LGC October Meeting Notice |
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October 21, 2021
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The Pollinator Garden
The White Memorial Conservation Center
10:00-11:30 a.m.
"Birds on the Brink"
Speaker:
Eileen Fielding, Director, Sharon Audubon Center
You can read her bio HERE
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Eileen will discuss how gardens and plantings can affect and support birds on the brink of extinction. As a long-time resident of New England, Eileen has both a personal attachment to and passion for the wildlife, landscape, and conservation of our region.
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October Meeting Sweepstakes: Floral Design
Entries must be at the Activity Shed between 8:45 and 9:15am
Meeting Address:
The White Memorial Conservation Center
80 Whitehall Road
Litchfield CT 06759
Rain location: The Activity Shed. All sliding doors will be kept open to maximize access to fresh air.
Click HERE to RSVP to Nan Skeie
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The event is free, and open to Members and their guests. All guests must adhere to the LGC COVID Policy, which requires that all attendees be fully vaccinated, and wear masks, regardless of whether we meet indoors or outdoors. The Program Committee has purchased masks for club members if needed. Also, per the Covid policy, refreshments will not be served.
The presentation will be informal and will allow the audience to listen and ask questions. Each attendee is encouraged to BYOC (bring your own chair)!
Thank you for supporting Litchfield Garden Club Programs!
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Message From The President |
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Lots of news this month!
Our club has officially scheduled a Flower Show for June 15-17, 2023. Yes, 2023! That’s how long it takes to plan such a grand event. Luckily, it will be chaired by Sylvia Abbott and a yet to be named co-chair. She is currently looking into venues, and coming up with a theme. Mark your calendars, dig out those LGC aprons, and get ready to roll up your sleeves!
We’ve launched our Strategic Planning project, chaired by Emily Dalton. The final five-year plan will provide a blueprint for LGC as it moves forward. The Committee has begun to survey “key Influencers” in the club (past presidents and the current Board). When that is completed, we will be mailing a survey to all members. Please be sure to participate so this can be a true member-driven initiative!
You all know we instituted a Covid policy requiring vaccination and mask-wearing at all our events. Please help your fellow members by observing this policy. It is published on our website, in both the public and members sections.
In the Must Read category: Emily Dalton’s new "Provisional Orientation Handbook". It is on the website and you can read it HERE.
A good primer for all!
And a special shout out to Crystal Carminati, our new Corresponding Secretary, for producing an absolutely terrific newsletter. It’s chock full of information about upcoming events, so be sure to use it as a reference for the month ahead.
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Committee Reports & Announcements |
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Plants for Birds on the Brink |
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New Benches at the Pollinator Garden
There is an ancient fairytale about stone soup where the traveler arrives with just a stone and begins to make soup. Of course the villagers all start to contribute to the soup - an onion, a few carrots, potatoes etc and soon the soup is rich and nutritious and delicious!
So too our Pollinator Garden has attracted countless donated plants, our volunteers weeding, planting and watering. Now we have the addition of our first elegant bench where people can sit and enjoy the peaceful views. The second bench will be installed later this month.
Thank you to Charles and Molly Roraback for your generous donation of our two fabulous benches! Come along and check out the views from the new bench.
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Site preparation for the new bench at the Pollinator Garden. |
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We have a new bench at the Pollinator Garden! You can look across Ongley Pond as well as enjoying a view across the gardens. |
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Pollinator Creatures in the Garden |
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We had a joyous and successful event at our Pollinator Garden at White Memorial Conservation Center on September 25. Many children created and colored images of bees, birds and butterflies and then brought their pollinator creatures to place amongst the flowers in the Pollinator Garden.
It helped to create awareness in our children of how important both plants and pollinators are in our environment - a small conservation step for the next generation custodians of our Earth.
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The FD committee met on September 15, to discuss plans for future sweepstakes, and to discuss and vote on whether to have a flower show in 2023 in order to raise some funds for the club’s civic projects. After consultation with the GCA Zone Flower Show Rep, and the GCA calendar, permission was granted to have a GCA show on either May 11-13, or June 15-17 in 2023. It was felt that for our Litchfield climate, that May was a little too early for a good show of horticulture. |
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After a thorough discussion, and with Horticulture, Photography and Conservation’s enthusiastic support, it was voted to have a show June 15-17, 2023. It is important to get on the busy GCA calendar, so this information was reported back to the Zone II FS Rep who put our flower show date on the GCA calendar, reserving the date for us!
A venue and theme will be decided in the next few months. Any member who has an idea for a theme or a venue is encouraged to contact me or our President with their thoughts. This date gives us lots of time to plan and plant!
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Floral Design Sweeps
October 21, 2021
"Autumn Bounty"
A design of fresh and/or dried plant material to include some fruits and/or vegetables, staged on a table approximately 29” high and 30” wide in the Activity Shed. There is no restriction on container, size of design, or materials used. However, invasive species on the CT Invasive Species List may never be used in a show design i.e., oriental bittersweet, even if it is dried.
Entries must be placed between 8:45 and 9:15am at the Activity Shed at The White Memorial Conservation Center. All members are encouraged to enter
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What a glorious end to the summer! My gardens look underwhelming, and the weather has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride! However, with the soil nicely wet and refreshed it’s a great time to finish planting in my gardens, and I am ready! I’ve even bought some pumpkins to stack by the front door! |
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We held our first horticulture meeting on September 8th at Diane Stoner's house. We enjoyed touring parts of her garden and congregating in the red barn and our committee members came up with some great ideas for the year ahead. |
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We will be meeting at Diane Stoner's house on October 14, 2021 to try our hand at playing with succulents, mixing their kind of soil, and taking cuttings and dividing them. Hope you will join us.
For those that missed the opportunity to travel to Oregon and Colorado as well as Maine to visit wonderful Botanical Gardens, and to learn about air layering plants, botanical cocktails, and more about succulents, you can catch up by going to the recorded series from the Shirley Meneice Horticulture Conference that just aired September 22-23 by clicking HERE.
Lastly, it is a great time to start collecting seeds if you haven’t already. Let's swap some at the October meeting. Any questions, just let me know!
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The Membership Committee is actively seeking new membership portfolios!
The guidelines for submitting portfolios are clearly spelled out in the By-Laws. Please review these before you submit your letters.
If you have any questions, click HERE to send me an email.
All membership portfolios should be mailed before January 15, 2022 to:
Lynne Sherman
154 Old South Road
Litchfield, CT. 06759
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Photo: Elaine Witherspoon, "Autumn Glory" |
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Be on the lookout for a joint meeting with the Garden History and Design Committee with Deb Key, noted professional photographer and Zone II Garden History & Design representative. Date TBD. |
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From the Communications Desk... |
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LGC Newsletter
Did You Know...
The Monthly Meeting Notice is now incorporated into the monthly LGC Newsletter. It is at the top of the page (see above) and it is where you will find all of the essential information about each upcoming LGC Monthly meeting in one place, for quick reference. Sweepstakes information, including location and times to drop off your Sweeps entries information is also included along with the program information. Please use the RSVP link in the meeting notice to let the Hospitality Committee know if you will be attending each month.
Newsletter Links
In an effort to minimize the size of the LGC Newsletter, "links" are embedded in the body of the newsletter. When you click on a link you will be taken to another site with more detailed information on the topic of your choice. Many times you will be linked to the LGC website for Sweeps details, photos of LGC events, etc. All of the info is just a click away!
Questions? Please click on my name to send me an email.
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Visit our Calendar Web-Page for upcoming dates of the LGC and other garden events. Visit the Hort Sweeps page as all the images from the last meeting are now posted.
Annie Borzilleri and Jamie Fischer are in the WMCC Fall newsletter - click here to read article. Click here to read entire WMCC newsletter.
There are also new postings on the Blog page, so be sure to visit. Care to share your own garden adventures with other members? Send a blog to Crystal Carminati and she will post it and let you know when it is on the website.
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Ronnie Crook, a long time LGC member, died in 2020 on her 90th birthday. She was memorialized on Sept. 20, 2021 at St. Anthony’s Church with many members in attendance. A talented grower, lovely lady, and loyal Board member.
George Malkemus, an LGC Honorary Member died on September 16, 2021. He and his partner Tony Yurgaitis, also an Honorary Member, were friends and supporters of our Club. We are especially grateful to them for rescuing and enhancing the beautiful Arethusa Farm on South Plains Road. In addition, they added immeasurably to the Litchfield culinary scene with their A Mano café, Al Tavolo restaurant, and Arethusa Farm dairy store.
Nicole Acerbi, wife of John T. Acerbi, Honorary Member died on August 11, 2021. I attended her visitation service on behalf of the club. This beloved young woman died much too young.
Susan Magary
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Litchfield Garden Club | PO Box 848, Litchfield CT 06759
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