May Update

 The Put-in-Bay Garden Club is pleased to announce the launching of its new website at www.putinbaygardenclub.com. The Garden Club news, calendar, photos, volunteer opportunities, membership renewal, and gardening links are all part of this fabulous new site, developed by Kathi Spayde, Garden Club secretary.  Many thanks to Kathi for her hard work and beautiful result! Please be sure to visit the website often to stay informed of all the Garden Club has to offer.

Plans to irrigate the lamppost flower baskets in De Rivera Park are underway.  All baskets previously located within the park, as well as four new baskets added to the diagonal walk in the park, will be part of an automatic watering system this summer.  Baskets along the boardwalk and across the street from the park will still be watered individually, but life will be easier for those dedicated volunteers who help with the watering task each year. We are always in search of more helping hands, and you can now volunteer your time directly on our website.  

In addition to new baskets in the park, the Garden Club is also purchasing a storage shed this year to be located on Village land near the water system plant in town. We are truly grateful to the village for its donation of land for our storage use, and also to Sally and Jim Duffy for their years of service as our golf cart storage property! We will miss seeing the Duffy’s smiling faces each morning, but we’re so happy to give them back their privacy.  Thank you, Jim and Sally!

Our first volunteer opportunity of the year will be May 14th and 15th when we will plant and hang the flower baskets in the park. Once again, Jody Frimel will supply the plants from her nursery and Susan Market will chair this activity. It is a big task each year, and we are always in need of people who like to get their hands dirty and those who are not afraid of heights! It’s a team effort and always a fun kick-off to the season.  Please sign up through the website now.

Garden Club events will take place on the second Thursday of each month at 5:30 pm. The first meeting will be a hands-on workshop with Chris and Jason Cooper who will instruct participants in how to build a “Flower Tower”.  Plants and supplies will be included in the cost of the workshop, which will be held at the island Hardware Store on Thursday, May 8th at 5:30 p.m.

Meetings in June, August, September, and October will be held at the Yacht Club this year.  Please check the website calendar for details of each program.  Joan Booker and Mac McCann are once again organizing a Jet Express trip as a fundraiser for the Garden Club. We will be going to Kelley’s Island on July 16th to view public and private gardens there, as well as to explore and enjoy what Kelley’s has to offer. Put that date on your calendars now and invite some friends to come along.  Joan and Mac put together a fantastic trip to Sandusky for us last summer, and this promises to be another great time! Tickets will be available on the website in June, as well as through Garden Club members.

 We hope you will visit our website, and if you are not already a member, that you will consider joining us and volunteering to help keep our island beautiful. We work together, we learn together, and we play together. What more could you ask for?!  Oh yes!  Warm, spring breezes please!!!  See you soon!

Susan Hildebandt, Co-President, Put-in-Bay Garden Club