September Happenings

Oct9

EAGC has kicked off its new club season with the exciting results of a new Environment & Conservation project – the beginnings of a Pollinator Pathway through Exeter and Stratham, courtesy of a new approach to our Mini-Grant program. The 2023 mini-grants were awarded specifically to encourage the creation of pollinator gardens, and the recipients’ results were on display at our September general meeting.

Eight grants were awarded to gardeners who were either expanding their pollinator gardens or starting one from scratch. E&C committee members who toured the resulting gardens were encouraged by the pollinator plants established this summer, knowing that these plants will multiply in future years – providing sustenance and habitat for our local pollinators.

At our meeting, E&C chairs Linda V. and Betsy V. assembled a detailed display of the gardens – along with descriptions of each gardener’s plans – so members could better appreciate how the mini-grant funds were used.

More detailed information about the Mini-Grant gardens can be found on the website, on the Community Service Page.

Many of our members have been gearing up for our second annual participation in the GFWC Yuletide Fair on November 18, at the Cooperative Middle School in Stratham. Workshops are underway for making our sales items and volunteers are being recruited for all phases of the fundraiser. Johann S. and Lee C. are the organizers and they will be signing up helpers at our October 19 meeting. Last fall many of our members enjoyed gathering to work on projects or to design arrangements – these workshops were perfect opportunities to get to know one another better and to be creative. This year’s biggest workshop will be on November 17, the day before the sale, when the fresh arrangements will be assembled and preparations will be finalized.

Our Awards Committee will be presenting the 2023 Awards for Outstanding Gardens at the Oct. 19 meeting. In addition to residential and commercial awards, a third new award category will be announced. Those attending the meeting will have an opportunity to meet the recipients and learn about their gardening efforts. In addition, our meeting will include the usual Hort Moment and a short E&C presentation, as well as a discussion about a new direction for our Spring Auction and Luncheon.

Linda S. took this photo of our club’s display at the entrance to the Stratham Municipal Center offices. The Civic Beautification committee maintains a display here year-round.

Briefly…

Keep up with the EAGC Board Meetings – the minutes are always posted on the website under Members Only, on the Minutes page.

The Rye Driftwood Garden Club will be hosting Jana Millbocker on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at 9:30 at the Rye Congregational Church. Jana will be presenting “Deck the Halls.” More info can be found here.

Have you ever used an app on your phone to identify a plant? Some results can be questionable. Here’s a review of the apps, according to Michigan State Extension. The top performing app in their 2021 evaluation was PictureThis, with 67% of the suggested identifications being correct. Following this, there was a cluster of three apps with about 50% accuracy: PlantNet, Plant Story and LeafSnap. iNaturalist, came in fifth place with about 30% accuracy.

Fall has traditionally been garden clean-up time. But did you know that about 30% of New England’s native bees build nests above ground? The Tufts Pollinator Initiative says a great way to support these above-ground nesting bees is to leave dead plant stems standing in gardens for at least two years. Read the full article, “The right way to leave stems for native bees” here.

May Happenings

May13

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.

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 Newfields Garden Club will be having a Plant Sale on Saturday, May 27, at 9 AM. More info can be found at https://www.facebook.com/newfieldsnhgardenclub/.

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:

November Happenings

Dec11

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

Summer Happenings

Jun27

Designing Women Place Second

We’re excited to report that Lee C,, with design assistance from Ann H., placed second at the Ogunquit Art Museum’s Art in Bloom event last weekend. This is even more of an accomplishment since it was Lee’s first time. Lee was happy to receive welcome comments from judges and exhibitors and said, “though it was sometimes a pain, I do appreciate having been given such an interesting and challenging opportunity.”

Photos of other entries, compliments of Ann H.:

Our June Plant Auction and Luncheon was well-attended and festive. Most wore hats to help celebrate the event and hats were the table centerpieces, decorated with live flowers by members of the Hospitality Committee. Max F. made sure the auction was fun and efficient and members enjoyed a tasty meal topped off by a strawberry dessert. We even managed to take care of business: the new Executive Board was sworn in. Many thanks to Jill C. and her Hospitality crew for another perfect Spring celebration. (Thanks to Patti Smith for the photos.)

Have a hankering to see some gardens? The Candia Garden Club invites you to their first Garden Tour on Saturday, July 16, 9 AM to 1 PM. Cost is $15. Tickets can be purchased by contacting Judy at [email protected].

Garden weeding is an ongoing task for all gardeners. How do you weed your garden and be kind to your bones, back and joints? How do you avoid a compression fracture? Here’s a video from Melioguide demonstrating how to safely weed your garden. How to Weed Your Garden

To close this Happenings in style, here are more photos of Exeter, perfectly captured by

Lynda B.

March Happenings

Mar9

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.

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.

Did you realize that saffron, that pricey and difficult-to-access spice is now being grown in New England? Here’s an interesting article, provided by Linda S., that explains the how and the where of local saffron: Why the Most Expensive Spice in the World Is Now Growing in Hundreds of Small American Farms.

Exeter Area Garden Club

Promoting NH Seacoast Gardeners

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