President’s Message
Hello Chapter Members! Spring. You can feel it coming, can’t you? Putting aside the hibernation of winter, Spring is all about new opportunities for growth and optimism for me.
As I do almost every year, I bought new seeds to plant once the weather gets a little warmer, and as usual, I bought way more than I will ever plant! For years and years, all I planted were tried and true vegetables: lettuce, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, etc. Then, during the COVID lockdown, Craig and I built new raised beds, and I ventured into companion planting. Planting certain vegetables or flowers next to one another to not only deter pests but also to increase the health of each plant. What a revelation!
I’m going outside of my comfort zone and planning a flower cutting garden in addition to my vegetables.
This year I’m going outside of my comfort zone and planning a flower cutting garden in addition to my vegetables. I spent the winter researching flowers for our PNW climate: how tall they grow, when they bloom, and what colors to choose. I created a planting plan, so the flowers are as beautiful in the ground as they will be in a bouquet. Many of the flowers for cutting gardens are annuals and need to be grown from seed, so I ordered the seeds, purchased compost for planting, and now I wait.
The Long Wait to Germinate
But I didn’t! I couldn’t help myself, and I planted some of the snapdragon and zinnia seeds in starter cells, thinking that by planting some seeds every few weeks, I’ll have blooms all summer long. Best laid plans: I now have some colors of snapdragons that didn’t germinate at all. Do I buy more seeds of the same color or change that portion of my plan completely? Either way, I’m adapting to the circumstances, and by the time you read this issue, I should be on my way to moving my viable flower and vegetable starts into larger pots inside, just waiting to plant them outside once the soil warms up around May.
Similarly, over the past few months the WSCAI Board and Chapter leadership have been developing a working plan
6 Community Associations Journal | March 2023
VISION STATEMENT Fostering vibrant, inclusive, and well-managed community associations in Washington State.
MISSION STATEMENT Creating strong community associations by educating homeowners, shaping public policy, fostering industry relationships, and promoting professional development.
With this vision and mission in mind, we will be trying new programs, seeing which ones work and which ones need adaptation or change. We have way more ideas than we can possibly do this year, but the great thing is as we see what is successful, we can modify future programs to meet our growing needs (pun intended). I can’t wait to share these programs with you, but like my seedlings, they need a little more development before we can plant them in the ground.
Sincerely, Andrea Goodmansen, Chapter President (206) 545-7837 |
andrea@mcleodconstruction.com
Andrea’s seedlings sprouting up indoors waiting for Spring!
with goals for the Chapter of becoming the go-to resource for common interest community homeowners, association managers, and legislators in Washington state. At the February Board meeting, we adopted new Vision and Mission Statements (see below).
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