January 2022
Happy New Year
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LGC January Meeting Notice |
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JANUARY MEETING
January 20th, 2022 at 10am
Join guest Karyl Evans via Zoom for a
discussion of her film, "The Life and Gardens of Beatrix Farrand”
January Sweepstakes: Photography
Due to the spread of the Covid 19 Omicron variant, our January meeting will be held virtually via ZOOM for the safety of all of our members.
The meeting will will be organized in two parts!
- On January 16th you will receive an email from the club with a 72 hour live link to view the film that will be discussed at our meeting on the 20th. You can watch the documentary in the comfort of your home on your device or TV prior to the meeting on the 20th.
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On January 20th at 10am, Karyl will discuss her film and take questions from members.
Please snuggle up on your sofa for a viewing of "The Life and Gardens of BEATRIX FARRAND” by Karyl Evans. This is the first documentary ever produced about the life and gardens of Beatrix Farrand, the most successful female landscape architect in early 20th century America and one of the founders of the American Society of Landscape Architects.
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This compelling film chronicles the life of Beatrix Farrand (1872-1959), the niece of Edith Wharton, who grew up in the privileged world of the East Coast elite and fought through the challenges of working in a male-dominated profession to design over 200 landscape commissions during her remarkable 50-year career.
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Karyl Evans is a six-time Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker. Ms. Evans, owner of Karyl Evans Productions LLC in North Haven, Connecticut has produced more than 50 historical documentary projects over her 30 year career. Karyl is on the National Speakers List for the Garden Club of America and is a Fellow at Yale University. Karyl Evans’s documentary film work recently won the Zone Historical Preservation Award from the Garden Club of America.
Thank you.
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More on the film, including a trailer
An article from the NYtimes in 1899
One of her most famous gardens:
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Message From The President |
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2022! Now doesn’t that have a nice ring to it! Here’s hoping this New Year is a wonderful one for all, full of good health and cheer.
For the moment, we begin our LGC year online. We planned to have a live, member wide meeting on January 13 to discuss important themes and issues resulting from the recent Strategic Planning surveys. However, this presentation and discussion have been postponed due to the most recent Covid 19 Omicron surge and will be rescheduled when they can be conducted in person. Stay tuned for updates!
Looking ahead: Our Program Committee has concocted an intriguing two-part GH&D movie and virtual lecture, which you can read about in the Meeting notice above. Do be sure to participate. We also have a virtual Photography sweeps this month. February is traditionally our quiet month, punctuated only by the club’s involvement in the Hartford Flower Show from Feb. 24-27 (currently still scheduled as an in-person event). On March 17, we hope to be back live with floral designer Claire Won Kang. For this energizing get together, we are inviting prospective members to join us. April is daffodil season, so plan to celebrate with cocktails on the 21st at the Magary’s home to benefit our LGC Centennial Fund. We will hold our traditional business meeting on May 19; followed by a Hort workshop and lecture on June 16. Then it’s time for our Annual Meeting again at the Litchfield Country Club on July 21. These dates are all in the LGC calendar, and more information will be included in upcoming monthly Newsletters.
I should mention that throughout these winter and spring months, Sylvia Abbott and Kate Jamison, our stalwart Flower Show Chairs, will be planning ahead and gathering with their committees to pave the way for a sensational Show on June 15-17, 2023!
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Committee Reports & Announcements |
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What a year we have had! Yes, you did venture out in the snow to plant crab apple trees in the Tapping Reeve Meadow, and yes, you did get behind your shovels to dig in 18 cedar trees at White Memorial to create owl nesting habitats! You even donated funds to the Pollinator Garden when you paid your dues. You watered, weeded, and seeded the garden throughout the seasons.
Thank you for your efforts! Here are a few favorite photos of our year together.
Happy New Year to all!
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Our youngest pollinator princess |
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Frank Fontana, one of our finest and truest gardeners!! |
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Tovah Martin absolutely ready for the garden experience - in spite of the snow!! |
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Annie Borzilleri, ninja gardener extraordinaire! |
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Susan Magary taking a well deserved rest under the Hawthorn tree at the Pollinator Garden. |
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Kate Jamison and Ellen Oneglia - it is illegal to have this much fun!! |
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Rosamond Quay accepting the gardening award for fashionista of the day! |
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Sylvia Abbott watering in a magical moment. |
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Fran Devlin and beloved grand daughter making willow water at the Pollinator Garden. |
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Our Earth sleeps safely tonight because our warrior gardeners are at the ready. |
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Our Pollinator Garden in the gentle sun. |
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Together, we made something beautiful! |
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A December Line of Beauty |
A beautiful Hogarth Curve sweepstakes, A December Line of Beauty, was held at our December meeting at Lynn Chapman’s Pool House…a beautiful setting for 13 beautiful designs. Please take the time to go to our website in these next weeks and see the results if you missed them at the meeting. Each one was terrific and it was definitely the biggest challenge for us! They were hard to do! Congratulations to all who participated. Our GCA judge was hugely impressed with the talents in our club! Click HERE to see the LGC Hogarth Curve designs. |
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The FD committee will be meeting in mid January to decide on a theme for our 2023 flower show, and to start to organize the committees. Stay tuned for the date after the first of the year.
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At the executive meeting in December, we agreed to come up with a plan for what we, the LGC, would like to have archived about our history at the Litchfield Historical Society. In the past, Lynne Brickley was diligently involved with archiving our history and keeping the records current. However, since 2013 we have been remiss in our efforts. Emily Dalton has kindly offered to help work out the details of this project so that the efforts to archive our activities at the LHS will continue and saved for posterity. |
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I would like to thank the Executive Committee for their guidance, Crystal Carminati for meeting with me and the LHS to get this process started, and Emily Dalton for her offer to help moving forward. Thanks also, to Leith Johnson, (whose work at the LHS has been donated by the estate of Lynne Brickley), for the time he is spending arranging and organizing all of the items that have been brought to the Historical Society.
Victoria Sansing will continue to do her history bites, which I find fascinating! She is a great speaker, and a long time member with lots of input about our club!
I will keep everyone posted regarding our progress.
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Both the Hort workshop, on prepping and grooming specimens for flower shows, and the January Horticulture Sweepstakes have been cancelled this month due to the current Covid surge. Both activities will be postponed until March. The date and time for the workshop will be announced in February and the Sweepstakes will take place at our regularly scheduled meeting at the LCC on March 17th. |
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Freshly planted Crabapples in the Tapping Reeve meadow below the Historical Society |
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Collaboration at LGC
The Hort and Conservation Committees will join forces to work on a project at the end of January. We will be helping to enhance the meadows around the Tapping Reeve meadow with native flowering perennials. We will create seed balls once again, with a nod to the healthy diversity of our pollinator friendly natives which will bloom in progression for all three of the growing seasons. The benefit of these natives will not only be their strength and diversity but also a balance to the usual monoculture of our ornamentals. The project date will be announced in an emailed invitation.
Seeds and materials will be supplied.
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For those interested in succulents, like I am, there is a zoom conference on January 15 th that sounds fascinating. It has been offered to the North American Rock Garden Society and the Cactus and Succulent Society. If you are not a member you can join one (or both) groups to get a break on the price of the conference. The choice of which group to join is a hard one!! Otherwise, it is just $25 for the recorded session. You can purchase tickets HERE.
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The membership committee will be meeting to review new membership portfolios. Please remember that all letters have to be in my hands by January 15th to be considered by the committee.
Mail submissions to:
Lynne Sherman
154 Old South Road
Litchfield, CT. 06759
If there are any questions, please contact me:
phone:860-567-0677.
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January Photography Sweepstakes: VIRTUAL
"Embrace the Challenge — Creative Techniques"
The 2022 Charter Oak Zone II Annual Meeting Show will feature a photography division, with every club in our zone submitting one image. LGC is assigned Class IV: Nature’s Bounty using Creative Techniques. Click here to view the classes for this months Sweeps on the LGC website.
As this is a virtual sweeps, please email your image to Cathy by Monday, January 17, 2022. Members may enter 2 classes of the 3 classes. Extra points will be awarded if your image is taken in a Beatrix Farrand garden.
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Projects and Beautification |
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December was a busy month for our committee!
Holiday Decor
Colonial Greenhouse once again put lights, swags and red ribbons on the five lampposts on the Litchfield Green. Thanks to Sylvia Abbott, Marie Kennedy and Sara Gault for supplying material for the planters on the Green and North Street. Ellen Oneglia, Rose Brooks, Sue Kennedy and Margie Miner did the planting. The Christmas spirit made our town shine!
North Street Urn
We have received the OK from the DOT to replace the urn. Final arrangements have been made, and hopefully we will see a new urn by Spring.
Center School Second Grade Book Project
We have been working with Joanne Moore, the Center School librarian and 64 students will each receive a copy of, "The Flower Alphabet Book." The school will purchase the books at a discount for the LGC. Members of the committee will read to the classes in spring. The science and art teachers are going to join in our theme of planting 🌺. Looking forward to a fun event.
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At the LGC Holiday Gathering held at Lynn Chapman’s home, Joan Burgess, LGC Communications Chair, was honored with two Federated Garden Clubs of CT (FGCCT) awards. Polly Brooks, President of the FGCCT, presented Joan Burgess, with the FGCCT Tribute Award for Communications and the Tommy Donnan Award of Merit. |
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A brisk but sunny December morning was a perfect day to visit the Pollinator Garden at the White Memorial Conservation Center in Litchfield. It was a fitting location for Susan Magary, LGC President, to present Grace Yagtug, Conservation Chair, with her Federated Garden Clubs of CT (FGCCT) Tribute Award for Conservation. On hand to mark the occasion were Grace’s husband Djan, photographing the presentation, along with her beloved dog Blue. |
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From the Communications Desk... |
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LGC Newsletter
New Feature: Member Profiles.
The concept is simple: 1 member every month, answering 5 questions, and supplying a fun photo!
Kristen Mahan-Kraut, Recording Secretary
Member since 2017
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When did your interest in gardening initially blossom?
I watched my mother garden throughout my childhood, but it wasn't until I moved to Litchfield that I really became interested in getting my hands in the dirt. I love the feeling of being connected to the earth and am always in awe watching a plant move through its various stages of growth. My husband is also a wonderful gardener.
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What is your favorite flower and/or tree?
My favorite flower is a peony, but dahlias are a close second. I have five weeping cherry trees in my yard and am obsessed with them when they bloom in the spring.
What is your favorite garden tool?
Felco Pruners
What is your favorite gardening tip or "trick of the trade"?
Don't under-water or over-water, find the sweet spot. Pay attention to the needs of each plant, as they vary. Simple, but true.
Who is your favorite "Gardening Guru"? This can be a person, a favorite book, or any garden oriented website site you follow on social media or the internet.
On social media, I follow The PV Plant Guy, he's great for tips on indoor plants and is really entertaining. I also use an app called "Plantin" which identifies plant problems and provides care tips and watering reminders. I love any garden book, and am especially drawn to English Gardens. I will be attending the Chelsea Flower Show in England with my sister in May, followed by a tour of gardens in the countryside. I turn to her often as she is a Master Gardener in organic gardening. She is always an inspiration and a wealth of knowledge!
Crystal Carminati
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There are 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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Member News and Upcoming Events |
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At our December meeting, a large group of LGC members lovingly created evergreen door swags that were distributed as gifts to patrons participating in December's food distribution at The Food Pantry at St. Michaels.
Deborah Foord's thank you note describes the reactions to our small act of kindness!
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Hortulus is inviting all Zone II members to an exciting Webinar with Dr. Rosetta Elkin on Tuesday, January 11 at 10am.
Dr. Rosetta Elkin was the recipient of the 2018 The Rome Prize Fellowship in Landscape Architecture. The title of her talk is, The Radical Act of Thinking Little, and will be followed by a Q&A session.
Register in advance for this Webinar by clicking HERE. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
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The Connecticut Horticultural Society
Symposium
"Finding New Inspiration in Gardening"
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Since its inception in 1887, the Connecticut Horticultural Society (CT Hort) has been a source of education for all, offering workshops, monthly speakers and more to members and non-members alike.
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CT Hort is thrilled to announce another great source of education: the Feb. 5 Symposium, "Finding New Inspiration in Gardening." Join us for our virtual Symposium, featuring nationally-known gardening experts Kelly Norris, Michael Russo, and Katherine Tracey. Whether you are a novice or expert gardener, this symposium will inspire and enlighten you as you start to plant your garden in the spring. The event runs from 9 am-4 pm and features several presentations by our three experts, followed by Q&A time.
To read more about this event click HERE.
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