The Yellow Jessamine Garden Club met Tuesday, September 1, 2015 at the home of Mary Ricks. Thirteen members were in attendance. President Mildred Mishue opened the meeting and Chaplain Helen Prevatte began with prayer. The club recited the Creed’s Prayer in unison. Afterwards, Mary Ricks provided refreshments and encouraged us to enjoy. She also placed a beautiful arrangement of flowers she called “Indian Summer Abundance.” Following the refreshments, Secretary Judy Powell called roll by the answering of the favorite butterfly of each member and read the minutes for the previous meeting. Next order of business was our proposed budget by Treasurer Cathy McDaniel, which was voted and approved. There was no business to report on the Membership Committee. Chairman Frances Tyler, of the Projects and Litter Committee, commended us on the wonderful job we are performing during our summer workdays at the J.P. Camp Roadside Park. Publicity Leader, Melissa Moody, informed the YJGC that all meetings are in The Dillon Herald as well as on our Facebook page. This knowledge informs the public of the beautification the YJGC is providing for Dillon County. Ways and Means Chairman, Judy Powell, mentioned our “Holiday Goodness” participation at the City of Dillon Wellness Center and each member bringing goodies for this event on Saturday, November 21. The Yellow Jessamine Garden Club will be the “Santa’s Kitchen” booth at Holiday Goodness.     Following this, Dianne Pittman presented a report on Carolina Wrens, the state bird of South Carolina. She mentioned that wrens love a warm, southern climate and are very vocal. The males are usually the most outgoing and they are the ones to produce the songs. The wren’s meals consist of insects, larva, berries, fruit, and various other small insects. They usually are found in pairs. Also, both the male and female create the nests. Dianne finished her report by displaying a pillow she painted with a Carolina wren perched on a yellow Jessamine branch. There was no unfinished business to report at this time.
Our program leader for the evening, Cathy McDaniel, presented her program on “Butterflies.” She explained how important the butterfly is to our gardens and food supply. Butterflies are pollinators and there are many different species and families of the butterfly. She first spoke of the Cloudless Sulphur butterfly. It is a beautiful yellow butterfly and is common in open areas and fields. The Monarch is another popular butterfly. It is a milkweed butterfly and is a unique orange and black color. This butterfly flies south in the fall and eventually makes their way to Mexico. This butterfly has four generations; egg, larva, pupa and adult. It is referred to as the “King” of the butterflies, hence its name, Monarch. The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail is another lovely butterfly and it is the South Carolina State butterfly. This butterfly receives its name from its wings resembling tiger stripes because they are bordered in black with yellow spots. The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail larvae eats woody plants, such as the tulip, wild cherry, birch, and ash trees. The swallowtail lives near swamps, streams and rivers.
Cathy also suggested planting butterfly gardens. In order to plant a butterfly garden, nectar and host plants must be present. The nectar plants are food. Butterflies love colorful flowers and prefer having plants in a large mass of one single color. The host plants supply the butterflies with a place to lay their eggs. The female lays her eggs on a plant that the caterpillar uses as food. If the egg is not placed on the correct plant, the caterpillar will not survive. Suggested plants are chives, parsley, sage, verbena, daylily, milkweed, hollyhock and lantana to name a few.
After the wonderful presentation from Cathy McDaniels, we drew names for the door prize and Earline Moody won. There were also bamboo containers given out for our “Nickels for Natives” challenge. We are collecting nickels for the South Carolina Garden Club’s new Native Plant Park at Riverbanks Zoo. Our meeting was then adjourned. The next meeting is October 6, 2015 at the home of Mildred Mishue.