Dahlia Program - March 24, 2016

Thinking Ahead...Willow Garden Tour!

Your club is looking for entries in the Annual Willow Garden Tour.  Do you have a gardening neighbor/friend or have you spotted a garden that could be included in the Tour?  Entries can be a traditional flower collection, unusual landscape design, vegetables, container gardening or even a greenhouse.  How about a WIP (work in progress) that we could follow up the next year?

We need to start NOW.  Send us names/numbers/location.

Bet you're thinking about gardening. Doubt you'd be here reading the blog if you were not!  We have another weekend of Willow Carnival, then Valentine's Day, Iditarod, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, April Fools Day,  Earth Day, Mother's Day, Memorial Day and whatever else you may celebrate between now and Summer Gardening!!  Enjoy ... and do offer ideas of properties to visit during  the Willow Garden Tour.
 
Before long, you'll start hearing about some fine programs and activities planned for Willow Garden Club 2016.

Cheers!

Holiday Topiary Project -- Saturday, December 19

Great news!  You can pay your $10 dues for 2016 now.  Simply mail a check to Kathy Mailer, PO Box 947, Willow 99688.  Please include your mailing address and phone number(s) and any changes to update your contact information.  

Membership period is January 1 through December 31.  

 

 Looking ahead to the next Willow Garden Club Activity

Register and mark your calendar if you'd like to participate.

Time For Some Club News

The Willow Garden Club has much for which to be THANKFUL and wishes all its members a special Thanksgiving shared with family and friends.

Our next club event will be on Dec. 19, when the plan is to create topiaries for the holidays.  A flyer for this activity will be mailed to members and will also be posted on this blog.  Please watch for details and join in on another WGC event.

As a followup to the October workshop, which began as a vase-making experience and morphed to a make- something-of-porcelain event, here are photos of pieces made, plus some of the participants claiming their finished creations:

A variety of forms, sizes, and surface treatments!

Daggi 's slender vase glazed in sage and crimson

Rachel chose floating blue for her tall vase

Lynn worked with embellishing plates

Nina's ruffled bowl, glazed in floating blue, can serve many purposes.

Ronda and Jordan selected Amber Tea Dust for their pieces

That wraps up the October event, provides best wishes for November, and gives you something to look forward to on the Saturday before Christmas -- Dec. 19.

Vase-Making Workshop -- We Did It Oct. 15

In November there is not a Willow Garden Club event -- it's our month of rest, supposedly.  Please come back soon to see details on the December event, which is likely to be a workshop to create holiday topiaries.  What fun that will be!

Speaking of fun, we had some on Oct. 15 at the Vase-Making Workshop.

For most participants it was a first experience of working with porcelain. For others, it was returning to an activity they had done loooooooong ago and they wanted to see how they liked it as an adult.  Lots of experimenting, discovering, visiting, and even chuckling along the way.

After wedging the clay and being advised of a few studio protocols and porcelain characteristics, the potters began their work.  Clay was rolled into slabs, cut, altered, compressed, attached, stamped, and compressed some more before being covered lightly to begin a slow drying process. 

The morning group focused on vases -- some tall and thin, others short and asymetrical.  The afternoon potters made vases, some bowls, small plates, cookie stamps, garden stakes, sugar keepers, and even a spoon rest.  Workshop pieces have been bisque fired and are currently at this stage of the process:

Beautiful in white .  These were fired in the kiln for 20 hours and 19 minutes.

 
A few photos will help share the activity

-- but they do not tell it all. Glazing and another firing are yet to come. 

She's ready and rarin' to go!

It's good to have smart phones and buddies.

All smiles -- and rested after the gardening season?

She's thinking it through.

Yes, there was supervision.

Watching from afar when her work was done.

 If others have photos of the clay day to share, please send them to Carol.  Hopefully we'll get pictures of the potters and their pots once the pieces are ready to go home.

You, too, can enjoy Willow Garden Club Programs.  Become a member so you don't miss out on the announcements -- just $10 a year.  Renewals and new memberships for 2016 can be sent to Kathy Mailer, PO Box 947, Willow, AK 99688.

New officers were determined in October and those attending the Harvest Dinner signed up to serve on committees.  There's still room for more members, more volunteer help, and more learning and fun in the Willow Garden Club.  We'd love to hear from you!!

Vase Making With Porcelain is next!

The Harvest Dinner was a small gathering of folks, delicious food, and productive discussion.  The meeting focused on recruiting members to commit to committees and to assume leadership roles in WGC. It takes time, talent, and dedication to keep the Club's many activities and programs moving forward and it appears there are new and returning gardeners willing to commit for 2016.  It also appears that there is still plenty of room on the "organizational chart" for additional volunteers, so if you missed out on the opportunity to sign up at the dinner, please don't miss out on signing up for committee work with your friends and fellow gardeners.  Where will you help?

Next Event:  Vase Making With Porcelain -- Thursday, October 15 
One group will meet 10-1; a different group will meet 2-5.

This event is at WillowAK Pottery on Shirley Lake. The workshop will include a demo, instruction, and time for you to create a porcelain vase which eventually will be fired, glazed, and fired again. Come with your ideas and expect a fun half-day in the studio. Club members have priority until Oct. 10 securing their registration with a $30 fee for materials and processing. Checks should be made to Willow Garden Club. Hopefully you'll end up with a piece you like and have a good time creating it!

For additional info and registration, send a message to Carol Goltz at willowakpottery@gmail.com

Harvest Dinner Flyer

Have you marked your calendar?  Invited a friend and/or neighbor to join you?   If you have any questions about this event for all of Willow, please get in touch:  willowgardenclub.gmail.com

Hope to see you there!

Harvest Dinner for Community -- Thursday, Sept. 17

This is a community-wide event for sharing all things "harvested" -- and for a good time.  It's a potluck and it is free.

Following the dinner will be the annual Willow Garden Club meeting focusing on an opportunity for members and potential members to consider where they'd like to volunteer with Club activities in 2016. Hopefully all will see a spot where they could be of help in keeping Willow Garden Club alive and well in the community. Please give some thought ahead of time to where your interests and talents would best fit. 

The more the merrier at the Harvest Dinner! Please extend an invitation to neighbors and other friends. If you didn't harvest something to bring to the potluck, bring what someone else grew, shot, caught, or picked.  It will all work out!

Visit this blog again soon and you'll find a flyer about the event.  This is simply a preliminary "heads up" message so you save Sept. 17 for the Harvest Dinner,  a potluck organized by the Willow Garden Club.

Agenda for August 20 Meeting! See you there!!

Willow Garden Club - Thursday, August 20 @ 7:00 PM - Community Center

AGENDA
Guest Speaker: Jeff Graham, AK Div. of Forestry -Forest Rehabilitation

Gardening Under Construction: Club Service Project introduction

Annual Harvest Dinner - September 17.  "Your Garden Club"  Think about how the Club can serve your needs and of ways you can contribute to the Club.

Carpool visit to Sockeye-impacted properties  

See you Thursday,
Your Willow Garden Club

willowgardenclub@hotmail.com
willowgardenclub.blogspot.com

Forest Rehabilitation Program -- August 20

In case you haven't heard elsewhere, the Dan Hinkley program on Aug. 1 was chalked up as educational, entertaining, fun, and a very successful Willow Garden Club event.  Many people worked hard to make all that happen!  If you would like a more active role in planning, implementing, and participating in WGC events, please send a note to Willow Garden Club to say so!  It takes lots of volunteers to offer the many programs and events throughout the year.

Moving on to the next event: