CFN Masthead

Volume 76, Number 10  *  DECEMBER 2013  

In This Issue
President's Message
Awards 2013
Flower Show
About our Website
Bee Kind to Pollinators
Create Backyard Habitats
DEEP Notice
Eye on Horticulture
Share Your Garden
Garden Therapy/ World Gardening
Youth News
Travel to Italy
Scholarship News
Publications Deadlines
Manchester Greenway
Tax Alert
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Mt Laurel
Greetings!

We finish 2013 on a high note with the many well deserved awards presented at the 84th Annual Awards Luncheon in November. See below and on our website for winners and photos.

At the same time we look forward to a new year with the upcoming Connecticut Flower Show--read about the woman who pulls it all together, Becky Paul--and another wonderful FGCCT trip abroad. Our Horticulture Chair has good tips for your winter garden and we continue to learn about pollinators and backyard habitats.

Wishing all a merry holiday season and happy 2014. See you in February!

Sincerely, 

Lynn Hyson, Editor
President's Message

Happiest Holiday Greetings, Fellow Gardeners:
   
Over Thanksgiving we give thanks for our families, friends and acquaintances. We can also give thanks for all our garden clubs and the work they do in their communities. 

Polly Brooks chaired a superb Environmental Studies School in early November.  Many thanks to Polly, her committee and the outstanding instructors.

Award-winning club projects were on display at the recent FGCCT Awards Meeting at Aqua Turf.  Trish Manfredi organized the Battle of the Presidents in which we honored four former state presidents as they created outstanding seasonal designs.  Many thanks to Dee Mozzochi, Maria Nahom, Donna Nowak and Ronnie Schoelzel.  Terry Stoleson provided thoughtful floral design comments. Thanks to the Suffield Garden Club for helping with the table arrangements.

 

At the Awards Luncheon, clubs and individuals were celebrated for a host of activities, including yearbooks, flower shows, gardens, plantings, and public service.  The Meeting was planned for us by Meetings Chair Agnes Schulte and Janet Spaulding and her Awards committee, especially Helen Pritchard and Silver Chair Inge Venus.  Our state can be very proud of all our accomplishments, not only our prize winners, but all our club projects that proceed, unrecognized, but are important nonetheless.

Looking ahead, please plan to enter, hostess or help out at the Connecticut Flower & Garden Show, "Backyard Paradise," in Hartford in February.  The show schedule is on our FGCCT website.  Class consultants are awaiting your call to enter. This is the largest event our clubs put on all year.

We need the participation of all of our clubs to make it successful.

Best Wishes to everyone for a beautiful, fun, relaxing, meaningful, sparkling Holiday Season.

* Jacqueline Connell
        
AWARDS 2013



THE BRONZE MEDAL 2013
Dr. Casper Ultee receiving the Bronze Medal from President Jacqueline Connell.
Photo by Inge Venus. 


This year The Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut, Inc. is pleased to give our highest award, The Bronze Medal, to Dr. Casper Ultee, of Granby, CT, for his outstanding life-time contributions to Botany in our state.

Born in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, in 1946, the grandson of a forester and son of a grower and exporter of bulbs, Mr. Ultee's interest in and knowledge of plants was part of his heritage. He first came to the United States through a scholarship to study at Hope College in Michigan. Surprisingly, plants did not end up as his career choice. Although he started to major in biology, he found the endless courses in anatomy, designed for pre-medical students, uninteresting. He switched his major to physics, mathematics and chemistry, eventually receiving his PhD in Physical Chemistry from Purdue University in 1954. He was employed at the United Technologies Corporation, working in his field until his retirement in 1962. It was then - in retirement-- that he returned to his family roots.

During most of the 1990's, Dr.Ultee was president of the Connecticut Botanical Society, ensuring its success and keeping it alive through lecturing and conducting field trips through the woods, fields and bogs of Connecticut. Under his leadership the CBS provided educational exhibits at The Federation's State Flower Show, while also entering his own horticulture. He devoted hours maintaining and updating the Connecticut Botanical Society's herbarium at Yale. His work with the herbarium helped him locate many lost stands of rare and endangered plants in Connecticut for identification and preservation. More recently, he was a member of the committee responsible for the publication of the latest checklist of "Native and Naturalized Higher Vascular Plants of Connecticut." In addition, he has studied invasive plants in Connecticut and written numerous articles on plants and plant identification for professionals, gardeners and children.

Ultee has received awards from the New England Wildflower Society, the 2005 Connecticut State Award and was an avid member of the Connecticut Cactus and Succulent Society.

Throughout his career, Dr.Ultee has been known for his own beautiful garden, which he typically started each year with 30-40 different kinds of seeds from all over the world. These days, he writes, he still keeps "a good sized greenhouse" to overwinter tender plants and focuses special interest on his collection of sedums and other succulents, which he grows and shares with other gardeners. With respect to his contributions, he modestly writes: "[w]e are really talking about history." But it is a history of service deserving of recognition.

Caspar Ultee--Botanist, preservationist, rare plant specialist, and gardener par excellence-we salute you, and thank you for your outstanding contributions and leadership in the field of Botany in our state.

NATIONAL GARDEN CLUB AWARDS

At The Federation's November 20, 2013 Awards Meeting at Aqua Turf, the following National Garden Club awards were presented:

Publication Award #13, First Place to The Litchfield Garden Club for
    Treescape for Litchfield 1995-2013
Club Yearbook Award #16, First Place to the Cheshire Garden Club
NGC Scholarship to Julie M. Carson, sponsored by FGCCT
Certificate of Participation in 2011-2013 NGC President's Project
    "Protecting Aquatic Ecosystems" to Long Hill Garden Club.
Participation Citations for President's Project of Plantings for Public and
    Special Places: Gardens with Edibles to Daytime Gardeners and
    Container Gardens to Westbrook Garden Club

NGC Certificates of Appreciation to:
Danbury Garden Club
Greenwich Garden Club
Manchester Garden Club
Town and Country Garden Club
Wallingford Garden Club
NGC Certificate of Merit to Five Star Member:  Jacqueline Connell


NEW ENGLAND REGION AWARDS


The following NER awards were presented:

The Sears Civic Beautification Bowl to West Hartford Garden Club
The Marie E. Lewis Conservation of Natural Resources Award to
    Branford Garden Club
The Cornelia Williamson Watson Award for Historic Preservation to
    Wallingford Garden Club
The Laura Wetmore Conservation Bowl to Danbury Garden Club
Mary Stone Garden Therapy Award to Thames River Garden Club
Virginia Thurston Landscape Design Award  to Durham Garden Club
Yearbook Award, First Place, to Cheshire Garden Club
Publicity Press Book Award,  Small Club, Third Place to North Haven Garden Club
Publicity Press book Award, Medium Club, Third Place to Cheshire Garden Club

* Janet Spaulding, Helen Pritchard and Inge Venus
Awards Committee


Several pictorial collages prepared by Website Chair Inge Venus about events from the November 20th Awards Meeting are currently posted on our Federation website, as follows: Go the Flower Show page for the Presidents' Design Challenge. Go the Awards page for the clubs exhibits and displays; the Tribute awards presentation; the Bronze Medal winner; the NER silver awards presentation and all of the Federation silver awards presentation.  Go the Special Events page for group photos taken at the Awards meeting.  Go to www.ctgardenclubs.org.  Enjoy




  
The 2014 FGCCT Flower Show!  "Backyard Paradise"

Plan to participate and join us at the 33rd Annual Connecticut Flower & Garden Show February 20-23 at The Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.  Entitled, "Backyard Paradise," this year's show reflects our FGCCT President, Jacqueline Connell's, mission, "Bee Kind to Pollinators, Plant Natives, Create Backyard Habitats."

This is FGCCT's most significant yearly fundraiser, which supports all of our programs, so all are asked to participate.  

How?

Enter!  Go to http://www.ctgardenclubs.org/ and click on "Flower Show" in the sidebar.  The flower show schedule is available for your review.  We need numerous designers.  And, if design is not your forte, then we ask that you enter your best horticulture.
 
Assist a Committee Chair!  Chairs are listed on the front of the Schedule.  Please join us in any capacity, but especially hostessing. The hostessing schedule will be on a first-come, first-served basis. We need loads of extra hands in setting up, maintaining, greeting our visitors, and tearing down this show.

Attend!   Ticket arrangements are different this year! Tickets will not be sold through the FGCCT Office. Pre-purchase of tickets for $11 may be made in advance of February 12 directly through NorthEast Expo's office.  Forms will be sent to your Club Presidents for distribution throughout your Clubs, and will be posted on the FGCCT Web Site.  You may purchase tickets by Check or Credit Card.  Credit Card purchases will incur a 3% Service Fee and can be made by telephone.
 

Looking forward to enjoying next year's show with all FGCCT members...

* Becky Paul
2014 Flower Show Chair


Meet Becky Paul

Rebecca Raiola-Paul, more familiar as Becky Paul, gushes when talking about the FGCCT Flower Show. "People look at me like I'm nuts," she says, "I just love flower shows!" Well, she is in the right place as the Chair of the Connecticut Flower Show for the past three years.

Paul joined the Guilford Garden Club in 1999 and immediately became interested in floral design.  "When I first entered a show, I fell in love with it," she recalls. "I went to Flower Show School and met wonderful people. I became a judge and had to go all around the state to flower shows."

"People don't realize that NorthEast pays us to put on this flower show. It is a big challenge, and I try to do it in a financially savvy way to make money to go in our coffers," says Paul. She loves doing it, but acknowledges that it takes many players.

Barbara Bruce creates the design schedule and Barbara Bosco oversees the design section of the show. Ronnie Schoelzel manages the Horticulture section every year and Donna Nowak stays involved. About 30 people play major roles on the committees, but there are up to 100 helpers with setup, manning the exhibits, and tearing down.

"Monday morning, the Convention Center is all concrete,  says Paul, " and by Thursday at 10 am, all the properties are moved in; the place is transformed."
The judges come in Wednesday and work all afternoon and evening judging, typing up their remarks and distributing the awards.

"Attendees love the landscapes, the vendors, but especially the designs, "she says.

This year's theme is "Backyard Paradise." "The landscapers love it," says Paul, "with  categories like the fun of outdoor entertaining, the joy of nature's gardens, fields of dreams...." And the educational exhibitors will have information about bees, invasives, supporting wildlife. "People can identify with it," says Paul. "And this year we have a new division: Photography!"

If running the show weren't enough, Becky Paul is also the Publicity Chair. She sends information to the national media, Yankee and Martha Stewart magazines and many TV stations. "WFSB, an NBC affiliate, is a sponsor of the show, she says. Paul is often asked to do a flower arranging demonstration on local TV stations, and she runs a live radio broadcast from the show floor. They also have a Press Party at the ribbon cutting on Thursday morning.

Finally, Paul urges everyone to buy their show tickets. They are not available through FGCCT this year. But they can be purchased directly through NorthEast. See the form on the next page for more information.

* Lynn Hyson
News Editor


Everything you always wanted to know about our website but were afraid to ask...

Now that our NER Meeting and Symposium held in October is past history as well as the Federation Awards Luncheon held in November, we can turn our attention to the next event - our most ambitious - the CT Flower Show to be held in February 2014.
And each one of you has a chance to get involved - either by exhibiting or by volunteering.   

Our website www.ctgardenclubs.org provides plenty of information for you by clicking on the "Flower Show" link on the left side of the home page.

First, you will see a link to the entire Schedule of the CT Flower Show, entitled "Backyard Paradise," posted right at the top of the page. As you scroll further down, photos from the 2013 "Love in Bloom" opening ceremony and top winners in Design, Horticulture, and Artistic Crafts are there for you to view.

Also, as you scroll down a bit further, a complete list of all of the Horticulture as well as the Design entries and their placement are posted and accessible to you with just a click. And that holds true for the 2012 CT Flower Show, "The Fabulous Fifties," as well.

In between these two shows we have posted a pictorial collage of the many fine designs and horticulture entries at the flower show, entitled "Autumn Mosaic," that those of you who attended last year's Awards Luncheon at Aqua Turf were able to enjoy.  The plan is to have a similar flower show for the 2014 Awards Luncheon.

* Inge Venus,
Website Chair
BEE KIND TO POLLINATORS

Bats, Fact and Fiction



Blind as a bat, bats in the belfry, haunted houses, Dracula, Halloween.  Superstition and folklore have painted unsavory images of these creatures for centuries.  What is the real story?

Bats are the only mammal that can truly fly.  Fossil records are few, but bats are thought to have evolved many millions of years ago.  The smallest bat, the bumblebee bat, is found in Thailand and weighs less than a penny, with a body length less than 1-1/2 inches.  On the other end of the spectrum there are the flying foxes of Old World Tropics with wingspans up to 6 feet, that roost in treetops.  The Chinese consider these animals to be omens of good luck and happiness.

Bats are the most important pollinating mammal.  If there were a "pollinators club," bats would be one of the few mammals with membership.

Three species of pollinating bats live along the Mexican border with Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. They pollinate mangoes, bananas, guavas, the Saguaro cactus and agaves (think Tequila).  Migrating bats pollinate the flowers as they feed on the nectar, and later in the season eat the fruits of the same plants, dispersing seeds as they move around.  The number of flowers visited and the distances they travel makes them efficient pollinators.  Pollinating bats have good vision, as opposed to locating insects by echolocation.

A word about vampire bats - they really exist, but the three species are found only in Latin America. It is primarily cattle on which they feed. Their saliva contains anti-coagulant enzymes that are of interest for research into human heart conditions and strokes.

Here in the Northeast we have insect-eating bats that provide natural pest control. Most common in CT are the little brown and big brown bats. They are nocturnal, feeding 'on the wing.'  Agriculture benefits from their feeding on pests such as cutworm and corn borer moths, potato beetles and grasshoppers. Bats can eliminate mosquitoes and other "people" pests more effectively than bug zappers. 

Very few bats, less than 0.5%, actually contract rabies. They are not apt to become aggressive if infected and seldom transmit rabies to any animal other than another bat. Much worse is the White Nose Syndrome, a fungal infection decimating bat populations.  Originally found in 2007 in a cave in New York State, it is now present in 22 states and 5 Canadian provinces.  This disease causes a fuzzy white growth on the nose, ears, and wings of affected bats. Hibernation of infected bats is disrupted, causing them to be more active and use up the fat reserves necessary to carry them through the winter.

Field and laboratory projects are underway to determine how WNS is killing the bats, and how to protect survivors.  batcon.org is a website for Bat Conservation International. You can learn much more about these vital creatures there, including ways to become involved in the effort to help  them survive. Did you put up a mason bee house? Add a bat house to your habitat.

* Lois Nichols
State Project Chair


 

CREATE BACKYARD HABITATS

More on Water Sources


As promised last issue, here are a few more thoughts on birdbaths and water for backyard creatures.

Since water is as vital to wildlife as it is to human life, providing a water source close to home is one great way to draw wildlife to your yard.

Visitation of wildlife depends on where the water supply is placed.  Birds particularly enjoy a dip in a bath mounted on a pedestal.  Place it in the sun near protecting foliage.  A pedestal type birdbath will attract mostly birds, but butterflies and squirrels enjoy it too. 

Water set right on the ground attracts the greatest variety of wildlife.  It also has the advantage of being easy to clean and unlikely to break or tip over under the weight of heavier animals.  Large flowerpot saucers are great for ground baths.  Raccoons, opossums, groundhogs, and other larger mammals like a bath on the ground.   The toad will like a bath set in the flowerbed or in the shade of low ground cover.  Chipmunks like a water source if it is well-concealed in shrubbery. 

If one birdbath makes wildlife feel welcome, think of what several different kinds of baths will draw to your yard. 

I have heard from some of the readers of my articles, and here are some of their thoughts.  

Martha of the Wallingford Garden Club recycles the water from her air conditioner to a birdbath located in her garden.  She has a hose connected from the air conditioner drain to the birdbath where it is clamped to its edge.  This ensures a continuous supply of cool water for the birds in the spring, summer and fall.  In the winter, Martha puts a small heater in the birdbath.

Carole of the Wallingford Garden Club told me about a wonderful way to celebrate a friend's birthday or other special occasion.  She gives them gifts of water, shelter and food to attract wildlife to their backyards.  If they don't have a water feature, she buys them a birdbath.  If they aren't feeding the birds already, she gives them a hummingbird feeder, or a regular bird feeder (with seed of course).  Then, when they have all the qualities of a backyard habitat, she sends the information to the National Wildlife Federation to certify their backyard.  Couldn't be easier.

Another idea, from Jane, a member of the Shippan Point Garden Club.  A member of their club is in charge of keeping track of members who have certified their backyard habitat. 

Close to the end of the contest, send me the count.  There will be a prize for the club with the most habitats (new and old) , for large, medium and small clubs.  No need for a book of evidence; we're on the honor system.

Thank you for sharing.

From my backyard to your backyard - may you always be blessed with an array of creatures to fascinate and make you smile.

* Anne Harrigan
 

NOTICE

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is asking Connecticut residents and decorators to consider alternatives to invasive plants such as Oriental bittersweet this holiday season.  Sales of Oriental bittersweet are prohibited by state law.  Read the full story here: http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?A=4380&Q=535862
 

 

 

 

EYE ON HORTICULTURE: The December Garden

This fall has been very dry, with very little rain. Trees and shrubs that keep their foliage over the winter need deep watering before the ground freezes. When they are exposed to dry, cold winds in dry soil, they will not be able to get the water they need to survive. Photos of evergreens in my garden show the effects of several weeks of not watering as often as I should have watered. The interior foliage is drying out, and deep watering is necessary.

Arborvitae
Fir tree


Pines will lose their interior needles in the fall. These older needles will brown and drop to the ground. This is normal. But any interior needle browning on other evergreens (firs, hemlocks, arborvitae) may be due to drought. The roots of evergreens planted in the spring, as mine were, are particularly sensitive to drought.

You can assure a plant of a good deep watering by leaving the water on to slowly drip on the root ball overnight.

Antidesiccant spray
It's a good idea to protect the needles/leaves of your evergreens - hollies, rhodies, yews and others - with an antidesiccant spray such as Wilt-Pruf�.

Antidesiccants, also called antitranspirants, are products that slow the loss of water from plant leaves. They are applied to stop or reduce the amount of water being lost through leaves at times when roots are unable to take up sufficient water. For example, when the ground is dry or frozen, there is no water available for the plant to use.

Apply Wilt-Pruf� once in the fall and again 6 or 8 weeks later. Wait for a day when the temperature is above freezing. Follow the directions on the label and don't apply it when the ground is dry and the plants are water-stressed. Make sure the plants have been watered well and the soil is moist before applying Wilt-Pruf�.

Never apply Wilt-Pruf� to blue spruces or other plants that have a bluish waxy coating on their leaves. That waxy coating is the plant's own natural antidesiccant; spraying an antidesiccant washes away that wax and the blueness.

Lime-loving plants
If you wish, apply a large handful of ground limestone around the crowns of plants that grow best in a sweet soil. Lime-loving plants include baby's breath, bellflower, clematis, delphinium, dianthus, candytuft, German or bearded iris, lavender, lilac and scabiosa.


* Pam Weil
Horticulture Chair 

   

 To Fireproof a Christmas tree, try this method:

Your tree will hold seven times its normal weight in water.
Strip 3 inches of bark off the butt of the tree trunk, so the solution can enter the sides as well as the bottom.

In a separate container, mix the following ingredients:
    
    2 qts. hot water
    1 pt. Karo syrup
    2 oz. liquid chlorine bleach
    2 pinches Epsom salts
    1/2 tsp. Borax
    1 tsp. of chelated iron
    6 qts. boiling water

It is important to add the mixture to the Christmas tree stand-the hotter the better the initial time. (Breaking the cold sap down so the solution can work towards the top of the tree is important.)

The remaining solution can be added cold as needed.  Make sure the tree stand reservoir is kept filled to the top with the solution.

After a few days, cut a twig off to test. See if a match will burn the needles.

* Jacqueline Connell

  Share Your Garden!

For a new feature of CFNews, we are asking members to submit a favorite photograph of their gardens to share with our readers. A special spot, an unusual design, any image from your garden that you think is distinctive is welcome. We will publish them in the color Constant Contact version of the newsletter as space permits. Simply email a .jpg file to Lynn  Hyson by the 10th of the month at cfeditor@optonline.net. Thank you!


This is a view out my window looking at the backyard garden in late summer with the clematis & climbing roses growing on the arbor and the pond and fountain in the background.--Ann McDonald, Wilton Garden Club


A winter view of the Spinning Wheel gardens of Al and Nancy Lenoce in Trumbull.

Garden Therapy/World Gardening

I am creating a "Share Your Garden Therapy Ideas" email system with all of the individual garden therapy chairmen starting January 2014.  If you are interested in becoming part of this network, please send me your name, email address and the name of your garden club.  Any suggestions for projects that YOU would like to "share" will be more than welcome.  My email is foxdt5@aol.com.

Thanks also to the garden clubs who have sent in their contributions to the Garden Therapy and World Gardening programs for 2013-- you still have until the end of December.  If you have sent in any donations directly to NGC, please notify Barbara Romblad at the Federation office so I can give your group the credit it deserves.

* Dottie Fox
Garden Therapy/World Gardening Chair


   

News From Youth Activities

To All Club Youth Activities Coordinators:

I'm hoping to receive a goodly number of entries in the Poetry and Poster contests by December 31.  For more information on the details, please check the NGC website and click on Youth Activities.  It is fun for the children and there are prizes on the local and national level. Encourage those creative instincts in both boys and girls. [Contest information is also available at our website, under Youth Gardening.

* Barbara Norrgard
Youth Activities Chair

 

 

FGCCT TRAVEL:

Magical Gardens and Villas
in the Italian Lake District
May 6-14 2014

The wealth of beautiful gardens around Lakes Como and Maggiore is the focus of The Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut, Inc. annual tour. The Italian Lake District is a paradise combining stunning mountain scenery, crystal clear waters, traditional cobbled street towns, rich Italian culture, and, of course, delicious food. The climate is mild, resulting in an abundance of vibrant colors from Alpine flowers to lush semi-tropical gardens. Nowhere else do beautiful scenery, mellow air and rich history come together with such dramatic results.
Our custom designed program provides a balance between interesting botanic gardens and those of the classic Renaissance and later Italian style. Traveling with fellow garden lovers will add to the pleasure of the trip!
Enjoy three nights in a lakefront hotel in Stresa, visiting spectacular gardens on Lake Maggiore, exploring Isola Bella, with its theatrical Baroque gardens, Isola Madre, a botanic garden with its own microclimate, with citrus trees and mimosa and Villa Taranto, with its superb collection of plants.

Explore Lake Como treasures while spending four nights in the lakeside town of Como.

Take a ferry to the pretty town of Bellagio and Villa Melzi, a 19th century English-style garden.

Spend a day touring Milan, visiting the famous Duomo and DaVinci's "Last Supper."

The cost for this deluxe, custom designed tour is $3,400.00.and includes: transportation to and from JFK with stops in Hartford, New Haven and Westport; Non-stop Delta airline flights: JFK./ Milan; 7 nights hotel accommodations in 4 star hotels (shared room); daily breakfast; four lunches; four dinners; private coach transportation; admissions and English speaking guide.

Call Joan Cox, FGCCT Tour Coordinator, for a brochure at 203-262-9809. Or email tours@carewtravel.com

* Joan Cox
Tours Chair

.

SCHOLARSHIP NEWS

The Garden Club of Madison has made a $1000 donation to FGCCT Scholarship Fund.
*****



Timothy White is the third of our seven 2013 FGCCT Scholarship winners. A Cheshire native, White is a CPA with a BS in Business Administration and a passion for the environment.

After working in Vietnam for three years, he returned to Cheshire and served on the Town Council from 2003 to 2010, focusing on energy and environment issues. He was then asked to go to Haiti as Director of Administration and Finance for the Connecticut based Haitian Health Foundation. There he led post-earthquake construction and cholera outreach efforts.

Now working on a Masters of Environmental Management at Yale, White's goal is a business that will encourage organizations to be more environmentally friendly and to have more foresight in their energy consumption.

* Judy Joly
Scholarship Chair
Deadlines for Publications Awards

Publicity Press Books and Newsletters for the year 2013 are due to Public Relations Chair, Becky Paul, by January 25.

Please send to Becky at:  259 Saw Mill Road, Guilford, CT 06437

* Becky Paul
FGCCT Public Relations Chair

 
Garden Clubs in Manchester Unite
To Beautify Greenway

On Saturday, October 5, more than 20 members from Manchester's two garden clubs - Manchester Garden Club and Perennial Planters - gathered to plant the East Coast Greenway parking area near Porter Street with a selection of shrubs, perennial flowers, and flowering bulbs. In less than two hours, and in spite of some very difficult soil conditions replete with rocks, roots & bittersweet vines, the group planted four shrubs, eight grasses, 200 daffodil bulbs, 100 muscari bulbs, and 60 perennial plants - many from member gardens. Every plant was well watered, fertilized, and treated with compost.



That day saw the realization of an idea born last spring, when several members of the clubs, while on their morning walk, remarked on the lovely plantings at another trail.  With support from both garden clubs, a committee was formed, chaired by Susan Lyons.  

Working with Scott Sprague and Ken Longo of the Manchester Parks and Recreation Department, the group decided on a trailhead location. Next, they designed plantings for year round color and interest - and deer resistance - beginning with early spring bulbs, and progressing through summer flowers, fall foliage and winter interest.

The plantings around the perimeter of the parking area and along the trail will enhance the enjoyment of the trail for all. If you look now, you'll see the grasses and shrubs; look for flowers beginning in the spring.

* Deb Flower



_________________________________________

 

URGENT WARNING

ALL FGCCT CLUBS MUST FILE WITH THE IRS!!

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR CLUB PRESIDENTS AND TREASURERS

 

To maintain your garden club's Tax Exemption status, your club MUST file with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) EVERY YEAR. You must file a form 990, 990-EZ, or 990N (the e-postcard).

 

Clubs that fail to file an annual 990-series return or notice, for three consecutive years, will AUTOMATICALLY lose their tax-exempt status.

 

CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION

or Go To

www.irs.gov, then click link for "Charities & Non-Profits."

_________________________________________ 

 

CFNews
 

JANUARY 10:

Deadline for FEBRUARY 2014 ISSUE

 

Email Articles and Photos to    

                                 cfeditor@optonline.net

Email Advertising to

                                 di@abshire.net

 

Email Calendar Items to

                                 calendarcf@yahoo.com 

                                     

FGCCT Web Site:

                                        www.ctgardenclubs.org

 




CT Federation NEWS

Published monthly except January/July

 

Direct Articles/Dates/Events to:   Lynn Hyson, Editor    

49 Seventy Acre Rd., Redding, CT  06896     203-431-0613

 

Direct Advertising Queries to: Diana Abshire, Advertising Manager

26 Diamond Hill Rd., Redding, CT  06896    203-938-1114

 

Direct Circulation Queries to:  OFFICE SECRETARY, FGCCT

P.O. Box 854, Branford, CT  06405     203-488-5528

  

 

Our Mission Statement 

To coordinate, stimulate and encourage higher standards in all aspects of Garden Club work

 

To protect and conserve our natural resources, preserve our heritage and promote civic beauty.   Federation logo

 

6,817 Members

 

131 Clubs

 

15 Affiliates 

Mt Laurel