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photo courtesy of
Dianne Evenson
GPPS MINUTES
GREATER PHOENIX POND SOCIETY
REGULAR MEETING
February 13, 2010
The February GPPS meeting was held on Saturday the 13th at the home of Dawn and Don Jarratt. Thank you for hosting the meeting.
The meeting was called to order at 9:15 by President Dave Nelson.
New member present was Ms. Rebecca Montgomery from Chandler.
Don Jarratt described his pond for the members. He and his son build it themselves about 3 years ago. There are two ponds with a meandering stream connecting them. He has turtles and about 20 fish. He had many more fish which were eaten by herons. It is approximately a 5,000 gallon water garden. When laying the three piece liner he didn't seal it well enough and had to remove all the rocks and start over again. A true labor of love!
Susan Higgins, Master Gardener, was our speaker. The mission of the Maricopa County Master Gardener program is to teach people to select, place and care for plants in an environmentally responsible manner based on research specific to the low desert.
A Maricopa County Master Gardener is an individual who completes a University of Arizona Cooperative Extension specialized course in gardening in the low desert. A Master Gardener then provides educational leadership to the community in home gardening and landscaping.
There is going to be a Master Gardener's Tour on March 13. Tickets are $20.00 per person.
Treasurer, Ed Tunstall reported a balance of $3,149.16.
Diane Malone, Program Coordinator, has arranged to have Rob Lang (The Pond Perfector) as a speaker for the March meeting. His subject will be "Preparations for Spring."
Webmaster Dennis Beard has added some FAQ regarding animals, ponds, etc. If you have any questions and answers for the FAQs, please e-mail them to Dennis. He has added pond pictures taken from past tours. Some do not have names on them. Please take a look at the pictures and let him know if you recognize them. There are some years missing - do you have any pictures of the missing years? Again, send them to the webmaster.
Luarie Ramsbacher, Vice President, said she has nine homes already signed up for the pond tour. We voted on several dates in May for the tour and May 15 was the most popular. There was a discussion as to whether we should charge for the pond tour since the last three tours have not been profitable. A motion was made to not charge for the tour but to have containers available at each home if anyone would like to make a donation. The motion was seconded and passed.
President, Dave Nelson felt that our booth at the Maricopa Home Show in January was successful. It generated a lot of interest. He and other volunteers handed out 500 tour flyers.
There are five home shows a year, three at the fairgrounds and two at the University of Phoenix (UOP) Stadium. It was suggested that we participate in the home show at the UOP Stadium on April 30, May 1, 2. This will be just before our pond tour in May. Dave will talk to the person who coordinates the shows.
The Japanese Friendship Garden is hosting its annual Children's Day Kite Festival along with the Valley of the Sun Koi Club, and their 2010 Greater Phoenix Koi Show from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 3, at Margaret T. Hance Park, 1125 N. Third Ave.
The winner of the raffle drawing was George Morris. He won the "Better Homes and Gardens Ultimate Yard and Garden Book". It is now in the library.
The March meeting will be at the house of Susan Smithwick and Ed Tunstall.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 am.
Respectfully submitted - Diane Morris, Secretary.
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