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So far, this fall's temperatures are below normal and I am hoping most of you already have your water gardens ready for winter. I say this but I still have to sort fish out of my deeper pond. It will warm up a little -- won't it??!!
Our last meeting was well attended probably because of the interest in winterizing our water gardens. We all had a great meeting and for those of you that missed it also missed the chance of winning Ryan Walrod's lighting consultation and design plan for the garden of the winner. Audrey Main won it -- congratulations. We want to thank Ryan for his generous donation and appreciate his support of our Association.
At almost every one of our meetings we have some great door prizes and all of these are donated by area businesses. The Ark Pet Center has been very generous with donations in the last two years. Thank You Dave Metcalf for your support. Skycrest Gardens, as well as, Randy and Kim Shadle have also been very generous with their donations. Support from these businesses and individuals is vital to the continued growth of our Association. Of course, we will have door prizes at out next meeting.
Speaking of our next meeting we have a special presenter that has agreed to do a program on "Landscaping and Plants for Around Water Gardens". I met this talented lady at the very first Herbaceous Perennial Saturday held about 5 years ago. She was there to do a program and was very impressive. I am talking about Linda Grieve, owner/designer of a business called Perennial Gardens located in Ankeny, IA. She has had considerable training in design and plant materials and I know we can learn from her.
Her business has grown tremendously from an office in her home to a site that includes a farmhouse; this is now an office, and a historic dairy barn. The staff now includes a landscape architect, a designer, two construction crews and a maintenance crew. The firm has designed the Better Homes and Gardens Test Garden in Des Moines. This design included 30 gardens ranging from water gardens to vegetable and annual test plots. Linda's talents are in demand and she serves on several boards. We are indeed fortunate to have Linda present to us.
Her talk to us will begin at 7:00 PM on Monday, November 11 at the Alliant Facility. Map on how to get there is included in this newsletter. The business meeting for November will include election of Board Members, coming up with another winner for Lizzy (our adorable mascot that needs a new home every month) and other items of interest. It will be a great meeting, so, hope to see everybody there.
The Big Toad, Jamie