November may not be the best month to be a turkey, but it turned out to be a very good month to be a member of EAGC. Our participation in the Yuletide Fair, on Nov. 19, was a great success, not only for our bank balance but also for the fun and companionship enjoyed by all the members who participated in workshops and the fair itself. With a profit of around $1,100, we’re in great shape to fund another year of mini-grants, scholarships and speakers. And as evidenced by these pictures, a good time was had by all!
The floral arrangement workshop on the 18th was very well attended – so many arrangers and so much enthusiasm!
Several pinecone wreath workshops resulted in lots of very professional looking wreaths and candle rings.
And at the Fair, we had so much to display – live & dry arrangements, wreaths, tree ornaments, bulbs potted up and ready to sprout – all artfully arranged and attracting lots of interest.
Extra stock remained outside until it was needed to replenish our sales tables.
After Thanksgiving, Jan C. organized her Civic Beautification committee to decorate the Exeter Historical Society for the holidays, as well as make a wreath for the door of Exeter’s Folsom Tavern. This year, Jan decided to go all natural with greens, red twigs, winterberry, orange slices and cranberries. The results were a festive change of pace.
Amidst all the holiday fair preparations, was our November general meeting featuring Jana Milbocker, who presented an inspiring slide show on “Artist Gardens in New England.” Everyone attending was impressed with the number of spectacular gardens within a day’s drive of the Seacoast. Our sales table was very popular at the meeting, as were Promise Tree activity sign-ups. In addition, Environment & Conservation addressed the theme of water by asking us to consider what our personal water usage is in a day’s time. Where in our household do we use the most water? (Hint – it’s not the kitchen or the laundry.)
At our next general meeting, on January 19, 2023(!), Herbalist Wendy Snow Fogg will talk to us about “Herbs to Support a Healthy Immune System.”
In the meantime, I wish all my garden club friends a very happy holiday season! LuAnn
Our club is enjoying a busy spring – and we have the photos to prove it! Let’s begin with the May General meeting, which featured Carol C’s comprehensive (and delicious) herb presentation. Along with three assistants, Carol used posters, books, plants, soup, dip, bread, and jelly to educate her audience. She shared recipes for Herb Butter, Potato Soup, Wendy’s May Jelly, Smoked Salmon and Chervil Pate; A Refined Little Salad (made with Bibb lettuce), and Cheese Dilly Bread. Carol also recommended a number of cookbooks.
The Design Committee displayed the charming results of their Tussie Mussie Workshop:
And here are the tussie mussies in the making:
Other business at the May meeting included the election of Officers and the approval of the budget for our 2022-2023 season. Announcements were made about the success of the yard sale, the Veterans Garden clean up, Veterans Garden water and maintenance schedule, and American Independence Museum gardens progress. Planning for our table at the Yuletide Fair in November was also undertaken, with sign-up sheets available for those projects as well as for a Mad Hatters party being hosted by Jill C and Jan C. All in all, a very busy meeting!
Lest you think that May was all fun and good food, we also have been putting substantial effort into our commnnity service projects. A team of members took on the Veterans Garden at Stratham Hill Park, doing a spring clean-up and preparing it for the summer season. As always, it remains a peaceful and beautiful spot for contemplation.
Plantings are continuing to be installed at the American Independence Museum in Exeter. More perennials were added and Karen W. and her husband are still working to perfect the drip watering system. More shrubs and perennials are still to be added, but the improvement in the gardens so far is dramatic.
Another EAGC community service is the awarding of a scholarship to a deserving Seacoast School of Technology student who will be pursuing a degree in a field related to horticulture. This spring we awarded a $1000 scholarship to Zachary Hodgman. He is an honors graduating senior from SST/Epping HS. Zachary will be attending Great Bay Community College this fall majoring in Environmental Science as a stepping stone to further his education. SST filmed the awards ceremony. You can see the presentation of our scholarship at the 1:04 point in the filming. Ann DeMarco of SST read our presentation comments: Seacoast School of Technology Scholarship Night – YouTube
Diversions:
The West Newbury (MA) Garden Club is sponsoring an Art in the Garden Tour, featuring gardens, artists, and musicians. Nine beautiful and inspired gardens located in West Newbury and Groveland will be on display with an art connection. Saturday, June 18th, 10 am – 4 pm. https://www.wngc.org/
Our favorite wandering photographer, Lynda B., has provided some photos of the gardens in her own back yard on Chestnut Street. Beautiful – and right in the heart of Exeter!
Thanks to our contributing photographers: Lynda B., Ann H., Linda S., and Patti S. These would be very lifeless Happenings without your photos!
It’s safe to say that spring is in the air. Even though that air might feel damp and cold today and snow clouds are hovering overhead, most of us are sensing a certain optimism that we’ll soon be poking around in our gardens again. All we have to do is look for the early bulbs popping out of the soil in our sunny beds for evidence.
James Brewer, our February speaker, showed us what can be achieved in our landscapes this summer – if we are amazingly talented or if we have him design our gardens. Attendees enjoyed slides of his spectacular landscape design work, along with his descriptions of the projects and of his transition from novice English gardener to established New England landscape designer.
James BrewerSlide of a design in progressJames and his trusty assistant, BillHouseplants decorated the refreshment tableThe plants were as pretty as the food was delicious.
In addition to an interesting selection of very healthy houseplants and tempting homemade snacks, Linda S. provided servings of Green Goddess soup for members. She has shared the recipe for this delicious (and very green) soup – it can be found in the Recipe Box on the website. (Thanks to Patti S. & Ann H. for the photos.)
As a followup to his appearance at our meeting, James Brewer sent us this note: ‘Dear ladies / members of the Stratham & Exeter Garden Club’.
I wanted to send you all a huge thank you for making Bill and I feel so welcome and staying awake while I talked to you all today. Thank you for the opportunity to share a snippet of my story and discuss some of my gardens both large and small. I wish you well for the coming season and hope you all enjoy your gardens, have good health and bountiful blooms in 2022…
Cheers, James & Mr. Billster…
Club News: Our Budget Committee met on March 3rd to draw up a budget for next year. The membership will be voting on the budget at the May meeting. In the meantime, there are a few vacancies on the board for committee chairs for next year. If you are interested in getting to know more members or becoming more involved, please contact Linda S. to discuss the positions that are available. Current and former board members will tell you that being on the board is the “funnest” part of being a garden club member. And if you’re interested in helping out on the Nominating Committee, there is still time to sign up, by contacting Linda S.
Our club is very excited to announce that, in conjunction with the Exeter Library, we’ll be hosting horticulturalist and garden historian John Forti, on May 24th at 6PM in the library’s Meeting Room. He will be giving a talk on heirloom gardening. John has directed gardens for Plimoth Plantation Museum, Strawberry Banke Museum, Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and Bedrock Gardens. He also serves as a regional Slow Food Governor and biodiversity specialist for Slow Food USA. Here is a synopsis of his presentation:
The Heirloom Gardener – Traditional Plants and Skills is John Forti’s newest presentation. It draws from his new book of traditional plants and skills for the modern world. Richly illustrated with period images and contemporary woodcuts, his PowerPoint shares inspiration from our long history of heirloom preservation, garden craft and homestead lifeways. Artisanal gardening lifestyles that are helping us to rebuild vibrant local agricultural economies and celebrate sustainable cottage industries that are contributing to our new, homegrown American arts & crafts movement and backyard environmentalism. At a time when we could all use a little good news, we hope you will join us for a refreshing look at how you can make a difference and build habitat in your own backyard and community.
He also has a book. These days, we all need some good news and a way to participate in meaningful change. The Heirloom Gardener-Traditional Plants and Skills for the Modern World is a book for gardeners who want to deepen their knowledge and improve life for families, pollinators and wildlife in their own backyards. It’s a love poem to the earth; a map to the art of living intentionally and a guidepost for environmental gardeners and artisans. It unearths old-ways, storied plants and artisanal life-skills; like seed-saving, herbalism, foraging, distillation, ethnobotany and organics which contribute to a new 21st century arts and crafts movement. With woodcuts from Caldecott Medal VT artist Mary Azarian, The Heirloom Garden offers a dose of wild hope for a weary nation. It is available through this link.
“A Garden for Pollinators & Wildlife: Natural Landscaping for a Better Yard” is a program being offered at the Brentwood Library on Tuesday, March 15 from 7 to 8 pm. The talk will be presented by Vicki J. Brown, NH Natural Resources Steward, Pollinator Pathways NH Organizing Founder and Speaking for Wildlife volunteer. She will provide insights on ways to attract butterflies, bees, birds and other wildlife to your yard. You can sign up by clicking here.
Donna R. obviously has green thumbs. And she’s a talented photographer too!
Organic Beefsteaks — “We had a nice year of tomatoes. “
Organic Carrots
Garlic — “We planted in the fall and harvested them in July. Twenty five huge organic bulbs that made us very excited.”
“Our first attempt at onions brought us a small happy harvest.”
Organic Squash — “We thought we would attempt these this year. We have had quite a harvest.”
“When I came to the first meeting you had the speaker from Fuller Gardens. After his talk I decided to try and grow a rose bush. Here is one of the first 7 roses that it keeps producing. I’m very excited about being able to nurture this rose.”
“Some of the sunflowers growing in our gardens.”
“I enjoy putting together the window boxes.”
“The mom built a nest on the hose so we had to water from another source until the birds left the nest. We had two other nests in our shrubs and you couldn’t go near them or the mother would aim and dive for your head!!”
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And from Linda V, “My helianthus and Joe Pye weed are still going strong.”
Today’s high temperature calls for that time-honored question: “Is it hot enough for you?” Or maybe I could ask, “Is it hot here, or is it just me?”
Dianna braved the heat to take a few pictures of her gorgeous garden and has shared them with us.
Dianna comments, “The ‘rock wall’ flower bed contains many flowers from our EAGC auctions, which makes it one of my favorite beds. The big blue pot is from Betsy, aka Swap Shop, bleeding hearts from Susan, beautiful red Japanese maple from Nancy P, evening primrose from Nance, spotted leaf plant from Carole, Canadian ginger from Connie, etc.”
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LuAnn also has a few shots from her garden:
LuAnn says, “This is my favorite shade of pink. They really brighten up a garden. These phlox are a hybrid – so very little mildew.”
“Every year, this hydrangea produces at least 3 colors of blooms. This year is a bonus year for blooms, but they’re mostly on the lower part of the plant and none is on its north or west side.”
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Here’s a newPromise Tree leaf that sounds really tempting! This is from Edie:
Tired of weeding your garden? For a $20 donation to the Promise Tree, I will weed your garden for 2 hours. To call me to schedule a time, click here: Edie
Lee’s offer of Iris bulbs is still available too. She’ll have them available at the Meeting/Lunch on the 16th at Susan’s home.
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Speaking of the August Meeting/Lunch – it’s at noon on Thursday, August 16th, at Susan’s beautiful home. If you haven’t already, please call her to let her know you’re coming and what dish you’ll be bringing. As an added bonus — we’ll have a chance to get acquainted with some of our newest members!