October Newsletter
The Castor & Pollux Fountain at Tower Hill Botanical Garden
From the President
Dear Members,
Doesn’t October seem especially beautiful this year? The sky deepens with each passing day as the earth tilts away from the sun, while our New England autumn burnishes the trees and fields leading to what promises to be a glorious finale of oranges, yellows, and reds. I am still drinking my morning coffee on my back patio, grateful for nature and garden in a year when it seems there is more take than give. I hope you are finding joy in your life, filling your cup with friends and frolics, storing up energy for the winter ahead. With that in mind, Garden Club has been especially active since I last wrote. It was the Board’s plan to offer as many in-person occasions as we could fit into the Fall calendar for so many of us starved of our own good company. If you’ve missed a chance to join in on one of these because your well-intentioned spam filter is interfering with our email sign ups, add my address and our Sign Up Genius address to your trusted contacts and look for more opportunities.
In addition to the apple cider making session from the previous blog update, we’ve organized a few trail walks which have been enhanced by our run of perfect weather. A few weeks ago, Joan Campbell led a small but enthusiastic group through the meandering paths of Fairhaven Hill and the Wright Woods to Fairhaven Bay. I understand the mushrooms were especially interesting as our damp summer has left encouraging conditions. Anyone who has spent time in the woods in September would tell you how numbered and varied they were this year.
CW from front: Erika Rodriguez, Chandler Woodward, Paula Casey, Kate Wharton, Michelle McArdle, Tracy Lyne near Fairhaven Bay
Just this week Paula Casey shared her enthusiasm for the Hapgood Wright Town Forest, taking a circuitous route that surveyed not only the 2021 Umbrella Art Ramble, but also the permanent Thoreau meditations and Reflection Circle installed along the trail through Brister’s Hill.
And on Friday, Andrea Meyers and Holly Salemy arranged for a guided tour of Tower Hill Botanical Garden in Boylston. Members who participated were delighted by the garden in its full Autumnal glory, reading the tags of intriguing trees and making lists for their own gardens. The Boston Chapter of Ikebana International show was on site that morning as well, while a café lunch on the patio allowed for conversation and shared astonishment. If you have a free morning or afternoon, Tower Hill is only 40 minutes away! Advance Tickets are required.
John Althouse, Holly Salemy, Andrea Meyers, Julia Farwell-Clay, Tour Guide Penny, Kathy Jenkins
Coming up are (at least) two more in-person gatherings, so please jump in if you’ve missed a chance to join us. First, new member Rod Reidel has offered to introduce the Club to his garden this coming Friday, October 22 from 10 to 11:30 (rain date the following Monday). Spots open for the first 20 people to RSVP to me. And November 1st, Holly and Andrea have arranged for a guided walk through Sleepy Hollow Cemetery that will be of particular interest to Garden Club members. The sign up went out Sunday morning. I hope you got to see it!
If you would like to lead a walk or share your garden, as always, drop me or Pam Nelson a line!
Another update from the busy desk of Horticulture Chair, Pam Nelson, is that last spring Maryann Street coordinated the ordering of Alliums as a service for members only, not something for profit. She placed and put together the orders and separated them for delivery last week. Maryann did a wonderful job organizing everything.
Volunteer Opportunities Still Available
If you were away this summer, you may have missed our Volunteer Sign Up email. If you click over, you will note there are still a number of important openings and we need you! Our work in the community continues, even though our monthly programs are remote.
Community Outreach
The Concord Museum Family Trees Committee is well underway in their decorating plans and have met to coordinate a few times already. Trees will be installed the week before Thanksgiving and viewing will run through the first week of January.
Concord Council on Aging is asking the Garden Club if one of our members would be willing to lead a Holiday Greens workshop for a small group in December, materials will be provided. Contact Community Outreach Chair Wendy McNally if you are interested.
Your October Program: This Wednesday!
Please join us for a virtual presentation on Wednesday, October 20 at 1 p.m. by Lili Herrera, Senior Designer of the prestigious landscape architectural firm Oehme van Sweden of Washington, D.C. Lili will speak on the firm’s hallmark style – the New American Garden – which embraces the seasonality of the American meadow with an emphasis on massing plants in a profusion of color, texture, movement and fragrance.
Lili Herrera has a Master of Landscape Architecture and a Master of Professional Studies in Horticulture from Cornell University. She has been published by the Cornell Urban Horticulture Institute, and contributed to the USDA’s Forestry Service’s Urban Watershed Forestry Manual.
A Zoom link will be sent Tuesday, October 19th. Please sign up for this program by Tuesday to receive this link.
Two Fun Things:
A beautiful garden to explore online: A walk through Hermannshof located in Weinheim, Germany. Save this for a gloomy day, or go there right now!
From the Garden Conservancy newsletter: an enthusiasm for the work of New York Florist Lewis Miller of FlowerFlash, whose team has been installing elaborate floral displays in random locations throughout Manhattan and beyond, starting in 2016 but increasingly during Covid as a gift for the spirit, just because we can all use a little lift. Here’s his website for your enjoyment.