The LONE STAR WINTER 2019 GardenerA publication of Texas Garden Clubs, Inc. 91 years • 1928-2019 www.texasgardenclubs.org 92nd Texas Garden Club Spring Convention March 30 - April 2, 2020 The Tremont House, Galveston, TX Hosted by District IV The LONE STAR Gardener Vol. 46, No. 2 The Lone Star Gardener Winter 2019 Official Publication of Texas Garden Clubs, Inc. Published January, March, August www.texasgardenclubs.org TEXAS GARDEN CLUBS, INC. Contents Peggy Moreland, President 7719 Gran Quivira, El Paso, TX 79904 President’s Message ....................................................3 (915) 755-0557 | (915) 799-2748 National Garden Clubs, Inc. ........................................4 [email protected] South Central Region ..................................................4 _______________________________________ A Very Disturbing Environmental Headline ...............5 THE LONE STAR GARDENER The History of Arbor Day ...........................................6 Linda Jean Brown, Managing Editor 30 Waco Drive, Elkhart, TX 75839 Environmental School - Registration Form ................8 (903) 478-3264 | (903) 724-2656 The Story of Old Fort Parker ......................................9 [email protected] ‘Highlights of the Mississippi River’ ........................11 Gail Ferris Beasley TGC Life Memberships ............................................12 Advertising and Layout Editor 18056 Lakeside Lane, Nassau Bay, TX 77058 Congratulations Scholarship Winners .......................13 (281) 333-4051 | [email protected] 2020-21 Youth Themes .............................................13 Heather White, M.D., Design Editor-Floral Recommendations - 2019 TGC Fall Convention ......14 2108 Chestnut Oak Circle Friends of Headquarters Campaign Fund .................16 College Station, TX 77845 (979) 220-7545 | [email protected] TGC, Inc. - 92nd Spring Convention ........................17 TGC, Inc. - 92nd Spring Convention Schedule ........18 Sherie Clarkson, Horticultural Editor/Recipes P.O. Box 395, Mason, TX 76856 TGC, Inc. - 92nd Spring Convention Registration ...19 (325) 347-5762 | [email protected] Garden Club Member of the Year .............................20 Cecelia Lussen, Conservation Editor Calendar 2020 ...........................................................22 1944 Queen Victoria Dr, New Braunfels, TX 78130 From Your Headquarters ...........................................22 (830) 837-5262 | [email protected] Sandra Hall, Environmental Editor 706 33rd Street, Hondo, TX 78861 STATE HEADQUARTERS OFFICE (830) 426-5246 | [email protected] Jodi Zambino, Office Manager 3111 Old Garden Road Pay club dues by April 1 - Delinquent by May 31 Fort Worth, Texas 76107-3416 Clubs must be in good standing to apply for awards (817) 332-6602 • texasgardenclubs.org Subscription Rates: $5/year — $2/single copy [email protected] Deadline for the Next Issue is February 1, 2020 239 Clubs | 15 Youth Clubs/Groups | 8,496 Members | 10 Councils | 40 Affiliates Member of National Garden Clubs, Inc., 4401 Magnolia Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110 National President: Gay L. Austin, 405 Marion Avenue, McCombs, MS 39648 South Central Region Director: Linda Lawson, 406 NW 41st Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73118 2 Lone Star Gardener President’s Message HAPPY FALL Y’ ALL!! Last week I attended the 88th Fall Convention hosted by District III in Tyler. It was wonderful. Thanks go to Christine Fincher and Nita Beale the co-chairman and all their chair- man and committee members. The convention was a lot of fun, everyone dressed in costumes for the final banquet and we had a costume contest. There were so many creative cos- tumes, I am sure it was a difficult decision. The winner was a scarecrow. A few projects we are working on for the future of TGC are: Peggy Moreland A Membership Drive at Headquarter in March; the Friends TGC President (2019-2021) “Plant America - Grow Our Future” of Headquarters Campaign to raise emergency funds for TGC; a Ways and Means Trip “The Highlights of the Mississippi” river cruise November 12-16, 2020; and a complete review of the Bylaws. I know we can do it all with the support of our members. Finally, the issue with the City of Ft. Worth. We received a Lease Agreement from the City ask- ing for terms we were not willing to accept. We hired an attorney to help us with this issue. The attorney asked us to do a title search on our property and it turned out, TGC, Inc. is the name on the title. The City does not believe the title is legal. We received a letter explaining their opinion on our title. Our attorney has done the discovery and has sent the City our opinion. We are now being patient and waiting for their response. Remember, our members are our future! We need all of you to help TGC retain, recruit and revive our members. Please make this your goal. MEMBERS MATTER MOST!!! Our Spring Convention will be held in Galveston, March 30 - April 2, 2020, see you at the Beach. Until then, I wish you a Happy Holiday Season. ~ Peggy Moreland President’s Travel Schedule March 30-April 2, 2020 ................. TGC Spring Convention .......Galveston, Texas May 12-14, 2020 ............................. NGC Convention ....................Milwaukee, Wisconsin September 24-26, 2020 ............... NGC Fall Meeting ...................Fargo, North Dakota May 17-20, 2021 ............................. NGC Convention ....................East Rutherford, New Jersey Winter 2019 3 National Garden Clubs, Inc. NGC has a long-standing, successful program, Penny Pines, where our members contribute funds to the US Forest Ser- vice to help with reforestation of our National Forests. Plus, our garden clubs consistently plant trees, annually on Arbor Day. A new initiative has been proposed for the 2019-2021 administration by the NGC Climate Control Chairman, Victo- ria Bergeron, using the PAT - Plant America with Trees - Each ONE (member) Plant ONE (native tree). She is working with committee members from the environmental Concerns and Conservation, Gardening, Horticulture, plus Landscape Design, Environmental and Gardening Schools to offer as- Gay Austin sistance in obtaining, planting and maintaining future tree NGC President (2019-2021) plantings. We encourage plantings by EACH garden club member during this administration. Imagine the impact of 165,000 plantings across America! It is our hope to help offset the loss caused by our many natural disasters that have destroyed areas, plus create a strong impact of our commitment to preserve natural areas in our communities and world. At the 2019 NGC Fall Board meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, the Board of Directors approved the creation of a Blue Star Memorial Marker Ornament to sell through our Member Services. Once headquarters has received them, we will notify you through our website and offer them for sale. NGC is learning and growing together as we embrace the many opportunities offered to us. Let us continue our dedication to plant seeds of service to our world. “Reconnecting with Nature” through conservation, membership and youth involvement will strengthen us not only as individuals, but as a national organization. Thank you for ALL that you share with National Garden Clubs, Inc. South Central Region Hello, from the SCR Director. All of the State Presidents attended the NGC Fall board meeting in St. Louis. This was wonderful. I am proud of our region. Summer has end- ed. Some parts of the SCR have experienced more rain than normal. I hope all our members are doing well now. The time is now to do our National projects. This a great time to grow our membership. States are Linda Lawson having fall Board Meetings and conventions. I hope to attend. SCR Director (2019-2021) Texas Garden Clubs, Inc. MISSION STATEMENT Texas Garden Clubs, Inc. promotes the love of gardening, floral design, horticulture, civic responsibilities, landscaping, environmental concerns, and garden therapy for men, women, and children and encourages participation and support in educational programs for both the very young and advanced students. It is the purpose of this organization to preserve, protect, and conserve the natural resources of this country and to maintain and enhance the beauty of the lands. 4 Lone Star Gardener A Very Disturbing Environmental Headline by Sandra Hall A United Nations report was published on 5/6/19 beginning with the headline One Million Animal and Plant Species at Risk of Ex- tinction. This report was compiled by 145 expert authors from 50 different countries with information from 15,000 scientific and government sources. It stated that human activities are caus- ing nature’s decline mainly by deforestation, over fishing, bush meat hunting and poach- Monarch in danger ing, climate change, pollution, Herbicides destroy milkweed and invasive alien species. Col- Food failure lin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federa- tion said “About one-third of all species right now in the U.S. are at heightened risk of potential Toad in water bowl extinction in the next couple of Staying cool through the hot night decades” Disappears come morn The list of those at great risk in- cludes many that we depend on Bird greets me each morn daily in our own habitat. I know She says “Thanks for the water” in my garden, I would greatly Me - “Thanks for the song” miss the birds, bees, butterflies, toads, and yes, even the wasps. The greatest danger to monarch butterflies is habitat loss. Over 90% of the grassland ecosystem Garden guardians along the migratory flyway cor- Wasps feed on