Edelweiss Garden Club

09/03/2026

We had a lot of beautiful Black-Eyed Susans sent in, and this is their time to shine! Here are some of the many benefits to growing them:

🌼 Pollinator Magnet: The bright yellow petals and dark centers attract bees, butterflies, moths, and beneficial flies looking for nectar and pollen.
🌼 Wildlife Food: Goldfinches and other seed-eating birds feast on the mature, nutrient-rich seeds left on the plant in late autumn and winter.
🌼 Soil Stabilization: Their deep root systems help anchor soil, making them effective for erosion control on slopes or in naturalized meadows.
🌼 Low Maintenance: As a hardy North American native, they tolerate drought, adapt to poor clay or sandy soils, and offer high resistance to deer.

Thank you to Denise Strother, Kathy DuBois Wachter, and Pamela Cook for sharing these photos from their own gardens!

09/02/2026

We asked for photos of what's blooming in all of your gardens and you all showed up with so many wonderful photos! This is a collection of photos that feature pollinators doing their thing, lots of busy bees, butterflies and a great video of a hummingbird enjoying some phlox!
A big THANKS to these followers for sharing with us:
🐝 Food Prood / Laura Lawrence
🦋 Jessica Jean
🌼 Jodi Bennett Jenkins
🐝 Kathy Dubois Wachter
🦋 Sasha Spence
🌼 Linda Darnton
🐝 Megan Lynne

08/29/2026

📸 Weekend Bloom: what's still showing off in your garden?

Late-season bloomers like asters, mums, and rudbeckia tend to steal the show this time of year. Share a photo of what's still blooming (or looking great) in your yard this weekend - we'd love to see it! 🌼

Bonus points if you tell us what it is - it's always fun to pick up new plant ideas from each other.

08/26/2026

Just a PSA for , I have seen multiple spam posts come up on different sites and throughout several comment sections of our various posts here on our social media. I am trying to delete them as quickly as I see them.

Please DO NOT click on any link that looks suspicious. We are not trying to sell any Edelweiss Garden Club merchandise at this time, and in the event that we do, we will share that directly.

If you ever have a question if something is legitimate, please don’t hesitate to reach out and we will let you know.

Thank you!

08/25/2026

🏔️ Mark your calendars: frost season is close.

Here in Ga***rd, our average first frost date typically lands in mid-to-late September, though it's not unusual to see a light frost earlier at our elevation. That means we're only a few weeks out!

A few things to start thinking about now:
🔹 Tender annuals and herbs you want to save - take cuttings or plan to pot them up.
🔹 Houseplants that summered outside - start checking them for hitchhiking bugs before bringing them in.
🔹 Dahlias, gladiolus, and other tender bulbs - note where they are now so you can find them for digging later!

No need to panic yet, just plan ahead. 🍂

08/22/2026

🌻 What's overflowing in your garden right now?

Tomatoes taking over the counter? Zucchini multiplying by the hour? Flowers still going strong?

Drop a comment (or a photo!) of whatever's thriving...or overwhelming you in your garden this week. We love seeing what everyone's up to! 🌿

08/20/2026

🍅 Don't let it sit on the vine too long!

With cooler nights creeping in, now's the time to get serious about harvesting tomatoes, peppers, and summer squash. A few tips:

🔹 Pick tomatoes as soon as they start to blush - they'll ripen just fine on a sunny windowsill, and it protects them if we get a surprise cool snap
🔹 Peppers can be picked green or left to fully color up if you've got time
🔹 Zucchini and summer squash: check daily, they hide!

Got an old bedsheet or row cover handy? Keep it near the door - a light frost can still sneak in before the "official" first frost date, and a quick cover overnight can save a few more weeks of harvest.

What are you harvesting the most of this week? 👇

08/13/2026

Our August meeting, held last night at the Otsego County Library, was a hands-on creative session of making windowsill succulent gardens! A big THANKS to Sharie Plain and MeLissa Olson for providing materials to make these happen. Thanks also to Julie Salsido for sharing some of her delicious baked goods at the meeting as well. After the indoor portion of the meeting we went out to tour the gardens at the Otsego County Sportsplex .
Thank you to all that were able to join us for this month's meeting and if you would like to join us feel free to reach out or look into joining the group at https://edelweissgardenclub.org/join-now

08/04/2026

This is great information on the importance of native plant rain gardens. If you have a rain garden we would love to see it!

When heavy rain hits hard surfaces like roofs, roads, driveways, sidewalks, and parking lots, that water has to go somewhere, and it often moves quickly across the landscape instead of soaking into the ground. Along the way, runoff can pick up sediment, nutrients, oils, trash, and other pollutants before it reaches storm drains, ditches, streams, wetlands, rivers, and lakes.

Native plants can help slow that process down. In rain gardens, bioswales, planted buffers, wetlands, yards, parks, and other green spaces, vegetation helps hold soil, slow runoff, filter sediment and nutrients, and give water more chances to soak in.

One rain garden or planted area will not stop a major flood. But across a watershed, many planted spaces and green infrastructure features can help reduce how fast runoff moves and what it carries with it. It all adds up before the water reaches a lake or stream 🙂

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/soak-up-the-rain-with-a-rain-garden

08/04/2026

We had so many great responses to our post about hanging baskets and potted plants. Here is a collection of photos we received in the comments that we hope you will be inspired by as well!
Thank you to:
Janice Krajniak
Michelle Russell
Pamela Flesher
Denise Strother
Douglas Mahan
For sharing yours with us!