By Birgitta Brophy
A warm and cozy fire welcomed the Andes Garden Club’s first meeting of the year, held in the Green Room of the Andes Hotel in January. This will be our meeting place for the months of February, March and April. We really appreciate Derek and those at the Andes Hotel for allowing us the use of their space, it is so very cozy! If you haven’t done so already, please join us at one of our future meetings. We are a very laid-back group of plant and nature geeks. Our meetings last about one to one and a half hours, but stay as long as you can. And if you enjoy the company, stick around and have a beverage with those of us who like to socialize after the meeting!
During the first meeting for 2026, we reviewed ideas and worked on dates for future activities and events. We plan on continuing our popular plant swap in June, so pot up garden and house plants that you’d like to share! Another successful event, “The Plant Pollinator Connection,” held for the Andes Central School CROP summer program, is having a Part II being developed for this coming summer. Presentations on Historic Landscape Design, Land Management Techniques of American Indigenous Peoples, and others are in the making. Club member activities being worked on include a visit to the NYS Museum Herbarium Collection, and Maxwell’s Farm Lavender workshop.
Joanne Warner and Tina DeSanto presented information on the potential of a botanical garden at the Ballantine Mansion. There is a study being conducted on the interest, public support and feasibility of such an amenity to the community. The Andes Garden Club is indeed supportive of this idea. Members provided input on how to reach out to the public, garner their involvement and gain support. One of those ideas was to contact universities with Landscape Architecture programs, such as Cornell Univ. and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, to use this scenario as a class or graduate student project. Outcomes from such projects often lead to further discussions and enhance conceptual final master plan design.
The property is owned by the MaNaBu Movement. See this website for more information: https://manabu.org/programs/andes-botanical-garden/
Next Meeting: Tuesday February 3rd, at 4 pm, at the Andes Hotel Green Room. Meetings are held the first Tuesday of every month.
For more details: Visit us at www.andesgardenclub.org or on Facebook: Andes Garden Club
Contact information: www.info@andesgardenclub.org~