PROGRAM 2022 - 2023

All meetings will be at the First Parish Church unless otherwise noted. Coffee will be served at 9:15 AM, followed by the business meeting, beginning promptly at 9:45 AM. The program begins at 10:00 AM. Club meetings are open to the Provisionals, waiting list and guests. The public is invited unless noted. The Annual Meeting begins at 11:00 AM at the Weston Golf Club and is open only to members and the Provisional club.

August 25, 2022 Horticulture Workshop: “How to Exhibit your Plants” 10:00 AM

Please join Cynthia Chapra in her garden to learn how to choose plant material, prepare it and choose an appropriate container to display it in. This workshop will help you prepare for Thrall Bowl competitions. Location: Cynthia’s Garden, 138 Newton Street

September 15, 2022 Program: Sustaining the Monarch, One Yard at a Time, by Katie Banks Hone.

Learn about the natural history of monarch butterflies, their annual migration, the reasonsfor their decline and the many conservation efforts currently underway along the monarch migration pathways. Experience an entire season of blooms that you can plant in your own yard to help monarchs and other pollinators. Thrall Bowl Competition Location: First Parish Church Program Liaison Lisa Greenberg Hostess: Melinda Constable Co-hostesses: Priscilla Claman Katie Phaneuf Catherine Konover Mary Ann Riordan Elizabeth Soares Barbara Keller

September 22, 2022 Horticulture Workshop: Part 1: “Collecting Perennial Seeds for Plant Propagation” 10:00 AM

Elizabeth Soares will lead a hands-on workshop in Cynthia's garden focusing on how to collect, prepare, and store seeds from your favorite perennials for plant propagation in your garden. Location: Cynthia’s Garden, 138 Newton Street 11 October 17, 2022 Design Workshop/Demonstration: “Fabulous Foliage” 10:00 AM Please join a Club Favorite Thelma Shoneman to prepare for the November Sweet Tray competition, “Fabulous Foliage”. Location: Weston Public Library Community Room

October 20, 2022 Reception from 6-7pm; presentation at 7pm Program: C-Change Conversations: Opening Minds and Building Consensus about Climate Change, by Kathleen Biggins.

We will explore a non-partisan multimedia presentation on the science of climate change and the impact it is having on our health, economy, and global security. Location: First Parish Church Program Liaison Sue Zacharias Hostess: Regina Hajjar Co-hostesses: Molly Varnau Anandi Pratap Chay Veeder Carolyn Ellis Susanne McInerney Ginia Ziobro Yuko Kojima

November 3, 2022 Horticulture Workshop: Part 2: Outdoor Winter Seed Sowing and Seedling Care” 10:00 AM Please join Elizabeth Soaresin Cynthia's basement to learn how to sow native perennial seeds and care for seedlings after germination.

Elizabeth will also explain how to set up an outdoor home nursery for native plant seeds using milk jugs, pots, or growing beds. The plants propagated from the seeds you sow in November or December may be entered in the May or September 2023 Thrall Bowl Competitions. Location: Cynthia’s Garden, 138 Newton Street 

November 17, 2022 Program: Winter Wow: Containers for the Colder Months, by Deborah Trickett.

Winter approaches but this doesn’t mean your window boxes or containers need to spend the next four months filled with the skeletons of long-dead plants. Instead, you can compost those spent annuals and fill the void with a variety of options from classic to contemporary designs to keep container gardens appealing in all seasons. Sweet Tray Competition: entries in place by 8:45 AM Location: First Parish Church Program Liaison Katie Phaneuf Hostess: Beth Jakubowski Co-hostesses: Beverly Dillaway Helen Kondi Nancy Bates Robin Ewald Iva Brown Jean Zhou Mary Ann Pappanikou

December 1, 2022 Program: Greens Day starts at 9 AM Location: First Parish Church

Hostess: Elaine Duffy Huber Co-hostesses: Joan Wilson Sara Ko Lisa Greenberg Ellen Touart-Grob Kathleen Rousseau Cutting dates: Wednesday, 11/16, 10-11:30 AM Friday, 11/18, 10-11:30 AM Monday, 11/28, 10 AM - lunch to follow at Cynthia's house

January 19, 2023 Program: A Piet Oudolf Story, by Deborah Chud.

This is a personal introduction to the design principles of the leading naturalistic landscape & garden designer in the world, Piet Oudolf. Chud’s 5 years of research on Oudolf’s gardens led to her own “Oudolfian” garden and the only known database of his plant combinations. Her talk is part memoir, part history, and part design theory–with some practical Oudolfian “dos and don’ts” for gardeners at every level. Location: First Parish Church Program Liaison Cheryll-Anne Lane Hostess: Chris Martin Co-hostesses: Lynn Taff Lee Kraft Linda Harding Annette Somers Claudia Krimsky Michelle Deng Jean Noonan 

February 16, 2023 Program: A Passion for Conifers, by Christie Dustman

Conifers are the quintessentially misunderstood plant in the garden. Rather than being the blobs of the past, let’s take an in-depth look at what interesting conifer cultivars offer to modern gardens. Conifers are more unique, versatile, and arresting than you might think. Thrall Bowl Competition Location: First Parish Church Program Liaison Trish Scozzafava Hostess: Jessica Pohl Co-hostesses Ellen Wu Allison Barlow Pam Riffin Holly Kulow

March 16, 2023 Evening meeting at 7 PM Program: Raised Bed Gardening, by Trevor Smith

The “grow your own” movement has really taken off and for good reason. Growing your own vegetables is not only rewarding but it gives you access to unparalleled flavor when it comes to your vegetables. You will learn, stepby-step, how to garden through the seasons, as well as recipes for soil amendments and foliar feeding that you will not find on any YouTube channel. You will learn the pitfalls to avoid and tricks to apply to set you up for a wonderful nutrient-dense harvest. Location: First Parish Church Program Liaison Jessica Pohl Hostess: Dee Freiberg Co-hostesses: Cheryll-Anne Lane Trish Scozzafava Lisa Howe Pam Fox Kitty Smith Heather Mahoney Marsha Tucker

April 3, 2023 Design Workshop/ Demonstration: “Kaleidoscope of Color” 10:00 AM

Please join Thelma Shoneman for another terrific workshop to prepare for the May Sweet Tray competition, “Kaleidoscope of Color” Location Weston Public Library Community Room 

April 13, 2023 Program Gardening for Wild Pollinators and Biodiversity: How to Unlock the Conservation Potential of Your Home Garden, by Elizabeth Soares, co-founder of the Weston Plant Pollinator Alliance.

Elizabeth will discuss the plight of at-risk pollinator species in Massachusetts, the importance of preserving biodiversity and “native pollination systems”, and specific ways you can build habitat that will sustain a diversity of important pollinators, birds, and other wildlife species at home. Location: First Parish Church Program Liaison Robin Reisman Hostess: Joyce Frank Co-hostesses: Karen Morris Sue Zacharias Victoria Huber Robin Reisman Linda Gillooly Antonella Walker

May 4, 2022 Annual Meeting – 11:00 AM Program: Gardens of England with a walk-through of the Chelsea Flower Garden Show, by Dee Freiberg.

Every year, world-renowned garden designers, plant specialists, florists and nurseries come together to show off cutting-edge garden designs and inspirational floral exhibits. Be dazzled by the colorful flowers, innovative garden designs, and amazing exhibits. The theme for the 2022 Chelsea Flower Show was wild and natural spaces, showcasing gardens bursting with native plants and naturalistic designs. Green spaces were transformed into wildlife-friendly havens. Sweet Tray Competition – Entries in place by 9:15 AM Thrall Bowl Competition – Entries in place by 9:30 AM Location: Weston Golf Club Program Liaison Lisa Howe