Message From The President |
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This month we pause our regular program schedule to gather with family and friends and give thanks for our bounty. We will meet again next month on December 15 to create holiday swags for the St. Michael’s Food Pantry. This event, started only last year by Program Chair Julia Metcalf, is a festive way to donate to less fortunate local families, and a popular club get together.
We are blessed to be part of a club which values community involvement. Throughout the years, we have paired with local groups such as White Memorial Foundation, Litchfield Public Schools, and the Litchfield Historical Society (and if you missed the LGC entry at the recent Scarecrows in the Meadow event, boo on you!). Since it’s November, we salute our favorite local library and its Festival of Trees event. And we also recognize the Town of Litchfield for its cooperation with our many beautification projects. Our amazing town boasts numerous worthy organizations, and we hope to do more community partnering in the future.
Our LGC Centennial Fund will help support that goal. The wonderful anonymous matching grant of $10,000 for gifts made this year will be expiring on December 31, 2022. In the weeks ahead, we will be sending a letter asking for your further support of the Fund in this giving season. Thanks to all for your continued and past generosity.
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October 2022 Meeting Notice |
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Dear Club Members,
The Program Committee offers an apology for the October meeting with respect to getting the Zoom started. It was not our intention at all to leave those Zoomer’s stranded. I will not waste any of your time by unlocking the “Excuse Factory.” We have learned our lesson and we will do better next time.
Wishing you all a Safe, Healthy and Happy Thanksgiving 🦃🦃🦃
As there is no meeting in November, we urge all members to attend the December Meeting at St Michaels! Our very own Provisional Member Sarah Worden will work with us all again!
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SAVE THE DATE
December 15th at 3PM
St. Michaels Parish House
Swag Christmas Greens Workshop
To Benefit St. Michaels Food Pantry Recipients
Note: Parking is at St. Anthony's church and cocktails will be served after we put down our clippers!
Please RSVP for the meeting and also let Nan and Lee know if you can act as a host by clicking HERE.
Thank you,
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Committee Reports & Announcements |
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Our October Conservation open meeting at White Memorial Conservation Center was a delightful presentation by James Fischer entitled, "Color My World with Flashes of Light." The meeting was well attended with a number of guests included. |
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Due to Grace's resignation, I have accepted to replace her as Conservation Chair. I am looking forward to spring gardens and seeing everyone again.
Remember, no bird feeders out yet and be vigilant in the gardens as black bears are very quiet. I keep my dogs out with me for early warning. Stay safe and enjoy the spectacular weather and colors.
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Photo credit: Crystal Carminati |
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There were ten beautiful designs presented for the October meeting's Design Sweepstakes, " Cascading Into Autumn." Do go to the LGC website to view the arrangements and their ribbons HERE. They added great interest and educational value to our meeting thanks to all our exhibitors who took the time to enter. Thank you! |
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December's
Design Sweepstakes
The December Design Sweeps will be a door decoration for the holiday. A sweepstakes workshop will be held the week before the meeting at St. Michael's.
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Flower Show Report
Entries are coming in for design as well as photography, so look at the schedule and register for a class you would like to enter! It is going to be a great party!
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Flower Show Committee Meeting
November 17th
1:30pm
St. Anthony's Church Basement
A meeting of the full Flower Show Committee for A Tapestry of Nature will be held this month. All Committee Chairs are asked to attend in order to organize for this upcoming primary event. Be on the lookout for a detailed email prior to the meeting.
Sylvia and Kate
Flower Show Chairs
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Pumpkin Decorating Workshop |
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The Horticulture Committee's first workshop was held last week in Diane Stoner's barn. Pumpkins were decorated to dress up our holiday tables. We used tropical succulents, dried seed pods, berries and ferns from our gardens to create arrangements that are quite long lasting. Fun was had by all! To view more photos of the workshop and the creative pumpkins click Here.
We also met last month at Sylvia Abbott's house to formulate a plan for the year ahead. We will be doing more workshops in the beginning of next year, and our first field trip will happen in the first week of November.
If you want to join the horticulture committee please click on my name below to send me an email and I will add you to the email list.
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MEMBERSHIP NEWS and UPDATES
Welcome to our new Associate Member: MaryEllen J. O’Brien
MaryEllen has joined the LGC as a secondary member this October with a unanimous vote by the Executive Committee. Her primary club is the GCA Lenox Garden Club in Zone I where she has held several positions as President, Vice President, Communications Chair, Corresponding Secretary, Administrator, Flower Show Chair and many more. We are so pleased to have such a valuable and creative woman in our club.
MaryEllen has won innumerable awards including the GCA Puckett Creativity (8 times), The Dorothy Vietor Munger (7 times), Best in Show Botanical Arts (3 times), and The Willemsen Horticulture Propagation Award. The list goes on and on. Some of you may have met MaryEllen at our October meeting where she was judging the floral design sweeps. We are so very excited to have MaryEllen join us and know you will give her a warm welcome.
October 17th the Executive Committee reluctantly accepted the immediate resignations of Grace Yagtug and Frank Fontana. We wish them all the best.
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The Membership Committee is looking for membership candidates for our provisional program. The guidelines are clearly spelled out in our ByLaws, so please review them prior to submission by clicking HERE. Please remember that these candidates should not know that they are being proposed!
I need three supporting letters mailed to me or placed in my mailbox by the January 15th deadline. My address is:
Lynne Sherman
154 Old South Road
Litchfield, CT. 06759
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Tuesday November 8th
Yale University Art Gallery
Photographer Fazal Sheikh: "Exposures"
Docent Tour 1:30pm
Do not miss this field trip to the Yale Art Gallery on Tuesday, November 8 to view the photo exhibit of Fazal Sheikh, a cultural and environmental landscape and portrait photographer. Please RSVP/ASAP by clicking on my name below so that lunch reservations will be accurate. We will carpool and leave St. Anthony's parking lot at 10:30am. Our docent led tour will begin at 1:30 and will last about an hour.
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Photo credit: Cathy Oneglia
Photography updates:
- We do regret that the Ripley Sanctuary field trip has to be postponed once again as a bit of Avian flu affected some of the birds and all are being protected. They will welcome us as soon as possible.
- A workshop on The Quality of Light will be held at the Litchfield Community Center on November 14 at 3:30 PM. If you are working on entries for the December Sweepstakes, (click HERE to preview the classes), this would be a good time to bring questions and discussion topics. There will be a month between the workshop and the sweepstakes to practice and perfect your technique.
Educational Opportunities
- Light on the Landscape by William Neill is a very good book of essays with gorgeous pictures of the quality of light. OWL will notify me when they have copies in the library. Meanwhile, do go to his website HERE and check out his blog. It's a wonderful site. Be sure to check out his favorite photos from 2021. So many examples of the great use of light.
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Santa Fe Workshops has a whole series of "INSPIRATION" videos on YouTube that you can view HERE. They feature many of their photographers i.e. Inspiration with Sam Abell, Inspiration with Nevada Weir etc. Check them out.
- The GCA Photography landing page directs us to Videos and there are many created by the GCA! They are very educational and helpful in all of the areas of photography that we are judged. Don’t miss them! Click HERE to view page.
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Projects and Beautification |
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Thanks to Ellen Oneglia, Frank Fontana, Meredith Penfield, Tierney Moran, May Bogdanovics and me, the fall planters were filled with colorful mums, cabbages and pepper plants. Sue Kennedy has volunteered to water the North St. planter and Ellen Oneglia will water the planters on the Green.
Committee Updates:
- Plans are in place to decorate the planters for the holiday season. Sylvia Abbott has offered greens, Marie Kennedy-red stick dogwood, Dianne Cicchetti-holly, and Margy Miner-greens/pinecones. Plantings will be done before Thanksgiving.
- Colonial Greenhouse will again decorate the lights on the Green with swags and mini-lights.
Bartlett Tree Service was hired to treat the Sycamore tree at Tapping Reeve House for lace bugs.
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From the Communications Desk... |
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LGC Member Profile
Ellen Oneglia
LGC Member Since 2011
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When did your interest in gardening initially blossom?
My mother sparked my interest in gardening at an early age. We spent many hours together in her flower gardens.
Favorite flower and/or tree?
My favorite flower is the Delphinium
What is your favorite garden tool?
Pruning Shears
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What is your favorite gardening tip or "trick of the trade?"
I am still a student of the tricks of the trade, but one tip I am practicing lately is to carry a spray bottle with 70% alcohol and 30% water and spraying my pruning shears in between plant cuttings to keep clean and not spread any disease. I am particularly interested in companion planting in my veggie garden.
Who is your favorite "Gardening Guru?" This can be a person, a favorite book, or any garden-oriented website site you follow on social media or the internet.
There are many gurus: gardening friends, club workshops, information from visits to various nurseries and the internet.
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New Website Feature...
Would you like to be notified when a new blog post appears on the website? Blogs are written by LGC members and often contain garden hints, inspirational photos, conservation tips and fabulous photos of special plants or gardens. Click here to check out some of the recents posts. Then, click on my name below to email me and let me know that you'd like to join a growing number of members who receive a notification whenever a new blog is posted.
The Civic Projects page has images of the fall planters that were filled with colorful mums, cabbages and pepper plants. Scroll down the page for the posting.
While on the website, check out the Blog page, as it has several new entries!
If you have any updates or changes to your profile (address, phone number or email) please let me know so I can make the change in our Membership Directory.
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Member News and Upcoming Events |
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The Litchfield Historical Society's, "Scarecrows in the Meadow" took place last month from October 15th - October 31st. For the first time the LGC had an entry at the event, created by our members Jen Abbott-Tillou, Jessica Travelstead and our provisional member, Sarah Worden. The LGC Scarecrow, representing "the ghost of LGC founder Mrs. S. Edson Gage," was featured on the front page of the Republican American (photo below) and also on the GCA Zone II landing here. |
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Photo credit: Crystal Carminati |
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Photo credit: Crystal Carminati |
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Very clever text!
Photo credit: Crystal Carminati
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Republican American
photo credit: John McKenna
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Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut
93rd Annual Awards Meeting
Last month Susan Magary and Crystal Carminati attended the FGCCT awards meeting where LGC received a Public Relations and Communications "Certificate of Merit" Award for the LGC Newsletter. The meeting was very well attended and it was extra special to receive the award from our own LGC member Polly Brooks, President FGCCT.
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Crystal Carminati, Polly Brooks, Susan Magary |
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Public Relations and Communications
Certificate of Merit, Newsletter
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