'A Way We Grow'
Martha's Vineyard Garden Club
February 2023
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From our President...
Dear Garden Club Members,
Except for the first weekend, February has been kind to those of us living on the Vineyard. Not confined just to perusing nursery catalogs while observing our gardens through the window, we have enjoyed a few 40- and 50- degree days that afforded opportunities to inspect and even work a bit on our gardens.
The Board is excited to be offering a range of new and expanded activities this year, but we need your help. If you'd like to participate with us in planning these events or have a particular interest or activity you'd like to see on our calendar, please call or email us.
For starters, Blooming Art, our popular and important fundraiser, is scheduled for June 16-18, and planning has begun. We need floral designers, docents and planners!
BLOOMING ART
We need 40 floral designers. If you’re new to the Club or Blooming Art, or consider flower arranging a mystical science, this is your opportunity to learn something new: you will be mentored and can do a floral design alone or with a friend. Our team of organizers and mentors includes Ty Johnston, Fawn Hurwitz, Trudy Williams, Kathy Werber, Wiet Bacheller, and Nancy Cabot.
We also need 24 docents to collect admissions, greet people or monitor activity. You’ll have a short shift (usually 2 hours) and receive training from Gay Smith and Laurie Howick.
So stop and smell the roses… finger some flowers… create some beauty… discover a new skill… get close to beautiful art… join a community committed to creating beauty together. For inspiration and information, check out the Garden Club website Blooming Art tabs.
If you’d like be a floral designer or docent, contact Ty for floral design, and/or Gay for volunteering as a docent and have some spring fun! - Susan Hobart, President
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BACK TO OUR MONTHLY MEETINGS IN MARCH!
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Tuesday, March 21 – Speaker: Kathie Skinner
Program Title: ‘Hydrangeas: Which One is Right for Me?’
Begins @ 1:00pm at The Wakeman Center located in Vineyard Haven / Program Room
West Tisbury members and VP to provide snacks & refreshments
This program focuses on the key points that gardeners should consider before they invest in a hydrangea. With over 600 cultivars to select from, it’s easy to select a plant based on some attributes only to find that it will definitely not be the “right plant in the right place. ” The seven species are identified, examples of each are provided, and their best use in the landscape.
BIO: Kathie is a Senior Principal Master Gardener, the past Education Coordinator and current Master Gardener Training Coordinator for the MMGA. She is a retired educator with over 40 years teaching and administering in K-12. She currently does education policy research and writing for various state and national education organizations.
FREE to MVGC Members / Open to non-members @ $10.00 pp
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Please donate if you can! |
This year, Big Brothers Big Sisters Fundraiser, 'Blooming Bids For Kids' is Friday, June 16 from 5pm-7pm at the Field Gallery in WT. Its a marvelous event...they call it 'the ultimate garden party' and features silent & live auction of garden items, unique planters, artist items and more. Apps, drinks and desserts are served too! Last year The MV Garden Club donated a large basket of garden related items along with a one year membership to the Garden Club! Help us again this year by donating a NEW garden related item to place in the basket. You can bring your item/s to any Garden Club meeting between March and May and give it to me, Donna Arold. I will arrange 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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To Our Members: Please take a look at our 'Programs' Calendar for 2023 and tell us where we may be lacking and let us know what kind of programs you would like to see more of going forward.
We are always trying to do our best by bringing you information and programs that there is interest in! Thanks in advance for your input!
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February 2023
Book Lovers Corner - by Ty Johnston
Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness by Dr. Qing Li
Notice how a tree sways in the wind. Run your hands over its bark. Take in its citrusy scent. As a society we suffer from nature deficit disorder, but studies have shown that spending mindful, intentional time around trees can promote health and happiness.
This month's selection explores the Japanese art and science of “Shinrin-Yoku,” otherwise known as Forest Bathing. “The concept that humans have a biological need to connect with nature has been called Biophilia, from the Greek, meaning 'love of life and the living world.' Because we evolved in nature, it is thought, we have a biological need to connect with it. We are genetically determined to love the natural world: it is in our DNA. Consequently, this affinity for the natural world, especially trees, is fundamental to our health. Contact with nature is as vital to our well-being as regular exercise and a healthy diet. This book examines the science behind the remarkable power of nature, especially trees, to the human species.
In Japan, a study in the International Journal of Biometeorology found that forest bathing reduced the blood glucose levels of diabetics by 39.7%, more than with indoor exercise. The same study also discovered that certain forest trees emit organic compounds called phytoncides, and inhaling these compounds has been proven to decrease blood pressure and improve immune system functions. Many other wonderful benefits come from time spent in a forest.
This beautiful book features more than 100 color photographs from forests around the world. Dr. Qing Li's research shows how forest bathing can reduce your stress levels and blood pressure, strengthen your immune and cardiovascular systems, boost your energy, mood, creativity, and concentration, and even help you lose weight and live longer! I hope you get a chance to check it out, and then take time to take a walk in one of our many forests on the Vineyard! - Ty Johnston, VP
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Thanks to Kathie Skinner for sharing her knowledge of pruning hydrangeas on January 24 at her WT home! Mother Nature cooperated by giving us a sunny morning and eleven Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club members braved the January temps. We were welcomed with a blazing outdoor fire made especially for us by Kathie’s husband,
Kathie, the hydrangea guru demonstrated winter pruning of paniculata, arborescens and oak leaf hydrangeas along with showing us how to identify 'dead wood' in the macrophylla varieties, as she demonstrated her removal technique, which she suggests doing in winter. (The macro Spring pruning demo is in May)
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Kathie begins by pruning an arborescens hydrangea... |
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Pruning a paniculata...and pruning it to be a 'standard'
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...the 'standard' after
Kathie's pruning.
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Kathie also showed us how to remove 'dead wood' from the macrophylla variety of hydrangeas...this is one she finished and sent me a pic of after our class...
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and this was all the dead wood she removed from that macro... WOW! |
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After the demo we warmed up inside Kathie's house, asked additional questions and sipped some hot beverages and enjoyed home baked treats. What a great morning of learning, inspiration and socializing it was! Thanks to Kathie, her hubby and our Garden Club members who came! It was a great way to spend a sunny winter morning. |
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***The next hydrangea demo is scheduled for May 10 and we have the maximum, 15 people signed up. (Currently there are 2 on the wait list) If you have signed up for May and know now you cannot make it, please email me. I will email everyone on the list prior to the date to reconfirm time, address etc. And if you know now that you CAN NOT make it, PLEASE let me know so someone on the wait list can attend. And if you want to be on the WAIT LIST for May, please email me.donna.arold@gmail.com
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Let's Go Walkabout!!!
Many members find it fun and informative to view other people's gardens. A stroll through a friend's garden enhances our skills and helps inspire us all. Our walkabouts are a perfect forum to allow an exchange of gardening philosophy and ideas in a VERY informal way. Last summer we had members from all over the Vineyard open up their large or small gardens. This year there may be repeat showings but hopefully we can have some new offerings from the several new members we have!
What exactly is a Walkabout? Well, according to the dictionary it is “a short period of wandering as an interruption of regular work”, often used in the phrase “go walkabout” in Australia. Here at the MV Garden Club we use it to describe the fascinating and stimulating opportunities to wander about other gardens. This is a delightful way to spend a summer morning or afternoon, experiencing the gardens of fellow club members who are willing to share the beauty and history of their property and plantings. Often one may glimpse another member with a notebook and pen, jotting down ideas or plant names. This is really a fun and easy way to learn “what works” on the Vineyard, to share our own knowledge with others, and to get to know others in the club. And it's all free!
The first step in this process is getting members to volunteer to open their gardens! What needs to be said is that these walkabouts are casual and non-judgmental. No one expects that the gardens are professional --- some may be mature gardens and others may be “works in progress.” Some may be pristine and beautifully groomed, but most will probably have a wheelbarrow sitting out and tools leaning against the shed! Please consider your calendar and decide if you would be able to offer your little piece of the island for other members and their guests to see in June, July, or August. We even have a member volunteering his garden in early May for a spring ephemeral walk! Contact me, Ty Johnston, at 339-364-1363 and leave a message. I'll compile a list and a calendar and get it out to the whole club.
- Ty Johnston, MVGC VP
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From the Membership Committee!
Sarah Lolley & Susie Wallo, Your Membership Co-Chairs
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Thank you so much for renewing your membership! For those of you who haven't had a chance to renew, just click here and renew today. We can't wait to see you all this spring! ...Sarah and Susie, membership.
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WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS, 2023
Deb Barrett - WT
Jim Boyle - VH
David Brush - E
Karen Brush - E
Denise Guest - E
Bob Johnston - WT
Penny Nemzer - E
Brynna Ross - WT
Rose Ryley - OB
Gina Stanley - VH
Judith Tankard - E
Susan Thompson - OB
May Wall - VH
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CLICK HERE to learn about the role of Floral Designers for Blooming Art
We are in communication with the MFA in Boston about possibly scheduling a virtual visit like we had in the past...stay tuned to our website and news for information as it becomes available. 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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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 May 8.
The speaker will be Deborah Trickett, owner of The Captured Garden, an award-winning container garden designer. She is a Massachusetts Certified Horticulturist and a frequent lecturer on container gardening at the Boston Flower and Garden Show, as well as the Philadelphia International Flower Show.
She also teaches classes and workshops at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston. The meeting will be held at the First Congregational Church, 68 Main Street.
A guest donation of $10 is requested.
A group of us are planning to take the Steamship Authority Ferry to Woods Hole departing at 8:15, arriving at 9. We would then take the Shuttle bus to the Palmer Lot at 286 Palmer Avenue, from there we would walk the
15 minutes to the Congregational Church.
The room can accommodate a large number of people so you will be welcome.
*Everyone should get there under their own steam...this is not an 'organized' trip
The return ferries are at 12, 1:15, 2:30, etc.
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Check out the progress the Greenhouse peeps have made so far!
These pics were taken 2/14/2023!
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Great work Greenhouse Committee...love the organization and supporting signs... |
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Here's a Webinar that may interest our members...
'Remarkable Natives for Beautiful,
Planet-Friendly Gardens'
Saturday, FEBRUARY 25, 2023 at 11:00 AM Eastern time given by Expert Gardener, Nationally Renowned Speaker, Acclaimed Author, and Owner of Perennially Yours,
Kerry Ann Mendez
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And here is a great list list of webinars from the National Garden Bureau if you need some Winter inspiration and want to learn a few new things!
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NEWPORT FLOWER SHOW!
If you have never been...DO consider attending the Newport Flower Show this year! Dates are June 23-25 this at Marble House on Bellevue Avenue in spectacular Newport RI!
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Presently taking place at the
MV Museum
January 28-May 14, 2023
Woven: Art and Industry on
Martha's Vineyard -
The exhibit explores weaving in its many forms and facets. Get a closer look at beautiful basketry, expertly crafted eel pots, and intricately designed textiles and discover how this versatile medium illustrates both the Island's ability to support itself and its connection with the wider world. Included in the exhibition is the story of the Satinet Mill that operated in West Tisbury, our beloved Old Mill! The exhibit features several artifacts that were used in the mill have generously been loaned for the exhibit by the MV Garden Club.
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Here is an EXTREMELY helpful guide on pruning specific trees and shrubs that was put out by Rutgers Cooperative Extension.
It can also be accessed via the 'Resources' section of the MVGC website here.
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Unfortunately, the bonsai demo that was scheduled to take place @ The Wakeman Center on February 21 was postponed due to lack of interest. We are hoping to reschedule for June when more members are on-Island. Stay tuned for details via the website or in the newsletter. |
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