MV Garden Club November Meeting

The Garden Club held its November meeting on the 18th at the St. John Vianney Catholic Church. The program titled "You Gotta Love Hummeers" was presented by Connie and Chuck Clark. We were surprised to learn that there are 338 species of hummingbirds in the world, though we only enjoy the visits of 13 here in the US. Connie shared that they start putting a half full feeder out on April 10th for those that start arriving early,and the full ones as more arrive. She stressed the importance of giving the feeders a thorough washing between each filling. It's best to let them soak in hot soapy water before scrubbing. They have found that using a mascara brush is the easiest way to ensure the feeding holes are free of debris and bacteria. To make Hummingbird food use a 4 to 1 ratio of water and sugar. It mixes just as well in hot water, and please don't use the red food coloring! They pointed out that there is much discussion of what flowers the hummers like best. They love most of the flowers that we grow but prefer the ones that are native to our area. Most of us bring our feeders in sometime in September but Connie pointed out that they had a few at their feeders as late as October 11th. She asked that we leave ours out longer for those who have gotten a late start heading south...they need that extra energy to make that long trip.

We learned so much, thank you Connie and Chuck!!!

The Mountain View Garden Club is a member of the National Garden Clubs, Inc., the Federated Garden Clubs of Missouri, and the Central Region Garden Clubs. You will find great pictures of our many activities on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mvgc.mountainviewmo and Shutterfly at mountainviewgardenclub.shutterfly.com.