President’s Letter – Fall 2024
Hello hydrangea friends!
I hope you had a pleasant summer full of travel with friends and family and are now refreshed and well ready to ease into my favorite season of them all – autumn. The changing light, the coolness of morning temperatures, the blush on the dogwood leaves, and the first whiffs of tea olives tell me that we have headed in the right direction as I write this in early September. After a long, hot, and mostly dry summer, I’m busy taking stock of what performed well in my garden despite benign neglect. Hydrangea paniculatas are near the top of that list and I have plans to add more this season, although I have learned the hard way that they need to beyond the reach of the resident deer population in my neighborhood.
I look forward to welcoming back both long time and brand-new members at our general meeting on Monday, October 28th at 7:00 at the Atlanta History Center. We are fortunate to have a bevy of hydrangea experts who have agreed to lead a panel discussion for us at our meeting. They will be answering all your burning questions about everything hydrangea related. No doubt there will be great information for the expert and novice gardeners alike!
I also want to personally invite any members that are interested in becoming more actively involved with the American Hydrangea Society to reach out to me. We currently have an open board position, Tour Co-chair. Send me an email at president@americanhydrangeasociety.org and I can fill you in on the specifics of the position. I’d love to hear from you!
Lastly, I want to extend my sincere gratitude to everyone who helps keep AHS going. From our tour hosts who generously donate their gardens, tour volunteers that help welcome visitors, meeting volunteers that assist with manning tables and picking up raffle plants, Atlanta History Center workday volunteers that help us meet our needed hours, professional plants people who share plants and ideas with us, those who give generous donations and finally our wonderful board members who give their time and talents to helping AHS fulfill its mission, as established by our founder Penny McHenry, “to study and learn about the genus Hydrangea, it’s species and cultivars, as well as its culture, habits, hardiness, and performance”
With Dirty Hands and a Full Heart,
Jennifer Petritz
AHS President
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