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By Dena Wood
The Times 

Garden Club Paints the Town With Posies

Garden Club Paints the Town With Posies

 

Dena Wood

Karen Gregutt, Susan Donegan, Suze Wood, Julie Tayloe and Deb Callahan take a break from planting to smile for The Times lens.

Gregutt recalls club's history, including giving daisies spot of honor as city flower

WAITSBURG – A good-sized group of ladies from the Waitsburg Garden Club spent a recent sunny Saturday morning beautifying the town in preparation for Waitsburg's Celebration Days weekend. Club members filled planters with posies from one end of Main Street to the other. As they worked, Garden Club founder Karen Gregutt chatted with The Times about the club's history.

Gregutt, who is celebrating her 10th anniversary as a Waitsburger, recalled the first Garden Club meeting, which was held in 2006 at the former Delta Connection coffee shop on the north end of Main. That first meeting was attended by Bettie Chase and Stan Clarke, who have both since passed away. In the course of discussing how to beautify the town, Gregutt learned that Waitsburg had no town flower and requested suggestions. Unofficial town historian Chase asked for some time to consider.

According to Gregutt, at the next meeting, Chase arrived and announced that Waitsburg's town flower would be the daisy. She'd put great thought into her selection and had several reasons that the daisy was an appropriate choice. 1) The pioneers brought the flowers over with them in the 1850's and seeds were commonly carried on the stagecoaches. 2) Daisy's were common in early cottage and heritage gardens. 3) They are white and yellow and go with everything. 4) They are very cheerful. 5) No other city (at that time) had a Daisy as the city flower, making it a "One-of-a-Kind" choice.

Gregutt, who was new to town, said she considered opening the suggestion to discussion, but Clarke, who knew Chase's determination when she had an idea, whispered, "Just go with it." And so it was that the daisy became the official city flower of Waitsburg. For that year's Days of Real Sport parade, the club filled a car with white and yellow daisies and covered the children in the parade with daisies as well.

On Saturday, club members filled planters with Lobelia, petunias, Snow on the Mountains, and Johnny Jump-Ups. A Shasta Daisy holds the place of honor at the center of each pot.

Dena Wood

Deb Callahan, Anne Walsh, Julie Tayloe, Susan Donegan, Karen Gregutt.

Gregutt said she organized the Waitsburg Garden Club to support and appreciate the beauty of the town, especially its trees and flowers. "We want to inspire people to appreciate the natural beauty of the area, share their knowledge and share their gardens," Gregutt said. "Children want to be proud of the town where they live. The stars, the quiet and the birdsong are all treasures that are part of those childhood memories, and many towns have lost that. The Garden Club wants to protect those assets for Waitsburg."

Gregutt also has a passion for protecting and caring for the city's oldest trees. She said Stan Clarke was a founding member of the club and had a special love for the trees of Waitsburg. "He wanted to create a map of heritage trees and saw the club as a vehicle to do that," Gregutt said.

The Waitsburg Garden Club happily accepts new members of all ages and experience levels. No dues are required and the club has no officers. Members meet once a month during the gardening season. The next meeting will take place Saturday, June 6 at 8:30 p.m. at Gregutt's home at 230 West. Street. For more information, or to be added to the newsletter list call Karen Gregutt at (206) 409-8399.

 

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