2009 Garden Walk

Can you believe that this was the Roseglen Garden Club's 5th Annual Garden Walk?

We started this wonderful tradition when the neighbor girls were just 5, 7 and 7-years old. One afternoon, I was teaching the girls some plant names (Snapdragon was a favorite) and having them touch and smell all the flowers, when one of the girls looked at me seriously and said, "Mrs. Reeves, I think people would pay for this."

So cute! I explained the idea of a Garden Walk and how communities often offer free events in the name of education. "We" had a berry garden, herbs, roses and flowers..."we" could teach people all about them.

I told them that we could host a Garden Walk if they made and handed out tickets to the neighbors. I would pick a date with their mothers and provide the brownies and lemonade.

Fast-forward 5 years and imagine our seasoned garden club members (age 10, 12, 12) pointing out the nasturtiums, identifying a few roses by name and "asking after" the Bleeding Heart. That is success, my friends. These girls will love gardens forever.

Paul McCartney Rose

It is time to get out our calenders and pick a date for the Roseglen Garden Club's Annual Garden Walk.

There is a mental checklist we go through to know when the time is right.

• Are there many rosebuds about to open?
• Are the hydrangeas blooming?
• Is the herb pot thriving?
• Are the nasturtiums ready?

The answer to those questions is: Yes Yes Yes!

(This beauty is the The McCartney rose!)

Garden Walk 2008

When you are 11 years old and you are hosting your 4th Annual Garden Walk, you really feel like an expert. The garden looked great, the lemonade was cold, the sweets & treats were on platters and the programs had been printed. We were ready. I can only imagine my Garden Club girls (age 9,11,11) in college someday talking about all of this. We tasted raspberries from the bushes, touched the lavender and smelled our hands, nibbled on nasturtium blossoms and investigated which herbs smelled like York Peppermint Patties (Chocolate Mint) and which smelled like Christmas trees (Rosemary). They showed the other children and parents which roses they liked best and explained how, in the Spring, the ants eat the sticky off the peony buds. One girl pointed out the lone Forget-Me-Not blossom and another said that her favorite part of the Morning Glory is when it gets all "twisty." Mother Nature would be proud.

Garden Walk 2007

Tonight is the Roseglen Garden Club Annual Garden Walk. We had a mini-meeting last night and the plans are set. Refreshments will be lemon bars, brownies, & lemonade. The girls have made the invitations & tickets - with plans to hand-deliver this afternoon. I've finished the Garden Walk program/map and will provide the card table & paper goods. What is really happening? Three girls under 10 are showing off their flower knowledge to their parents and a few lovely neighbors while we walk around my house and finish with snacks on the driveway. Never underestimate the power of "making your own fun."