May Newsletter

By Julia Farwell-Clay | May 16, 2022

 

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Dear Members:
Much to report, let’s get to it!

Plant Sale Day

So much preparation and treasure hunting was involved in this year’s welcome return to our in-person Plant Sale. I won’t speak for the Committee, headed up by Leann Greisinger and Sarah MacEachern (I’ll let them tell you more when they’re ready), but I will speak for the rest of us to thank them and all of their many subcommittee chairs who wrangled the rest of us to put together a successful morning. If you are one of the several people unable to help or dig plants, the committee is happy to accept a monetary contribution to fund our community works. Next year, we will organize a digging party or two for those of us without gardens or dividable plants. 

In the meantime, please enjoy a few snapshots of the day.

Ellen Whitney getting ready for customers

Such a pretty frame for treats. Thanks to Leann’s sister-in-law for the loan!

The busy cashiers tent, with help on the credit card machine

from a friend of Melinda Shumway’s

Sarah MacEachern with the fast-selling annuals

The Littlest Shopper

 

May Community Meeting, Wednesday at 7pm

Join us for our annual open community meeting on May 18, 2022 at 7 p.m. at Tri Con Church (54 Walden Street). Maddie Krosevsky, a Concord-Carlisle High School graduate, is an expert botanist in the removal of invasive plants and the development of native gardens. Her talk is called “Rare Native Species and Invasive Species”. A zoom link will be forwarded to the membership soon before the event.

Please note the evening time of our annual open community meeting. Both of our sibling garden clubs, Seeds and Weeds and The West Concord Green Thumbs, have been invited. Be sure to tell your friends and neighbors to join us! Refreshments will be provided by some of our newest members afterwards.

 

Garden in the Woods

Pat Lescalleet-Lashley, Nan Gustafson, Ellen Matheson,

Kathleen Kennedy, Sarach MacEachern, Patricia Waters,

Julia Farwell-Clay, Holly Salemy, Elise Woodward, Andrea Meyers

On May 3rd, Andrea Meyers and Holly Salemy made arrangements for a very special tour of the Garden in the Woods. Many thanks to our two capable tour guides, Arthur and Leslie, who showed off the splendor of early spring ephemerals at their peak. Special moments included a sea of May Apples peppered with trilliums of all hues, and a sweet quartet of painted turtles who had arranged themselves in ascending order on a sunny log in the bog garden.

 

An Arrangement for Emerson Umbrella Arts

Thanks to Jean Lightman for the photo

From Jeanne Hamilton:
The GCC was asked by the Umbrella Area Center to create a fresh floral arrangement (as in years past) for their Open Studios Event which took place over the last weekend in April. When Pam asked me, I was more than happy to have the opportunity to create something and decided on an arrangement that felt sculptural and fit the environment, while also evoking the feelings of spring, rebirth and joy. This theme immediately came to mind and rings very true in many ways these days as we emerge slowly from the last few years into the warmth of the season and personal reconnections.
 
For the vessel, I chose a large dark porcelain compote bowl for the color contrast and anchoring it provided along with its added benefit of elevating the arrangement from the base it sat on and allowing plant material to cascade over the edges. I filled the bowl with a variety of pruned branches from my yard, including blooming viburnum, newly budding hydrangea, spirea and a few rhododendron leaf clusters to create the organic shape and structure to the intentionally asymmetrical arrangement. For floral material I used pink and white peonies, purple veronica, white miniature daffodils, peachy/pink ranunculus, baby green hydrangea and bright green scabiosa as well as hot pink specimen tulips with their lovely jagged petals adding a unique texture and shape to the arrangement.  
 
Visually, it was my intention and hope that the arrangement would provide a warm spring welcome for visitors. Once in place inside the lobby, the combination of the viburnum and a few sections of woven in jasmine filled the area with a lovely fragrance, which was hopefully enjoyed by all who passed by as they attended the event.

 

New Member Tea

This week, Lauren Huyett welcomed the rest of the Board, new members and sponsors to her house for our annual New Member Tea. No one took a group photo, but there were plenty of phones out for the picturesque spread and Lauren’s lovely tulip tableau.

Katie Wilson, Joan Campbell, Sarah Garland-Hoch,

Melinda Shumway, Lauren Huyett, Wendy McNally’s back

As each veteran member introduced themselves to the group, they listed the many jobs each of them had taken on over the years as a way to recommend pitching in however one can, and emphasized how much fun even the most apparently daunting task turned out to be and what nourishing friendships have grown from committee work. As a relatively new member myself, I never fail to be impressed by these moments, and remain grateful for the opportunities Garden Club provides. 

 

Garden Club to join Instagram and Facebook

Our Garden Club has decided to join the twenty-first century! It has become especially obvious this past year how the club can benefit from social media to promote our community activities, deepen our own appreciation of our institutional history and accomplishments, and also to appeal to potential new members. Barbara Fadden and Sally Savelle are forming a committee that will fall under the responsibilities of the Corresponding Secretary. If you are interested in participating, please contact either of them. 

 

Garden Club Federation Annual Meeting

Happening in person, June 2nd at the Doubletree in Milton. Our club is entitled to two voting delegates, one of which will be me! If you care to join me, please let me know asap so I can register you. This year the annual meeting includes a photography workshop led by Arabella Dane. Arabella is a wonderful photographer and the mentor of the New England Region Photography club.  Check out the new issue of that club’s newsletter and the show they are hosting in the fall. In the meantime, visit the GCFM Annual Meeting website and and let me know if you are interested! 

 

Time for Dues!

You can pay online using the link provided on the Dues Page, or you can bring your checks to June Luncheon.

 

Save the Date: June Luncheon

June 14th, 11-2 at the Concord Country Club. 

Special post with all the info and sign ups coming soon.

 

News You can Use

Two Margaret Roach gardening columns from the New York Times to share: Marty Wallace sent along this piece about the nourishing qualities of mulch I think you would find interesting; and this one about how to be kinder to your back when you’re puttering around out there. I’ve been using the “armchair technique” since I read this and done myself a huge favor!

Buy this book!

Judith Tankard’s book on Beatrix Farrand has been published. I bet Concord Bookshop would love to sell you a copy!

 

Other Garden Clubs’ Plant Sales

West Concord Green Thumbs, May 21, 9 to 4 at New Leaf parking lot.

Same day: Acton Garden Club, 9 to 1, Red House, town center

 

Garlic Mustard Pull Season!
No doubt you are well aware of this botanical moment. I am determined to evict this weed from yard, which is quite an undertaking since it is a biennial. Easy enough to pull out the adult plants since their root systems are shallow, but I have to feel equally committed next year to get all of last year’s seedlings. I missed last spring because I was recovering from hip replacement surgery, so I’m back to the beginning!

According to the Town website, Garlic Mustard occurs in the same habitat as these plants, so if you have a healthy stand of these weeds, they are an indicator for what could be a grove of thriving native alternatives.

  • Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
  • White baneberry (Actaea pachypoda)
  • Black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa)
  • also: spring beauty, wild ginger, bloodroot, Dutchman’s breeches, hepatica, toothwort, and trilliums!

One thing I do enjoy is making pesto with the best of my harvest. Here’s the Food 52 recipe I use. This year’s crop is past the usable stage since this is tastiest before the plants flower, but keep this in mind next year when they start to show up in late March. Enjoy!

 

Garlic Mustard Pesto

This simple recipe brings out the mildly garlic flavors of this wild invasive herb. Great with pasta or as a salsa for meat or fish. Try to use the light green tips, not the dark green bottom leaves which can be bitter.

Ingredients

  • 11 cups lightly packed garlic mustard leaves and tips, loosely chopped
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 squeezes lemon juice

In a blender or food processor, combine pine nuts, garlic, and Parmesan. Add the leaves. Once blended, pour the oil is a slow steady stream until smooth. Add salt, sugar, and lemon juice, pulse until mixed. 

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