My apologies to members who want to see photos of our Spring Luncheon and Plant Auction held Wednesday, but they aren’t ready yet – tune in to the next Happenings for those. I can report, however, that we had a great turnout – 48 members and guests – and everyone had a terrific time and scored some great plants. Our next regular meeting will be on Thursday, September 21, but watch your email and the calendar for field trips and other summer gatherings.
Our May meeting, presented by Ann H. and the Design committee, was a particularly popular event. Attendees were given the opportunity to appreciate the design talents of nine of our members, while learning a little more about each of them through their very personal floral designs. The presenters were tasked with choosing a favorite children’s book to interpret – and the results were stunning. After sharing their creations at our meeting, the designers displayed them at the Stratham Library.
Before the “Big Reveal” Lynda B.Johann S.Ann H. – Very Hungry CaterpilarJill C.Jennifer H.Susan C. – The Giving TreeDianna T.Lee C.Pat N.
Thanks to the Stratham Library for some of these photos.
The busy May meeting also included E & C’s Bug project. Members were asked to bring a bug found in their home for display. Many predictable household insects turned up – no scorpions or tarantulas, fortunately.
Creepy crawlies on displayIt’s fair to say the refreshemts were a hit – this is the table at 11:00.
The flower design exercise this spring was to build an arrangement and incorporate wood in any form. The results were varied and creative and fun. Some used wood containers, others used stems, branches, roots, and even decaying wood found on the forest floor. This group was the first to experiment with Agra Wool, a natural floral foam that is 100% biodegradable.
Agra Wool in action
Spring is a busy time for EAGC’s community service volunteers. Civic Beautification members raked, weeded, and planted at our two major sites, the American Independence Museum in Exeter and the Stratham Veterans Memorial Garden. Both areas cleaned up nicely and were readied for summer visitors. Weekly volunteer schedules have been arranged to maintain the gardens into the fall. Our communities surely appreciate our efforts.
Our landscape designer oversaw cleanup at AIM. Cleanup at the Veterans Garden under a perfectly blue sky.
Another beautification effort EAGC has undertaken is at the entrance to the Stratham Municipal Center Offices. These pots are updated seasonally and certainly help cheer up the entry for residents and employees. Thank you to all our hard-working volunteers!
It’s not too late to add another container to your deck or patio. There are still plenty of plants available at local nurseries. For some professional tips on container plant selection and care, check out a recent article in AHS’s American Gardener magazine by Mary-Kate Mackey, Pro Tips for Container Gardening in All Climates.
Lynda B. has shared more of her photos of Exeter’s beautiful and historic spots. Enjoy…
Kelly Orzell, author of The Backyard Gardener, was our featured speaker at the April general meeting. She talked about container gardening, which is of particular interest to many members, and shared a number of inspiring and gorgeous floral designs – some in very unlikely containers. As usual, our meeting was full of various activities, sign-ups, and garden information.
Kelly Orzell container designs
Linda V. and Betsy V. discussed the Environment & Conservation Beautification Mini Grants which were awarded this spring. Ten grants, totalling almost $2000 will be used by Stratham and Exeter residents to plant pollinator gardens on their properties, with the hope that a Pollinator Corridor can be created in these two towns. The funds have been disbursed and the gardens are in process. In the fall, E&C will tour the resulting gardens and present the club with photos of the results.
In addition to mini grant gardens, E&C member Jill C. presented members with a “bug challenge.” Each member was given a container and asked to capture one indoor insect from their homes, which will be evaluated at the May meeting. It’s unknown if there will be prizes – biggest bug, most legs, most disgusting? – but the results should be interesting. If you missed the April meeting and would like to participate, bring your entry in a sealed container. It’s suggested that you freeze it so that it doesn’t disintegrate before the big reveal.
Wednesday, June 14, is our club’s big Spring celebration – our fabulous Annual Spring Luncheon and Plant Auction. Luncheon preparations are almost complete, thanks to Paige C. and her creative committee. The deadline for sign-up and payment are fast approaching. Do not miss this fun event! Details about the luncheon can be found here.
Johann S. reminds us that, with nicer weather here and the plant auction approaching, members should pot up their plants with coffee filters in the bottom of the pots, label them, and include any special care information. Becky Mitchell’s very helpful potting suggestions can be found here.
EAGC was asked to participate in the YMCA’s April 29th Healthy Kids’ Day, the Y’s national initiative to improve the health and well-being of kids and families. Several of our members spent a few hours helping kids pot up veggies and flowers, hopefully encouraging them to become the gardeners of the future.
The upcoming May general meeting is a special one – some of our own members will be interpreting their favorite books with floral arrangements. “Books Make Me Bloom” has been organized by our Design committee, chaired by Ann H. and Patti S., and shines a light on the talents of our members annually at this time of year. May is also the month that we will be voting on our budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year. If you haven’t already looked it over, you can find the budget on the website here.
May is the month to sign up for a week to help with our community service projects. Although our club no longer maintains the Exeter Bandstand, we certainly have a hand in helping to beautify some prominent local spots. The Veterans Memorial Garden in Stratham has some unfilled weeks this summer. Pulling weeds in such a beautiful & peaceful garden is never a chore. Contact Dianna T. if you’d like to take a week. In Exeter, our club is maintaining the beds in front of the American Independence Museum. We’ve made impressive improvements in the past year and now need more volunteers to stop in a few times a week to pull a few weeds and enjoy the beauty. Linda S. will be happy to find a week for you. And back in Stratham, we’re maintaining pots at the entrance to the Municipal Center. Contact Linda S. to help out with this project. Sign up sheets will also be available at the May meeting.
Former Award Winner
Our Awards Committee is still on the lookout for special gardens, residential and commercial, to be considered for our Outstanding Garden Awards, which are presented in the fall. Some gardens have been recommended, but more suggestions are welcome. The committee will be touring gardens as soon as they mature, so contact Carmen G. if you’ve noticed a garden that really stands out as special.
So many spring garden opportunities! Here are a some of them:
Peggy Moore, an award-winning floral designer, who has entered designs in WAFA (World Association of Floral Artists) meetings numerous times, will share backstories of competing in international floral design circles including some of the mishaps and challenges. Thursday, May 18, at 10:30 AM at the First Parish Church Hall, 180 York Street, York, Maine. This is sponsored by the Piscataqua Garden Club. There is a non-member charge of $5.00 at the door.
The Hampton Garden Club is hosting a Plant, Bake, & Shed Sale on Saturday, May 20, 9 AM til noon, at the Centre School, 53 Winnacunnet, in Hampton. For more info, click here.
The Great Island Garden Club (New Castle, NH) has invited us to a once-in-400-year event that celebrates the upcoming 400th anniversary of the settling of New Castle, NH in 1623. “The Secret Gardens of New Castle” is a self-guided walking tour of some of the most beautiful home gardens in the town’s Historic District. Friday, June 16, 5 to 7:30 PM and Saturday, June 17, 10 AM to 3 PM (rain or shine). Tickets are now available at www.portsmouthnhtickets.com. $20 advance, $25 day of. More details can be found at www.greatislandgardenclub.org.
And finally, Lynda B. has gifted us once again with her Exeter photos – Spring in Exeter:
Can we all agree that we’ve had enough of the heat and the drought? This has been a trying summer for gardeners and now that towns are limiting or banning outdoor gardening, it may be time to give up the ghost and start planning for next year’s garden. Fortunately, we’ve had some fun diversions to take our minds off all the brown and withered plants in our gardens.
Jill C. and Jan C. hosted a very fun “Mad Hatter Tea Party”, bringing members together to display some heat-induced silliness. The party featured costumes, finger sandwiches, tea and punch, pretty floral centerpieces, a quiz, and many laughs – all in the air-conditioned comfort of Jill’s home. (Thanks go to Jill’s husband, Bill, who labored in the heat to set up a croquet court, which went unused on that 90+ degree day.)
Of course there was a quiz!
This week, Lee C. very generously shared her wonderful lake house in Wakefield, NH with garden club members. Lee, her husband Doug, and her son (and super-baker) Ben pulled out all the stops in providing us with a relaxing mini-vacation in a lovely wooded setting.
Later in the day, we were treated to a pontoon boat tour of Pine River Pond, with Captain Doug at the helm. One of the highlights of the cruise was the sighting of two eagles.
View from the deckWe began the day with rain…but ended with sunshine.Delicious food prepared by Lee & Ben…everyone dug in!Our tour boat…named after Lee (ask her!)Mountain view from the lake.
Eagles on the lookoutOur hosts: Doug, Ben & LeeLee’s lake view
For those of you who’ve noticed our garden club’s absence at the Exeter Bandstand, you can now see our sign and our gardening efforts at the Exeter American Independence Museum. Members have been weeding and watering (until Exeter recently banned outdoor watering) and the beds look good. Next year, with some growth, they’ll be even better!
What happens when gardeners take a day off from gardening to gather for some relaxation? They talk about gardening, of course. At Lee’s lake house, a discussion about a particular weed came up – a weed none of us could positively name but were certainly familiar with.
Photo: Gateway Garlic Farm
Lee did some research for us and found some facts that should be useful to all of us. This familiar weed is Spotted Spurge. According to Gateway Garlic Farm, “spotted spurge is undesirable, tenacious and mildly poisonous. Its sap is a skin irritant and it’s been known to attract many garden insect pests. It produces a milky white sap that’s not only an irritant but is considered carcinogenic.
Often found growing in garden beds, lawns, and even sidewalk cracks, it’s extremely drought resistant and would make an awesome groundcover if it didn’t adversely affect nerby plants by causing them to grow diminished fruit. It is sometimes confused with purslane but can easily be distinguished by its milky white sap.” It’s also important to note that one spurge plant produces thousands of seeds, as evidenced by these photos taken by Patti E.
Hot and dry weather obviously haven’t affected Vicki B.’s gorgeous daylily bed. She started this bed three years ago this fall. “I started Daylily fascination at the 2004 July sale at Pinhill Farms Garden in Harvard MA.,” Vicki says. “Mr. Lefkovitz was a daylily hybridizer and his wife kept the logs, organized the summer sale, and coordinated the September digs. From 2004-2007, I purchased 16 different plants, with 4 being created at Pinhill Farms. I accumulated another 15 from various places. I have some favorites that appear in several places for over 55 daylily plants at my home. It is too many. Fun story, my Hyperium was from a neighbor that got hers from the head gardener at the Emily Dickinson estate in Western MA. My double orange Fulva (street daylily) is from my grandmother’s garden in the 1930’s and must be isolated from the hybrids.” The colors are stunning:
This little white spider was photographed by Linda S. at the Independence Museum.
Thanks to our Happenings photographers, Ann H., Linda S., and Patti S.
Members who attended our January General Meeting learned all about herbs from Sarah Marcoux of the UNH Extension office, took advantage of our Sales Table, met a new member, and of course, enjoyed homemade refreshments compliments of our Hospitality Committee.
We also got a close-up look at Karen W.’s impressive landscaping plan for the American Independence Museum in Exeter. As many of you know, an EAGC committee is working with the museum to rejuvenate their landscaping, in particular the beds in front of the building. Our club, as well as the museum, are very fortunate to have Karen’s expertise as a landscape designer in creating a plan for beautiful, historical, and practical garden beds. Although some of our members may choose to volunteer some maintenance, the bulk of the bed installation will be handled by a landscaping company – good news for those of us who no longer relish doing the heavy lifting!
A portion of the site plan
January MeetingYum!Sales TableSarah Marcoux
Garden Design will be the topic at our February 17 general meeting. Our speaker, James Brewer, is a landscape designer who has been working within gardens since his boyhood years in England. He came from a sleepy village in Northamptonshire with natural stone thatch collages, an 18th century church ringing its lethargic bell and an abundance of wildlife within its rolling fields. Influenced by his surroundings James started his landscaping business in England in 1995 by lawn mowing and weeding, certainly humble beginnings.
A unique garden project in 2006 led to his enthusiastic personality and work catching the eye of the BBC and various publications in garden magazines. In 2014, James moved to New Hampshire and embarked on a steep learning curve with our climate and vastly different plants. In a short time, James has helped dozens of clients achieve new gardens and several ‘Signature’ projects throughout the state.
These include a small Pocket / Courtyard Garden in Portsmouth; Downton Abbey / Baroque creation in Dover; and a ‘Testimony in Granite’ garden, which is a ‘Wolfe-henge’ style garden in the mountains of Wolfeboro overlooking Lake Wentworth. Each of his designs are highly unique and combine aspects of classical English garden design while embracing the best plants and materials available to us in New Hampshire. We’re certain to see photos of some of James’ lovely gardens.
It’s that time of the club year when a Nominating Committee is formed to look for new officers and committee chairs. Although many will be returning to their positions, there will be some openings. Linda S. is asking members to contact her if they are interested in serving on the board and/or being on the Nominating Committee. On March 3rd, the Budget Committee will be meeting to prepare a budget for next year. If you chair a committee, please submit your budget request to Susan C. before then. And if you’d like to serve on the Budget Committee, contact Susan or Linda.
Although the Environment & Conservation Committee has put their traditional Mini-Grant program on hiatus for the year, they have been busy formulating a Pollinator Corridor grant plan in conjunction with the Exeter Library’s speaker program. The grants of $100 will be available to Exeter residents who will use the funds to plant pollinator-friendly seeds or plants in an effort to create a pollinator corridor in Exeter. More details about the grants will be available soon.
For those of us who are weary of the winter whiteness, here’s something colorful to feast our eyes on. The Amercan Horticultural Society has released its new plant recommendations for 2022. Even if we never plant one of these beauties, it’s uplifting just to look at the pictures. Click onthis link and enjoy.
