September Newsletter

You don’t have to have children in school or be in school yourself to feel that September really is the time for new beginnings. We seem to be feeling braver with each passing month, and the year ahead feels especially promising from here. That said: the Volunteer Sign Up is still showing some very big gaps. I know some of those leadership roles may feel huge or intimidating, but they are more than anything else opportunities to get to know each other better. “Many hands make light work” as the saying goes. The job isn’t easier just for the shared part, but also because of the delight of good company. Our last few years have been distant ones, so I urge you to join in on something new, make or affirm friendships, and contribute to the important work that we do as the Garden Club of Concord.

Got Garden Questions? 

Speaking of good work! Along with Ellen Matheson, Kathy Venne, Amal Moamar, Sally Savelle, and Wendy McNally, I was part of the club team at this year’s Ag Day. In the past we have offered a map of kitchen gardens to tour about town, but this year we chose instead to showcase our Grant Program and our growing emphasis (pardon the pun) on pollinators and native plants.

Every detail, from potted sun and shade native plant collections provided by Sandra Conrad, to our book display, the handout about our history and our favorite “natives” resources, and Amal’s fresh-from-the-garden flower arrangement all together created a pitch perfect presentation. The sandwich board Sandra composed featuring photographs by Jim Coutre (husband to member Jane) of our grant recipients turned out to be a huge talking point. Many people stopped to admire the beautiful photos and to chat further about their own gardens and some even asked about membership. If you ever doubted that our work gains notice, come stand at the table during Ag Day next year. Thank you everyone who pitched in to make this work, husbands, sons, and all! 

 

 

Programs 2022-23

Many thanks to our programming committee who have put together a colorful series of educational sessions for the coming year. Mark your calendars now!

October 19, Edible Wild Plants and Mushrooms in and Around Concord, Russ Cohen (virtual)
Our area is home to over 90 species of wild edibles and mushrooms. Russ will cover over two dozen of the tastiest,
with identification tips, edible portions, seasons of availability, and preparation methods. He will also bring
samples of tasty wild edibles.
 
November 16, 10 a.m., Shelburne Farms, Heidi Webb. (virtual)
Heidi will tell the story of how Shelburne Farms, a 1,400 acre National Historic Landmark on Lake Champlain,
transformed from a 19thc. estate to a internationally recognized campus for deep learning with an emphasis on
the environment. A joint program with Seeds and Weeds.

January 18, 2023: Mike Badia and Linda Abrams
The Beginners’ Guide to Growing Orchids at Home
Mike Badia and Linda Abrams will present “The Beginners Guide to Growing Orchids at Home” and will include tips
on the basics of orchid culture including good types of orchids for growing in the home, watering, fertilizing, light
requirements, potting mixes, repotting and pests. We will also include some of our favorite sources for orchid
plants, orchid cultural information on the web and give a brief overview of our Massachusetts Orchid Society
(MOS).

February 15, Rock Gardening: Reimagining a Classic Style for Today’s Garden, Joseph Tychonievich, (virtual)
An introduction into the world of rock gardening. Joseph will cover the advantages of creating one (small spaces,
difficult site, cool plants), describe the varying styles, and layout the basics of how and where to begin. His
presentation will end with a dive into outstanding plants.
 
April 19, Flower Pressing, Melissa Alexander, virtual
Melissa is the author of the recently published The Modern Flower Press, and will present the basics of flower
pressing as well as ways to use pressed flowers.
 
May 17, 2023. C.L. Fornari
Pruning Demystified! Be a barber, not a butcher … from holly to hydrangeas, learn the proper way to prune your
shrubs and trees. C.L. Fornari is the author of eight books, including Coffee for Roses and The Cocktail Hour Garden. She’s a
professional speaker, the host of GardenLine on WXTK, and co-host of the Plantrama podcast. She is a frequent
speaker to groups nationwide, and has worked for a family-owned independent garden center for 25 years. C.L.
grows vegetables, flowers, shrubs, trees and numerous other plants at Poison Ivy Acres on Cape Cod. Connect with
her at www.GardenLady.com

You will note that four of the programs are marked as “virtual”. Our speakers are mostly coming to us over Zoom, so we are prepared for anything. Members are invited to gather in person as usual at Tri-Con, or to join us virtually. These “hybrid” meetings will allow people to participate according to their comfort level, and also allows our members living away to be with us in more than spirit. Only our April meeting will be exclusively virtual, so the fact that Concord has some inconvenient parade business that day won’t interfere with our fun. Our first speaker, Russ Cohen, will use Zoom for his talk, but he has offered to host a foraging walk some other time this year. I will let you know when that is scheduled.

 

Club News

New Directories! They’re blue! Full of all your friends and the secret password to the website so you don’t need to remember it. Come pick yours up in person at the . . .  

September Cocktail Party: 3:30, Wednesday the 21st at Jane Rupley’s (her address is in the member directory on the website and in the sign up link coming two sentences from now). Park in the field before her house, look for something like balloons or ribbons to mark the entrance. Hospitality Sign ups are still needing some attention. There will be a brief business meeting to vote on the proposed changes to the Club bylaws that I sent out last week. Check your inbox if you missed that dispatch. Wear something fun and colorful, and make sure to . . . 

Welcome new member, Beth Kundert

From Beth: “My husband James and I raised our two daughters in Sudbury and moved to West Concord as empty nesters, after I retired from a long career as a trial attorney in Boston.
I currently enjoy a busy schedule volunteering for the charity Open Table in Maynard as a cook, and for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, as a floral designer and visitor information specialist.
James and I love to travel, spend time in Falmouth and New Hampshire, go to the theatre, and garden.  We often hike on Concord’s trails, kayak on its rivers, and bike on the Rail Trail.
I look forward to getting to know GCC members and being part of the GCC community!”

Pam Hixon has a new address: 16 South Meadow Ridge, Concord MA.

And Kelley Bothe has a new email: kelleybothe@comcast.net 

So does Barbara Freeland: bhnfreeland@gmail.com

 

Wanderings

Wilhelmina, Ellen, and Amal enjoy the Ruettgers’ garden

Club members who RSVP’d to the Carlisle Garden Club’s generous invitation to tour Maureen and Michael Ruettgers’ fabled Clock Barn Farm and Gardens were delighted by, well, everything! The Ruettgers reliably open their gardens at this time every year, but it is a rare opportunity on Open Days to be alone under the grape arbor, or to take leisurely photos of the vibrant dahlia bed without featuring some awestruck stranger in the margin. Enough can not be said to describe this garden lush with plants, pots, inspiration, and humor. Many thanks to our neighbor club in Carlisle, and to the Ruettgers and their talented garden team who were on hand to answer all manner of questions. Malabar Spinach! Hyacinth Bean!! Cardoon! Nope, no apples this year! But so. many. pears! And yes, hummingbirds do indeed love the Hepticodium. 

 

During a July trip to the Peabody Natural History Museum, I came across a very strange planting bed that I could tell from across the street was overgrown and in need of attention. As I got closer, the evident neglect transformed as I realized it was an intentionally wild planting bed. What a few years ago had been an amorphous over-clipped yew was now (you guessed it) a pollinator bed buzzing with bees and flutterflies (yes, I made that up; fight me). It was a charming display, and part of a Harvard Graduate School project on campus. Read about it here. 

 

Save the Date: October 5th, field trip to Mount Auburn Cemetery. Details coming soon.

Ever wonder where florist roses come from?

Local day trip: the Topsfield Flower Show, October 11-13

A new book from Oehme Van Sweden, the landscaping firm featured in last year’s talk by Lily Herrea: Beyond Bold: Inspiration, Collaboration, Evolution. With 320 pages of vibrant photographs and detailed project plans, the book ranges from private gardens to urban oases like the Chicago and New York Botanical Gardens. Arranged into thematic chapters—“The House and its Garden,” “Gathering Places,” “At the Water’s Edge,” “Urban Retreats” and “Farms and Fields”, the projects featured in this book are masterpieces of both horticulture and hardscape. Thanks to Jane Deering for sending this along.

Some Fun Links

For the Armchair Traveller, the Columbia Flower Festival

For the Gardener, Why September is the new May by Margaret Roach

For the adventurous Flower Arranger, from Flower magazine:  Antonio Bond