March 2026

NEWSLETTER

Tewksbury

Garden Club

Tewksbury, MA, USA

tewksburygardenclub.com

tewksburygardenclub@gmail.com

February Meeting - Pruning Tips & Valentines

Recent Meeting Highlights

Ryleigh Rivers gave us an informative presentation about fruit trees and shrubs and how to prune them. We learned about the many types of fruiting trees and shrubs, including many native ones, that can be grown successfully in this area. You can refer to the presentation that was emailed to you for more details. Ryleigh can be reached at riversgarden,com

Our Hospitality Committee made us all feel loved with a beautiful Valentine's Day refreshment spread.

The Club is forming a task force to look at fundraising options for the future, to be headed by Jenni, our Treasurer. Sign-up will be available at the next meeting, or you can reach out to Jenni or Susan directly. This group will begin meeting soon, tbd.

Say Hello! to our newest Club members who joined at the February meeting - Pat, Paula, Linda and Tom. We welcome you to the Club!

Committee Report Highlights

ACE and Plant Sale

Both committees have decided to use the greenhouse at Tewksbury Hospital to grow plants for their respective committees. This means those committees will need help from all members of the Club to plant, water and fertilize. To keep our plants growing will require 7 days a week scheduling. Team captains will lead groups and help with their group's scheduling. More information to follow soon.

Garden Therapy

Lisa demonstrating the Bayberry Assisted Living Project

Valentine's Day projects completed by Blaire House Assisted Living residents

Dine Out Event

Kyoto

Club members gathered around the hibachi to enjoy a meal at Kyoto Japanese Grill, while others dined in the Dining Room or got take-out in January. All to help support the Club's fundraising efforts. From this, the Club raised $100.00.

This month, Club members had 2 days to enjoy a meal from Main Street Pizza or Main Street Sports Bar.

We want to thank the many dining establishments that provide these dine out opportunities.

Art in Bloom

Art in Bloom is planned for April 25th and 26th at the Library. Early entry is planned on Saturday for arrangement set-up. We will have a practice session at the March meeting where we will have objects to interpret in flowers in preparation for the real event.

By-Laws Updating Meeting

The by-laws need some updating. A revised draft (of the first draft) will be sent out by email before the next meeting. We will meet as a group to discuss the draft changes on March 26th. The meeting location hasn't been confirmed.

Literary Blooms at the Library

Our own Jeanne stole our hearts this February with her lovely Valentine's Day display at the Library.

Upcoming Meeting

-We will meet next on March 11th at the Senior Center.

-Doors open at 6:30 for socializing.

-The Business meeting will start promptly at 7 to allow time for the Art in Bloom practice session.

Bring $ for a Plant-a-Tree donation
Bring a donation for the Community Food Pantry - Stuffing and Instant Potatoes (bags or boxes)
Wear your name tag
Bring your binder to add new member information.
Sign up if you want to be on the Fundraiser Task Force.

Club Members around Town

Laetitia hosted a Fairy Garden Workshop on February 14th. Club members spent an enchanted day creating Fairy Houses for the garden that are meant to return to the soil.

The Club hosted 2 Winter Native Seed Sowing workshops at the Greenhouse. Both were well attended; Honorary club member Marsha brought friends with her all the way from the Cape. Giancarla Kalpas was able to join us and impart her wisdom about imperiled bees as well as sharing some seeds from her Pollinator Preservation Garden.

The Club co-sponsored a Seed Swap and Share at the Library in early February. Community members joined Club members in an enjoyable evening of sharing seeds and information about vegetable and herbs, annual and perennial plants, including native plants and winter seed sowing.

Horticulture Article - Phenology

by Joan Hoeckele

What is Phenology? It is observing and studying seasonal events and their correlation to the life of animals, plants, and insects. Plants can predict, through their life cycle, reoccurring events in nature. The secret is temperature and the length of daylight.

Farmers and gardeners used to watch the calendar to time their plantings. Climate change has rendered this method unreliable. Instead, we can take cues from Nature. For example, it is safe to plant peas, onion sets, and lettuce when forsythias are in bloom. Bush beans and cucumbers can go in when apple blossoms fall.

I need to give a thank you to Stephan Albert for the information on this subject. You can go to his web site: Harvest to Table Vegetable Crop Planting and Phenology for more complete information.

https://harvesttotable.com/vegetable-crop-planting-and-phenology/

Let Nature be your guide this Spring!

Native Plant Resource

The Middlesex Conservation District has started the ordering period for its Spring Plant sale. You can find more information and the order form by clicking this link for the Middlesex District Commission. Ordering ends April 24th.

Federation News

Fundamentals of Floral Design March 10 and June 3.

$25 one class or $40 for both. More information here.

Flower show information can be found here .

See what events other Garden Clubs are holding by clicking this link.

Tewksbury Community Pantry Donations

Thank you to the club for the donations for the Community Pantry. Your generosity to the Pantry is appreciated by the community.

The upcoming request is for bagged or boxed stuffing and instant potatoes. Please bring your donations to the March meeting. No expired food, please.

Upcoming Board Meeting

Our next Board Meeting is on Wednesday, March 4th at 6:30. We'll be at Susan's house. Please join us if you want to join the Board, have an item to bring up, or just want a night out. Let Susan know if you have Board Meeting agenda items or if you want to come and see how much fun a Board meeting can be.

Newsletter Submissions

Post committee updates on our Facebook member's page so we can pull content from there and images are easy to grab.

Submit all info/pictures for inclusion in future newsletters to tewksburygardenclub@gmail.com by the 27th each month.

Thanks for all you do, and for contributing to this publication!