March Newsletter
Winter Aconite graces Rod Riedel’s sunny side yard midway through March
March Spring Outreach this Wednesday
Our annual Spring Workshop is a fun group event where participants create 5 small flower arrangements using a suggested “recipe,” enjoy a light lunch together, then deliver our arrangements across the community to nominated people just needing a little lift. So much goes into making this annual smile-fest happen, it really is the work of many hands! Now that everything is ready, Beth Kundert and Carol Hryniewicz will guide participating members in making this arrangement for this year’s recipients.
Date: March 20, 2024
Time: 11am – 1pm
Where: Barn at Nashoba Brooks School, 200 Strawberry Hill Road (hang left past the school entrance towards the drop off parking lot around the back, the barn is painted dark grey)
What to bring: Along with your name tag, please bring your apron, clippers/flower snips, and a cardboard box to transport your arrangements to recipients.
Check the sign up to make sure your status is up to date, and please contact someone on the waitlist if your plans have changed. Openings may happen, so put yourself on the waitlist if you’re interested, or sign up to deliver arrangements after the workshop. There’s always room for more! If you have any questions, please email Beth Kundert at bethkundert@icloud.com.
Speaking of Sign ups
The Hospitality Committee requests extra attention to the upcoming meetings April 17th and May 15th which still have openings for head hosts. Check the sign up here if you can fit yourself in. Perhaps some of the more experienced members could step up to head and make an opening for first timers?
Town Holiday Wreaths: For many years, The Garden Club of Concord has assembled and delivered 26 wreaths to decorate the windows and doors of Concord town officials. This year, Pat Lashley-Lescalleet will be stepping down after 10 years of designing, crafting, and overseeing the project and her always enthusiastic committee. Thank you Pat for your energy and creative spirit, and of course, your ping pong table! Ellen Matheson has agreed to step into Pat’s perfectly sized shoes, and is looking for an assistant in the project. Let Ellen know if you would like to help by emailing her here.
As many of you are acquainted with Maureen Reuttgers and her magnificent Carlisle garden, I thought I would pass along that she is looking for 8 arrangers for September 14th, when her garden will open to the public for the Garden Conservancy. Contact her directly if you are able, or email Kate Wharton with your interest.
Umbrella Arts Open Studios
Jeanne Hamilton sent along a photo of the arrangement she made on behalf of the Garden Club to greet visitors to the open studios this weekend at the Umbrella.
Her arrangement is so cheerful, it’s a whole garden on a pedestal! Included in the arrangement are Curly Willow, Hellebores, Tulips, Roses, Stock, Artichokes, Eucalyptus, Hydrangea, Ranunculus, and (of course!) Pussywillows. Thank you, Jeanne, for sending this along and for continuing to represent the Garden Club with your delightful talents!
Plant Sale
When? May 11, 2024 (as always: the Saturday before Mother’s Day)
It’s not too early to plan your donations to the Plant Sale this year (it’s only 8 weeks away!). While we will be taking a break this year from the Bake Sale, we are planning to offer tools again! It was such a surprise hit last year, so we would like to even improve on our offerings. As you tidy up the garage ahead of gardening season, take stock of what you can pass along, and make them sale worthy ahead of the day. More information will be coming from the Plant Sale committee soon, and watch for the sign up which will be emailed out soon.
Joan Campbell writes to add: TOOLS, TOOLS, BEAUTIFUL TOOLS
Welcome New Member Kelsey LeBuffe
Hello, all! I have lived in Concord since 2015 and am eager to form new connections to the community through the Garden Club. I’m currently a stay at home parent to my two children – Finn (4.5) and Lucy (2)- and one golden retriever Tula- and prior worked in education in the Greater Boston area. My wife Liza and I love spending our weekends doing yard work and playing outside with our kids. I also keep busy cooking, running and practicing yoga. In the garden, I have an interest in native plants and plants that are hardy to our changing New England climates, as well as a desire to learn more about maintenance and how to keep plants healthy and thriving over time. I look forward to meeting you all!
From the Master Gardener’s The Dirt newsletter
Increasing early spring snowdrops in the green. One of the first bulbs to appear in the late winter/early spring is snowdrops (Galanthus spp.). Their tiny, nodding, white flowers are a welcome sight. If you are looking to increase your stock of this tiny bulb, March is the time to do it.
One usually thinks of planting bulbs in the autumn and waiting for them to appear in the spring. Most think once they bloom and the foliage withers and dies, the next opportunity to increase the stock would be in another autumn planting, but in the case of snowdrops, spring is the time to increase the stock.
Here is how to increase the number of snowdrops in your garden:
- Wait until the flowers have bloomed and are starting to form green seed pods.
- Dig up the clump of bulbs.
- Carefully tease apart the white root system.
- Look for the point where the plant’s leaves and stem go from dark green to very pale green or white. Replant with the pale green-white part below the soil. This is called replanting “in the green.”
- Firm the soil and water around the newly planted bulbs.
- Part can be replanted where the original clump was dug and the others can be planted in small groups.
By replanting around the original planting, new plants will soon fill in and become a larger clump. You have now given the little bulbs (which like to be in damp — not wet— soil) a chance to spread out and drop their seeds. In a few years your yard will have drifts of snow drops to decorate the late winter garden.
Fun Links
Three minute tutorial on how to sharpen your pruners from Lee Valley Tools
A flock of European starlings appears to form the shape of a giant bird above Rome.
If you like this wildlife photo, here’s 24 more from Smithsonian Magazine.
Do you wish Starlings held murmurations over Concord? Read this BBC story for the real poop!
On International Women’s Day (March 8th), Flower Magazine’s newsletter highlighted four inspiring gardens and the women who created them. I for one did not know Karen Blixen was a floral artist!
Something else I just learned: Margaret Roach has a gardening podcast called (you guessed it) A Way to Garden.