The Yellow Jessamine Garden Club met on Tuesday, January 5, 2016 at 6:30 pm at the lovely home of Judy Wyman. Fifteen members were present.
The meeting was called to order by President Mildred Mishue. She thanked our hostesses, Judy Wyman & Janet Keaton for their hospitality. She also welcomed our new member, Donna Davis to our meeting. Earline Moody then opened with a devotional on “Glass Beach.”
This devotion spoke on how God can use broken glass bottles and debris from the ocean, to make beautiful sea glass. Jesus can make you pure and clean and smooth away all the rough edges.
After the devotion, Earline Moody blessed our refreshments, which consisted of pimento cheese & chicken salad with crackers, fudge, coconut balls, chips, nuts and chocolate candies.
After our refreshments, the roll was called by Secretary Judy Powell by the naming of the favorite flower. She also read the minutes from our previous meeting and they were approved.
There was no Treasurer’s Report. Membership Chairman, Earline Moody, thanked our new member, Donna Davis, for joining us and she is looking forward to the wonderful asset she will be to our club. Projects and litter Chairman, Frances Tyler, reports that a workday will be needed when the weather is warmer.
As of now, the trash and debris from The J.P. Camp Roadside Park is being gathered. Ways and Means has no report. Publicity Chairman, Melissa Moody, informs the club that our Press Book was mailed on December 28, 2015 and our meetings will be on our Facebook® page as well as in our local newspaper, The Dillon Herald. Earline Moody made calls to the members to remind them of the meeting. Our next order of business was a report on birds.
Dianne Pittman presented her report on the Red-headed Woodpecker.
This woodpecker lives in pine savannas, dead timber and open woods.
It’s bold red colored head, snow white body and black wings make it very visible when flying through the woods. Their diet consists of insects, seeds, nuts and fruits.
They may also catch insects in the air and store their extra in crevices for a later meal. The red headed woodpecker is known to pick fights with other birds. Their predators include snakes, foxes, raccoons and other larger bird species.
The male selects a site for the nest while both male and female help form it.  These birds usually use the dead branches of trees to pitch their nests. Incubation period is usually 12-14 days while nesting is 24-31 days.
The red headed woodpecker is on decline due to forestation. Preservation of these beautiful birds, such as management programs, is helping this species.
After a great report from Dianne, President Mildred Mishue mentioned Arbor Day Celebration at The City of Dillon Wellness Center.
She and several other members attended.
As unfinished business, President Mishue made mention of the three gifts from each member for our Coastal District meeting in March. Also, for our May meeting we are visiting the Botanical Gardens in Lake City. A majority of our club will be attending.
Our program leader for January was Judy Powell. She gave a very informative program on flower arranging.
She demonstrated how to make a beautiful arrangement by using wet oasis foam and gently pushing your flower in the foam.
She brought a cute coffee mug and placed the wet foam inside the mug. Judy also spoke on how important it was to cut the stem at a level angle when placing the flower in the foam. For her display, she used camellia greenery for the bottom layer.
Then, she added flowers and filled in the spaces with burgundy, yellow and white daisies.
Judy explained how you could use greenery and flowers from your yard to make your arrangement special.
The mixed arrangement was very cute and very easy to do.
After the program, our meeting was adjourned. Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 2, 2016 at 6:30pm at the home of Larue Bracey.
The Yellow Jessamine Garden Club is a member of The National Garden Clubs, Inc., South Atlantic Region of National Council, The Garden Club of South Carolina, Inc., and The Coastal District of The Garden Club of South Carolina.