The Vermont Leaf, Spring 2023 - Read Here
Submitted Articles to the Vermont Leaf
A statewide newsletter from the Federated Garden Clubs of Vermont
News from the Arlington Garden Club, 2022
After what amounted to two years of lockdown, masking, limited socializing and canceled programs, the Arlington Garden Club burst out of the newly-opened gate in March 2022, eager to get back to business—and enjoyment--as usual.
Buoyed by the enthusiasm of 10 new members and the experience of long-standing ones, including new president Lynette Novick, the club kicked off the 2022 program line-up with a talk on “Giving Gardens: Helping Grow Community through Our Gardens.” This was a presentation by new member Anna Rockwell along with leaders of the Yellow Barn Project, a non-profit endeavor centered on an historic barn in the center of Arlington that is developing into a hub of horticultural education, along with edibles production to help supply any food needs in the towns of Arlington, Sandgate and Sunderland.
The club’s annual Plant and Bake Sale did extremely well on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, despite iffy weather. Headed by Liz LaBelle, we made a nice profit to help fund our annual scholarship, which this year was awarded to an Arlington High School graduate who will be going to Middlebury College in the fall to pursue environmental studies.
The bulk of our programs this year relate to a much anticipated and long delayed small standard flower show, “Hues of Autumn,” which will take place on Saturday, October 1st, at a new venue—The Arlington Common on Main Street, the former site of the local Catholic church, its parish hall and historic rectory. Cathy Kindle is chairing the flower show, which will comprise five design classes plus horticulture and a Botanical Arts category.
Helping to guide and encourage members (many of whom have never been part of a formal, judged flower show) is Master Gardener and Vermont Council of Judges member Kathy Perkins, who demystified many of the requirements and protocols of design at our July meeting, illustrating her talk with two floral demonstrations.
Following this theme, Jaga Smiechowski, also of the Rutland Garden Club and owner of My Flowers for All Events, will work with us at the August meeting on creating other types of designs and offering tips for putting our best floral foot forward for the show. Further exploration of the design and horticulture sectors of the show will be the focus of Cathy Kindle’s September program.
Everyone is invited to attend ”Hues of Autumn” from noon until 5 p.m. at Watkins House (the former rectory) at the Arlington Common. Entry is free, and refreshments will be served. We hope to see many of our FGCV colleagues there!
While we are focusing our energy on the flower show, we aren’t neglecting our other endeavors, which include beautifying the centers of Arlington and East Arlington with a meditative garden at the Arlington Community House…installing pots of boxwood and flowers in front of the Town Hall…putting lush, colorful planters along the bridge in East Arlington…maintaining two large gardens and many flower boxes at the Rec Center…caring for planters underneath the welcome signs at the three main entrances to Arlington, which the club gifted to the town three years ago. All members have been generous with their time and energy, signing up to design, plant and maintain the many elements of our civic beautification efforts, including a new garden at the Post Office.
Jessica Roberts creates little gems of floral beauty every month for our local Meals on Wheels recipients, and our float in the Annual Memorial Day Parade took third place this year. Come the holidays, we will be carrying on our long tradition of providing wreaths for many community gathering places and the two covered bridges, as well as taking part in the town-wide holiday celebration in early December.
Our work has not gone unnoticed, either by the residents or the Federation. Thanks to Wendy Bucchieri, we garnered a bouquet of annual state awards in 2021, including one Project of Merit citation for our “Town and Country” tour of nearby gardens, many of which hosted talented local plein air artists painting throughout the day; a show of these and other garden-related works took place several weeks later at the Martha Canfield Library in Arlington. Co-chairs of the garden tour were Betsy Habberfield and Kay Wisniewski.
We are thankful that everyone in our club managed to stay healthy throughout the pandemic. But one thing is sure—because of Covid, we will will never again take for granted the joy of gardening together for the good of our community, ourselves and our fellow members!
Submitted by Nancy Boardman
News from the Arlington Garden Club, 2021
On Saturday, July 14th, the Arlington Garden Club hosted its fifth “Town and Country Garden Tour,” featuring eight private gardens in the towns of Arlington and neighboring Sunderland, as well as one public space, at the Sunderland Town Hall, as a bonus garden. This year’s tour was organized by club co-presidents Jean Freebern and Joanna Taylor, along with long-time members (and past presidents) Nancy Hadley, Pat Williams and Nancy Boardman. Helping out as “garden sitters” were members of the club as well as friends of the garden owners, who welcomed guests and showed them around the various properties, so that it was truly a team effort.
The eight private gardens offered myriad unique highlights, such as extensive rock walls, water features, stands of black walnut trees and birches, flourishing vegetable plots and, on one property, several fairy gardens nestled in tree stumps to not only delight the owners’ grandchildren but also introduce them to horticulture on a small scale. Some properties celebrated the joyful colors and blowsy abundance typical of cottage gardens, while other owners opted for a more formal design; one couple covered both, as the viewer moved from the front of the house to the back—truly the best of both worlds. Virtually all the owners mentioned the many types of wildlife with whom they share their properties—fox, deer, turkey, sometimes a bear or coyote and of course butterflies, bees and birds. All these creatures take as much pleasure—and food—from the landscape and gardens as the owners do, but without having to do any of the work! Two of the properties on the tour were literally brought back from the dead after the ravages of Hurricane Irene in 2011. The raging waters swept away gardens, fencing, compost heaps, trees, walls and bridges. Both sets of owners—one who lives near the Batten Kill on Rt. 313 and the others who live on the Roaring Branch on Kelley Stand Road—grieved, assessed the damage, took a deep breath and began to rebuild and even expand, with the help of their neighbors and the town. Their properties today are testament to not only the power of Nature but also the resilience of humans.
It was a lovely day, with box lunches provided by the Wayside Country Store and live music greeting guests on the porch of the Hill Farm Inn, one of the properties on the tour. The proceeds from the event will, in keeping with club tradition, help fund our ongoing
efforts to beautify the town, offer educational programs for children and adults, and provide an annual scholarship to an Arlington high-school senior who is furthering his or her education after graduation, as well as to offer financial aid to local schoolchildren who wish to participate in the state’s Conservation Camp each summer.
Submitted by Nancy Boardman, Corresponding Secretary
The Leaf Article, August 2019
The Arlington Garden Club began its 2019 season in March, and has blossomed in some exciting ways since then. For one, we have a bumper crop of new members, who are bringing their expertise, experience and enthusiasm to the club’s mission and many projects. For another, we have formed a very productive partnership with the Arlington Area Renewal Project, an exciting volunteer endeavor the seeks to bring all sorts of energy to the towns of Arlington, Sunderland and Sandgate. The group is working hard to find workable solutions to economic and social issues such as affordable housing and job creation, as well as exploring creative ways to draw visitors to our area. One of its most successful efforts to date has been the Arlington Farmers Market, which is managed by one of our new club members, Jessica Roberts. Now in its second season, it grows in numbers of vendors and buyers with each passing Friday evening. The club has had free space there on several occasions to promote our mission and garner new members. The Project has also generously funded some of our civic beautification efforts around town, including filling with flowers the planters under the wooden signs that mark the entrances to Arlington.This is truly a rewarding relationship for both groups, one that we expect will benefit residents and visitors alike.
On Memorial Day club members marched in record numbers at the Arlington Memorial Day Parade, handing out vegetable and flower-seed packets to bystanders along the parade route. Our flag-waving contingent was led by Joann Rose’s husband’s antique pick-up truck, loaded with barrels, buckets and baskets of flowers, with Lynn Novick’s husband bringing up the rear in his vintage red sports car. This was the first year that prizes for themed floats were given by the parade’s sponsor, American Legion Post 69, and we are already planning our strategy to win one in 2020!
Along with another successful Plant and Bake sale over the Memorial Day weekend and an array of interesting, inspirational monthly programs--including a demo by floral designer and flower-show judge Valerie Cleary and a talk (co-sponsored with the Garden Club of Manchester) by Susan Morse of Keeping Track, Inc. about the effects of climate change on the animals of the North-- the Arlington Garden Club is half-way through another noteworthy year on both traditional and new fronts.
Submitted by Nancy Boardman, Corresponding Secretary
Submitted Articles to the Vermont Leaf
A statewide newsletter from the Federated Garden Clubs of Vermont
News from the Arlington Garden Club, 2022
News from the Arlington Garden Club, 2021
On Saturday, July 14th, the Arlington Garden Club hosted its fifth “Town and Country Garden Tour,” featuring eight private gardens in the towns of Arlington and neighboring Sunderland, as well as one public space, at the Sunderland Town Hall, as a bonus garden. This year’s tour was organized by club co-presidents Jean Freebern and Joanna Taylor, along with long-time members (and past presidents) Nancy Hadley, Pat Williams and Nancy Boardman. Helping out as “garden sitters” were members of the club as well as friends of the garden owners, who welcomed guests and showed them around the various properties, so that it was truly a team effort.
The eight private gardens offered myriad unique highlights, such as extensive rock walls, water features, stands of black walnut trees and birches, flourishing vegetable plots and, on one property, several fairy gardens nestled in tree stumps to not only delight the owners’ grandchildren but also introduce them to horticulture on a small scale. Some properties celebrated the joyful colors and blowsy abundance typical of cottage gardens, while other owners opted for a more formal design; one couple covered both, as the viewer moved from the front of the house to the back—truly the best of both worlds. Virtually all the owners mentioned the many types of wildlife with whom they share their properties—fox, deer, turkey, sometimes a bear or coyote and of course butterflies, bees and birds. All these creatures take as much pleasure—and food—from the landscape and gardens as the owners do, but without having to do any of the work! Two of the properties on the tour were literally brought back from the dead after the ravages of Hurricane Irene in 2011. The raging waters swept away gardens, fencing, compost heaps, trees, walls and bridges. Both sets of owners—one who lives near the Batten Kill on Rt. 313 and the others who live on the Roaring Branch on Kelley Stand Road—grieved, assessed the damage, took a deep breath and began to rebuild and even expand, with the help of their neighbors and the town. Their properties today are testament to not only the power of Nature but also the resilience of humans.
It was a lovely day, with box lunches provided by the Wayside Country Store and live music greeting guests on the porch of the Hill Farm Inn, one of the properties on the tour. The proceeds from the event will, in keeping with club tradition, help fund our ongoing
efforts to beautify the town, offer educational programs for children and adults, and provide an annual scholarship to an Arlington high-school senior who is furthering his or her education after graduation, as well as to offer financial aid to local schoolchildren who wish to participate in the state’s Conservation Camp each summer.
Submitted by Nancy Boardman, Corresponding Secretary
The Leaf Article, August 2019
The Arlington Garden Club began its 2019 season in March, and has blossomed in some exciting ways since then. For one, we have a bumper crop of new members, who are bringing their expertise, experience and enthusiasm to the club’s mission and many projects. For another, we have formed a very productive partnership with the Arlington Area Renewal Project, an exciting volunteer endeavor the seeks to bring all sorts of energy to the towns of Arlington, Sunderland and Sandgate. The group is working hard to find workable solutions to economic and social issues such as affordable housing and job creation, as well as exploring creative ways to draw visitors to our area. One of its most successful efforts to date has been the Arlington Farmers Market, which is managed by one of our new club members, Jessica Roberts. Now in its second season, it grows in numbers of vendors and buyers with each passing Friday evening. The club has had free space there on several occasions to promote our mission and garner new members. The Project has also generously funded some of our civic beautification efforts around town, including filling with flowers the planters under the wooden signs that mark the entrances to Arlington.This is truly a rewarding relationship for both groups, one that we expect will benefit residents and visitors alike.
On Memorial Day club members marched in record numbers at the Arlington Memorial Day Parade, handing out vegetable and flower-seed packets to bystanders along the parade route. Our flag-waving contingent was led by Joann Rose’s husband’s antique pick-up truck, loaded with barrels, buckets and baskets of flowers, with Lynn Novick’s husband bringing up the rear in his vintage red sports car. This was the first year that prizes for themed floats were given by the parade’s sponsor, American Legion Post 69, and we are already planning our strategy to win one in 2020!
Along with another successful Plant and Bake sale over the Memorial Day weekend and an array of interesting, inspirational monthly programs--including a demo by floral designer and flower-show judge Valerie Cleary and a talk (co-sponsored with the Garden Club of Manchester) by Susan Morse of Keeping Track, Inc. about the effects of climate change on the animals of the North-- the Arlington Garden Club is half-way through another noteworthy year on both traditional and new fronts.
Submitted by Nancy Boardman, Corresponding Secretary