November 2024

NEWSLETTER


Tewksbury

Garden Club

Tewksbury, MA, USA


tewksburygardenclub.com


tewksburygardenclub@gmail.com

A Recap of the Floral Fantasy Tour

Christine, Tammy and the November Fundraiser Committee organized a fabulous Floral Fantasy Tour with floral designer Lisa Oberholzer-Gee. Oberholzer-Gee wowed the audience with her creations that incorporated elements of design from her American, European and Asian training. Our members put together 27 incredible baskets for raffle that the 140 attendees had the opportunity to win. Everone also had a chance to take home one of the floral displays created by Oberholzer-Gee and our own Connie and her crew. A wonderful creative evening was enjoyed by all. To see more of the images from our event, check out our Facebook page.

Upcoming Meetings

December 11, 7pm at

3 Amigos,1777 Main St., Tewksbury

Felices Fiestas. We’ll enjoy fun, laughs and light Mexican appetizers to celebrate the holiday season. Interested members can participate in a Yankee Swap. Maximum gift price $20. Wear your ugly holiday sweater, maybe win a prize! Cash bar.

Literary Blooms Arrangements at the Tewksbury Public Library

November's arrangement of 3 colorful bouquets created by Susan Young.

Highlights from Committee Reports

ACE Committee

Garden Club members at work planting daffodils and muscari at Water.

The ACE committee also met this month to fluff wreaths and bows in preparation for them to be hung in time for the tree lighting.

Wreath & Boxwood Tree Fundraiser

The Wreath and Boxwood Tree fundraiser team met a few times to assemble ornamental balls and pinecones. Several of the group also made bows for the wreaths. Members of the team met for 4 days at the GROW greenhouses to create beautiful wreaths. Another meeting to decorate the trees and our inventory was ready for sale. Our sale was Saturday, November 30 and Sunday, December 1.

Winter Tree Walk

The Winter Tree Walk Team met several times to conceptualize an idea for their trail display. After developing the project and selecting a site on the Pinnacle Trail for their display, the team met on a rainy Saturday morning to create their 'installation art' of a selfie area in a forest setting. Go check it out and take a selfie!

Garden Therapy at Bayberry

Residents at Bayberry Assisted Living were treated to a hand-on seasonal floral craft when the Club's group visited in November. The residents enjoyed the time spent with the Garden Therapy crew.

Happy Travelers

Stay tuned for news about our next adventure coming in January. A great way to start a new year! Our trips are always great fun!

Dine Out Nights

We had two dine-out nights this month. Thank you to all who shared the flyers and supported these generous local businesses for these fundraisers.


Our next Dine-In is Monday December 2 at Brother's Sports Bar and Grille.

Tired after all the Black Friday Shopping? Getting ready to do damage to your credit card on Cyber Monday? Take a break and help out our scholarship fund by letting someone else do the cooking. No more turkey! Mention the fundraiser! Tell your friends to do the same.

Our Wicked Cheesy Dine-Out earlier in November generated a donation of $50 to the Club.

A Dine-In event was held at Kyoto on November 6th. The scholarship fund was increased by a donation of $120.

Points About Poinsettias

We all love a beautiful poinsettia around the holidays. Varieties come with red, white, pink or even speckled leaves. Not green leaves, you ask? Yes, green leaves, too. The colorful parts that we call the flower are actually brightly colored modified leaves called bracts. The flower, or cyathia, is the small yellow bulbs in the middle of the big bracts.

Water your poinsettia when the soil is slightly dry when you touch it. Because poinsettias are grown in greenhouses for holiday sales, watch yours carefully for the first signs of a droopy leave. Your poinsettia might need water a bit sooner than recommended.

Your poinsettia should get 6-8 hours of bright, indirect light each day. Don’t let the temperatures get colder than 60 degrees at night, and keep it away from cold drafts or hot air sources. Avoid sudden shifts in temperatures, so protect your poinsettia from a cold wind when transporting to avoid leaf drop.

Can you keep your poinsettia from one year to the next? Yes, but the process is lengthy. For short term care, fertilize in January if you see new growth. Leggy poinsettias can be cut back to 5 inches to produce bushier plants, but you’ll likely have to make due with all green leaves until next year.

So, do you pronounce it poin SET a or poin SET ia? Most pronunciation guides go with the second pronunciation, or you can use the Aztec term of cuetlaxochitl (kwet lah SHOH shee).

Book Recommendation

Native Shrubs for Northeast Landscapes

Anna Fialkoff. Wild Seed Project, 2023

The Wild Seed Project’s third paperback guide profiles 43 native shrubs, noting their typical height and spread, growth habit, ornamental features, and preferred sunlight and soil moisture levels. Each entry calls attention to the way a shrub’s stems, foliage, flowers, berries and/or nuts support pollinators, birds and mammals throughout the year. (acknowledged: Grow Native Massachusetts)



Federation Classes

If you’re interested in attending classes about floral design for a judged setting, the Federation has a 4 day class session that might be of interest. Course fees have not been posted, but click on link below for details.

The Garden Club Federation of MA Website

Tewksbury Community Pantry Donations

Please bring toiletries to the December meeting for our pantry collection. Your generosity is especially appreciated this time of year. So far we've donated about 36 pounds of items to the pantry.

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!