​The Garden Club is buzzing with activity as plans are underway for our Home and Garden Tour on July 27. The tour will begin at 10 am, followed by a luncheon at the Crews Nest Pavilion. Properties on tour will include the Fremel’s, DePerro’s, Sheehan’s, Snyder’s, Spayde’s, and The Benson Ford Ship House. All the details of the day and ticket information can be found in a separate Garden Tour article in this month’s Gazette or online at putinbaygardenclub.com. All are welcome to this very special event! Tickets are limited and going fast, so please act now as we don't want you to be left out.
 
Attendees of the June Garden Club meeting are now well informed, following the wonderful presentation at our June meeting by Master Gardener Dick West. Dick spoke on Pruning: the When, Why, and How, which included a lively question and answer period and a hands-on demonstration on the Yacht Club grounds. The information and techniques he taught us should soon be evidenced in properties around the island!
 
Our next program will be held at 5:00 pm on July 7th at the Yacht Club. Master Gardener Susan Hildebrandt will discuss the selection, care, and proper pruning of Hydrangeas. The new gardens in DeRivera Park feature several different types of Hydrangeas, so a walk in the park following the talk may be in order. The August 11th program will focus on Butterfly Gardens. Jackie Taylor from the Nature Center will introduce us to an island butterfly garden and discuss the plants that attract butterflies. Please plan to attend and bring a friend. New prospective members are always welcome to sample our programs and become involved!
 
The mayflies have attacked, but netting on the baskets in DeRivera Park seems to be saving the flowers from destruction. Many thanks to Peggy and John Leopold who designed the netting “helmets” and personally installed the netting on each of the forty four lampposts! Anyone interested in helping to remove the netting once the mayflies are gone, please contact Peggy at 419 345-2835.  Your contribution to the cause would be greatly appreciated!
 
We hope you will go down to enjoy the beach now that cleanup has been accomplished and the flower boxes are once again in bloom. Many thanks go to Jody Frimel, Joan Booker, and their trusty volunteers, as well as Village employees, all of whom are working together to keep the beach looking great! Stay tuned for information on a beach barbecue to accompany our next cleanup date. In the meantime, enjoy these beautiful summer days, and happy gardening!

It’s official! The season has begun!  The lamppost baskets in bloom in DeRivera Park are here to announce it each year. Many thanks to Chairperson Val Chornyak, who did a tremendous job organizing the lamppost basket planting this year, to the volunteers who helped prepare the baskets and plant them, and to the Garden Club Members and donors who help fund the baskets.  We especially want to thank those who provided and/or operated lifts for the project, including Mack McCann, Richard Gump/Nick Fresch, Baycraft Builders/Mike McCabe, Miller Boat Line /Scott Market, Richie Myers and Teddy. Other special thanks go to Julie Leopold and her trusty trailer, Kim Stoiber and Frosty’s employees David and James, Adventure Bay employees Jeremy and Patrick, and Round House employees Molly and Abby.  It always takes a village and we are always so grateful for your support!
 
As Mayfly season approaches, you will see Garden Club members again attending to lamppost chores. This year, in order to keep the mayflies out of the baskets and prevent them from smothering the flowers, we are applying netting around the baskets during Mayfly season. The netting will be temporary; it will be removed once the scourge is over and the pesky Mayflies have blown away. Thanks to Peggy and John Leopold who came up with the design solution!
 
The first Garden Club meeting of the year took place May 6 at the Jane Coates Trail. Naturalist Lisa Brohl led a fascinating wildflower walk and introduced participants to the beauty of the Spring wildflowers along the trail. Those attending  also learned to recognize the evil Garlic Mustard plant, and Lisa urged them to help eradicate this invasive plant by pulling it out and destroying it whenever they run across it….Psssst! Pass it on!
 
Our next Garden Club meeting will take place June 9 at the Yacht Club. Please plan to come and bring a friend! Social hour begins at 5 pm with the bar open and snacks served. The program will begin promptly at 5:30. The When, Why, and How of Pruning is the topic, so please bring your pruners and gloves. This hands-on workshop invites everyone to participate and get that technique down!  If you have not yet paid your membership dues, or you want to join the Garden Club, bring your checkbook to the meeting and you can do it then!
 
On July 7th, All About Hydrangeas will be the topic for our presentation. The selection, planting, care, and pruning of the various types of Hydrangeas will be discussed. There are four varieties of Hydrangeas planted in the new DeRivera Park gardens. Kudos to the Village and to DeRivera Park for the beautiful new landscaped areas they have planted this year, as well as the wonderful new picnic area surrounded by plantings!
 
In July, The Garden Club will sponsor a Put-in-Bay Home and Garden Tour! This is our big fund- raiser of the year, and we are very excited about the homes we have on tour, the luncheon that follows, and the raffle prizes available to those who attend! Please see the separate article in this issue of the Gazette to learn all about the details of the day and how to purchase your ticket! You may also want to visit our website at putinbaygardenclub.com to see our full schedule of this summer’s events.
 
Check out the Bathing Beach near the Monument and see how the Village employees have put their efforts into making it clean and beautiful for islanders and visitors alike. Thank you to Village Administrator Steve Riddle and his crew for all the time they have put into this project! In addition to raking the beach and cleaning it of debris, they have also cleaned all the sand out of the planting boxes, filled them with new dirt, and prepared them for new plants to be planted soon. The swale, which was damaged in last year’s storms, will also be rebuilt. Thank you to Jody Frimel and Joan Booker, our Beach Committee co-chairs, who helped organize this project.
 
Things are busy with the Garden Club, and we always welcome new members to join in the programs we present, the beautification projects we take on, and in the comradery which comes from working together to improve our island community.