Sandy, I know you mentioned your club had a plant silent auction. How was it set up? Was there alot of organization involved?

Just had sign up sheets in front of each item that was to be auctioned, and the contributor set a minimum bid at the top of the sheet. There was a set time for all the bidding to end. People just kept walking back to the items they were interested in to see if they needed to up their bids. Items were anything that was garden related....some new/some gently used.

Thanks! I will suggest it for one of our meetings.

We also had a plant auction in conjunction with the silent auction. Members donated plants they either grew or bought to donate. We have a member who acts as the auctioneer...and makes it lots of fun. We bid against each other for the more exotic plants. Part of the money goes to the club's general fund, the rest is for our scholarship fund. We made a total of nearly $1300. from the two auctions combined!
This month we'll be going to one of our member's gorgeous garden for a tour, as well as one of her neighbor's that will be featured on Central TX Gardener later this year. Also there, another of our members will be teaching how to make ceramic pots, and I'll be demonstrating how to make large concrete leaves in the garden.

I want to join your club!
Was the silent auction plants as well as garden items or the plants were just part of the plant auction(weird sentence)

Weirder...I think I understood what you wrote.... No plants were in the silent auction this time, but we have had them before. Silent auction items were gardening books, planters, bottles of wine, a certificate for a $250. tour of downtown Austin (for when your MIL visited and you wanted her out of the house!), lots of jewelry items, on and on....

I'll see if I still have the sheet for each item for bidding and post it....I'm still getting the newsletter ready to go for June.

Here you go Anna.....the bid sheet...

Thanks Sandy. We have a silent auction at our holiday luncheon...but b/c it is Dec there are never plants and it tends to be Christmas stuff...really , do we need more stuff? Only stuff that grows or related!

Can't you plan a silent auction for a summer mtg? It could be in conjunction with the regular mtg. you could bring seeds, plants, cuttings, pots, books and gardening magazines. i wish I could rmember all the thhings we had for the silent auction. There were tables and tables. And it's pure profit for the club....

YES!. I will definitely suggest it for one of the meeting.I know I would really enjoy it as would the other gardeners.

Here's an idea... DH copied the logo off the newsletter, colored it, copied it to iron-on transfer paper, and I ironed it on to aprons for the garden party on the 26th.