The Glad Garden Club held its October meeting at the Sudie A. Fulford Learning Center at 10 a.m. on Monday, October 9. The meeting was called to order by President, JoAnn Trammell and touching inspirational message given by Karen C. Van Horn. Program presented by Katherine Fowler from Soperton. Katherine is an expert on wildflowers, is a published author on the subject and has received several awards for her slide presentation. She is now basically retired but still loves to give presentations and share her vast knowledge about wildflowers. She definitely has a keen eye as she can identify true wildflowers while her husband is driving down the road and she makes him stop so she can take a picture and/or a sample. She has identified many specimens on US 341 traveling to Brunswick such as Hooded Pitcher Plant that eats bugs, Swamp Sunflowers, False Foxglove and a rare Rosebud Orchid in a ditch. Some flowers found around TyTy are Swamp Rose and Rocky Shoals Spider Lily. Katherine even reported that the D.O.T. has planted Cosmos off of I-16 around the Dublin Visitors' Center. Wildflowers are everywhere!
In our struggle to maintain a Butterfly Garden at the Veterans Park, Johnny Tapley of the Veterans of the Library, has offered to bring in a load of topsoil to encourage plant growth. Over the years, the park has been over-mowed and unintentionally stripped of topsoil nutrients so the topsoil should help a great deal. Glad Garden club has also been invited by the Veterans of the Library to participate in the first annual lighting of the tree at Christmas due to our part in working closely with the Veterans to promote beautification and conservation in the park. Exact time TBA. Jeanette Hall and Audrey West continue to maintain the entrances to the "Crossroads of the Great South" and new members have volunteered to assist. This is also a labor intensive, ongoing project.
Members had a grand time at the 65th Oleander District Meeting on October 12, in Jesup. Members were welcomed by Mayor Ralph A. Hickox, Jr. and our special guest of honor was Lisa Hall, President of the Garden Club of Georgia, Inc. After a program presented by Jessica Roberts, co-owner of Roberts Bee Company and H&R Apiaries about bees and pollinators, a delightful luncheon was served and bidding on silent auctions items continued along with basket raffle tickets. Glad Garden Club was the proud recipient of several awards. Certificates of Appreciation were received for valuable contribution to Roadside Beautification, Founder's Memorial Garden, GCG Natural Disaster Fund and the Martha Miller Butterfly Award. Due to the hard work of members, the Glad Garden Club again received the 2022 Standard of Excellence Award in recognition of their many accomplishments for 2022 as detailed on their President's Report of Garden Club Achievements. We are so proud of our small but growing club’s achievements.
The Glad Garden Club meets the second Monday of the Month at 10 a.m. September through May at the Sudie A. Fulford Community Learning Center at East Georgia State College unless otherwise notified. Come see us ya hear!
The Glad Garden Club is a member of the Deep South Region of the National Garden Clubs, Inc., and the Oleander District of the Garden Club of Georgia, Inc.
