October Newsletter

By Julia Farwell-Clay | October 14, 2023

Dear Members

Our next meeting is on Wednesday, October 18th at Tricon Church at 1:00 pm. Karen O’Brien (The Green Woman’s Garden) will be speaking. The topic is “Herbs to Know, to Grow and to Spice Up Your Life”. We will be starting to keep track of attendance again, so make sure you check in! We have several new members joining us for the first time, Barbara Kohler and Suzanne Broxson, so keep your eyes open for new faces and be sure to welcome them. I will share more about them in the next dispatch.

Here’s a quick catch up on our busy September:

Concord Library 150th

First and foremost, the Concord Library Birthday celebration featured a spectacular contribution by our own Jeanne Hamilton and her team. The club was invited to recreate the decorations from the opening ceremony 150 years ago, described as a garland of flowers over the entrance” assembled by a committee of ladies.” Jeanne collected flowers from a number of local gardeners, made accompanying wreaths for the Fowler Branch and the Town Hall doors, and installed the day before what you can see in the magnificent photo at the top of this post. Jeanne writes:

My dear friend Stephanie Haims helped (former floral colleague and business partner while living in England who now lives in Cambridge, MA) as well as our hubbies and my daughter, Olivia Paulek. Bean Nardi also helped collect flowers and grasses from one of the donating gardens.

Jeanne Hamilton installing, with her friends Stephanie and Vic Haims

In total, we collected flowers and plant material donations from 7 different properties in the Concord area in the days leading up to the installation. That aspect of the effort was really amazing and quite special…such a reflection of the community’s generosity and kindness. It was a honor to be a part of something so collaborative and meaningful!

Many thanks to the garden contributors:

Maureen Ruttgers

Julia Farwell-Clay

Betsy Swain

Serena Crosina

Dominic Ingegneri

Erica Taylor

Joan Campbell

Apple Cider Pressing at Lauren Huyett’s with John Althouse

John Althouse, Jen Stone, Lauren Huyett, Hilary Robinson, Patricia Waters, Marty Wallace, Jane Rupley

Arnold Arboretum Trip

Mary Rose Sykes, Sarah Paino, Nan Gustafson, Amal Moamar, Georgine Feldt, Jane Rupley, Sarah MacEachern, Lauren Huyett, Jen Lannan, Holly Salemy, Andrea Meyers, Hilary Robinson

Nan Gustafson writes:

On October 2, a small group headed into Boston for a guided tour at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, the oldest public arboretum in North America and part of the Emerald Necklace network of parks designed by Frederick Olmsted. This living museum is 281 acres in size and holds one of the world’s most comprehensive and well documented collections of woody plants, with a particular focus on woody species of North America and eastern Asia.

The group spent a glorious morning touring a small portion of this preserve. The docent, who led the tour, did a fantastic job educating everyone on the history of the Arboretum and guiding them through the living collections of the Arboretum. Strolling through groves of Tulip Trees, Lindens, Cork Trees, Willows, Horsechestnuts, Maples, and Lilacs, the group saw various specimens from North America and eastern Asia and learned about relationships within the species and regions.

A special treat was to tour the Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection, which includes, among other specimens, compact Japanese white pine, trident maple, Japanese maple, cedar elm, and 5 hinoki cypress that are between 150 and 275 years old. The day was topped off with a delicious lunch and some fun socializing at Aquataine in Chestnut Hill.

Passages

Longer serving members may remember Cynthia Newbold, who had been a member of the club since 1972, long enough to earn the distinction of Honorary membership. Wilhelmina van der Wansem wrote a few weeks ago to share that Cynthia had died, and that they had been dear friends. She added:

She was . . . a great cook whose appetizers sold for big money at the club’s auction.

She always had a positive outlook on life and would come out of left field with uproarious remarks that would have everyone in stitches and made one look at a situation in a novel way.

When her farmhouse on the corner of Barrett’s Mill/Lowell road was sold and she moved to Acton we only exchanged sporadic phone calls I am sorry to say.

I will miss her dearly.

And it is with sorrow that I share that Elizabeth Berk’s husband, Dennis, passed away two weeks ago. Dr Dennis Berk‘s obituary was in last week’s Concord Bridge.

Upcoming:

This year, the Concord Museum’s Family Trees assigned us the book The Curious Garden by Peter Brown, about a little boy who plants a garden on an abandoned elevated railway and transforms an entire city. Our crafty group is assembling materials and enjoying the book more and more as we work on it. Mary Pope has already made a collection of flower-embellished train trestles which will be featured as ornaments on the tree. Sarah Paino has recreated a platoon of figures of the inspired little boy and his squad of fellow gardeners to populate a series of garden terraces that Julia Farwell-Clay is working on, and Liz Berk is making a series of handy wheelbarrows as final touches for the terraces. We scored a beautiful bushy tree this year, so it all promises to be splendid.

Last year, Mike Badia presented to the Garden Club on the topic — A Beginner’s Guide to Growing Orchids. Mike’s talk was very well received by those attending. Mike has let the club know that the Massachusett’s Orchid Society Show will be held on November 3 to 5th in Winchester at the Sons of Italy Hall, 117 Swanton Street. All the details can be found on the Society’s Facebook page here.

West Concord Green Thumbs’ Annual Bulb Sale: October 21st, 10 am to 3 pm, or until the bulbs run out. A New Leaf parking lot, 75 Commonwealth Ave, West Concord.

On November 7th, our own Jeanne Hamilton and Ellen Whitney will be leading an introduction to flower arranging workshop to benefit the Concord Museum. Sign up at the Museum website here.

Lexington Living Landscapes is looking for volunteer Concord gardens for a pollinator tour. Check out their website to see what they are about, and join their newsletter list to keep up with those busy folks. Their mission is one close to our own hearts and they deserve our attention.

The Hospitality Committee reminds you to review the sign up for hosting for the coming year. As we return to normal, all members are reminded of our responsibility to take a turn in the kitchen at Tri-Con. You can view the sign up here.

Anyone who took care of the Town House garden this past summer might have particularly enjoyed using the metal hose installed there. Several members have expressed acquisitive enthusiasm for it. I will note that it was purchased at Vanderhoofs Hardware on Main Street, and while I am providing an internet link here for reference, I urge you to patronize Vanderhoofs whenever you can in thanks for their enduring support of the garden club’s work on the public gardens. They’ve more than a few times rescued us from withering plants and tool impairment.

Thanks to everyone who sent me notes and photos for the newsletter this month! Please keep them coming.

Posted in activities, field trips, flowers, Newsletters