When I was the horticulture specialist for Arkansas, I did upwards of 100 talks per year across the state. I was on the road a lot. When I retired, I made the decision to lay off of public talks with the exception of the Arkansas Flower and Garden Show and a couple of out-of-town talks. I am slowly getting back into the speaking circuit again. I drove up to NW Arkansas on Monday evening, caught up with Gerald and then spoke on Tuesday in Rogers,
then drove home. It was kind of nice to be on the road, listening to audio books and driving. I can't say I miss doing them every other day, but once in a blue moon, is kind of nice.
The Rogers Garden Club is one of the oldest garden clubs in the state.
Last month, this club celebrated 90 years of existence. They have over 70 members with both men and women in the club. Some of their members are currently Master Gardeners, while others are lapsed MG's. One of those is Larry Webster who was featured in a past Arkansas Gardener magazine.
He has a beautiful vegetable garden
and shares his knowledge and his produce freely with members of the club and his community.
I was honored to be the Rogers Garden Club speaker for their holiday luncheon this past week. They had over 90 people in attendance. They had a huge silent and live auction, plus a raffle, with proceeds going to fund their beautification efforts, scholarships and youth gardening programs. The Methodist Church in Rogers went all out to host the group, with a wonderful meal cooked by the ladies of the church. There were plenty of questions and it was good to connect with old friends across the state.
I enjoyed it immensely.