CAMBRIDGE — The Dorchester Garden Club celebrated Valentine’s Day with their Feb. 14, meeting at Immanuel United Church of Christ. Club President Jeanne Bernard called the meeting to order, welcomed members and guests and provided highlights of interest and upcoming events.

Committee chairpersons were invited to report to members. Much of the discussion pertained to the May 2 Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage in Dorchester County, which the Dorchester Garden Club is hosting.
The February meeting program featured a very timely and informative presentation by Susie Creamer, director of Patterson Park Audubon Center in Baltimore, where she and her team work to create bird habitat and offer a variety of nature-based educational programs and volunteer opportunities for youth and adults.

Her talk, “Creating a Bird Friendly Garden,” stressed the importance of providing food, water, shelter and a place for birds to raise their young, with an emphasis on including a variety of native plants, shrubs and trees for birds to feed on – as well as to attract insects for the birds to eat. Members were encouraged to create their own bird friendly gardens and to earn an Audubon Bird Friendly Habitat sign featuring the iconic Baltimore Oriole.

The meeting also included the club’s mini-flower show, featuring an array of horticulture entries and stunning design entries. Award winners for February:

Division I – Horticulture
Class 1 Forced Branches
1b. Pussy Willow: 1st Cheryl Willey
1c. Any other: 2nd Cookie Brohawn
Class 2 African Violets
2b. Pot diameter more than 3”: 2nd Betsy Parks

Class 3 Conifers
3b. Without cones or berries: 1st Beverly Shelly, 2nd Trish Greenwell, 3rd Linda Rossi
Class 4 Broadleaf Evergreen Tree or Shrub-one branch
4a. Flowering: 1st Billie Norton, 2nd Sue Lachenmayr, 3rd Kathy Slaughter, HM Nancy Johnson
4b. Foliage: 1st Beverly Shelly, 2nd Martha Keating, 3rd Trish Greenwell, HM Nancy Barger
4c. Fruited: 1st Beverly Shelly
Class 5 Ilex (Holly)-one branch
5a. Foliage: 1st Beverly Shelly, 2nd Cheryl Willey, 3rd Sue Lachenmayr
5b. Fruited: 1st Kathy Slaughter, 2nd Beverly Shelly, 3rd Trish Greenwell
Class 6 Container Grown Plants (maximum pot diameter 8”)
6a. Flowering: 1st Cookie Brohawn, 2nd Sue Lachenmayr, 3rd Fran Collins
6b. Foliage: 1st Jeanne Bernard, 2nd Karen Cartwright, 3rd Fran Collins

Class 7 Open Class
7b. Perennial: 1st Martha Keating, 2nd Deana Kozak
7d. Bulb, corm, rhizome, tuber: 1st Beverly Shelly, 2nd Fran Collins, 3rd Ellen Higgins, HM Kathy Slaughter, Dona Dunlap
7e. Vines: 1st Beverly Shelly

Division II-Design
Design Class 1: “I Love You” An Armature Design using a heart shape made with recycled tree branches
1st Karen Cartwright
2nd Mari Stanley
HM Kay Karminski, Barbara Hubbard
Design Class 2: “It’s for the Birds” An Artistic Design of a bird’s nest crafted from found items
1st Kay Karminski
2nd Barbara Hubbard
3rd Mari Stanley
HM Cheryl Willey

For more information about the Dorchester Garden Club or to attend an upcoming meeting, email dorchestergardenclub@gmail.com. To learn more about the 2020 Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage in Dorchester County on May 2, go to mhgp.org.