's Sculpture Garden, River Falls, WI

Wouterina has been a working artist in various media since 1969. In 1995, she gave up the security of a full-time job to pursue current projects and workshops. She is working on life-size concrete mosaic statues in the tradition of American outdoor folk art.

Her inspiration for these statues comes both from growing up on her parents' coffee and rubber plantation in the midst of the Indonesian jungle and also from her daily experiences living on an old farmstead in America's dairy state.  Her love for the country and gardening and my passion for creating environments has guided her to create outdoor rooms with concrete figures that light up walkways to fountains, animals and human-shaped birdhouses or benches.

June 13 Milkweed, Monarchs and Miracles!

Presenter: Marge Sagstetter, Washington County Master Gardener

We received handouts and were presented information about the incredible story of Monarch butterflies.  There are many ways we can help; planting milkweed, including nectar plants in our gardens and even raising them ourselves.   Taken in to our homes, the Monarch's survival rate from egg to butterfly increases to almost 100%.  In the wild, their survival rate is less than 10%.

Here is a link to a short National Geographic YouTube video that shows the life cycle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVm5k99PnBk

A Successful Plant Sale! May 19, 2018

A slightly cool, cloudy day but it was perfect for our plant sale fund raising event.   There were so many beautiful plants.  And this year there was yard art featured!   Many of our members participated in the setup, the sale and the cleanup efforts.

This is a fun way to work together, meet the people in our community and fund the projects we believe are important.

Rock Garden Clean Up Day - May 4, 2018

On Friday, May 4, several members met at the rock garden to do spring cleanup.   With so many in attendance the work went quickly and resulted in around 15 leaf bags full of leaves and debris along with a large stack of branches.

Our weekly maintenance schedule is posted and reminders will be going out to members as their week approaches.   Together we show our expertise and our commitment to the beauty of our community.

Our Plant Sale is Saturday, May 19, 2018!

April 11 Pruning Landscape Plants

Dr. Jeffrey Johnson, Landscape Gardener, University of Minnesota Arboretum, presented information about the how, why and when for pruning trees and shrubs in the landscape.  Understanding how the plant grows and how old it is factors in greatly to what is done.  The season of the year and how the plant grows and flowers are two very key components to ensuring plants are given the best chance to stay healthy while providing the function we want in our landscapes.

Jeffrey welcomes questions and can be reached via email at johns345@umn.edu

March 14 Propagating Succulents

Succulent Propagation presented and demonstrated by Vickie Kittilson. 

Members were able to participate and transfer starts to smaller containers for starting. 

A drawing was held and 4 lucky members went home with a starter succulent set.

February 14 Covering Ground

Nona Cummings presented information and examples of alternatives to rock, mulch, turf and other traditional landscaping options.  

Nona is the owner/designer of DIY Landscape Designs. Nona has a Bachelor of Science degree in Horticultural Plant Science from the University of Wisconsin and studied Landscape Design at the University of Minnesota. She's also an active Master Gardener for the University of Minnesota serving in her 25th year. 

Using her own property as a living laboratory, she discovered another way to design a more sustainable landscape. As she experimented with many different plant species over the years she determined that Mother Nature really does know best. 

Nona stressed that it is important for all homeowners to become better stewards of their property by conserving resources, reducing their use of chemicals, using more native plants and reducing their turf area.

Nona can be reached via e-mail at nona.cummings@comcast.net

Her website is:  http://www.diylandscape.net