Before I joined my garden club ordered bulbs in bulk for sharing. I hope we can do it again and also share seeds. We visit local ecological vegetable farms, public gardens and parks with special features, our own gardens and local private gardens of some fame. We organize a country walk in spring to a beauty spot where one of us has made a fire for a barbecue in advance. Last year we had a talk by a remarkable woman farmer who grows several old varieties of grains like spelt and visited her farm in summer to buy flour and taste and buy her bread. We arrange plant fairs on a small scale twice a year and sell our surplus plants and produce. This fall we will have a pelargonium competition. Each contestant starts with a cutting of the same size and the same variety (Wilhelm Langguth) supplied by a member who is a collector. Next week we will visit a local nursery after hours where we get reduced prices when we come as group. The owner gives a short talk about novelties and any plants of distinction. This post was edited by mariannese on Fri, May 16, 14 at 6:09

MAN, I WISH I could come...that is not a time I can make it though. I sure would LOVE to! I remember some of the stuff Jeff told us about before. They have some GREAT stuff! I am so jealous, if you can go I would suggest it! WOW! HEY JEFF!!! (WAVING) :) Fran

I know I haven't posted here in a long time, but I wanted to let this group know about our upcoming garden tour. Funds raised will help with our community service projects and help fund our Helen M. Logan Allen Garden Club scholarship for Allen High School seniors who plan on majoring in a horticulture related field in college. If you live in Collin County, this is going to be a spectacular garden tour! The 7th Allen Garden Club Tour showcases a variety of landscape options The Allen Garden Club will showcase beautiful and unique landscapes at local homes during its 7th garden tour on Saturday, June 4. The tour is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will be held rain or shine. Each garden features something a little different—from shade gardening and vegetable gardening to a certified wildlife habitat with a beautiful selection of native and adapted plants, says club president Denise Webre. Also on the tour are the trial gardens at the Allen Public Library, which were created along with the Collin County Master Gardeners. “There are many environmental challenges in North Texas and trial gardens allow us to grow and evaluate a variety of plants to see how they hold up to the soil, sudden drops in temperatures, extreme heat of summer and varied rainfall.” Denise explains. Guests are invited to go at their own pace to visit the gardens, which are located in Allen and Parker. Each tour spot will feature free seeds and bottled water, as well as baskets filled with garden and gifts items that will be raffled off. Raffle tickets will be sold at each garden for $1 each or six for $5. Tour ticket booklets will be available throughout May and up until the day of the tour at Puckett's Nursery and Landscape, 811 East Main St. in Allen for a $10 donation to the garden club. A limited number of tour book tickets are available at the following Calloway's Nurseries: 2460 Hwy. 121, Plano; 1621 Custer Rd., Plano; and 4050 El Dorado Pkwy., McKinney. Funds raised from the tour will be used for community service projects and the Helen M. Logan Allen Garden Club scholarship for Allen High School seniors planning to get a degree in a horticulture-related field. The mission of the Allen Garden Club is to: educate the community about natural gardening practices and the benefits of gardening, encourage people to conserve natural resources, and participate in community service projects. The club meets at 7 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month (except January and July) at the Allen Heritage Center Train Depot, 100 E. Main Street in downtown Allen. For more information, visit www.allengardenclub.org or contact Denise Webre, AGC President at allengardenclub@yahoo.com. https://allen.bubblelife.com/community/allen_reporter/library/35662521/key/351941682

When the owner was asked by another visitor if she would be open again next year, she grimaced about the amount of work but I have a feeling her gardens are that spectacular every year (and weed free). She said she bought the property across the road and was planning an apple orchard. I feel lucky to have gone this year. She recommended Christopher Lloyd's book on succession gardening. Danielle's sister's garden in Nashua used to be on Open Days several years ago although I visited when it was on the local garden tour to raise money for the symphony. She was at Danielle's when I visited. Said her garden had a lot of vole and rabbit damage this year so she has lost a lot of plants. She had already started downsizing her tropical collection she planted in pots and next year when her husband retires, they plan to do a lot of traveling. I don't think her garden will ever be open to the public again which is a shame because she gardens on a small suburban neighborhood lot with a steep backyard slope that's shady. No professional landscape designer but she did need some gardening help. Lucky you to have visited the Epsom garden 10 years ago so to know how much it has changed. Funny thing, I didn't notice the pollinators but I did notice how well the red in the red and cream sunflowers along the side of the garage marched the paint color. Comments were made that the dark red was a great back drop for all the colors. It was painted three years ago ... I wonder how the painters dealt with all the plants? Maybe it was fall.