Our local garden club consists of 75% women over 60, very few men, and no kids. Is this the norm for all of you? One of my goals this summer is to start a youth gardening club, with an emphasis on irises.

I am not a member of any club, and so will be interested to find out if those statistics are consistent.

I haven't joined any either, but I've been thinking this might be the year to do it.

that's a great idea, hippie. i had mentor when i was six, and she introduced me to gardening by preparing beds and planting several rows of sweet william. in my innocence and awe, i was surprised to see the flowers that bloomed from those tiny seeds. this friend, was my substitute grandmother, who guided me through creating miniature gardens with succulents, bridges, clay figurines, and animals. she opened my eyes to the wonder of plants.

i'm glad you're passing some of this knowledge and wonder to the next generation; that's very admirable.

Those statistics were close on my MG unit for approx 10 years, the majority of the individuals in our group was primarily women in their 40-50s, same age group for the men. 85/15 was the ratio maybe even 90/10. Think over all the MGs are younger than the clubs.

Hippie: What a beautiful idea.

Daphne: What a beautiful story of your mentor.

Mine was mainly my Mom. As she had gardens filled with Purple and Yellow Irises spread throughout. As a little girl, I would still take time from play to stare at the flowers in bloom.

But there was also a neighbor lady who did not like kids (or dogs). She would sue the other neighbors whose dogs got loose. But she liked me for some reason and she had beautiful gardens. So I got the green light to enter her beautiful world. Therefore I would go gauck at all her beauties as well!

thank you elsa. i treasured her friendship and the gifts of wonder that she planted with me.

thank you for the elsa.

I have not joined any clubs yet....and my first venture to do so was joining this site and specifically visiting the iris subforums....now you can't get rid of me!

In one way or another, I'm very blessed to be in a wholesome and welcoming community like this, especially a community that shares a same love for something; in this case, irises.

I do need to see if I can find any gardening clubs around here...all of the iris ones seem to be too far away.

shizen said:that's a great idea, hippie. i had mentor when i was six, and she introduced me to gardening by preparing beds and planting several rows of sweet william. in my innocence and awe, i was surprised to see the flowers that bloomed from those tiny seeds. this friend, was my substitute grandmother, who guided me through creating miniature gardens with succulents, bridges, clay figurines, and animals. she opened my eyes to the wonder of plants.

i'm glad you're passing some of this knowledge and wonder to the next generation; that's very admirable.

Daphne ~ How fortunate you were! That is just lovely.

GreenIris said:Hippie: What a beautiful idea.

Daphne: What a beautiful story of your mentor.

Mine was mainly my Mom. As she had gardens filled with Purple and Yellow Irises spread throughout. As a little girl, I would still take time from play to stare at the flowers in bloom.

But there was also a neighbor lady who did not like kids (or dogs). She would sue the other neighbors whose dogs got loose. But she liked me for some reason and she had beautiful gardens. So I got the green light to enter her beautiful world. Therefore I would go gauck at all her beauties as well!

Thank you Elsa!!

UndyingLight said:I have not joined any clubs yet....and my first venture to do so was joining this site and specifically visiting the iris subforums....now you can't get rid of me!

In one way or another, I'm very blessed to be in a wholesome and welcoming community like this, especially a community that shares a same love for something; in this case, irises.

I do need to see if I can find any gardening clubs around here...all of the iris ones seem to be too far away.

You may have to start one also.

I belong to an iris club that is active and healthy, and it has a high ratio of men to women. However It's quite far from us, and I don't make the evening meetings because night driving on these rural roads is risky...and I've recently stopped driving altogether. I've drummed up an interest in growing irises locally, but don't have any organizing skills to start a club.
Hopefully someone else will.

Jan ~ I feel the same way. I still drive, but prefer not to drive long distances at night. There are two clubs but neither is close. One in Sacramento, that has earlier evening meetings, but do I want to drive to Sacramento? The other one is in Auburn, which has later evening meetings. I would be willing to go to Placerville...and daytime meetings would be ideal. So, I have never joined a "club"!

Our club is small, with only about 12 consistent members. (Many others come and go.) We're two-thirds women, and 83% aged 60 and over. We meet on Sunday afternoons.

Scott ~ That sounds wonderful. Sunday afternoons...and nearby! That would be ideal for me. I do not have the ambition to start a club in this area, but I do wish there was one nearby.

The only wonderful iris event nearby is Bluebird Haven. Mary only lives a few miles down the hill from me. I have to remember to go there earlier next year, as hers bloom earlier than mine. We are in the same zone, but she being in a lower elevation gives her an edge on earlier bloom. She does have a large property, filled with irises. I will have to ask her how many acres she has planted.

Evenly, you should check out Horton Iris gardens also. I think they are pretty close to you also.
http://www.hortonirisgarden.co...
Edit to add website.

Barbara ~ Google estimates Loomis to be 53.3 miles away. They also give a time estimate, but that may not be accurate due to mountain road travel from here. (1 h 19 min)

It takes me 45 - 50 minutes just to get to Placerville.

I'm surprised it's that far away...