Category: What’s Growing?

I know, I know…. you don’t have time to just around by your computer, waiting for my next email …. but I FORGOT TO MENTION THIS AND IT IS IMPORTANT!!

The District Luncheon, the one on October 1st…. the one that is going to be a brunch this time…. Well, if you receive the Clackamas District Clippings you may already know this, but…We are asking members to bring a friend!  They don’t have to be avid gardeners…. just friends.  It is going to be a really fun morning, so it is kind of awesome to share that with a friend, a sister or brother, a mom, or whoever.  The cost for each person is still $25, but since we are collecting the money at our next meeting, you might want to ask your friend soon!….You can decide who pays for your friend, but we would like the money on Tuesday, if at all possible.  

I (just this morning) invited a friend of mine who says she has no interest in growing anything, and I was surprised when she said “YES, I would love to go!” 

See?  

Now go invite someone.

Please.

See you soon.

And I promise, no more emails today.

Wendy

Hello again!

     I totally forgot to mention (thank you Donna Endicott!) that the District Fall Brunch (October 1) will be at the same venue as it was in the spring, that being the Apostolic Faith Church at 5601 SE Duke Street, Portland Oregon. It will be from 9:30-12:30.
     I also forgot to share this and know at least some of you would be interested!  The Hardy Plant Society is having their PlantFest!! Definitely will be fun!

PlantFest 2026hardyplantsociety.org

Enjoy your day! Wendy

Good Morning Garden Club Friends!

Can you believe it is already September? Once again, summer has flown by! As we head into the early fall, and our next year of garden club, there’s a lot to share right off the bat! Again, I will try to be concise, so grab your coffee and settle in.

Calendar and pen at your side? HVGC – September At A Glance

1. Our Meeting: First, our next regular meeting is Tuesday, Sept 8th at our new meeting place, the Creator Lutheran Church, on Sunnyside Road. It is the church with the large white cross (cell tower) and the large garden. The address is 13250 SE Sunnyside Road, but the parking lot is off 132nd.

Coffee social: 9:15 – 10 am – IMPORTANT: PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN COFFEE CUP SIZED MUG!! (Hosted by Jennifer Buss, Kathie Reinhart, Marlee Underhill, and Pat Allen)

Speaker: 10 – 10:45 am – Margaret, from Evergreen Growers Supply – “The Bugs That Eat the Bugs That Bug Us”

Break: 10:45 am – 11 am

Business meeting: 11 am -?

2. Budget: Please be sure to peruse our proposed budget (sent out to members via email) for the upcoming year, as we would like to vote on it at our meeting.

3. Flower Bouquet Sales Table at The Springs at Sunnyside (previously Morningstar) – Saturday, Sept 19th, noon to 3:00. We need 4 people for 1 ½ hours each shift, to help tie flowers together with a bow for visitors to purchase at this “Farmers’ Market” debut. (All materials will be provided.) Please let Julie know if you are interested in volunteering!

4. Gold Star Installation at Willamette Memorial (Sept 27th at noon) – Let Julie know if you plan on attending. You can sign up at our meeting next Tuesday.

5. Clackamas Clippings – If you are not receiving the Clackamas Clippings, which is our Clackamas District Garden Club newsletter, please let me know by emailing me, so I can give your email to Susan Piper, who maintains the recipient list. This newsletter is very informative and provides a lot of resources for local gardeners. (NOTE: The Clippings are also on our website under Resources.)

6. Kelso Garden Club Guest Day (SEPT 25th): We are invited to Kelso Garden Club’s guest day! This is always an incredible event! Let’s carpool and join the fun! (See the flyer at the end of this message.)

7. Clackamas Garden Club District Meeting (Oct 1st): Our District Meeting is on October 1st, 9:30 – noon. We have a great meeting planned and… (drum roll….) this time it will be a delicious brunch! If you plan to attend, please be sure to bring your $25 check, made out to HVGC, to our meeting next Tuesday, and give it to Sandy Platz, our treasurer.

• Each club is being asked to donate an item for the Silent Auction. Please consider helping with this, either alone or with a few other members. This would be something special, worth over $50. In the past, we have had quilts, gift certificates for massages and hair salons, gift baskets for pets, spa baskets, etc. Bring your ideas to our meeting next Tuesday!

• We will also be introducing a “Wish to Win” raffle, in which you can place purchased raffle tickets into the drawing for any of the Wish to Win items. Our club needs to donate at least one Wish to Win item for this raffle, valued up to $50, but more are welcome. These items don’t necessarily need to be garden related. It can be a home décor item, such as a vase, or kitchen items, some artistic décor, a handmade wooden bowl, etc. Or it could be a garden item…. A colorful fall container, a set of ceramic pots, garden décor, etc.

• We will also have our sales table again, where you can always find little treasures that members have donated! These are nice, gently used items that members don’t want anymore, but which you may find absolutely perfect for your needs! It is a little treasure hunt! Bring any items you want to donate, such as books, new garden gloves that don’t fit, a tool you won’t use, candles, pots, etc. The fun is in the variety of items people donate!

• Our speaker will be Sam Hubert, from One Green World. Several of our own members recently visited One Green World, where Sam showed us around his nursery and talked about a wonderful assortment of plants for our area, including many edibles! We are looking forward to learning more from him!

8. Membership: We are thrilled to welcome two new members to our garden club! Joel and Rebecca Martinez joined us recently. Joel met Ray Platz at a Vet meeting… well, the rest is history! The updated roster is included at the end of this email.

9. Lastly, remember that our website, www.happyvalleygardenclub.org contains a wealth of information and updated news. Be sure to refer to it frequently! Yvonne does a great job of posting the latest photos and garden club news for us! She is always looking for photos of our pets in the garden, so be sure to send those her way!

Wendy

The photos from our field trip to One Green World are up for your viewing pleasure!

One Green World – August 25, 2026

Here’s the latest from the District:

Clackamas Clippings August 2026

Good morning friends!

Julie was recently interviewed about our garden club and she did a marvelous job of sharing our story!  Check out pages 8-9!  

Happy Valley News – City of Happy Valley

Oh, and while I have you here….now that we are in AUGUST….make sure to mark your calendar for Margie McDonald’s ARTISTS’ FAIR on August 15th from 9-3 at her home in Damascus. It will include graphic designers, painters, artisan baked goods, designers, and plants.  There will be live music and a barbecue.  It promises to be a lot of fun!

Enjoy your day!

Wendy 

Happy August, Garden Club Friends!

Just a quick reminder of some upcoming club activities…..

1. This coming Tuesday, August 11^th – Our field trip to Paradise Acres Garden Center (24010 SE Hwy 212 in Damascus!)  The entrance to their parking lot is right after the Tony’s Garden Center parking lot on Hwy 212. Paradise Acres opens at 7:30 am, so if you are driving separately and want to get there before the presentation on hellebores, feel free to do so.  Most of us will try to get there by around 9 am or maybe a little before, so we can do some browsing while it is cooler.  Madison and Sarah will give us a little 10-15 minute presentation on hellebores at 9:30 am inside the building. After that, you can continue shopping!

You can purchase coffee there, or you can bring your own. You are welcome to bring a little nibbly if,  like me, you think you are going to faint if you don’t eat every few hours.   ALSO, if you want to catch a ride with someone, please let me know…. And if you are willing to take a few people, let me know that too! This nursery is pretty flat, so accessibility shouldn’t be too difficult, if that is a concern.

2.  Tuesday, August 25^th – Our coffee chat will be at One Green World (6469 SE 134^th Ave. Portland, Oregon.) This nursery sells all kinds of edible plants – from all over the world, that grow in our zone!  It is truly impressive! Our club visited this nursery several years ago, but it is definitely worth another visit! This is a relatively small nursery, but it is packed with very interesting plants! One of their staff members will talk to us for just a few minutes about the nursery, as well as share some of his favorite plants. We will have time to wander through the nursery as well.  It is a pretty accessible nursery, but parking is limited, so carpooling is probably a good idea.  If you need a ride, let me know.  If you are willing to take one or two others in your car, please let me know that too.  Also, feel free to bring your coffee/tea/water and a little bagged snack if you’d like, as we will have time to relax and chat at one of their picnic tables.  They will have umbrellas up if it’s hot. Let’s plan to get there at 10 am, when it opens. 

3. Tuesday, SEPTEMBER 8^th – As you probably know by now, we have changed our regular meeting venue and will now be meeting at Creator Lutheran Church on Sunnyside Road! This church is on the southeast corner of Sunnyside and 132^nd, across the side street from the Grange and Sunnyside Elementary School. (It is the church with the large cross/cell tower and the large garden.)  The address is 13250 SE Sunnyside Road, but the parking lot is off 132^nd.

Our times are the same as they were before…

Coffee social: 9:15 – 10 am

(Hosted by Jennifer Buss, Kathie Reinhart, Marlee Underhill, and Pat Allen)

Speaker:  10 – 10:45 am

Break:  10:45 am – 11 am

Business meeting: 11 am 

Our speaker is Margaret, from Evergreen Growers Supply, a company that sells beneficial insects and nonsynthetic pesticides.  She will be speaking on “The Bugs That Eat the Bugs the Bug Us.”  

And just as a reminder…. the last few very warm days of smoky air have been rather harsh on our plants, the wildlife, and ourselves.  I am sure you have been carefully tending to your plants, but please be sure you are caring for yourself as well.  Remember your sunscreen and water and try not to get out into that smoky air unnecessarily.  Hopefully, it will be cooler by next Tuesday for our Paradise Acres field trip!

That is all for now – Let me know if you have any questions….

Hoping to see you at Paradise Acres next Tuesday!

Wendy 

Hello Gardeners!

I would like to announce our new meeting location, beginning in September!

Creator Lutheran Church, on Sunnyside Road, has given us permission to meet in their fellowship hall at our normal meeting time. This church is on the southeast corner of Sunnyside and 132nd, across the side street from the Grange and Sunnyside Elementary School.  It is the church with the large cross/cell tower and the large garden.  This is a great central location, is accessible for walkers and is within our budget.  The specific address is 13250 SE Sunnyside Road.

We are receiving the “member rate”, thanks to Mike and Karen Burmester. Thanks, Mike and Karen, for vouching for us!

Transitions are hard, and we are so thankful for the decades of wonderful meetings and hospitality from the Happy Valley Baptist Church.  Your executive board and hospitality leadership asks for your patience and understanding as we get settled into our new home. 

See you there on September 8th!

Julie Lund

Hope you can fit these into your calendar!

1. We are taking a field trip to Bauman’s on the 28th of this month for our coffee.  Their stone fruits will be ample, and their nursery plants are terrific!  It is a bit of a drive so you can either meet us down there, or meet at Leona’s parking lot and get a ride from one of us.   Let’s plan to leave Leona’s parking lot at 8 am, so we can get there by  9, when they open.  It is slowly getting warmer earlier in the day, so getting there early seems smart.  If you can’t get there until a little later, that is fine. Plan on enjoying their lovely bakery!  They also serve coffee, shakes, etc.  Leave room in your car for plants!  Please let Wendy know if you plan to meet at Leona’s parking lot for a ride, just so no one is left behind! Bauman’s address is

12989 Howell Prairie Rd. NEGervais, OR 97026 ph: 503.792.3524

2.  Our August meeting will be on August 11th, at Paradise Acres Garden Center, in Damascus, next to Tony’s.  Again, due to the warmer days, we are going to plan on meeting at the nursery at 9 am, so we have a chance to look around and shop.  At 9:30 am, Madison and Sarah, who both work there at the nursery and are wonderful, will talk briefly to us about hellebores!  Sarah is working on getting a few different varieties in for us, besides the ones they already have.  Bring any plant questions with you, as these two women are very knowledgeable! After their talk, you are free to shop more! Bring your water or coffee with you, although they do sell coffee there too.

3. The ARTISTS’ FAIR is on August 15th from 9-3 at Margie M home in Damascus.It will include graphic designers, painters, artisan baked goods, designers, and plants.  There will be live music and a barbeque. Mark your calendars!  If you know of a crafter who might like to sell anything there, including plants, let them know.  

Hoping to see you soon! Wendy

Our meeting location will be changing. July and August 2026 will be field trips. In September, we’ll see you all at our new meeting site. Stay tuned for more info!