'A Way We Grow'
Martha's Vineyard Garden Club
May 2022
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From our President...
As many of you know, the Garden Club’s legacy is long, and extends beyond a love of gardening. It was founded almost 100 years ago and was the island’s first conservation
organization. 80 years ago, the club bought the Old Mill, which was then about 100 years old, to save it from demolition. About 15 years ago, members of the Club planned to sell the Old Mill, but encountered strong resistance.
The Old Mill is our club’s summer home, but it is a substantial financial responsibility. Your dues go to the programs we offer and supplement the tax-deductible Old Mill and Scholarship Funds, which are important sources of revenue. Members may donate to either fund online or in-person, in any amount.
I’m excited to announce that a new Club member has donated $10,000 to the Old Mill!!! Kathy Salmanowitz, a longtime friend of Nancy Weaver, relocated for summer months from
Nantucket and attended a Club meeting last summer. She lives in Charleston, where she
supports preservation of old structures of historic value. Kathy’s donation was immediately put to work! With newly painted windows and trim, the Old Mill will sparkle for Blooming Art.
This month, courtesy of a $20,000 Community Preservation Committee grant from West Tisbury, we launched the building feasibility assessment with Sullivan + Associates Architects and Sourati Engineering, from which we’ll know whether enhancements such as plumbing and climate control are possible, as well as what work is necessary and advisable for the building’s safety and structural integrity. More to follow in the fall.
Now, though, summer is almost here. We look forward to the Plant Sale and Blooming Art!
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From our VP, Ty Johnston
WALKABOUTS ARE COMING!
If you remember the article in a previous newsletter about Walkabouts, it said “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.”
Walkabouts are scheduled in June, July, and August. This is a reminder that June is very close, with the first one scheduled for June 2 at the home of member Peter Norris. This will be held from 10am to 1pm. The other one in June is scheduled for June 22, from 12pm to 4. Two gardens will be open at that time: Donna Arold and Susan Hobart's gardens. Keep these dates in your calendar and Ty Johnston will send out reminders and details by email to everyone as the dates get closer.
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A peek into a member's garden! |
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Garden Club member Caroline Taylor's beautiful tree peony heading into full bloom!
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An up close and personal look! Great job, Caroline. Thanks for allowing me to share this with our members!
*DO send photos of what is growing in your garden to me at donna.arold@gmail.com! I would love to share info and member photos via this newsletter!
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From Vineyard Haven VP, Gay Smith...
A quick thank you to Weit Bacheller, Nancy Weaver, Ginger Duarte Martin, Jackie Hokanson, Joan Eville and April Levandowski for the snacks and refreshments you all provided for our May 17 meeting.
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Remember to tell your friends about Blooming Art at The Old Mill!
Its coming up June 17, 18 and 19!
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It was a trip over to Mytoi Gardens on Chappy for a few MV Garden Club members on Monday who were happy to work with veteran Mytoi volunteer Lindsay Allison. Lindsay has been a volunteer at Mytoi for the last forty years and she reached out to the Club for some assistance a few weeks ago. Joan Cavazuti pulled in some willing members, and they made Mytoi even more magical! Joan, Caroline Taylor and Susan Hobart worked at the Garden's entrance, weeding and cutting dead wood out of shrubs. The Garden Club volunteers even managed to get a quick tour from Lindsey while there were there! There is more work to be done throughout the garden, mostly more of the same, so the Club will be setting more dates to return as the seasons progress! If you are interested in volunteering for this ongoing project, do contact Joan for details! Her email is joancavazuti@yahoo.com .What a beautiful place to be connected to and help care for! Click here for more pics about the day spent on Chappy at Mytoi!
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MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND
PLANT SALE!!!
On Memorial Day weekend, the MV Garden Club plant sale is open to the public on the grounds at The Old Mill. The dates this year are May 28 & 29 from 10am-2pm. (Saturday & Sunday)
DO tell your friends to come out and support the Club via this sale!
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A WARM WELCOME TO
THESE NEW MEMBERS...
Deb Boyle - VH
Paula Craft - VH
Elisabeth French - WT
Fran Van Linda - OB
Kathleen Werber - WT
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A little disclaimer...it has come to our attention that a few 'not new', or previous members of the Club had been welcomed in a previous newsletter as 'new' members. So sorry, as it was an honest error. We have been in the process of transferring our member records to a new system, so at times, things may get a little befuddled. We have the best of intentions to always provide accurate information to our members, and we appreciate your kindness and understanding if these things do occur from time to time. |
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Some Spring Garden Events at the MV Museum you may find of interest!
Spring into History at the Cooke House & Legacy Gardens
MAY 21 @ 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Historical Horticulture Workshop: Colonial or Colonial Revival?
MAY 28 @ 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
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on Friday, May 27th at 4PM! The MV Garden Club is co-sponsoring the event helping to promote this screening for the Film Center's Environmental Film Festival! Garden Club member, and rhododendron aficionado Peter Norris, will be present at the screening to say a few words. Do support the Film Festival, Peter Norris and the MVGC by attending!
The photo to the left is of one of Peter Norris's spectacular rhododendron I took when his property was on The Garden Conservancy's 'Open Days' schedule in 2019!
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~ ~ ~ MEMBER SPOTLIGHT ~ ~ ~
Tremendous thanks to Wiet and Irene for sharing their floral design expertise with our designers and for mentoring several of our new designers this year in their Floral Design 101.
We are fortunate to have 39 members who have volunteered to be Floral Designers this year for Blooming Art. Eleven of these members are first time Floral Designers. They are an incredible group who will provide the “blooming” in Blooming Art. On April 20 th , many of these designers gathered on zoom to get some training, tips, and suggestions as they prepare to receive their artwork in May. Wiet Bacheller and Irene Ziebarth were instrumental in putting this session together f or our designers. Both Irene and Wiet are experienced designers and mentors. Wiet provided an incredible hour of training where she demonstrated her depth of knowledge and love of floral design. This included a discussion of the tools to be used, how to prep flowers and plant
materials, samples of vessels and containers to use and showing how to interpret art into a floral design.
Thank you Wiet and Irene. We are so grateful for all your support to the floral design team.
Jayne Isford and Trudy Williams
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Wiet Bacheller (pronounced Viet)
Wiet was born and raised in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. After high school she was an American Field Service Exchange Student in Wilmington, DE for a year. Viet later returned to the US to finish college and became a teacher. After retiring from the Tisbury School in 2004 my neighbor, the late Betty Honey, decided that I needed to join the Garden Club to fill my time. Betty had been involved with the Garden Club since she was a young girl.
Through osmosis, I learned the love of flowers and arranging from my mother. During the last 10 years or more of my teaching career, I always made sure that I had fresh flowers in the classroom. When the Morning Glories were in bloom, a Heavenly Blue came to school every day. The students called them "Good Morning Flowers".
As far as Art in Bloom goes, Betty Honey made sure that our garden club was invited to take part in the MFA show every year. I had the privilege to assist Mary Lou Perry in this annual project for 3 consecutive years and we represented the MV Garden Club at Art in Bloom in Boston. This was an honor and unforgettable experience. Anything I know about interpreting Art through flower arranging, I learned from Mary Lou Perry. She is an amazing artist in a myriad of ways. This bio is dedicated to you, Mary Lou.
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Irene Ziebarth
Irene has become well known in the MV Garden Club since joining in 2017 for her unique and beautiful floral designs. She loves to mentor new designers and pass on her love of floral design.
Irene Ziebarth has been studying an avant garde Japanese flower arranging called Sogetsu since she lived in Japan in 2005. She continued studying with teachers in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and now Massachusetts. She has a teacher's credential in Sogetsu and a small business, Sogetsu MV, registered in Chilmark. She hopes to start teaching one day soon. As a lawyer, she lived in the left side of her brain. Sogetsu lets her live on the right side where she finds relaxation, joy, creative expression, and a household with interesting decorative arrangements.
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Wiet created this floral design... |
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Irene created this floral design...
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MAY GARDENING TIP
As soon as your early-flowering trees and shrubs finish blooming, prune them back to promote the largest possible flower display next year. This includes forsythia, rhododendron, azaleas, lilacs, dogwoods, crabapples, and redbud. Pruning later in the summer removes next year’s buds.
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Isn't this the sweetest arrangement? It was given to the Edgartown Library as a thank you for their kindness to our Club in hosting us during the Covid and Wakeman 'work' days this winter. They hosted several of our meetings and helped out with the touchy, technical things. Thanks for sending me the pic, Trudy Williams! So clever and really appropriate words of thanks!
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The MV Garden Club in the News!
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UPCOMING MEETING INFO:
May 31, 2022 - 1:00pm @ The Wakeman Center, Not a traditional 'monthly member meeting' but this Interactive Floral Demonstration for Blooming Art is open to all Club Members, with demos done by Judy Bryant and Nancy Cabot Click here for details...
The below floral designs were done by Judy and Nancy for Blooming Art 2021...the one on the left was done by Judy,... on the right by Nancy!
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June meeting - NO MEMBER MEETING due to Blooming Art!
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A wonderfully inspirational four part television series for those who love gardens... 'GROWING FLORET' - A FOUR-PART DOCUMENTARY SERIES ON THE NEW MAGNOLIA NETWORK... Erin and Chris Benzakein have spent the last fifteen years building their family-run business Floret from the ground up in the fertile Skagit River Valley of Washington State. Now considered one of the most well-known flower farms in the world, they are embarking on a new endeavor—rehabilitating a new 24-acre farm in order to expand their growing ground and create a living laboratory. *Watch their journey and the transformation of the farm in this documentary series 'Growing Floret' on the new Magnolia Network.
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Thanks Fawn, What a Great Presentation You Did!
What an informative, entertaining and well attended floral design program we had at The Old Mill yesterday! Garden Club member Fawn Hurwitz shared her design tips for creating a long lasting and beautiful arrangement using an array of flowers and plant materials.
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Fawn created two different arrangements to show the group that a piece of art can be interpreted in many different ways. The drawing that was done after Fawn's demo had Judy Bryant winning the first arrangement Fawn created and Sarah Lolley taking home the second! We sincerely thank our Garden Club members who have so graciously signed on to create a design for the Blooming Art event! We look forward to seeing what you create...and we also look forward to seeing you at Nancy and Judy's presentation on floral design at The Wakeman Center next Tuesday. What a wonderful Team effort this all has been, by the Blooming Art Committees, Garden Club members and the participating artists... we are getting closer to our efforts and Blooming Art coming to fruition! |
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A little chatter with attending members afterwards... |
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Our May Member Meeting...
Our May meeting was held at the Wakeman Center and we kicked it off with the Greenhouse folks selling the plants they have been cultivating and growing in preparation for this annual sale. Garden Club members got a jump-start on purchasing and the Greenhouse was buzzing with activity and members choosing their favorite blooms!
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Fast forward to the 'business meeting' and we got updates on 'Scholarships' from Joan Eville, on 'Blooming Art' from Trudy Williams, and on 'The Old Mill', from our fearless leader, Susan Hobart.
Following the biz part of the meeting, Garden Club Member, Andrea Rogers did a most inspiring program for the packed house of GC members. (There was close to 40 members in attendance!) Through her program, 'Lavender Do’s and Don’ts', Andrea, gave us lavender history, offered some growing tips and inspired us with ideas on how to enjoy lavender in our homes, year round! She even baked us her wonderful lavender shortbread cookies!
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She is an absolute a gift to the Island and with her commitment to 'local' as well as The Vineyard Artisans Events, it is safe to say that Andrea is a local hero! The afternoon was an all around ‘win’ for the MV Garden Club, the Greenhouse Committee and our Club Members! |
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Really nice to have some social time together after the meeting wrapped up!
If you missed Andrea's presentation, you can view it via our YouTube channel here.
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Some of Andrea's goodies she had 'for sale' to members! |
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Volunteering at Woodside's Community Garden! |
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On May 15, a little gaggle of Garden Club members went to Woodside Gardens to help the residents plant their raised beds with veggies and herbs that the renowned 'MV Grower' grew for them from seed in her greenhouse! It was perfect weather for helping out the residents of Woodside to get their gardens growing! Local hero, MV Grower arrived with buckets of tomato plants, basil plants, cucumber plants and cilantro plants that she grew specifically for the residents at Woodside, and members of the MV Garden Club came out to assist with planting the veggie and herb plants! We pulled weeds, dumped soil, pruned perennials, planted plants and had a simply lovely afternoon! The residents were happy and the Garden Club folks left feeling happy to have shared some of what we enjoy! A win-win for all! To see what we've done at Woodside in the past via the 'Giving Back' section of the website, ...click here!
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There may be more volunteer opportunities coming up with other Island gardens...we'll keep you posted!
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In an effort to enjoy more social time with members, we have begun what we're calling 4:00 Fridays! Its held @ The Old Mill in WT. GC Members and 1 or 2 guests are welcomed. BYOW (Whatever) to eat and drink and/or share and its carry in/carry out, just like when you go to the beach! The timeframe is 4:00 - 5:30, but due to Memorial Weekend's busy agenda for the Garden Club with setup and hosting the plant sale, we will have no 4:00 Friday that weekend.
THE NEXT 4:00 FRIDAY WILL BE ON JUNE 24!! We hope to see you there!
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Hello Members!
If you would like to contribute to the newsletter, please reach out to me! Anything that's garden related or even some pics of what you're growing this time of year would be wonderful to include! I would love to have some feedback and hear your thoughts on this newsletter! My email is donna.arold@gmail.com. Thanks so much for reading!
:-) Donna
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