Spring Baskets Workshop 2022
This week our annual Spring Workshop was organized like a Swiss watch, thanks to the oversight of Outreach Chair, Wendy McNally, and the Annes: Hrabchek and Humphrey. Their committee has been working hard to gather and confirm names and addresses from community members and organizations, and this year they made a special effort to include our club’s Honorary members.
We arrived at Andrea Meyers’ breezy and picturesque barn under a calm spring sky to find tables taped with this year’s arrangement “recipe”, a recipient table with address tags arranged by neighborhood, and buckets of luxurious and clearly labeled flowers.
Anne and Anne explained and demonstrated how easy it was to make a pretty display.
Paula Casey, Anne Humphrey, Anne Hrabchek
And we got down to it. For the next hour the barn was full of happy chatter and slinging flowers, everyone delighted to be together for the first time in months. Here are some photos from the morning generously provided by Wendy McNally, Anne Hrabchek, and Andrea Meyers.
Katie Wilson and Andrea Meyers
Mary Ann Street, Erika Rodriguez, (Jenny Borden in back), Lauren Huyett, Hilda Parrott
Mary Rose Sykes
Carol Haines, Jane Coutre, Liz Berk, Hilary Robinson in back, Erika Rodriguez
Sarah MacEachern, Ellen Whitney, Jennifer Stone
Jane Rupley and Kelley Bothe sorting names
Jenny Borden and Rod Reidel
Joan Campbell choosing her delivery route
I am sure everyone who delivered has stories to tell! If you’d like to send in a small anecdote from your afternoon rounds, please send them along so they can be shared. I myself had the opportunity to chat with Honorary member Jan White about club history and gardens that have come and gone. I was interested to learn that Jan was the first member to shed the “Mrs.” in the club directory when she joined in 1978. As the only woman in her workplace in MIT’s computer lab at the time, she was accustomed to her independent identity and brought it with her to the Club.
A few thank you notes promptly arrived via the website. Here’s my favorite:
I just received an absolutely lovely floral arrangement delivered by one of your members and I cannot express my appreciation adequately. There is a reference to ‘referral from Kerem Shalom’ so I imagine that someone from the temple arranged for the flowers with consideration of the difficult time that I have been experiencing. Please know that receiving the flowers warmed my heart and made my day bright and special. My enormous and heartfelt Thank You to everyone involved.
While I have your attention, a few things have landed in my email that I thought I would pass along.
- The Garden Club Federation Spring Mayflower is available here (I hope this link works, it’s not yet available through their website). Please note that our plant sale date is included.
- Meanwhile, the Federation is offering scholarships to college bound students deadline April 1st. Please pass this news along to anyone you know who might be eligible and able to apply.
- Also from the Federation, a virtual workshop this coming Wednesday, March 23rd:
An Open Can of Worms
What Gardeners Need to Know About Asian Jumping Worms
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2022 6:30 PM Virtually via Zoom Registration on gcfm.org
Blake Dinius, Entomologist with Plymouth County (MA) Ext. Service, will be sharing with us what we, as gardeners, want and need to know about Asian Jumping worms.
He will help us understand:- Is this a crisis?
- Where are we and how did we get here?
- Basic biology -what are Asian Jumping Worms, and how do they spread.This presentation will be specifically “gardener” focused-
- What can we do to slow the spread?
- What specific things should we do (or avoid)?
- The West Concord Green Thumbs have invited interested members to their sure-to-sell-out Spring Flower Arranging Class for this beautiful bouquet, April 13 at 10:15 at West Concord Union Church. $55 for everything included. Please register on the Green Thumbs’ club website.
