We're waiting for the spring, but it stubbornly refuses to come for more than a day! I went for a walk on the beach today, April 21, and had on my winter hat and coat! But that's why we live in New England! Hope for the fabulous weather to come is always on the horizon.

There are many aspects of our club – so many committees and volunteers. I'm so happy that I

have such a tremendous team helping me with this work. Some of them are the Scholarship

Committee, Floral Design, Conservation, Special Projects, Edgartown Stroll, Communications, Ag Fair, Membership, Greenhouse, Programs, Old Mill, Windemere, Wakeman, and Walkabouts. And then there are the enormous teams for Blooming Art and the 100th Anniversary planning ! All of this is to say that there is something for everyone in this club. Thank you if you have found your “niche.”If you are still exploring how you can contribute, contact your Vice President or email me, president@marthasvineyardgardenclub.org.

And Did You Know? There are so many reasons to be proud of our club. One historical fact is that in the past this organization worked to ensure that the fragile natural beauty of the island would not turn into an area similar to many beaches in resort communities along the Eastern seaboard. In 1948 when the state planned to purchase the Oak Bluffs-Edgartown beach for public bathing, the

Honorable Joseph A. Sylvia feared that under state management the beach might become a place of “concessions, hot dog stands, bathing shacks of uncertain architecture, and that the beach in its grand natural beauty would suffer.” He invited the President of the MV Garden Club and Henry Beetle Hough, Editor of the Gazette, to appear at the hearing to urge that the State write into the deed that the beach be under county management and that no buildings be erected on the beach. We can be thankful to this day for those civically minded and politically active people! - Ty Johnston, President

Your Floral Design team has been very busy this spring and we are grateful for

your support and participation in our events!

Nancy’s Challenge “Almost Spring”...

Thanks to the following Garden Club members who participated in Nancy’s

Challenge at our membership meeting on April 23rd ! A wonderful array of

beautiful flowers and arrangements. Thanks to each and every one of you! The images of all of the floral designs are on our website...click here to see!

Off island members who submitted their design: Iris Gold, Anne Robb, Heather Robb.

On Island members who submitted their design: Wiet Bacheller, Ellie Bates, Joan Eville, Lynn Marquedant, Peter Norris, Laurisa Rich, Susan Shea, Nancy Weaver, Trudy Williams.

Please join us on Tuesday, May 7th at 10:00 a.m. for a Foraging Field Trip with

Past President and Master Forager, Nancy Cabot. This event is open to the full

membership. We will meet at the State Forest Ranger’s House in Manuel F.

Correllus State Forest off Barnes Road. Nancy will demonstrate her expertise and

knowledge on this trip on the many plants, flowers and materials that are at our

fingertips on the island. There is much to recognize and appreciate on our beautiful Vineyard. Wear boots and bring your phones to take photos! Please note that we will NOT be doing any clippings on this trip.

Directions for the Foraging Event: Take Barnes Road from the roundabout toward the Edgartown/West Tisbury Road or from Edgartown/West Tisbury Road toward the roundabout. Turn at the sign for the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest, on your left coming from the roundabout, right if coming from the Edgartown/Vineyard Haven Road (where the deer check-in station is during hunting season) and follow that road a few hundred yards, keeping to the right, ranger’s house will be on your right. Park along the side of the road, trails originate there. Nancy will be there early (look for a silver Subaru Forester).

**Please note there is no rain date for this event. If inclement weather, we will advise you via email that the event is canceled.

Any questions about this event, please contact Jayne Isford at 203-962-4317 or

at floraldesign@marthasvineyard.org.

Look for a beautiful Floral Design from our own Irene Ziebarth on May 22 nd at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum as we celebrate our Club’s 100th Anniversary that evening. Irene will have her arrangement on display at our May 21st membership meeting as well for everyone to enjoy. Thank you, Irene!

Blooming Art Floral Design Planning is well underway, with Debbie Barrett, Fern

Vaughan and Jayne Isford as Co-chairs. We will be offering several workshops for our 35 floral designers. A special time to be a floral designer in the Club’s 100th birthday year. Contact Debbie Barrett at dbarrett141@gmail.com if you would like to join our waitlist to be a floral designer this year.

Our interactive workshops have been very well received. We plan to offer another

workshop in the fall focused on fall floral arrangements, and the annual Holiday

Wreath Workshop will be held again this year on Saturday, December 7th at Wakeman.

Keep checking the website and your emails for ongoing updates on all things floral! Your Floral Design team is busy planning more fun events for our membership. Thanks to everyone for your support, and always feel free to contact Jayne or Nancy with your ideas and suggestions on all things floral!

Our March member meeting was nicely attended with 56 MVGC members and several guests in attendance. The meeting began with some social time and refreshments, followed by 'Nancy's Challenge' she calls 'Welcome Spring' a floral design exercise that twelve of our GC members participated in.

Our educator and speaker was Tim Boland of Polly Hill Arboretum. (Tim is pictured here with Kathie Skinner, our magical Programs Coordinator) Tim spoke to us about North American trees and shrubs...those that are especially special and/or grown on-Island and many that reside at Polly Hill and can be purchased there during their plant sale. Tim's sense of humor and wealth of knowledge made for a fun afternoon and a great learning experience! Thanks, Tim! We all learned sooo much! -Submitted by Donna Arold, Communications

At the May 21 garden club meeting, Certified Master Gardener Denise

Guerin will speak on “Creating Pollinator Habitats Anywhere.” This talk

reviews some pollinator basics: What exactly are pollinators? Why are they

so important? Why do we hear so much about them? Denise will explain

what pollinators need and look for when choosing where to rest, eat, or lay

their eggs--in other words their “Habitat”! She will focus on the importance

of habitat: What it is? How to create and maintain a pollinator-friendly

habitat just about anywhere? Specifically, the presentation illustrates

successful pollinator habitats created in places as different as suburban

gardens, apartment decks, small urban yards, patios, parking lot, and hell

strips. -Submitted by Programs Committee Chair, Kathie Skinner

On June 20, the MV Garden Club in collaboration with Polly Hill Arboretum, will be sponsoring a lecture by Adam Wheeler, Production and Horticulture Manager at Broken Arrow Nursery in Hamden, CT. Adam will speak on “Native Plants with a Twist: Unexpected Excitement from our Native Flora.”

Adam stresses that native plants don't have to be boring! In this informative and educational lecture, he will explore the unique and exceptional slide of our native flora and present his current favorite native trees and shrubs for general garden use. This includes design considerations, cultural requirements, and other critical details. A special emphasis will be given toward unusual variation and unexpected use. Both novice and experts alike will find value in the details provided.

This lecture will be held in the Far Barn at Polly Hill Arboretum beginning at 5:00 p.m. Registration is required. The cost is $5.00 for MVGC and PHA members and $10.00 for non-members, payable upon registration. This is the registration link via Polly Hill's website: https://form.jotform.com/240526018970152

This year the MV Garden Club is awarding two scholarships, our annual one and, in addition, a scholarship in honor of the club’s 100th anniversary. The scholarship committee under chairperson Kathy Kitsock has been meeting and discussing the candidates’ credentials.  The decision was very difficult due to the superior quality of our candidates this year. The selection has now been completed with two outstanding students being chosen by the committee. Any members still interested in contributing to the scholarships can do so through June 1st.   -submitted by Joan Eville, member of the scholarship committee (Our scholarship committee member, Joan Eville is pictured here as she presents the MVGC scholarship certificate to recipient, Ella Buchert in 2022) To see scholarship recipient list and scholarship amounts since 2008, please CLICK HERE.

The 2nd Annual Edgartown Garden Stroll takes place July 25th from 10 am to 3 pm. The stroll starts at the Carnegie and proceeds to view six beautiful gardens in the North Water neighborhood. The history of the garden club will be on display at the Carnegie from July 14th to 28th highlighting the founding President of the Garden Club, Mrs. Agnes Meikleham who started the club in 1924.

The floral arrangement committee, headed by Jayne Isford will be decorating garden club tea kettles and tea cups with dried flower arrangements on display at the Carnegie from July 14th to 28th. If you are interested in in this activity please contact Jayne at floraldesign@marthasvineyardgardenclub.org.

We are celebrating the Garden Club 100th year Anniversary! In honor of this celebration, on July 24th a professional flower designer, Cristin Gaell will be designing a beautiful large flower arrangement on the grounds of the Carnegie. The large floral arrangement will be displayed in the Carnegie foyer.

One of the homes featured on the stroll is the Emily Post home. Emily Post was famous for her book on manners published in 1922. The Carnegie currently has a display on Emily Post.

We are excited for this wonderful event! Anne Kushwaha and Deb Daley, Co Chairs, 2nd Annual Edgartown Garden Stroll - submitted by Deb Daley

Earth Day at the MV Museum!

Earth Day was celebrated on the island on Saturday, April 27. The MV Museum participated by hosting a gathering of conservation organizations showcasing their work. The MVGC had a prominent place and a lovely, informative display.

   Led by Conservation Committee chairperson Laurisa Rich, the tables featured hints and advice to the everyday gardener on how to amend soil, control pests, and add native plants all in an earth-friendly way. Laurisa is creative, energetic and committed to this way of gardening, and the result was quite eye-catching. Thank you Laurisa! According to her, "90% of. everything in the booth was up-cycled, reused, secondhand, in a true circular motion."

   There was a wonderful, fledgling team of conservationists helping her. New club members Kate Megan and Kate Burnside added their energies for the planning, setup and 1st shift.  Kate Putnam, Ellie Bates, and Ty Johnston helped out in the 2nd shift. Below are some pics from the day! - submitted by Ty Johnston

On April 10th Nancy Cabot, Joan Eville, and Gay Smith presented activities at the Windemere Nursing facility. Gay and Joan worked with the residents to design flower arrangements. The flowers were as usual generously donated by Donaroma Nurseries. Nancy led an art project creating pussy willow collages. The residents all enjoyed both activities. Their smiling faces told it all! - submitted by Joan Eville, Windemere Liasion

MVGC MEMBERS!!! Please remember to bring something for the Charter School Grade Two Kids next month to the member meeting! On the left is the message/letter we received from the teacher and kiddos, asking for donations and the message on the right is the THANK YOU I got after the drop-off following our April donations! Look for the RED BUCKET at our May Meeting and I will deliver donations to the School once again! Lets help in cultivating future gardeners here on our Island! Thanks so much in advance - submitted by Donna Arold, Communications

Daffodils ABOUND on the Vineyard this time of year! The Old Mill (The MV Garden Club's 'home') was planted with lotsa daffs in the fall, and now they are popping, so do take notice when you drive by! A few photos of the daffodils with the Mill in the background and Mill Pond are shown here!

ALSO in late April, the MVGC members were invited to enjoy a lovely daffodil walk! It was a glorious day, so to see images of a bit of what we saw, CLICK HERE for pics and a post on our website.

June 14, 15 & 16!