Volunteers Making New Canaan Beautiful
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Dear Members,
We hope you are having a wonderful and relaxing summer. In this summer edition of the newsletter, you'll find a recap of our Annual Meeting, which included a most wonderful tour of member Jeanne Gnuse's garden. How gracious of her to invite us, and treat us to lunch also! The day was lovely and peaceful and we gleaned inspiration for our own gardens. Thank you Jeanne for sharing your piece of paradise with us.
You'll find photos and summaries of other activities from June, and an announcement of our Autumn Luncheon, so be sure to read the whole newsletter. You don't want to miss a thing!
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Announcing our NCBL Autumn Luncheon
Thursday
October 3, 2019
Woodway Country Club
Featuring Jane Hurwitz
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We are excited to announce that our Autumn Luncheon will feature a presentation by Jane Hurwitz. Jane is the editor of
Butterfly Gardener
magazine and former director of the Butterfly Garden and Habitat Program for the North American Butterfly Association. She has recently authored the book,
Butterfly Gardening: The North American Butterfly Association Guide
.
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You will receive an email in August with more information and instructions on how to register for the luncheon.
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Welcome our new members!
Michelle Parsons
Emma Pestie
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Our Annual Meeting opened with announcements and voting on two issues.
The Nominating Committee presented the slate of Board of Directors for 2019 - 2020 and the nominations passed. Many thanks to the Nominating Committee: chairperson Sara Hunt, Libby Butterworth, Jill Ernst, Faith Kerchoff, Bianca Romano, and Eva Wingate. You can download the list of our Board of Directors for 2019 - 2020 by clicking
this link
.
The next vote passed changes to the by-laws which designates an Executive Board separate from our Board of Directors (or simply 'Board'). Thank you Betsy Bilus for working on this for us.
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After a wonderful introduction by Carol Seldin, our own Faith Kerchoff presented a history of the New Canaan Beautification League. Did you know the New Canaan Garden Center (as NCBL was previously named) won an award for a Poison Ivy Eradication Program? We did, and Faith gave us many more dates and facts of our varied and productive history.
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The Ponus and Davenport Ridge triangle was the first triangle NCBL tended.
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In 1983, the New Canaan Garden Center funded restoration of the Mead Memorial Park arch. Money left over was used to paint the words gold.
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The flower arrangement at the June meeting was a beautiful and carefree combination of 'Cafe au Lait'
Dahlias
, lilacs, and pearlbush foliage.
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Jeanne Gnuse's Garden Tour
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Jeanne Gnuse graciously invited our members to tour her garden and have lunch after the June program. What a beautiful day it was! Although it rained in the morning, the weather had cleared, the sun was shining, and it was the perfect day to walk in Jeanne's garden.
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Jeanne gave us a bit of information about her peaceful place. The garden came from necessity to clean up the 30 year old swampy pond in Jeanne's backyard. Using landscape architect
Keith E. Simpson Associates
, the pond was dredged, boulders placed around the outside edge, plantings done in the area and a boardwalk designed to enable the Gnuse's to cross over the wetland to a small terrace. Jeanne tells us that Nick, from Keith Simpson's office, was the brains behind the large stones and boulders used around the edge of the pond and the beautiful path in her garden. Some of the trees on the property Nick grew and nurtured from seed.
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Over time, other garden firms enhanced the property in various ways.
Heather O'Neill of Second Nature Landscape Design
did much of the planting around the house, the potted plant designs, some of the tree placements, and many of the beautiful ground covers.
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Looking at the property, one would never realize the complicated work involved in creating a peaceful and natural place that appears to have been there forever. As with any garden, there was much trial and error in finding plants that did well in the varied areas of the gardens.
NCBL members loved the results and loved Jeanne for her gracious invite to her garden and home. Thank you Jeanne. We hope you enjoy your peaceful paradise for years to come.
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To see more photos of our tour of Jeanne's garden, click the Flickr album button:
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Civic Beautification: Town Planters
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Eileen Boehme and Bianca Romano planted the two large pots you'll see on Elm Street and the two planters by our bench at the Mobile Station. They are beautiful!
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A mix of summer annuals was put in two large pots on Elm Street.
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Lavender was planted in the two containers by our bench at the Mobile Station in town.
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The last board meeting of the season was held Wednesday, June 19 at Lee Garden Barn. A surprise dedication took place during the meeting as a new bench for Lee Garden was revealed with an inscription thanking Kathy Lapolla for her work in the garden. To say Kathy was surprised was an understatement! The beautiful bench is located in the new 'secret garden' section of Lee Garden.
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Yvonne Hunkeler, Faith Kerchoff, and Kathy Lapolla stand beside the beautiful bench dedicated to Kathy.
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The inscription on the bench for Kathy.
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To see more photos from the bench dedication to Kathy, click the Flickr album button to the right:
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Civic Beautification: A Morning for Weeding
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Weeding at the post office drop off area has been needed until the plants fill out and take up room. Volunteers have been meeting on Monday mornings weather permitting to get the job done. We know the planting and work is appreciated as one woman driving through said, "This is so beautiful that I love to bring my mail here now!"
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The weeding crew one Monday in June. Standing: Kathy Lapolla, Betsy Sammarco, Greg Brown, Eniko Szatai Sitting: Faith Kerchoff, Yvonne Hunkeler, Karen Sneirson
Taking the photo: Rob Carpenter. Not pictured: Sandy Siegel.
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Click the button to the right to see more photos of the Post Office Drop Off area:
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Thank You Coffee at Mead Park
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A wonderful time was had by all at Mead Park Colonnade on June 26. Our NCBL volunteers that work in the dirt with Traveling Trowels, Triangles, Civic Beautification, Hanging Baskets, and Lee Garden gathered with town employees and officials to celebrate a season of work well done.
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Barbara Wilson, First Selectman Kevin Moynihan, and Mose Saccary discuss future beautification plans.
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Town employees Tiger Mann and Jimmy Peck are flanked by NCBL presidents Barbara Beall and Karen Sneirson.
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To see more photos from that morning, click on our Flickr photo album button to the right.
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Flower Arranging at Waveny Care Center
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NCBL created flower arrangements for the Waveny Care dining room in June. Please watch for our September newsletter when we will be looking for volunteers for September and October.
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Bianca Romano combined yellows and purples to create her arrangements in early June.
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Jane Campbell and her granddaughter made sweet purple and white arrangements.
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Joan Hayenga and Eva Wingate showed Jill Ernst the ropes at Waveny Care Center in June. Here is Joan and Jill holding two very lovely bouquets.
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The trio made boquets in whites, pinks, and purples. Shown above is Jill and Eva.
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Bird Watchers @ Lee Garden
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There are many birds at Lee Garden. We have spotted a scarlet tanager and a Baltimore oriole, and a family of carolina wrens have set up house in our new birdhouse off the patio. With donations from the Azalea Festival, we purchased a pair of Gosky binoculars for use. These binoculars can attach to your cell phone in order to take photos. They are hanging in their case inside the barn and you can use them by calling or texting a Lee Garden chairperson who will tell you how to gain access.
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Coming Soon! Tally those Hours!
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The town has asked us to keep track of the hours we work as volunteers to keep New Canaan looking beautiful. Starting September 1, anyone working with Traveling Trowels, Triangles, Civic Beautification, Hanging Baskets, and Lee Garden should report their hours. NCBL secretary, Karen Mactas, will be coordinating this and we will let you know the process in our September newsletter.
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Our NCBL Newsletter is used to distribute information regarding NCBL activities and announcements that pertain directly to our stated mission. The newsletter shall not be used for political issues, or for the promotion of merchandise or services unless such merchandise or services are part of a joint venture with NCBL.
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New Canaan Beautification League
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