Happy Midwinter --
Only 7 weeks until Spring!!!
President's Message
Many thanks to Millie LaFontaine and the Art & Bloom Committee for a fantastic event. If you weren’t able to make it to the show, you can see all the arrangements here.
We decided this fall to reinstate the paper Membership Directory and Calendar and most of you have received your copy. If you haven’t gotten one, or have misplaced it, contact Gena Cohen Moses at bgjam@comcast.net and she will get one to you. They will also be available at our upcoming meetings. Going forward, we plan to have next year's Directories available at our kick off event in September.
Lastly, please welcome to the Garden Club our latest new member, Kathleen Cleary.
-- Gena
Art and Bloom recap
Our 22nd Annual Art and Bloom was a resounding success. We welcomed close to 900 visitors to Kimball Jenkins to see our show between 1/23 and 1/25/2025. The art works supplied by the Women’s Caucus for Art, NH Chapter, and curated by CGC member Inez McDermott, were a rich source of inspiration for our 21 design teams. The floral arrangements elevated their art pieces and delighted our visitors.
Every single arrangement had its fans in our People’s Choice poll, underscoring that our show is less a competition than it is our gift to the community.
The overall winner was Robyn Cotton for her interpretation of Nicki French’s photo
“Heaven North". Robyn’s arrangement was created of mostly foraged and dried flowers reflecting both the soft gorgeous colors of a winter sunrise and a long-gone place and time. Her depiction of a Kokoshnik (a wheat sheaf tiara worn by Russian royalty and peasants alike before the Russian Revolution) placed her arrangement squarely in that place and era.
“Esmeralda on the Hunt for a Mate”, the whimsical praying mantis by Emily Preston, had the second highest vote count. It was interpreted by Donna Love (new to CGC), community member Meghan Ambra, and me (Millie LaFontaine). We had such fun creating our “femme fatale” of the insect world. Donna and Meghan weren’t afraid to jump in and make Esmeralda both alluring and exotic with bird of paradise arms, red dogwood legs, and piercing all-seeing eyes.
Designer Lorrie Carey was the community member receiving the most votes for
her depiction of Robin Cornwell’s “At the End of the Day”, a felted and textile scene of a sunset over the trees and hills. Lorrie’s compact arrangement reflected the colors and composition of the art that inspired it.
We have many people to thank for the success of our exhibit, including our wonderful designers, and our hosts, who were an our face to the public throughout the event. And of course our event wouldn’t have been complete without our beautiful posters, designed and donated by member Judith Maloy of Polaris Direct, or our brochure, designed by our own Nicki Kilfara and supplied to us by Concord Hospital.
Our committee worked hard. We thank our designer recruiters Lucy Gentilhomme and Cynthia Rouvalis, our publicity volunteer Chris Miller, and the amazing creators of our reception, Lisa Blais and Donna Love.
We give a special thank you to Martha Lemire of Kimball Jenkins, and Rosanne Beaurivage and Kate Higley of the Women’s Caucus for Art.
Millie LaFontaine
Art and Bloom 2025 chair
February Meeting
Proven Winners with Amy Cardillo
Thursday, Feb 13, 2025,
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
NH Audubon Society,
84 Silk Farm Rd,
Concord, NH
Amy Cardello, Regional Retail Account Manager for Pleasant View Gardens, will provide us with a Power Point presentation illustrating what actually goes into creating a plant worthy of the “Proven Winners” name and reputation. Ms. Cardello will also introduce us to some of the new 2025 varieties that will be coming to garden centers everywhere in the spring.
This meeting is open to Members and their Guests, not open to the general public.
Please RSVP here
Questions? Contact Lauren Savage - lauren.savage1971@gmail.com
March Meeting
Hydrangeas & Spring Clean Up with Jess Zander
Thursday, Mar 27, 2025,
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Woman's Club of Concord,
44 Pleasant St,
Concord, NH 03301
Jessica Zander is a garden coach and consultant based in the Boston area (zone 6b), also doing virtual consultations all over the country and Canada.
She has been gardening since the early 1990s and started You Can Do It Gardening in 2022, to help people feel more confident about doing it themselves. With a passion for gardening and helping others discover the joy of it, she teaches skills, provides guidance and suggestions, and works collaboratively and efficiently with clients both in person and virtually to make small and large improvements in their outdoor spaces. It is one of her greatest joys to help people become more confident gardeners.
Questions? Contact Johane Telgener - jtelgener020@gmail.com
April Meeting
Speaker Abby Goode with the NH Humanities Council
Thursday, April 10, 2025
4:30 PM – 7:00 PM
Cocktails at 4:30 PM, Program begins at 5:15 PM
Woman's Club of Concord
44 Pleasant St, Concord
This is an interactive program that begins with a discussion of current ideas about sustainability and then examines Thomas Jefferson’s vision of American agriculture abundance. We will explore this particularly eugenic conception of sustainability and discuss what new or different versions of sustainability might prove more useful in our current moment.
RSVP here
Questions? Contact Linda Gilbert - lvgilbert@comcast.net
May Meeting
Stay tuned for information about a May presentation at Gibson's Bookstore that's in the works --
June - Annual Meeting
June 5, 2025
9:30-11:00am
Woman's Club of Concord
44 Pleasant Street
Please plan to attend our Annual Meeting to elect new officers and committee chairs and conduct the Club's business.
Coffee and pastries will be provided.
We will also have a plant and garden items exchange, so bring cuttings, seeds, pots and other items to trade with other members.
Program Chair: Gena Cohen Moses
Please RSVP here
Thank you!
Program Committee
Road Trip Anyone?
New England Botanical Garden at Tower Hill is presenting their orchid show "Pixels and Petals" 8 February - 23 March. The garden is located at 11 French Drive, Boylston, MA, which is about an 1 1/2 hour drive from Concord. I am willing to coordinate ride shares for club members and friends. Suggested dates are Monday, 24 February or Saturday, 15 March. Admission $17-20 weekdays, $18-21 weekends. Email or call Anne Mills, if interested at acaseymills@gmail.com or 603-512-5674.
Click here to learn more information about the event.
May 2-4 brings Art & Bloom to you again -- but this time at the MFA in Boston. Click here for more information, and get ready to see if their floral displays rival ours!
The next Program Committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, 10 February 2025. If anyone has recommendations for the Committee, please forward them to Anne Mills acaseymills@gmail.com and Johane Telgener jtelgener020@gmail.com.
Community Corner
Don't forget that Black Forest nursery is holding a series of educational workshops most Saturdays throughout the winter. Check them out here!
UNH Extension has a set of robust winter offerings around the state. Check them out here!
On February 11th our old friend Doug Tallamy is participating alongside some landscape designers in a Native Plant webinar designed to help gardeners incorporate natives into their landscapes in a practical way -- dubbed "ecological horticulture". More information here!
Winter Garden Arrangements
For those of us who just can't wait for spring, yet don't want to buy hothouse grown blooms from the supermarket, consider foraging in your own backyard for natural elements that can be used for beautiful indoor displays.
Spring flowering trees and shrubs can be forced indoors for a wonderful breath of spring, accompanied by accents of other natural elements whose beauty are often overlooked in our winter landscapes.
Suggestions for forcing:
White star magnolia
Pussywillow
Forsythia
Dogwood
Viburnum
Witch Hazel
To accompany:
Hellebore leaves or flowers
Dried hydrangeas
Dried grasses
Moss
Lichen branches
Echinacea seed heads
Seed Starting
Dreaming of tomatoes? Can't wait to dig your fingers into some dirt? If you're planning your veggie garden, follow this link to a handy seed starting calculator, based on our gardening zone.
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