By Birgitta Brophy
Welcome to Summer! The Andes Garden Club this past Spring has been buzzing with activities showing no signs of slowing down for the coming months. Now in our fourth year as a club, we have seen growth in membership, extended activities outside of Delaware County, enthusiasm to learn more about our natural world and to just have fun. 
A lovely warm sun greeted club members at our monthly June meeting held at the gardens of Charles and Cynthia Bonnes. Quite a few new faces joined us this evening to experience their first meeting and the beautifully landscaped Bonnes property. After a brief business meeting the group, guided by Charles, learned about the development of the properties’ outdoor rooms, each having its own personality. Many of Mr. Bonnes’ gardens were inspired by international examples seen during work-related travel abroad. With a degree in landscape architecture, Charles designed spaces where these inspirations became reality. And although the gardens are from various locations and/or styles, they work seamlessly on this property by having plants and materials chosen to reflect the gardens’ location in the Catskill mountains. Over the past 40 or so years the gardens have matured but are still a work in progress with new plants being added every year. Thank you once again Charles and Cynthia, it was a very memorable evening!
Club and community members enjoyed a morning bird walk along the Andes Rail Trail at the end of May led by Delaware-Otesgo Audubon Society members Charlie Scheim and Sandy Bright. We had a lovely time learning the songs of warblers and other birds while they played hide and seek in the forest canopy. We hope to host future bird walks during migration periods at known stop-over locations.
Please let us know if there are any plant-related activities, workshops or presentations that you may like to see in the future. We would like to start compiling ideas for 2027 this October and create next year’s calendar of events by November.
Don’t miss the Andes annual Garden Tour on July 25th, from 11 am 4 pm. For more information: https://www.andeslibrary.org/upcoming-events
Upcoming Club Events:
Monthly Meeting: July 6th, at the Andes Hotel, at 5 pm. Everyone is welcome!
Lavender Wand Workshop: July 14th, at 4 pm, cost $35. Diane Maxwell, owner of Lavender Fields in Delhi will show us how to make lavender wands to keep our drawers smelling fresh and share her experience growing lavender plants in our area. Please visit our website for updates and sign-up on Eventbrite.
Watercolor in the Garden Workshop: July 18th