Greetings, Gardeners, and Happy New Year!
We hope you had a wonderful holiday season and are ready to stow away those decorations and dig into Art & Bloom -- it's almost here!
It's also time to start planning for our big speaker event of the year: Homegrown National Park's Dr. Doug Tallamy on April 18 at 6:45 pm (doors will open at 6:30). Spaces are limited so if you plan to attend, be sure to RSVP now.
As always, remember to scroll all the way down this email so you're in the know on these and all the other CGC happenings.
IT'S ALMOST HERE!!
Our club’s signature winter event, Art and Bloom will take place Thursday January 25th, Friday January 26th, and Saturday January 27th at our new venue, the Kimball Jenkins estate.
I would like to remind you that Garden Club members are invited to preview the exhibit at 1:00 pm on Thursday, an hour before it opens to the public. Many of the designers will be on hand to explain their creative process, which is always interesting.
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Also, please mark your calendars for our Opening Reception on Thursday from 5-7 pm.
This will mark the official kickoff of our 2024 100th Anniversary Year.  We would love to have you there!
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Many of you are already involved as committee members or as designers, and we so appreciate that. There are 2 other ways to help us.
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The first is to volunteer as a host. Those of you who have attended the past couple of years recognize how much our hosts helped us to really own this event. There will be 2 shifts Thursday, from 1-3pm and 3-5pm, and 3 shifts each on Friday and Saturday, from 10-12, 12-2, and 2-4. Please email our coordinator, Nicki Kilfara at nkilfara@hotmail.com with the time(s) you are available to host. Nicki will create a schedule for us from that list. Nicki will confirm scheduled time slots to those volunteering no later than Monday, January 22nd.
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The second request is for a couple more members to help me distribute posters between now and about the 15th of January. Many hands make light work! Assuming we have enough volunteers, we should each have no more than a few places we need to distribute to. I will have a list of venues each person should distribute to, so it really shouldn’t be a big deal. Just email me at lafontainefamily@comcast.net if you’re willing to help out.
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Happy 2024!
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Millie LaFontaine
Chair, Art and Bloom
MARCH MEETING
There will be no meeting in February, so please be sure to RSVP and put our March 14th meeting in your calendar.
Thursday March 14, 2024 -- 1:00 PM
NH Audubon
84 Silk Farm Rd, Concord
In 1947, Edwin Teale followed the progress of spring over four months from the Everglades to the summit of Mount Washington.  His best selling book, North with the Spring, recounts the epic journey he and his wife, Nellie undertook.  Author John Harris set out to retrace Teale’s route, stopping at unfamiliar wild places on the same calendar date on which Teale visited.  Using Teale’s journal notes and photographs, Harris examined and compared changes in the flora, fauna, and lives of the people along the way.  His account documents the losses, details the transformation, and celebrates the victories -- for surprisingly, a remarkable number of east coast refuges have grown wilder during the intervening years.
This event is presented by author John Harris and sponsored by the NH Humanities Council.
Questions? Please contact Linda Gilbert at lvgilbert@comcast.net.
APRIL MEETING
In honor of our Centennial Year, Concord Garden Club is very proud to present a talk by Doug Tallamy -- author, renowned entomologist and wildlife ecologist, and
Co-Founder with Michelle Alfandari of HOMEGROWN NATIONAL PARK®. (HNP)
Learn more at HNPARK.org.
In this new presentation, Dr Tallamy will address questions about ecological landscaping including ecology and evolution, biodiversity, invasive species, insect declines, native and non-native plants, conservation and restoration, residential and city landscapes, urban issues, oak biology, keystone plants, monarchs, supporting wildlife at home, and more. Â His goal is to motivate people to help restore ecosystem function where they live, work, play, worship, and farm. Â
Dr. Tallamy is a professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has authored 97 research publications and has taught insect-related courses for 40 years. Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities. Doug is also the author of Bringing Nature Home, Nature’s Best Hope, and The Nature of Oaks.
As a 100th anniversary initiative, Concord Garden Club's goal is, with your help, to put Concord on the Homegrown National Park map in a meaningful way. HNP is an initiative our Club is enthusiastically supporting throughout 2024 as a way to help local gardens become sustainable, and to support wildlife and diverse ecosystems. Along with the City of Concord, we'll also be providing opportunities to learn gardening techniques that support wildlife and diversity, which we hope will help us reach our goal of enrolling 100 Concord gardens with HNP during our 100th year!
This event will be held at NH Audubon on
Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 6:45pm.
Doors will open at 6:30.
This event is open to the public, and all attendees must pre-register online.
Seating is limited. Click here to rsvp.
Questions? Please contact Lauren Savage at lauren.Savage1971@gmail.com
Looking back to
DECEMBER 2023 ACTIVITIES
We started the Holiday season in style on December 1st with a delicious luncheon held at the Concord Country Club. The Yankee Swap provided entertainment, as did lively conversation with Garden Club friends new and old.
December 6th brought our Greens Workshop, held together with the Merrimack County Nursing Home. This workshop is a favorite activity for both Nursing Home residents and Garden Club members, and was made possible by the hard work of the Community Service Committee and donations from members and Black Forest Nursery. Special thanks to Melissa Smart for spearheading this effort and for her photos!
