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Happy Holiday's to everyone.
This is the time of the year that we reflect on the past and try to see where we are headed. The interest in water gardens and water features continues to grow like it has for the last 10 years. As new products are developed, a broader range of homeowners installing some type of feature becomes greater. It is fun to watch the excitement of a water gardener that has just installed one. There is a kid-like enthusiasm that is infectious.
The CIWGA feeds off this enthusiasm and some of our meetings can become carnival like because of it. Our membership has grown steadily over the three years since we have started. It is exciting to be part of this organization.
It is the American way that whenever there is interest in something (like water gardening) then it will be commercialized. This can be both good and bad. The choices of products and techniques become huge. You start to get conflicting information and to choose between all the choices is tough. This is where the Central Iowa Water Garden Association should step in to fill the role of educating the public of the best products and latest techniques. A very good way we can do this is by bringing in the experts.
I want to announce here that we have scheduled on Monday, March 14, 2005 a whole day of water gardening experts to educate us. Please refer to the Press Release from Reiman Gardens about this exciting day. Deb Spencer, who spoke to us a couple of years ago, has agreed to return and give two presentations to us: One on "Growies (marginal plants) For Your Water Garden" and the other on "Pumps and Plumbing". Deb is nationally known for her expertise on water gardening and on water plants. As I have said before, Deb was water gardening before it was cool. She not only is an expert but she is extremely patient and really cares about you as a water gardener. She wants to make sure that you do "it" the best way possible. Deb and her partner Susan Davis own a retail outlet in Lawrence, KS called the Waters Edge. It is a must see water garden store.
Tom Graham, the sales and production manager of KOI USA magazine, has also agreed to present to us. Tom is from the San Diego area of California and is an expert on Koi and water gardening. The two presentations of Tom's are "Is it a Koi Pond, Water Garden or Both" and "How to Identify High Quality Koi". Both presentations are going to be a learning experience for me and I know will be for you also. I might mention that both Deb and Tom presented at the 2004 Pondapaloosa. This is the annual meeting that experts in the water garden industry attend.
Don Bryne, water lily hybridizer, is coming to present to us on "Let's Go To The Amazon; Home to the Victoria Water Lily. Don owns Swannee Labs of Lake City, Florida. Don has a lot of interests and is also one of those that has been into water gardening a long time. He is very enjoyable to listen to and I met him and his wife, Shirley, a number of years ago at the International Water Lily and Water Garden Society Convention in Denver. Full of knowledge and a person you will want to meet. Don has led many expeditions to the Amazon region of South America and we will benefit from his travels looking for the Victoria Water Lily. His presentation will be visually exciting, as he has taken a lot of pictures of all his adventures. By the way, the Victoria Water Lily is the plant that Reiman Gardens grows and was in the ponds at 7B Ranch (Webster City).
We also have Nathan Brockman from Reiman Gardens presenting to us on "Aquatic Insects in Your Pond's Ecosystem". Nathan is a very enthusiastic and knowledgeable expert on insects. He is responsible for the butterflies at the Butterfly Wing at Reiman Gardens. The aquatic insects are a very important part of our aquatic ecosystem and Nathan will lead us down the road of understanding these critters.
Whew - what a line-up!! I am very proud to say that the CIWGA membership voted to be a sponsor of this event along with Reiman Gardens. It will cost a lot to bring these presenters here but that is what we have wanted to do since we started. Our symposium will lead off the Shade Tree Short Course that ISU Horticulture Dept. has sponsored for more than a decade. A lot of gardeners and professionals in the landscape business attend this two day-long event. Our thinking is that these same people will want to come to our symposium as well. It will still cost our members to get into this day-long water garden symposium but our members will benefit by getting a substantial discount. You may have to take a day of vacation from work but, believe me, it will be worth it. I cannot think of a better line-up of presenters for our group. For a future symposium, this one will be hard to beat!!
On another note, it is with sincere thanks to Gary Craven, Greg and Carolyn Knop, and Denice and Larry Reisetter for their volunteering and dedication to the CIWGA. Their terms as Directors were up and they have served us well. During their time as volunteers we became established and grew to a very sizable group. A lot of our success was due to their efforts. They will be missed, but we have some very fun and dedicated individuals taking their place. They are Carol Scheid, Jill and Jim Rose, and Rick and Ann Trine. Welcome to these great volunteers!!
As you may know already we have decided to not have a December meeting so have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
The Big Toad, Jamie