April Happenings

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.

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.

March Happenings

Mar12

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.

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

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.

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.

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…

October Happenings

Nov7

November has launched with a flurry of activity for EAGC members. We’ve been tidying up our community service gardens, planning for our Holiday Luncheon, attending workshops for the Yuletide fair, and best of all, welcoming new members to our busy club. But first, let’s recap our October general meeting.

Our Awards Committee, chaired by Carmen G., took center stage in presenting EAGC’s annual Outstanding Garden Awards. This year, three awards were presented – Outstanding Residential Garden, Outstanding Commercial Garden, and the new Lifetime Achievement Award. After visiting a number of beautiful gardens, the committee chose these three as the most impressive.

Outstanding Residential Garden: Elizabeth Niebling, Exeter. Her gardens are a wonderful example of all that can be accomplished on a modestly-sized town property.

Outstanding Commercial Garden: Inn by the Bandstand, Robin Davis (partner of Jamie Lopez, owner of Inn at the Bandstand). The Inn’s location at the center of Exeter near the bandstand is the perfect location for a front garden and planters that help beautify the historic downtown.

Lifetime Achievement Award: Jack Fermery of Hampton Falls received the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award for his many years of dedicated care and maintenance. A photo of a bit of his beautiful gardens show why he earned this award.

*Award Recipients Jack Fermery, Elizabeth Niebling, Robin Davis, and EAGC member Judy Roberts*

Carol C., a member of our Horticulture committee, provided a detailed Hort Moment for attendees that focused on the plant, bay laurel. Her presentation, including posters and plant cuttings, covered all aspects of this useful plant. A transcription of her program can be found in Hort Tips on the website.

Carol C.’s Bay Laurel Presentation

At our November 16 General meeting we will host Betty Sanders, a Massachusetts Lifetime Master Gardener, a former District Director for the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, and an accredited Flower Show Judge. Her talks share her knowledge and experiences on a diverse set of topics. She will be sharing the following talk:
Going Native: Low Maintenance Trees and Shrubs — Native trees and shrubs evolved in New England without our help. They have adapted to hot, dry summers and cold winters, to browsing deer, and local insects. The flowers and fruit they produce attract birds and butterflies, and along with their foliage add color to your landscape. Nativars—the cultivars of native plants—have expanded the color palette and options for the homeowner.

While at the meeting, don’t forget to sign up for the Holiday Luncheon, which will be on Thursday, December 7th, 11:30 a.m. at the Wentworth by the Sea Country Club. You must sign up no later than Nov. 23rd to attend.

Yuletide Fair Committees at Work Club members have been attending workshops, organized by Lee C. & Johann S., to prepare sale items for the Nov. 18th Yuletide Fair in Stratham. Many projects have been completed, with impressive results, but our biggest preparation effort will be the workshop held on Friday, Nov. 17 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Stratham Municipal Center. We’ll be working on fresh arrangements, gourd decorating, and finishing up the amaryllis containers for sale. Here are Yuletide committees at work and a preview of some of the completed sale items talented members have created:

With Veterans Day soon upon us, Linda S. and her Beautification committee spent a few hours this week tidying up the Stratham Memorial Veterans Garden for the upcoming ceremony. Spent plants were pulled, leaves were raked away, and grasses were trimmed. Applecrest Orchards in Hampton Falls donated their remaining mums for our use, adding some color to the garden.

And lastly…

Lynda B. took some time during her walks in Exeter (and on Star Island) to document some of the summer’s highlights and has shared them with us.

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.

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April Happenings

March Happenings

Happenings – Holiday Edition

October Happenings

September Happenings