November Happenings

Nov14

The holidays are approaching (very quickly, it seems) and the club calendar is filling up with special activities. Some email information has already gone out – decorating the Historical Society, Holiday Luncheon, and Design Workshop – and more plans are in the works.

But let’s backtrack for a moment. Last month’s speaker, Jeanne Davidson, may win a gold medal for most enthusiastic presentation and best props. She also provided us with loads of advice on how to protect our backs as we garden. Jeanne’s demonstrations were spot on (see photos) and she got members up off their seats to practice her techniques.

The meeting room at the Mogera Library was appropriately fall-like, thanks to the Hospitality Committee’s efforts. The creatively decorated centerpiece pumpkin, provided by Pat Navin, was auctioned off at meeting’s end.

A highlight of the meeting was the return of the Hort Table. Many members scoured their fall gardens for anything beautiful and/or interesting and the result was a surprisingly large, colorful, and varied assortment.

Our November meeting promises to be just as colorful, as we’ll be hearing Jillian Arquette-Gallagher speak on “The Importance of Local Flowers.” Jillian is owner of Fruition Flowers in Newmarket, NH. She has been drawn to flowers from a young age and creates memorable arrangements for a range of events. Her education in color and design lends a unique approach to floral arrangements. Like the bees, she gathers inspiration from the seasonal charm of New England. She uses as many foraged and locally cultivated materials as possible.

The meeting will be this Thursday, the 18th, at the Morgera Room at the Stratham Fire Department; doors open at 9, snacks at 9:30, meeting at 10. Don’t forget to bring your own beverage!

Promise Tree News: There will be a signup sheet at the Nov.18 meeting for a Cookie Swap which is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 20, from 2 to 4pm, at Susan C.’s home. The swap will be limited to 15 members. Participants are asked to bring 60 cookies and an extra container for their take-home cookies. All members of the Ways and Means committee will meet briefly after the Nov, meeting to finalize plans for the Cookie Swap.

Also, club members are asked to “make a promise”. We welcome new leaves on our Promise Tree with “gifts” of your choosing.

The Website Committee is planning an update of the site, with the hopes of making it more streamlined and user-friendly for members. One change you may have already noticed – the “Garden Talk” blog is now named “Happenings”. Everything else about the blog remains the same. In the future, some pages on the site may be eliminated, but advance notice will always be given.

We would love to have more input about how the website should look. If you have suggestions or would like to be involved in this re-vamp, contact LuAnn.

If you are planning to attend the Holiday Luncheon and have not signed up yet, please bring a check for $35 to the Nov. 18th meeting. Jill C. will be collecting them there.

A note from Abbie-Jane about the October meeting:

Enjoyed the program on Thursday. I’ve been practicing on my straight back gardening.
A big thank you to the member who brought in the pineapple vase. It graces my mantle.

October Happenings

Oct12

An exciting new project for the club

The board has approved a new venture for our club – restoring the garden beds of the American Independence Museum in Exeter. The museum’s director contacted our club for help with their garden beds after recent foundation work uprooted the plants that had been in place. After members met at the museum to assess the work needed, the board decided that designing new beds and advising on plant selections would be a good fit for our members’ expertise. In fact, new member Karen W. has already done a basic drawing, with ideas for the plantings.

It’s important to note that our work with the museum will not include installation or maintenance. Part of what made this project appealing to the board is that the museum works with a landscaping company, which will handle the heavy lifting. If you’re interested in more info or in joining the committee, contact Linda S.

Here are a few photos of the project and the committee who met to assess it.

Ann H. Photos

This month’s General Meeting, on Thursday, October 21, will feature a speaker that any gardener who’s spent a day pulling weeds or moving plants will really appreciate. Jeanne Davidson, DPT, OCS, will present “Body Mechanics for Gardeners: Learn How to Keep Your Back Safe”. Come learn proper and safe ways to bend, lift, push, pull, and turn as you perform common garden tasks. This interactive presentation combines lecture and demonstration with audience participation using props and common garden tools. Handouts will be given for home reference.

Jeanne has practiced Physical Therapy for over forty years. She served on the Rehab staff at York Hospital for twenty-five years. She specialized in the treatment of patients with neck and low back disorders. She also taught continuing education courses to physical therapists across the country. She has presented Back Safety lectures to various organizations throughout the seacoast area. Visitors are welcome at our meetings, so spread the word to your gardening friends. Remember – our new meeting site is the Stratham Fire Department Mogera Room, 4 Winnicut Rd. Doors open at 9 a.m., 9:30 social time, 10 a.m. meeting.

Lee C. has an important question for members. She would like to know who brought the cantaloupe plant to the spring meeting at the Stratham pavilion. She said the fruit was delicious and wants to buy more for next season. If it was your plant, please let Lee know!

dried maple leaves — Greg Shield on Unsplash

Happy Fall!

June – July Happenings

Jul20

There are lots of pictures to share in this Happenings, which means we’ve been getting together again as a club. All the big smiles prove that we’re happy to be making up for lost time. Let’s start with the June Luncheon and Auction. The day was beautiful, the Portsmouth Country Club patio was a perfect venue, the auction was a success – a good time was had by all! Many thanks go to Jill C. and her efficient Hospitality committee.

After several rain cancellations, the Promise Tree Garden Tour finally took place on July 12th. Members endured heat, humidity, and the occasional raindrop to take in the beautiful gardens of Pat S., Pat N., and Linda S. Those small inconveniences were well worth it to enjoy and learn from these three very different but well thought-out gardens. Here are some of the floral highlights.

The American Gardener magazine is a wonderful resource for all kinds of gardening know-how. Here are a two articles that I thought were particularly interesting. “Why Wasps Deserve More Praise” discusses how these often hated insects offer many ecosystem and garden benefits. And while on the subject of insects, the article “Get to Know Your Insect Friends and Foes” offers some helpful identification information to help us sort the good guys from the bad when caring for our plants. Click on the underlined link to read the articles.

Pat N.’s 11-year-old grandson has a “play it forward” activity. He makes “Kindness Stars”, small paper Moravian stars with an attached saying. Over the past two years he has managed to make a few thousand and get them to all 50 states and many foreign countries. This boy has networked with family, friends, friends of friends, Scouts and classrooms of kids. Someone posted this on his Facebook page. Pat thought it might be worth passing along…

And finally, the Exeter Bandstand stands ready for Independence Day.

May Happenings

Jun7

Here we are in the “dog days” of early June — it’s too hot to garden, so how about looking at some photos of club activities?

Paula and Jan C., along with their crew of volunteers, set up the flower boxes and planted at the Exeter bandstand last month. The boxes of flowers are already taking off, and their efforts will beautify downtown Exeter once again.

Incidently, these plants don’t maintain themselves, and Jan and Paula have a few weeks available with no maintenance volunteer scheduled. If you’re able to take on one of those weeks, give them a call.

Our May 20 General meeting was one big party! With members excited to meet in person again, five guests eager to participate, and picnic tables loaded with colorful blooms, the morning was a celebration of flower arranging and friendship. Many members went home with more than one arrangement, planning to spread the joy to friends and family. Here’s a sample of the fun…

The May meeting wasn’t all fun and games. We also got down to business and voted to approve our new Board, the new Committee structure, and the budget for 2021-2022. All of this info, along with meeting minutes, can be found on the website under “Members Only.”

EAGC received some positive feedback from the Stratham Select Board last month in their newsletter: MEMORIAL DAY THANK YOU
A heartfelt thank you to Geri Denton and Jeff Gallagher for organizing this year’s Memorial Day event as well as all members of our community who attended the ceremony and silent parade in honor of those who have fallen in service to this country. We also thank the Stratham Department of Public Works staff, the Exeter Area Garden Club, and the Heritage Commission for their work in stewarding the Veterans Memorial Garden, not only for Memorial Day, but all year-round. Thank you.

Looking for some light gardening reading while you’re waiting out this heat wave? Check out “35 Clever Gardening Tricks That Don’t Require a Green Thumb” here Although we know that every member of our club has a thoroughly green thumb, you may find a tip or two that you find useful.

April Happenings

Apr16

Fat, wet snowflakes are falling as I type this — not anyone’s idea of perfect April weather, I suspect. But we certainly need the moisture and my snow shovel is still at the ready in case it’s needed one more time. Snowflakes aside, spring fever has definitely infected our gardening community. Many of us have been outdoors digging in the dirt, checking for winter survivors, and planning for new plant additions to our gardens. The club has been busy too, mostly virtually. But in-person activities are in the planning stages. Here’s what’s happening…

Paula F. has put together an informative article about the Eastern Hemlock, as part of Environment and Conservation’s year of evergreen trees. You can find this by clicking here. And you’ll find comprehensive info on many other native NH trees on the website in the drop-down menu under “Garden Talk”.

Promise Tree chair, Johann S. has worked long and hard on our Savers FunDrive and has reported that over 1000 lbs. of goods were delivered to Savers on April 13, resulting in a $203.81 deposit to our treasury and lots of happy members who were able to clear out their closets and basements. Our donations were delivered by Rose G., Lee & Doug C., and Johann and LuAnn F.

Our Three Sisters Seed Library is rapidly growing in popularity and seeds. Patti E. just shared this message with the club.

The Exeter Area Garden Club is so excited to share that we have received a wonderful donation of seeds to the Seed Library from Stout Oak Farm in Brentwood. Some of the new seed varieties include snap and snow peas, pickling cucumbers, Vates kale, Who Gets Kissed sweet corn, Yukina Savoy (mild mustard greens), orange chard, Lolla Rossa lettuce, High Mowing Blend Mesclun, giant Italian parsley, Gemstone Greens parsley, Fordhook Giant chard, and more!
In addition to these, Rolling Green Nursery has also donated additional seeds including marigolds, gaillardia, cockscomb, purple basil, lovage, fennel, tomatoes, lettuces, microgreens and more!
The Exeter Area Garden Club cannot thank these businesses enough for helping the Three Sisters Seed Library continue to provide seeds to anyone wanting them. These donations allow the Seed Library to offer free seeds to you until you can grow some of these great varieties and return your own saved seeds back to the library at the end of the growing season.
All area residents are invited to stop by to visit and join the Seed Library at the Exeter Public Library!

After you’ve picked up your seeds at the Seed Library, you may need some expert advice about warm weather seed starting. Patti has comprehensive instructions on how to take those seeds from seed-hood to full-fledged plants, ready for moving to your garden bed. You can download her seed starting instructions here.

Email-to-members-seed-starting-2 Download

Exciting News — Our May general meeting will NOT be held via Zoom! Plans are in the works for a hands-on Flower Arranging Party, to be held on May 20 at the Stratham Hill Park Pavilion. The Programs and Design committees are working jointly to organize this meeting. Plan to bring your own vase or container and some pre-soaked oasis. Flowers will be provided. Watch your email or check the website calendar for updates. Masks will be required due to the nature of the program.

The Hospitality committee is currently collecting checks for our June Luncheon and Plant Auction. Don’t forget to send yours in to reserve your place at the luncheon. Checks for $30 made out to Exeter Area Garden Club, should be sent to Jill C. to arrive by April 23rd. Be sure to indicate your meal choice on your check. Questions? Contact Jill.

Wellington Gardens in Brentwood will be holding their yearly Perennial Sale on Saturday, April 24, until sold out. The sale hours are 7am – 5pm. All 4″ Perennials are $2.00 each. Their Annuals Sale will be Saturday, May 1, until sold out. Sale Hours: 7am – 6pm. Assorted Annual 6 Packs are $2.00 each.

Shovel Your Garden Safely: 8 Tips. Gardening can be hard work. Here’s a short video that will provide you with tips you can use when working around the garden. Margaret Martin, from Melio Guide says, “Each spring there is a plant to move or one to add. Be sure you keep yourself safe. Gardening should bring you joy and not pain or grief.” Click here: Safe Shoveling

Yearning for some summer garden visits? Here are a few in Massachussetts:

Veasey Hilltop Native Garden, Veasey Park, Groveland MA
Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary Gardens, 30 Peck Rd., Wales MA
And closer to home, the Portsmouth Pocket Gardens tour will be on June 25 and 26. For more info, go here.

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