September 2025 Newsletter
Each month I thought it would be fun to feature a members garden, here is Susie Winstanley’s spectacular sunken garden.
She notes, “Our sunken garden is in its third year, having previously been a vegetable garden that our now-grown children used to find great delight in. The “shades of blue and purple” garden now serves as a connector to the pickleball court that my husband and I are enjoying. We have experimented in these beds with Sedum ‘Autumn fire’, Allium ‘millennium’, Buddleia ‘Pugster blue’ (dwarf butterfly bush), Weigelia ‘My Monet’, Hydrangea ‘Annabelle’, Climbing Roses ‘New dawn’, Veronica ‘Waterperry, Salvia ‘unplugged so blue’, Shrub Roses ‘Blushing pink’ Knockout, Lavender ‘munstead’, and Catmint. It is a work in progress!”
A note from our President Holly:
September 2025
Dear Garden Club Members,
I hope you had a wonderful relaxing summer!
September is right around the corner and I wanted to give you a few updates:
- We still have a few Volunteer slots open on the SUG for the year. Please sign up for those slots here.
- Serena Crosina has graciously offered her beautiful garden for our Welcome Back Social on Wednesday, September 17th at 5:00. Please RSVP by Monday September 15 in this link.
Serena Crosina will host at her home, located at 1501 Monument Street. Parking instructions: drive down the driveway and park just before the house on the left-hand side. Meeting begins at 5pm.
Jenny Borden will send a reminder SUG.
- Thank you to everyone for filling out the Meeting Dates Time Survey. The meeting dates are on the third Wednesday of each month with the exception of December 10th (Holiday Luncheon) and May 13th. Please note several of the times have been changed to accommodate our membership. The Program Committee has been working all summer to provide us with exceptional programming for this year. Please see below for all dates and times:
2024-2025 Garden Club Program Calendar:
September 17 at 5:00 PM
Welcome Back Social
Hosted by Serena Crosina,, 1501 Monument Street
October 15 at 11:00 AM
Flower Arrangement Face-Off
with Jeanne Hamilton, Erika Rodriguez and Serena Crosina
Trinitarian Congregational Church, 54 Walden Street
November 19 at 6:30 PM
Auction
TBD
December 1 at 10 AM
Holiday Wreaths ( Sign-up Genius)
December 2 at 9:30 – 11 AM
Cans for Caring Workshop (Sign-up Genius)
Hosted by Ellen Whitney, 315 Lexington Road
December 4 at 1:00 – 2:30 PM
COA Holiday Workshop (Sign-up Genius)
December 10 at 11:00 AM
Holiday Luncheon
Hosted by Julia Farwell-Clay, 675 Sudbury Road
January 21 at 11:00 AM
Floral Witness: Opening the Spirit to Time and Place
by Ellen Whitney
Trinitarian Congregational Church, 54 Walden Street
February 18 at 1:00 PM
Ask the Experts: Lili Morss, Charity Tremblay, Marty Wallace
Trinitarian Congregational Church, 54 Walden Street
March 18 at 10:30 AM to 2:00 PM
Spring Outreach
Barn at the Nashoba Brooks School
200 Strawberry Hill Road
April 15 at 1:00 PM
Concord’s Incomparable Botanical Legacy
by Cherry Cory
Trinitarian Congregational Church, 54 Walden Street
April 24
Arbor Day
Location TBD
May 9
Plant Sale
Trinitarian Congregational Church, 54 Walden Street
May 13 at 7:00 PM Open Meeting with Seeds and Weeds
No Till Methods in Home Gardens & Other Soil Topics
by Mark Congdon of Gaining Ground
Trinitarian Congregational Church, 54 Walden Street
June 17 at 11:00 AM
Annual Meeting and Luncheon
Concord Country Club
246 Old Road to Nine Acre Corner
I look forward to seeing you in September!
Best,
Holly
A few other items to note:
Garden Club of Concord Seeks Grant Proposals:
The Garden Club of Concord is soliciting proposals from local organizations seeking funding for gardening-related community projects. Our club is dedicated to the preservation, restoration and development of gardens and the natural environment in the Concord community. Over the years, we have made a significant impact on the community through our grants program. These grants are totally funded with profits from the club’s annual plant sale in May. The club’s grant program has not only helped organizations in Concord but has also helped to promote horticulture and environmental conservation, making the town a better place for all.
Past grants have funded planting projects at The Old Manse, The Umbrella Arts Center, Gaining Ground, Concord Council on Aging, Minuteman Arc, Northeastern Correctional Center, CCHS Sustainable Club, and the Concord Land Trust.
To request a grant application or for more information contact Sarah MacEachern at smaceachern@comcast.net or visit our website: www.gardenclubofconcord.org. The deadline for applications is October 16, 2025.
Art in Bloom: Members interested in learning about the logistics and requirements to participate in a future event (annually at MFA), should reach out to Jeanne Hamilton (jeanne.hamilton@mac.com)
25/26 Hospitality Sign Up:
A reminder about responsibilities for hostesses throughout the year at GCC meetings: Each member is expected to participate in at least one event throughout the year as either a head hostess or an assistant hostess. Head hostesses are in charge of the tea/food at an event and are responsible for coordinating with the assistant hostesses regarding types of appetizers to bring, as well as coordinating set up and clean-up efforts. Assistant hostesses provide support for events and assist with set up and cleanup efforts as well. Hostessing is a great way to meet other members of the club! Please sign up using the below link for either a head hostess or assistant hostess position for at least one meeting throughout the year, and contact Kelsey LeBuffe or Lisa MacDonnell with any questions. A complete description of head host responsibilities will be provided after signing up. Thank you!
October 17 Field Trip to the Hunnewell Estate in Wellesley, MA
Overlooking Lake Waban in Wellesley and known for its exceptional gardens, the H. H. Hunnewell Estate, is a private residence set on approximately 40 acres, which has been continuously cared for by 6 generations of the Hunnewell family. Horation Hollis Hunnewell, a railroad financier and horticulturist, built the country home in the mid 1800s and spent decades planning, cultivating and improving the property. Some of the key features of the estate include the Italian garden designed to mimic those along Lake Como, the first topiary garden in the United States, the Pinetum, a nine-acre collection of hundreds of conifers from all over the world, over 500 species of woody plants, including some of the oldest cultivated rhododendrons in the United States, specialty greenhouses housing over 1000 plants species, and more.
Today, the property remains a private residence and is not open to the public. Massachusetts Horticultural Society located at the Garden at Elm Bank, adjacent to the Hunnewell Estate, works with the family scheduling a very limited number of private guided tours of the estate.
We are very excited to share that we have been successful in securing one of these special tours for the Garden Club. We will be guided by a representative from Mass Horticulture who was trained by the estate’s head gardener on leading tours of the estate. On our 90 minute walking tour, we will explore the horticultural history of the Hunnewell Estate and have the opportunity to visit several of the unique gardens on the property. We will meet our guide at the Garden at Elm Bank and carpool to the Hunnewell Estate. Dress for walking and weather.
Date: Friday, October 17, 2025
Time: 8:45 AM (carpool from Walgreens in Concord)
Address: Garden at Elm Bank, 900 Washington St. Wellesley
Cost: $25 per person
We plan to stop for lunch at the Cottage in Wellesley on our way home after the tour. Please sign up if you have an interest in joining us for lunch. Those who wish to stay longer at Elm Bank are welcome to do so (admission to Elm Bank is included with tour) but be sure to coordinate transportation.
Please send payment by October 8th to Nan Gustafson via Venmo @Nan-Gustafson, or mail payment to 27 Ledge Rock Road, Concord.
We are looking forward to this field trip and the rare opportunity to tour the Hunnewell Estate!
Maryrose and Nan
Click on this link to the Sign Up Genius to sign up.
Other Garden events this fall:
There are a couple of events this fall that might be of interest to members of the garden club:
New England Garden at Elm Bank, Wellesley, MA.:
9/20 & 9/21: NE Flower show
9/28 & 10/29: Program on Native Garden in Fall and Winter
11/5-11/9: Fleur de Villes at the Prudential center. This is an annual exhibit; this year it’s featuring a Downtown Abbey theme.
11/22: Dormant Pruning Workshop
Greetings and thank yous:
Finally, as the new editor of the Garden Club newsletter, I would be remiss if I did not share praise for Julia Farwell-Clay. She was not only witty with her prose but also prompt with her updates and reminders. Thank you, Julia!
I will do my best to follow in step with her work. I leave you with an aside, as mentioned above for each post I will feature one of our members gardens, please send on photos and a few descriptive sentences if interested.
Cheers,
Anne Lehmann