Bella Vista Garden Club
WELCOME
If you are interested in gardening in Northwest Arkansas, you have come to the right place.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The Next Meeting - October 28, 2020
The meeting will be held outside at the Kingsdale Pavilion. The pavilion is located in the Kingsdale Park, 69 Riordan Road, in Bella Vista. It is right next to the swimming pool at Riordan Hall.
You can begin to gather at 9:30 AM. The meeting will start at 10:00 AM. We will NOT be serving drinks or have any goodies.
Masks will be required at all times - even when speaking, in order for everyone to feel comfortable. Social distancing will be marked with tape on the tables and the tables will be arranged at safe distances. No food is to be brought into the meeting and beverages will be allowed for members’ personal use only.
Your beautiful yearbooks are here and they will be ready for pickup after the meeting.
We will honor our Circle of Roses recipients, a Penny Pines recipient, and all of our award winners.
Raffle items will be available. Exact change for the raffle will be required; no change will be issued to reduce contact. Tickets will be $1 each or six for $5.
Program: Rich and Kathy Hemming owners of Simplicity Lavender Farm – Lavender 101
Artistic Design of the Month
Horticulture: Tony LiCausi – One on One Question/Answer Session
Garden Therapy October 27, 2020 is Cancelled.
WHAT'S NEW
The Last Meeting - September 23, 2020
The meeting was held outside at the Kingsdale Pavilion in the Kingsdale Park in Bella Vista.
The meeting was very strange because masks and social distancing were required.
Many awards were given out. The Image Carousel shows them. A full list of Awards can be seen on the Awards page in the Activities Section of this website. The yearbook was dedicated to the Plant Sale committee who raised enough money so that the Garden Club will be able to go forward with its Scholarship awards.
Bella Vista Memorial Garden Cemetery Work Days 8/15 - 9/15/2020
Blue Star Memorial Work Day 9/4/2020
Daylily Sale - Huge Success
The Daylily Sale was an HUGH success. Customers were extremely pleased with the plants we offered and loved having time slots to shop. They also really liked having the opportunity to talk with our master gardeners about their own gardens.
We sold about 3/4 of our daylilies along with most of the trees and shrubs we offered. A big thank you to all the BVGC members who helped make this an extremely successful sale.
Joal Miller, Plant Sale Chairman
YARD of the MONTH - October
Congratulations to Ginny Vance & her spouse Dieter Schoreit of 5 Glencoe Lane, Bella Vista 72715 who have been selected as the Bella Vista Garden Club Yard of the Month. They moved here from Nebraska about three years ago and love their new home! Ginny is retired from the phone company and is very happy to be working in her yard and garden. She is an Iowa Master Gardener who is working on transferring to the Arkansas program. Dieter helps with the mowing and heavy lifting with Ginny doing the design, moving and transplanting as needed. Their biggest challenge now is dealing with the rocky Bella Vista soil. In addition, they have done a fabulous job of re-inventing their home inside and out. They take great pride in their yard and have a lovely front, side and a backyard full of birds, plants, and a lovely sitting area with a firepit – a true oasis! The Bella Vista Garden Club thanks you, Ginny and Dieter, for yet another example of a well-kept yard and helping to keep Bella Vista beautiful year-round!
The Bella Vista Garden Club promotes and rewards exemplary yard care in Bella Vista and recognizes neighbors who demonstrate above-average efforts in maintaining their property, which contributes to the overall appearance of the community at large.
All homes and businesses in Bella Vista are eligible. Nominations are for the front and side yards jointly. One yard is chosen each month by members of BVGC who select the yard that best exemplifies uniqueness, beauty and curb appeal.
Nominate a yard today via email: portillo.jb@gmail.com Or call JB @ 479-268-8325. Please provide the address and the homeowners name if known. All nominations will be in the running for future recognition.
IT'S TIME TO ORDER YOUR BULBS AND PERENNIALS
Support the Bella Vista Garden Club when you order bulbs and plants from Brent & Becky's Bulbs. Just click on the Bloomin' Bucks link above, click on the YES button and place your order from their catalog. The Club will be a benefactor of a portion of your purchase. It is that easy!
THINGS TO DO IN YOUR GARDEN
October
Annuals & Herbs - Annuals and Herbs like basil will be fading fast in October. Enjoy their last blooms and make herb vinegar or oil or dry herbs for winter cooking. You can plant winter annuals like pansies and kale in October.
Tropicals & Houseplants - The first frost date could be early October so tropicals should be brought in when the nightime temperatures start to dip down to 48 or so. Move pots of caladiums indoors or pull them before foliage completely disappears. Spray with insecticidal soap so you do not bring any unwanted critters in the house.
Perennials - Mums should be blooming. Add more mums to your garden where you need fall color. Finish planting perennials and remember to mulch them.
Bulbs & Iris - Buy bulbs now for best selection. Plant crocus and daffodils after the soil has cooled. Plant in groups of odd numbers … at least five to seven. Start planting lily bulbs and tulips at the end of October. Plant or divide iris.
Roses - Stop deadheading and let roses set rose hips. If new growth is encouraged it will be susceptible to freezing. If roses are too tall and will rock in the wind over the winter, cut them back to about 3 feet or so.
Lawns - Apply fall pre-emergence herbicides, if needed, to control winter weeds. Seed fescue lawns or overseed existing lawns. Keep lawns free of fallen leaves.. they smother the grass. Lawns should be 2” high going into winter.
Trees and Shrubs – October is a good month to plant trees and shrubs. Monitor water over the winter months. Vegetables Enjoy the end of your harvest. Plant garlic in October to harvest next summer. Add organic matter to your beds to be ready for spring planting.
LINKS OF INTEREST
New Links
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.
"Gardening gives me fun and health and knowledge. It gives me laughter and color. It gives me pictures of almost incredible beauty."
John F. KenhonArtistic Touches by Cathy Wayson