Bella Vista Garden Club

WELCOME

If you are interested in gardening in Northwest Arkansas, you have come to the right place.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Perennial Sale May 20th & 21st of 2022

Click the button below for 4 separate folders - Perennials, Daylilies, Trees and Shrubs, and Plant Sale Guidelines.

Plant Sale Information Click Here

Virginia & Kathy are working hard!

Dividing plants is tricky business!

Jamie & Penny are dividing the Iris.

We have 5 sandbeds filled with a wide variety of plants, shrubs & trees. All the information on this sale will be posted in a couple weeks so keep an eye out. Here are a few pictures - potted plants and plants waiting to be potted.

The Garden Club Spring Luncheon and Tour will be at Crystal Bridges on June 1, 2022

You must be a member to attend - no guests.

Garden Extravaganza - June 11, 2022

The Extravaganza will be held from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., rain or shine. Tickets are available for $10 in advance from Garden Club Members, Arvest Banks, Creek's Nursery, Audrey's Resale Boutique, The Bluebird Shed and for volunteer of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art at the Crystal Bridges. Tickets are available the day of the event for $15 at any of the gardens. Creeks Nursery will be selling tickets the day of the event. We will publish the garden site addresses on June 10th the day before the event.

Seven beautiful gardens will be featured. All seven gardens are in Bella Vista and each has a different theme. A Meditation Garden, Oak Leaf Acre, America the Beautiful, Pollinator Garden, the Power of Three, Italian Renaissance Garden and a Backyard Retreat will be featured.

YOUR PARTICIPATION IS NEEDED

Message from Pat Meyer, BVGC President

BVGC Members, one of my goals as your president is for every club member to have the opportunity to become involved in our projects. This involvement covers a wide range of needs and talents. Some needs involve outdoor, physical labor others will be less physically demanding, but ALL are needed for an active and effective Club.

Please look in your new Yearbook (pages 7-9) for information on committees and projects. Contact the Committee Chairman for more details and to express your interest in participating. I especially encourage our newer Members to find activities that suit their interests, talents and desires to learn.

A critical part of participation is communicating the needs and opportunities of the committees. Therefore, Committee Chairs, please address the entire Club when emailing etc. requests for help or scheduling activities. Alternatively, you can advise me and I will forward the information to the Club. Members, let the Committee Chairs know of your interest in participating and pose any questions you have about that Committee or project. The Yearbook has their contact information.

I also request Members to communicate directly with me on any suggestions you have for improving or broadening our Club. While I am presently serving as your Club President, I am primarily a member who has enjoyed working alongside some very knowledgeable gardeners and mentors with a willingness to share their knowledge. So, new and seasoned Members do not miss out on the opportunities the Club offers to learn new things and make new friends….PARTICIPATE!

Stay well and safe

Pat Meyer

2021-2023 President

MOST RECENT ACTIVITIES

Veterans Wall of Honor

Penny Frahm & Jamie Hooper

Planted flowers and did some spring cleaning at the Veterans Wall Of Honor today.

April 27, 2022 Meeting

Speaker - Janet Carson

Janet Carson, author, columnist, and retired statewide horticulture specialist presented "Gardening in the Natural State"

Many Benton County Mater Gardeners attended the meeting to hear Janet Carson.

Penny Pines Certificate

1 - Jan Grim received a Penny Pines Certificate in memory of her husband who passed away recently.

Arkansas Federation of Garden Club Awards

Presented to Committee Chairman

2 - 1st Place. Heritage Award Mary Doyle and Patti Brierly for the BV Memorial Garden Cemetery

3 - Runner up Bravo Award Cathy Downard

4 & 5 - 1st Place. Civic Achievement Award Tony LiCausi and Penny Frahm for the Veterans Wall

6 - 1st Place Garden Club Yearbook Cathy Wayson

7 - 1st Place Garden Therapy Louise Wilson and Diedre Cheney (not present)

The Club also received 2nd Place for Membership Increase

Raffle

Mona Tate and Jamie Hooper announce the winners.

Artistic Design

Elaine Rooney provided a fresh spring floral design.

Annual Tomato, Coleus, and Zinnia Sale on 4/23/22

Hello everyone - I first want to THANK YOU for coming out and making our tomato, coleus & zinnia sale last Friday the best yet! It was so successful that we totally sold out of everything on Friday and had to cancel our Saturday sale. The garden club appreciates your support.

Please return your one gallon pots and any other one gallon pots you may acquire if you can. This is an enormous help to us.

And lastly, please remember our upcoming perennial sale May 20th & 21st.

Joal Miller, Plant Sale Chairman

Dedication of the Club's History Books

at the Bella Vista Historical Museum on April 13, 2022

President, Pat Meyer, dedicated the Club's 50 years of History Books (also called Scrapbooks).

After the dedication, members traded stories, checked out some of the books and enjoyed cookies.

50th Anniversary Year Kickoff

Tree Planting at Fire Station #3 on March 25th, 2022

Garden Club President Pat Meyer, Mayor Peter Christie, and Fire Chief Sims spoke about the Club's donation of the tree in honor of the Club's 50th Anniversary and in recognition of Bella Vista's First Responders.

Meeting on March 23, 2022 in person and via Zoom

Program: Peter Christie, Mayor of Bella Vista, hosted an interactive discussion with Club members about the City's designation as a Tree City USA. He discussed the requirements, the ongoing commitments, and what this means to the residents of Bella Vista. He also answered questions on a myriad of topics pertaining to Bella Vista.

View Meeting: Members can view the recorded meeting on the member's only section of this website.

Volunteers are needed to be Hostesses at the homes on the Garden Extravaganza which will be on June 11, 2022. Hostesses can attend the event free of charge.

Photos from upper left in a circle, Mayor Peter Christie, the speaker; Carol Tabot, running the zoom; Artistic Design by Linda Neymeyer; Yummy treats for the attendees; and the Raffle Items overseen by Jamie Hooper.

Garden Therapy

BVGC Club members took fun projects to Concordia on Feburary 8, 2022 and Brookfield on February 22, 2022.

Concordia

Brookfield

Bella Vista Memorial Garden Cemetery Work Days October 2021

It was a beautiful morning for our Garden Club Members to work at the Bella Vista Memorial Garden Cemetery.

During our clean up we even found a Monarch caterpillar on one of the fennel plants.

Yard of the Month will Return in the Spring

New Sand Bed Preparation

This just in from Ginny Vance.

We are so thankful for the workers at the Bella Vista Waste Water Company. They made a brand new sand bed area for our plants that we sell in the spring!! Landscape blocks were added too!! They are an awesome group of men & women.

New Project - Native Plants Garden Bed

This project is chaired by Plant Sale Chairman, Joel Miller. It is an area in front of the greenhouse where the committee works on the Plant Sales. The Waste Water Treatment Plant is allowing the Club to use the area to make a garden showcasing native plants. It will feature stepping stones to allow people to walk into the area. It is mainly a learning garden but eventually some of the plants will be for sale at future Garden Club Plant Sales.

BLUE STAR MEMORIAL - HWY 71 WELCOME CENTER

James Richardson posted these photos on FB. He got some planting done at the

Blue Star Memorial Garden.

THINGS TO DO IN YOUR GARDEN

Things to do in May

May is the time to finish planting and don’t forget to mulch everything that you plant. You will be glad you did later in the season.
Annuals - Bedding plants can be set out and containers can be planted. Polymers that hold the water for the plant’s roots are very helpful in containers.
Herbs - When the nighttime temperatures are 50 and above consistently, you can plant your basil. Other herbs aren’t as temperature sensitive so they can be planted now too if you haven’t done so already. Most herbs need full sun but can tolerate some afternoon shade.
Bulbs - A feeding of bulb booster or bone meal will help. Be sure to leave the leaves on for 6 to 8 weeks after bloom. In mid May plant warm weather bulbs such as caladiums, cannas and elephant ears.
Perennials - Finish planting and dividing and mulch as you go. Labels help you remember names and placement.
Lawns - This is the period of rapid growth. Mow no more than 1/3 of the height of the leaf blade. Bermuda – apply a second pre-emergence crabgrass control treatment between May 15 and June 15. Fescues – fertilize with nitrogen only if your soil test indicates it is needed.
Roses - Watch for aphids and fungus. Aphids can be controlled by a hard spray from the hose in early morning so the foliage will dry before dark. Fertilize established roses because they are heavy feeders. Be sure plants are watered before applying fertilizer so you don’t burn the roots. Water deeply if we don’t get at least 1 inch of rain per week.
Trees and Shrubs - Prune spring flowering shrubs after they bloom. Newly planted trees and shrubs should be watered deeply each week until established. Feed azaleas and rhododendrons after bloom. Deadhead lilacs.
Vegetables - You can plant bush and pole snap beans and lima beans, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers, squash and tomatoes. Mulching tomatoes not only conserves water and chokes out weeds, but also prevents splitting and cracking. Water as needed and fertilize.

LINKS OF INTEREST

New Links

New Link: How to Grow your own Butterfly Garden - This page has a step by step guide to build a butterfly garden. The site was suggested by a student in an alternative learning program.

New Link: Toxic Pesticides - This page on the ConsumerNotice.org site has a lot of information on toxic pesticides outlining the different types and how to protect yourself from their negative effects.

New Link: Yard Care Guru - This site has a multitude of links of information and this link has the Ultimate Beginners Guide to Gardening with Kids.

New Link: Consumers Base - This site has A Comprehensive Guide to Container Gardening that is very informative along with other gardening information.

New Link: University of Arkansas Yard and Garden - Pruning Crepe Myrtles - This page has information on pruning crepe myrtles and other links to more information on this plant.

New Link: Plant Care Today - This page of the site covers companion planting with tomatoes. Other pages have more gardening information.

New Link: Ultimate Guide to Gardening Resources - This site is full of links with information on general gardening, planning a garden, educating children, indoor gardening, blogs and podcasts.