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January Happenings

Jan9

We can officially say winter has arrived, given the frigid temperatures and brutal winds we’ve been experiencing lately. EAGC finished out 2024 with mild weather and a burst of activities centered around the holidays. Most members probably have been very happy to take a deep breath and relax after all the hubbub of the season. There are still some great photos of the festivities to share, however, including Betsy’s notorious Swap Shop Party. Let’s start with the spectacular food spread, prepared by Betsy and a few of her holiday elves:

Followed by the one-of-a-kind gift swap and lots of laughs:

Betsy: Hostess with the Mostest
Ginny gifted this to Ann H…
who made lemonade out of a lemon!
Photo: Pat N. 12/16/24

Amaryllis always seem to have their own agenda.
These amaryllis from the Yuletide Fair were planted at the same time, treated with the same conditions, and expected to bloom between mid-December and mid- January. Well, here is my pair …. doing their own thing. Amazingly, the one on the left has three bloom stalks while the one on the right has two!
I hope our customers are having such luck.
Pat N

Members: How are your amaryllis doing?

Amaryllis weren’t the only holiday florals in member homes. Lee C. held a Holidays Greens Workshop in mid-December, attended by 12 members who created some festive arrangements to add to their holiday decor. Lots of concentration produced some beautiful results:

Club News

EAGC received recognition on Facebook from the Stratham Historical Society in December: “We want to thank the ladies from Exeter Area Garden Club who did a phenomenal job making our building beautiful and festive, just in time for our Open House.” They are: Lee Cooper, Ellen Johansen, and Kathy Maskell.”

Dates to add to your calendar:

  • Our annual yard/plant sale is Friday May 9 and Saturday May 10. We have the same location (the Stratham Municipal Center) and need member help for advertising. A guideline is being developed so we know what items to donate.
  • The yearbook has the wrong date for the May program. It is May 15, not May 22.
  • Our June Luncheon & Plant Auction will be sometime from June 5th to the 12th. The committee is firming this up.
  • We have secured the date of December 4th, 2025, for next year’s holiday party.

The Nominating Committee soon will be looking for members to fill open board and committee positions.

Volunteers for the Scholarship Rewrite Group and the Website Research Group have started their efforts.

At the Board meeting on January 7, we voted to accept the flagpole garden at the Stratham Fire Station as one of our community areas to maintain. The Civic Beautification committee will be organizing a maintenance schedule.

Our January 16 speaker is Lindsay Watkins. Lindsay is the Field Specialist in Forest Resources for Strafford and Belknap County. She is passionate about our native trees and has a slide show talk on “Cultivating Resilience in Landscape Trees”. Our meetings start with set-up at 8:30, social time at 9 a.m., and end at about 11:30. The Morgera Room at the Fire Station is available for your meeting needs till 1 p.m.

Other Nature News

Join NH Audubon this winter for the 38th annual Backyard Winter Bird Survey on February 8th and 9th, 2025. This statewide effort invites participants to observe and report the birds visiting their backyards, helping track winter bird populations and trends across New Hampshire. For info, click here.

The Massachusetts Pollinator Network hosts a free presentation by Dr. Avalon Owens, who will speak about the impacts of artificial light on insects and what it means for insect conservation. Dr. Owens will also share why insect conservation is important and how we can help. Online Zoom meeting, January 28 from 7:00 – 8:15pm. Sign-up is free & open to all. Register here.

Thanks again to our intrepid photographer, Ann H.

July Happenings

Jul10

I don’t know about your gardens, but there’s not much gardening happening at my house. The heat and humidity have driven me to any air conditioned refuge I can find. Trying to accomplish something garden-related, I’ve been venturing out late in the day to map the plants in my beds. This will give me a head start this fall when it’s time to move and/or divide plants that have outgrown their little pieces of real estate.

This heat wave allows extra time with your computer or phone to take a look at Ann H.’s most excellent photographic documentation of our June Luncheon and Plant Auction, held this year at the Abenaqui Golf Club in Rye. It was the general consensus of members that the venue and food were excellent, and Max F. performed her usual magic by auctioning off every plant just in time for the salads to be served. In addition to a delicious meal and a fun auction, our Executive Board was sworn in. Thanks go to Paige C. and her committee, who made all the arrangements for our luncheon, along with the centerpieces and favors.

Paige C. – Our Hostess with Terrarium Centerpieces
Auctioneer Max F.
Looking for a new home: Shade Plants
and lots of Sun Plants
President Pat N.
Passing the gavel to a very enthusiastic Vicki B.
Executive Board for ’24-’25

At the end of a fun afternoon, eight fortunate members won the centerpiece of their choice: Jan C., Carol C., Nickky J., Lynda B., Ginelle H,. Anne C., Linda S., and Audrey B. Congrats!

EAGC extends its heartfelt congratulations to Lee C. for securing 3rd place in the People’s Choice Award out of over a dozen floral designs at the Ogunquit Museum’s Art in Bloom event. She competed for EAGC against several garden clubs, professional florists, and independent designers. Receiving this achievement reflects her dedication and passion for the craft and she inspires us all with her creativity. Well done, Lee! She and Ann H. spent hours traveling to and from Ogunquit, designing the arrangement, and lining up supplies. This was Lee’s second time participating in this competition, as a representative of EAGC. Thank you, Lee, for putting our club on the map!

Lee’s arrangement & the painting she interpreted.
Arrangement in process.
Final Design
The Winners

Are you in the mood for a mid-summer garden tour? The Garden Club of Deerfield is sponsoring a garden tour on Saturday, July 20th from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Maps will be available at the welcome station at Blooms & Brews Cafe, 38 North Rd. in Deerfield from 8 a.m. to noon. For more info, contact Amanda Beauchamp at 603-560-2039.

For those not inclined to travel to Deerfield, let’s take a photographic tour of some gardens closer to home. Last year our Environment & Conservation Committee awarded one of its pollinator mini-grants to Renee Richards of Exeter. The committee made its routine tour of the awarded gardens in the late summer. This June we received this message from Renee, via our Facebook page:
“I was a bit mortified at how sad this looked when your group came by at the end of last summer, but it is certainly thriving now. And the pollinators truly love it. I have dragonflies, bees, hummingbirds, etc. Truly appreciate the grant!” Renee included photos; it’s obvious why the pollinators love her garden.

Our club was contacted last year by Tom Cregan, a seven-year resident of Exeter who has been planning and developing a garden on his property. He forward some pictures to us this summer to demonstrate the progress he’s made. Certainly impressive gardens!

I hope these photos have inspired you to take a few pictures of your own garden to share with members. Email them to me and I’ll add them to the next Happenings. It’s always fun to see what others are growing – even if it’s in a pot on the patio!
LuAnn

April Happenings

Apr6

April is National Garden Month

Let’s jump into Spring with some gorgeous floral arrangements, courtesy of our very own designing members. At the March 28th Design Workshop and under the direction of chair, Ann H., members made Easter-themed arrangements, proving once again what a talented group of arrangers we are. Enjoy the results:

And here are some of the creators at work:

These arrangements were made using Sideau, a floral foam alternative crafted from Earthwool, a natural material derived from volcanic igneous rock and fortified with a binder free from plastics and formaldehyde.The floral bricks can be reused or composted, added to the garden soil or as a starter base for seeds. Using this eco-friendly solution to floral foam, we not only reduced waste but contributed to a healthier environment.

In other spring news, our March speaker was Jamie Colen, who has been Garden Director of the beautiful Fuller Gardens for over 20 years. He impressed attendees with his extensive knowledge of soil dynamics and his passionate belief in natural, versus synthetic, soil management.

Jamie Colen

Members brought Spring to the meeting by displaying their first garden blooms on the Hort Table. A surprising number of cheerful flowers made their appearance, including Iris, hellebores, Pieris japonica, pussy willow, Johnny jump ups, and snowdrops.

And of course, the Hospitality Committee, put on a seasonal show at the refreshment table:

The March meeting also featured an Environment & Conservation presentation on ground insects, those little critters who work busily and mostly out of sight on our soil and plant roots. In addition, Patti E. offered members seeds from the club’s Seed Library, which is open for business again at the Exeter Public Library.

Thanks to Ann H for all the wonderful photos!

A great many members participated in the club’s 2024 Member Survey, which was collected at the February meeting. Ginny T., our Treasurer, gave a brief overview of the results at the March meeting. Although opinions and suggestions varied widely, their were some common responses that will help guide the club in a direction that maintains the relevance and value to our members. More information about the survey will be forthcoming.

The Programs Committee hosted a very elegant “Mingle, Munch and Moot” luncheon on March 14 to explore new ideas for possible meeting programs. Ann S. hosted the group in her beautiful home, while Vicky B. and Mary Anne J. helped with prep and refreshments. It was a lovely way to spend an afternoon getting to know each other better. And there was actually some serious discussuion about programs!

Several members of the Civic Beautification Committe put together a cheerful spring welcome for anyone visiting the Stratham Municipal Offices. Our club has adopted the somewhat barren entry as one of our beautification projects and our contributions have been greatly appreciated.

Wellington Gardens is open for the season. Their annual PERENNIAL SALE will be from Saturday, April 27 – Friday, May 3 or until sold out. Sale hours: 7 am – 6 pm. All 4-inch Perennials are $3 each.
Their ANNUALS SPECIAL is Saturday, May 4 – Sunday, May 12 or until sold out, from 7 am – 6 pm. Select Annuals 6-packs are $2.50 each. They’re at 89 Rowell Road East, Brentwood.

UNH Extension has published two articles of special interest to spring gardeners. “How to Utilize Raised Beds for Small Space Gardening” explains how raised beds can be be used to grow flowers, vegetables or even fruit. Find the article here.
And UNH Extension’s question of the week is “Which Spring Ephemerals Are Best for New Hampshire Gardens?” Ephemerals emerge early in the spring, flower and go dormant by summer, only to emerge again the following spring. This article describes those that flourish in NH. You can read about them here.

Spring beauty (Claytonia virginiana) image by Ivy Main, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Common

Upcoming Events:

April 11, 12:00 – 1:00pm “Building Resilient Landscapes” Online, Free
Presented by Dan Jaffe Wilder, Director of Applied Ecology, Norcross Wildlife Foundation
In this changing world, it behooves us to build resiliency into every landscape. The days of landscapes dedicated to beauty alone are passing. People are demanding ecologically sensitive landscapes; they want reduced lawn, reduced maintenance, and greater wildlife value. Register here.

April 16 Traffic Stopping Curb Appeal by Kerry Ann Mendez
Hosted by the Rye Driftwood Garden Club. https://www.ryenhgardenclub.org/programs for info.

April 17, 10:30 AM – 12. Flower Arranging presented by Jayne Densmore
Portsmouth Garden Club, held at the Urban Forestry Center, Elwyn Rd., Portsmouth. They ask that non member guests donate $5 to cover cost.

April 22, 2:00 – 3:30pm “Edible Native Plants” Online, Free
Presented by Russ Cohen, Naturalist, edible native plant seed collector, propagator & planter
The fact that many of our native species are edible by people too provides an additional incentive for people to plant them in their yards that might otherwise be insufficiently induced to do so for the ecological rationale alone. Register here.

April 24, 7:00 – 8:00pm “Rethinking Gardening” Online, Free
Hosted by York Public Library. Presented by Wild Seed Project
Our garden plant choices can determine which species can seek refuge in our gardens, how much species diversity we see in residential areas and help minimize impacts of climate change such as flooding and drought. Register here.

May 8, 7:00 – 8:30pm “Gardening Among Hungry Mammals” Online, Free
Presented by Nancy Lawson, Author, The Humane Gardener
Discover how a combination of strategies—including mixtures of preferred and unpalatable species, strategic plantings along well-used pathways, and gentle exclusion techniques—can help you trade resistance for peaceful coexistence. Register here.

Lee C. is creating Gnomes again – this time a special Easter Gnome.

January Happenings

Jan10
Wikimedia Commons

Garlic is on the menu for our January 18th general meeting. Margaret Witham will be speaking about “How to Grow Garlic”. Margaret, along with Rebecca Hennessy, are co-owners of Backyard Garlic. Their business started in 2015 literally in their backyards growing garlic to dehydrate and sell in grinder jars. They wanted to grow and create a product from healthy soil and organic practices for their community.

The business continues to grow. Currently, their garlic grinder jar and refill bags are sold in 45 stores and farm stands throughout New England, and they ship their product all over the country. Margaret will be bringing some of their custom grinders and refill packets, available in local markets, for sale to the membership. Check out their website http//www.backyardgarlic.farm.

Join us on Thursday, the 18th in the Morgera Room at the Stratham Fire Station – not only for garlic inspiration, but also for our E&C presentation, sales table, Promise Tree, refreshments, and especially – great company! Doors open at 9 a.m., meeting starts at 10.

As promised in our last Happenings, here are photos from Betsy V.’s rowdy Swap Shop Party. Betsy once again outdid herself, both in her carefully curated “gift” selection and her festive holiday goodies. Every participant left with a big smile, a full stomach, and a priceless artifact from the Candia dump. What better way to celebrate the holidays?

Let’s start with the refreshments…

And how about those gifts?

Our photographer, Ann H.
Our hostess, Betsy
The venue — Betsy’s house

The gnomes at the Stratham Municipal Center offices decided to celebrate New Year’s Eve this year, with a little assistance from Lee C. After successfully spreading holiday cheer to everyone who visited the offices, the gnomes have been retired for the season. Once snow season has passed, Lee, Ellen, and Linda S. will be assembling a new seasonal display for the area.

Speaking of gnomes, Lee was inspired to make a mini-gnome table-top decoration for her home. She looking for a few members who can help design a similar gnome for the garden club to sell at the next Yuletide Fair. Contact Lee to share your inspiration!

In Pollinator and Other News…

Flowers are reacting to the shrinking number of pollinators by evolving to self-pollinate, according to a recent study at the French National Centre for Scientific Research. The flowers they studied were saving energy by producing less nectar for pollinators and instead self-pollinating. Scientists are stunned at the speed of this evolution which is disrupting 100 million years of evolutionary history. To read more, go to articles in The Guardian or Science Alert.

The Rye Driftwood Garden Club will be hosting Darcy Boyle, floral designer, on Jan. 16, 9:30 a.m. at the Rye Congregational Church in Rye. https://www.ryenhgardenclub.org/programs

Owen Wormser, author of “Lawns Into Meadows,” will be speaking on “Meadowmaking for Beginners” on February 7, 2024 (Wednesday) from 7:00 – 8:30 pm ONLINE via Zoom Webinar. Sponsored by New England Botanic Garden. Register here.

Happenings – Holiday Edition

Dec18

We have so many photos to share of our many recent activities that a special Happenings edition became necessary. Let’s begin with a recent and festive event – our annual Holiday Luncheon, held at the warm & welcoming Wentworth Country Club. Our very talented photographer, Ann H., documented the special day…

Paige shows off her napkin folding talents
Lots of lovely gift exchange options
Look what Ginny got!
Perfect Holiday table setting
Centerpieces complements of Hospitality Committee

A big Thank You to our Hospitality Chair, Nancy D. and her committee, for organizing this special celebration!

Doing EAGC’s part to decorate the towns of Exeter and Stratham for the holidays, our Civic Beautification committee worked on wreaths and pots for the Exeter Historical Society and a special arrangement for the Stratham Municipal Center entrance. Jan C. and her crew whipped up some beautiful decorations for the Historical Society and Linda S., Lee C. and Ellen J. (with the assistance of her daughter) created a very charming montage for the Municipal Center. Also in Stratham, Linda S.’s committee prepared the Veterans Garden for the winter.

Jan came prepared with greens for the Historical Society.
Beautiful!
The hardy and talented Beautification crew.
The peaceful Stratham Veterans Garden.
A very “Gnomey” display for the Municipal Center.
Linda S. and her Veterans Garden workers.

There have been so many activities lately that it’s easy to forget about our very successful Yuletide Fair fundraiser in November. Thanks to the participation of many members, under the leadership of Johann S. and Lee C., EAGC sold lots of holiday-themed arrangements, wreaths, and decorations – pleasing fair attendees and providing funding for our programs going forward.

EAGC’s booth
So many things to choose from.
Johann & Lee — Day’s End. Do we hear a sigh of relief?

In November, our Membership committee tried something new – a New Member brunch. Chairs Nickky J. and Jane J. organized a lovely get-together for new garden club members at LuAnn F.’s home. Also invited were some “seasoned” members, in the hope of making our new members feel welcomed and to acquaint them with others in the club. Judging by the enthusiastic response, this was an inspirational idea that will be repeated in the future.

Nickky & Jane outdid themselves – enough food for the entire garden club!

There’s one more holiday event that always results in some interesting (and sometimes questionable) photos. That, of course, is Betsy V.’s Swap Shop Party. I’m saving those for next month’s Happenings, just to let the anticipation build. Don’t miss it! In the meantime…