June Garden Club Program

Antioch Garden Club kicked off the summer with our June meeting. First we thanked our outgoing officers who have kept our club going through the pandemic, then we inducted our new officers for the coming two years.

Thank you to outgoing officers Vice President Linda Fox and Secretary Jayna Legg.

Congratulations to our incoming officers President Holly MarkwartSwehla, Vice President Marianne Peters, Secretary Nancy Zitkus and our Treasurer Lana Svitak.

The Nancy Zitkus Scholarship was presented to this year's recipient, Riley Nebel.

We ended our meeting with a pot luck luncheon, and the food was fantastic!! Our next meeting will be on September 10th. We hope you will join us!

With the club's annual perennial plant sale coming up May 14, we enjoyed viewing club member Cindy Cartner's video presentation, "Transplanting 101," which is on YouTube. We listened to her tips afterwards for giving the perennials we divide and share a good start to ensure they will do well in buyers' gardens this spring. Then member Jane Buck, master gardener, drew on her years of experience serving on several invasive plant committees in different states to educate the club about the invasive plants found in Illinois. She explained what they are, how to identify them, where to find them, and why we should care. Many people unintentionally share invasive plants and shrubs, and some people and businesses even sell them. It was illuminating to discover what the most common ones are in our area and how to do our part to stop their spread. Invasive plants that were in many cases introduced over the years for what people thought were good reasons, now crowd out native plants and disrupt the ecosystem in the state. We again shared seeds with one another, and welcomed new members and guests. Next month's meeting will be our annual plant sale! See you there!