Date: Wednesday, April 18

Time: Pot Luck 6:00pm • Meeting: 6:30pm • Speaker: 7:00pm

Place: Peoria Extension Office

Topic: This is one our two evening meetings per year, which is also a pot luck so

bring something to share. Guests are welcome so we encourage you to invite your

spouses or significant others to join us. After our pot luck and usual business meeting,

our speaker will be Jeff Lampe. Jeff is the Outdoor Columnist for the Peoria Journal

Star. We anticipate that his presentation will be very interesting to spouses as well as

Master Gardeners. (Note: Have a topic of MG interest or a guest speaker you would like

to have at any of our meetings? Please let our President, Mike Wilkins know.)

Well it's official, spring is here. The next seven months will sure to be busy ones. There

are lots of projects going on this year and I look forward to an excellent year of education

and progress. Speaking of great projects I would like to congratulate all that had a

hand in the development and fruition of the "Unearthed: Garden Stories" program on

WTVP. Good Job!

I am looking for some volunteers to form a bylaws review committee to do the obvious.

It's been awhile since this was done. The deadline to be part of the committee will be

after the April meeting. Meeting times will be scheduled as to be the most productive,

that 3 dimensional thinking thing again. If you would like to participate, call me at

(309) 208-1568 or email (address below).

I would like to add a correction, the Youth Farm volunteer project is STILL an ongoing

volunteer project. Hope to see all of you at the next meeting.

- Mike Wilkins

Special guests at the March meeting were John Morris and Christl Harvey from

WTVP. They came at Melanie Martin's invitation to offer explanations about how

documentaries such as "Unearthed: Garden Stories" are made and to promote the

upcoming Garden Walk Tour, that will features the documented gardens. Area MGs

have been asked to coordinate a garden walk day on June 9. This gives MG's the

opportunity to be part of the support process for future WTVP gardening programming.

This walk will feature the gardens in the documentary. (See Garden Walk Tour

page 3)

Reports from some of our Volunteer Projects:

• Bel-Wood - Cleanup will begin in April. This year the project members will form

garden clubs with the residents, which will provide increased educational impact to

the project.

• Help Line - Volunteers are being training to photograph suspect bugs and plant

material with the Extension Office's DDDI camera and microscope, and how to send

the pictures off to the U.of I. Specialists through the diagnostic web site. Scheduling

for the Help Line will begin April 1.

• Parc - Project volunteers will help the residents pot up a

limited number of donated plants for a short-term planting

project at Children's Home. (see more on page 5)

Community Volunteer Projects:

• Luthy - Volunteers are working hard on starting seedlings and

potting up for the upcoming April Plant Sale and setting up for

the Lily Show.

Short Term Projects:

• Habitat for Humanity - Two tree plantings will be done for

Habitat for Humanity. Contact Phil Adams if you want to help

through the Peoria Extension office.

Children's Home Walking Trail - Norm Meyn requested

donated plants and planting assistance at end of April to assist a

Christmas in April program which will finish the walking trail

project at the Children's Home. Parc residents will be doing

some limited potting up of plants to assist Norm.

Recurring Events/Activities:

• Jubilee Herb Garden - Nancy Lemieux reported that the

starting date for these gardens is later in the year due to microclimate

conditions. There may be some help provided from a

state institution. The Old English Faire is the 3rd Saturday in

June and help will be needed to man a table at that event.

• MG Plant Sale - The MG plant sale is May 5 at Metro Center

from 8:00 a.m. to noon. Donated plants must be marked prior to

delivery with plant name, color, and shade or sun requirement.

Tags are available from Bonnie or Phyllis. Plants should be

delivered to Metro Center well before 8:00 a.m. day or sale or

prior to sale to Katie Grady's house. Plants should be potted in

as large a pot as feasible for better sale price. A sign up sheet

was passed with the time slots when volunteers will be needed

day of the sale. MG's may pre-buy up to 3 plants prior to sale

opening, or at 10:30 when the remaining plants become sale

priced at 50% of original price. Any plants remaining at sale end

may be used by MG projects. Someone must pick them up at

end of sale so tables can be cleaned. (see more on page 3)

Additionally, Mike Wilkins has a PowerPoint program, "Preventable

Landscape Diseases"; developed by a U.of I. educator

that needs to be previewed by the group for potential use at the

Women's Life Style show. This program will count as an

education hour.

Other:

Norm Meyn showed the group the picture of a bloom from the

Cobra Lily he has been growing in his basement. The plant is

approximately shoulder high and has a dark brown tubular like

blossom. Thanks, Norm, for this report of a unique plant.

Jane Mason, Hoerr Nursery Marketing Director, presented the

program, "What's New for 2007" which included not only

pictures and lists of new annuals and perennials, but pointers on

water gardens, a new system to control mosquitoes, the new

trends in outdoor living areas, and other exciting ideas.

- Bonnie Hunt, Recording Secretary