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Member of The Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut, Inc. and National Garden Clubs, Inc.

Newsletter

July / August 2019 Upcoming Events Board Meeting July 8th @ 6:30 PM at Nolini Barretto's, 59 Westminster Road This meeting is open to all members. Please RSVP and let Nolini know if there is anything you would like to add to the board meeting agenda, barretto.nolini@gmail.com. Horticulture and Botanical Arts Meeting July 16th @ 7 PM at Diane White’s, 35 Ralsey Road This meeting is open to all members.

{ Barbara Deysson will briefly discuss the hort schedule and exhibiting, some specialty catalogues, lilies, epimediums, and members' specific garden problems or questions.

{ Dianna Dwyer will discuss and provide inspiration and thoughts on our July design theme, Soul “Like a Natural Woman.”

{ Noel Kondub will demonstrate how to design a Soulful “Natural Woman”-inspired purse. { Thanks to Diane White for hosting and JoAnn Benson for co-hosting. Diane has offered

to have a mini-BBQ at the next meeting! { Please visit the club website for monthly schedules and entry forms.

http://shippanpointgardenclub.org/members-only/ { If anyone is interested in serving as a co-hostess for future meetings, please contact

Sally Russell at sallyrussell22@gmail.com. July Flower Design

Design Theme: Soul “Like a Natural Woman” Type: Petite Size: 8” high, 8” wide, and 8” deep Plant Material: Fresh plant material Staging: Background and underlay optional

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Artistic Crafts “Soulful” Women’s Purse – Decorate a woman’s purse, provided by exhibitor, with fresh and/or dried plant material. Dried plant material may be painted or treated, but no artificial plant material may be used. Purse will be displayed in upright position; unobtrusive support may be used and provided by exhibitor. Completed Craft should not exceed 18” high by 18” wide and 10” deep. Crafts will be staged on a table covered with white cloth, provided by the committee. Entries must be placed during allotted entry time and must have an entry card listing materials. One entry is permitted.

Photos courtesy of Noel Kondub Members of SPGC are rockin’ and stylin’! Below is a highlight from the June Artistic Craft, Rock & Roll “Great Balls of Fire” inspired hat.

“You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain Too much love drives a man insane

You broke my will, but what a thrill Goodness gracious great balls of fire!”

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Janet McCabe, Nolini Barretto, Dianna Dwyer, Meg Kelley, Jennifer Johnson, and Noel Kondub

(Missing from the photo is Kathleen Mathews’ hat) Photo courtesy of Nolini Barretto and Janet McCabe Membership Dinner Meeting July 25th @ 6 PM at Dianna Dwyer’s, 60 Saddle Rock Road Submission of Exhibits — 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM (no late entries accepted) Cocktails at 6 PM, Meeting and Dinner at 7 PM Please RSVP to Sally Russell at sallyrussell22@gmail.com by July 21st. The cost to members is $10. Checks ($10 to SPGC) can be forwarded to/dropped off in the basket on Sally’s front porch at 98 Stamford Avenue. We are asking each member to bring a bottle of wine as well (a hostess gift for Dianna). Thanks to Sally for planning what will be a fabulous meal. We offer special thanks to our hostess, Dianna for hosting the Club! We also thank Anne Cheng and Cindi Richardson for serving as clerks, and Cindy Lannon for volunteering to act as a substitute clerk. If others are available to serve as clerks/substitutes at this and/or future meetings, please contact Anne Cheng at annekcheng@gmail.com. If anyone would like to host or help with the table arrangements for upcoming meetings, please contact Sally Russell at sallyrussell22@gmail.com. Awards At our June membership meeting, annual design, and horticulture awards were announced. The winners of most awards and trophies are based on points accumulated during the year by members who exhibit at our flower shows. Each first, second, third, and honorable mention

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received has a point value from the schedule in the blue section of the SPGC’s membership book. There are also three very special trophies that are awarded by the Club’s Executive Committee to members for outstanding contributions to the club. Design Awards First and second prizes are awarded for the most points accumulated during the year in each of the SPGC’s four design classes.

Design Division First Place Second Place Master Barbara Deysson Georgia Nostrand Advanced Diane Deegan Intermediate Rusty Ruth Nolini Barretto Novice Jennifer Johnson Janet McCabe

{ The Helen Galt Memorial Award is awarded to the first-place honoree in the Novice

Design Division. Helen Galt was a designer who always encouraged newcomers to take up floral design. This year’s recipient is Jennifer Johnson.

{ The Marguerite M. Foster Trophy is given to the member with the greatest number of

blue ribbons, not points, in any design division. This year’s recipient is Georgia Nostrand.

{ The Design Sweepstakes Bowl is awarded as part of a standard flower show. The winner

is for her Best in Show in January was Barbara Deysson. The requirements for advancement in Design Class are a cumulative minimum of three blue ribbons, except for Master where you also need a Best in Show. This year we have no members who will move up in Design Class. Horticulture Awards First, second, and third prizes are awarded to the three members having the greatest total points in the Horticulture Division.

First Place Second Place Third Place Maureen Carson Dianna Dwyer Nancy Saiers

{ The Susan Flynn Memorial Award goes to the member who has accumulated the most

points for showing hydrangeas, a particular affinity of Susan’s. This year’s recipient is Nancy Saiers.

{ The Mrs. Edward Corning Memorial Award goes to the member with the greatest

number of blue ribbons, not points, in Horticulture for the year. This year’s recipient is Maureen Carson.

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{ The Golden Anniversary Trophy is awarded to the member with the greatest number of

points for the year in both the Design Division and in the Horticulture Division combined. This year’s recipient is Maureen Carson.

{ The Margaret “Sis” Gillespie Memorial Trophy and Prize are awarded to the member

with the greatest number of points for roses in our Horticulture exhibits for the year. This year’s recipient is Maureen Carson.

{ The Elizabeth “Libby” Vance Memorial Award is given to the member with the greatest

number of points in our Artistic Crafts Division. This year’s recipient is Maureen Carson.

{ The Horticulture Sweepstakes Bowl is awarded to the exhibitor with the greatest number of points in horticulture in a standard flower show. In a year without a standard flower show, the award goes to the Best in Show in Horticulture in a subsequent, rotating month. This year’s recipient is Nolini Barretto for her Best in Show for Horticulture in January.

Executive Committee Awards The following trophy winners are selected by the Executive Committee for outstanding contributions to the club.

{ The Freanne Snyder Creativity Award is given to a member who has made an outstanding contribution during the year through his or her innovative and creative participation in Club activities. This year’s recipient is Noel Kondub and Cathy Bertasso for work with St. Camillus.

{ The Katherine K. Dashiell Memorial Award is for a chair, vice chair, or temporary chair of

a committee who has made an outstanding and noteworthy contribution to the club during the year. This year’s recipient is Nancy Saiers for Chairwoman for Trees.

{ The Alice Hatch Memorial Award goes to the member whose overall contributions to

the club have been outstandingly noteworthy. This year’s recipient is Dianna Dwyer for leadership as President.

Scholarship This year’s scholarship recipient was Catherine Caragine. Catherine recently graduated from Westhill High School, where she was a member of the Agri/Science program. Catherine graduated near the top of her class at Westhill. During her high school career, she tutored both Math and Spanish and belonged to many service clubs, all while earning some extra cash babysitting 10 hours per week. Catherine will be studying entomology at the University of Vermont in the fall.

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The Scholarship Committee is pleased to have awarded the scholarship to the very best applicant.

Marty Cokin, Guests, Catherine Caragine, Guest

Photo courtesy of Sally Russell Other News Membership Dues Reminder, membership dues were on June 30th. If you have not yet done so, please forward your dues check, payable to SPGC, to JoAnn Benson, 218 Stamford Ave, Stamford, CT 06902. Dues are $31 for active members and $36 for sustaining and non-resident members. We will also be collecting dues at the various July meetings. Membership The Membership Task Force Committee had a very good meeting to evaluate the feedback it received from the membership. They are preparing a report which will be shared at the July Board Meeting. That is the first step in the process with more to come. Civic Planting Maureen Carson led a clean-up team in the Katrina Mygatt Garden on Sunday, June 2nd from 8:30-10 AM. Morning glory vines and other pernicious weeds were uprooted with great enthusiasm by Maureen, JoAnn Benson, Amanda Cook, Ulli Delmar, Birlie Lau, Kathleen Matthews, Janet McCabe, Krystyna Vaughan, and Angela Swanepoel. If you are unable to join in planned work days, keep in mind that Sunday is a great time to work at Katrina because the recycling center is closed and one does not need to worry about car traffic. The stand of milkweed looks good and the existing plantings in the meadow and other trees are thriving. We spotted praying mantis casings last time we were there, and of course we will continue to monitor Monarch activity among the milkweed.

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A weeding day for the Welcome and Gateway Gardens will be scheduled in July. Information about additional work days will be forthcoming.

Kathleen Mathews, Amanda Cook, Janet MaCabe,

and Krystyna Vaughan

Birlie Lau and Angela Swanepoel

Katrina Mygatt Recycling Center

looking spiffy

Lush summer blooms and great habitat for our

pollinating friends

Robust Milkweed

Photos courtesy of Maureen Carson

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Civic Tree Planting The committee has been busy working with residents on tree plantings in the past several months. We have planted 10 trees in the neighborhood since October 31, 2018. On October 31, 2018 trees were planted at the following locations:

{ 2055 Shippan Avenue — one Sycamore American { 1977 Shippan A Avenue — one Sycamore American { 1639 Shippan Avenue — one Franksred (Red Sunset) Maple Red { 1608 Shippan Avenue — one Kwanzan cherry { 8 Westcott Road — one replacement maple tree at no cost as the first one died within a

year of purchase { 8 Westcott Road — one Kwanzan cherry

In early June, these trees were planted:

{ 1003 Shippan Avenue — two Milky Way Kousa Dogwood { 204 Fairview Avenue — two Redbud Eastern

Stamford Neighborhood Grant The $4,000 Neighborhood Grant has been received and we are in the planning stages for The Welcome Garden renovations. We will repaint (we hope) or replace the Welcome Sign to match that done on the SPA sign. This will be discussed with the Board in July. Maureen Carson planted three Kwanzan cherry trees in the Katrina Mygatt garden. Progress is being made. Magee Project The plans for the Magee Avenue project have been finalized, and pledges of as much as $16,000 for the project have been received thus far. The next phase is to present the plans to the City, which David Watkins will do. If there is no objection, and the City approves the project then the removal of designated trees will commence this fall, and the alcoves will be cleaned and prepared for spring planting. The existing linden trees, which will grow so large that the power lines will be affected negatively, will be removed. There are also diseased horn beams in the alcoves which will be removed. The alcoves will be landscaped with holly shrubs, gold mop cypress shrubs, hostas, and daffodils. The trees, shrubs, hostas, and bulbs will be planted by Arbor Day 2020 at which time we hope to have our presentation and celebration. Untermyer Gardens Tour July 9th @ 9 AM – 11:45 AM in 945 North Broadway, Yonkers, NY Come join us for our second garden tour — this time to visit the Untermyer Gardens in Yonkers. This circa 1912 landscaped park features a walled garden in the Persian design, views of the

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Hudson River, many water features, sculpture, a ruins garden, a rock garden, and miles of trails. Much of it is a hillside garden so good walking shoes are a must. Admission is free. Parking can be challenging and carpooling is recommended. The group will plan to leave Stamford around 9 AM to enjoy the morning in the gardens before it gets too hot. There are some excellent restaurants in the area so we could either live it up and dine at Xaviers on the water, Harvest on the Hudson, the Yard House, or just picnic in the park. Please let Barbara Deysson know if you plan on attending and your preferences for lunch so that she can plan accordingly, barbara.deysson@raveis.com. May Market Summary Report The 93rd May Market was held on May 11, 2019 under tents in the Our Lady Star of The Sea parking lot and the jewelry sale was held on May 18th at the home of Diane White. They were a great success with increased sales in every category. As usual the membership outdid themselves creating a new design to accommodate our new venue. The weather was wonderful as we were sandwiched between days of rain and storms. The tents gave attendees a feeling of being at a European flower market. The annual and perennial plant selections and quality were outstanding. The café was a relaxing place to enjoy gourmet offerings. The Nook offered new creative items. There were over 20 items raffled off to a very enthusiastic audience. The jewelry committee had the second highest sales in their history. Sales were $26,576 resulting in an outstanding profit of $13,532. This is $2,250 more than last year’s profit.

Committee Sales Results Annuals, Herbs & Vegetables $18,312 Café $943 Garden Nook $528 Jewelry $1,763 Perennials $1,778 Raffle $3,269 Donations $33

Barbara LeCornec May Market Committee Chairman Westport Garden Tour – Prospect Gardens June 11th @ 10:30 AM – 11:45 AM in Westport, CT With thanks to Barbara Deysson, SPGC members enjoyed a private tour of Prospect Gardens with premier landscape designer, Cindy Shumate. Prospect Gardens is a seven-acre private garden that Cindy has been designing for the past 25 years. The property, a former onion farm with an 1862 farmhouse, currently has two orchards, stone tiered vegetable garden, berry

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houses, perennial gardens, conifer collection, and an internationally renowned sculpture by Dan Graham.

Cindy Shumate

Cindy Shumate guiding SGPC members and guests

Mediterranean Entry Bed

Shrubs in New West Border

Confier Collection

Glass Sculpture by Dan Graham

Cindy Shumate (left) and Barbara Deysson (right)

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Reflection in the Glass Sculture

Grassy Yin-Yang

Maze Pool Garden

Allium – Blazing Blue Amazeballs

Photos courtesy of Barbara Deysson, Georgia Nostrand, and Birlie Lau

Federated Garden Clubs of CT (FGCCT) News The Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut, Inc. (FGCCT) has many activities in the coming months. Registration information for all FGCCT events noted below and additional information is online at www.ctgardens.org.

Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station ‘Plant Science Day’ August 7th @ 10 AM – 4 PM at The CT Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), Jones Auditorium, 123 Huntington Street, New Haven, CT During this annual event there will be lectures, displays in the barns and tents, Q&A for plant diseases and insect inquiries at their special tent. Conservation groups have displays in a special large tent area. CAES scientists will be at their research plots. A bus will be available for a guided tour throughout the farm. The Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut, Experiment Station Associates, and many other organizations will have informative booths for your enjoyment and education. This event is free. For additional information, please click here.

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Gardening School – Course II September 3rd – 4th @ 8 AM – 4:15 PM at The CT Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), Jones Auditorium, 123 Huntington Street, New Haven, CT The topics include Growing Vegetables, Irrigation and Water, Growing Fruit, Lawn Alternatives and Growing Grass, Plant Diseases and Garden Pests, and Invasive Plants. The enrollment fee is $110. For course curriculum information, please click here. To register, please click here. Beyond Beginnings Design: Designing with Wood September 6th @ 10 AM – 12:30 PM at The CT Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), Jones Auditorium, 123 Huntington Street, New Haven, CT Creative Designs often use interesting found objects, such as driftwood, branches covered with lichen, bamboo, etc. to establish the line and create the basic structure that holds the plant material. In this workshop, you will be given a piece of wood or bark (or perhaps you have something at home that you would love to work with). You will be shown the mechanics to stabilize the wood and how to attach plant material to it to make an interesting, Creative Design. Included is a lecture, followed by a hands-on workshop, and critique. Critiques are done in small groups by the instructor and other accredited judges to aid participants in improving their design skills. The cost per session of $40 covers all materials. For additional information, please click here. Beyond Beginnings Design: Table Designs September 26th @ 11 AM – 1:30 PM at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 56 Great Hammock Road, Old Saybrook, CT One of the Sections in a Flower Show that the public likes the best is Table Designs. Everyone can relate to a table that is perfectly coordinated, pleasing to look at, and has a lovely floral design on it. In this workshop, you will learn the tips and techniques that make blue ribbon-winning exhibits. During the hands-on section of the workshop, you will learn to make a beautiful centerpiece that might help you win the blue at the next CT State Flower Show! Included is a lecture, followed by a hands-on workshop, and critique. Critiques are done in small groups by the instructor and other accredited judges to aid participants in improving their design skills. You do not have to bring dishes with you. The enrollment fee for the session of $40 covers all materials. For additional information, please click here. Flower Show School, Course IV October 16-18th @ 11 AM – 1:30 PM at The Kellogg Environmental Center, 500 Hawthorne Avenue, Derby, CT Flower show school registration is now open. The Federated Garden Clubs of CT, Inc. (FGCCT) is pleased to offer the National Garden Clubs, Inc. Flower Show School. The curriculum is divided into a series of four individual courses, and is open to any Garden Club member. Do you ever wonder “Why did that design or horticulture specimen win the Blue Ribbon?” Are you interested in learning about “growing and showing” horticulture or the elements and principles of floral design? If so, Flower Show School will be the answer!

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The courses, which may be taken in any order after completing Course I, are structured to meet the following goals and purpose:

{ To teach and accredit prospective flower show judges and to provide opportunities for Accredited Judges to expand their knowledge and remain in good standing.

{ To create increased interest and knowledge in horticulture and design for all garden club members whether or not they are seeking to become NGC Accredited Flower Show Judges

{ To provide greater understanding of standards of exhibiting and judging of a Standard Flower Show as clarified in the Handbook for Flower Shows.

{ To promote flower shows of highest quality and educational value The course schedule is available here. There is an optional exam on October 18th. Registrants are encouraged to take the exam. Questions are based on any required reading, lectures, and study materials. Deadline for registration is October 1st. To register online, please click here. To register by mail, please download the registration form here. Respectfully submitted by SPGC Corresponding Secretary, Birlie Lau