National Garden Clubs, Inc. New England Region

        Connecticut - Maine - Massachusetts - New Hampshire - Rhode Island - Vermont

  NER  N E W S L E T T E R March 2011  www.NGCNER.org

“The Future Starts Today”

             I would like to thank all my garden club friends for the many cards expressing your sympathy over my sister’s sudden death. I am truly blessed to have so many friends.

This is my last and final NER Newsletter. I have enjoyed my term as Regional Director, and although we were not awarded the Regional Award of Excellence, I feel we are the best Region in the country. We have achieved great things in the past two years, and you should be proud. How many regions hold a Flower Show Symposium every year, NER? How many regions added three new awards for garden clubs to apply for, NER? How many regions added a Civic Development Grant, NER? How many regions went to bat for 501(c)(3) status, NER? How many regions had two successful Annual Meetings and a Superior Standard Flower Show, NER? None of this would have happened without each and every one of your efforts. For this I thank you and hope you will welcome our incoming director, Joyce Kimball with the same enthusiasm and support you provided me. And yes, you heard it right, all the regions in NGC are now 501(c)(3). We have so much to be proud for.

           Thank you for the opportunity to serve you. I have enjoyed every moment.

Kathleen M. Thomas

2009-2011 National Garden Clubs New England Region Director Kathleen M. Thomas

National Garden Clubs, Inc. 82^nd Annual Convention

May 25-30, 2011 at JWMarriott, Washington, DC

Agenda, tours and registration forms in winter 2011 issue of The National Gardener

The DEADLINE for the September, 2011 issue is August 1, 2011.

Joyce A Kimball, 2011-13 NER Director, 23 Hampshire Hills Drive, Bow, NH 03304-4919.

JoyceAKimball@comcast.net

2010 New England Region Awards     By Joyce Kimball, NER Awards Chair

CONNECTICUT                          Donna Nowak, President

#4    The Marie E. Lewis Conservation of Natural Resources Tray presented to The Rowayton Gardeners of Norwalk, CT for invasive plant removal and replanting of native trees and shrubs near the Rowayton School and ballfield.

#12   The Mary Louise Marks Smith Flower Show Schedule Award includes a $25 monetary award to The Rowayton Gardeners of Norwalk, CT for the standard flower show schedule for “Sailing through Rowayton.”

#13   The Virginia F. Thurston Landscape Design Award includes a $100 monetary award to The West Hartford Garden Club for their design and renovation of Goodman Green in West Hartford.

#16   The Nancy H. Atwell Trophy to The Redding Garden Club for the excellent publicity published on its www.reddinggardenclub.org  website.

#17   The Jeanne-Marie Parkes Award to The Country Gardeners of Glastonbury for their excellent educational exhibit on Asian Longhorn Beetle at their small standard flower show.

PUBLICITY PRESS BOOKS:

1^st Place for Small Club to North Haven Garden Club.              Honorable Mention for Large Club to Wallingford Garden Club.

MAINE                                               Rebecca Linney, President

#1   The Sears Civic Beautification Bowl to The Camden Garden Club for their tiered amphitheater project in a town park overlooking scenic Camden Harbor.  As many as 45 people can gather in the amphitheater for story times, small plays, lunch breaks, etc.

#2   The Laura Wetmore Conservation Bowl to The Ellsworth Garden Club for their hummingbird and butterfly planting project at Birdsacre, in partnership with the Stanford Wildlife Sanctuary and area Master Gardeners. Over 450 plants plus seeds were planted into four micro-habitats on the two-acre site of McGinley Pond.

PUBLICITY PRESS BOOKS:

1^st Place for Medium Club to Kennebec Valley Garden Club                  1^st Place for Large Club to Camden Garden Club

MASSACHUSETTS                    Linda Jean Smith, President

#5   The Cornelia Williamson Watson Award for Historic Preservation to The Somerset Garden Club for the restoration of the historic Bowers Colonial Cemetery property.

#21   The Maureen Colton Award includes a blue rosette to the South East District Design and Horticulture Study Group for the best class of designs by NGC members in the design division of a standard or small standard flower show. 

A special Award of Excellence to the Holliston Garden Club for their 2010 Tree Survey, including 121 pages of color photos of trees and close-ups of their leaves accompanied by a full page of statistics and information about each species.

PUBLICITY PRESS BOOKS:

1^st Place for Medium Club to Norwood Evening Garden Club                1^st Place for Large Club to Acton Garden Club

NEW HAMPSHIRE                    Diane McMillen, President

#3   The Evelyn R. Cole National Gardener Tray to The New Hampshire Federation of Garden Clubs for their 18% increase in National Gardener subscriptions.

#14   The Sue Saul Award includes a $25 monetary award to The Hookset Garden Club for their civic beautification project designing and planting a garden  at the northern gateway into the historical village section of their town.

#20   The Deanna J Mozzochi Creative Design Award includes a $50 monetary ward to Carol Weiss of The Claremont Garden Club for her design in the Wind and Window Flowers class of the Derry Garden Club’s standard flower show “A Tribute to Robert Frost.”

#22 The Pamela C. Hebert Garden of Youth Award and $50 to The Derry Garden Club for their engaging work with the Greater Derry Boys and Girls Club involving a beautifying blight project and a teaching vegetable garden.

PUBLICITY PRESS BOOKS:

3^rd Place for Small Club to Hooksett Garden Club                      2^nd Place for Medium Club to Atkinson Garden Club

2^nd Place for Large Club to Mountain Garden Club

RHODE ISLAND                   Vera Bowen, President

#10   The Mary Stone Garden Therapy Award to The Gentian Garden Club of Scituate for their outstanding garden therapy programs with residents of area nursing homes, assisted living facilities and senior centers over the past year.

#15   The Virginia Kenney/Maureen Colton Award includes a $25 monetary award to The Rhode Island Federation of Garden Clubs for the best horticulture division in a standard flower show for their “Everything Old is New Again” show.

PUBLICITY PRESS BOOKS:

2^nd Place for Small Club to Hameho Garden Club                      2^nd Place for Medium Club to The Gentian Garden Club

1^st Place for Large Club to Barrington Garden Club

VERMONT                                      Stephanie Hockensmith, President

#7   The Helen Hussey Champlin Bowl to The Federated Garden Clubs of Vermont for their 41 person increase in membership.

#8   The Mildred Black Pettit Award to The Federated Garden Clubs of Vermont for their 4% increase in membership.

PUBLICITY PRESS BOOKS:

3^rd Place for Medium Club to Springfield Garden Club            3^rd Place for Large Club to Burlington Garden Club

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Meet Your Incoming NER Director-Elect, Joyce A. Kimball

Director-Elect Joyce Kimball of  Bow, NH is a New Hampshire native married to Allan, a retired electronics executive. She’s the mother of four grown children and a proud, doting grandmother of nine grandkids ranging in age from 5 to 21.

                In 1989, Joyce chose early retirement from her career as director of professional relations for Northeast Delta, a Concord NH-based dental insurance company and moved to the Worcester, MA area, home of Allan’s corporate office. As an empty-nester, she found herself without her former local network of fellow employees, friends and family. So she accepted the invitation of a neighbor to attend a local garden club meeting and subsequently joined the Sterling Garden Club. She served on several of their committees, then as recording secretary on the club’s board of directors. Joyce was an active volunteer for The Worcester Children’s Friend Society, a non-profit children’s advocacy organization.

                Upon her husband’s retirement in 2000, they moved back to Bow, where Joyce joined the Bow Garden Club, serving as recording secretary and eventually club president from 2003-2006, while also serving as District II director for the NH Federation. NHFGC subsequently elected her as 2^nd vice-president/program chair and then 1^st vice-president/awards chair. Sadly, in August 2006 with the death of 2005-2007 NHGGC President Jean Thompson, it was necessary for Joyce to step in as interim state president. She then served as NHFGC president from 2007-2009.

                Currently, in addition to being her state’s immediate past-president, Joyce is NHFGC membership chairman and publicity/press book chairman. She remains active in the Bow club as chairs of awards, fundraising, and publicity. She is also a member of the State of New Hampshire’ Community Forestry Advisory Council, a Master Gardener volunteer, and a member of the Master Gardeners’ Merrimack County Speaker’s Bureau.  Joyce additionally  serves as merchandising/fund raising chairman for the NH Master Gardeners’ Association Board and writes a weekly community news column for the Concord Monitor newspaper.

                Her own gardens include container , perennial, and water gardens.

                Joyce treasures the many friends and acquaintances she has made since joining her first garden club, and is looking forward to serving the New England Region as it director for the 2011-2012 term.

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Daffodils and Refrigeration By Cathy Felton, NER Horticulture Chairman

Growing and showing perfect daffodils is always a challenge. First you must purchase quality, not always expensive bulbs, and plant the bulbs at the correct time in the best location on your property. A cool winter with adequate snow cover allows the soil to remain at the same temperature and prevents the bulbs from growing  too early in the season. Of course, New England weather is never perfect, and especially in the last few years unpredictable.

Last spring, outside temperatures shot up to 70F (April 4-5) just as the daffodils were slowly emerging from the soil. Almost overnight, bulbs that normally would have slowly opened over a period of a week or two were nearly in flower. Near panic set in because our New England daffodil shows were weeks away. I had purchased a small refrigerator (in my basement) specifically for overflow and for plants. With the early spring warm-up, I emptied the refrigerator to make room for what I was cutting outside. Many of my daffodils were about to bloom or would bloom in a few days. All of the bulbs were labeled on the stem, re-cut under water and placed in containers in water in the refrigerator. The bulbs were left undisturbed until preparing for the Nantucket show on April 22. Most of the bulbs were in good condition and remained in good condition throughout the Nantucket show.

It is perfectly acceptable to cut and hold flowering plants in a cool spot until showtime. If your club is having a show and unfavorable weather conditions are predicted, consider cutting stems to exhibit in that show. The most important thing to remember is that without exhibits, there is no show.

November 1-3 Connecticut Course IV        Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station                        New Haven, CT Jones Auditorium, 123 Huntington St.       Contact Polly Brooks: mlbrooks@optonline.net

April 27-29  Massachusetts             Course II  at the Holiday Inn   hilajeanne@comcast.net         Taunton, MA

October 12-14 Connecticut             Course II at Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station         New Haven, CT

                                 Jones Auditorium, 123 Huntington St. Contact Jessica Fischer: jjfischer@cox.net

April 7-9      Massachusetts Course II          Tower Hill Botanic Gardens  carolinen@rcn.com           Boylston, MA

September 19-20  Connecticut   Course II   at Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station            New Haven, CT

                                 Jones Auditorium, 123 Huntington St. Test date September 22.

March 22-24            Connecticut     Course I           at Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station            New Haven, CT                            Jones Auditorium, 123 Huntington St. Contact Leslie Martino: lcmartino@yahoo.com

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New England Supports Smokey Bear/Woodsy Owl

                          By Joe Dinneen, NER Smokey Bear/Woodsy Owl Chair

          I am happy to report that the NER has been very successful in producing posters that NGC and the US Forestry Service find competitive for this contest. For the past several years, NER SB/WO entries have been very close to winning the national award. The local garden clubs are diligent in preparing teachers and students with the information that helps them to be competitive in this contest with excellent results. Generally, NER’s SB/WO posters have made a showing of second or third runner-up in the national contest in several of the grades. That is a feat, not only for our students and teachers, but one that we can all celebrate! It’s time to do it again!

          It is also my pleasure to inform you that I will remain as NER SB/WO chair for 2011-2013. If you enjoyed the life stories of Smokey and Woodsy in the past NER Newsletters, look forward to more stories on them. I was asked if these stories could be reprinted for distribution for club and/or school use. My answer – “Well, of course!!” And THANK YOU for helping me promote this NGC objective.

          Wishing everyone a happy and fire safe New Year!

Woodsy’s ABC’s  written by Roberta Burzynski as program aid for U.S. Department of Agriculture

Look! There is Woodsy Owl in a tree. Here is his alphabet from A to Z:

A is for Air:                 Air is there, but none sees the gift you get from plants and trees.

B is for Breezes:   Breezes are air blowing by whirling, swirling in the sky.

C is for Clouds:    Clouds that ride so high on breezes drop rain or snow, when it freezes.

D is for Drinking Water:   Drinking water fills up your cup. You drink it down, plants drink it up!

E is for Energy:    Energy shines down from the sun, warming the earth for everyone.

F is for Food:        Food you need to live and grow, comes from green plants all in a row.

G is for Good Places:   Good places to live all around, on land, in water, and underground.

H is for Home:      Home has a roof for you and for me. For animals, home can be a tree.

I is for Insects:      Insects have a lot to do. They may stop by to visit you.

J is for Jumping:  Jumping is how some animals go. Pop! They’re gone before you know.

K is for Kids:        Kids are like other living things, but you don’t have fins, fur, or wings.

L is for Living Things:  Living things all need to share water, food, land, and air.

M is for Morning:  Morning starts the day just right for animals that sleep at night.

N is for Night:      Night is the time to work and play for animals that sleep all day.

O is for Outside:  Outside is where wild things belong. Taking them home with you is wrong.

P is for Plant:       Plant a seed, flower, or tree. Water it, and wait and see.

Q is for Questions: Questions and answers can come from a book, or when you stop, listen, and look.

R is for Recycling: Recycling makes old things like new. Nature recycles; so can you.

S is for Saving:     Saving water is the best way to leave some for another day.

T is for Take Care: Take care of where you are today, where you live, and where you play.

U is for UP:           Up so high where the view is fine, we can see the land that is yours and mine.

V is for Valley:     Valley and mountains and rivers and plains are nice to visit again and again.

W is for Wetlands: Wetlands are good spots to study. Watch your step! They are wet and muddy.

X is for Xeric:       Xeric is the opposite or wet. A little water is all you get.

Y is for You:         You now know Woodsy’s alphabet andhow to help him. Don’t forget!

Z is for Zoom:       Zoom! The letter went so fast. Zip! This letter is the last.

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Smokey and Prescribed Fire:  Conflicting Messages?

By Gary W. Mullins, as retold by Joe Dinneen*, NER Smokey Bear Woodsy Owl Chair

            Smokey Bear is one of the best known icons in the United States, second only to the American flag and bald eagle. Smokey represents one of the most successful social marketing initiatives in the world. Partners, from the state forester and local elementary school teacher to the National Advertising Council, have teamed to help save our natural resources from accidental fire. “Only you can prevent forest fires,” now restated as “Only you can prevent wild fires,” drives home a nation’s responsibility for protecting against fire danger.

            Herein lies the conflicting message:  “But Mommy, look! That ranger is setting the grass on fire!” is a statement that could be heard as the family car drives past a prescribed burn. As garden club members, how do we address this issue of communicating that prescribed burns are appropriate?

            Just s it is illegal for us to speed, emergency vehicles speed every day. Emergency vehicle drivers convey to the public, through flashing lights and sirens, that speeding is acceptable in emergency situations. Note that their action is accompanied by a sigal recognized and approved by society.

            Wildland fire managers must adhere to the same principle. When you burn, you must provide society with an understandable and socially acceptable message. When driving through parks and forests, the visitor may encounter a roadside sign that says, “Prescribed Burn Today.” A brochure handed out to passersby, such as the National Parks Service’s (NPSP) notice of “Wildland Fire in National Parks,” advises the reader why the burn is occurring.

            We must continue to effectively utilize fire prevention education. Smokey is as relevant today as ever. On the other hand, we have ascribed “no fire” or “reduced fire” in natural systems for so long that we now have a tremendous buildup of fuel. That fuel must be managed to reduce the danger of catastrophic fire. The wildland manager must foster a partnership between Smokey and the drip torch. Both are tools to be used and to be clearly understood by the public.

*Joe Dinneen is a New England licensed Fire Protection Engineer

Reports from New England State Presidents:

Nourish the Earth – Garden with Mother Nature

Donna Nowak, The Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut President

            All of us know that National Garden Clubs, Inc, has eight regions, 50 state federations and numerous international affiliates operate on a two-year rhythm. As the rhythm of 2009-2011 slows, we look forward to welcoming our successors.

            Ronnie Schoelzel, Connecticut’s next president, will be installed on April 20, 2011 at the Aqua Turf in Plantsville, CT. Sherry Sanelli, CT past president and designer extraodinaire will present a design program sure to inspire all who attend.

            Until then, we continue our rhythm of NGC schools, broken only by the cancellation of Environmental Studies School on April 11-13. The school is rescheduled for November 1-3, 2011. The contact is PollyBrooks: mlbrooks@optonline.net . All schools are held in Jones Auditorium at The CT Agricultural Experiment Station.

Course I of the Landscape Design Study School will be held on March 22-24. Contact is Leslie Martino: lcmartino@yahoo.com .

Course II of Gardening Study School has divided dates of September 19-20 for course study and September 22 for the test.

October 12-14, 2011 will find us busy with Course II of Flower Show School. Contact is Jessica Fischer: jjfischer@cox.net

We swing into the spirit of Halloween with an October 31 Awards Meeting. 

We welcome all to participate in Connecticut’s garden club rhythm.

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Making a Difference        

Rebecca L Linney, Garden Club Federation of Maine President     www.mainegardenclubs.org

         The solitude of winter and the agenda of our landscape inventories will often seize the daily routine of a Maine gardener. There is satisfaction in revisiting the unsuccessful trials of last year with thoughts of new horticultural potential for the season ahead. The same can be said for an organization.

            While Maine did not have any schools scheduled this past winter, we have had several opportunities to assemble for a day of education. Our October Fall Conference was filled with thoughts of “Gardens in Motion” featuring Ecophotography in New England, Fine Garden Art, Effects of Climate Change on New England Flora and Fauna, and Edible Landscaping with Rosalind Creasy. In November, a Blue Star Memorial Marker was dedicated in Boothbay. Native plant material continues to be a focus of many club members across the state. Landscapes, public projects and conversations bring the native plant heritage forward with distinction and educated enthusiasm for sustainable, natural habitats.

            Many of our clubs have been hosting workshops, scheduling field trips of interest for our membership, and programming a diverse, ongoing winter horticultural series held in local public places. In January, we met at the Viles Arboretum in Augusta for a Saturday of becoming more acquainted with the history and future plans of the arboretum, plus a lecture on vernal pools. The Portland and Bangor Flower Shows are on the winter calendar, plus an Art in Bloom in Bangor. GCFM district meetings will be held in late April and early May.

            We continue to be challenged with the updates and suggestions brought forward in order for us to be a more manageable organization. Yes, gardening is fun, but someone must keep the tool shed in order, along with sharpening the tools that we use daily. Thus, we have a very dedicated group of volunteers who are eager to oversee this transitional time of stepping into the next generation of GCFM’s existence.

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Moving Toward a Greener Future, Together

Linda Jean Smith, Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, Inc. President                 www.gcfm.org

            Spring is around the corner, and GCFMA has a lot of activities planned for its clubs. Gardening Study School Course II will be held at Tower Hill Botanic Gardens in Boylston on April 7-9, and Flower Show School Course II will be held at the Holiday Inn in Taunton on April 27-29. We are also holding our annual Speaker/Program Forum on April 11 at Andover Country Club and  again on May 3 at Elm Bank in Wellesley from10 AM to 1 PM. This forum allows clubs to meet and talk with perspective speakers for their clubs. These programs are open to all garden club members, and more information is on our website: www.gcfm.org .

            Our Horticulture Morning, Design Workshop, and Design Principle workshops continue this spring, and we also will have an Historic Preservation workshop on March 29.In addition to all this, we are very busy preparing for our Division I Flower Show at the Boston Flower & Garden Show at the Seaport World Trade Center, March 16-20.

            The GCFMA Annual Meeting is on June 2 at the Crowne Plaza in Natick, where our new officers will be installed. Our nine districts and four councils will also be holding their annual meetings in April and May. Many of the GCFMA members are also working on the WAFA Convention coming this June.

On Track for Growth  

Diane J. McMillen, New Hampshire Federation of Garden Clubs President www.nhfgc.org

            The clubs of the New Hampshire Federation of Garden Clubs have been very busy throughout the fall and winter. On September 15, the NHFGC Semi-Annual Meeting was held at Carter Hall of the Crotched Mountain Foundation hosted by District III. One of the breakout groups offered club members a tour of the garden therapy possibilities that Crotched Mountain employs with its brain injured clients. The featured speaker was Christine Schadler, who presented a fantastic program about coyotes in New Hampshire.

Rhode Island Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc

Vera Bowen, Rhode Island Federation of Garden Clubs President

            The Rhode Island Federation of Garden Clubs is now almost two years into a six-year plan looking toward the future, building membership, and fostering and promoting cooperation with the clubs to share ideas, projects and growth.

            Our state flower show “Passions of the Heart” was a wonderful event. The show is held annually at the Rhode Island Convention Center as part of the Rhode Island Spring Flower and Garden Show. This venue allows us to educate the public and showcase our talents to an audience of over 30,000 people.                 The Golden Days daffodil project went very well. The clubs helped us Beautify Rhode Island by planting over 6,000 bulbs. Rhode Island will look glorious this spring! We are continuing our “Presenting the Presidents” reports, a forum where presidents share with the other clubs their clubs’ histories, goals, and community projects. We will landscape two homes for Habitat for Humanity this spring.

We have instituted some significant changes:  Our yearly handbook for presidents and committee members is now on a CD.

We no longer print our quarterly publication of the RIFGC “News.” We moved to an E-News. These changes have allowed us to go green and save a tremendous amount of paper and ink. We also decided to reduce the dues to RIFGC by $1.50 per person. This reflected a 30% reduction in dues for our member clubs.

            Thanks to RIFGC members Maureen Colton and Sally DeSimone we are the recipient of the “Sage and Roses” Blue Star Byway marker. This marker will be proudly displayed at the Veterans Cemetery in Exeter, RI.

            We were so fortunate to have our NGC president visit us in December. Renee regaled us with news from NGC and her travels far and wide. Eighty years of teamwork brought us to where we are today. Our six-year plan will continue this great legacy.

            The Federated Garden Clubs of Vermont

Stephanie Hockensmith, President                                                                                            www.vermontfgcv.com

            Come celebrate spring with us on the weekend of March 4-6, 2011, when the Federated Garden Clubs of Vermont will hold a standard flower show entitled “Sweet Dreams” at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction. The Show will be held in conjunction with the Vermont Flower Show, sponsored every other year by Green Works, the Vermont Nursery and Landscape Association. There will be design, horticulture, and special exhibits divisions, including entries for youth up to age 18. The full schedule may be accessed on the Federated Garden Clubs of Vermont’s website www.vermontfgcv.com . Please come join us!

            Other signs of spring at our Spring Meeting on April 4 will be reports of the Ad Hoc Communications Committee and the Ad Hoc Bylaws and Policy and Procedures Revision Committee. The Communications Committee has been exploring ways to improve our electronic newsletter, the Leaf, and our federation’s website so that more of our members will want to access them. The Ad Hoc Bylaws and Policy and Procedures Committee is working on a complete revision of our founding documents to bring them into sync with current practice and to organize them into a more readable format. Spring house cleaning of all the knotty little issues is a good way to usher in the new administration for our President-Elect Gay Gaston, who will be installed in June.

            We are very pleased that, in spite of depressed interest income from our Mabel Mayforth Fund, we will again be able to offer a $1,000 scholarship to a deserving student in horticulture or related fields. This is made possible by the generous donations of several clubs and outside organizations. We are also making an effort to gain new State Life Members, whose donations go entirely to the scholarship.

            We are proud to have been awarded the Mildred Black Pettit Membership Award and the Helen Hussey Champlin Bowl at the NER Annual Meeting last fall. We increased our state membership by 41 members, or 4%, without the addition of any new clubs. We realize that growing members is perhaps the most important mission of a federation  if it is to sustain its projects and programs, and we are pleased to report that the FGCV is flourishing.