My timing is perfect, I planted 4 tropical water lilies a week ago and ever since there has been near record low temps with cloudy, drizzly weather to accompany the cold. This kind of weather can trigger the tropicals into dormancy -- I've heard. Well, this will be the test for me.


We made over $400 on the plant exchange due to the generosity of most of our members donating plants and hard goods. There were a lot of us that were able to get our water plants at a very good price. I was very impressed with the turnout and your generosity. I want to thank Kenn Outzen and Dean Koob for organizing this and doing the program that night -- they did an outstanding job. The Association will be able to use these dollars in the near future to maybe invite an expert and pay his or her expenses to get them here.


We passed our bylaws at the last meeting so we can now pursue the process of becoming incorporated. Of course, this takes a lawyer and will cost maybe $50 to $100, but it will protect our officers and committee members from any kind of liability. Larry Reisetter is working on this.


We are busy working on the Central Iowa Tour of Water Gardens that will be held on July 14 and 15. Make sure to mark your calendars so that you won't miss it. Saturday we will be touring gardens in the Ames, Nevada area and Sunday we will be touring gardens in the Des Moines area. Be sure to check out the section on our web site that talks about the tour. If you have any questions you can contact any of your officers or myself.


The interest in our organization keeps growing and our membership shows this. We are well over 150 members! This is exciting for our organization. Our job now is to keep it interesting for everybody. Some of the programs lined up for this fall include a program on the Aquatic Invertebrates and Insects (the critters) by Charlie Drews, a professor in the Zoology Dept. at ISU. Also, Shane Miller, owner of Iowa Outdoor Products and a member, is going to do a program on Landscaping Around the Water Garden.


This is the really fun time for us water gardeners -- let's enjoy the beauty and tranquility of our water gardens!!


Jamie, The Big Toad