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More Member Photos

Oct1

Nance J., Donna R., and Abbie-Jane have shared some photos of their gardens.  There’s no shortage of talented gardeners in our club, as these pictures prove!

Nance’s end-of-summer gardens:

Here are this year’s photos of  Abbie-Jane’s beds:

 

And from Donna, “Here is a cutting of my first rose. Her name is Marilyn Monroe.”

More September Happenings

Sep22

Donna R. obviously has green thumbs. And she’s a talented photographer too!

 

Organic Beefsteaks — “We had a nice year of tomatoes. “

Organic Carrots

Garlic — “We planted in the fall and harvested them in July. Twenty five huge organic bulbs that made us very excited.”

“Our first attempt at onions brought us a small happy harvest.”

 

Organic Squash — “We thought we would attempt these this year. We have had quite a harvest.”

“When I came to the first meeting you had the speaker from Fuller Gardens. After his talk I decided to try and grow a rose bush. Here is one of the first 7 roses that it keeps producing. I’m very excited about being able to nurture this rose.”

 

“Some of the sunflowers growing in our gardens.”

“I enjoy putting together the window boxes.”

“The mom built a nest on the hose so we had to water from another source until the birds left the nest. We had two other nests in our shrubs and you couldn’t go near them or the mother would aim and dive for your head!!”

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And from Linda V, “My helianthus and Joe Pye weed are still going strong.”

 

 

 

September Happenings

Sep21

Our season has started off with a bang — the September General Meeting was very well attended, with everyone happy to see each other and anxious to catch up on the summer’s news. Despite lots of conversation and a beautiful spread of refreshments, members were able to get down to business. Our new President, Susan C., updated us on club news and introduced the Committee Chairs, who briefly described their functions. The committees then met individually to lay out plans for the upcoming year.

Linda V. discusses Environment & Conservation’s 2018 Mini-Grant award winners at the September Meeting.

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One of the first exciting events of this season is a Field Trip to the Woodman Museum in Dover. This is a Promise Tree event offered by Johann. She has planned a trip to Dover that includes brunch at Harvey’s Bakery & Coffee Shop, followed by a tour of the Woodman Museum.

The date is Wednesday, October 10. A carpool will leave from the Stratham Public Library at 9:30 am. RSVP to Johann by Oct. 1.

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Lee has shared some lovely pictures of her summer garden. This is her celosia bed:

And here is her re-blooming iris:

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Environment & Conservation Chair, Linda V., provided members with some great posters of  our 2018 Mini-Grant Award Recipients at the September meeting. For those who couldn’t attend the meeting or didn’t get a chance to see the posters, visit the Mini-Grant page of the website to see some terrific photos of  the gardens our hard-earned grant money funded this year. Carol C., who volunteers at Seacoast Family Promise, also shared pictures of  the vegetable gardens that she helps SFP grow for the benefit of their clients. They had a very productive year, judging by the photos!

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For anyone who’s always wanted to learn about landscape design, the Landscape Design School of Massachusetts is offering a course on Oct. 25 & 26 in Lexington, MA. For more information about the class, check out their website here.

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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.

June Happenings

Jul12

An informal Summer Meeting had been scheduled for next Thursday, July 19. Unfortunately, this meeting had to be cancelled, but Susan C. will be hosting a lunch/barbecue meeting at her home on Thursday, August 16. Watch your email for further details!

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The June Board Meeting includes both the current Board and the new, incoming members of next year’s Board. This is the meeting where next year’s plans are discussed and new Board members are familiarized with their upcoming jobs. Of course none of this happens without good food, so the new Board members were treated to a potluck brunch. Here are a few shots of the action. (Sorry, no food photos!)

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The big news for June was our festive June Luncheon and Plant Auction, held at the Portsmouth Country Club, with 44 attending.  As always, members and guests were able to bid on lots of happy, healthy plants which had been nurtured and donated by fellow members. Max performed admirably as auctioneer again this year – whipping through dozens of plants with efficiency and a hefty dollop of humor. We added $849 to our treasury thanks to the plant sales.

Plants (and Auctioneer Max) arriving for the auction. 

Betsy A. and her Hospitality Committee arranged for a delicious buffet luncheon and lovely table settings, including handmade centerpieces which were raffled off to some happy winners. The Environment & Conservation Committee provided two spectacular baskets packed full of gardening items, one of which was awarded to the member who brought her own coffee cup to the meetings most regularly – a great way to emphasize the “conservation” part of this committee’s goal.  In total, the various raffles brought in almost $125 for our club.

E&C’s Raffle Baskets:

    

Table centerpieces

The luncheon culminated with the installation of  our club’s new Executive Board and the grateful acknowledgement of  outgoing Presidents, Jill and Betsy and Vice-President Mel, for jobs very well done.  Anne C. performed the installation of new officers, presenting each of the five board members with a plant to symbolize their individual responsibility to the club.

Anne C. installing officers

A list of  the full Board, including Committee Chairs, can be found on the website under “Members Only“. (While you’re there, check out some of the other interesting members only info available to you.)

Our new Executive Board: Susan, president; Linda S, vice-president; Vicki, recording secretary; Florence, returning as corresponding secretary; and Jill, treasurer. (All the distractions of this fun event made a better picture impossible!)

More Luncheon Photos (thanks to Nance J.):

 

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Gardening Event

Members of our club have been invited to this interesting and timely presentation:

Please join the Piscataqua Garden Club on Thursday, July 19, 2018 at 10:30 am at The Reading Room, 491 York Street, York Harbor, Maine, for a presentation on the impacts of climate change, “Preparing for Sea Level Rise” , by Gayle Bowness, Science Education Program Manager, Gulf of Maine Research Institute.

We have all noticed the increasing news coverage of intense storms, unusual temperatures, ocean warming and coastal flooding. As these issues become more prevalent in our daily lives, it is becoming more important to understand the impacts of these events – today and in the future. Ensuring the region’s resiliency to climate impacts, such as sea level rise, requires a scientifically informed and engaged public.

Join us for an interactive presentation to explore the data behind sea level rise. Together, we’ll review models projecting impacts in your community and case studies of resiliency from across the globe.

Gayle Bowness, a Nova Scotia native, with a B.S. in Marine Biology from Dalhousie University and a M.S. from Lesley University in Ecological Teaching and Learning will lead us in this experience. Gayle and her family have lived in Cape Elizabeth, Maine for 14 years where they enjoy exploring the state’s coastline. She has been working at Gulf of Maine Research Institute since 2005. As a pioneer in collaborative solutions to global ocean challenges, Gulf of Maine Research Institute, located in Portland, is dedicated to the resilience of the Gulf of Maine ecosystem and the communities that depend on it. Gayle has designed and delivered a variety of education programs, from watersheds to electrical efficiency and is now focused on sea level as the impacts of climate change become increasingly visible.

Understanding more about this timely topic seems to have become a priority of younger generations which we hope captures their and all interested guests’ attention to participate and engage in this event.

Open to the public. Suggested donation $5 at the door.

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 Lee C. has added a Leaf to our Promise Tree:

⇒ Iris — Baby blue to white, sometimes fall-blooming. They grow to 2 1/2 to 3 feet tall. Three dollars a pot while they last. Email Lee to arrange pickup.

Are you new to the club or need a refresher on how our Promise Tree program works? Click here for details!

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