How to Beat the Winter Blues

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With a week of wintry weather ahead, we can all use a reminder that spring will come and that we can grow beautiful flowers in our own homes to relieve the barren winter. There are lectures to help us plan for warmer weather, flower shows to give us a taste of spring, and orchid shows with exotic and tropical displays. Below is a list of a few shows that are good for a day trip from Groton or suitable for a get-away of a few days. All of the flower and orchid shows have displays, vendors selling plants and plant-inspired items, and educational lectures. Check the linked websites for more information about each of the shows.

January 26-27 Cape & Islands Orchid Society Show 
The Resort and Conference Center in Hyannis,  35 Scudder Ave., Hyannis, MA
Theme: Victorian Beauty
http://www.caios.org/caiosorchidshow2019.html

Miltoniopsis, Cape & Islands Show, January 2017

February 8-10 New Hampshire Orchid Society Show 
Courtyard Marriott, 2200 Southwood Dr., Nashua, NH
Theme: February Follies
 https://www.nhorchids.org/page-1802606

Lycaste Orchid – New Hampshire Orchid Society Show, February 2018

February 10 2:00 p.m. Attracting Pollinators: What Plants Where
You won’t need to travel far for this one. The lecture is presented by the Groton Commissioners of Trust Funds and co-sponsored by the Groton Garden Club and the Nashua River Watershed Association. Our annual lecture has been moved to a new, and larger venue, at the Groton Country Club, 94 Lovers Lane, Groton, MA.
For more information about this lecture, check the Lecture: Attracting Pollinators page under our Events section.

February 23-24 Amherst Orchid Society Show
Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School, 80 Locust St., Northampton, MA
http://amherstorchidsociety.org/club-events/our-show-sale/

March 2-10 Philadelphia Flower Show
Pennsylvania Convention Center, 12th & Arch Streets, Philadelphia, PA
https://theflowershow.com

March 13-17 Boston Flower & Garden Show
Seaport World Trade Center, 200 Seaport Boulevard, Boston, MA
https://bostonflowershow.com/

Display at the Boston Flower Show, March 2018

March 16-17 Nutmeg State Orchid Society Show 
Theme: Come See our Bloomers
West Hartford Conference Center, 50 S Main St, West Hartford, CT
ttp://www.nutmegorchids.org/2018-NSOS-Show-Info.html

Paphiopedilum orchids, Cape and Island Orchid Society Show January 2018

April 5-7 Southeastern Pennsylvania Orchid Society Show
Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, 100 Station Avenue, Oaks, PA
http://www.sepos.org/annual-show.html

And, if you are intrigued by either of the shows in the Philadelphia area, and can’t get there until later in the spring, then you might want to visit the Barnes Foundation. The Barnes’ art collection has moved into downtown Philadelphia, in a space that nearly replicates the Merion home in which Albert Barnes carefully displayed an extensive collection of art. From May to September the grounds of the estate in Merion are open as an Arboretum. It might be worth a call to discover whether the greenhouse is open to visitors during the winter, as it was when the art collection was housed in Merion. The greenhouse contains a variety of exotic and interesting plants from the Calla (pictured below) to orchids, camellias, and others.

Calla, at the Barnes Foundation Greenhouse, Merion, PA January 2011

We hope you are inspired by this list and are able to visit one or more of these events. It can be delightful to enjoy the smells of earth and flowers on a winter’s day.

A Field of Flowers for a Wedding

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Submitted by Lori H.

Club member Lori H. in flower nirvana

As a new gardening year begins, the following flower adventure might help you dream of the summer to come.

On a glorious sunny July day, I set out with my sister, cousin, and nieces to Cedar Circle Farm in Thetford, Vermont, to pick flowers for my niece Sarah’s wedding.  Cedar Circle Farm is a certified organic vegetable and berry farm that also offers flower-picking parties for weddings.  The flower-picking season begins in late June and continues through late September. For the early blooms, growing begins in February and continues throughout the spring and summer. The fields are constantly being replenished with seasonal blooms to ensure that prospective brides will have a variety of blossoms and greens to choose from.

With scissors and bucket in hand, I found myself in flower nirvana as I strolled among the dozens of flower rows, clipping away at standouts like zinnia, dahlia, scabiosa, cosmos, snapdragons, amaranthus, interesting Bells of Ireland, and ornamental grasses.  Just when I felt my bucket was full I would find other eye-catching blossoms and keep picking! Besides every possible color of zinnia, I found the amaranthus to be very interesting, with its cascading growth pattern and rich rosy tones. It made a beautiful addition to the wedding arbor decoration. Another favorite was a sweet variety of scabiosa called the “Pincushion Drumstick.” This variety maintains its color and shape for a long while, and is perfect for dried arrangements. Click the link at the bottom to see a picture of it.

Bouquets, boutonnieres, and flower crowns, for bride, groom, and dog

Delphinium,  nigella,  statice, zinnias, and yarrow show off in this freshly picked wedding bouquet

We collected 10 buckets of flowers and got straight to work. In 3 hours, we created 12 bouquets, 12 boutonnieres, 5 flower crowns (one of which was for Sarah and Tim’s dog) and enough ball jar vases to decorate the reception venue. Fortunately, Cedar Circle Farm was able to store the flower creations and deliver them to the wedding location at Lareau Farm in Waitsfield, Vermont. They arrived as fresh as they were the day we picked them, which was 2 days prior to the wedding!

Place cards made with vases of freshly picked flowers

 

While the wedding was lovely, the flower-picking experience was the highlight for me. I don’t know if it was the fresh mountain air, the blue sky, the flowers, or the bonding with my sister and nieces that sparked our creativity, but I have to believe it was the ideal recipe for a picture-perfect day. 

Do not miss the other glorious Field of Flowers pictures; please click here.

 

 

President’s Corner Winter Reflections

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From December to March, there are for many of us three gardens–the garden outdoors, the garden of pots and bowls in the house, and the garden of the mind’s eye.   — Katherine S. White 

I saw this quote and began thinking of my own gardens.

The outdoor garden is mostly at rest. However, there is enough variety in the types of plants, shrubs, and trees that there is still plenty to observe. I have some evergreens – hemlock, holly, leucothoe, boxwood, and arborvitae – which add some color to the yard. The bare branches of my birch, maple, and willow trees form stick-figure patterns against the gray sky backdrop. Zebra grass, assorted irises, and other perennials that didn’t get cut back in the fall add some filler to the frozen landscape. What is in your winter garden?

            

My garden of pots and bowls in the house increases in population during the winter months. I have an assortment of houseplants, which are now joined by many small, medium, and large pots that live on my patio during the summer months.

          

These visiting outdoor plants are resting in my basement until longer days and warmer temperatures return. They include geraniums, ajuga, kalanchoe, spider plants, daylilies, ivy, and several others. Most of my houseplants were given to me by friends. Some I received in memory of family members no longer with us. All are very special and have a story to go with them. Do you have a favorite houseplant?

The garden of the mind’s eye is curious to me. There are many gardens to think about. Sometimes I reflect on gardens I have visited on vacations or on local tours. I’ve seen the most interesting wildflowers at National Parks in Montana, Wyoming, and Maine.

   

Other times I think about the changes I want to make to my outdoor gardens this year. Of course there are countless websites, magazines, and photos from which to gather ideas. My mind’s eye is often inspired by gardening friends who talk about their latest plant acquisition or describe a flower arrangement in exquisite detail. Where is the garden of your mind’s eye?

Until next time,

Lisa Murray

Merry Christmas to All….

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Garden clubs are present in small towns and cities throughout the country. Each club is a little different. Some spend much of their time on flower arranging and flower shows, others spend more time on digging in the dirt. Most have an element of community service.

The Groton Garden Club puts more effort into dirt-digging and community service, maintaining several gardens around town. In December we put down our shovels and indulge ourselves in decorating for Christmas and winter interest. Our annual boxwood tree workshop is one of our best-attended events. We make and decorate small trees to donate to a local charity and to decorate our own homes. It’s fun to see the difference in arrangements when members start with the same materials.

Boxwood tree by Claire W

Boxwood trees by Barbara S-W, and other club members

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This year we also responded to the Groton History Center’s request for help in decorating the Boutwell House. With help from many of our members, the house was beautifully decorated for the History Center’s annual holiday Open House.

Mantel decorated at the Boutwell House

Sideboard decorated at the Boutwell House

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In between our organized group activities, individual club members found time to decorate their homes and to shop together and find new inspirations to make their outsides of their homes festive. Club members Laura S and Ellen T bought the same baskets for outdoor arrangements and created different arrangements reflecting their personalities and the styles of their homes.

Basket arrangement by Laura S

Basket arrangement by Ellen T

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Penny’s ‘Sparkle Tree’

 

 

Penny H has introduced us to the ‘Sparkle Tree’ in her decorating. Many of us have adopted this idea, often making it one of our earliest holiday decorations.  The use of a deciduous branch decorated with lights and ornaments is also a good solution for those with a second home that will be used for the holiday. It doesn’t require watering and won’t dry out and shed needles if left untended.

As with everything we do as a club, we try to have fun, share ideas and to learn from each other while decorating for the holidays.

We hope that all of our readers have also had fun making their homes festive for Christmas,  the winter solstice, and other holidays. We wish all of you a Merry Christmas season, and especially a very happy New Year.

 

 

Cranberries

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Cranberries left after the harvest

Many of us in Massachusetts, especially in Middlesex County, are familiar with the sights of apple orchards, and have even gone apple-picking. It’s a long-standing part of our agricultural heritage that we enjoy sharing with our children or friends. Although cranberries are found on our Thanksgiving tables as often as apple pie, fewer of us are familiar with the sights of cranberry bogs and harvesting. These are more common to those who visit Cape Cod, where many of the state’s cranberries are grown.

I read about a cranberry festival (possibly the last one) to be held at A.D. Makepeace, the largest grower of cranberries in the world. We made the trek to Wareham to visit the festival.

Cranberry ‘egg beater’

There are two methods of harvesting cranberries. Dry harvesting is done with a wide machine that resembles a mower. Rather than a rotary blade it has large moving teeth that rake the berries onto a conveyor that feeds into a box or burlap bag. This method of harvest is used for the fresh berries we can buy in grocery stores. The cranberry plants must be completely dry for this method.

We saw wet harvesting at the cranberry festival. Wet harvested berries account for about 90% of cranberries harvested. These berries are sent to processors to make juice, cranberry sauces and jellies, and sweetened dried cranberries.

Wet harvesting of cranberries

For this process, the cranberry bogs are flooded the night before the harvest with as much as 18 inches of water. The following day, water reels (also called ‘egg beaters’) loosen the berries from the plants, and they float to the surface of the water.  Wooden or plastic booms are used to corral the berries while workers also use broom or rake-like tools to move the boom or berries. Once the berries are corralled they are suctioned out of the bog and fed through a separator to remove leaves and twigs from the berries.

Although many cranberries are not grown organically, many of the farmers do use integrated pest management (IPM) practices. According to our tour guide, a young woman who is part of the family that owns A.D. Makepeace, simple economics encourages them to use as few pesticides as possible and to turn first to other methods of pest control. The winter moth, which is destructive to so many woody plants on Cape Cod, is also a major pest of the cranberry. This grower watches the brush lining their fields, and knows what plants are starting to leaf out when the larva are hatching. At that time, they flood their fields to kill the winter moth larva. Once that is accomplished, they drain the fields to allow the plants and their fruit to grow through the rest of the growing season. This is a less expensive and more environmentally sound way to control this damaging pest.

This year, our Thanksgiving table will include cranberry sauce and a cranberry-apple tart made with berries that we purchased at this festival. Understanding more about the harvesting process will enhance our enjoyment of these dishes.