So many choices!! It was hard to decide…

Below are some of the results.

Celebrating Sunnyvale Garden Club being recognized as 
TEXAS GARDEN CLUB’S SILVER CLUB OF THE YEAR!

Spring and Summer of 2020 has been very challenging and uncertain with Coronavirus lerking about. One thing is for sure, our gardens (whether inside or out), continue to grow and give us joy if we continue to give them love and attention. Many have had more time on their hands to tend to their beloved plants! Here are some of our member’s 2020 beauties.

ENJOY!!

Day Lilies and Iris are my Favorites. Shared by Laura Fincher.

My Caladium bulbs are finally showing well in my shady front garden. Shared by Ginny Hale

Last year at the plant exchange I was thrilled to receive Nancy Keim’s canna rhizomes from her father’s garden.They are thriving!  This is their 2nd year.  Filled a nice sunny place along my fence.
The pot at the left side is a CALLISTA cutting from the container plant I purchased at the Fund Raiser in September.

Shared by Ginny Hale

The Sunnyvale Garden Club’s APRIL 9^TH meeting is a field trip to Dallas to tour the President George Bush’s Native Texas Park Gardens.  Parking is limited.

We are meeting at the Sunnyvale Town Hall, 127 N. Collins, at 9AM to Carpool.

The tour is free.   Following the tour, we will have lunch at Café 43 on property.

At your expense, the meal at Café 43 is estimated from   $15 to $25 with tip.

Link to the Care 43 Menu:

http://places.singleplatform.com/cafe-43/menu

MUSEUM (SEPARATE/NOT INCLUDED)

If you want to linger and tour the Library, please make those arrangements in advance with your Carpool Driver and passengers and the library directly.

Tickets

https://www.georgewbushlibrary.smu.edu/Home/Visit/Plan-Your-Museum-Visit/Admission.aspx

Purchase tickets online, at the Admissions Desk, or by telephone (214) 200-4306. Each ticket admits one visitor into all permanent and special exhibits and includes a handheld audio guide and all special Library and Museum programming on the day of attendance. Email the Box Office or call (214) 200-4306 for ticket issues or assistance with the online system.

Native Texas Park information

This 15-acre urban park on the grounds of the Bush Center reflects the President and Mrs. Bush’s longstanding commitment to environmental conservation and restoration.

The Native Texas Park, featuring a one-mile network of trails, walks visitors through native Texas environments including Blackland Prairie, Post Oak Savannah, and Cross Timbers Forest. The Blackland Prairie used to dominate the Dallas region; however today, only 1% of the prairie remains in the state of Texas. Rediscovery of the lost prairie was the inspiration for this community park.

The park is free and open to the public every day of the year, from sunrise to sunset. Comfortable shoes are recommended for walking the trails. Each season brings beautiful changes to the prairie landscape. Pets are welcome.

Clearings in the Native Texas Park provide habitats for butterflies, birds, and other wildlife.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Native Blackland Prairie grasses
• Seasonal wildflowers among other native plants
• Clearings providing native habitats for butterflies, birds, and other species
• Tree-shaded lawns
• Amphitheater
• Spring – Bluebonnets
• Fall – Monarch Buttterflies

SPRING & FALL GUIDED TOURS

In the spring, free guided tours are offered on the weekends so visitors may enjoy the blooming bluebonnets, the beautiful state flower of Texas. In the fall, the tours allow visitors to catch the annual Monarch butterfly migration through North Texas. The Native Texas Park is home to the endangered milkweed plant. Monarch butterflies cannot survive without milkweed; their caterpillars only eat milkweed plants and Monarch butterflies need milkweed to lay their eggs.

Visitors may wander the 1-mile network of trails on the grounds of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum with self-guided tours.

SELF-GUIDED TOUR BROCHURES

• Native Texas Park Plant & Flower Guide
• Spring Guide
• Fall Guide
• Landscape Education Map & Guide

PLAN YOUR FIELD TRIP

The Museum offers free admission tickets to school groups if the Field Trip has been scheduled through Visitor Services at least one month in advance. Field Trips are available Monday through Thursday during the academic school year.

CONSERVATION EFFORTS

The George W. Bush Presidential Center earned Platinum certification by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED^TM) program in March 2013. The LEED building certification program encourages the use of designs, materials and systems that are sustainable, energy efficient and reduce a facility’s impact on the environment and human health. The Bush Center is the first Presidential Library to achieve LEED Platinum certification under New Construction (v2009). LEARN MORE.

http://places.singleplatform.com/cafe-43/menu

Soup is $8

Salads are $15

Brunch Menu $13

Submitted by Ginny Hale

Laurie Sparhawk introduced the Mayor of Sunnyvale, Saji George, who declared this day as Arbor Day.  They both stressed the importance of trees in our landscape, that trees will increase your property value, decrease your air conditioning needs.

Pat Morgan introduced the speaker for today – Nancy Wilson. Her topic was “Butterfly Gardening”.  She recognized that Sunnyvale is tuned into gardening; Sunnyvale is a budding place with our open spaces whereas Dallas is an area that is broken with so much concrete, trying to turn a parking lot into a paved paradise. Native plants are disappearing. There is very little natural habitat left – greenspace has been lost to increase in population.

Nancy says her biggest hope is to create and manage our own gardens, to plant to sustain the lives of Birds, Bees, and Butterflies. She’d like to see weeds replaced with wildflowers.

So where to Birds, Bees and Butterflies dine?

At the Wildscape Café, of course!

BEES – feed on vegetable flowers, zinnias, frog fruit, salvias, etc.

BUTTERFLIES – feed on nectar flowers, zinnias, Mexican sunflowers, salvia milkweed, passion vine, frost weed, etc.

BIRDS – seeds, nuts, berries, persimmons, purple cornflowers, American beauty berries, etc.

HUMMINGBIRDS feed on anything tubular, such as Turk’s Cap, salvia.

Nancy invited us to go to the Lady Bird Johnson website for more information on wildflowers.

Her goal is to reduce the green desert, plant wildflowers, not weeds, emulate nature by providing different heights, and to replace exotic plants with natives.

 Laurie Sparhawk introduced a raffle for a peach tree.  $46 was collected, and Sallyann Nevins was the winner!