October Newsletter
I hope everyone has been able to enjoy the glorious October we’ve been blessed with this year. The Tupelo tree in my back yard is especially vibrant and is complimented by these nasturtiums which struggled through the summer drought but have been gangbusters since the heat let up. I hope you are thinking of the plant sale as your fall garden chores come into focus. Divisions made now will ensure healthy root systems and a nicer presentation in the spring.
Field Trip to Mount Auburn Cemetery
Sarah MacEachern, MaryRose Sykes, Joan Campbell, Andrea Meyers, Holly Salem, Hilary Robinson, Betsy Howerton. Not pictured: Amal Moamar.
Following up on an invitation from our February speaker, Steph Almasi, Holly Salemy and Andrea Meyers organized a field trip to Mount Auburn Cemetery earlier this month. The rain held off enough so that members in attendance were treated to a very special morning.
Holly writes: It was a lovely horticultural tour lead by Jim Gorman who is a Horticulturist and Visitor Services Assistant at Mount Auburn Cemetery. We enjoyed the beautiful fall plantings along with the amazing tree specimens.
A highlight of the tour was a trek up the 62 foot tall Washington Tower atop the tallest hill in the cemetery which provided an exceptional yet slightly foggy view of Boston and the surrounding areas.
November Meeting is on the 9th at 10 am at Concord Art
And make note that this is a shared program with Seeds and Weeds, who made the primary arrangements and will serve as hosts for the event. This event is in person only.
Heidi Webb will tell the story of how Shelburne Farms, a 1,400-acre National Historic Landmark on Lake Champlain, transformed from a 19th c. estate to an internationally recognized campus for deep learning and education for a sustainable future. Heidi will share the nonprofit organization’s history and some details of the Olmsted landscape that includes productive farmland and a formal flower and market garden. Heidi grew up on the Farm and is the organization’s Major Gifts Officer.
Welcome new member Carol Hryniewicz
Carol is a new to Concord and is recently retired from the Employee Benefits/Human Resources field. In addition to her interests in plants and nature, she enjoys trying to keep physically fit, reading contemporary fiction, and traveling internationally. She writes:
Hyde Park is where my mother introduced me to gardening. My fondest memory is walking an armful of peonies, freshly cut from our garden, a few blocks to my grandmother’s home when I was 10 years old. As an adult, living in several communities in eastern MA, including Boston, Sherborn, Wellesley, Back Bay and now Concord, I’ve cultivated window boxes, had an opportunity to create my own gardens and now, with limited outdoor space, enjoy container gardening and house plants.
Carol was presented with her apron at our October meeting. Please join me in extending to her a warm welcome and feel free to recruit her for your committees!
Committee Dispatch: Family Trees
For this year’s Concord Museum Family Trees event, the club’s committee has chosen a book whose subject is an extension of our increasing interest in pollinators: Butterflies are Pretty . . . Gross by Rosemary Mosco (Author) & Jacob Souva (Illustrator). We are planning on covering the tree with many different kinds of butterflies, and using the tree skirt to demonstrate some of the more goober-y elements of bug life. We think the book has a delightful sense of humor and expect it to be a hit with families coming through the museum. Family Trees will be from November 25 through January
Apologies for the late newsletter: my computer took an accidental bath. It took me a week to finally believe my computer was a goner but thank goodness for the cloud and (most of) my involuntarily saved data. I am now back to normal.