2002

Membership: The BCGC membership was at an all time high in January -- 158 members. By April, the total was 168; in May 192. But after the dues collection in June--August, membership was down to 143 by November.

Family Death: On January 28th, one of the club's members, Marianne Klatt, lost her husband.

Master Gardeners: Three BCGC member completed the Prince George's County Master Gardener training course and passed the final exam -- Pat Dumais, Priscilla Mayfield, and Phyllis LaBorwit.

Pruning Seminar: The Bowie Beautification and Tree Preservation Committee hosted a Pruning Seminar on February 23rd at the Bowie Senior Center. Jessie Smith of the BCGC conducted the session. She was assisted by Matt Reno and Ed Hall from the City. Over 100 people attended.

Adopt-A-Highway Program: The club renewed its commitment for another two years. Cleanups of Route 197 continued during this year in March, May, September and November.

Donna Hayward's Gardening Book Sale: Donna passed in September 2001 and donated her gardening books to the club. The books were placed on sale at the March 2002 meeting, and a tree was planted in her memory.

Christmas In April Project: At the March meeting, the membership voted not to participate in the program for this year, but will make a financial contribution following the plant sale. At the April meeting the membership voted to hold some funds in escrow for the 2003 campaign.

Field Trips: 


On March 7th, the club attended the Philadelphia Flower Show. See some photos of the 2004 show here.

  • Also in March, nine club members visited the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. They met with faculty and students who provided a tour of the state-of-the-art design studios.
  • The club went on a field trip to the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in Washington DC on June 15th.
    • On October 10th the club took a bus trip to Richmond, VA, to visit the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens and Maymont Mansion.

Workshop: On June 22nd Harold Moline hosted a "Propagation Workshop". The workshop focused on propagating vegetation from cuttings.


The 14th Annual Plant Sale: The sale was held in the St. Matthew's Methodist Church parking lot on Route 450, Bowie, MD, on April 27th. The location was changed because of construction on Route 450 and at the BRAVA center. The club made a donation to the church as a thank you for the use of their facilities.


BRAVA, Christmas in April, and The Bowie Food Pantry each received a donation of 10% of the plant sale profits.

Annual Club Picnic: The picnic was held at Highbridge Park, Bowie, MD, on June 1st.

The officers and committee members as of June 2002 were as follows:

President: Phyllis LaBorwit
1st V.P. , Programs: Jesse Terres
3rd V.P., Membership: Evelyn Svaboda
4th V.P., Plant Exchange/Door Prizes: Mary Jo McGovern
2nd V.P., Public Relations: Susan Piatt
Treasurer: Pat Dumais
Secretary: Charles Einolf
Field Trips: Harold Moline
Historian: Pat Benson
Newsletter: Kris Gasteiger & Pat Clunies
V.P. Special Projects: Kent Winterson
Hospitality: Ellen Brous
Sunshine: Harriet Feldman
Plant Sale: Vacant
Webmaster: Dawnelle Loiselle

Open Garden Tours: On July 20, 27 and 28th the following members opened their gardens for public tours: Phyllis and Louis LaBorwit, Janelle Dietrich, Pat and Steve Cone. On August 24th Carolyn Tanner and Connie Carter opened their gardens for tours.

First Club Website: Thanks to Dawnelle Loiselle, the club's first web site was posted on the Internet in August 2002. The newsletter was not available on the website.

Annual Holiday Party: The party this year was held on December 15th at St. Matthew's Methodist Church. 

 The speakers for 2002 were:

  • 1/29: Jesse Terres (Mr. Tomato), BCGC member -- "Tomatoes"
  • 2/26: Dr. Robert Howell, retired form the Department of Agriculture -- "Soil and Its' Amendments"
  • 3/26: Jesse Terres, BCGC member -- "Asexual and Sexual Propagation of Plant"; also a Question and Answer session.
  • 4/30: Charlie Hanners, BCGC member -- "Azaleas"
  • 5/28: Mr. Norm Thurston, Gardener and Composter -- "Science of Successful Home Scale Composting"
  • 7/30: Richard M. Koogle, Director of Operations for Lilypons Water Gardens -- "Aquatic Gardening"
  • 8/27: Duane Wilding, Maryland Environmental Service -- "Storm Water Management Pertinent to Gardening"
  • 9/24: Steve Barry, Arlington Echo Coordinator for Anne Arundel Public Schools -- "Rain Barrel Workshop"; the proper installation and use of rain barrels.
  • 10/29: Jesse Terres, BCGC member -- "Care and Feeding of Chrysanthemums"
  • 11/26: Jesse Terres -- Question and Answer Session

2003

Pruning Seminar: The Bowie Beautification and Tree Preservation Committee hosted a Pruning Seminar on February 22nd at the Bowie Senior Center. Jessie Smith of the BCGC conducted the session. 

Field Trips: On March 5th, the club made a trip to the Philadelphia Flower Show.


15th Annual Plant Sale: The sale was held on April 26th in the parking lot at St. Matthews Methodist Church on Route 450, Bowie, MD.

Passing of Saul Weiss: The BCGC expressed its sorrow at the loss of Saul Weiss, a long-time club member. In July 2000, Saul and his wife Lena moved from Bowie to Arlington, VA. (See the photo taken at Saul's farewell reception here.)

Adopt-A-Highway Program: Cleanups of Route 197 continued during this year in March, May, and September.


Annual Club Picnic: The picnic this year was held on June 7th at Highbridge Park in Bowie, MD.

The officers and committee members as of June 2003 were as follows:

President: Kent Winterson
1st V.P. , Programs: Jesse Terres
3rd V.P., Membership: Beverly Landymore
4th V.P., Plant Exchange/Door Prizes: Mary Jo McGovern
2nd V.P., Public Relations: Vacant
Treasurer: Barbara Eberstein
Secretary: Charles Einolf
Field Trips: Harold Moline
Historian: Vacant
Newsletter: Kris Gasteiger & Iris Mars
V.P. Special Projects: Kent Winterson
Hospitality: Rose & John Arslanian
Sunshine: Harriet Feldman
Plant Sale: Connie Carter & Claudia West
Webmaster: Dawnelle Loiselle

Library Beautification Project: On June 10, members of the BCGC planted nine Yoshino Cherry trees in front of the Bowie Library.


L to R: Dianne Oden, Susan Piatt, Phyllis LaBorwit, Sue Groft, Beverly Landymore, Jessie Smith.


L to R: Janelle Dietrich, Phyllis LaBorwit, Sue Piatt, Jessie Smith and Supervisor Beverly Landymore.

Garden Tours: The club's public garden tours were held on August 9th and 10th. The following members opened their gardens: Connie Carter, Monique and Paul Harris, Faith and Jerry Bange. On September 20th Herb Richard opened his garden for tours.

Membership: February -- 151, March -- 166, April -- 173, May -- 180, October -- 123.

Holiday Party: The party was held on December 14th at St. Matthews Church, Route 450, Bowie, MD.

The speakers for 2003 were:

  • 1/29:  Faith Bange, Freestate Daylily Society --"Care and Propagation of Daylilies"
  • 2/26: Marc Imlay, Maryland Native Plant Society -- "Native Plants"
  • 3/25: Jesse Terres, BCGC -- "Building a Small Greenhouse, Potting Bench, and Cold Frame" and Harold Moline, BCGC -- "Dividing Perennials"
  • 4/29: Richard Shaw, Historic Annapolis Foundation Director of Horticulture -- "Colonial Gardens -- Past and Present"
  • 5/27: Janelle Dietrich, BCGC -- "Creating a Wildlife Habitat in Your Yard"
  • 7/29: Jesse Terres, BCGC -- "Question and Answer Session"
  • 8/26: Sara Tangren, Chesapeake Native Nursery -- "Gardening and growing Native Plants"
  • 9/30: Solomon Foster, Senior Student at the University of Maryland, majoring in Landscape Management -- "Water Gardening"
  • 10/28: Jesse Terres, BCGC -- "Growing Chrysanthemums"
  • 11/25: Jesse Terres, BCGC -- "Tomatoes, Landscaping and Chrysanthemums"