Volunteers Making New Canaan Beautiful
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Dear Members
Welcome to Autumn, the colorful season that makes hearts throb in New England. In New Canaan, we hope you are enjoying the beauty of the new garden at the mailbox drop area, our newest project.
Our current projects--see within for details--take a lot of effort. We are counting on all our members to participate in some form--flower arranging, hospitality, ride sharing, gardening of all sorts. The list is endless. To get involved, you can contact Faith Kerchoff (Lee Garden), Liz Orteig (Traveling Trowels), Anne Tropeano (Hospitality) and Barbara Wilson (Triangles).
It is definitely butterfly and bee season. The pollinator pathway, of which our Lee Garden is part, is working! We will learn more about butterfly gardening at our Autumn Luncheon on October 3rd.
Get your calendars out! Thanks to our program planners, Carol Seldin, Gerda Smith, Jolley Frank and Nancy Malling, NCBL has events planned for every month from now through June. You can view what we have planned on the program page of our website and by clicking
HERE
.
Enjoy gardening. Hope to see you soon!
Barbara and Karen
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Members will receive their 2019-2020 directories at the October luncheon. If you are not attending the luncheon, they will be mailed to you.
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If you know of any member who is ill, hospitalized or has lost a loved one, please let Libby Butterworth or any of the membership chairs know.
Rose Bauersfeld, 203-966-9527, rbauersfeld@yahoo.com
Libby Butterworth, 203-801-0862, eabutter@gmail.com
Sara Hunt, 203-966-3313, skhminky@optonline.net
Margit Mills, 312-925-3861, margitmills@gmail.com
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There are other films about Beatrix Farrand, however this documentary is new and was released early this year. This is the first local airing of this award winning documentary!
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Please join us for our November program as we view the documentary
Beatrix Farrand's American Landscapes,
a new documentary produced by the Beatrix Farrand Garden Association. The documentary follows award-winning public garden designer Lynden B. Miller as she sets off to explore the remarkable life and career of America’s first female landscape architect—Beatrix Farrand.
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You can view a trailer of the documentary by clicking this button:
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Farrand was responsible for some of the most celebrated gardens in the United States and helped create a distinctive American voice in landscape architecture. Although she created gardens for the rich and powerful, including John D. Rockefeller, Jr., J.P. Morgan, and President Woodrow Wilson, she also was an early advocate for the value of public gardens and believed strongly in the power of the natural world to make people’s lives better. Through the documentary, Miller journeys to iconic Farrand gardens, engaging designers, scholars and horticulturists in a spirited dialogue about the meaning and importance of this ground-breaking early 20th-century woman. Lynden Miller’s experience as New York City’s most prominent public garden designer is woven into a wide-ranging biography of Farrand’s life and times. Run Time: 62 minutes
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Registration for this program will be necessary via the New Canaan Library website. We will let you know when the registration link is available.
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Beatrix Farrand designed two public gardens in Connecticut: Harkness Estate Gardens at the Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford and a small sunken garden at the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington. You can read about these Connecticut gardens at these links.
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Volunteers Needed: Hospitality
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DO YOU LIKE TO BAKE?
Hospitality volunteers are needed to help with food items for our upcoming meetings on
November 6, 2019
and
January 8, 2020
If you would like to help, please
email Anne Tropeano at annietrop@yahoo.com
and indicate if you would like to bring a sweet or savory dish to serve 10-12 people.
Suggested items include; coffee cake, cheese plates, breakfast breads, muffins, fruit platter, deviled eggs, or similar items.
Store bought or homemade items are welcome
and please bring your item on a serving platter. Many thanks!
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Flower Arranging at Waveny Care Center
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Volunteers needed for October 21st, December 16th, and December 23rd.
This fun volunteer activity is so appreciated by the residents of Waveny Care. Come be a part of it! Please contact Betsy Sammarco @
esammarco@optonline.net
to help any of these days.
October volunteer(s) needed for the 21st:
7th: Peggy Dannemann
14th: Liz Kunz
21st: (simple refreshing of the vases needed this day)
volunteer needed
28th: Bianca Romano
December volunteers needed for the 16th and 23rd:
2nd: (simple refreshing of the vases needed this day) Liz Orteig
9th: Jill Ernst
16th: volunteer needed
23rd: volunteer needed
30th: Betsy Sammarco
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Waveny Arrangements in September
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Jill Ernst and Betsy Sammarco created these happy bouquets in purple and yellow. A resident at Waveny Care commented on how eager she was to see the new arrangements that day!
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Under Anne Tropeano's tutelage, Anne and Betsy Sammarco created these lovely arrangements that were natural and calming. The vases used were just one type of many you can find in the flower arranging room at Waveny Care when you volunteer.
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Faith Kerchoff and Eniko Szatai created these happy arrangements. Many of the flowers used are ones that grow locally.
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Joan Hayenga and Eva Wingate ended September with these arrangements of yellow and burnt orange. Perfect to start autumn!
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Annual Appeal Volunteers Needed
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2020 Annual Appeal:
SAVE THE DATE: Wed, Nov 13, 2019
. We had so much fun last year, please plan to join us once again for this year’s Envelope “Stuffing” Party at Lapham Community Center, Waveny Park. Time: 10am until we’re done!
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The Rosebrook and Brushy Ridge triangle looked lovely in shades of pink in September:
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The Center Bell triangle was given a major tree trimming and additions of mums from the LobsterFest. John Kerchoff helped with the chainsaw, Rob Carpenter did more trimming, and Yvonne Hunkeler, Faith Kerchoff, and Susan Weatherley helped with the plantings. It's ready for fall and its visibility is much improved now.
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There was a big clean up of the Route 123 and Carter Street triangle at the end of September:
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Before: The triangle needed a cleanup of overgrowth and removal of trees that weren't doing well.
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After: DPW crew Jimmy Peck, Tony Zallo, and Walt Jaykus stand by their work well done!
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Residents have been commenting on the lovely post office drop off area. It's been very interesting to see the area change as the seasons change. While NCBL volunteers were weeding one day, a resident on the way to the train commented on how he loved the natural look of the slope. It was explained that it was the look we were aiming for, and he exclaimed "Well, you nailed it!"
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The area has been busy with pollinators. To see a video of the butterflies during one random minute in September, see below:
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There have also been some questions about which perennials were chosen to plant on the slope. They include:
Achillea
'Coronation Gold',
Allium
'Millenium',
Allium
'Summer Beauty',
Amsonia hubrictii
,
Calamintha nepeta
,
Coreopsis verticillata
'Grandifolora',
Geranium sanguineum
'Max Frei',
Nepeta subsessilis
'Cool Cat',
Verbena bonariensis
, and
Salvia nemorosa
'Caradonna'.
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Weeding sessions continued into September to keep the Post Office drop off slope looking great.
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Many people have also stopped to ask about this very striking Dahlia planted near the Post Offices boxes. This is a Dahlia hybrid called 'Mystic Illusion'.
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Many thanks again to Ty Tan who developed the plan and worked with our Civic Beautification team to choose plants that would work well in the area.
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Tree Wells Planted and Looking Nice
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NCBL planted the tree wells along Park Street by the Post Office box drop off with
Coreopsis calliopsis
.
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Town Hall planters were changed up for the fall on September 25. Doing the work that day were Rob Carpenter, Yvonne Hunkeler, Faith Kerchoff, and Kathy Lapolla.
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Before: The beautiful old planters at the Main Street Town Hall entrance looked beautiful throughout the summer and into September.
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After: The plants did so well that many could be saved and combined with mums from the LobsterFest to create a new autumn pallet.
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The large new entrance planters got gorgeous facelifts for the fall. Mums from the LobsterFest were combined with pumpkins, gourds, and other plants in colors of yellow, oranges, and burgundies.
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Chris Schipper has once again offered to donate the tulips for the Town Hall planters from his
Colorblends
bulb company. Thank you Chris! Also in the order are daffodils for Saxe/Farm Road triangle, bulbs for the Post Office box drop off, and Lee Garden. Let's hope we all get in the bulb planting mood when the crisp fall air arrives!
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NCBL has assisted and consulted on a big landscaping renovation at East school. The work has been a huge undertaking by three mothers at the school: Jennifer Altieri, Elena Case, and Debbie Ely. They have formed a group called the East School Beautification Group! The town DPW was a huge help in removing old planting material. Rob Carpenter spent time with them at suppliers helping them find plants and stretch their budgets. Thanks also goes out to
Copia Home and Garden
for some great fall sale prices that aided them in purchasing more. Thanks also to Tiger Mann for coordinating the DPW assistance.
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We thank member Sarina Vetterli for a donation of two Hydrangea plants and one lilac 'Miss Kim' shrub. The lilac went to East School.
Eric and Susan Pollish of Chichester Road donated three large clumps of white peonies that are now planted at the Post Office drop off area and Eric even helped plant them! Thank you Eric!
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Members: Please remember to report your "hands-on" hours to your committee chairs. This includes planning sessions and "hands in the dirt" time.
Committee chairs: Please remember to report your hours to Karen Mactas. Estimated hours can be reported as in the example below:
6 people at the Post Office drop-off worked for 2 hours. The person that coordinated that event would email Karen with the following:
Date: September 2
Event: Civic Beautification @ PO drop
Number of People: 6
Total Hours worked:12
Please let Karen know if you have any questions, and thanks for your assistance with this new procedure.
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Results of the Hanging Basket Experiment
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Our Hanging Basket chairs, Eileen Boehme and Bianca Romano are happy to report that their "Hanging Basket Experiment" was a success! If you may remember, Eileen and Bianca hung 31 baskets differently than the rest by removing the outside plastic container first and placing the plant, Soil Moist, and Miracle Grow directly into the natural fiber container. These baskets tended to do better by retaining more water. Perhaps this is something we could try at our own homes, too!
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Lee Garden chairs held a coffee at the Lee Garden Barn for those interested in learning more about the volunteer opportunities at the garden. Faith Kerchoff spoke on the various jobs that are available and gave tours to those new to the garden. Coffee, baked goods, and fruit were enjoyed by all and seed packets (most of which were gathered at Lee Garden) were given away.
If you missed this coffee, but are interested in volunteering at this peaceful woodland, contact Faith Kerchoff at 203-972-0895 or email Faith at: faithkerchoff@hotmail.com.
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Attendees of the Lee Garden coffee are pictured above. Seated: Sara Hunt and Eric Dannemann
Standing left to right: Sandy Siegel, Kirsten Gregorio, Karen Sneirson, Susan Bergen, Faith Kerchoff (co-chairman), Kathy Lapolla (co-chairman), Barbara Beall, Judy Johnson, Peggy Dannemann, and Simin Zendehrouh. Present, but not pictured were Rob Carpenter, Gay Clarke, Alex Dickerson, Betsy Sammarco, and Sarina Vetterli. Absent and missed was co-chair Yvonne Hunkeler.
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Faith Kerchoff gathered and packaged seeds for our Lee Garden volunteers to take home.
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You can find more photos, including beautiful flower arrangements from that morning, at this link:
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A Buckeye Here ... A Buckeye There ...
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NCBL members had close encounters with different varieties of 'buckeyes' this month:
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Faith Kerchoff's grandson, Thayer, did a wonderful job collecting the fallen nuts from the bottlebrush buckeye
(
Aesculus parviflora
) at Lee Garden.
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This butterfly, called the Common Buckeye (
Junonia coenia), was seen flying among the flowers at the Post Office drop off slope.
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We spotted some of our members at Wave Hill and Untermeyer Gardens one day in late September:
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Pictured here at Untermeyer Gardens are Yvonne Hunkeler, Sandy Siegel, Rob Carpenter, Faith Kerchoff, and Rose Bauersfeld. Taking the photo was Nancy Geller.
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To see more photos from their trip, including a short video from Yvonne, click on the button.
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This month, we are providing links to four of Joan's October essays. The 1995 and 1996 essays are found on the same document. We hope you enjoy them:
As we build her collection each month, you can access Joan's essays by clicking the following button:
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Monday, November 11, 2019
Climate Change: Is There Still Hope for Humanity?
an Evening with Bill McKibben.
Sponsored by New Canaan Library, New Canaan Garden Club, Elm Street Books, New Canaan Land Trust
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Our NCBL Newsletter is used to distribute information regarding NCBL activities and announcements that pertain directly to our stated mission. The newsletter shall not be used for political issues, or for the promotion of merchandise or services unless such merchandise or services are part of a joint venture with NCBL.
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New Canaan Beautification League
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