Tag Archive | promise tree

March Happenings

Brian McPherson inspired members to work toward “More Blossoms, Less Mowing” at our February general meeting. Using his own Exeter home gardens as examples, Brian provided lots of planting ideas to replace the typical manicured lawn, which provides so little benefit to our pollinators and our environment.

With his slide presentation, he also showed the results of his volunteer work reviving an Audubon Center rain garden and developing a pollinator meadow.

Meeting attendees also learned about predatory insects, thanks to the Environment & Conservation committee via posters, handouts, and a presentation of some surprising predator habits and preferences. Several sign-up sheets for upcoming social events were also made available.

Upcoming Club Events

The Programs committee has arranged a Mingle, Munch and Moot Promise Tree gathering on Thursday, March 14, from 2-5 PM at the home of Ann S. in Exeter. We’ll be meeting over savory snacks to discuss possible program options for future club meetings. There is still room for others to join the gathering. Contact Vicki B. if you’d like to sign up. The Promise Tree donation is $5.

Ann H. and her Horticulture Committee are planning a Spring Design Workshop for Thursday, March 28th from 2-4.

As always, participants will be creating a beautiful floral arrangement to brighten up their homes – this time for spring. If you’d like to be part of the creativity, contact Ann H.

Another club event in the planning stages is our annual Indoor Yard Sale fundraiser, which is scheduled for Saturday, May 11, 8 AM to noon, at the Stratham Municipal Center. Members will be asked to bring plants, bargains and baked goods for sale at our club’s tables. Signup sheets for help with set-up on Friday and sales on Saturday will be available at the March meeting. Details will be emailed to members.

Other Upcoming Events

March 16 (9:30am to 5:30pm) and March 17 (9:30am to 4:30pm) Old House & Barn Expo – New Hampshire Preservation Alliance at Saint Anselm College, Manchester, NH. Featured speaker Henry Homeyer, The Gardening Guy’s lecture on Saturday at 3pm: Great Plants for Historic Properties: How to select and grow trees, shrubs and flowers that have stood the test of time. Go here for tickets.

March 19 Jane Raymond will speak on Successful Vegetable Gardening. Sponsored by the Rye Driftwood Garden Club. Contact here for info.

March 20, 11am – 12pm at the Urban Forestry Center, 147 Elwyn Rd, Portsmouth. Shaker Herbs and Gardening. Author Galen Beale will speak about growing herbs and explore the Shakers’ herb gardening heritage. Sponsored by the Portsmouth Garden Club. Guests are always welcome at PGC events. Arrive at 10:00am for light refreshments and social time, followed by a business meeting or arrive at 11:00am for our presentation. We ask nonmembers to donate $5 which is used to help defray speaker costs. Contact us at portsmouthnhgardenclub@gmail.com for more details.

April 10, 1-3 pm. “Spring is Sprung” by Bert Ford, one of New England’s leading floral design professionals. At the Fellowship Hall of First Parish Church in York, Maine. For info, go here.

Online Programs
March 28, 1-2 pm. In the Life of the Bumble Bee Queen (and the Cuckoo too!), with Rich Hatfield. ONLINE, hosted by Xerces Society. Take a deep dive into the reproductive females of bumble bees, including cuckoo bumble bees. Register here. Free
March 28, 7 pm. Spread, Impact, and Control of Jumping Worms, with Josef Görres. ONLINE, hosted by URI Cooperative Extension. An important presentation summarizing new research on jumping worm invasions in New England. The lecture will touch on identification, how they spread, their impact on plants and the environment, and new developments in how to control them. Register here. Free.

UNH Extension has put together an excellent article on preparing gardening tools for the upcoming season. Click here for advice on getting your pruners in shape for spring gardening.

Photo by Gary Barnes: pexels.com

December Happenings – Part One

We’ve only reached the midpoint of December, but there are so many events and pictures to share that I’ve decided to do two December Happenings, lest readers become exhausted by the fun photos of all of the holiday festivities of the month. It turns out that, although we’re all exceptional gardeners, we also specialize in enjoying each other’s company.

EAGC kicked off the month by serving as Grand Marshal of the famed Exeter Holiday Parade, held on December 3. Although the day was rainy and gloomy, Mother Nature smiled on us and the rain stopped just as we lined up for the parade. We donned our Dollar Store finery and led off a long parade to a surprisingly large crowd of very merry parade viewers. It turns out that un-Christmas-like weather doesn’t deter holiday fans.

Betsy’s annual Holiday Swap Shop Party was memorable as always. In fact, attendees agreed that this year Betsy outdid herself with her finely curated selection of swap shop “gifts.” If this year’s party were to have had a theme, it may well have been toilet-related. (In fact, that seemed to be the theme of her 2021 party as well.) Enjoy the treasures:

In addition to supplying all these stunning gifts, Betsy also had a spectacular spread of goodies, including lots and lots of her meticulously decorated cookies. A fun morning for all who attended – much laughter and many calories!

There’s much more to come. Watch for December Happenings – Part Two, available in your inbox in early January.

Thank you to my inveterate photographers, Ann H. and Patti Smith!

June Happenings

The big news of June is the Annual Luncheon and Auction and we have some great photos of this year’s event, thanks to Ann H. Our attendance this year was up substantially from last year, and auction plants flew off the tables, compliments of Max’s auctioneering skills. Jill C and the Hospitality Committee made it all possible. Here are some of the hightlights…

Lucky winners went home with one of the lovely table centerpieces

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Mark your calendar for our summer get-together on Thursday, July 18, at 11 a.m. at Prescott Park in Portsmouth. Go to the website Calendar for more details.

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If you have any photos of your gardens that you’d like to share, email them to me (LuAnn) at my home email or to eagcnh@gmail.com. I’ll post them periodically through the summer for all to enjoy.

More July-August Happenings

Butterfly Place Field Trip

Five members enjoyed a wonderful field trip to the Butterfly Place in Westford, MA  on August 9. Linda V took pictures so we can all enjoy the beauty. Can you identify any of these butterflies?

 

If you can’t identify this next butterfly, you haven’t been attending our meetings!

Susan & Betsy V:

Jann & Jill:

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August Summer Meeting

The twenty-five members who attended our August 16 Meeting/Luncheon enjoyed sharing this summer’s gardening experiences (too hot & humid!), loads of delicious food, and had the opportunity to get acquainted with some our new members. As you can see by the pictures, there was no shortage of eats or laughs. Thanks to Nance J for photographing the fun and to Susan for providing her beautiful home.

 

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Meet our New Members

We are so pleased to welcome these gardeners, who have joined us in the past few months:

Ginny Bulmer from Rye

Barbara Herron from Exeter

Jennifer Howard from Stratham

Mary Jo Reynolds from Stratham

Donna Richardson from Dover

Ginny Tremberth from Stratham

Be sure to introduce yourself to them at the September General Meeting!

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Make sure you’ve marked your calendars for our season kick-off General Meeting. We’ll be gathering at the Stratham Municipal Center between 9 and 9:30 on Thursday, Sept. 20. Find out what’s in store for the next nine months and pick up your hot-off-the-press 2018-19 Yearbook.

July – August Happenings

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 new Promise 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!