Bella Vista Garden Club

WELCOME 

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

UPCOMING EVENTS

September Meeting

Plan on attending our first meeting of the 2024-2025 year when we will welcome our scholarship recipients.

The meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 25th at the Bella Vista Community Church, 75 E Lancashire Blvd.

Social hour begins at 9:30 am and the meeting follows at 10.00 am.  I hope to see you there! 

Dory Hammeke, President  

MOST RECENT ACTIVITIES

Work Day at Bella Vista Memorial Garden Cemetery

On Tuesday, August 27th, a dozen club members didn’t let the heat keep them from cleaning up the gardens at the Bella Vista Memorial Gardens Cemetery.  They weeded, dead-headed spent flowers and trimmed bushes.  In less than two hours the gardens were once again looking terrific.  A special “thanks” to Mary Doyle and Patti Brierly for their outstanding leadership of the Cemetery Committee! 

Pictured L to R: Back Row—Charlotte Thayer, Laura Gordon-Murnane, Cathy Downard

Middle Row—Mary Doyle, Marilyn Russell, Debbie Reeves

Front Row—Jeanie Talbott, Rosalie Mikelson, Patti Brierly, Jane Gordon

Not Pictured:  Deidre Cheney and Dory Hammeke

The Bella Vista Yard of the Month - August 2024

YARD OF THE MONTH 33 Melanie Circle, Bella Vista 72714 

Click Arrow to see more.

Agnes Gallo and James Miller have been honored as the Bella Vista Garden Club Yard of the Month! These two incredible individuals recently moved here from sunny Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and have completely transformed their yard into a stunning masterpiece in just 5 months. Agnes has even given their yard the name Castel de Bellevue, and it's an ongoing work of art that's already capturing everyone's attention! 


Did you know that Agnes is an award-winning Master Gardener from Florida and a talented Chef? James, also an award-winning Florida Master Gardener, is originally from Ohio but has put down roots in Fort Lauderdale for many years. The two of them are a dynamic duo – Agnes is the mastermind behind the stunning landscape design, while James does the heavy lifting and creates breathtaking stationary and hanging baskets. It's not just their yard that's impressive – they're also passionate cyclists and were drawn to Bella Vista for its fantastic trails. Their yard is an absolute showstopper, bursting with a colorful array of seasonal plants. They've even acquired several historic Benton County Courthouse boxwoods from a Garden Club sale. Talk about a labor of love!


Hey everyone in Bella Vista! Let's give a big shoutout to this amazing couple for keeping their yard in tip-top shape and adding so much beauty to our community. The Bella Vista Garden Club is all about praising outstanding yard care and acknowledging those who go the extra mile to make Bella Vista look its best. All homes and businesses in Bella Vista are eligible. Nominations for a yard of the month are for the front and side yards jointly. One yard is chosen each month by the Bella Vista Garden Club selecting the yard that best exemplifies uniqueness, beauty, and curb appeal. Nominate a yard today via email: portillo.jb@gmail.com. Please provide the address and the homeowner’s name if known.  All nominations will be in the running for future recognition.  

Arkansas Federation of Garden Clubs Mid-year Board Meeting 

Five BVGC members attended the Arkansas Federation of Garden Clubs Mid-Year Board Meeting in Star City, Arkansas, on August 12th and 13th.  We met a great group of gardeners from all over the state.  Star City did an amazing job hosting our group.  Bella Vista was awarded four Certificates of Appreciation from the National Garden Clubs, Inc.  Congrats BVGC! 

Left to Right, Margaret Foster, Jamie Hooper, Beth Kastl, Ginny Vance and Geri Hoerner.

Bella Vista Garden Club Gives Generously to Area Organizations


The Bella Vista Garden Club recently made donations totaling $5,000 to several organizations within the community.  Recipients included the Courtesy Van, Historical Museum, Community Television, Animal Shelter, Memorial Gardens Cemetery, Bella Vista Computer Club, Crystal Bridges and True Colors Farm by Respectability.


According to Club President, Dory Hammeke, the Garden Club has been giving back to the community for most of its 52 years.  Whether it has been through beautification projects around the city, scholarships for students studying horticulture or supporting organizations that provide vital services for Bella Vista residents, the Garden Club has always been proud to show its support

for Northwest Arkansas.  The donations are made possible due to the success of two important club fundraisers including Spring Plant Sales and a Card Party in the Fall.


At the club’s next meeting on September 25th two students studying horticulture at the University of Arkansas will each be awarded $5,000 Dorothy Wallace Scholarships.

Bob Pierce, treasurer for the Courtesy Van recieves check from Dory Hammeke.

Xyta Lucas and Dale Phillips of the Historical Museum recieve check from Dory Hammeke

The Garden Show with host Joanne York, President Benton County Master Gardeners.

With Guest: Terry Weiderhaft, Benton County Master Gardener.

Latest TV Program


"Gardening in July"  

Topic: "Meet us in the Middle"

Spring Luncheon June 5, 2024

Bella Vista Garden Club's Spring Luncheon Meeting and Officers Installation done by Judy Jeffrey was held at the Peel Mansion in Bentonville on Wednesday June 5, 2024.  The Spring Luncheon is always one of the highlights of the year.  The garden could be toured and the meal was catered by Mike Hudgins of Papa Mike's fame. 

Many awards were presented, and 2 members were inducted into the Circle of Roses - Cathie Whittenberger and Judy Shannon.  A video of activities and accomplishment from the last year was shown.  

Perennial Sale - June 1, 2024 was a Huge Success

We are thrilled to announce that our Plant Sale was a huge success, with an impressive turnout of customers. We extend our gratitude to each and every one of you who took the time to visit us.  Our team of 28 dedicated members worked tirelessly to ensure that your needs were met and we are grateful for their hard work and commitment.  See you all next year !! 

Spring Trip - May 15, 2024

Twenty-two members and guests journeyed to Tulsa for our annual Field Trip.  Led by two well informed docents, we saw the Philbrook Museum of Art and the attached 25-acre garden.  The Philbrook Museum was once home to oil pioneer Waite Phillips, his wife, Genevieve, and their two children.  It was constructed in 1926 and donated to the city of Tulsa for use as an art museum twelve years later.  


The formal gardens are lovely and much of the garden infrastructure was refurbished within the last twenty years.  All those who attended seemed to thoroughly enjoy the time spent touring the museum and gardens and they enjoyed the camaraderie of the drive to and from Tulsa as well as the delicious lunch.  


Thanks to Jamie Hooper for her excellent work in planning and coordinating this event!  Jamie is selecting speakers and a field trip location for our coming year; be sure to give her a call if you have any recommendations.  

Beautification Committee Cleanup at Bella Vista Sign

 A picture from May 12, 2024 cleaning up around the Bella Vista sign on Hwy 71.  Pictured L to R are Sue Santori, Virginia Halman, Cathy Downard and Jeanie Talbott.   Not pictured was Dory Hammeke. 

Arkansas Federation of Garden Clubs 

and South Central Region 

2024 Annual Conventions 


Photo of NW district members in attendance at the April AFGC and SCR Conventions in Little Rock. Pictured L to R: Lynette Riley, Sherrie Eoff, and Ronna Smith, Garden Club of Rogers; Beth Kastl, Geri Hoerner, Ginny Vance, Bella Vista Garden Club; DeLinda Mace, Bentonville Garden Club; and Dory Hammeke, our President.

Arbor Day Celebration Monday, April 29, 2024 

The City of Bella Vista wrapped up its month-long celebration of trees with an official ceremony honoring our uniquely forested city landscape and preservation efforts of those who work to maintain it.

A tree planting ceremoney took place at 12 p.m. Monday, April 29th at the Bluebird Trailhead off Riordan Road.

Mayor John Flynn read an Arbor Day proclamation and then members of the Bella Vista Garden Club and Bella Vista Tree Advisory Board assisted in planting a Sugar Maple tree, which was graciously donated by the Bella Vista Garden Club.

Following the ceremony, the official City of Bella Vista Arbor Day 2024 stickers were available. They can be presented at Java Dude’s coffee shop inside Phat Tire Bike Shop near the trailhead for 20 percent off a purchase.  The winning design from this year’s sticker contest was chosen by the Bella Vista Tree Board. This year’s sticker was designed by Cooper Elementary fourth grader Lindsey Scheele.

The city recognizes the efforts of those volunteers who help maintain the natural beauty of our landscape by protecting native tree species and promoting the importance of an extensive tree canopy in the area.  These efforts allow the city to be named annually a Tree City USA.

April 24, 2024 Meeting 

The Meeting

Top Row Left to Right - Lots to sign up for or join the Club.

Fruit and Cookies.

Great garden gloves for sale.

Raffle items.

Bottom Row Left to Right - Horticulture by Tony LiCausi "What are the top 10 Trees/Shrubs to plant in NW Arkansas".

Patti Brierly talked about the Bella Vista Memorial Cemetery.

Joal Miller talked about the Plant Sale and that some tomatoes are left.

Janice Conboy talked about the House Plant part of the upcoming Plant Sale.

The Program

BVGC Member and Chef, Sue Santori, who has extensive experience hosted an interactive discussion on "Cooking with Herbs from Your Garden."


Two Artistic Designs

Left by Pam Lusczakoski and Right by Sherry Morris. 

Awards

Left to right - Dory Hammeke: Pesident of the Garden Club.  Heritage Preservation Award: Mary Doyle and Patti Brierly, Bella Vista Memorial Garden Cemetery.  Member Awareness: Pat Meyer, President’s monthly newsletter.  Pollinators Project: Lou Jasper (not present) and Joal Miller, Native Plant Bed at Wastewater facility.  Civic Achievement: Steve Brusso (but given to Judy Warner since Steve has moved and Judy is taking over the project), The Veterans Wall.  Civic Beautification: Sue Santori, (not present) Daffodil Planting at the new Public Safety Building.  Garden Therapy: Deidre Cheney and Louise Wilson (with award), Garden Therapy. Club Website: Carol Tabat (accepted the award) and Cathy Wayson, BVGC Website.  Outstanding Social Media: Ginny Vance (Award accepted for her by Carol Tabat,  Social Media Facebook Page.  Outstanding Yearbook: Cathy Wayson, 2023-2024  Yearbook.  Digital Media Presentation for The Garden TV Show, Geri Hoerner (not present).  

Spring Plant Sale 4/20/2024

Hello Everyone-


A great Plant Sale was had today!  All coleus and zinnias sold. We had a few tomatoes left but those will continue to sell after the sale. 

Plant Sale Chairman, Joal Miller

Garden Club members getting ready to welcome shoppers to the sale.

Cemetery Workday - April 4, 2024

The Bella Vista Cemetery Committee joins in the beautification effort by helping with planting and maintaining flower beds in the Bella Vista Memorial Garden Cemetery. This time a lot of raking was needed.  The photos show some of the workers.

Garden Therapy at Concordia in Bella Vista on April 2, 2024  

Some of the Ladies making and modeling their beautiful hats.

These lovely ladies are 100 and 101 years young.  Everyone had so much fun decorating hats with artificial flowers and ribbons. 

Garden Therapy at Brookfield Assisted Living on February 20, 2024

The residents enjoyed making Pine Cones dipped in peanut butter and bird seed to hang outside for the birds. 

Daffodils at Crystal Bridges

This just in from Garden Club President, Dory Hammeke: We just received this message from John Henkels from Crystal Bridges.  He wanted our club members to see how the Spring bulbs they helped to plant are looking.  Several club members, Bob and Teresa Poulseen and Steve Brusso helped with the planting. Hope I'm not missing any other volunteers.  This work was done last fall and the flowers look lovely, don't they?  Crystal Bridges is planning to plant more next year.

Daffodil Bulb Planting

at the Public Safety Building in Bella Vista on November 29, 2023


Bella Vista Garden Club members planted bulbs using power drills with auger attachments.  

Daffodil Bulb Sale was a Success

Allen's Food Mart

60 Sugar Creek Ctr.,  Bella Vista AR 72714

Saturday November 18, 2023 - over 1,000 bulbs sold.

Daffodil Mix for the South

and 'Bella Vista' Daffodils

The Garden Club Members

Ready to Sell the Beautiful Bulbs

Beautiful Day to Sell

'Bella Vista' Daffodils

 Crystal Bridges Bulb Planting held 

November 11, 2023

Thanks to Steve Brusso, Bob and Teresa Poulseen for assisting with planting 'Bella Vista' Daffodils on the grounds at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.  The CB gardens will provide another beautiful spot for enjoying the colorful flowers next Spring.   

BVGC Card & Games Party

Thank you to all the workers who made the Card Party a success.  This charity fundraising event was held on Friday,

 October 27, 2023 

from 11 am to 4 pm at St. Bernard of Claivaux Catholic Church, 1 St. Bernard Lane, Bella Vista.  

The lunch, raffles, and games were enjoyed by all.   

If you would like to be added to the email list to receive advance notification of the card party and when registration opens next year, send an email indicating your interest to bvgccardparty@gmail.com.

Table setup, kitchen workers, raffle baskets and items and donor poster.

The party

September 28, 2023 Bella Vista Memorial Garden Cemetery Work Day

Sixteen volunteers came out on a beautiful Fall morning to clean up the cemetery’s garden beds for winter.  Cemetery committee co-chairs are Mary Doyle and Patti Brierly. 

1. Pictured L to R: Nanette Prewitt , Pat Meyer, Kathy Pannell

2. L to R:  Deidre Cheney, Janet Conboy, Marilyn Russell, Jeanie Talbott.  

3. Pictured L to R: Bottom row, Beth Walker and Debbie Reeves.  Middle row, Dagmar Roeder, Jan Grim, Rosalie Mikelson, Patti Brierly, Penny Bossert and Mary Doyle.   Back row Steve Brusso.

Veterans Wall of Honor

This just in from Steve Brusso  (click the arrow)

With the main parking area closed for “construction”, there isn’t much pedestrian activity at the Wall of Honor but I want to share a few pics of our beds.  That last 4” of rain has resulted in a pretty good growth spurt for our plants.  Dory has been kind to mention our beds in our August news letter. It is appropriate for me to mention others that have made significant contributions to this endeavor.

It certainly does take a village.  Fall planting is planned for early October…I’m looking forward to this.

Beautification Committee

Sue Santori, Beautification committee chair, and her committee worked at the Bella Vista sign on July 19, 2023.  

Helpers included Virginia Halman, Cathy Downard, Deidre Cheney, Eric Johnson, Dory Hammeke and Dave.

The National Garden Club's Path of Success 

Roughly 1/4 mile long, the Path of Success will be a walking path located on the grounds of NGC's headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri and will link to the Missouri Botanical Gardens, spreading more awareness of NGC than ever before. This project will also serve as an educational platform, showing the rich history and mission of NGC.

Linked below is a form for regions, districts, clubs, affiliates and individuals to purchase a paver to be installed in the NGC Path of Success.

A second form to donate to this project is also linked below.

We thank you for your participation in this exciting new project!

GARDENING TIPS

It’s a good idea to include native plants in your landscape. 

Native plants are already acclimated to conditions in your area and, therefore, require much less maintenance, plus they feed and shelter local wildlife, birds and butterflies.  Not every plant native to the United States is native to a particular zone.  Take zone 6, for instance.  What hardy native plants are suited for USDA zone 6?  Read on to find out about zone 6 native plants.  The selection of zone 6 native plants is quite diverse, with everything from bushes and trees to annuals and perennials.  Incorporating a variety of these into your garden fosters the ecosystem and local wildlife and creates biodiversity in the landscape.

Since these native plants have spent centuries adapting to local conditions, they require less water, fertilizer, spraying or mulching than those that are not indigenous to the area.  They have, over time, become accustomed to many diseases as well.

This is a partial listing of plants suited for USDA zone 6.  Your local extension office will also be able to assist you in choosing those that are suited for your landscape.  Before you purchase plants, be sure to ascertain light exposure, soil type, the size of the mature plant and the purpose of the plant for a selected site.  The following lists are sectioned off into sun lovers, partial sun, and shade lovers.

Sun worshippers include: 

Native plants for USDA zone 6 that thrive in partial sun include: 

Shade dwellers native to USDA zone 6 include: 

Looking for native trees? Look into: 

Read more at Gardening Know How: Zone 6 Native Plants – Growing Native Plants In USDA Zone 6

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/gardening-by-zone/zone-6/zone-6-native-plants.htm

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.

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

Jeff Cox
Artistic Touches by Cathy Wayson