Washington Street Meeting-- Tomorrow Thursday, Feb. 24th

There is a meeting of the DPW tomorrow for more discussion of the plan to narrow Washington street.

The apparent goal of this $800,000 project, including removal of most of the 24 trees, is to slow traffic.  Perhaps enhanced "police activity" would do the job without the expense, arborcide, and other disruptions.

Details are in a front-page article in the current Ipswich Chronicle. http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/x2097055024/Washington-Street-in-flux#axzz1EpFtaFog

The meeting is at 7:30,  in Town Hall, Room C.
Are any IGC  members are interested?


Alicia Moore

March Board Meeting on March 1st

Hello Everyone,

Just a reminder that we have our March Board meeting for the Club coming up next next Tuesday, March 1st at 7pm.

Please note that the date is changed from 3/8 to 3/1.

We will meet at the Ipswich Inn at 2 East Street because the parking and access to my house is still restricted due to snow and ice.

Janet

Boston Flower and Garden Show 2011

Are any IGC members interested in carpooling to the Boston Flower show? Leave a comment as to if you are interested and what day might be good. Thursday late morning might be a good date and time?

 2011 Boston Flower & Garden Show

The 2011 Boston Flower & Garden Show is delighted to announce this year's show theme, which will explore every facet of one of the most popular and enjoyable gardening trends around… 

"A Burst of Color: Celebrating the Container Garden"

Container gardening has exploded out of the humble window box to become the hottest way to add vibrancy, warmth, and drama to any size space  – a sunny welcome on a city terrace, a gourmet harvest in a suburban side yard,  or a fresh focal point for a mature landscape.  This year’s show will focus on this popular trend by mixing examples of the endless creative possibilities of containers into all of its gardens and special displays.  

• Each garden will feature at least one significant container of some kind (formal urns, topiary, raised beds, built-in planters, ceramics, vertical gardens, unusual items re-purposed as containers).
• A non-judged Container Garden Invitational Display will feature container entries by invited professional florists, nurseries, landscapers and horticultural non-profits.
• Lectures and demonstrations will offer planting tips and design ideas for fruit, vegetable and ornamental containers.

In addition to these elements, you’ll find hundreds of new products to buy, over 48 hours of lectures and demonstrations on diverse gardening topics, cutting edge designs by professional florists and the region’s top amateur floral arrangers and horticulturists assembled in a vibrant display by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts Inc.

Please join us March 16-20, 2011 as the tradition continues!

Hours

Wednesday, March 16, 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM

Thursday, March 17, 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM

Friday, March 18, 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM

Saturday, March 19, 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM

Sunday, March 20, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Box Office closes 1 hour prior to the end of the Show each day.

Admission

Adults                $20

Seniors (65+)     $17

Children 6-17      $10

Under 6             Free

Purchase tickets now and avoid the lines!  Tickets are available online or by visiting these local merchants:

Brooks Bound Nursery, Westminster, MA
Corliss Bros. Garden Center, Ipswich, MA
Kennedy's Country Gardens, Scituate, MA
New England Nurseries, Bedford, MA
Russell's Garden Center, Wayland, MA
Skillins Greenhouses, Falmouth, MA
Stobbart's Nursery, Franklin, MA
Wilson Farm, Lexington, MA
All Roche Bros. Supermarkets starting Feb. 15.

President's Message: Gardening News and Events

Janet Taisey Craft

Is anyone interested in volunteering to hostess the Art in Bloom show at the MFA?

From The Garden Club Federation Of Massachusetts

February 3, 2011

Be a hostess at Blooms! at the Boston Flower and Garden Show!

Volunteers are needed to be a hostess in the ballroom where the two Design Divisions are staged. Duties include answering questions (you will be given a sheet with frequently asked questions and answers) and discouraging the public from touching the exhibits. Shifts are 3 hours. On the day of your service, you will be able to see the rest of the show at no charge!  Show dates are Wed. March 16 - Sunday, March 20, 2011 from 9 am - 8 pm daily except for closing at 6 pm on Sunday.  Please contact Vivien Bouffard at vbouffard55@msn.com or 617-933-4934  to sign up. Thank you very much!

For those interested in wild flowers, you may want to check the events at the New England Wild Flower Society. Link on to: www.newenglandwild.org/visit/events

Cocktails and Garden Books! The Arlington Garden Club announces their annual "Books in Bloom" event in early March.

The lobby of the library will be filled with unique and creative floral arrangements that will bring to life a variety of books. Local florists as well as Garden Club members will create the arrangements. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door and are available at the Circulation Desk at the Robbins Library or by e-mail from Pat Cura of the Garden Club (cura.pa@gmail.com; 617-947-4159) or Amy McElroy of the Friends (ae65@verizon.net; 781-648-4109). Checks can be made payable to the “Arlington Garden Club”.  This program is presented by The Friends of the Robbins Library and the Arlington Garden Club. Proceeds will benefit Arlington’s libraries and the Arlington Garden Club.


Local authors will also be featured with their books. The Jazzabelles will provide background music during the program.  Delicious and savory hors d’oevres and sweets will be served and cocktails will be provided for sale. 

With Warm Regards,

Janet

February 8th "Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro" with Susie Winthrop

A big thank you to Susie Winthrop who thoroughly entertained and educated IGC members at the Ipswich Library on the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 8th with a slide/video chronicle of moving through the "six zones" of very distinct vegetation on Mt. Kilimanjaro to reach the highest summit on the continent of Africa. For all of us who braved the icy winds and pavements to be at the meeting, our efforts were well rewarded with Susie's tale of plant life and high elevation adventure.

Kilimanjaro, with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, is an inactive stratovolcano in north-eastern Tanzania and the highest mountain in Africa at 5,895 metres or 19,341 ft above sea level (the Uhuru Peak / Kibo Peak). Can you see Susie and Fred up there at the top??

Photo by Susan Winthrop

Photo by Susan Winthrop

Susie answers questions from the Club.

Laurie Matson reminds everyone to enter the Greenslet Cup competition at the Annual Meeting. The prize is the keeping the beautiful cup she recieved for winning last year's competition.

Thanks to hostesses Allison Kemmerer and Lynda Mathey
for providing refreshments for the event.

Hort Bits from Gail Anderson

"Hope In Bloom" Exhibit at Boston Flower and Garden show-- 2010

VISIT A FLOWER SHOW

Rhode Island Spring Flower and Garden Show
February 24-27
Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence
http://www.flowershow.com/

Portland (Maine) Flower Show
March 10-13
Portland Company Complex, Portland
http://portlandcompany.com/flower/

Boston Flower & Garden Show
March 16-20
Seaport World Trade Center, Boston
http://www.masshort.org/Blooms-and-the-Boston-Flower-&-Garden-Show

Have visited all three of these regional flower shows and they are quite worthwhile. I go to Portland annually. Portland and Providence are small but the exhibitors are creative and the speakers in RI have been good in the past. The Boston Show, of course, is smaller than in former days, but is building momentum. Besides the big commercial exhibits, Boston includes many plants societies/organizations, has many speakers and demonstrations, and is the largest of the three.


COCKTAILS FOR PAPERWHITES

Research at Cornell University has revealed that paperwhite narcissus will grow shorter if given a mild cocktail! Have known about this for a while but finally tried it this year with just one paperwhite bulb. The plant was definitely shorter. Check out this link!!!--Gail

http://www.hort.cornell.edu/miller/bulb/pickling_your_paperwhites.pdf


 -Gail

Chasing the Winter Blues

To get through the winter doldrums, what plants are you looking forward to planting or seeing return in your garden? Let us know with a "comment" below.