The Red Bluff Garden Club had its first meeting of the 2024-2025 garden club year on Tuesday, August 27. Garden club years generally begin in August or September and end in June, skipping some of the hot summer months.
Our speaker was Cynthia Meschi, a local iris entrepreneur. She gave tips and suggestions on growing irises and offered members iris plants for purchase. It was a great welcome meeting!
Our club is currently sponsoring a National Garden Club Flower Show School here in Red Bluff! There are 18 participants registered for this class, which will be held August 28-30. NGC Flower Schools are taught by NGC accredited teachers, and the teachers for this class come from Florida and Illinois!
This is Course II of a four-part school. Each course has a specific curriculum that includes horticulture, design and flower show procedures. One purpose of flower show schools is to provide learning opportunities for garden club members interested in becoming an NGC accredited flower show judge. The course is 2 1/2 days long and an exam is offered for those who wish to become judges.
Many of the participants come to learn more about horticulture and design techniques or how their clubs might host an NGC flower show. The knowledge gained naturally enables one to attend flower shows with a good background and some experience!
Dottie Renstrom is the president of this school offered here in Red Bluff. Dottie stated, “I would like to thank the members of the Red Bluff Garden Club for their generous support of time and money to bring this 4-semester, 2-year National Garden Club program to Red Bluff. We are able to support world-class instructors from across the United States who share their expertise in flower show procedures, horticulture and floral design.”
In addition to the flower show schools, there are also NGC schools for the environment, horticulture and landscape design offered by garden clubs. These schools are located throughout the United States, either in person or partially via Zoom. For more information on these four schools, visit gardenclub.org or californiagardenclubs.com.
We also encourage you to mark your calendars for our Red Bluff Garden Club Fall Luncheon at the Rolling Hills Casino on October 12th of this year. Chris Hunter, owner of Magnolia Garden & Gift and The Plant Barn, will be presenting a program on plants appropriate for our area as part of our Secret Gardens event!
This is a plated meal with two salads to choose from as an appetizer. There will be vendors, baskets and silent auction items, our all-time popular centerpiece drawings, and some prizes. So pick out your favorite gardening hat (there will be some prizes for hats), call a few friends, and come join us for a fun day of gardening inspiration! Call or text Judy Paul, 530-200-5013, to get your ticket. All tickets, $30, must be ordered and prepaid prior to the event. The last day to place your order is October 4th.
With these activities, we’re sure to have a great year! We have even more events planned, such as our Scholarship Christmas Boutique & Green Sale in December. Our RBGC meets on the last Tuesday of most months and welcomes guests who would like to consider “growing with us.” Meetings are held at 1 p.m. in the First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, 525 David Ave. in Red Bluff.
Red Bluff Garden Club, Inc. is a member of the Cascade District, California Garden Clubs, Inc., Pacific Region Garden Clubs, Inc. and National Garden Clubs, Inc.
