Little Garden Club of Rye Business Meeting
January 11, 2022
Business Meeting, followed by joint program with Rye Garden Club via Zoom
“Uninvited: The Spread of Invasive Species” by the Department of Environmental Conservation and Q&A with Laura Greene, Rye Nature Center Interim Conservation Director
January 11, 2022 10:04 am
Via Zoom (all virtual)
Present:
Cheryl Adler, Betsey Albert, Marianna Amato, Josie Beary, Rosario Benavides, A. Collins, Mary Collins, Karen Coombs, Victoria Dillon, Marilyn Donahue, Chris Duncan, Julie Goldie, Amy Hardis, Barbara Hauptman, Mary Julian, Mary Kelly Kehoe, Doree Leonard, Joan Mark, Beth Marren, Kate McGough, Connie McLeod, Chris Murray, Kathy O’Hare, Anja Porto, Phyllis Schmiedeberg, Marianne Shea, Jean Taplett (27)
President’s Welcome:
Jean welcomed everyone to the meeting and extended special greetings to our potential new members: Miriam Lambert, Sarah Grise, Sue Garofalo, Kendra Dowling. Jean mentioned that she is still looking for proposers and supporters to write letters for new members; most of them have completed the business meeting attendance requirement.
Mary Collins moved to approve the November 2021 business meeting minutes, and Anja Porto seconded. The minutes were approved.
Thank-yous: Jean offered thanks to everyone who worked on WinterGarden. Mary Collins wants to do a thank-you in person later as zoom does not allow her to fully express her heartfelt gratitude. Chris Duncan will be distributing a small thank-you token to everyone who helped.
Additionally, Jean thanked members who helped with Daffodil distribution to the Rye City schools, the Big Dig, the Daffodil Garden at The Osborn, the Thanksgiving project for Meals-on-Wheels, decorating the Rye Free Reading Room.
Communications:
Jean is trying to direct all club communications to be distributed by Kate McGough. Kate has targeted the first of each month to disseminate dates and information for upcoming events. A newsletter will be published seasonally.
It was noted that the NAL Conference (National Affairs and Legislation) will be virtual this year, and available for all to attend. The dates are March 1-2, 2022.
A joint Conservation Committee/Library Committee Author Lecture will be held on Wednesday February 2, 2022, at 4:00 pm. Registration is required via the GCA website.
Founders Fund:
Jean explained that a new GCA Committee, Civic Improvement, now includes Founders Fund. This year there was only one Founders Fund submission, but clubs are still required to vote to ratify the award to that project. The link to the project will be included in the February Monthly and members will be asked to vote on the project at our February meeting.
Jean noted that the LGCR “Civic Committee” is now known as “Community Stewardship.”
Floral:
There was no teacup challenge this month as the business meeting was virtual and Chris Duncan was out of town.
Photography Project:
Anja Porto (Photography chair) and Kate McGough (Communications chair) are examining the financial potential of creating notecards featuring scenes of Rye to sell at next year’s WinterGarden. They are asking members to submit photos of iconic scenes around town, not simply flowers. The notecards will be blank, with the LGCR logo and photographer credit on the back. There was some consideration given to including sample texts that could be used for different occasions to help purchasers use their cards. Chris Duncan suggested contacting Ann Straub to create catchy titles for the different scenes on the cards. The cards would be bundled for sale.
Anja has volunteered to do the layout of the cards, and emphasized the values of this project:
as a fundraiser,
an opportunity to get out in the community,
and a way to raise awareness of our club.
A small committee will be formed in midsummer to choose the photos. Calendars may be discussed further.
Club members were asked to continue taking photos of your winter gardens.
Horticulture:
Cheryl Adler (Horticulture chair) reported she experimented with seeds from a recommended list for winter seed sowing. Cheryl will host a winter seed sowing workshop in her garage on February 10th at 11:00 am. Cheryl will provide seeds and soil and Chris Murray has collected milk jugs to be used. If mornings are not convenient, Cheryl asked that members contact her with alternative times to hold the workshop.
The Shirley Meniece Horticulture Conference will be held September 19-21, 2022. Each club may enter two plants in the plant exchange. The challenge is to propagate plants that were grown at Fairsted, F.L. Olmsted’s home in Brookline, MA. Our club has been successful with clethra, itea and viburnum in the past, all of which are on the list. Winter seed sowing could be used for this event, and Cheryl will host a workshop in the spring for woody plants.
The GCA Annual Meeting flower show will be held April 28-30 in Parsippany, NJ. The schedule for Pathways is on the GCA website. The deadline for 3-month ownership of horticulture entries is January 28, 2022. Cheryl noted that McArdle’s in Greenwich recently received a shipment of houseplants, which could be a good source for PAR class entries. She recommends reading the schedule for the possibility of 6-month ownership requirements for some classes.
Cheryl noted that most of the flowers in the cut stem classes should be in bloom in our area in time for the annual meeting and offered to transport and enter members’ cut stems in the show. It will be as easy as entering stems in our club daffodil show!
Chris Duncan suggested the club organize a group visit to the annual meeting flower show. Marilyn clarified that attendees would need to be fully vaccinated and wear masks.
There was additional discussion on PAR classes. (Class 34 is PAR – a special plant that doesn’t fit any other category. Registration deadline is March 27, 2022, with minimum one year ownership.) Chris Murray recommends members buy a “pet” plant and care for it. You only need to polish it for presentation. Chris Duncan then volunteered Chris Murray to evaluate any members’ plants for PAR entries. Chris Murray mentioned that begonias are easy to grow, and that propagating a plant is even better. The propagation also gives you the opportunity to enter “mother and child” classes.
Horticulture class # 33 requires three plants that won a Freeman Medal, with club entries encouraged. It was noted this would be a good opportunity to learn about the Freeman Medal plants. Jean asked Kate to provide a link to the Freeman Medal winners on the club website.
Cheryl mentioned the Seed Share section on the Horticulture landing page of the GCA website. It will tell you how to contact and share seeds with other GCA members. (Seeds are mailed.) It would be nice if LGCR offered seeds on this site. Locally, members can also share seeds at the Rye Free Reading Room, via the repurposed card catalog near the stairs to the Children’s Room. Cheryl reminded us that seeds often last more than one year and would love to hear members’ success stories. It was suggested that LGCR set up seed sharing for the middle to end of May; perhaps a member located centrally in Rye would offer their driveway as a sharing spot? Chris Murray also noted that excess seeds can be sent to the Shirley Meniece seed share.
The annual Daffodil Show will be held at the Jay Heritage Center on Thursday April 14, 2022. Setup will happen on April 13th and tear-down will be the morning of April 15th (including delivering leftover stems to Meals-on-Wheels). A sign-up genius for show volunteers will be sent in the next few weeks. It is hoped that every member will get involved. A training session for clerks will be held. Volunteers will be needed to greet each entrant. Another sign-up genius will be circulated for volunteers to help alter the tablecloths used for displaying the daffodils at the show. Sewing machines will be set up in Jean’s living room.
There is no new information from Rye Town Park on their daffodil celebration this year.
Cheryl shared a candle she decorated from pressed flowers. There are many YouTube videos on how to apply the flowers using wax or Mod Podge. They could also be use on notecards. Cheryl may run another workshop on drying flowers, especially alstroemeria, pansies and columbine.
The meeting concluded at 10:55 am and all LGCR members were invited to the join the 11:00 am zoom meeting with the Rye Garden Club to watch the video “Uninvited: The Spread of Invasive Species” by the Department of Environmental Conservation. It was followed by Q&A with Laura Greene, Rye Nature Center Interim Conservation Director.
Respectfully submitted,
Amy Hardis, substituting for Karen Coombs
Next meeting: Tuesday, February 8, 2022, 9:30 am Board meeting and coffee, 10:00 am Business meeting at The Osborn. Program: Fani Szterenbuch with “Arrangements for St. Valentine’s Day”