Goodness, it's been a cold and wet start to the year and we're all itching for spring over here! It's been hard to connect with our gardening friends and family during the past few months, so we've decided to start some online virtual meet-ups that we are calling, "Garden Chats".

There is no requirement to join or support anything - you do not have to be involved with Clary Gardens at all to join. (You don't even have to speak if you don't want! I'm one of those people, myself, who just like to turn on something as background noise, so no shame!)

The goals and main purposes of the Chats are:

• 1. Obviously, social! We are feeling a little cooped up and want to talk plants, pollinators, and garden planning! We know many people are thinking about these same topics.
• 2. We want to share educational opportunities with those who sign on. There have been so many conferences and webinars happening fully remote because of the pandemic, and most of them are FREE!
• 3. We'd like to share are plans and endeavors for Clary Gardens. We've got a lot brewing for this coming year - Did you know it's our 20th anniversary?!
• 4. And also, we'd like to promote local growers, businesses, and opportunities to help connect people with places (and plants!)

Interested? You need not do anything but login the day/time of the event. We'll be posting a link on our website under the event located on the Event Calendar. Just visit our website and scroll down to Upcoming Events, where you'll see "Garden Chat" for Monday, March 15, 2021, at 12pm. If you click on the event, you should see the link to click to join.

Guests are welcome to join up to 15 minutes before noon to complete a microphone/sound check with your own system(s).

The meeting will start at noon with a (1) Welcome, (2) Introductions of those in attendance (only if you'd like to share), (3) Typically a short main topic/educational session, (4) Internal (Clary Gardens) and External upcoming learning opportunities, and lastly (5) a brief sharing session for those with gardening questions or something relevant to share with the group.

The Garden Chat will run from 12-1pm.

We are planning followup Chats in the coming weeks, so we will post additional "Chat" dates SOON -> Stay tuned.

ENGAGED?!? Awesome! Congratulations! We are SO very happy for you!

At Clary Gardens, we want to make your ENTIRE wedding weekend, EXTRA special. Please leave the worrying to us as we prepare for your special day. We’ve taken additional precautions to keep you and all of your guests safe and in awe this upcoming season.

Please, reach out *soon* because our available weekends are dwindling as new brides/grooms connect to reserve their dates. Check out the details of our most ALL INCLUSIVE package yet: http://www.clarygardens.org/weddings.php.

We've opened a few extra dates recently in June and July that are sure to book fast! Available 2021 weekends (as of 01/27/2021):

·May 15

·June 19

·July 17, 24

·August 21, 28

·September 11, 25

·November 6

We are also booking 2022 dates~! The best way to connect to get more information, pricing, or to book a private tour of the venues, is to email: events@clarygardens.org.

We can’t wait to make your dreams come true!

Clary Gardens "Virtual" Storytime, Mondays, 10am (online), starting December 7, 2020, and continuing weekly.

Ever wonder why a bear does not have a tail, or how an elephant’s trunk got so long? How about what happens inside a beehive, or in the ocean? Join us for our NEW weekly story time and find out! Every week we will be reading a different children’s book with some nature element. The stories will last 10-15 minutes and will be designed to get little minds wondering. The videos will be posted across our platforms to ensure easy access to all viewers. This is a free program brought to you by our donors, but donations are always welcome. Join us Mondays at 10 am!

Clary Gardens is excited to announce some upcoming events for our younger gardeners and nature lovers. Starting on Monday, December 7th, we will be sharing a "Virtual" Garden Adventure Storytime. This event will be accessible from our website or across all our media platforms, or can be saved and viewed later. **A link will be shared from our YouTube Channel across platforms at the designated time of the event. Viewers may watch at a later time.**

Our local garden and nature educator, Jodi Shrimplin, will be reading a story each week to our garden viewers about nature. Jandi Adams, garden director, shares that the goal of this weekly event is to develop a community of future gardeners. "We want to get children engaged in nature and the world around them. Even though we're entering the coldest months of the year, many folks are trapped at home and are looking for educational outlets. We're hoping to be that safe outlet for families to enjoy. It's also our hope that these individuals will learn more about the gardens and possibly venture out to visit in person."

Clary Gardens is dedicated to providing access to horticultural education, environmental stewardship, local history and the arts. This is a FREE public program made possible by our garden donors and members. Every dollar counts when it comes to educating our youth - Join us in this endeavor by clicking on the Donate button or learning more on our website.

Thank you to everyone who participated in Scarecrow Town this year! We had such an amazing turn out with over 100 registered scarecrows! You couldn't go anywhere in town or in the county without seeing a scarecrow, which is exactly what we hoped for. Each year you amaze us with your creativity and originality. We can't wait to see what you come up with next year!

Judging this year was done by people from outside of Coshocton because almost everyone participates. They used a rubric where they scored each entry on: Creativity, Principle of design (is it sturdy?), Presentation (does it make you happy? do you want to keep looking at it?), how detailed it is, and then each judge got five extra points to give an entry at their discretion. Our other winner is the people's choice, which YOU selected by voting at www.scarecrowtown.com

Now without further ado here are this year's winners!

CREEPY CATEGORY

1st Place: Real McCoy BBQ, Piggy the Butcher

2nd Place: Julia Kimball, Illegally Separated

3rd Place: The Kocher-Tidrick-West Family, Abraham the Headless

POP CULTURE CATEGORY

1st Place: Wiley Company, Hocus Pocus

2nd Place: Winsorwood Place, The Golden Girls Spending Their Golden Years At Winsorwood

3rd Place: Coshocton County Public Defender, Need A Trim?

TRADITIONAL CATEGORY

1st Place: Coshocton Inn & Suites, Alice the Housekeeper & Bob the Bellhop

2nd Place: Coshocton KOA, Happy Camper

3rd Place: Dawn Adams, Garden Warrior Yogi on Broom Patrol

PEOPLE'S CHOICE

Coshocton Inn & Suites, Alice the Housekeeper & Bob the Bellhop (633 votes)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

City of Coshocton, Regionalization Reggie The Pipe Man (Amazing Effort)

As October quickly winds to an end, please remember to vote for your favorite scarecrows! We have the pleasure to announce that since opening the contest up to all of Coshocton County, we have had over ONE HUNDRED (100+) contestants! This is the biggest level of participation in the entire span of the Clary Garden's Scarecrow Trail. We are absolutely THRILLED about Coshocton's love for Scarecrow Town. Each year you keep us ooh-ing and ahh-ing over your incredibly creative scarecrows. The last day for voting is October 31st, so visit www.scarecrowtown.com to cast your vote! You can vote for as many scarecrows as you would like, but you can only vote for each scarecrow once per device. Also remember to visit our Clary Garden Facebook page for a virtual awards program on October 31st as well! More details about this will be coming out next week.

So without further ado here are our top contenders!

TRADITIONAL CATEGORY

"Alice The Housekeeper And Bellhop Bob", Coshocton Inn & Suites (423 votes)

"Happy Camper", Coshocton KOA (364 votes)

"Having A Crow Roast”, Jackie Kirker (124 votes)

POP CULTURE CATEGORY

"Hocus Pocus", Wiley Corporate Office (402 votes)

"Golden Girls Spending Their Golden Years At Winsorwood", Windsorwood Place Assisted Living (347 votes)

"Need A Trim”, Coshocton Public Defender’s Office (173 votes)

CREEPY CATEGORY

"Mad Scientist", Wiley Manufacturing Plant (229 votes)

"Jeepers Creepers", Nelson Family (123 votes)

"Illegally Separated”, Julia Kimball (102 votes)