April 2024 Meeting

April 10, 2024 Nora Boekhout

It was a double-barreled extravaganza this month…
choosing your “sure to win” Competition Plants AND the Silent Auction!
Both activities took a lot of concentration!

The plants all looked healthy and vigorous, so it was hard to choose!
It will be exciting to see how these plants have grown by August.
There were a great assortment of items on the Silent Auction table.
Some were purchased as great gifts for others and some just for ourselves!

We also had some good discussions arising from the Display Table.

Melanie G. talked about growing 3 Begonia tubers in exactly the same conditions but they grew very differently (tall, medium, not at all) which indicates that the tubers themselves were not the same quality. Lidy and Lorna agreed that Fibrous begonias seem more reliable than the tubers for our plant competitions. Most tubers come from Belgium now.
Melanie also explained about growing standard Fuchsias. They have to be 12” to be classified as a standard and not a bush.
Larry talked about using a wick system with African violets. The wick must be acrylic as cotton or wool will rot. Be sure to soak the string in hot soapy water to remove the chemicals.

As always, there was a delicious assortment of goodies for tea time. Lidy has been trying out recipes from the Club Recipe book. Last month the feature was Lynne F.’s cookies and this month it was Fran C.’s baking. Both were heartily enjoyed by members, with the extra bonus that we could fondly remember these dear ladies at the same time!

Show Table judging was done by Ron K and the winner was a virtually “perfect” miniature African Violet (“The Alps”) by Melanie G. Lorna H. judged the Bloom winners: Beacon fuchsia by Nora B., and a red Pelargonium by Elaine D. At this time there are still no Begonia entries.