I would like to thank all those who made the trip to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for our organizational meeting on July 29^th. The meeting was very well attended and extremely productive. Candace Morgenstern presented the NGC Golden Days Project. To kick off this project, we will be raffling off daffodil bulbs at our Annual Meeting on September 21-22. States that plant the most daffodils and/or pots of daffodils will win a cash award at the conclusion of this administration. Please see Golden Days Project rules on the NGC website www.gardenclub.org.

Candace also presented the “Beautify Blight” project and explained how this project requires incorporating several components. She noted the program is about vegetables, rather than flowers, and there must be three groups collaborating: garden clubs, community groups, and youth. The budget was presented to the Board and there was an adjustment to allow for the funding of the Daffodil Golden Days cash award.

Ways and Means Chair Elaine Dates presented fundraising opportunities. The Board settled on two items from the Danforth Pewter Company. They are a keychain and earrings, both with the same trowel-and-fork theme. The earrings will sell for $20 and the keychain for $15, or $30 for both items if purchased at the same time. NER will purchase 50 of each and they will be available at our Annual Meeting in September.

Stephen Dates has joined our board as our Advertising Chair. Stephen has been very successful selling advertisement for the Garden Clubs of Vermont website, and he has offered to help us create revenue for additional scholarship money. Possibilities discussed include expanding the NER site to include paid links to speakers’ web pages, as well as short-term possibilities where event and speaker programs can be advertised.

We also decided that NER is going green. All information will be posted on our website. The newsletter will no longer be mailed, and emails will be sent when the newsletter is available on the site. This is in keeping with the NER project, “Responsible Stewards of the Land.”

We hope all the state presidents in the Region will participate in the NER unified project and encourage their member clubs to participate in “ New England Growing Naturally.” The project’s goal --eliminating dangerous chemicals and pesticides in the environment—is a worthwhile one that touches us all both as garden club members and as individuals.

We ask that you research what Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs are being used in your communities and at the schools and public fields. You can help encourage good IPM practices and be both a watchdog and a resource within your community. Find out if your town has a set of IPM policies, and if so, what they are. We will present more information at the Annual Meeting. I am looking for someone to chair the NER Project.

It is a pleasure to serve as your New England Region Director. I am very excited about the possibilities and pleased with the wonderful interaction from our first meeting. The Future Starts Today, and we have made strides in very positive directions. Now the work begins, so get out there and promote the NGC and NER projects! My thanks to all, Kathy Thomas

* * * The Future Starts Today * * *

--75^th Annual Meeting of the New England Region—

September 21-22 at the Clarion Hotel, East Windsor, Connecticut

(Late registrants after September 1^st must add a late fee of $10.00)

Meeting schedule and registration form available on the NER website www.gardencentral.org/ner/2009registration/

On Monday, an optional tour to the new Connecticut Science Center is available. Registration will be from 2:00 to 5:00 PM, and at 6:00 PM a reception in honor of NGC President Renee D. Blaschke and NER Director Kathleen Thomas. During this social hour you may view the designs by each state and vote for your favorite. Dinner and program “Trash Can Creative” follows the reception.

On Tuesday, breakfast is included with your room reservation. Registration opens again from 7:00 to 9:00 AM. Business meeting is 9:00-10:30 AM, followed by a presentation by the New England Wild Flower Society and a program on recycling by CT, MA, and RI. Awards Luncheon at 12:30 PM.

For room reservations, call the Clarion at 1-860-623-9411. Special convention rate available before September 1^st.

From Liz Stanley, NER 2009 Annual Meeting Chair LStanGardn@aol.com

By Sandi Joyce, NER Flower Show School Chair and NGC FSS Horticulture Instructors’ Chair

The following people have graduated from NGC’s Prospective Instructors Program as newly accredited National Garden Clubs Flower Show Instructors. They are now available to offer their services to regional flower show schools:

Massachusetts—Cathy Felton—Horticulture; Mary Huntoon—Design; Kathleen Thomas—Design;

Also available to help at flower show schools are Barbara May –Design and Prospective Instructors Accreditation

Congratulations to all on their participation and successful completion of the Prospective Instructors Program. sandimj@verizon.net

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GARDENING STUDY COURSE I, identified as Garden Time Online, along with an online exam and certification, is now available at www.Learn2Grow.com. The online course can also be taken as a refresher credit. For further information, contact bonni.dinneen@gmail.com .

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Most butterflies require native wildflowers or weeds on which to lay their eggs. These plants, as well as native trees and shrubs, have sustained our birds and butterflies with their nectar, seeds and fruit long before nursery-grown hybrids and imported non-natives were introduced. Native plants are hardy and disease resistant.

All birds and butterflies need water, food, and a safe habitat to survive. We can accommodate them by leaving some “wild areas” in our yards. A bird bath or water garden for water, along with bird feeders, flowering plants, shrubs and trees for food can provide a welcoming habitat for these colorful winged creatures.

Blueberries, huckleberry, viburnums, dogwood, winterberry, staghorn sumac, pin cherry, cedars, mountain ash, elderberry, blackberry, and junipers are all good food sources for both birds and butterflies. The berries and seeds are nutritious food through fall and winter months, while the foliage and branches provide needed cover and nesting sites in spring and summer.

Many butterfly species especially enjoy composite flowers such as purple coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, butterfly wee, common milkweed, clover, asters, goldenrod, daisies, and Queen Anne’s lace. Annuals and perennials such as butterfly bush, zinnias, marigolds and sedums are favorite nectar plants.

Hummingbirds love tubular flowers: bee balm, trumpet vine, fox glove, honeysuckle, and lobelia are some of their favorites. A mixture of 1 cup sugar and 3 cups water (heated until the sugar dissolves completely) is an easy way to fill your hummingbird feeders.

Woodpeckers enjoy beef suet and a mixture of crunchy peanut butter, oatmeal, sunflower seed and cornmeal.

Avoid using pesticids or chemicals, as they will kill many beneficial insects, including the larvae of many butterflies and the insects needed by birds to feed their young. Compost is a natural way to fertilize, and insecticidal soaps can control unwanted insects.

Protect and feed our spectacular birds and butterflies with native plants, and they will thank you with their beauty, gracefulness and song!

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Donating land with conservation easements is one of the finest gifts a person can leave for future generations. A land trust assumes all rights and responsibilities of ownership, including taxes, management and care of the land in perpetuity. Land can be donated outright or in one’s will, and may provide substantial income, estate, and capital gains tax benefits.

A Land Trust may be a local, regional, statewide, or national nonprofit conservation organization whose mission is to protect natural resources, scenic, recreational, historic, or cultural property. They work to preserve forests, farmland and open fields, lakes, ponds, rivers, mountains, marshes and ocean shores. These areas often provide important interdependent ecological systems that protect our water quality, safeguard against flooding, and provide vital habitats for plants and wildlife.

Donation of a Remainer Interest: With this option, the owner may donate land and continue to live on it and use it. At the end of a specified period, ownership and control of the land will transfer to the land trust. The owner may be entitled to an income tax deduction when the gift is made.

Bargain Sale: With this alternative, the landowner can sell his/her property to a land trust at a price below market value and donate the remaining value. This makes the land more affordable for a land trust. A bargain sale provides the owner with cash, avoids capital gains, and may entitle him/her to a charitable income tax deduction based on the difference between the land’s fair market value and the sale price.

Sale of Land: A land trust may consider the outright purchase of land if it has exceptional natural resource value.

September 21-22 NER Annual Meeting at Clarion Hotel 161 Bridge St., East Windsor, CT

October 27 Massachusetts Fall Conference at Andover Country Club Andover, MA

October 28 New Hampshire Advisory Board Meeting, Sandy Point Discovery Ctr. Greenland, NH

September 12 New Hampshire “A Tribute to Robert Frost” Standard Flower Show

1:30 – 4PM Marion Gerrish Community Center, 39 West Broadway Derry, NH Contact: Corinne Safron at casafron@hotmail.com

September 18 Connecticut “On Location: Lights, Camera, Action” Standard Flower Show

October 17 World Association of Flower Arrangers Flower Show Washington, D.C.

October 20-22 Maine Course II at the Village by the Sea US Route 1 Wells, ME

October 27-29 Connecticut Course IV at Jones Auditorium, 123 Huntington Ave., New Haven, CT

October 1-2 Maine Course III University of Maine Orono, ME Contact lisacolburn@yahoo.com

October 6-8 Connecticut Course IV Jones Auditorium, 123 Huntington Street New Haven, CT

September 10-11 Maine Course III at University of Southern Maine Portland, ME

October 15-17 Massachusetts Course IV Contact Terese D’Urso, tdurso98@aol.com Weston, MA

September 2 Massachusetts Northeast Region Perennial Plant Symposium Wellesley, MA

October 19-20 NER Annual Meeting at Southern Vermont Art Center Manchester, VT

May 26 Massachusetts Annual Meeting Judges Council Flower Show Mansfield, MA

April 22-23 Maine Course IV University of Maine Orono, ME Contact lisacolburn@yahoo.com

NGC AWARD OF EXCELLENCE #23 was won by John Wheaton Trexler for his design and development of the Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Massachusetts.

NGC MEMBER AWARD OF HONOR to Laurie York, Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts.

First Grade: Kaitlyn Beauchemin Goffstown, NH Goffstown Community Garden Club, NH

Second Grade: Brett Stark Pine Hill Elementary School Boggestow Garden Club, Sherborn, MA

Fourth Grade: Alyssa Sylvester Campbell School, Dracut, MA Curbs&Cobblestones G. C., Lowell, MA

Honorable Mention Sixth Grade: Cody DeMedeiros Lakeview Garden Club, Massachusetts

The poems are published in a book that can be purchased from NGC Headquarters for $5.00, available at www.gardenclub.org/ .

The age-old tradition of story-telling is one way we create magic in children while at the same time providing a lesson in the story. When your garden club approaches a school with the offer to sponsor students for the 2010 NGC Smokey Bear/Woodsy Owl Poster Contest, how about offering them this story?

In 1950, a careless person started the terrible Captain Gap wildfire in the Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico. A strong wind suddenly swept the fire toward a group of 24 courageous firefighters. They ran to a rock slide away from the trees and grass, lay face down, and covered their faces with handkerchiefs to escape the deadly flames. They poured their canteen water over their clothes and swatted their burning clothes. After an hour, the fire moved on past them. All 24 survived. When the smoke cleared, they saw a scorched hillside where once a great forest stood. Among the smoldering ashes was a small black bear cub, burned, afraid, and clinging to a tree. They called him “Hotfoot Teddy.” The firefighters searched for the cub’s mother, but could not find her. The cub needed veterinary treatment for his burned paws and hindquarters, so Hotfoot Teddy was flown to Santa Fe to receive medical help. While his wounds were healing, he stayed with Game Warden Ray Bell. The game warden’s daughter Judy helped take care of the bear cub and nurse him back to health.

Hotfoot Teddy became a national news story, and he was soon renamed “Smokey Bear” as a living symbol for fire prevention. The New Mexico state game warden then gave Smokey to the United States Chief of Forest Service. He had grown too big to continue living in Game Warden Bell’s house, so Smokey was sent to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Smokey lived for 25 years. In 1984, which would have been his 40^th birthday, Smokey Bear was honored with a U.S. postage stamp.

REMINDER – state winning posters should be sent to Joe Dineen, NER Smokey Bear Woodsy Owl Contest, 139 Methuen Street, Lowell, MA 01850, by February 13, 2010.

Summer in Maine has been a challenge for gardeners and our landscapes. Mother Nature, however, provides a balance, as we harvest the survivors among the vegetables and fruits of our labors. Grasses and foliage are beginning to blaze with the dawn of the next season. Jewelweed and Impatiens biflora have ruled the Horticulture Class of 2009.

Our Fall Conference is moving to Lewiston this year, and the day is packed with a board meeting, workshops, educational vendors, floral demonstrations, conservation lecture, and sustainable landscaping featured topic. The theme for the day is “Water: The Fountain of Life.”

In spite of the economy, our scholarship fund is growing with the input from new State Life memberships, giving us a total of 500 State Life members as of June 2009. Many of our clubs also offer financial assistance to students and to club members.

We have launched two statewide projects to reflect “The World Around Us,” inspired by NGC President Renee Blaschke. The planting of daffodils in our communities will begin this fall to support “Golden Days.” Our clubs will also be involved with the restoration and preservation of neglected cemeteries. This is one of our major “blights” in Maine. During the next two years, we hope to “Make a Difference” as we restore, rejuvenate, and respect our forgotten landscape legacies in these neglected historic sites.

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

NHFGC is growing. We have welcomed two new clubs to the Federation and are encouraging all clubs to increase their membership through exciting activities and personal contact.

New Hampshire Life Members were honored at a brunch in June where each shared her memories of what garden club was like when she first joined. The common thread among all these memories was personal encouragement and mentoring from an existing club member.

NHFGC members experience personal growth by attending NGC schools, including the new Learn2Grow Garden Study course online.

We hosted a very successful NER Flower Show School Symposium studying design types Mono-Botanical and Spacial Thrust with instructor Barbara Baker, and horticulture topics Vintage Vines and Classic Chrysanthemums with instructor Dorothy Yard.

In our communities, clubs are once again participating in The Pajama Program to provide warm PJ’s and a nature book to children in need. Clubs plan story hours at local libraries where “admission” is a donated pair of pajamas or a book. Community growth activities also include community vegetable gardens, garden therapy programs, and civic beautification projects.

Eight members of the New England Region Board of Directors enjoyed an extracurricular excursion that was not a “scheduled” event. Lynne Merrill from Rhode Island, Claire Hunt, Shirlene Gosline and Sonia Cianchette from Maine, Susan Robinson from Vermont, and Celeste Wilson from Massachusetts met in Boothbay, Maine this August for a tour of the “Five Senses” garden that was recently dedicated at the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden. Claire Hunt was one of the founders of the garden and had invited us to visit her and “her” garden. Claire provided an extensive and extremely interesting history of the garden, its origin, its present features and future plans.

Our Maine venture continued the next day as we drove to Sonia Cianchette’s home in Newport, ME to see her nursery “Through the Garden Gate,” before heading home to our respective states. We also visited Sonia’s lakeside home. We call our outing “The NER Sisterhood Girls’ Get-Away.” What fun!

Since 1944, garden clubs have honored those who serve in the military with distinguished plaques that say “A tribute to the Armed Forces that have defended the United States of America.” There are thousands of these notable makers across our great country. I would love to see more of them in New England.

I ask that each state president forward to me information on your state Blue Star Chair, and please appoint someone to that position if you have not already done so. Handsome Blue Star brochures will be available at the NER Annual Meeting in September.

The markers can be placed along highways, at rest stops, in parks, national cemeteries, veterans centers, or other civic locations. There are three available sizes: large Highway Marker and Memorial Marker, and smaller By-Way Marker. For more information, you may contact me at the above email address.

From De Feldman and Candace Morgenstern, NER President’s Project Co-Chairs

To encourage NER garden clubs’ participation in National Garden Clubs President Renee Blaschke’s “Golden Days” project, the New England Region is sponsoring a contest for our six states. The state that has planted the most daffodils per capita by December 1, 2010 will win a monetary prize, an award ribbon and a certificate.

Each state’s “Golden Days” chairman should collect the data from each club and submit the documentation by February 1, 2011 via email to De Feldman at dejan9@cox.net . Each club’s tally should include one or two sentences describing the project and the number of daffodils planted or presented.

The “Golden Days Project” might include mass plantings at retirement centers, Blue Star Memorial sites, civic beautification projects, as a few possible suggestions. You might choose instead to take a potted planter of daffodils to a nursing home.

NGC is offering the sale of daffodils through Colorblends at 1-888-847-8637 or www.colorblends.com . Purchase through Colorblends is encouraged but not required.

Document your project and apply for the award. With this project, everyone wins!

From De Feldman and Candace Morgenstern, NER President’s Project Co-Chairs

NGC President Renee Blaschke urges garden clubs to create teams of participating organizations or individuals in their communities to “Beautify Blight” by planting community vegetable gardens on formerly unsightly plots of land.

Reach out to your community to form a team. Possibilities might include Lions, Rotary, church groups, 4H, Scouts, youth groups, etc. Change a piece of unsightly property into a cultivated community vegetable garden to serve those less fortunate by sharing the produce grown in this group effort. You might share the harvest with a local soup kitchen, homeless agency, or church meal program. If no such plot of land is available, consider working with an established co-op garden. Children are encouraged to participate through weeding, picking, sorting, or helping deliver the produce.

Use fund raisers, donations, or matching grants from corporations or the community at large to establish and maintain this project.

Participants are asked to submit a 1 or 2 page summary of their projects, with before and after pictures. This may be a one or two year endeavor.

State chairmen must submit the summaries of their state projects by January 1, 2011 to:

Kathy M Thomas, NER Director, 7 Norfolk Lane, Holliston, Ma 01746. Email: kathymthomas@aol.com