Sept. 17

Regular Meeting: Welcoming the Year Ahead  (NOTE EARLIER DATE)

We ourselves are the program for the first meeting of our new year! Because of the special evening event September 24 at Volunteers Hall, the regular meeting will be a social gathering—a time to reconnect and hear what’s in store for the year ahead. President Margaret Murphy will welcome us back, our horticulturist Connie Grabowy will show what’s growing in September, and each chair will describe the work of her committee and any specific goals for the year. We’ll re-introduce our newer members (and try to remember their names), and we’ll have a time for everyone to share summer gardening successes or failures and to ask questions of one another.

Hospitality Committee for Set 17th Meeting:  Check Yearbook
Floral arrangement:

Sept 24

7:00pm

SPECIAL MEETING:  The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh with speaker Kathryn Aalto

We’ll visit the home of the world’s most beloved bear with Kathryn Aalto, an American writer, historian and lecturer now living in Exeter, England. Her book, “The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh” explores the magical landscapes where Pooh, Christopher Robin, and their friends live and play. The Hundred Acre Wood—the setting for Winnie-the-Pooh’s adventures—was inspired by Ashdown Forest, a wildlife haven that spans more than 6,000 acres in southeast England. Kathryn will show us places in that natural world where the fictitious ones were set. The program, sponsored jointly by the Garden Club and Library Trustees, is not appropriate for younger children. Kathryn’s book will be available for purchase.

Paul Steen, a certified master gardener for more than 15 years, will help us meet the challenge of growing a garden in the shade. He owns a hobby greenhouse in Sturbridge where for the past 40 years he has been growing succulents, camellias, tropicals, and houseplants. But Paul’s outdoor garden is primarily a woodland shade garden, and he will share his own experiences of working in it. He will discuss a variety of shade situations and cover the unique problems—and unique opportunities—of shade gardening. He’ll recommend the best plants for our gardens to have bloom spring through fall and also winter interest.

A games mistress will start us off with a few rounds of Garden Bingo. Everyone plays! The challenge is to match a square on your card with a given question and to fill in five squares in a row. The games mistress will check to make sure answers are correct.  All questions will be related to gardening in some way—plants, shrubs, famous people, tools, bugs, literature, and Latin are just some of the possibilities. The second competition is making a holiday arrangement  from natural materials. More details will be available before the meeting.

February Regular meeting is being held March 4th at a special time of 11:30.

See details below.

March 4

AT

11:30

In addition to sharing her story and a synopsis of the novel, Cale will discuss her nonfiction spinoff called The Good News Experiment, an ongoing, real-life news initiative that highlights people who are doing extraordinary, unsung work in their communities. Cale will hold a Q&A session and accept nominations for The Good News Experiment after the discussion.  Andrea Cale is a Harvard resident, recipient of an Associated Press award for spot-news reporting, and published author. She attributes her drive to observe, understand opposing views, and reach a diverse audience to her news-writing experiences. All have been critical to writing her first novel, “The Corn Husk Experience.” Cale will discuss the bumpy road toward completing the book, which she calls a “passion project.”

Hospitality Committee: Check Yearbook
Floral arrangement:  Check Yearbook

Jamie Colen is the garden director of coastal New Hampshire’s Fuller Gardens, an early 20th-century estate garden noted for its English perennial borders, Japanese garden, dahlia display, conservatories, and dramatic ocean view—but especially for its spectacular rose garden, featuring 2,000 rosebushes. Jamie will help us separate fact from myth about roses and what they need to thrive in our gardens. He will also introduce us to the spectacular Fuller Gardens, which are open to the public from mid-May through October.

Laura Bibler, a landscape designer, firmly believes that, at least when it comes to gardening, our grandmothers—or great-grandmothers—knew what they were doing. Her program captures the horticultural wisdom handed down from their time. It brings to life the design approach and sage advice of prominent garden writers of the early 20th century. “Their pearls of wisdom continue to inform us on color blending, cultural considerations, and plant placement,” writes Laura. For the past 20 years Laura has been using some of that wisdom to create and direct the installation of landscape designs at private homes and historic estates. Now she will show us how we can apply “those pearls” to our own gardens.