President's Letter - September 1, 2025

“My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece”

– Claude Monet     

September 1, 2025

Dear Evergreen Garden Club Members,

I hope each of you can look back over the beautiful season of Summer and treasure memories of friends, family, fun and of course, the glory of a garden with hands in the dirt, head in the sun and a heart close to nature.

Now another year begins! Since June, Donna Roberts, First Vice President, has worked hard to craft a variety of programs and topics to engage, inform and delight, such as garden and floral design, history, conservation, bees and a special outing to Oak Spring, the estate garden of the late Bunny Mellon in Middleburg.  I am excited about our program schedule for 2025-2026 which is attached.  Please mark your calendars now! as my predecessor Winkie Crigler so wisely advised the past two years. RSVPs for all meetings should be sent to Ann Reid, Second Vice President, at acarrollr@gmail.com.

Our first meeting of the year is a guided tour of Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens with Ranger Solomon of the National Park Service. Kenilworth Gardens is a beautiful habitat of native plants, water lily and lotus ponds, birds, more than a few frogs and a elevated boardwalk through surrounding tidal marshes. Did you know the Gardens were once home to colonial settlers and the Natotchitank Native Indians? Ann’s original painting of a lily pond at the Gardens is a taste of the wonders of nature that await us! Please mark your calendars for Tuesday, September 16, 2025 (Rain date September 23, 2025).

Be sure to RSVP to Ann Reid at acarrollr@gmail.com by Tuesday, September 9, 2025.

Your attendance and participation in meetings and activities are indispensable. Having a good turnout each month is appreciated by our speakers and is a terrific opportunity to connect with fellow members. As a reminder, Active members are required to attend 3 meetings and strongly encouraged to attend at least 4 meetings each year.

Members are graciously opening their homes for our meetings this year; however, we are still in need of hostesses to provide refreshments. Please consider volunteering when Ann Reid reaches out.

Rosa Wallach our Membership Chair, emailed the membership Directory to everyone in August. Just as we did last year, we are not mailing a Directory; rather, it is on the EGC website and will be updated once as needed. Please review the roster and send any changes to Rosa (Rosawallach@verizon.net) by October 1.

Colet Mitchell is once again coordinating our Fall and Spring Tregaron Volunteer Workday. It is a morning of rewarding work, camaraderie, and in the best tradition of EGC community service.

Winkie Crigler, our Treasurer, will be sending a dues invoice in a separate email. Dues are $150 and are payable before October 31.

All of this information is also posted on our website. www.evergreengc.org.  The password for the Members Only section is:  Forevergreen. This user-friendly website is a One Stop Shop for all things Evergreen Garden Club!  Beginning last year, all members receive communications, such as meeting minutes and program information, through emails which are basically blog posts to the website and will appear on the site at the same time. These emails contain links, and it is crucial that you click on the link to get all the information. The link takes you to the members-only section of the website and you will have to enter the password to access the information. The website works equally well on both laptops and cell phones. 

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as President. Your leadership team moves into our new roles with a spirit of enthusiasm, commitment and friendship.

                                                                                                               Until next time,

                                                                                                                      Ellen