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 of the Bella Vista Garden Club will be on March 22, 2023

at the Bella Vista Community Church

75 E. Lancashire Blvd.

Social Time 9:30 am

Meeting Starts 10 am


Program: Joal Miller, BVGC Plant Sale Chairman, "From Greenhouse to Garden, the Lifecycle of our Plant Sale Beauties"


Artistic Design of the Month


Horticulture: Tony LiCausi - "What's New in Horticulture - Growing Vegetables

Spring Plant Sale April 22nd - Tomatoes, Coleus and Zinnias

Hi Everyone !

Just thought I’d share a few pictures of what we have currently growing in our hothouses. These plants are getting ready for our April sale of tomatoes,  coleus and zinnias

We have coleus cuttings, zinnia seedlings and the tomato seeds will be planted soon.   We’ll have lots of varieties of each to choose from.

Mark April 22nd on your calendar and I look forward to seeing you then.

Joal Miller

Plant Sale Chair

The next Plant Sale will be June 2nd and 3rd and feature a Wide Variety of Plants

More Plant Sale prep was done at the greenhouse on 3/1//23.

Spring Field Trip to Moss Mountain Farm on May 17th - 18th

Details of Trip Provided Here

The Bella Vista Garden Club will travel to Moss Mountain Farm in Roland, AR, the country estate of P. Allen Smith, for its 2023 Spring Field Trip.  The farm is the home of well-known horticulturalist, P. Allen Smith.  We will leave Bella Vista on Wednesday, May 17th around noon and return at approximately 6:00 pm on Thursday, May 18th. (Bus transportation details will be provided later once we know the number of attendees.) We will arrive in Maumelle in the late afternoon on May 17th and enjoy dinner at Milano’s Italian Grill. Club members will pay for their own meals. The Hampton Inn will provide breakfast. Immediately following we will tour of Moss Mountain Farm, and return to Bella Vista.

You will need to register for the tour online on P. Allen Smith's website.  A four-hour tour of the farm, gardens and lunch costs $99 per person.  You will also need to make your own hotel room reservation. We will stay at the Hampton Inn in Maumelle, AR. A special rate of $119.00 plus 20.5% tax will apply. (The normal rate is $146.00 plus tax.)  The information needed for each of those reservations is provided below.

Moss Mountain farm registration: To register for the farm tour and lunch, go to: https://www.pallensmith.com/tours/tours/ and register for the tour on May 18, 2023. These tours are open to the public, and reservations are accepted in the order they are made. Do not wait too late to register or the tour may be fully booked. You will need to pay at the time of booking. The fee is a total of $108.41 which includes $9.41 in state taxes.

Lodging registration: Hampton Inn in Maumelle, AR. The block of rooms has been created and guests can begin making their reservations for May 17th by either calling in to the hotel directly or by using the below link: https://www.hilton.com/en/book/reservation/deeplink/?ctyhocn=LITMMHX&groupCode=CHHBVG&arrivaldate=2023-05-17&departuredate=2023-05-18&cid=OM,WW,HILTONLINK,EN,DirectLink&fromId=HILTONLINKDIRECT

The group code is BVG and the last day to book is April 26, 2023. The room rate is $119.00 plus 20.5% tax. (The normal room rate is $146.00). If you are making your reservation via phone, the number is 501-851-6600.

Dory Hammeke is the field trip coordinator. Please contact her via phone or e-mail to let her know that you have made your reservations. She will need to know your name and the number of people that you have registered. This will help inform our decision regarding the size of bus needed. Contact Dory if you have any questions at: 913-209-4623 or dehammeke@gmail.com

The Farm Tour & Lunch includes:

• A guided tour through P. Allen Smith’s three-story Greek Revival-style home.  Guests will learn about P. Allen Smith’s authentic design approach that pays homage to the history of the farm.

• Explore Arkansas’ beautiful countryside overlooking the Arkansas River while touring Allen’s Terrace Garden, the Hidden Rose Garden, Hydrangea Alley, and his one-acre Vegetable Garden.

• Connect to the land as you sit down to a farm-to-table lunch featuring a recipe from P. Allen Smith’s book, Seasonal Recipes from the Garden. For dessert, enjoy a slice of Allen’s famous buttermilk pecan pie with homemade whipped cream.

• Last but certainly not least, a visit to Poultry Ville to meet the chickens and other animals. Learn about Allen’s effort to conserve America’s early poultry breeds and why he started the Heritage Poultry Conservancy. While you are there, say hi to your favorite farm animals from Allen’s television show—Trudy, Moose, Smudge & Squeak, just to name a few.

Anyone who has visited Moss Mountain Farm will tell you this is a wonderful experience. We hope you’ll plan to join us!

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

Plan(t) Ahead

FOR NATIONAL GARDEN WEEK

June 4th - 10th, 2023

Ideas to Consider

• Plan an educational program and/or workshop at your local library, public garden or garden center.

• Sponsor a hands-on "How Do You Select Flowers/Shrubs for Your Garden" workshop at an area nursery.

• Plan a garden tour. This is a great time to share your knowledge of growing while sharing ideas.

• Beautify a manageable blighted area or enhance an existing garden. This would be a good opportunity to work with other groups.

• Plan an activity with a youth group or school students.

• Place a plant or flower arrangement at public facilities, along with one of the beautiful National Garden Week posters.

NGC website, gardenclub.org

MOST RECENT ACTIVITIES

The Garden Club Met on Wednesday, February 22nd

Garden Therapy

BVGC Club members took a fun Garden Therapy project to Concordia on January 17, 2023 and to Brookfield on Feburary 7, 2023

Bella Vista Garden Club

Christmas Luncheon

was held Wednesday, December 7, 2022

at Lakepoint Restaurant


Check out photos of the luncheon in the Image Carousel.

BVGC Charity and Scholarship Benefit Card Party

Friday, October 21, 2022, from Noon to 4:00 pm

Thank you to all who came to our Card/Game party. Our Committee of workers put on a great event. The food we all prepared was excellent. We had a great turnout and everyone enjoyed themselves plus funds were raised for Scholarships and other Club projects.

The Beautification Committee did Cleanup and Planting at the Bella Vista Signs on Highway 71 on Oct 14th and 15th

Many hand make the load light and get the plants in the ground quickly! 

YARD OF THE MONTH

is on hiatus until Spring.

Arkansas Federated Garden Clubs Northwest District Meeting

The BVGC was well represented at the Arkansas Federated Garden Clubs Northwest District Meeting on October 3rd. 

Thank you Garden Club of Rogers for hosting such a great event !! 

Native Bed at Wastewater Dedicated to Lou Jasper

August 18, 2022

Club Members gathered on a misty morning as Joel Miller unveiled the plaque dedicating the Club's recently created Native Bed to Lou Jasper.  Lou was instrumental in advising the club about this native bed and is a treasured member for her knowledge and her great personality.  Geri Hoerner related some humorous stories about Lou and a newspaper reporter took photos and interviewed Lou for an article.  

State of AR Federation of Garden Clubs Annual Meeting

Benton County was well represented at the State AFGC Annual Meeting in Jonesboro AR August 8th & 9th with members from Bentonville, Rogers and Bella Vista Garden Clubs in attendance. 

BLUE STAR MEMORIAL - HWY 71 WELCOME CENTER

Workers doing some cleanup at the Blue Star Memorial Garden on 8/9/2022.

Garden Extravaganza

The Garden Extravaganza was held on Saturday June 11th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. The beautiful gardens were a HUGE hit. The decorated bicycles at each garden matched the garden's theme and some were for sale. 

THANK YOU to all participants!!

Seven beautiful Bella Vista, AR gardens were featured.  Each had a different theme.  

Seven minute video of all seven gardens featured in the Garden Extravaganza

Thank You from the Chariman

Dear Garden Club Members,

The garden owners are relieved the day is over, the finances are completed, and Ginny Vance and I proclaim the Garden Extravaganza was a success. 

The visitors to the seven fabulous gardens were amazed, complimentary, and so pleased the garden club had offered them this opportunity.  The gardeners from our own club worked hours and hours plus spent a great deal of their own money to create memorable places to visit.  Most club members either volunteered to decorate bikes, help with publicity, work at the gardens, or sell tickets.  For all your efforts we thank you.

A very nice amount of money was raised for the Club's projects.

Ginny and I also want to thank Cathy Wayson for creating the brochure/ticket, Geri Hoerner for helping with printing the brochures, Coleen Walpert for managing ticket sales, and Robyn Kirkland for logistics.

Thank You!  Judy Jeffrey and Virginia Vance

LINKS OF INTEREST

New Links


New Link:  National Garden Bureau - This site has a multitude of gardening information and you can sign up for their Newsletter.

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.


"A garden is a love song, a duet between a human being and Mother Nature."

Jeff Cox
Artistic Touches by Cathy Wayson