UPCOMING EVENTS: Free and open to the public at St. James Methodist Church, 646 DW Hwy, Merrimack! We meet the third Tuesday of every month.
DOORS OPEN at 6PM .ALL PROGRAMS BEGIN AT 6:30PM!
- June 24 – Prepping for the July Plant Sale, all hands on deck. Our June 24th meeting is the most important one of the year as we are just a month away from our annual Plant Sale. Our Plant Sale Director Extraordinaire, Nancy Capen, will advise us on how to make our final preparations for our sale. Our annual Plant Sale is the major fundraiser for all of our yearly activities. We would greatly appreciate Club Members attending this meeting.
- July 19 - Our Annual Plant Sale at St. James Methodist Church No regular July meeting due to plant sale
- July 26 FIELD TRIP We'll be visiting Pleasant View Gardens in Loudon, the Home of Proven Winners! We'll experience the beautiful Display Gardens they have created free of charge to visitors. PLEASE, visit their website and read through the section Things to Know in preparation for our visit. More info regarding lunch, carpooling, and pertinent details will be emailed to you soon.
PLEASE, SIGN UP AT THE JUNE 24TH MEETING. If you weren't able to sign up at the 6/24 meeting, please send either Virgie or me a text or email.**CLUB MEMBERS only trip.
- August 26 – Raising Saffron – Ashley Salvatore of Salvatore Farms
- September 23 – New England Aquatic Plants
- October 28 – TBD
- November 18th – Seasonal Floral Workshop *Members only
- December 16th – Holiday Social and Yankee Gift Swap
*Members only
The Fun we have had so far!
- May 27 – Spring Ephemerals – Susan Kierstedt spoke about Spring Ephemerals.These harbingers of spring can be seen rising from moss or leaf litter in deciduous forests. You may be familiar with Dutchman's Breeches, Trilliums and Trout Lilies. Susan, who owned a perennial nursery, will offer a presentation that is sure to inspire you and will include wonderful photos of these plants in her own garden.
- April 22 – Climate Change: What’s it All About – Ayn Whytemare. Ayn's presentation will be “Climate Change! Fascinating discussioin of what we are seeing and may expect to see in nature around us. Ayn provided honest suggestions and cautious optimism IS we act NOW!
- March 25 – Devriendt Farms , Goffstown, NH– Lea Devriendt relayied the interesting story behind the birth of her family’s farm. She then spoke about various soils and fertilizer selections, container gardening, plants and insects. i
- February 25 – Spice and Tea Exchange – Nicole Gagliardi. She opened the store in 2018, a few months after leaving her full-time job as a software developer in education technologies.Tea Talk: The British Tea Tradition Nicole Owner of The Spice & Tea Exchange of Portsmouth, took us on a fascinating journey through the rich history of British tea culture. We will explore the origins, traditions, and intriguing stories behind one of the world’s most beloved beverages.
- January 28th Our January general meeting where we enjoyed delicious soup, herty bread and salad while discussing our upcoming year. A detailed update of our plant sale organization with Teams was shared.
The Fun we had last year!
- December Holiday Social MEMBERS ONLY
- November Annual Seasonal Floral Workshop MEMBERS ONLY
- October 22nd Big Trees of New Hampshire by Wooden boatbuilder, outdoorsman and Big Tree Program measurer, Kevin Martin, showed and discussed these trees as described in his new book Big Trees of Northern New England. Kevin told us how he got involved with finding the trees, how lumber from similar trees is used in his boatbuilding work, and how wildlife use these impressive parts of our landscape. He shared information about trees on public land in the state, and where they are located so you can go see them for yourself. City tours are also described. Many in sttaendance purchased his book which he happily autographed.
- September 24th Liz Wolczko, shared her history with Fairy Gardens and demonstrated the way she creates them.
- August 27th Plant Sale Report
- August 3rd Our Annual Plant Sale !
- July 23 We focused on the final prep for our Annual Plant Sale on August.3rd. Nancy Capen, Plant Sale Organizer Extraordinare, We oput the finishign touches on who does what for setting up and placing plants on their designated tables.
- June 25 - Jean Stefanik, a lifetime member of the NH Orchid Society and accredited American Orchid Society judge with over 10 years of training and numerous national and international shows to her credit will presented a program about how to raise orchids.Jean share dher expertise in raising orchids, how to select a healthy orchid, and how to deal with orchid issues.
- May 28th - Sheila Steele, a UNH Extension Master Gardener, shared her program titled " Go Native! Incorporating Native Plants into Your Landscapes ". Attendees learned where to buy natives and how to use them successfully in their gardens.
- May 4 , Saturday@ 11 AM Plant a Flower for Mother's Day What fun we had helping so many create a pot , plant a flower. and create a special card! See pictures in our photo gallery below!
- April 23rd - Mark Ravenelle from Merrimack presented a program about gardening year round using high tunnels, as well as techniques and gardening systems that support raising vegetables throughout the year.
- March 26th - Our guest speaker from Uncanoonuc Foraging Company, Christine Gagnon spoke to us about foraging for mushrooms . We got the chance to discover the scents of various dried mushrooms, how to use them in our kitchens and which mushrooms to avoid.
- Feb 27th Planning a Cutting Garden with Betsy Golon-Flatten. Betsey is an ethnobotanist and historical herbalist. She was herbalist and director of the herbal internship at Sabbathday Lake Shaker community in Maine for over 20 years and currently serves George Washington’s Virginia estate and gardens as herbalist honorarium. which enabled her to enlighten us with her knowledge.
- Jan 23rd Our planning Meeting for events this year! Those in attendance learned about winter sowing and set up their our started for seeds at home. The link to the directions on Winter sowing is as follows: https:// docs.google.com/document/d/1iJgVtsYHaH9D49aGceKYRAUyZ4FuT_La/edit? usp=sharing&ouid=111393785518993223413&rtpof=true&sd=true