Fun Times!
On an unseasonably warm fall day, members gathered for our annual pot luck lunch and plant swap. Patty, our hostess, also arranged for us to have a tour of her neighbor’s serene water garden. We viewed a small stream that eventually emptied into a beautiful fish pond. Koi rose to the surface, obviously looking for food. It was a peaceful start to an enjoyable day. When the tour was over, it was time to sample the food. We tried shish kabobs, chicken tortilla soup, seafood pasta, lots of salads and amazing desserts. After some spirited conversation, it was on to the plant swap. Black-eyed-susans, daylilies, phlox and daffodil bulbs and more were swapped among the members. The best plants (and food!) come from friends!

MRGC Visits The Veranda (10/23/06)
We spent a fun morning in January at The Veranda restaurant to learn about herbs. Owner Laurie Heigel and head chef Jill Weltman taught us everything we needed to know about cooking with herbs. We also ampled the restaurants signature herbed goat cheese spread with homemade pita chips. Laurie decorated the restaurant just beautifully and I guarantee that you'll find something tasty on the menu. Visit her at Lamp & Lantern Village, at the corner of Clayton Road and 141.

MRGC loves touring gardens in the fall! (2/8/06)
On a clear, cool day this October, members of Mason Ridge Garden Club had the opportunity to tour an awesome Town & Country garden. Donna Walker, the "Hostess with the Mostest," opened her home and gardens to us. We had an amazing tour, got some helpful gardening tips, and topped it all off with a delicious pumpkin cake. Donna and her husband accented the back yard with winding brick walkways, a koi pond, flower and vegetable gardens, and a greenhouse for winter gardening. We consider ourselves lucky to have spent time at Donna’s home and gardens!

Art in Bloom (10/25/05)
A blustery Friday in March felt like spring as the Art Museum was transformed into a floral paradise. We arrived early so we could see the flower arrangements prepared by garden clubs and local florists. Many of the arrangements replicated a work of art in the museum. After strolling the museum, we headed off to the auditorium to listen to renowned gardener and author P.Allen Smith. He gave a humorous and informative talk, accompanied by great photos of beautiful gardens. We all purchased his new book, “Container Garden” then had it personally signed by the man himself. After a photo op, we headed to the newly refurbished Boat House for lunch. Everyone agreed to return next year for this fun and informative day!

Forcing bulbs (3/27/05)
You’ll need paper whites or amaryllis bulbs, purchased at your garden center, potting soil andclean clay pots.

Paper whites are the easiest bulbs to force. Fill a clay pot halfway full with potting soil. Place bulbs, root side down, on top of the soil. Add more soil to 1” below the pot’s rim.Water and watch them grow! You might need to add a thin wood stake as the foliage grows. They tend to topple over. I tie mine with raffia. After they’ve finished growing, they can’t be reused. Add the spent bulbs to your compost pile.Amaryllis add an elegant touch to indoor gardens. They come in many colors, so buy your favorite. Fill a clay pot partially full with soil. You will want to be sure that you have about half to two-thirds of your amaryllis bulb above the soil. Place the bulb in the soil and add more to reach within 1” below the rim of the pot. Water. Place in a sunny room and you will soon notice the flower bud growing above the bulb. You may want to add a wooden stake to the pot as the bloom stalks can be quite tall. You don’t want it to topple over! In a few weeks you should have a beautiful show! Water as needed throughout the winter and spring. When danger of frost has passed, place your amaryllis outside. Bring indoors as fall approaches. DON’T CUT BACK THE FOLIAGE!!! Your bulb will regenerate and use the green leaves as food. You will need to give your bulb some time in darkness. Mark your calendar and remove the pot from the darkness after six weeks. Trim back and shriveled foliage and water. The blooming cycle will repeat. Enjoy!

Glass Embellishment (3/27/05)
You’ll need: glassware (we embellished a vase), clear silicone caulk and caulk gun, glass chips, glass pebbles, beads, pearls or whatever strikes your fancy. Using your caulk gun, apply caulk to your glass surface. Place your selected items on the caulk. You will be amazed at how well the caulk holds your items. Continue working until you are satisfied with your one of a kind glass piece! It dries in a few hours. We put paper whites in our vases.

Our Tip: Place a large plastic bag under your work area. Then all you have to do when you’re done is fold the residue up and pop it in the trash!

Longview Farm Garden Renovation (1/3/05)
Early in September we received the new front garden design from Cindy Gilberg. Cindy gave us a creative but low maintenance plan using plants already at Longview. After pouring over the plans, we were off to implement our new design. We have lots of work ahead of us, but we’re convinced that the best garden in the City will be at Longview Farm Park when we’ve finished. Stop by and follow our progress!

Many thanks to Cindy Gilberg for her assistance!

Longview Garden gets a Makeover! (9/19/04)
After three years, the front garden at Longview Farm is getting a makeover! We’ve had some really invasive plants terrorize the flower beds. We’re working hard to clear out chameleon plant, goutweed and angelica. Cindy Gilberg has graciously stepped in and will be “tweeking” the beds with a low maintenance design for all to enjoy. The club is using funds from our spring plant sale to compensate Cindy for her time. The size of the beds will remain the same, as will the pathway. Prepare to be astounded by the front gardens this fall. We’ll update our progress on the website as we move forward.

Plant Sale (7/31/04)
MRGC holds its Second Plant Sale at Longview Farm.We couldn’t have asked for better weather for our second plant sale. The sky was blue, and temperatures mild. Even before our nine o’clock starting time, we had anxious gardeners lining up for plants. Within forty-five minutes we sold half of our supply. The earlybirds got some wonderful additions to their gardens. We had lots of ferns, hostas, acanthus, lily of the valley, hydrangeas, iris and even a bottle brush buckeye. By noon, we sold everything we had. It was great to chat with so many dedicated gardeners and fun to see lots of our friends stop by. After our treasurer, Sally, totaled the days sales, we were pleased to find out that we raised over $900. The garden club is happy to know that our plants found new homes all over the county!

MRGC makes Hypertufa planters (5/19/04)
Spring is here and we celebrated by making hypertufa planters. These planters resemble large rocks, carved out to accommodate your favorite plants. We mixed our ingredients in a large wheelbarrow and created our own planters using cardboard boxes and plastic pots as our molds. We were all pleased with the results and look forward to planting them after they cure.

Instructions for making Hypertufa planters

To build your Hypertufa planter, you will need the following:

• A large wheelbarrow for mixing materials (Each wheelbarrow full of ingredients will make about two large box-type planters)
• Two large planks of wood for mixing the ingredients
• Portland cement
• Peat Moss
• Perlite
• Fibermesh
• Water, for mixing
• Eye protection
• Rubber gloves
• Dust mask
• Two boxes per planter-the inside box should be one to two inches smaller than the outside box

In the wheelbarrow, mix eight pounds each of cement, peat and perlite. Add one pound fibermesh. Fibermesh is a light fiber similar to “angels hair” found in craft stores. You can find fibermesh at a building supply distributor. In the St. Louis area, I found it at Breckenridge Materials. Make sure you use the fibermesh, as it reinforces all the ingredients. Add water, slowly, to mix everything up. Using wood boards made this job pretty easy. We used about a bucket and a third of water to mix everything up. Place the mixture on the inside bottom of a cardboard box, about one to two inches thick. Place a smaller box inside the larger box. Fill the sides with more of the mixture. The bottom and sides should allow your outside walls to be about one inch thick. Place the filled box in a large plastic bag for two days. After two days, peel the box from the planter. It is very important to do this on the second day. Too early and the mixture will be too soft, too late and you can’t peel the box away. Continue to let the planter “cure” and it will lighten in color. After about five to seven days, you might want to use a wire brush on the outside of your planter to give it some dimension. Doing this will give it the look of stone that has been filed with a metal file. After three weeks, you will need to put your planter outside. Fill it with water to allow the chemicals to “leech out.” Every time the water evaporates, place more water in the trough. Do this for three weeks. Finally, drill some holes for drainage and you’re ready to plant! You might add herbs, succulents, mesculan salad greens or pansies. Use your imagination! Hope this is a fun project for you and your friends!

MRGC Annual Plant Sale
Saturday, May 15th at 9 AM to Noon at Longview Farm Park. We will have plants for sale from garden club members gardens, Longview Farm and tear downs in the Town & Country area. Cash or checks only-Shop early for best selection.

Planning Meeting (4/8/04)
On a cold February morning, MRGC held a planning meeting. After seeing the transformation of Kathy’s house, we got down to garden club business. We planned meetings through spring and did some brainstorming. Everyone agreed, we look forward to warmer, sunnier days that allow us to get outside!

Looking for dirty hands. MRGC is a garden club for the local community, young and old. We began as a group of garden loving Mason Ridge Moms. We hire speakers, make container gardens, go on field trips, and maintain the gardens at Longview Farm Park.

Holiday Breakfast (2/3/04)
Linda hosted a wonderful breakfast to help us celebrate the holiday season. We feasted on quiche, cherry turnovers, cinnamon rolls and toasted another fun year with champagne! After eating too much, we settled down to our spirited gift exchange. Everyone went home with a fun gardening gift and we all agreed- our common interest brought us together, and made us great friends in the process!

MRGC has fun with herbs! (12/17/03)
With the holidays fast approaching, the garden club had a fun time at Diane’s making herb crafts to keep and give. Thanks to Leigh, we assembled many herb craft projects. We used lavender, dried flowers and satin ribbons to make sachets, ornaments and tussy-mussies. After we finished our projects, Diane hosted a fun holiday boutique. Joan brought her wonderful dog inspired stationary and t-shirts. Diane’s jewelry wowed us, as usual. We also shopped for custom purses and stationery. A memorable day of crafting and shopping was had by all!

MRGC Lunch/Plant Swap (11/18/03)
Our annual lunch and plant swap came on a glorious day in October. We met at Longview and settled in for a fun time with good food, friends and great plants from our gardens to exchange. We thanked Sally for organizing the event and welcomed new member Joni. As usual, we had lots of food to choose from. Salads included Karen’s tossed green salad, a refreshing fruit salad, Betsy’s tomatoes and mozzarella and chicken salad. In addition to Key Lime Cheesecake from Hank’s, Linda made the best apple tart for dessert. After devouring our lunch, we settled down to some plant trading. Linda shared her peonies. Diane had some herbs to trade and Claire had enough columbine for everyone. A good time was had by all!

MRGC Sponsors 9/11 Activity at Longview Farm Park (11/2/03)
To acknowledge America’s loss on 9/11/ 2001, MRGC sponsored “One Day’s Pay” at Longview Farm Park. The organization asks Americans to donate a day of service in recognition of the loss we suffered on 9/11/2001. We signed up with the organization, then asked friends, family and Town & Country residents to help us clean up the park. Thursday morning arrived cool, clear, and perfect for our service project. We filled fifty-six bags of yard waste, ten bags of trash, and assembled numerous piles of brush and tree limbs. We were joined by the Mayor, Aldermen, residents, non-residents and a member of the Army Reserves. I know, when the project was complete, everyone in attendance felt that we honored the lives lost on that tragic day in America’s history.

MRGC First Plant Sale May 17th (7/6/03)
On Saturday, May 17th, MRGC held its first plant sale at Longview Farm. Garden club members spent weeks digging, potting up and watering perennials. All our hard work paid great dividends- we raised almost $1,000 to benefit the gardens at Longview! Even a cloudy, drizzly day couldn’t dampen everyone’s spirits as customers shopped for their favorite perennials. Many came to purchase plants specifically from Longview or Clayton Crest. Thanks again to Brad Frame of Remington Builders for allowing us to remove plants from Clayton Crest. Others were looking for the best plant to add to their own garden. We enjoyed meeting so many avid gardeners and love knowing that all the plants we potted up will have new homes all over the St. Louis area. Thanks to everyone that made our first sale such a success!

MRGC Members Tours begin May 5th (5/18/03)
On Monday, May 5th the ever popular event of touring each others gardens resumed. A beautiful day with a cloudless sky greeted everyone as we met at Sally’s house. She’s come a long way from last summer! Then it was off to Suzanne’s- her front yard was pansy heaven! They all survived the winter and absolutely cover her front landscape. Betsy has added lots of plant material- but Bentley usually succeeds in digging it up! We finished at Marie’s to view her prize winning iris. They were an awesome sight!

Spring is coming! (4/6/03)
MRCG is looking forward to spring 2003! Monday, March 3rd we learned about gardening in the shade. The information we learned will help us out in our own gardens and at Longview Farm Park. Suzanne served a beautiful breakfast on her botanical china. Christine Fuerhoff opened our eyes to pushing the limits in the shade.

MRGC forces bulbs on a cold day (3/5/03)
On a cold day in late January, MRGC members (and guest Elaine) forced tulips and daffodils for use indoors. Diane hosted a fun meeting in her beautiful, newly remodeled kitchen. Diane and her husband did most of the work themselves! Active Diane also has a jewelry making business- she designs amazing earrings, bracelets, necklaces and more. She’s one busy gal! We were lucky that our bulbs were already exposed to cold temperatures for many weeks. We’ll keep them cold and dark until Valentines Day, then take them out of the refrigerator and wait for spring blooms. We found many different ways to pot them up… Glass vases, clay pots, terra cotta lambs, even bake ware! We discussed almost everything, including politics in Town & Country, our upcoming plant sale at Longview, and future meetings. After a stop at Diane’s jewelry shop, we were all off to our usual Monday activities- errands, cleaning house and laundry.

Breakfast & Gift Swap (1/27/03)
Monday, December 15th was our third annual breakfast and gift swap. Linda hosted the event at her home, preparing delicious pastries and quiches for breakfast. Linda has taken many cooking classes and loves having an excuse to show off her culinary talents. We caught up with each other and discussed current activities. We’re already planning for next growing season at Longview to include a plant sale in late May. More on that later. After a delicious breakfast, we were off to start our spirited gift exchange. President Claire Chosid was presented with a plaque stating that a tree had been planted in her honor at Longview. It’s the new cherry tree in the front yard. Gardening related gifts were opened and a good time was had by all. By noon, everyone was off to get some last minute shopping finished. Happy Holidays from your friends at Mason Ridge Garden Club!

Third Annual Lunch & Plant Swap (11/05/02)
Friday, October 11th was the MRGC’s third annual lunch and plant swap. We were thrilled to have it at Longview Farm this year. Everyone brought an assortment of delicious foods. Chicken salad, egg salad, chicken Caesar wraps, and tomatoes with mozzarella were a just few of the foods we enjoyed for lunch. Not to be outdone in the dessert department, we had two cheesecakes- Kaye made her Key Lime Creation and Claire made her White Chocolate Cheesecake.

Linda made the best carrot cake I’ve ever eaten. Love that cream cheese frosting! Thanks to Jenny we all got to feel like kids again by eating off of pink Barbie plates. After too much good food (and great conversation) we settled down to our plant swap. We exchanged daylilies, artemesia, iris, coral bells, lambs ears, bulbs and much more. We even had a few shrubs to swap. Most members left with some plant material. Anything left behind will be planted at Longview next week. After a fun afternoon of catching up with one another, it was time to hit the carpool lines. It sure was nice to spend a day together (not in our dirty gardening clothes) at Longview, our home away from home. I know everyone will agree with me when I say that the best part about being in the garden club is spending time with friends doing what we do best- talking and gardening!

Glennon Decorator Showhouse at Longview Farm (10/12/02)
Saturday, the 27th of September was the opening of the decorator showhouse at Longview Farm Park. We got to watch the painters, carpenters and interior designers work their magic. The decorators got to watch the garden club finish up the gardens. Rooms were painted, draperies hung, and beautiful furniture was moved in. Every room underwent a major transformation. The master bedroom (designed by Rodney Dimmick, ASID) looks like it really belongs at Longview Farm. Rodney did a fine job of staying true to the character of the house.

Garden Club members just love the potting shed designed by Sonja Willman, Allied ASID. It’s charming and offers anything you’d need to spend a day in the dirt. Our friend, Julie Baum, did a bang-up job on the front entry. Julie is so talented and a real wiz at painting, adding a darling faux puppy to the front wall. She also painted a floor cloth with the fleur-de-lis theme. C.J.Knapp transformed the upstairs suite into an inviting spot, just perfect for getting away from it all. Every room at the showhouse has something to offer.

The “Glennon Girls” are a tireless bunch. Co-chair Constance Reis seems to be up there every second of every day. I’ve gotten to know many of the girls that have donated so much of their time. They encourage everyone to stop by and check out the house and its gardens. Don’t miss this chance to spend so little ($15 a person) and get so much in return. There’s also a boutique filled with darling merchandise. Garden club member Leigh Butler has some of her beautiful hand painted glassware, I spied some adorable reversible purses, and there’s lots of Town & Country merchandise for sale by the Towne Criers. Love those afghans ($60) and Pils prints! ($25) The money raised goes to a great cause- helping the children at Cardinal Glennon. Look at the interior, and stroll the totally remodeled gardens outside. It’s a sure fire way to beat the blues and get a few design ideas in the process. Lunch is available for the nominal price of $8. The showhouse hours follow.

Longview Farm Park Dedicated (9/23/02)
Sunday, September 22nd was the long-awaited dedication of Longview Farm Park, in Town & Country, Mo. It was a simply glorious day. The sun was shining, the humidity was low, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The Boy and Girl Scouts presented the flag, lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, and the ceremonies began. Mayor Tom Tener expressed his thanks to many civic groups, including Mason Ridge Garden Club. We were presented with a plaque for our efforts at Longview Farm.

Also recognized were the Park & Trail volunteer groups. Buzz Westfall spoke, remarking about the beauty of our park and the entire day itself. The crowd was quite large and we enjoyed punch and cookies after the introductions and speeches. Residents then went out to explore the new park. Many walked up the hill to the front gardens, remarking about the enormous transformation. Garden Club president Claire Chosid had a poster depicting the gardens in their “before and after” states. It was quite a thrill for all the garden club members to hear the positive comments from the crowd. After a stroll to the courtyard garden, then the lake, we all realized that the park and its gardens belong to Town & Country now. We no longer are the only ones enjoying its beauty. It was a special day for the garden club and Town & Country.