'A Way We Grow'
Martha's Vineyard Garden Club
March 2023
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From our President...
The Garden Club followed the first day of spring with a wonderful presentation by Kathie Skinner, “Hydrangeas: Which One is Right for Me?” It had record-breaking attendance for a March meeting, and brought many membership renewals.
From Kathy’s presentation I was chagrined to learn that my mophead hydrangeas are sterile, hence not pollinator friendly. It’s too early here to go plant shopping for pollinator plants, or even do much gardening, so Brent and Becky’s Bloomin Bucks is filling my evening! Their website has a pollinator-friendly section with many summer-blooming plants to complement my blue hydrangeas.
In 1924 the Garden Club was founded as the first conservation organization on Martha’s Vineyard. This year we are strengthening that heritage in several ways. Jennifer Blum is our new Conservation Coordinator. We have been invited with other conservation organizations to participate in a new Earth Day celebration at the Museum, and if you’d like to participate, contact Ty Johnston (vp@marthasvineyardgardenclub.org). To bolster our bee, butterfly and
bird populations, we’re publishing a new brochure on native plants, which we’ll introduce on Earth Day. And the Greenhouse Committee is supplementing our traditional offerings with a range of new seeds being planted now, that need a lot of watering, so contact Anne Kushwaha (annekushwaha@gmail.com) if you’d like to help.
The Club is busy and growing! It’s going to be a great year! - Susan Hobart, President
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A BIT ABOUT OUR UPCOMING APRIL MEETING!
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Tuesday, April 18
Speaker: Heidi Schmidt of Vineyard Sound Herbs for Mind, Body Spirit
Program Title: ‘Awakening with Spring through your Herb Garden’
Begins @ 1:00pm at The Wakeman Center located in Vineyard Haven / Program Room
Learn about the nutritious and healing qualities of the herbs (cultivars and otherwise) peeking through winter’s litter of last year’s growth in your garden…Tea tastings and herbal delights to taste as you journey with Heidi into the virtues of these plants for wellbeing of your body, mind, spirit and soil health of your garden. *Heidi will bring items for Teas for tasting, teas you can make yourself, facial steams and herbs to make you feel good just by growing and seeing them.
BIO: Heidi founded Vineyard Sound Herbs in 1987, on Martha’s Vineyard. In 2004, she moved her business to a mountainside in Fayston, Vermont.
Since then, she has added The Tiny Tea House, where complimentary tea can be sampled.
She also offers private and group classes by appointment. Heidi has a B.S. in Land Management Resources from Montana State University and an Herbalist Certificate from the Center of the Light, Monterey, Massachusetts.
She has also attended the College of Phytotherapy* in East Sussex, England and apprenticed in a London phytotherapy clinic.
Along the way, she also worked as an Assistant Naturalist at Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary.
She is the daughter of our long-time member and Daffodil Walk organizer, Martha Schmidt.
FREE to MVGC Members / Open to non-members @ $10.00 pp.
Chilmark/Aquinnah members and VP to provide snacks & refreshments
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Please support BBBS and donate a new 'Gardening related goodie'!
Last year The MV Garden Club donated a basket of garden related items and a one year membership to the Club! Help us again this year and donate a NEW garden related item to go in the basket. PLEASE bring your item/s to any Garden Club meeting between March and May and leave it for me...I will make the basket and get it to BBBS in time for the Party!
CLICK HERE to read more about the event or to attend!
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ART IN BLOOM VIRTUAL!!!
Art in Bloom via The Museum of Fine Arts - ZOOM on May 24, 2023 @ 7:00pm
The MFA is again offering a zoom presentation of their Art in Bloom event. They will share selections from last year’s show (different than the “From the Vault” presentation that we saw last year.) The fee will be $10.00 per person. Sign-ups will be on our website soon, so stay tuned!
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ON the Subject of
Blooming Art :
Dates and Times for
Blooming Art, 2023
Location - The Old Mill in West Tisbury
Friday, June 16 - 10am - 5pm
Saturday, June 17 - 10am - 5pm
Sunday, June 18 - 10am - 5pm
Wanna partner up for floral design?
Maybe consider partnering with a friend if you want to create a floral design for Blooming Art but don't want to go it alone! Send your name to the 'Floral Design Support Team', and they can help! Contact Ty via email to volunteer as a floral designer for BA, 2023! To see close ups of the art and their floral design compliment, CLICK HERE.
To help out as a docent for Blooming Art, please contact Gay Smith, via her email gaybeSmith@gmail.com . You'll be surrounded by the beautiful art and floral designs during your shift and will meet lots of excited attendees to the event! CLICK HERE to see some pics from Blooming Art, 2022.
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Ty Johnston, MVGC VP and Irene Ziebarth, MVGC Archivist and Chilmark/Aquinnah VP have been meeting for two hours a week for months at Wakeman Center and the MV Museum, generally organizing the archives for and before our 100th anniversary in 2024.
The work is an honor and a privilege as they uncover historical documents. This month they share this document from 1924, an engineering drawing of the Mill Pond, certified by Civil Engineer William S. Swift as "Plan of Land in West Tisbury" on January 10, 1924.
-submitted by Irene Ziebarth
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Thanks to Senior Principal Master Gardener (and MV Garden Club Member) Kathie Skinner for a wonderful presentation on
Hydrangeas at our March Meeting!
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Our first program for 2023 was well attended with 45 members and a handful of guests! Attendees learned about hydrangea varieties, and how to choose the best ones for your garden based on key points such as the sun and soil conditions and Kathie offered information on some new hydrangea varieties. A new compact variety we learned about is called, Wee Bit with some funny names such as 'Wee Bit Grumpy' and 'Wee Bit Giddy'. A hydrangea that especially caught my eye is named 'Froggy' which is a Macrophylla Hydrangea in shades of pink, purple and green with a whimsical feel! Its always fun to learn about new varieties to to add to the garden!
created for us and this program...
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Kathie gave us great info and there's so much more we can learn about hydrangeas! Thanks, Kathie what a wonderful program! |
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Lovely snacks provided by our West Tisbury members! |
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Do we want to plan a program on hydrangea care, pruning, pests and problems for 2024? Member input, please can be sent to news@!
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A Neighborhood Convention!
Last week, Garden Club President, Susan Hobart and Membership Committee Co-Chair, Susie Wallo presented a program to attendees via the March 'neighborhood convention' held at St. Augustine's Church in VH, about the MV Garden Club. They shared information on the Club's history, the Old Mill and our connection to the Wakeman Center and talked a bit about our past and upcoming programs, upcoming events like the Annual Plant Sale, Blooming Art and our 'Holly Day' party. Attendees enjoyed lunch, sweet nibbles and the beautiful floral arrangements and table settings put together by Susie and Susan. Email addresses were collected and it seems a lovely afternoon was had by all. Thanks, ladies for taking time from your busy schedules to do this for the Garden Club and for the 'Neighborhood Convention'! What wonderful neighborhood goodwill...you both rock!
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WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS...
March, 2023
Susan Crampton - VH
Sandy Joyce - E
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Interested in Walkabouts? If you want to have your garden as part of Ty's Walkabouts this Spring and Summer, contact Ty Johnston, at 339-364-1363 and leave a message. She will compile a list and a calendar and get it out to the whole club.
To see some pics from our walkabouts in 2022, CLICK HERE!
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CLICK HERE to learn about the role of Floral Designers for Blooming Art
ART IN BLOOM VIRTUAL FOR MEMBERS...Art in Bloom via The Museum of Fine Arts - ZOOM on May 24, 2023 @ 7:00pm
The MFA is again offering a zoom presentation of their Art in Bloom event. They will share selections from last year’s show (different than the “From the Vault” presentation that we saw last year.) The fee will be $10.00 per person. Sign-ups will be on our website soon, so stay tuned! In the meantime, here's the link to the MFA's Art In Bloom event in case you should want to visit in person!
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AN FYI
From Special Projects Chair, Joan Cavazuti!
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Members of the Martha's Vineyard Garden Club have been invited to
the Falmouth Garden Club Meeting on Monday, May 8.
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I thought this was a pretty clever tip for those of us who will be planting containers this coming
Spring and Summer!
CLICK HERE to watch the YouTube video...and sorry about the ad before the video...(I couldn't get rid of it!)
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to see ISLAND CLIMATE AND CONSERVATION INFO VIA OUR WEBSITE!
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Seasonal Recipes from Our Members Kitchens & Gardens... |
Hope you enjoy this kickoff of our ‘in season’ recipe via the MVGC newsletter! For months now, I have wanted to include a recipe in each newsletter, that highlights what we grow in our own gardens OR to highlight the wonderful ingredients available via Island growers. Huge thanks to my friend, Linda Pashman for contributing this maiden voyage recipe (and pic) ! This is a favorite of hers for late a Winter / Early Spring meal! |
Going forward, For cooks/bakers who want to submit a recipe: it should be not be overly complex but not ordinary. Should be a seasonal recipe...extra points if some ingredients are from your own garden...or from a local farm.
And if the recipe is connected to a specific memory, DO include that. I am hoping with these contributions, we can put together an enticing recipe collection...and maybe at some point we can even create a Martha's Vineyard Garden Club Cookbook!
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What a fun surprise to meet up with two MV Garden Club members at Teri Culletto's baguette baking class at the Farm Institute a few weeks ago!
Bakers Gotta Bake!
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Chicken, Black Beans and Rice with Avocado, Chilies and Sour Cream
This is a great winter or early spring recipe from Diana Henry, “From the Oven to the Table…Simple Dishes That Look After Themselves”, when there’s still not much in the way of local produce. It’s colorful and hearty, but not heavy.
Make sure to use a 12 inch, deep sided saute' or braising pan. Too small a pan, ingredients will overflow. Too big a pan, rice will be overcooked.
*Don’t skip the add-ons. They really enhance the dish.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
2T olive or peanut oil
8 good sized chicken thighs or chicken parts, EXCESS SKIN NEATLY TRIMMED
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 red or green bell peppers, or a mix, halved, seeded and sliced
3 garlic cloves grated
2 tsp ground cumin
1 cinnamon stick, halved
2 red fresno or jalapeno chilies, halved seeded and chopped (optional or to taste)
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
½ lb cherry tomatoes, halved
1 C basmati rice, rinsed
2 C boiling chicken stock
Coarse salt and fresh pepper
3 T chopped cilantro leaves
To serve: Lime wedges, pickled chilies, sour cream, 2 avocados.
Preheat oven to 375...
Heat oil in 12’ saute' pan or shallow casserole dish. Brown chicken pieces, both sides, until nicely colored, about 3-5 min per side. Transfer to a plate.
Add onion and bell peppers to pan and saute' until just starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Add cinnamon, garlic and cumin and chilies, if using, to pan and saute' about 2 minutes.
Add black beans and cherry tomatoes. Season generously with salt and pepper. Bring broth to a boil. Sprinkle rice on top in even layer. (Make sure beans are beneath rice and chicken, otherwise they’ll burn). Pour in broth. Return chicken to pan, skin side up.
Bake, uncovered, 40 minutes. Chicken should be golden and broth absorbed. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with sour cream, lime wedges, pickled chilies and slices of avocado (seasoned with lime juice, coarse salt and pepper).
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This is a great read in the latest issue of MV Home and Garden!
Our President, Susan Hobart's garden is featured with beautiful photos and a great article about her struggles with Island deer and the plant choices she has made for her expansive garden. Informative, well written and great photos! Thanks to Vineyard Gazette Media Group for highlighting our fearless leader and her lovely property!
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The MV Garden Club is excited to participate in:
WMVY Radio’s
'Night Out for Nonprofits' on
Saturday, March 25 at the PA Club
Ty Johnston will represent
the Garden Club
Opens to the public at 7:00pm
Earth Day Celebration on
Saturday, April 22 at the MV Museum
(Details to follow as they
become available...)
Do support and attend if you can!
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