​Spring is here! Gardeners, prepare your trowels! It’s time to go outside and play!
 
The Put in Bay Garden Club anticipates a fun summer ahead. A plant Exchange at the Nature Center on May 7th will kick off the season. Start cruising your landscape now to discover what plants may need to be divided so you can contribute to the inventory of plants for exchange that day. The plant exchange will begin at 9 am, and Master Gardener Mary Strayer will present a talk at 10 o’clock on raised beds and container gardening.  May 13 at 3 pm, Lisa Brohl will lead participants in a guided wildflower walk on the Jane Coates trail. This is a wonderful time of year to begin focusing on the natural beauty of our island and the surprises the wildflowers bring to our landscape each year.
 
On June 9 at 5pm, the Garden Club will meet at the Yacht Club for a Pruning lecture and demonstration by  Ottawa County Master Gardener Dick West.  We ask you to come armed with pruners so that you may participate in this hands-on workshop.  The Yacht Club is ready and willing to have us practice on their shrubbery! On July 7, Cuyahoga County Master Gardeners will present a talk on the selection and care of Hydrangeas and introduce you to the hydrangeas of the newly-planted DeRivera gardens.
 
The Garden Club took on the challenge last fall of designing three new gardens for DeRivera Park. Jody Frimel, Susan Hildebrandt, and Sue Thwaite met with landscapers from All Seasons Landscaping  to design the gardens, which were planted last October – one across from the Boardwalk, and two others surrounding the new lift stations in the park. On June 6th at 10 am, garden club members are invited to assist in the planting of perennials which will be added to the gardens’ designs at that time. Come and learn about proper planting of perennials, help us label the plants in the new gardens, and enjoy the comradery which comes from working together to create something beautiful!
 
Please mark your calendars now for our big event of the summer - the Put in Bay Home and Garden Tour on July 27th! There will be six properties featured in this year’s tour, including the “Benson Ford” pilot house on the West Shore! The tour will begin at 10 am, followed by a luncheon in the Crew’s Nest Pavilion. Tickets will be limited to 120.  Online sales will begin June 1 through our website at www.putinbaygardenclub.com .  
 
Please consider volunteering your time to help with the many activities we have planned this year. We will need all hands on deck to help with the Home and Garden tour, especially.  You may sign up online to help or contact Kathy Schrader, chairman of the event, at  440 773-5413. In the meantime, enjoy the Spring breezes and playing in the dirt! See you soon! 

​The Garden Club has big plans for the summer of 2016!  We ask you to mark your calendars now for our Home and Garden Tour on July 27th. This year, the tour will feature six of the island’s most unique and special homes and gardens, as well as the new gardens in DeRivera Park. The tour will be followed by a luncheon at the Crew’s Nest Pavilion. Both will be limited to 120 people, so book your tickets early, beginning on June 1. More information will follow in the April Gazette and on our Put-in-Bay Garden Club webpage. We hope you will join us for this very special event!
 
Garden Club Calendar 2016
May 13 – Wildflower Walk with Lisa Brohl – 3 pm Jane Coates Trail
May 24 – Preparing baskets for planting De Rivera Park - 9 am       
May 25 – Planting Baskets De Rivera Park - 9 am
June 6 – Planting perennials in gardens De Rivera Park - 10 am
June 9 – Garden Club Meeting at PIBYC - 5pm. - Pruning: How, When, and Why
July 7 – Garden Club Meeting at PIBYC - 5 pm - All About Hydrangeas
July 27 – Home and Garden Tour/Crews Nest luncheon
August 11 – Planting a Butterfly Garden (site to be determined) – 5 pm
September 8 – Annual meeting and dinner PIBYC - 5 pm
September 29 – Basket takedown at De Rivera Park - 9 am