October General Meeting

Ellen Jones opened the meeting at 7pm

THOSE IN ATTENDANCE INCLUDED:  Beverly and Larry Allen, Bonnie Buhl, Norma Chiaramonte, Sandra Gilbert, Debbie Haluch and Dale Smothers, Ellen and Mark Jones, Marcia and David Mausolf.

And, a big welcome to the following new members also in attendance:  Sandy Haupton, AJ Challagundla, Wendy and Joseph D'Virgilio,  and Bill Sonne. 

PROGRAM: 

AJ Challagundla was a guest at our September meeting and spoke about his experiences in growing Asian vegetables in Houston. He graciously volunteered to share his knowledge and experiences at the October meeting.  AJ moved here from Oregon three years ago and in that short time has developed a network of over 100 fellow vegetable gardeners in Cypress, Katy, Sugarland and New Orleans. They share knowledge, tips, seeds and seedlings.

His presentation was full of planting and growing information along with descriptions of each plant and pictures of his bountiful harvests. See full presentation below.

Host:  Thank you to Marcia Mausolf for the delicious cupcakes and door prize.   Larry Allen was the winner of the door prize of hand decorated towels and seasonal hand soap.

OLD BUSINESS:

SECOND LOCATION CCL COMMUNITY GARDEN:  Norma gave the following update:  CCL developer Mischner, has appropriated an area for the CCL Garden Club to create a second community garden.  The area is on the grounds near the club house on Brazos Sage Drive.  Our landscape contractor, Kyle, has helped determine the best spot for planting.  A theme for the garden is yet to be determined. We will be coordinating with the landscape contractor in the new location to determine soil and irrigation needs. Norma is finalizing the details with the CCL Developer, Mischner, and she will provide an update next month.  At that time, we will discuss funding needs, design details and next steps.

BUTTERFLY GARDEN PLANTING:  Larry is working with landscaper regarding the upcoming fall planting and will let us know if it will be November 4 or 11.  It is a fun event and all those available to help on a Saturday morning are encouraged to participate.

GARDEN CLUB FIELD TRIP: Marcia arranged to visit Brookwood for lunch and a Christmas program. Six club members plan to attend on Friday, October 13.  They will be leaving from the Club House parking lot at 8:50 am.

BUTTERFLY GARDEN DEDICATION BRICKS:  Sandra said that 4 engraved bricks were shipped Monday and will be arriving shortly. She will email copy of invoice to Bonnie for payment and arrange to have bricks installed.

NEW BUSINESS:

YARD OF THE MONTH:  Congratulations to Rigina Throop and Michael Alexander.

SEPTEMBER MEETING MINUTES:  Norma made a motion to dispense with reading of the minutes and Mark seconded.

FINANCIAL REPORT:  Bonnie provided an overview of the past two months including starting balance, expenditures, and closing balance.  There were no questions or discussion.

PROGRAM GAPS:  Bev volunteered for refreshments at November meeting and Debbie will provide Door Prize and refreshments in January. Ellen volunteered to obtain speaker for March meeting.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE 2017-2018:

Month/Host	Speaker/Topic	Door Prize	Refreshments
Oct – Bonnie Buhl	AJ Challagundla – Growing Asian Vegetables	Marcia Mausolf	Marcia Mausolf
Nov – Bev and Larry Allen	Rob Melloy – CCL, HOA President – our community	Lindsey Zaccari	Bev and Larry Allen
Jan – Debbie Haluch	Topic TBD	Marcia Mausolf	Debbie Haluch
Feb – Mike Owens	Kyle Franklin	Mike Owens	Mike Owens
March – Ellen Jones	Topic TBD	Bonnie Buhl	Bonnie Buhl
April – Norma Chiaramonte	Topic TBD	Norma Chiaramonte	Norma Chiaramonte
May – Mark Jones	Topic TBD	Mark Jones	Mark Jones

The next CCL Garden Club meeting will be November 13, 2017

The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 PM

October Speaker AJ Challagundla Presentation

September General Meeting

New President, Ellen Jones started the meeting at 7pm.

THOSE IN ATTENDANCE INCLUDED:  Larry Allen, Bonnie Buhl, Norma Chiaramonte, Sandra Gilbert, Debbie Haluch, Dale Smothers, Elizabeth Hearn, Ellen & Mark Jones, Ian and Nicole McWilliam, Marcia Mausolf, Cathy Oland, Mike Owens. AJ Challagundla and Sandy were guests.

PROGRAM:  Ellen asked Debbie Thornton from Farm to Market Flowers to present the program with focus

on fall planting for spring flowers. Good soil and good seed are critical. Recommended using pelleted seeds and soil test through Aggie Horticulture. Important to read information on every seed packet and know the needs of each crop. Demonstrated irrigation method, recommended books to read, seed companies and Websites.

An excellent detailed planting guide and list of references was provided.

HOST:  Thank you to Ian and Nicole McWilliam for the snacks and door prize. The door prize was won by Marcia Mausolf.




OLD BUSINESS:  Committee Reports

SECOND LOCATION CCL COMMUNITY GARDEN:  Norma will provide update at next meeting.

LANDSCAPING PROJECT along Cypress N Houston:  Mike Owens gave update of recent meeting. Plantings to be different on esplanade and sides, $156,000, $29,000 lights, 6 foot wide sidewalks and irrigation system will take one year to complete. We have finished what we can do.

Landscaping around splash pad with diversification in trees was brought up. Mike mentioned a Smoke Tree and Debbie suggested an Orchard and focus on how we can be unique. Larry said we need to develop an agenda to discuss what part we can play when we meet with Rob on November 13.

BRICKS:  Sandra shared photos of bricks in Butterfly Garden and reasons to celebrate and honor by planting engraved bricks. Ian suggested we post something on Facebook to bring attention and encourage the community to participate.

EVENTS/FIELD TRIPS:  Marcia informed us the next outing will be Friday, October 13 to enjoy lunch, shopping and the Christmas program at Brookwood Community1752 FM 1489 Brookshire, TX

YARD OF THE MONTH:  Due to illness there was not a selection for YOTM for September.

CCL Garden Blog:  Debbie is maintaining and making enhancements .

COMMUNICATION AND MEMBERSHIP:  Ian recommended we post an invitation each month on CCL website and CCL Next Door to invite residents to attend.  Post new content each time i.e. speaker information, direct attention to CCL Garden Club Blog, pictures of Butterfly Garden, etc.

KEY DATES:  Ellen reminded everyone of dates for Federation Meeting - April 7, Jr Gardening Event - May 7 and Christmas Party - December 2.


NEW BUSINESS:MINUTES:  Norma made a motion to dispense with reading of the minutes and everyone seconded. 

There was discussion regarding our program for the remainder of 2017/2018 and are the volunteers:

Month/Host	Speaker/Topic	Door Prize	Refreshments
October/ A J Challagundla	A J - Growing Asian Vegetables	Marcia	Marcia
November/ Bev Allen	Rob Melloy – Gardening in our Community
January/ Debbie Haluch	TBD		Debbie
February/ Mike Owens	Kyle Franklin	Mike Owens	Mike Owens
March/	TBD	Bonnie Buhl	Bonnie Buhl
April/ Norma Chiaramonte	TBD	Norma Chiaramonte	Norma Chiaramonte
May/ Mark Jones	TBD	Mark Jones	Mark Jones

A sign up sheet will be passed next month to finalize the open slots for the rest of the year

Next meeting:  October 9, 2017

Meeting was adjourned at 9:10 PM

2017 - 2018 Planning Committee Meeting

President, Norma Chiaramonte called planning meeting to order at 7:05 PM at the Cypress Creek Lakes Community Center.

Attendees:  Norma Chiaramonte, Debbie Haluch, Kathie Corbett, Ian McWilliam, Sandra Gilbert, Larry and Beverly Allen, Mark and Ellen Jones, Bonnie Buhl and new members Lindsey and Allison Zaccari.

Norma nominated Ellen Jones as the new President, Mark Jones seconded the motion and Ian McWilliam made the motion to approve.

Norma nominated Bonnie Buhl as Secretary/Treasurer and Debbie Haluch seconded the motion and all moved to approve

OLD BUSINESS:
Discussion regarding approval for a second location for a CCL Community Garden sponsored by the Garden Club.  Norma has been in touch with developer’s office to see if 40X40 space is available. She will talk with Liz Petit and will provide an update at the September meeting.

Debbie brought up landscaping project along Cypress North Houston and will have details next month on the proposal which included input from Garden Club members Larry Allen, Norma Chiaramonte, Debbie Haluch and Mike Owens.

NEW BUSINESS DISCUSSION:  Ellen opened a discussion about this being the 10 year anniversary of the club and a desire to grow the membership. She encouraged all members to consider inviting a new member and also opened discussion to enhance communications via social media.

• Debbie continues to manage the blog (http://www.cypresscreeklakesgc.blogspot.com/) and has plans to enhance the content by adding website links for all speakers and relevant information sources
  
  
• We also discussed having a more creative and responsive presence on Facebook and the CCL websites
  Norma will focus on creating fresh content each month for both sites and will also check on feasibility of posting content on Next Door

There was discussion to create a slogan or tagline to create awareness of our 10 year anniversary.   Suggested was made to add a tagline to our slogan "Learning and Growing Together” …10 years and growing strong!

2017-2018 Calendar:
Meeting dates: Sept 11, Oct 9, Nov 13, Jan 8, Feb 12, Mar 12, Apr 9 and May 14. 

2017-2018 Special Events:

Ellen and Mark will host the Christmas party on December 2, 2017.

Junior Gardening Event will be held Sat May 5, 2018.

Federation Meeting - CCL to sponsor April 7

Committee Chairs confirmed.

Brick Fundraiser –  Sandra

Butterfly Garden – Larry

Yard of the Month – Beverly

Sign placement – Larry and Ian

Jr. Gardener Event – Liz and Lyn

Field Trips and Events – Marcia

Blog – Debbie

Facebook, CCL  – Norma

Outreach – Norma

Social – Norma

Ellen encouraged committee chairs to recruit new volunteers.

Program Discussion:  Ellen has arranged for Debbie Thornton from Farm to Market Flowers to speak at Sept meeting. Ian will provide refreshments and door prize.

All agreed to request volunteers for monthly speakers, door prize and refreshments at September meeting.

Suggestions were made to include the following topics in this year’s program:

Beverly suggested Rob from POA for Oct

Tree care and pruning - Mark will research

Water gardening was suggested by Norma

Norma will send email regarding meeting date and money for dues next month. No change in amount due: $30 single and $50 family.

Question regarding confirmation of clubhouse reservation dates. Norma will confirm.

Ellen made motion to adjourn. Debbie second, Norma third. 

May General Meeting

President, Norma Chiaramonte, called the meeting to order at 

7 p.m. at the Cypress Creek Lakes Community Center.

THOSE IN ATTENDANCE INCLUDED: Larry Allen, 

Norma Chiaramonte, Kathie Corbett, Sandra Gilbert, Debbie Haluch, Dale Smothers, Liz Hearn, 

Ellen & Mark Jones, Cathy Oland, Mike Owens, 

Kathi Palacios, Ann Wiseman Schmidt, Valerie Sterrett, and Melissa Palacios Yahner. Bill Sonne and Lindsey Zaccari were guests.

FIRE DEPARTMENT DONATION: Norma presented 

Rodney Crosby with the Texas Volunteer Fire Department 

Relief Fund our donation of $ 250.00 for bringing a Fire Truck

to the Jr. Gardener Event. Rodney explained what the Relief 

fund is for and how they raise money for it.

PROGRAM: Ellen asked RCW Nursery to present. Patty and Cheryl told us about several products for yard and home maintenance. A great lawn supplement is liquid molasses and seaweed used once a week. Fire ants hate granular molasses. Consan Triple Action 20 will remove algae and fungus; 

and takes the sour smell out of towels. Wet & Forget will remove mildew from siding, fences, roofs and sidewalks.

YARD OF THE MONTH: Kathie announced that Jerry & 

Shelly Lawson were the recipients of Yard of the Month. 

HOSTESS:  Thank you to Kathi Palacios for being hostess 

this month!

DOOR PRIZE: Thank you to Ann Wiseman Schmidt for 

door prizes. Plants from her garden were won by Ian (Plumeria) and our guest, Bill (Mountain Laurel).

MINUTES: Ellen made a motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes and was seconded by everyone.

OLD BUSINESS:      Committee Reports

Signs: Larry said that Ian would be helping place the signs next year.

Blog: Debbie said that the Blog and website were updated and asked the members for any ideas to add to the sites. 

Bricks: Sandra said she would be ordering bricks soon.

Butterfly Garden:  Larry said that the planting will be May 20 at 8 am. Kyle will work up the beds and deliver plants and mulch. Refreshments will be served.  Larry will send email reminders for planting help.

Jr Gardener Event: Liz reported that 51 children attended. Everything ran smoothly.  Children had a great time. The Firetruck arrived and the children enjoyed exploring it and 

talking to the firemen. We had a lot of members who helped keep the event flowing. 

NEW BUSINESS:

Dinner:  Norma announced that the dinner site has been changed to Villa Roma Italian Restaurant, 

12640 Telge Rd., Friday, May 19 at 7 pm.

POA REQUEST:  Mike said that the POA had asked for the Garden Club members to help with the design for the planting on the new section of Cypress North Houston. They want to use plants that 

are more drought tolerant.

New Officers:  We did not nominate anyone for President or Secretary/Treasurer. We will address the nomination and election officers at the next meeting in September.

GARDENING TIP OF THE MONTH: The best way to control aphids on plants like Crape Myrtle and other flowering plants is to feed them a systemic Rose Food.   1001 GardenLine Questions with Randy Lemmon.

NEXT MEETING:  August 14, 2017 Planning Meeting

NEXT REGULAR MEETING: September 11, 2017

Meeting was adjourned at 9:15p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Kathie Corbett

Secretary/Treasurer

May Junior Gardening Event

Thank you to Liz and Lyn for all the fantastic preparation work for this Garden Club event.

Norma did a fantastic job organizing the Volunteer Fire department members, fire engine, bow making and Mother's Day cards.

Thank you IMS Landscaping for the flowers.

Thank you Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department for truck tours and goodies.

We had 51 Mother's Day flower pots decorated by kids of all ages.

Thank you to all garden club members who assisted in this fun community event!