February 2020 Newsletter
Volunteers Making New Canaan Beautiful
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Greetings to all of you, and special greetings to our new members!
Our volunteers are working hard and here is a bit of an update:
Our Midwinter Tea & Luncheon will take place on Feb. 5th at Waveny! We look forward to seeing you there as we treat ourselves to a midwinter visual and tasty break. Thank you Gloria Simon for organizing the event, and Barbara Mechanic for organizing the Heirloom Table.
Bulbs are getting ready to sprout -- take a peek at Lee Garden, in your own sheltered areas, and get ready for the spring push around town.
Our Annual Appeal is in preparation. Envelopes are stuffed and addressing is in the works. Thanks in advance to each of you who is assisting. Our appeal is noteworthy in that it provides us the funding to do what we do best -- make New Canaan aesthetically beautiful!
We have plans in the works for more surprises around town thanks to Civic Beautification chairs Rob Carpenter and Faith Kerchoff. Stay tuned for updates which include the new Mead Park vistas.
We need a few more volunteers at several of our triangles -- contact Barbara Wilson, Brian Holstein or Claude Colabella. They are looking forward to hearing from you. And remember, we are now submitting our volunteer hours from all of our work to the town. Read more about the triangles in need in our newsletter article below.
Coming up on March 3rd, the evening prior to our general meeting and program with Karen Bussolini, is an event with Doug Tallamy at the Country School. NCBL is one of many organizations who are participating in sponsoring this regional event. More details in the newsletter.
See you soon,
Barbara and Karen
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Midwinter Tea & Luncheon : 2/5/2020
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Over 90 members and guests are scheduled to attend our Midwinter Tea & Luncheon!
Reminder to members attending: Please bring your food item with you at 11:30 am on a decorative plate or in a decorative serving bowl.
Our Heirloom Table will be open for viewing before or after you eat!
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Can you help make arrangements for our
tea & luncheon?
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Jacqueline Harmody is looking for volunteers to help make the arrangements on February 4. If you can help with this, please let Jacqueline know.
Contact Jacqueline Harmody: jharmody@yahoo.com
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New Canaan Pollinator Pathway Presents:
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An Evening with Doug Tallamy
Nature's Best Hope
Conservation That Starts in
Your
Yard
Tuesday
March 3, 2020
7:30 - 9:00 pm
New Canaan Country School
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Recent headlines about global insect declines, the impending extinction of one million species worldwide, and three billion fewer birds in North America are a bleak reality check about how ineffective our current landscape designs have been at sustaining the plants and animals that sustain
us.
Such losses are not an option if we wish to continue our current standard of living on Planet Earth. The good news is that none of this is inevitable. Tallamy will discuss simple steps that each of us can- and must- take to reverse declining biodiversity and will explain why we, ourselves, are nature’s best hope.
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Tickets are $15. Register by clicking the photo above or by clicking
THIS LINK.
This program is cosponsored by NC Pollinator Pathway partners. Want to learn more about the Pollinator Pathway? Click the logo below:
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Wednesday
March 4, 2020
9:30 coffee
10:00 program
Jazzing Up the Garden with Color, Contrast, and Movement
with Karen Bussolini
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Karen has packed this talk with dozens of exciting plant combinations photographed in gardens across the country. Starting with simple combinations, and an explanation of how the gardener used color or texture, gesture, light-reflecting qualities, repetition, color echoes and other qualities, her talk will progress to more complex schemes. Plants with distinctive character and plants that move – or appear to – enliven the mix.
Jazzing Up the Garden with Color, Contrast and Movement
gives gardeners simple intuitive ways of thinking about combining plants that anyone can use easily – without angst or color wheel.
Books by Karen will be available for purchase and signing.
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Join Us for Lunch After the Program!
Our speaker will be joining us for lunch at Ching's after the program.
We would love to have you join us. Our informal lunches are an opportunity for members, especially new members, to get to know one another. It is purely social, and as usual, we will split the bill.
Y’all come!
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Flower Arranging Workshop
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Flower Arranging 101
Hands-on Workshop
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
10:00 am - 11:30 am
Waveny House
Join NCBL members Ty Tan and Jacqueline Harmody for a hands-on workshop to create your own flower arrangement.
Come and learn the basics of floral design. Get tips on where to buy flowers and floral supplies, and how to precondition your blossoms.
Please bring your own clippers and a selection of flowers you wish to use. Glass vases and greenery will be provided.
Limit: 20 people
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The Flower Arranging Workshop in 2017 was a huge success and so much fun!
Join us this year!
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Please welcome our newest members!
Suzanne Hull
Lynne Krasnauskas
Susan Ponte
Kajsa Sheibley
We are also pleased to announce that Lois Himes is our
newest NCBL Honorary Member.
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We have three triangles in need of care! Perhaps you live near these triangles, or know someone who does?
We are looking for caretakers for these triangles below:
Canoe Hill Road & Laurel Road
This is a newly redesigned triangle which will be planted this spring by the Town. This is a medium size triangle.
North Wilton Road & South Bald Hill Road
This is a well-established triangle with mature kousa dogwoods, shrubs, and shade loving perennials. This triangle is a small-medium size triangle.
Parade Hill Road & Route 123
This is a small triangle with mature plantings (Magnolia, roses, Barberries, Russian Cypress, daylilies & Miscanthus) on a VERY BUSY intersection close to downtown.
If you can help out with this or want more information, please contact one of our Triangles Chairs:
Barbara Wilson : barbara@wilsonlandscapearchitect.com
Brian Hollstein : bchollstein@optonline.net
Claude Colabella : nccolabella@hotmail.com
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Calling all cooks! Hospitality would love some help providing refreshments for the upcoming March 4th program “Jazzing Up Your Garden” at the New Canaan Nature Center. The program begins at 9:30 a.m. If you would like to help, please bring your contribution on a serving platter about 10 minutes prior to the start of the meeting.
Please contact Anne Tropeano at 203-536-0349 or email
annietrop@yahoo.com
to let her know if you would like to bring a sweet or savory item. Thank you.
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January Program: Lovely Inspiration
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Approximately 85 people filled the New Canaan Nature Center to hear and see another great presentation. Karen Legan, founder and owner of Lemon Dahlia explained her work history and how she entered into the world of floral design. She gave examples of her beautiful work, from birthdays to weddings, in a variety of settings.
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Karen Sneirson, Carol Seldin, Karen Legan, and Barbara Beall
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Did you miss the program? Or did you attend, but wish you could see it again? You can view it by clicking the button below:
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Read more about Karen's firm, Lemon Dahlia at her website by clicking below:
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The 2020 Annual Appeal
If you were so kind (and lucky!) to volunteer, you may return your bag of addressed and sealed envelopes at the Midwinter Tea or please arrange to return them to your primary contact no later than February 22. This gives us time to make a final count and organize them in USPS mail bins so they can be mailed by March 1.
Thank you! Patricia, Amy, Dody, and Eva.
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Walks take place every Friday at 10 am during the winter, weather permitting.
Meet in the parking lot.
Interested members should send Faith Kerchoff their email for Lee Garden updates, photos, and news. FaithKerchoff@hotmail.com
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Winter is a beautiful and peaceful time to visit Lee Garden. The moss, lichen, and mushrooms are striking against a mostly leafless landscape.
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Tool Donation
We are very grateful for the recent tool donation from Nancy and Jim Malling. They closed their New Hampshire house and had extra tools. Jim even rebuilt the wagon with spiffy new wheels and it will be great to use on the trails. Since a picture is a worth a thousand words, here is the donation. Thanks Nancy & Jim!
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Don't worry! Spring is coming! Here's what we have to look forward to at our Town Hall. After the summer plantings were cleaned up and before the fall plantings placed, 200 tulip bulbs were planted in each of the large Town Hall containers. We will see their appearance in spring!
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This month, we are providing links to the following essays by Joan:
We are building her collection each month, and you can access Joan's essays on our website or by clicking the following button:
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Your computer, your smart phone, or tablet can yield a wealth of gardening information.
Here, we've collected a few references that some of our members access for information and inspiration. Click on the name of each item to access their website.
Podcasts pertaining to gardening and our natural world:
You don't have to be a member to subscribe to the newsletters of these local organizations. Not only will you get information on their upcoming presentations, they often provide facts and information right within their newsletter. Scroll down to the bottom of the website's page and you'll find the link to sign-up for their newsletter:
Follow this organization on Instagram. They have been featuring daily informative posts on our New England native plants for months now:
Watch PBS Channel Gardening Shows including this one, suggested by Bianca Romano:
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Click on the picture or icon for more information about the following local events:
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The Devil We Know
February 11, 2020
6:00pm
Ridgefield Library
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The Biggest Little Farm
February 12, 2020
7:00 pm
Darien Library
cosponsored by Planet New Canaan
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The Connecticut Flower & Garden Show
Feb 20-23, 2020
CT Convention Center
Hartford, CT
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Bartlett Arboretum Events
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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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