Garden Club plans sale, summer projects

Members and guests of the Town and Country Garden Club held the group’s first meeting of 2025 at Trinity Lutheran Church in New Richland the evening of March 3 with 15 people attending; the club boasts 20 members altogether.

There is no cost or obligation to join the organization, which was established in 1965 and has the motto “Educate, Cultivate, Decorate.” Anyone interested in joining is invited to attend a club meeting: they take place at 6:30 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church the first Monday of each month March through June and September through November.

Individuals are also invited to help with club projects whether they are members or not. Information is available from any club member.

Three projects were discussed during the meeting.

One topic was the May 17 plant sale, the organization’s only fundraiser, scheduled from 9 to 11:30 that morning. For the sale, club members bring plants they have started themselves or split from their own perennials and from the city garden, as well as some annuals from local nurseries. The intent is to have the sale on the open lot along Hwy. 30 between the high school and Neighbor’s Meats if it is still available for their use. The location has been the site of the sale the past few years.

Members addressed the question of whether to alter the configuration of the club’s garden along Hwy. 30. At issue was a nearby city water pipe which city crews had trouble mowing around last summer because the mower did not fit easily between the pipe and some of the garden plants. The choice was between increasing the size of the garden to incorporate the pipe or reducing it slightly to leave wider space. The consensus was to alter the shape of the garden slightly so the mower would have a straighter, smoother path.

It was also reported regarding the garden that the group’s sign has been stabilized, and should be less susceptible to movement caused by wind.

Members discussed how well planting the garden had gone in 2024 when the high school’s “service day” supplied 10 teenagers to help put in the rows of petunias. They decided to contact service day planners and request that the same assistance be made available again.

The types and configurations of plants to be used this summer was discussed briefly, but the issue of weeding got a bit more attention. Commenting good-naturedly that it seemed odd to consider the question of weeding prior to a predicted snowstorm, club members nonetheless worked out a plan to select periodic times when everyone available would meet and work together to weed the garden. Members commiserated regarding Bindweed, a creeping weed which troubles not only the community garden, but their home gardens as well.

When the question of how often such meetings would be needed was raised, member Barb Finseth commented with a smile, “It depends how much rain we get.”

Also discussed were the freestanding planter near the city hall and the small garden there. Club members complimented Finseth on how the planters had looked in 2024; she said she welcomes help if other club members wish to assist this summer.

Club member Brenda Berg reported she had been contacted by New Richland Care Center administrator Don Alexander asking whether she, and perhaps one or two other club members, would be willing to work with facility residents in starting plants from seeds, then transplanting them, when ready, to raised outdoor gardens.

She explained Alexander hoped it could be a summer-long project which would entice residents outdoors for all the associated tasks, including planting, watering, and weeding. The six raised beds are at different heights, she added, so that residents in wheelchairs would also be able to reach.

Berg told club members the first step, placing seeds into small starter containers, is scheduled from 2 to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12. Because that time falls during the typical workday, members said they would have to check their schedules, but the hope was expressed at least 2 more people would be able to assist.

Club members include Valerie Bartelt, Deloris Bartholmy, Bob Battenfeld, Brenda Berg, Stacy Bethke, Julie Economy, Charles Espe, Barb Finseth, Laurie Goodnough, Jody Johnson, Elizabeth ArthurKnutson, Kris Pfeffer, Chris Possin, Joan Proehl, Rachel Romine, Sheryl Schanil, Eleanor Schlaak, Diane Smith and Lori Tuchtenhagen.