On September 19 we met at Ellanor C Lawrence Park to celebrate the dedication of the bench in honor of Dolores. The plaque reads, "In honor of Dolores Rooney 2007 Founder of the Centreville Garden Club Floral Judge, Emeritus. Many of her family members were there to celebrate the occasion.
Since it was our September meeting we also had our Sunflower Challenge. Susan, Michele and Jennifer were the winners and Donna awarded them prizes.
We attended the District III fundraiser, Together We Bloom, at Meadowlark Gardens on September 14. Theresa and Michele made two beautiful centerpieces that were raffled off. Our club supplied a gift basket that was raffled off. Kathleen and Cathy both won centerpieces. We enjoyed walking through the lovely gardens afterwards .
In August we toured three gardens in Arlington. The gardens are maintained by the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia. Master Gardener and former Centreville Garden Club member Scarlett Swan led us on the tours. We saw the Fairlington Community Center garden, the Glencarlyn Library Garden and Bon Air Park.
She thought we were just having our annual plant sale. But she soon found out that we had a very special gift for her. It is a plaque that will be put on a bench at Ellanor C. Lawrence Park. It is our way of showing thanks and honoring Dolores who founded Centreville Garden Club.
Our speakers for the April meeting were Galen Goss, Director of Management Services and Camilla Ng, President of the Old Dominion Chrysanthemum Society. They wowed us with photos and information about growing prize mums.
A local Cub Scout leader reached out to our club asking if we could help the group of 11 kindergarten and first graders complete a gardening badge. Robin and Cathy brought pots, soil, plants and seeds to the April Cub Scout meeting. They briefly explained how to plant plants and seeds. Each Scout left with a pot that they had planted with a Marigold plant (instant gratification) and several peas that would hopefully sprout in a few days. They were a fun group to work with, they asked questions and enjoyed the project. They even sent us a Thank You Card!
We hope that they all become successful gardeners.
What you have been waiting for all year!
Centreville Garden Club's annual plant sale will be Saturday, May 7 from 9 -12.
We will be set up near Virginia Bagel in the Village Center on Stone Road
Cash Only please.
At our March meeting Mike Bishop spoke to us about Purple Martins. He began the Northern Virginia Purple Martin Initiative to bring the martins back to our area. The initiative now maintains 25 active colonies at parks, golf courses, a university and a monastery. Together, the colonies have more than 350 individual nesting gourds and housing compartments. That is approximately 1,500 young purple martins fledged in 2021. Because they live in colonies, the martins provide regular entertainment.
