April 2015 Meeting: A Tour of South Africa

Uplands Garden Club member, Arnette Small, was our program presenter at the April meeting.

Arnette toured the country of South Africa as one of 100 members from the American Birding Association visiting a number of parks and botanical gardens. She toured there for 2 weeks last October; Spring in South Africa. Rock Jumper planned and organized the guided tours which included Kruger National Park.

Arnette's birding books

On video and camera, Arnette captured many animals including rare wild dogs, elephants, penguins and giraffes to name a few. She saw many dazzling-colored birds with equally colorful names of which her favorites are violet backed starlings, sunbirds, sugarbirds, beeeaters, rollers, go-aways and thick knees.

Artifacts from Arnette's South African tour

Arnette shared her knowledge and photos of plants including unique and unusual bonsai, protea pruned to the size of small trees, and a 2000 year old baobab tree. Her video of the penguins playing on the beach brought a laugh from everyone (yes, there ARE penguins in South Africa!).

Thank you, Arnette, for sharing your once-in-a-lifetime trip with us!

March 2015 Meeting: Gardening for Hummingbirds

Michael and Kathi Rock gave a presentation on attracting hummingbirds to your property, regardless of location. Their talk covered basic information on the life and behavior of the Rubythroated hummingbird, its migration patterns, reproduction and nesting habits; and the best feeders for attracting hummingbirds and how to maintain them. The second half of their program focused on annual and perennial plants to include in your garden and how to effectively design a garden to attract hummingbirds.

Michael and Kathi have been learning about hummingbird behavior and gardening to attract hummingbirds for over 10 years. They have studied and consulted with many experts and
hummingbird banders and traveled to many US locations to learn about hummingbirds. Michael and Kathi have presented at the Dane Co. Garden Expo, Olbrich Gardens, the Chicago Garden and Flower Show and the Sedona Hummingbird Festival. They will also speak at the Milwaukee Realtors’ Home and Garden Show in 2015.

Garden Club Program Chair, Mary Mayo chats with Michael
after the presentation

Their presentation includes many photos from their Madison garden which includes over a hundred plant varieties and more than 20 hummingbird feeders. Michael and Kathi have published articles on hummingbird gardening in a variety of magazines and other sources. They were featured in the Wisconsin State Journal, Midwest Living Magazine, Birds and Blooms Magazine and The Wisconsin Gardener program on Wisconsin Public Television. Each September, they conduct public tour of their hummingbird garden at their home in Madison.

February 2015 Meeting: The Passenger Pigeon's Extinction

The February meeting got 2015 off to a great start. Guest speaker, Stanley Temple, was entertaining and educational and left us with much to think about.


Dr. Temple gave a presentation on the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon one hundred years ago. From the most numerous bird in North America (3-5 billion) to GONE in 50 years! This extinction was a catalyst for the Conservation Movement.

For 32 years Stan Temple occupied the faculty position once held by Aldo Leopold. He and his students have worked on endangered species problems in 21 different countries, and have helped save some of the world's rarest and most endangered species, especially birds. He has long been interested in Passenger Pigeon, having analyzed historical records for the species that were first assembled by A. W. Schorger for his 1955 book on the life history and ecology of the species.

2014 marked the 100th anniversary of the passenger pigeon's extinction, and commemorative events took place throughout the year. Stan gave 102 presentations on the pigeon in 20 states and one province last year! His presentation explores the ecology and life history of the passenger pigeon and other extinct and endangered birds, current extinction crises, endangered species recovery, human relationship with wildlife, and sustainable use of biological resources.

Stanley Temple to Speak at Uplands Garden Club

Stanley A Temple, 

Beers-Bascom Professor Emeritus in Conservation, UW-Madison and 

Senior Fellow, Aldo Leopold Foundation 

The Passenger Pigeon's Extinction: 

Lessons from the Past for a Sustainable Future

Uplands Garden Club Meeting

February 4, 2015, 7pm 

Stonefield Apartments, Dodgeville, WI. 

See our Meetings Tab for directions to Stonefield. 

Non-members welcome.

For 32 years Stan Temple occupied the faculty position once held by Aldo Leopold. He and his students have worked on endangered species problems in 21 different countries, and have helped save some of the world's rarest and most endangered species, especially birds. He has long been interested in Passenger Pigeon, having analyzed historical records for the species that were first assembled by A. W. Schorger for his 1955 book on the life history and ecology of the species. 2014 marked the 100th anniversary of the passenger pigeon's extinction, and commemorative events took place throughout the year. Stan gave 102 presentations on the pigeon in 20 states and one province last year! His presentation explores the ecology and life history of the passenger pigeon and other extinct and endangered birds, current extinction crises, endangered species recovery, human relationship with wildlife, and sustainable use of biological resources.

December 2014 Meeting: Annual Christmas Party

The Garden Club Christmas Party is always one of the social highlights of the year.

The club donated $175 to the SW Cap Food Pantry from member donations. 

Thank you to club members for your generosity!

As always, the pot-luck meal was terrific (garden club members are such good cooks!). 

The club provided ham, sherried beef, and mashed potatoes and members brought delectable dishes to share.

After dinner, we all enjoyed the White Elephant gift exchange. This year there were some nice gifts, like a basket snagged by Arnette...

and some pretty goofy ones, like the mohawk wig (hands-down, the hit of the evening)...

which (of course), was stolen by John.

November 2014 Meeting: Founders Appreciation Meeting

Our November meeting was a real treat - an Uplands Garden Club Founders Appreciation Program.





Mary Mayo and Jane Wisler served a light dinner of delicious soups.














Founding member Marcia Geer gave a brief club history and related some entertaining stories about the early days. The we enjoyed watching a video recording of one of our early meetings.






It was a wonderful reunion for many of the original group of Uplands Garden Club members.
Many thanks to Mary and Jane for putting this together.

October 2014 Meeting: Providing for Wildlife in Our Gardens

At our October meeting, Uplands Garden Club member Nancy Frost, who works for the DNR gave a wonderful talk on things we can do in our gardens and yards to provide food, water and shelter for birds, insects and amphibians. She described what they need to feed on during the winter and gave us tips on things we can provide throughout the year that will help them thrive, such as that butterflies need milkweed, muddy spots, wood piles while dragonflies need still water and cattails.

She recommended books on caterpillars, toads, books on bird nests and birds. And she reminded us that the new UW bug guy, PJ Liesch, can be reached by e-mailing pliesch@wisc.edu.

Thank you Nancy for an enjoyable and fascinating presentation!