Members of the San Saba Garden Club were greeted with an early spring at the clubhouse in Mill Pond Park when they gathered for the March 5, 2013, meeting. Hostesses Marcia Chown, Jimma Byrd and Trish Fullerton, with the help of several anonymous garden nymphs, had forced the clubhouse into bloom with redbud and Bradford pear blossoms, as well as very true-to-life engineered butterflies. (No live butterflies were harmed in this display!) In addition to the beautiful decorations, they provided delicious tea sandwiches, deviled eggs, handmade hot cross buns and various other goodies and beverages. While members were gathering, they had a preview of things to come. Our appointment with the Doctor of Floral Design was about to begin.

Never has an appointment with a gastroenterologist been so much fun! Heather White, our speaker from College Station, is a young, vibrant retired physician. (She practiced medicine for over twenty years.) “I loved medicine,” she said, “but family responsibility came first. When my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, I wanted to give back some of what she had given me.” Now that her mom is in a full-time care facility, she is turning to other activities that she enjoys while still having time to oversee her mother’s care. What a wonderful concept in today’s ‘me’ society!

Following in her mother’s footsteps, Heather joined the National Garden Club in 2007 in College Station. She attended Flower Show Schools to become an Accredited Flower Judge. She is a member of A&M Garden Club, Far Corner Garden Study Club, Houston Federation, Central Texas Judges Council and Houston Area Flower Show Judges. She is also a landscape design consultant. Her theme for this program was how to incorporate common household items from around your home to make competitive floral designs while using commonly available plant material. Some of the things she used so effectively were old compact discs, apples, plastic packing material – and lots of spray paint!

In the past, our Club has been very active in flower shows and floral design. Heather gave us lots of ideas to incorporate in our future. Attending were Judy Brister, Gail Bruner, Jimma Byrd, Marcia Chown, Sharon Conyers, Marcie Cooper, Trish Fullerton, Dianna Furlan, Imogene Hawkins, Sandy Kuykendall, Ann McElroy, Lynn McHenry, Marilyn Miller, Becky Moore, Clione Rochat, Debbie Shahan, Nancy Van Etten, Patricia Warren and Anna Wilson.

Our next meeting will be 2 p.m., April 2, 2013, at the Pavilion at Mill Pond Park and will be a guest event. This means that you can come to this meeting and have all the fun that dues-paying members have at every meeting. Keep San Saba Beautiful representatives Gail Bruner and Anna Wilson will demonstrate how they created the beautiful containers that grace our downtown sidewalks. Using solid design and horticultural principles, these containers stand up to the Texas heat and provide prolific blooms throughout the summer. You will have an opportunity to create your own container garden using materials from home or purchased from the Garden Club. Please join us for a fun afternoon.