The Merry Weather Garden Club met on
Tuesday the 19th of August, 2014 at the home of Patti Acheson in
Woodbury. Ellen McEwen cohosted with
Patti. Neighbors or the “Imlac Crew” made up of Phyllis Daniel, Mary Beth
Tsoukalis, and Carla Snider, all contributed to the delicious brunch served
with shrimp and grits, egg and vegetable casserole, coffee cake, zucchini,
squares, fresh fruit garnished with mint and feta, orange yeast rolls, and much
more.
Club members enjoyed touring the Acheson
home because Patti and her husband A.J. have made much of the furniture and
décor themselves. Both have a professionals’ eye and touch. Patti has recently
turned her talents to creating a stunning garden which surrounds the new
swimming pool and also she has refitted an old camper. Acheson is part of a group that goes
“glamping.” Glamourous camping as the ladies and their campers, eighty plus
meet this weekend at Stone Mountain and will enjoy shopping, wine and cheese
tasting, and chatting-definitely not the rugged outdoor experience. The camper has been painted, refitted and
upholstered in delightful fabrics. A
miniature crystal chandelier hangs over the bed! The fifth wheel is encased in
a box that has been painted to look like an earlier period trunk. Creative and clever touches in every nook
made the Acheson home, garden, and camper a fun and inspiring adventure for the
garden club.
In club business Marylyn Carter told the
club about entering the flower show last May that was a fundraiser for the art
museum in LaGrange. The Downton Abbey theme was furthered by member Jane
Morrison who was asked to bring her ancestor’s crocheted handbag, hats, and
umbrellas.
Linda Wilburn reported to the club on
the state of the Streetscapes in the county seat noting that it took four years
to do Phase 1 and she thought this phase would go faster-but no. The bids are due in September and will be awarded
in October and construction will begin immediately.
Helen Claussen reported on the 34 lots
that are covenant recorded properties around the airport that she hopes will be
developed. The county owns the land and
the lots would make a good fly in community.
Carla Snider reported on the Keep
Meriwether Beautiful workshop coming up September 9th from 1-5 at
the Commissioners’ Building. This is
training for those who want to see something done about the litter problem in
our county. Many club members plan to be
part of this and take the program into the schools and communities to
implement.
Linda Wilburn also passed out flyers
with information about purchasing a poster or posters of our seven cities. The
poster collages currently are on display at the Court Square Café and have
received rave reviews. The café and art gallery in Greenville, café in
Woodbury, and Refreshingly Country shop in Warm Springs are all part of the
Southern Loop now which goes from Fairburn to Warm Springs, LaGrange to Tyrone
in its appeal to tourists who want to see the towns that Sherman missed!
Ellen McEwen introduced her dear friend
and Cotton Pickin’ Fair exhibitor of approximately thirty five years Patricia
Hendricks of Woodland. Patricia, McEwen said, has a beautiful home and garden,
was married to the late Dr. Hendricks, a state veterinarian. Hendricks
explained she began her hobby of making pine needle baskets when “the empty nest”
occurred in her home. She praised her mentor and teacher Mrs. Corley and she
has taken classes in North Carolina and Charleston to further educate herself
and see how others make the baskets.
Hendricks praised Johnny Walker of Gay who
has a long leaf pine and saves her the needles shed every year. Hendricks
begins by washing the needles with warm soapy water and drying them. She uses
RIT dye to color them saying she had tried natural dyes but they don’t last as
well. She uses loblolly needles for smaller baskets and the miniature pieces.
Hendricks does not work from a pattern
but visualizes her creation much like a potter with clay. She uses very strong
waxed linen thread to sew the needles together.
Club members were amazed at her precise stitches that themselves make a
pretty pattern in each piece both on the outside and inside of the work. She
starts every piece with six needle leaves sometimes attached to a walnut and
builds out from there. She displayed a variety of baskets, a lovely hat, and
trays she had made. The baskets each take numerous hours to create.
A second hobby is drying hydrangeas.
Club members appreciated that she grew such beautiful large blossoms! Limelight
and Snowflake hydrangeas are two especially good varieties for this. She
mulches with chipped composted limbs and fertilizes with 10-10-10 in the
spring. She adds aluminum sulfate to keep the flowers blue and purple.
Picking at the correct time is the key
to drying hydrangeas and she does this in late July and August as the color
starts fading from the blossom. She has a log house where she hangs the blooms
from the rafters, and they are dry in a few days. She colors some with RIT dye
and boiling water. She dips until she
gets the desired color and them dries them by simply hanging them on a
clothesline. Fabric softener in water is sometimes sprayed on the bloom to
soften it for arranging.
The garden club will next meet in
September at Greenville United Methodist Church to hear our Extension Agent
Trey Gafnea discuss gardening problems and the checklist to do in the fall and to
prepare for winter.
