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January Happenings

Feb9

Kevin Gardner, our speaker at the January joint meeting with the Rye Driftwood Garden Club, filled the room at the Congregational Church in Rye. His talk on “Discovering New England Walls” was well-received and he was swamped afterward by listeners with questions and comments about this very popular topic.

Kevin Gardner


As he spoke, Kevin used his wall-building skills to construct a miniature dry wall on a table before our eyes.
There was a crowd of interested members and guests seeking answers after the presentation.

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Welcome to new member Dianne A. from Exeter who joins us this month. Dianne has joined the Design Committee.


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UNH Cooperative Extension is holding its annual Greenhouse Open House at the Thompson School at UNH on April 5th and 6th. This year’s event will also feature the final Thompson School Flower Show and Plant Sale. The general public is invited to engage with UNH faculty, staff, and students in UNH horticulture and agriculture research facilities. This event is an opportunity to connect with the expertise of Extension educators, specialists, and Master Gardener volunteers.

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Be sure to watch the Promise Tree for some fun new additions, including a Bunco Party, gardening books, field trips, and other surprises. If members are not able to attend the next meeting, you can check out the Promise Tree offerings on this website under “Members Only.”

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Don’t miss this month’s General Meeting – our speaker will be our own Patti Elwell, who always wows us with her knowledge and enthusiasm. This month she’ll be talking about “Seed Starting.”

December Happenings

Jan13

December was truly a month of photo opportunities for members of EAGC. So many fun events gave us all time to put the stress of the holidays aside for a few hours to enjoy each others’ company.

Connie and Ann H. put together an outstanding Design Class in December, where members assembled holiday arrangements to last throughout the season. The resulting floral arrangements were stunning. Thirteen EAGC members and one guest gathered for the Holiday Flower Design Workshop using evergreens and blooms of roses, lilies, carnations and amaryllis in shades of red, white and a lovely shade of mauve. The theme for the workshop was taken from the Christmas carol, The Holly and the Rose, a beautiful carol that was sung by one of the club members before the workshop began.

Here are some of the lovely results.











This arrangement looks perfect in this member’s home.


Abbie-Jane’s arrangement became the centerpiece of her table.


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Susan C. hosted a festive Holiday Open House in December. Members were treated to a beautiful selection of appetizers and an opportunity to take in Sue’s spectacular Christmas decorations. What a relaxing break from the holiday rush!

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Our annual Holiday Luncheon, hosted by the Herb Committee, was better than ever — delicious food, lots of laughs, and an opportunity to wish all our special gardening friends happy holidays. Lynda B. outdid herself in organizing a wonderful afternoon for us.

The gift swap table was loaded with surprises.

Party Favors for each member.

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Our November General Meeting, in conjunction with the Hampton Garden Club, featured Andi Ross, who did a presentation on Hip-Hip Hydrangeas , Part 1. Andi shared a lot of helpful information about the identification and care of hydrangeas. Pat N. has provided a link to Andi’s handouts from that meeting. If you’d like a copy, click here.

Fall Happenings

Dec11

Your fall update of garden club activities is long overdue.  Here is a quick pictorial run-down of the happenings.

October and November were busy months when it comes to Promise Tree events. Members were offered interesting field trips, potted berry bushes, flowering plants, and even handmade fabric pumpkins donated by a Hampton Garden Club member. Here are some pictures to document the field trips:

Paula F reports that the November tour of the Mushroom Company in Tamworth was fascinating. Attendees learned that growing these strange looking fungi is a complicated process.




The October Promise Tree tour of the Woodman Museum in Dover surprised attendees – they agreed that the museum collections are so varied and eclectic that another day of touring would be needed to appreciate all it has to offer.




Nance J’s Civic Beautification volunteers spent a sunny but chilly morning taking care of fall clean-up at the bandstand in Exeter in late October. The bandstand was the beautiful, blooming centerpiece of the downtown again this summer, thanks to Nance and her crew.




While we’re talking about Civic Beautification, here are pictures of the team decorating the Exeter Historical Society a few weeks ago. Their efforts certainly help brighten the downtown for the holidays. According to Ann H, “The weather was wet and miserable but this hardy crew did a fabulous job. The Historical Society building looks quite festive for their holiday gathering.
Nance and Donna made a beautiful swag for the signpost out front and Bill C volunteered the manpower to climb a ladder in the rain and tie it up. Lee provided a generous amount of greens for the pots outdoors, our boxwood came from Jill F’s landscape, and red twig dogwood from Linda V’s gardens.” 



And now for the big reveal…




EAGC’s Awards Committee searched far and wide all summer to choose the winners of our annual Beautification Awards. These were presented at the October general meeting by co-chairs Anne C. and Mary-Jo. In addition to our traditional residential and commercial awards, a special Community Award was presented to Judy Sheldon for her lovely bed at the Exeter Library. Judy just happens to have been president of our club from 1992-93.  

The Residential Award was presented to Joe Fischer by Ann C.
The Commercial Award went to Graham Tire & Auto and Deshenes Landscape Service. Matt & Dan Deshenes gave small talk on the project.
Judy Sheldon explains her work at the Exeter Library site.




Just a reminder — minutes of the board and general meetings are compiled by our Recording Secretary Vicky and are available for viewing here or can be found under “Members Only”.

More July-August Happenings

Aug18

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

Aug7

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.

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​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.”

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​“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!