September 2019 Meeting: Bird Studies

Our September 2019 program, titled Bird Studies, was an introduction to bird watching and feeding, and how to develop a bird friendly yard, presented by Chuck Horn. 

Chuck earned a degree in Resource Management from UW-Stevens Point and worked for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for forty years. After retirement he came back as a part time administrator in the boating safety program and Learn to Hunt and Learn to Fish Outdoor Education programs. Chuck has assisted in or coordinated Audubon Christmas Bird Counts for about 20 years and is currently the coordinator/compiler for the Fennimore Bird Count Circle.

Chuck and his wife, Diane Reuter, who assisted with the presentation, share many outdoor

interests and adventures together including, birding, wildflower identification, hunting, fishing, hiking and camping.

As with all of the Uplands Garden Club speaker presentations, this program was free and open to the public - people of all ages were encouraged to attend.

August 2019 Meeting: Potluck and Garden Visit

This month Alex and Ashley Pfister hosted the club at their home outside Hollandale for our annual summer potluck.

Alex and Ashley have owned their farm since 1995, buying it at auction from Agnes Laverty, age 95, who lived there from the age of 10 with her youngest brother, Frank, until his death in 1995 at age 85. Their parents, Frances and Mae Laverty built it in 1910 after the original homestead burned down. 

Alex and Ashley used it for hunting and a weekend “getaway” for 20 years before renovating/adding-on and moving in full time in 2015. Geothermal heat/cool and solar panels were installed. The 80 tillable acres have been in CRP since 1998, planted in prairie with evergreens on the edges. 

In 2005 they started raised bed vegetable gardening, being committed to growing as much of their own food as possible. In 2017 they replaced the wooden raised beds with 12 galvanized steel stock tanks, adding 6 more this spring. 

Mae had three separate small perennial beds in front of the house that have been made into one large bed, keeping her plants right where they’ve always been.

It was a perfect summer evening and the gardens could not have been lovelier. Thank you to Alex and Ashley for their hospitality!

July 2019 Meeting: Nana Schowalter Gardens and Studio

On July 10th, we spent a near perfect summer evening at the Blanchardville home and studio of Nana Schowalter and her husband Bob Berglund. Nana creates metal sculptures and Bob makes wooden bowls and also does some metal work.

Nana earned an MFA degree from UW-Madison in 1987. She was first introduced to blacksmithing in 1984. The inspiration for her sculptures is in symbols and objects found in ancient cultures. (www.nanaschowalter.com)

Nana and Bob have integrated their art into the landscape and it was wonderful to wander their gardens and admire the plants and works of art at the same time.

Thank you to Nana and Bob for hosting our Garden Club meeting!

June 2019 Meeting: Peonies!

Our June meeting was held at Bures Berry Patch near Barneveld.  Farmers Ed and Kathy Bures established Bures Berry Patch in 2001 to provide locally grown, fresh, high-quality fruits and vegetables in a family farm environment.  In addition to selling produce on the farm, the Bures also sell at local farmers' markets and offer pick-your-own or pre-picked strawberries, peas, and pumpkins.

At this meeting however, we were actually there to visit Sharon Schmitz, Kathy Bures' mother, who moved here several years ago and brought her extensive peony collection. Sharon is one of the original members of the Wisconsin Peony Society and is an expert on growing these beautiful plants.

For those members who were able to attend the peony tour, it was worth enduring the chilly, drizzly evening. The varieties were endless, with impressive blossoms perfectly upright, not spread on the ground as so many of ours are after the endless rain we’ve been having.

Thank you to Sharon Schmitz and Kathy Bures for their hospitality!

Grant Project Report: Mineral Point School Garden

May 23rd was a picture perfect and planting perfect day...and also perfect for Wisconsin School Garden Day. Jeff David , Music, is newly in charge of the Mineral Point School Garden. Every child had the pleasure of a sunny time in the garden, walking in the Oak Savanna, and planting.

Uplands Garden Club supports this effort with a small grant.

Uplands Garden Club Plant Sale 2019

After a one year hiatus, the annual Upland Garden Club Plant Sale returned on May 18th, once again at Harris Park in Dodgeville.


In order to prevent the spread of jumping worms, this year's sale consisted entirely of plants that were grown from seeds or cuttings, in soilless mix, whereas previous sales relied primarily on perennials dug from member's home gardens.

There were annuals, house plants, prairie plants, shrubs, herbs, vegetables...and lots and lots of tomatoes - one table just for cherry tomatoes, one for paste tomatoes and several for slicing tomatoes. Customers appreciated the wide variety of tomatoes that were available.

And the sale even included miniature Bonsai plantings and beautiful homemade gardening hods.

May 2019 Meeting: Spring Blooms "Show and Tell"

Every spring, gardeners anxiously await spring color and the first blooms of the year. In honor of those early blooming plants, our May meeting focused on unusual or uncommon plants that provide color through early May.

The program was structured in a 'show and tell' format. Program committee member Jean Halverson ran a slide show of early flowers blooming in home gardens submitted by Uplands Garden Club members. If the plant was blooming by our meeting date on May 1st, members could also bring a flower stalk or small bouquet...or pot them up and then take them back home to replant. Anything that blooms in early spring was eligible, including shrubs or trees, natives, special daffodils and tulips.

Program committee member Mary Mayo even made a special edible bouquet inspired by spring blooms - totally beautiful and also delicious!












A huge thank you to the committee (Mary Mayo, Jean Halverson and Ashley Pfister) for a delightfully creative program. 

Reminder - Plant Sale is coming up on May 18, 8–10:30am, Ley Pavilion at Harris Park, Dodgeville. Everet brought in garden hods that he made to sell at the Plant Sale. Gorgeous!