June/July Newsletter
Wilhelmina and her Magnolia macrophylla
Dear Members:
As one would expect, our annual June Luncheon was well attended: 70 Garden Club members enjoyed each other’s company and the conclusion of a transitional year. If you could not join us, you should know about the following celebrations:
First of all, Sustaining Members were officially recognized. Sustainers are a new category in the revised bylaws, adopted at our December luncheon and meeting. Sustainers are resident members who have been in the club for 25 years, and this new status relieves our long time members of service obligations and allows them to choose to forgo meetings. This new category now consists of these members: Liz Berk, Joan Campbell, Carol Haines, Betsy Howerton, Susan Hunt, Gail Keane, Mary Kemp, Pat Lescalleet Lashley, Sandra Lynn, Ellen Matheson, Anne Miller, Amal Moamar, Lily Mulvany, Ruth Piper, Jane Rupley, Betsy Spaulding, Wilhelmina van der Wansem, and Jean Wood.
At the luncheon, Sustainers who were present stood up to applause, and were invited to take home one of the beautiful table centerpieces created by Ellen Whitney with flowers from members’ gardens.
Sustainers Pat Lescaleet Lashley and Betsy Spaulding & flowers
Betsy Howerton, MaryAnn Street, Melinda Shumway
Second of all, Kate Wharton presented the Judith Rose Shea award to Sandra Conrad in the form of a golden trowel. The Shea Award was first given to Sandra Lynn, then to Wilhelmina van der Wansem, and last year to Amal Moamar, and is a recognition of a special level of behind the scenes service to the club.
Sandra Conrad, recipient of the 2023 Judith Rose Shea Award
Third of all, news was shared of the successful culmination of a long anticipated task. Following a year of sifting, sorting, labeling, and organizing, club archivist, Carol Haines has delivered to the Special Collections department at the Concord Library a curated selection of the club’s historic papers. Many of the papers of immediate importance and from our most recent years remain in possession of the club’s president, but making our deeper history available for anyone wishing to do the research has been a long term goal for the club, and it was Sandra Conrad’s suggestion and Carol’s recent retirement from the museum that created the opportunity for this to finally happen.
Last and not least as they say, the Board’s nominations for new executive committee members were presented and members were in unanimous agreement elevating Vice President Lauren Huyett to President for the new term, and bringing on Holly Salemy as Vice President. Along with Financial Chair Rod Reidel, Secretary Jeanne Hamilton, and Corresponding Secretary Sally Savelle, the executive committee for the coming year represents deep club knowledge as well as fresh perspectives, promising both continuity and inspiring energy going forward.
Julia Farwell-Clay (that’s me!) used her last few minutes as President to thank members for their patience, endurance, and support for her tenure, with a special appreciation to Sandra Conrad for her precedence, foresight, and tireless background information during the transition, and to members of the board for the last two years: Kelley Bothe, Joan Campbell, Georgine Feldt, Dennis Fiori, Sarah Garland-Hoch, Lauren Huyett, Jeanne Hamilton, Wendy McNally, Rod Reidel, Erika Rodriguez, Sally Savelle, Melinda Shumway, Jennifer Stone, Patricia Waters, and Kate Wharton.
Meanwhile, the business of the club proceeded around the edges. Rod Reidel collected membership checks, and has asked me to remind you that Dues should now be sent in for the coming year. All the details are on the Renew Membership page.
The Coming Year Sign Up is live!
As you may have learned from an email last week, the Sign Up Genius for Club committee and annual events is now ready. If you missed it, never fear, just click on the link in the previous sentence and you’ll be there! Thank you to new volunteer coordinator, Jenny Borden who can be emailed with questions should you have them.
Gaining Ground Visit
Gaining Ground Executive Director Jennifer Johnson greeted Garden Club members
with organic greens in front of the day’s impressive distribution to local organizations
A small group of club members visited Gaining Ground on June 20th to tour their fields and learn about the farm’s innovative systems of maximizing harvest using layering soil techniques and mobile greenhouses. We were interested to learn that Minuteman National Park has given over 5 acres of land in the park to Gaining Ground for additional farming, doubling GG’s acreage as they provide organic local produce to community-based organizations supporting food insecure families in the greater Boston area. It was a feel-good morning, as Gaining Ground benefits from one of the Garden Club’s largest grants which they use to create hedgerows of native plants and fruiting trees that also support their pollinator network at the farm.
Helena Long, Amanda von Weise, Kathleen Kennedy, Jane Coutre, GGDirector Jennifer Johnson,
and Rod Reidel, listen to Assistant Farm Manager Kari Bender explain soil layering techniques
Fruit trees and native plant hedgerows subsidized by the Grants Program create a supportive pollinator environment for the farm
Now that’s a real Hot House Tomato
Jane Coutre, Karen Perkins, Helena Long, Sarah Paino, John Althouse,
Rod Reidel, Amanda von Weise, and Kathleen Kennedy admire the peppers
Speaking of Grants . . . New Signs
This week Joan Campbell and the Grants Committee are distributing these signs to our grant recipients so the town will recognize one of the most important things that we do. Don’t forget to share our grants program with deserving organizations in Concord. You can reacquaint yourself with the essentials here. Deadline for the coming year is October 16th.
Summer Asides
Please take a turn weeding and watering the town gardens one week before October. This is a basic responsibility for all regular members. The sign up still has lots of openings.
If you subscribe to Amazon Prime, allow me to recommend a video documentary called “The Gardener” about a one of the world’s most beautiful private gardens, Les Quatre Vent in Quebec, and its maker, Frank Cabot, one of the founders of The Garden Conservancy. It’s a beautiful history and breathtaking tour of the garden in Quebec. It will make you wish you could grow all manner of primroses and that Concord deer would leave tulips unmolested. Enjoy!
If your Hydrangeas are about to bloom, here’s some arrangement inspiration from Flower Magazine.