1. home and garden

The Community Garden Club of
Duxbury
The Garden Thymes
April/May/June 2015
Website: http://www.communityGardenclubofDuxbury.org
EMAIL:
[email protected]
Board Meetings
General meetings
April 28, 9:30am, Merry Rm
April 14, 6:00pm
evening
May 12, 9:00am
June 9, luncheon
May 26, 9:30am, Library
June 23, 9:30am, Library
General Meetings
President’s Message
April 14 – DBMS
On this late March day I write my final newsletter message as
President of the Community Garden Club of Duxbury and look out to find
the weather surprises me yet again. The rain changes to…SNOW?
Really??? Isn’t having achieved setting the total snowfall amount record
enough?
It’s hard to believe in perhaps a few weeks, we will move outdoors
replacing snow boots and snow shovels with garden shoes and trowels. We
will dabble in our vegetable gardens and visit our local garden centers in
search of colorful annuals to fill containers to spruce up our front
entrances.
The CGCD does all it can to bring spring indoors, even if the first
crocus (the tiny harbinger of spring) has yet to peek through the snow.
Our winter program speakers are carefully chosen to educate and
entertain us. Our recent popular speaker was asked to return to our club
to hold a succulent and fern workshop for our members who wanted a
hands-on creative learning experience.
Blooms at the Complex was a resounding success. Walking into the
Duxbury Art Complex and seeing the explosion of color and the creativity
of our members, who interpreted an artist’s vision into a floral design of
their own, is always a thrill. Thank you to all of our participating members.
Before you know it our dedicated members will be replenishing and
planting our town beautification sites, digging and dividing perennials to
donate to the popular spring fund raiser, our Annual Plant Sale, and
deciding which of our home grown specimens to enter in the horticulture
section of our May Flower Show. Design education classes will be held to
help our members decide which design class to enter. Finally we can look
forward to garden visits and camaraderie at our annual luncheon when the
new slate of officers is installed.
It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve as your President and
my heartfelt gratitude goes out to each and every one of our talented
members who contribute so much time, energy, effort and ability to the
success of the Community Garden Club of Duxbury.
Cheers!
Diane
Social 6:00pm (evening mtg)
Meeting 6:30pm
Program 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Part I: Problems with Lyme Disease
and other Tick-Borne Diseases by
Sandra Bonagni
Part ll: Ticks, Grubs, Mosquitoes
….Oh my!! Got Garden pests? Get
chickens! by CGCD Member Katie
Hunt
Sandy is a long-time member of the
Acton Garden Club & has had Lyme
disease twice. She educates others on
how to prevent this tick borne illness.
Katie will explain the current backyard
chicken coop craze & what is involved
in raising chickens. She’ll share &
offer advice of raising chickens, the
benefits of fresh eggs & ridding your
yard of garden pests.
May 12 – DBMS
Coffee 9:00am, Meeting 9:30am
Program 10:00am – 11:30am
Suzanne Mahler – Architectural Plants
for the Summer Garden.
Noted horticulturalist Suzanne Mahler
explains design advantages of using
statuesque plants as focal points &
vertical interest. Suzanne grows more
than 650 daylily cultivars & over 250
varieties of hosta. We hope to have
some of her famous bulbs to raffle off.
June 9 – Save the Date
Annual Year End Luncheon Meeting:
additional info inside.
CGCD Flower Show 2015
Our Club will be hosting a
Standard Flower Show entitled
‘Trade Winds’ at the iconic King
Caesar House from May 14- May
16. There is both a Design and
Horticultural Division. It is a
great way to learn about the many
specific rules involved, and the
wonderful materials people
use. In addition, the Design
classes will touch upon
Duxbury’s rich maritime history.
Design Class sign ups are on Sign
Up Genius. Design class rules
are on the club’s web site, as are Horticultural rules.
Please contact Megan McClure Koss or Lisa Pattinson with
any questions.
Megan McClure Koss and Lisa Pattinson
Flower Show Co-Chairs
Horticulture for the Flower Show
Even though your garden may not be showing green shoots
yet, Nature will have her way, and by May some beautiful
flowering branches or early perennials should be in bloom.
Please think now about what you might bring to enter in the
horticulture division of the flower show.
The hort display will be in the King Caesar House Barn, and
because space is limited, we are asking you to bring no more
than five specimens. Of these, you may bring only one
specimen you can’t identify. (Of course it’s always better to
have them all identified). Each specimen you bring should be
listed on a copy of an entry card you bring with you. We will
show you how to write an entry card at the April and/or May
meeting.
We will also talk about “grooming” the specimen at the April
or May meeting. One small hole in a leaf can keep you from
winning a blue…. Cut it off!!
Entering hort is a lot of fun and a wonderful opportunity to
win ribbons!
A reminder that its time for the spring membership drive! If
you have a friend, neighbor or acquaintance who is interested
in joining our merry group, please have them fill out an
application from the website and send to the PO Box by
Friday, May 22nd.
Beth Halligan and Annie Seely
Membership Co-Chairs
Arbor Day
The tradition of the Community Garden
Club of Duxbury donating a tree seedling
to each first grader began in 1970.
Kiki Houghton who was club president
promoted the idea. 45 years later we are
still giving out tree seedlings on Arbor
Day to Duxbury first graders. Arbor Day
is traditionally celebrated in April at
Chandler School with a short program
for the kids & parents then the trees are given out.
This year Arbor Day is being celebrated on Wed. April 15th at
2:30 at Chandler School. On Tues, April 14th, the Junior
Garden Club will be bagging Rose of Sharon saplings and
handing them out to the first grade class on the following day
at the Arbor celebration. Any member interested in bagging
saplings is welcome and encouraged to join us on Tues, April
14 at 2:15 in the Merry Room.
Sims McCormick, Tammy Kirk & Betsy Juliano
Arbor Day Co-Chairs
Museum of Fine Arts: Art In Bloom
The designs for Art in Bloom will be installed at the Museum
of Fine Arts, Boston, on the morning of April 24th, 2015. The
lead designer for the CGCD, Sarah McCormick, and her
“apprentice designer”, Andrea Heinstadt, were in Boston three
weeks ago for their assignment which is a large painting of an
African American man clad in blue standing in front of a
tapestry backdrop of flowers and birds. This is located in the
contemporary gallery of the new American wing.
Membership News
The exhibition runs from April 24th – April 27th. Please
carpool and do go to Boston to see the dazzling designs, some
of which are also done by professional florists. Fifty-two
garden clubs take part. Free, guided tours are given, but you
may also roam the galleries with only a museum map to guide
you.
Happy Spring from Membership!!
The whole event is quite spectacular!
On Tuesday, May 5th Membership will host a coffee for all
Provisional Members and their sponsors. This includes all
new people who joined in 2013 and 2014. This is a casual
gathering at Lisa Pattinson’s home at 121 Rogers Way from
10:00-11:30 am to answer any questions you may have and an
opportunity to meet more members. We hope you all can
make it!
Sarah McCormick and Andrea Heinstadt
Please call either Michelle Chase or Sarah McCormick with
your questions.
Annual Plant Sale
When: Saturday, May 16,
9:00am–12 noon.
Where: Town Green on
Washington Street.
Plant Drop Off: Friday,
May 15, 10:00am-4:00pm.
Volunteers break for lunch
12noon-1:00pm. Member plant drop off is any time on Friday.
Hearty perennials, particularly unusual varieties, are always in
demand. If you have plants but need help digging them up
please contact: Janet Spencer, Louanne Novakowski or Nancy
Bene. Proceeds support Town Beautification and
Scholarships. Thank you in advance for your donations!
Janet Spencer, Louanne Novakowski and Nancy Bene
Plant Sale Chairs
Town Beautification
Despite the late start to
spring this year, plans
are underway for our
Town Beautification
efforts. We design,
plant and maintain 12
sites throughout the
town with beautiful
gardens and containers.
Each site has 1 or 2 Captains, who design the gardens, plant
and fertilize. Then the rest of us chip in to water, weed and
deadhead throughout the summer season.
Most of our Captains and Co-Captains are planning to remain
in their positions this year, which is wonderful! Thank you so
much, ladies, for all you do! Here they are:
Drew House Flagpole: Susie Caliendo/Elaine Pollack
King Caesar House: Deborah Gagnier/Sims McCormick
Duck Hill/Millbrook Islands: Melissa Foley
Tobey Garden Island: Megan McLure Koss/Martha Prosl
Town Hall & War Memorial: Irene Schellings
Mile Post Island: Judy Justino
Hall’s Corner Flagpole: Pam Smith/Patty Cambell
Snug Harbor Town Pier & Harbormaster’s Office:
Michelle Chase/Peggy Pelletier
Roundabout Exit 11: Cindy O’Neil/Diane L’Ecuyer
Washington Street/Town Green: Joanne Williams/Laurel
Nette
Duxbury Bay Maritime School: Claudia Doerre/Melinda
Rhoads
Boomer Square: Katie Hunt
As we did last year, we’ll be encouraging new and provisional
members to get involved caring for a site this summer.
General Meeting presentations by our site Captains will
continue throughout the spring to help acquaint the
membership with the requirements of the various sites.
SignUpGenius will be updated and ready to go in May. We
will be passing the ever-popular clipboards around at the
spring meetings also, if you prefer to sign up that way.
What we do is so appreciated by members of the community
in Duxbury. It’s important work. We’re looking forward to a
fabulous summer season and hope you will all get involved
this year!
Betty Anne Fortunato
Town Beautification Chair
Garden Gatherings
It's time to begin thinking about
Garden Gatherings, our summer
program. Over the summer, we
gather at member's homes to tour
their gardens, hear about their
process and sometimes, when
asked, lend advice for future
development. We are limited to 40 participants, on a first
come, first served basis. The cost is $10.00 per person, which
goes towards the cost of refreshments. We generally gather 6 8 times over the summer weeks, some in the morning and
some in the afternoon. A signup sheet will be available at the
April and May meetings.
Please join us; it's a wonderful way to keep in touch with our
gardens and our friends over the summer months. If you
cannot join us for the entire summer, but would like to offer
your garden as a location, please see Irene Schellings or Jo
Murphy at the April or May meeting.
Irene Schillings and Jo Murphy
Garden Gatherings Co-Chairs
Year End Luncheon Celebration
Save the Date!!! Please mark your
calendars for our annual year-end
luncheon meeting on Tuesday, June
9th. Given the success of last year’s
luncheon, we are going to offer a
repeat performance. We will once
again celebrate with garden tours &
end with a fabulous luncheon at
DBMS, with the food deliciously
prepared by all of you. We are
working on getting transportation to
each of the homes to ease
congestion at each garden site.
To date, we have two women who have committed to
showcasing their gardens and we are hoping for a third one to
add. Once again you can browse the beautiful flowers that will
hopefully be in bloom after this long and cold winter,
alongside other garden club members and our guests that day.
We head back to DBMS after the tours for a business meeting
with the introduction of new board members, as well as our
lunch with festive drinks and light hearted conversation. Stay
tuned for more information on times and the schedule of
events that day at our next monthly meeting!
Elena Zongrone
Year End Luncheon Chair
2015 CGCD Scholarships
The Community Garden Club
of Duxbury (CGCD) is pleased
to announce the availability of
scholarships for Duxbury
residents, who demonstrate a
commitment to beautifying
and/or protecting the
environment. This year the club is offering three scholarships
of up to $500 each. Applications are available on the CGCD
website, www.communitygardenclubofduxbury.org and
should be completed and emailed to
[email protected] by 5:00pm
on Wednesday, April 15, 2015.
beauty into the lives of those suffering from breast cancer,
received a donation of over 200 garden books from the late
Peggy Connors, a well known landscape architect in Duxbury.
Hope in Bloom plans to sell these books to raise money to
further their work in providing gardens for these cancer
patients. The CGCD is presently trying to decide how we can
assist them in this effort. To learn more about Hope in Bloom
check out their website at hopeinbloom.org.
Sue McMahon
Blooms At The Complex
Blooms at the Complex 2015 was a ANOTHER STUNNING
success! We had 20 participants, interpreting 17 art pieces. Of
the 20, four were first-timers to this event.
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and the museum was
unusually crowded. According to museum officials, Blooms at
the Complex attracts the most visitors to the museum of any
weekend during the year. Docent (and fellow CGCD member)
Barbara Taylor said many of the guests remarked that this
year's interpretations were far and away the best they'd seen.
We are so very grateful to all who participated.......
One of the scholarships incudes funding to a resident of any
age, who is enrolled in a course of study focusing on
horticulture, landscape design, city planning, land
management, botany, environmental studies, agriculture, earth
science, forestry, or allied subjects. The applicant may have
completed part of his/her coursework and need not be enrolled
in a four-year program, although the coursework should lead
to a degree, certification or other type of accreditation.
The Club will also be offering a scholarship up to $500 for a
Duxbury resident graduating from a public or private high
school in 2015. The purpose of this award is to recognize a
graduating senior who has demonstrated a commitment to
beautifying Duxbury and/or protecting its environment.
Finally, the Club will continue to offer a scholarship created
last year for a Duxbury resident in Grades 6 - 12. This award
is a grant for work in progress to beautify and/or protect the
local environment.
As in past years, The Garden Club Federation of
Massachusetts, Inc. awards scholarships for undergraduate
students (including students who will be freshmen in the fall)
and graduate students attending accredited colleges and
universities. There are eleven (11) scholarships available.
Only one application is required per student. The GCFM
Scholarship Committee determines a student's eligibility based
on a completed application package. Applications and
financial aid forms are available on the GCFM website,
www.gcfm.org.
Elena Zongrone and Paula Harris
Scholarship Co-Chairs
Hope In Bloom
Our garden club was recently contacted by a Massachusetts
nonprofit, Hope in Bloom. This organization, which brings
Lisa Betteridge, Susie Caliendo, Michelle Chase, Odile
Destenaves, Laura Doherty, Deb Gagnier, Paula Harris, Carol
Langford, Leslie Lawrence, Deb Lehman, Julia Lizza, Sandy
Marchant, Diana Masood, Laurel Nette, Donna Pineau, Peggy
Pelletier, Irene Schellings, Barbara Taylor, Lisa Webber and
Lois Wood
....You represented our club so very well!
Michelle Chase
interpreted “Yellowstone
Blueprint”
Irene Schellings
interpreted “Flowers
Blooming”
GCD Floral Design
Chair Julia Lizza
interpreted
“Saucepans”
Peggy Pelletier
Chair, Blooms at the Complex
Succulent Workshop
Virginia Orlando from Seed To Stem, our March presenter,
led 16 members through a ‘hands on’ succulent design
workshop. Participants created designs, in their own
containers, with plant material and accessories supplied by
Virginia. Shown are just a few of the fabulous creations.
Upcoming Events:
Events Hosted by South Shore Garden Clubs,
etc:
5/21, Beacon Hill GC, “Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill
Annual Tour”. Self guided tour thru 12 gardens, 9:00am5:00pm. Tickets $35 in advance, $45 day of. For more info:
www.beaconhillgardenclub.org
6/19 – 6/21, Newport Flower Show, "American Beauty
…Timeless Style" at Rosecliff Mansion in Newport, RI.
Special guests, many events & activities. Tickets $20 in
advance, $25 day of. Additional cost: Opening party, Jazz
Brunch, lecture/luncheon, etc. For more info:
www.newportmansions.org/events/newport-flower-show
6/5 – 6/6, Nauset GC, “Art in Bloom @ Crosby”. Tour
blooms & Crosby Mansion, master gardeners, plant boutique
shopping. Tickets $15 in advance, $20 day of. For more info:
www.nausetgardenclub.com
6/27, Village GC of Dennis, “Garden Gems of Dennis”
Garden Tour. Seven gardens, 9:30am – 3:30pm, tickets $20 in
advance and $25 day of tour.
7/14 – 7/16, Heritage Museums & Gardens, “Hydrangeas
2015 International Conference”, 8:30am – 4:30pm daily.
For more information:
www.heritagemuseumgardens.org/hydrangeas2015.
7/16, Osterville GC, “Garden Happenings” Garden Tour. Five
homes with special events at each. Tickets $35 in advance &
$40 day of the tour. For more info:
www.ostervillegardenclub.org
*** see http://gcfm.org/CalendarNews/Calendar.aspx for
additional events ***
Horticulture
A Potpourri of Gardening Tips
Getting ready to plant Stratification Seeds of cold-climate
plants contain a chemical inhibitor that keeps them from
germinating until spring. The inhibitor breaks down during
exposure to cold, at a rate based on the length of winter in the
plant’s native habitat. Your seed packet should tell you if the
seeds within need the chilling process and for how long they
should be in the refrigerator/freezer.
When cleaning difficult areas of recycled flowerpots or 6
packs use an old toothbrush. To get a convenient angle on the
brush, warm the handle over a candle until you are able to
bend it to a convenient angle.
Instead of carrying a ruler around at planting time, use your
fingers as a measuring tool. Of course these are approximate
measurers. *The length from the tip of a finger to the 1st
knuckle is about 1 inch. *The width of the index, middle and
ring fingers together is 2-2 3/4 inches at the 2nd knuckle. *The
length of the index finger is about 2 3/8 – 3 1/2 inches.
If you don’t like spending time weeding garden paths try this.
Put 2-3 layers of brown cardboard on your garden paths.
Then cover with a thick layer of mulch such as straw, dry
leaves, wood chips. This will all gradually decompose over
the gardening season improving the soil.
Plant flowers that survive in spite of road salt, sand and
drought. Perennials include purple coneflower, Shasta daisies,
rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’, yarrows, gaillardia ‘Goblin’, dwarf
delphiniums, lamb’s-ears, Jupiter’s beard, asters,
chrysanthemums, and purple salvia ‘May Night’. Annuals are
sweet alyssum, calendulas, Shirley poppies and love-in-a-mist,
which has a lovely flower as well as an interesting seed pod.
Next fall you could plant some ‘King Alfred’ daffodils,
Shirley tulips and jumbo Dutch crocuses.
When spring eventually arrives if you have planned well in
previous years you should have peonies in bloom. To bring
them inside cut stems with buds which are just opening with
only a few sets of leaves. The plants need the foliage to
produce food for the following year. By the way, ants on
peony buds do no harm and may actually help the buds to
open. Do not spray them. Just gently shake the cut stem
upside down to remove the ants before going inside.
This year my garden [insert your name here] will be better,
bigger/smaller, neater, have more/less varieties of flowers/
veggies/herbs in it, I will share some of my plants at the
garden club plant sale, I will have friends visit my garden
(Garden Gatherings), I will start a compost pile and add that
“black gold” to my garden. Another gardening season has
begun. Enjoy
Jeanette MacKenzie
Education Chair
CGCD is on Facebook
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Club of Duxbury to get updates, reminders and to see some
great photos from past events.
Jennifer Lightfoot
Plant radish seeds with tiny & slow to germinate seeds such as
carrots, parsley, beets & Swiss chard to use as indicator plants.
Quick to sprout radishes, will mark off the rows in a few days
making sure you don’t disturb the slower germinating seeds
when weeding. The radishes are ready to harvest in just a
month or so leaving space for the other seedlings to fill in.
A bean/pea teepee. Using slender 5-8 foot branches or poles
(bamboo works well) insert 1 foot into the ground in a circle
shape with upper tips together. At 1 foot intervals encircle the
poles with twine leaving an opening to enter the teepee. Have
the kids plant the seeds fairly close together around the base of
each pole and under the encircling wine. Make sure you
choose varieties of the pea/bean seeds that have vines.
Nothing like really fresh peas or beans right off the vine as a
summer snack.
Asst Corresponding Secretary
Corporate Advertising in this Newsletter
Thank you to our current corporate advertising sponsors.
While we do not endorse these businesses we do appreciate
their sponsorship as they fully cover the cost of this
newsletter. These advertisements are limited to six sponsors.
Sunshine Gardens
191 Summer St
Kingston, MA
781-585-0070
SPRING & SUMMER!
Large selection of plants &
supplies, along with a
wonderful farm stand full of
fresh fruits & vegetables.
We welcome CGCD
members, 10%discount
with membership card.
The
Community
Garden Club
Of Duxbury
P. O. Box 1713
Duxbury, MA 02331