May 2020 Newsletter
Volunteers Making New Canaan Beautiful
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PRESIDENTS’ LETTER
As we learn to cope with quarantines, social distancing, face masks, and Zoom, it is reassuring to see spring arrive. We all need Mother Nature’s beauty these days!
It has been disappointing to have to cancel our spring programs, but Faith Kerchoff has come up with a way to share our members’ gardens. Please stay tuned as the details will be coming. As the town trails have opened, so has Lee Garden. See our report below on what has been blooming, what you can expect to see as we approach peak bloom, and how to best walk through Lee Garden safely.
We want to thank the Nominating Committee, chaired by Sara Hunt, for their efforts in coming up with a great team for the NCBL Board for 2020-2021. Member voting on our new board takes place during our June annual meeting. Unfortunately, the June meeting has been canceled, but we can still vote! Watch for an email to cast your ballot in June.
Thank you Robin Bates-Mason for making it possible for the Beautification League to donate sixty boxes of Girl Scout cookies to Waveny Care Center.
The mailbox drop off garden is lovely these days. Please stop by and enjoy it. Also, the hanging baskets will go up in town in a few weeks. Thanks go to Bianca Romano for organizing the baskets this year, and to the Public Works Department for their help in getting the baskets up and keeping them watered.
We hope you and your family are all healthy, and we look forward to seeing you soon.
Barbara and Karen
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Our Annual Meeting on June 3: "Digging Deep With NCBL" with Faith Kerchoff, Ty Tan, and Rob Carpenter has been cancelled.
Watch your emails as we try to bring an opportunity to visit members' gardens soon!
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Keep in Touch with Members!
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Do you miss meeting with our NCBL members? We have a solution! Thanks to an idea from Kathy Lapolla and the work of Lisa Ferrante bringing it to life, we now have a Facebook Group where you can chat and post photos. Just click on the link below to navigate to the group and click on the "join" button! After being approved, you will be able to join in on the conversation!
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NCBL Slate of Officers for 2020-2021
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We are very happy to announce our slate of officers for the 2020-2021 year. We will be voting via email on this slate in June, so we ask that you take a moment and look at the proposed slate by clicking the button below.
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Many thanks to our Nominating Committee: Sara Hunt (chairperson), Libby Butterworth, Jill Ernst, Karen Hanson, and Faith Kerchoff.
Thank you all for working hard to bring us a Board that will serve NCBL and New Canaan well!
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Membership renewals and dues are upon us.
Anyone who has joined since January 2020 does not have to pay dues for the coming year, 2020 – 2021.
To download the membership form, click
HERE
.
Please send in your membership form with your check for dues to
NCBL Membership, PO Box 1244, New Canaan, CT 06840 by June 15.
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Please welcome our newest members!
Kathleen and Randy Corbet
Meredith and Bill Landis
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A note from Joan Hayenga:
To My Dear New Canaan Beautification friends,
Just a note to let you know I am moving back to Napa Valley California on May 15th. I have truly enjoyed all your friendships and working with you. It's been such an honor to be part of such a successful organization. If ever you travel to California please contact me at: JoanHayenga@gmail.com.
Stay healthy and safe.
Sincerely,
Joan
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We continue to be grateful for the generosity of our community to support our Annual Appeal. Contributions as of May 1 are nearly at the same level they were a year ago. This sponsorship is a testament to the recognition and value of the NCBL, even and especially in this challenging time. Our sincere thanks to all!
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In keeping with the opening of trails in New Canaan, Lee Garden is now reopened. You are welcome to walk through the garden; we just ask that you keep a six foot distance from others and consider wearing a mask when other visitors are present. The patio area is also available for viewing. Take your cameras!
Many plants will be blooming over the next few weeks. Peak bloom may be Mother's Day or the week following.
Our volunteer workers were very busy this past summer and fall adding plants and bulbs to the garden. Friends of the garden, Lois Himes, Sarina Vetterli, Rob Carpenter, Susan Bergen, Alex Dickerson and Robin Bates-Mason have generously contributed plants to our garden.
The Secret Garden is looking more attractive with many new additions. We've planted a new area by the front left corner as you enter the gate with many plants from Lois Himes' yard that have summer and fall interest.
The area down the garden's main walk, Wood Road, has a wonderful section behind the first bench filled with
Hellebores
,
Columbine,
foxglove, and blooming now, yellow pagoda lilies and grape hyacinths.
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Some
Rhododendron
have bloomed:
R. carolinianum
(native to the Carolinas, Georgia, and Tennessee), 'Nearing's Chesapeake', and 'Tiffany', along with the earliest blooming
Rhododendron
'P.J.M.' in purple and its companion 'Olga Mezitt' in deep pink. Azaleas are now starting to open also!
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Lining the rock crawl path to the
Rhododendron, are
Leucojum aestivum (giant snowflake) with green dots on the edge of the flower; and the western North American native Camassia, also known as wild hyacinth.
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Birds are singing, building nests, and defending their territories at Lee garden. A Downy Woodpecker (below) was seen climbing the azaleas.
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Our triangles are being tended and you'll notice them starting to fill out. The triangle on Route 123 and Route 106 will be replanted with a planting design by member Jessica Havens.
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Mailbox Dropoff
We had volunteers working safely and separately at the mailbox drop off area in April. Many thanks to Richard Duffee, Yvonne Hunkeler, Faith Kerchoff, and Fanny Moran for trimming the grasses, weeding, and edging. Thank you Robin Bates-Mason for gifting your unwanted peonies for this sunny area, too.
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Train Station
The train station was looking wonderful in April with the shadblow,
Magnolia, and tulips in full bloom.
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Tulips and daffodils were in bloom and the yellow
Magnolia
acuminata
'Elizabeth' could be seen in the distance.
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The shadblow
(
Amelanchier
) was beautiful in April.
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Emails will go out to those who have signed up as a Traveling Trowels volunteer as we continue to safely maintain the mailbox dropoff area and train station. The train station can always use help by cleaning up the debris that collects there. Since the station is not currently being used, this is a convenient time to grab a garbage bag and help. Please remember to keep track of any work hours and submit them to your committee chair.
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Town Hall Tulips
Thanks to Chris Schipper at
Colorblends, we have a gorgeous combination of colors at the new town hall entrance.
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This month, the the tulips will be replaced with summer plants. There will be a Traveling Trowels email announcing when that will happen.
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Merritt Parkway Bridge Planted
Have you ever noticed the pockets for plantings on our bridges that span over the Merritt Parkway? Patricia Spugani planted the Marvin Ridge Road bridge this month and her neighbor, Nancy Roath, provided a sign that showcases her original artwork. Thanks Patricia and Nancy!
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Since being asked to stay at home, many of our members have been enjoying their own yards. Here are just a few photos to share:
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Liz Orteig shared her sweet back yard rock garden complete with bright daffodils (top photo). A month later, the same area was filling with lavender creeping phlox (bottom photo)!
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Faith Kerchoff was tending the bleeding hearts in her garden when she noticed the lichen formed a very appropriate heart on a nearby rock.
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Free Tropical Elephant Ears available
We have a large number of
Colocasia
bulbs that when planted in late May will grow to be very large Elephant Ear plants! They can certainly spruce up your patio planters or yard. The best part, besides their beauty, is that the deer won't touch them!
Begonias
and
Caladiums
look wonderful planted with
Colacasia
. A favorite companion is the
Begonia
'Escargot'
with its swirled leaves.
Thanks to member Claude Colabella's generous sharing of his collection.
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Take a Virtual Garden Tour
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With the planet’s 1,700 public botanical gardens closed because of
COVID-19
,
you can explore these havens of tranquillity virtually and experience their peaceful calm in the safety of your living room.
Click the button below to visit these gardens!
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The ELA (Educational Landscape Alliance) is offering a new webinar series, A Walk in the Garden, to provide gardeners everywhere with much needed respite.
Their Wednesday webinars offer communal walks through gardens, plant discussions, garden tips, and other gardening inspiration. These webinars occur at noon on Wednesdays through July 1.
Registration is required, but the webinars are free. Click on the button below to see this informational line up.
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We are providing links for three essays by Joan this month:
We are building her collection, and you can access all of Joan's essays on our website or by clicking the following button:
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Native Plant Sale to Benefit Bristow Bird Sanctuary
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Copia Home and Garden is partnering with the NC Pollinator Pathway to give donations of $10 worth of native plants for every $75 worth of native plants purchased through May 30.
Click on the graphic for more information.
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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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