Bloomers Meeting Notes Hi Bloomers Hope your all enjoying winter months right now, but remember it's only a little while longer before spring is in the air! Get out you garden books and magazines and start planning your new ideas for your gardens. October 18,2017- Succulents, speaker was Strafford county Master Gardener; Jacqueline Brunn. 4 members in attendance for this meeting. she brought several types of succulents for us to plant and bring home. Propagation of succulents, easy to root. well drained potting soil/add sand or fine gravel. Allow the plant to dry out or put right into the soil and it will root itself. Biggest thing to remmeber is not to overwater. It stores water within it's fleshy leaves and is adapted to climates with minimal water. Another suggestion from her was to plant in driftwood with little bit of soil, and to also use glass beads as mulch in pots. Sources for succulents UNH Greenhouse & Conservatory Mountain Crest Gardens.com Halls Ponds Gardens, ME October 21, 2017- Town garden cleanup, 8 members in attendance With the 8 members/husbands we were able to get done in only an hour and a half. Thanks to Jeff also for taking the debris away. October 28, 2017- only one member showed up at the library for cleanup of their gardens. Please consider scheduling in these spring and fall cleanups as it goes by much quicker if we can all do a little. Our November wreath making at Studleys had to be canceled as we did not get enough participation. Joann Pearson had a couple of us over to make wreaths at her place. We all brought greens and berries and wire rings. Her son and his family joined us and we had a wonderful time. December 6, 2017- Bloomers had our annual Holiday gathering at Lynn's house. We had 8 people in attendance. Had a beautiful potluck meal, then did our Yankee Swap which I think everyone was happy with their gifts. Everyone brought donations for the food pantry that Lynn delivered for us. January 20, 2018- We had the first of two sessions class for fairy houses made of pottery with Ruth Caron at Pottery Paddock in Rochester. There were 4 in attendance. Cost was $25 per session. Everyone had a wonderful time working with the clay and each house ended up so cute and all so different. Our last session was on Februrary 1st, to glaze and paint details. February 21, 2018- We will be meeting at the library at 6:30pm for a talk about composting with Roz Mason, master gardener with UNH. Hope to see you there We have some things we are looking into for the coming months, but haven't pinned them down yet. Will email with updates closer to the dates. Till next time enjoy the last of the winter months ahead and "Think Spring" Cindi Harrington