reg merritt of twigs and stems april speaker of the...

April 2017 Vol. 2017, Issue 8

Member of CGCI Valley Lode District – Pacific RegionA Publication of Modesto Garden Club, Inc.

Reg Merritt of Twigs and StemsApril Speaker of the Month

A fortuitous opportunity arose for Reg to showcase his innate talent when he opened Twigs and Stems, a floral design studio, with his life partner and wife, Rebecca Merritt

He has created an epicurean feast for the eyes that is in a class of its own displaying his inherent ability to integrate various mediums, textures and color. Reg had established himself as an innovator in the floral arts. He is a designer’s designer whose creativity is unsurpassed. He has been a featured designer in numerous floral publications. He was selected to be a designer at the Bouquets to Art at the De Young Museum in San Francisco

Twiggs and Stems is located in a vine covered building at 429 McHenry Avenue in Modesto.

Spring Garden TourBy Gerry Yockey

I will be selling tickets to the Spring Garden Tour at the April meeting. The tickets are still $20 for adults and children ten and under are $10. I am really excited about this coming tour on the 22nd of April. There will be something for everyone’s taste. One of the homes on the list is one of my favorites. It is an English Cottage home built in 1927. It is a landmark preservation site for the City of Modesto. This home has a gabled entry and we will be able to view the inside of the prestigious home.

This home is just one example of what to look forward to on the tour. The gardens are all luscious; the committee thinks

this may be the best Spring Garden Tour we have ever had! There is still time to sign up to be a docent at one of the homes on the tour.

This is the biggest fundraiser of the year and enables Modesto Garden Club to continue beautifying Modesto! Please lend a helping hand by giving a few hours of your time to meet and

greet the tour goers. See you at the April meeting.

President’s MessageBy Dan Yockey

It looks like everyone is in the same boat this Spring trying to catch up on all of the yard work we have let go because of all the rain. As I drive downtown it seems like everyone has a pile of tree branches piled in the gutter from the high winds we experienced last month. We were lucky and only had one section of fence blow down.

Speaking about fences, by the time you read this you will notice the wrought iron fence around the perimeter of the Garden Club office. This was necessary because of the increasing vandalism and destruction of flowers and shrubs at the office. If you have a key to the office it will be the same as the front gate.

The April meeting will be our “general meeting” for the year. Election of new and retained club officers will be held at this meeting. Induction will take place at the May meeting.

Everyone is looking forward to this year’s Spring Garden Tour April 22nd. It will be one of our best tours as all of the homes on tour have unique personalities.

Tickets went on sale at the March meeting but there is still time to pick up a packet of five tickets to sell or purchase as gifts to friends or co-workers. Your support is needed to be able to retain the high quality of programs the Garden Club provides for its members.

Yours in Gardening,Dan

Over the Garden Gate

Calendar of Upcoming Events• April 4 - Planters and Groomers, Garden Club

Office,9a.m.

• April 5 - San Francisco Flower & Garden Show $55.

• April11–Multimedia,GardenClubOffice,9:30a.m.

• April 11-- Hackers and Whackers, Modesto Senior Centerat9a.m.

• April13-MonthlyMeeting Location:TRINITYUNITEDPRESBYTERIANCHURCH,1600CARVERRD.,MODESTO. Hospitality:10:00a.m.–11:20a.m. LearnandGrow:10:15a.m.to11:20a.m.,GeorgeSabokrooh of Modesto Exotic Flowers - Floral designwithexoticflowers. GeneralMeeting:11:30a.m.–1:15p.m.Mainspeaker:RegMerrittofTwigsandStems

• April 18--Planters and Groomers, Garden Club Office,9a.m.

• April25–MultimediaattheGardenClubOffice,9:30a.m.

• April25–HackersandWhackers,ModestoSeniorCenterat9a.m.

• April27–MGCIBoardMeeting,ClubOffice, 9a.m.-noon

• April22--SPRINGGARDENTOUR Beadocent!

• May1—DuesareDuefor2017-18.

• May11-MGCIGeneralMeeting.


Over the Garden GatePublished 10 times a year, September-June, by the Modesto Garden Club, Inc.

President: Dan YockeyContributing Writers this month:

Pixie Kinser, Mary Lou Rice, Judy Spencer, Edie Westerman, Dan Yockey, Gerry YockeyCopy/ Text Editor: Mary Lou Rice, [email protected]

Advertisements, Fliers and Photos: Mary Lou Rice (209) 869-3584 [email protected]:www.modestogardenclub.org Email:[email protected]:622-14thStreetModesto,CA.95354-2505 209529-7360(openWednesdays,9a.m.-noon)

AnnualSummerLuncheon-2017By Linda Pedego and Joyce Smith

Another spectacular event coming up in June – You don’t want to miss!LuncheonTicketInformation

Tickets to the Summer Luncheon to be held on June 8 at Del Rio Country Club will go on sale at the April 13th general meeting. Ticket cost for the luncheon is $35.

Remember… tickets to these outstanding events go fast so come prepared to buy your ticket the day of the meeting. Cash, checks and credit card payments are accepted.

Tickets will be sold on a FIRST COME-FIRST SERVED basis. After all seats have been sold, a Waiting List will be started. Please call Linda Pedego after April 13 for more information about ticket purchase(s) or to be added to the Waiting List.ViewingTicketInformation

Table viewing only will be held on Wednesday, June 7, 2017 from 1 pm to 7 pm and table viewing also on Thursday, June 8 from 10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. Viewing tickets are $10 and are available at the May General meeting or at the door day of event.

A couple of photographs from a day at the Modesto Garden Club Office. Pictured at left are Deanna Clark and Norene Dexter. Deanna is in the photo above as well.

Forget-Me-Not-SpotBy Edie Westerman

Spring has arrived with all its glory. I love the Spring time! Nothing makes me happier to see all the new growth of flowers and leafing of trees. Enjoy your Spring gardening and spending time in your yards with family and friends.

Happy birthday to all those born in April! Enjoy your birthday month!

In March, 33 birthday cards were sent out. Vendor thank you’s were sent out to all of our generous businesses that donate to our raffatunity. Please remember to visit the wonderful businesses that donate so willingly every month.

Please call or text me (Edie) at (209) 204-8053 to let me know of members who may need cards sent to them. You are also welcome to email me at ediejw@hotmail. Please note in the subject line “Modesto Garden Club” so I won’t miss your email.

Until next time remember: “April hath put a spirit of Spring in Everything.” William Shakespeare


MarchBringsWithIt‘TheWearin’oftheGreen’The March Modesto Garden Club General Meeting

Celebrates St. Patrick’s Day and the Coming of Spring Together!


Planters and GroomersBy Gerry Yockey

We have been so busy getting the yard in shape for the Spring Garden Tour. Because of the vandalism from the “Street People”, it has taken longer to get everything in shape. We had to replant some of the pansies, and reshape the bushes, and general clean up.

The ladies and guys have been such good sports and helped out in so many ways. Judy Crisp is still helping in the kitchen and setting things up. Jerry Frad and Judy Silber trimmed the roses and cleaned up the debris. Sharon Searls and Pat Williams worked in the back yard. Thanks to Jerry Frad we got the lawn cut. Dan was all over the place, cleaning, cutting, and making life easy for us at the office. Mary McNicholas was trimming the roses too.

The best thing that happened was Judy Silber brought us a homemade cake that was delicious! And of course, the fence. It has kept the unwanted people out and kept our office and yard safe.

I am hoping that if anyone is interested in joining us on the first Tuesday and the third Tuesday at 9:00AM, please come. You are always welcome....PS you don’t have to know that much about flowers.


HelpUsFindThatNextIntriguingAreaGarden

By Judy SpencerThis is easy - anytime you see a

garden that has potential to be Garden of the Month, just send me a text with the address. That’s all I need. I would like to build up a nice list of potential places, hopefully from many areas of Modesto.

Pretty gardens are always wonderful, but I’m also interested in gardens where a problem has been solved, like a difficult corner lot, or a switch to drought tolerant plantings, or a design that reclaims some use of the front yard.

It’s that simple. Just text me the address at 524-8436 and I will check it out and talk to the homeowner.

In advance, thank you for your help, and I look forward to getting many suggestions from all parts of Modesto.

Sow the Seeds of FriendshipBy Mary Lou Rice

Spring is finally here. We did have a more protracted winter season than we normally have so spring is definitely welcome. We will have a number of opportunities in the upcoming months to get together for the benefit of our community and do some fun work. There is another benefit from joining the work crews around town. You meet some great people and have a chance to get to know them better in a really casual setting.

• Try joining Pixie and the Hackers and Whackers at the Senior Center on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month

• Get together with Gerry and the Planters and Groomers at the MGC Office on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month

• Come sit in on a Multimedia training session at the MGC Office on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month. You might find you really like the group

• Be a Docent at the Spring Garden Tour April 22, 2017• Watch your Newsletter to see when we will be replanting the pots

downtown and join in the fun…share lunch afterward at the OfficeThese are all great ways to get involved with the Garden Club and to

make the Modesto Garden Club more visible to the community. You will also find that if you sow the seeds of friendship you will reap

the rewards of those friends and their support through the years to come.

A pretty planting pot can enhance any type of flora as these workshop enthusiasts above have discovered.

ClubWorkshopBloomswithColor


GettingtoKnowYou~DonnaSilvaI was born Donna Ann Mullesch in Oakland, California to my parents

Frank and Betty. I’m the oldest of three children. My sister Susan, brother Jim and I were raised in San Lorenzo.

I met my husband, Art, when I was 17 years old and in high school. We married in August of 1968 and will be married 49 years this year. We have two children. Our daughter Jeannine and her husband Wayne and son Nathan, 13, and daughter Aubrie, 9, live in Orlando, Florida. Our son Casey and his son Lukas, 10, live here in Modesto.

While living in Dublin, California in 1984 we had the opportunity to host a 15-year-old Japanese student in our home for three weeks. Three weeks turned into four years and a high school graduation. Etsuko and her husband, Kaoru, daughters, Kilala Donna, 21 and Biyu Ann, 18, and son, Huwali Arthur, 12, live in Tokyo. We see each other not enough but whenever we can.

We moved here to Modesto in 1986. Before retiring in 2003 I worked retail sales for 20 years. First at Beverly Fabrics as an assistant manager. Briefly at a crafters co-op near the mall, Crafters Outlet. Next was Michaels Arts and Crafts where I was a Floral and Display Designer, and a District Floral Designer traveling to other stores, for over ten years.

The best job I had along with my “day job” was a part time job at the Disney Store at Vintage Faire Mall. For a child of the 50s and a lifelong Mouseketeer this was a dream job. I met great friends there and had many wonderful adventures because of that job. There were cast member Minnie’s Moonlit Madness scavenger hunts at Disneyland, proceeds going to local charities, Pirates of the Caribbean World Premiers and the discounts to name a few! I worked for the store for almost 10 years.

Besides Disney I have many hobbies. I’ve taken and given many classes. I enjoy crafting and sewing and travel. Of course, I enjoy gardening.

I joined the Modesto Garden Club in 2000. I enjoy the guest speakers and the meetings and activities. I am currently on the Luncheon Committee. For the past few years I have been responsible for the refreshment table at the December and June luncheons.– Donna

WhackersandHackers,April2017By Pixie Kinser

GREETINGS! Besides keeping an eye on the weather; we’ve been pulling weeds. Our motto is “don’t let them get started”. I guess the reason for our name “The Whackers & Hackers”! We can always use more help. As a reminder, we meet the 2nd & 4th, Tuesday at the Senior Center on Bodem and Scenic Dr. We start at 9:00 but will change to 8:30 when the weather starts to change. Please come join us!

SPRING IS HERE! Some of our perennials at the Senior Center are beginning to show new growth to announce the onset of Spring. The lavender-blue flowers of the Vinca have started to appear. In full pink bloom is the Bergenia, near the side entrance to the Senior Center. Iris and Daffodils are making an appearance along with the massive display of white Alyssum. You can’t miss the Razzleberry with its striking dark pink blossoms next to the Viburnum ‘s white, lacy flowers. Also the Camellias are loaded with blooms! YES, SPRING IS HERE!

Mariposa Master Gardeners Program Present

the 12th Annual 2017SPRINGGARDENTOUR

Saturday,April1,20179:30am-4:30pm

Featuring 5 Private Homes in the Lake Don Pedro Area. $12 Advance Tickets; $15 Day of Tour.

• Ticketsavailableat:UCCEMariposaOfficeand atSierraFlowersinCoulterville,orfromanyMaster Gardener

• Makecheckspayableto:U.C.Regents

• Youcanalsobuyticketswithyourcreditcard online@http://cemariposa.ucanr.edu

• All guests must have tickets, including children not in arms


622 14th StreetModesto, CA 95354-2505

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reg merritt of twigs and stems april speaker of the...

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