May 2021 Newsletter

Dear Members,

May is bustin’ out all over! (with apologies to Rodgers & Hammerstein).

What a glorious month May has been so far! It has brought us not only much-needed rain, but also a prolonged bloom period for some of spring’s earliest flowers and trees. A benediction from nature.

As you can see from the above photo, lead arranger Pam Nelson, assisted by Ellen Whitney, created this stunning arrangement for the Museum of Fine Arts Art in Bloom this year.

I hope many of you partook of the virtual presentation of AIB this year which included the tour “Women Artists” with its wonderful narration of the  history of the artist Gretchen Woodman Rogers who painted “Woman in a Fur Hat” that provided the inspiration to Pam and Ellen.

The narration was informative and perceptive. The description of Pam’s and Ellen’s arrangement was especially enlightening.

Kudos to two of our many talented arrangers. As you will see below, we are blessed with  an abundance of talented arrangers.

We are headed toward the end of our (mostly) virtual season. We hope to resume in-person gatherings again in the new club year.

Until then, I remain so grateful and inspired by our wonderful club. You have made my tenure as your president a memorable journey despite the many obstacles in our path.

Hoping this finds you all well and looking forward to a mask-free life!

Sandra

From the Board of Directors

At our most recent meeting, the majority of the  board voted to postpone our customary annual meeting and luncheon at the Concord Country Club until September. It was felt that it was worth waiting as the risks of COVID continue to diminish and more of the population gets vaccinated, we should be able to safely gather as a group in September.

Please mark your calendars for the new date: Tuesday, September 14th at 11:30 a.m. A reminder will be sent in late summer.

Please also note that the business of the annual meeting will be conducted by email in June so  that members may cast their votes for the slate of President, Vice-President, and Corresponding Secretary.

Please join us for our final Zoom presentation of the season next Wednesday, May 19th at 7 p.m.

We are so fortunate to have Delia Kaye, Director of Natural Resources and Richard Forman, Professor Emeritus of Ecology at Harvard University, present a talk on their new book, “Ecology along Concord Trails: Exploring Fourteen Acres.” co-authored with Robert White.

If you have not already signed up, here is the link:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0d4aacaa29a31-gcczoom3

Congratulations to the Plant Sale Committee!

From Jen Lannan, Ways & Means Chair, Plant Sale 2021 Chair:

Our virtual plant sale was a success! We pulled off, what we hope, will be the last plant sale of this kind …virtual. This year the plant sale raised $3,897.96 (gross). The net proceeds will benefit our Community Outreach in the form of grants and a scholarship.

The plants that arrived at Amanda’s yard were lush, well-potted, and obviously grown with tender-loving care. To all of you who donated plants: there would have been no sale without your gifts.

Our pop up shop featured wonderful hand-crafted products. The designers of the baskets, floral arrangements, and gifts did a bang up job. It was a pleasure to see members leaving the sale joyful with their cars loaded up with plants and treasures! 

The plant sale could not have been possible without the Plant Sale Committee and GCC volunteers. The flexible nature and can-do attitude of all involved was stunningly remarkable. It takes a village and our village is top notch.

A very hearty thank you to the Committee Members: 

Online sale development:  John Althouse and Jane Coutre

Pop Up Shop: Lauren Huyett, Chair, Barbara Freeland, Andrea Meyers, Karen Perkins, Maryann Street, Patricia Waters. Special thanks to Andrea for making her barn available to the committee.

Distribution and Communications: Georgine Feldt

Distribution: Sarah MacEachern, Maryrose Sykes 

A shoutout and a big high-five to the following members for making time to help during delivery, sorting and pickup days:

Pam Hixon, Jane Rupley, Sally Savelle, Melinda Shumway,  Pat Sinton, Jennifer Stone, and Amanda von Weise, who once again readily made her spacious yard  available for the sale.

Many thanks, too, to our gracious members who made monetary donations, and to our President, Sandra Conrad, who cheered on the plant sale from start to finish!

Enjoy these photos sent by Jen Lannan and Lauren Huyett:

From the Treasurer

If you have outstanding bills to submit to GCC, please do so asap. Be sure to submit receipts along with a reimbursement form which is available on the website under Member Resources. Any questions, please contact Katie Sluder  mailto:asluder22@gmailcom

Committee News

Community Outreach, Ellen Whitney, Chair

Arbor Day Tree Planted

Although we were unable to hold our customary gathering for planting our Arbor Day tree donation to the Town, a beautiful ‘Princeton’ Elm (Ulmus americana) was planted in front of the Town House to replace a diseased maple.

This lovely, vase-shaped tree will reach a height of  50-70 ft. It is highly adaptable to all types of conditions, hosts migrating birds, and most importantly, has demonstrated a good resistance to Dutch Elm disease.

If you are interested in learning more of what trees are most suitable for planting in Concord, please consult the Town’s “Tree Planting Guide” https://concordma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/28782/Concord-Tree-Guide—PDF?bidId=

 

Town Gardens

Our gardens at the Town House and at the West Concord Rail Trail made it through the winter well, and are shaping up splendidly. Check out the display of daffodils and the coming of the allium at the Rail Trail, as well and the Euphorbia and coming coral peony, Lou Schenk, at the Town House garden.

The SUG for Town Garden summer maintenance volunteers will be out next week. It’s a fun thing to do outdoors with a partner, gain experience working in different gardens, and a wonderful gift to the town.

This year, the planting trough at the Milldam/Veterans Memorial will be part of Town Garden maintenance.

At the Milldam/Veteran’s area, pansies have been planted in the granite trough, and they will be replaced with summer annuals before Memorial Day.

Thank you to these volunteers, who cleaned up both gardens in April:
Jennifer Stone
Susanne Schoeller
Maryrose Sykes
Barbara Freeland
Betsy Howerton
and also to the group who will be edging and mulching at the Town House this week.

Special note on the Milldam/Veterans Memorial

The Rotary Club of Concord voted unanimously this week to fund new landscaping/renovations at the site they originally renovated several years ago.

The plan was developed by Sandra Conrad, GCC President with  Josh Fritz, from Hartney Greymont.

Hartney Greymont will donate the labor for the project.

The maintenance and care of this important site will be an ongoing collaboration with the Rotary Club, Concord Public Works, and the Garden Club of Concord.

The garden club will continue to fund the planting of the granite trough with seasonal annuals three times a year.

It is truly a wonderful addition to our stated mission “…to aid in the preservation, restoration and development of gardens and the natural environment in the Concord Community…”

Special thanks to leaders of the Town Gardens, Beth Thut and Kate Chartener. If you have questions about the gardens or volunteering, you may reach them at

 mailto:kate@chartener.com

mailto:elizabeththut@yahoo.com

Below a photo by Jane Rupley of the West Concord garden

Below a photo by Ellen Whitney of Euphorbia in bloom at the Town House garden

Horticulture, Pam Nelson, Chair

Erika Rodriguez’s lovely May arrangement of ‘Donald Wyman’ crabapple

Horticulture has had a busy month with visits to members’ gardens (John Althouse and Wilhelmina van der Wansem) as well as providing beautiful arrangements to the Umbrella for their Artfest Open Studios.

The depth of talent in our club is extraordinary, and many thanks and hats off to: Jeanne Hamilton, Erika Rodriguez, and Marta Taylor for taking time in this busy season to answer the call from the Umbrella.

The organizers of the event were effusive with praise and thanks, rightly so as you can see from these photos:

Jeanne Hamilton

Erika Rodriguez

Marta Taylor

Membership

Sadly, we lost two longtime garden club members this season. Marty Nestor (member since 1983) passed away in the late fall. Marty was a lifelong avid gardener, among her many interests.

Many of you who knew her know how much she loved her converted barn on Estabrook Rd. that sits on the site of an old orchard.

More recently, we lost Sarah Newton (member since 2000) who died in a tragic accident while on vacation.

Sarah will be remembered not only for her contributions to the garden club (her beautiful plants, contributed right up to this year’s sale; Chair of the Grants Committee), but also for her extraordinary commitment and dedication to organizations throughout Concord and beyond.

Our condolences to the families of both.

Nominating, Kate Wharton, Chair

As noted above, the slate of Executive Officers will be announced before the usual date of our annual meeting. Votes will be taken by email again this year.

Programs, Jane Rupley and Elise Woodward, Co-Chairs

Susan Hurley, committee member, has arranged for a “How to Take a Better Photograph” workshop led by Kirsten Torkelson, who presented on the Bridge of Flowers in the fall.

Please view the sign up here:https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0d4aacaa29a31-photography

Incoming Co-Chairs, Kelley Bothe and Dennis Fiori and their committee have prepared  a wonderful set of programs for next season. Details forthcoming.

From the garden corner

Remember that photo of garlic mustard from last month? Well, now that you have properly disposed of it from your yard, why not help the town in its annual Garlic Mustard Pull?  See details here:https://concordma.gov/civicalerts.aspx?aid=1078

Have you ever wondered what those wonderful spotted markings are on flower petals such as the ‘Percy Wiseman’ rhododendron above? They are nature’s ingenious way of attracting pollinators to the plant and are called “nectar guides.”

The spotted markings guide pollinators of all kinds into the plant, like a flight pathway, so they may gather nectar and pollen.

If you have a jeweler’s loupe or a magnifying glass, next time you are in the garden, bring it with you to have a closeup view of the beauty and utility of nature’s invention!

I conclude this busy, news-filled letter with words from the Bard:

“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin”