Congratulations to Richard and Bonnie Segura for being selected as the April, 2010 Yard of the Month. The Seguras live at 26310 Ridgefield Park Ln.

For the first time every, a member of our Garden Club was selected! Congratulations!!! We love your yard!!!

April 2010 General Meeting

Our April meeting was a special meeting for the CCLGC. Our speakers were our own members. Each of us talked about our favorite plant, telling about the plant, and why it is our favorite. Here are our favorites!!


Mike Owens
Equisetum commonly called horse tail because it grows in tall thin strands is the only genus of this group of plants that reproduce by spores not seeds. Common to the wet clay soils of Cypress it grows easily to about four feet tall. The cell walls are of silica so the stems are rough to the touch. Equisetum is a living fossil that has existed for over a hundred million years. The stems spread by rhizomes or underground stems and can be invasive. It is best grown in pots or contained areas. There are no leaves but the green stems are hollow and easy to cut. Use them in arrangements and children enjoy breaking it apart. The local Indians used the coarse texture of the stems to polish wood and scour dishes. Equisetum are often used to analyze gold concentrations in an area due to their voracious ability to take up the metal when it is in a solution.

Patti Foucha
Night Blooming Cerus
This is the ugliest plant you will ever love! If it had not been given to me, I never would have experienced the true beauty of this plant, because I certainly would not have bought it. It is a member of the cactus family. It prefers filtered light, and LOVES to be ignored. Yep, that’s’ what I said, a plant that doesn’t want much attention at all. It even prefers to be root bound! The blossom is unbelievable. Each flower only opens once, and that is at nighttime. The scent, along with the beauty of the flower, is magnificent. When the plant is ready to bloom, a bud will appear along the edge of a leaf. The day of the blooming, the bud will begin to open around 9 or 10pm and should be fully opened by midnight. By morning, the flower will have closed up. It has been said that you could cut the flower and put it in your refrigerator and it will stay a bit longer.

Sandra Gilbert:
*PURSLANE/annual, full sun, height 6”, spread 12”
“This favorite sun loving annual creates a vibrant carpet of clear yellow, pink, rose, orange or bi-color blooms all summer long. The succulent foliage is low and spreading with free flowing, vigorous blooms that thrive in intense heat and dry conditions. They are perfect for planting in mass in rock gardens, annual beds, borders, hanging baskets, or spilling over the sides of containers. “
*VERBENA [HOMESTEAD PURPLE]/perennial, full sun, height 6-8”, spread 12-18”
“Beautiful purple flower clusters on spreading plants in summer.” This variety survived last summer [heat and drought] and winter [freeze]. Attractive to bees, butterflies and birds [hummers].
*MEXICAN FLAME VINE/ perennial vine, full sun, height 8-10’
Beautiful red-orange flowers on lush evergreen vine. Easy to propagate. High heat tolerance, low water requirements, seldom bothered by pests. Attractive to bees, butterflies, and birds [hummers].
*FRAGRANT DELIGHT HELIOTROPE/ annual herb, sun or part sun, height 15-18”
Clusters of sweet vanilla-scented vibrant purple flowers. Attractive to butterflies and hummers.

Bonnie Segura
Brought Roses. A hybrid tea rose called Veterans Honor, a climber named Don Juan and miniatures Rainbow End and Texas.

Wendy Hrncir
Oregano. This survived the freeze! It propagates itself slowly, has a sweet little flower. You can cook with it fresh or dried. If you step on it or hit it with the weed eater, it comes right back, and it offers a nice fragrance. Oregano can be cut back and shaped – it won’t hurt it at all.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!

The CCL Garden Club would like to THANK everyone in our community who supported our recent fundraising activities by purchasing flats of plants and attending our “Garden Treasures” sale. The proceeds will be used towards our Community Butterfly Garden, scheduled to be completed in May of this year, as well as other future projects.

Garden Treasures and Plant Sale

Thanks to Billie Fontana, Bonnie Segura, Cathy Oland, Laura Bockoven, Helen Lombardo, Mike Owens, Nicole Alverez, Norma Chiaramonte, Patti Foucha, Debbie Haluch, Sandra Gilbert and Wendy Hrncir who donated items and came out to support the club at our Garden Treasurers and Plant Sale this past Saturday. Special thanks to Billie Fontana for having the sale at her home again this year. We also would like to thank all of our neighbors and friends who stopped by to purchase treasures and plants and make donations to our future projects! The sale was a great success.

Garden Treasures Sale - This Saturday!

CCLGC is holding their Treasures in the garden sale. Replanting is occurring in Cypress Creek Lakes subdivision. Support the Cypress Creek Lakes Garden Club rejuvenation projects by visiting your gardening neighbors and purchasing secret garden treasures and plants, Saturday, April 10th during the garage sale. You can find us at 26123 Timberstone Ct between 7-2pm

Teaching Girl Scout Troop 16041 about Butterflies

Debbie Haluch, Patti Foucha and Norma Chiaramonte met with Girl Scout Troop 16041 at their April 1, 2010 meeting to hear what they have learned about Butterflies and to give them more information about butterflies and what to put in your garden to attract them.

We also did a craft of making paper flowers and attaching a butterfly to each flower. The girls, and their leader, Melanie Jackson, were awesome.
We had so much fun with them! Thanks, Troop 16041 for inviting us! We look forward to seeing you in May when we plant our Butterfly Garden!!

CCL Community Easter Egg Hunt

The CCLGC had set up a table at the splash pad in the area that will be our Butterfly Garden with material and information on the Garden Club Thank you to Debbie Haluch, Helen Lombardo, Sandra Gilbert, Norma Chiaramonte and Patti Foucha for talking to those participating in the successful Egg hunt.

Our drawing prize winners were:
o Keith Uyeda- Easter lily (donated by Debbie)
o Kathleen Linton – silk flower arrangement (donated by Helen)
o Ruth Westra- butterfly craft stamps (donated by Norma)
o Carrie Villarreal- container water bulbs (donated by Debbie)

Easter Egg Hunt Drawing Winners!!

Congratulations to the winners of our drawings at the Community Easter Egg Hunt.
o Keith Uyeda- Easter lily (donated by Debbie)
o Kathleen Linton – silk flower arrangement (donated by Helen)
o Ruth Westra- butterfly craft stamps (donated by Norma)
o Carrie Villarreal- container water bulbs (donated by Debbie)
Thank you to Helen Lombardo, Sandra Gilbert, Norma Chiaramonte, Debbie Haluch and Patti Foucha for talking to those participating in the successful Egg hunt.

March General Meeting

Our March meeting was held Monday, March 8, 2010. John Ferguson of Nature's Way Resources was our speaker.

John Ferguson is the founder and owner of Nature's Way Resources, a Houston based composting and recycling company that specializes in high quality compost, mulch, and soil mixes. He has won many awards in horticulture and environmental issues. His personal garden has been featured in several gardening books, "Better Homes and Gardens" magazine and his business has been recognized in the Wall Street Journal for the quality and value of the products.

John talked to the garden club about the Soil Food Web

This presentation covers the latest innovations in modern soil science, horticulture and landscaping

It was a non-technical introductory presentation illustrating why we need to change. It works better than older conventional chemical rescue methods and lowers maintenance costs. Additionally this makes our lawns and gardens safe for children and pets.