Wollaston Garden Club
MEETING NOTES
Meetings are in reverse chronological order. Scroll to view prior meetings.
Wollaston Garden Club Regular Meeting, January 17, 2008
The meeting was called to order by President Janet Lynch at 7:00 p.m. She read the treasurer’s report for the month of December as submitted by the treasurer, Leah Shea. The president thanked the hostesses, Laura Barrett and her assistants and the floral arranger Marnie Dunn for a terrific job. We had one new member, Kathy Mitchell, who was introduced to the group. She then read the treasurer’s report as submitted by Leah Shea.
The President thanked everyone for their cooperation and hard work on the Greens Sale. She is looking for volunteers to join the nominating committee, and asked that anyone interested contact Carol Fischer, who is the Board representative on the committee.
The President gave an update on the By-laws project and indicated we hoped to be done by the end of January with the draft to be presented. She also read the list of charities which the Board had voted on the prior week.
Marina Kelley discussed a program offered by National Grid to donate to renewable energy. Quincy Environmental Network is co-sponsoring this effort. If Quincy gets 150 residents to sign up, there are some benefits for the city. Information can be found on the National Grid website.
Carol Fischer asked if anyone has additional plants for the flower show. She has submitted a list but can make changes up to and including the day the show starts. She also asked if anyone wanted to do the seedlings for the Plant sale. If no one volunteers, the question arises as to whether we should split them among 10 people so no one person would take on too much. The seedlings make about $300 for the sale. We get the seeds from Graceful Gardens at the end of April, so there’s still time to volunteer.
The Horticultural topic for the evening was Small Trees for Your Garden Landscape, presented by Carol Fischer. She provided a handout with some suggestions, and discussed the topics to think about when buying a small tree: shape, bark color, type, flowering or not, etc. She personally decided on Japanese maple because of the orange colored bark, with 4 season appeal. She also suggested that members think ahead 20 years, when it attains full height. She also mentioned a tree called Japanese Stewartia, which a neighbor has. These are beautiful and somewhat difficult to fine, but Marnie Dunn indicated she had found one at Quincy Adams Nursery, and had seen them at J. Thomas in Milton.
Our guest speaker for the evening was Joanne Chong Caccavalle, an expert on the art of Ikebana. Joanne offers classes at her home in Weymouth, as well as speaking to groups. Ikebana is the art of Japanese flower arranging. Joanne is a professionally trained flower arranger, originally from Singapore. She has been in the United States for many years, and learned the art in the US. She pointed out that this is an expensive hobby, and you need time, interest and money. The art used to be religious in the sense of sky, earth, spirit, etc. but now it is more an art form and the terminology has even been changed to first line, second line and third line. She will be demonstrating at the New England Flower Show, for anyone who missed the meeting. Some other interesting points she made as follows: always cut underwater, as it keeps the flowers fresher. She grows trees just for the purpose of always having interesting cuttings available. Plants with an upward curve are good.
Proportion is important, and the warmth of your fingers can actually bend the stems of the flowers. Finding beautiful branches to use are part of the thrill of Ikebana. Don’t try for symmetry, that’s more a part of Western flower arranging. There’s no right or wrong way, but there are rules to follow. Arrangers can use interesting containers for demonstration purposes, but plain are needed for shows. She has only been doing Ikebana for 8 years, which is a short time for this art. Carol Fischer passed around a list for indications of interest in taking lessons at Joanne’s house in Weymouth. Cost is $10 per person per class, with another $5 approximately for plants. She needs at least 6 people to make it worthwhile. Pat Artis will contact Joanne upon her return and discuss some possibilities for dates. See Pat if you are interested in signing up.
Joanne very generously donated all her arrangements (without containers) as part of our club raffle, which set a record for raffle profits. The meeting ended at 9:00 p.m.
Wollaston Garden Club December 2007 Meeting
Due to inclement weather and lack of parking, the December meeting and plant swap was cancelled.
Wollaston Garden Club Regular Meeting, November 8, 2007
Hostess: Eleanor Cleveland Floral Arrangement: Alison Moore
A regular meeting of the Wollaston Garden Club was held on November 8, 2007 at the Wollaston Congregational Church. The meeting was called to order at 12:20 p.m. by President Janet Lynch. She thanked the hospitality committee and floral arranger for their efforts. No new members were in attendance, but guests were introduced and welcomed. New name badges with our club flower, the dogwood, were distributed to all members, thanks to the outstanding efforts of Diane Foley.
The President announced that sign up sheets were available at the desk for anyone wishing to sign up for a committee if they haven’t already done so. She also announced that Maureen Meschau has resigned as Recording Secretary and that Jan Clifford has agreed to act in that capacity pending approval of the board. If anyone is interested in taking over Press and Publicity from Jan, please contact Janet Lynch. The president updated the group on the progress of the By-laws committee and stated that it was hoped that the committee would have completed their work by late spring and would present the document to the members for approval at that time.
First Vice President Pat Artis made the group aware of a House Tour sponsored by the Weymouth Garden Club on December 9. The cost is $10 and sign up sheets were available for anyone wishing to carpool to the home. She also mentioned that the December meeting would be a Yankee Plant Swap and brought a sample of what creative thinking could do. She briefly mentioned a change to the Program dates and times for the Greens Sale workshops:
Demonstrations by Cynthia Lewis were offered at 5 and 6 p.m. on November 29. Set up was from 10-4 on Friday, 11/30 No one will be allowed in to purchase anything until 9 a.m. on December 1. This has apparently been a big problem in the past.
She mentioned the East Window display the club is providing at the New England Flower Show in March, and urged members with particularly noteworthy plants to consider entering them individually. Anyone interested should contact either Carol Fischer or Cynthia Lewis. All the plants that were grown for the East Window display have now been “adopted” by members to nurture until the show. She also mentioned the trip to White Flower Farm and encouraged members to take advantage of these planned activities as an opportunity to get to know other members better as well as a learning experience. Lastly, she discussed Art in Bloom which the Club will participate in once again. Cynthia Lewis will be the arranger and Pat Artis will be the assistant. They are encouraging members who are interested in those roles in the future to sign up as interns this year to learn toe process.
Greens sale co-chair Jo Costello brought the group up to date on the progress of the committee and encouraged members to sign up to work on preparation or actual sale day, keeping in mind the importance of this event to our bottom line. In response to feedback from last year, the number of wreaths was greatly increased this year, and table arrangements were decreased. She asked for unusual or attractive containers, pine cones and dried plants; no plastics or synthetics are used. She suggested that any greens being cut and brought in should be cut as close to the sale as possible to be absolutely fresh. She passed out colorful flyers to be posted in various stores and businesses in Quincy. Marnie Dunn will be handling the large signs the day of the sale.
Carol Fischer, Horticulture Chair, provided an overview of choosing greens for your own yard, as well as a handout of definitions. Our guest speaker, Julie Weis, spoke about the ancient custom of bringing in greens as they were thought to contain good spirits, which then entered the house. While speaking about the various greens available in New England, she passed around labeled samples, and made a swag, greens filled sleigh, and large basket display, all of which were raffled off at the end of the presentation, along with several other donated items.
The meeting was adjourned at 9 p.m.
Wollaston Garden Club Regular Night Meeting, October 18, 2007
Hostess: Ruth Griffin Floral Arrangement: Adrianna Guerra
A regular meeting of the Wollaston Garden Club was held on October 18, 2007 at the Wollaston Congregational Church. The meeting was called to order at 7:00p.m. by president, Janet Lynch.
After acknowledging and thanking the hospitality committee and floral arranger for all their efforts, new members and guests were introduced and welcomed. Diane Foley was thanked for all her diligence in getting the yearbook out again this year. Art Scarpa was voted in as an Honorary member to expedite his future work with the New England Flower Show committee members.
Anneli Johnson reported that they are in the process of scheduling a public dedication for the repositioning of the Ann Hutchinson Marker. The committee will meet again the end of October.
Janet Lynch announced that club members should call her home phone number during inclement weather to check whether the scheduled meetings are canceled or not. 781-963-4851
Janet Clifford reminded members to go online to the WGC website and take the Miracle-Gro Survey on organic fertilizers. Miracle-Gro sponsors our website and our webmaster Brian needs our results as soon as possible. Members can Google Wollaston Garden Club to link to our web page.
Jo Costello gave an update for the Greens Sale which will be held December 1,2007. Members were encouraged to sign up to help out with the clubs main fund raiser. She also passed around a plethora of sample greens with a detailed explanation of each sample.
Members were reminded to let Marie Blanchard know of any members who might benefit from cards and get well wishes. She is the “remembrance” chairperson and will disseminate the information to other club members who might wish to send along uplifting and/or get well messages.
Pat Artis reported on upcoming field trips and encouraged members to sign up so car pools can be established. White Flower Farm is Saturday the 20th. She also talked about Art in Bloom from last year and encouraged members to sign up as interns for this year’s entry.
Kay Borek stated that the club’s library is up and running. Members may sign out magazines or books at any time and just return them when finished so items can remain in the library for other members to enjoy. Raffle items were displayed on the side table and included bulbs, amaryllis, and a wreath.
Pat Artis explained the procedures for our East Window display for next year’s NE Flower Show exhibit. Cynthia and Carol will be the “point people” to assist plant grower helpers. Cynthia demonstrated techniques for prepping the plants for display and Pat said we were still seeking more East Window Plants. Further information, support, and updates will be on the club’s website. Plants will be gathered back the beginning of March 2008 to prepare for the display.
Carol Fischer gave an informative “Designing a Welcoming Garden Landscape” workshop presentation which included an extensive suggested bibliography.
Meeting adjourned after the raffle. Maureen Mesheau, Secretary
Wollaston Garden Club Regular Day Meeting, September 20, 2007
Hostess: Anita Fasano Floral Arrangement: Lois Root
A regular meeting of the Wollaston Garden Club was held on September 20, 2007 at the Wollaston Congregational Church. The meeting was called to order at 12:00 noon by the president, Janet Lynch.
After acknowledging and thanking the hospitality committee for all its efforts new members and guests were introduced and welcomed.
Jan Clifford reported that the By-Laws committee has met four times already and hopes that all revisions will be completed by January 2008.
Anneli Johnson and Jo Costello reported that they are in the process of scheduling a public dedication for the repositioning of the Ann Hutchinson Marker.
Janet Lynch announced that club members should call her home phone number during inclement weather to check whether the scheduled meetings are canceled or not.
Janet Clifford reminded members to go online to the WGC website and take the Miracle-Gro Survey on organic fertilizers. Miracle-Gro sponsors our website and our webmaster Brian needs our results as soon as possible.
Pat Artis reported on upcoming field trips and encouraged members to sign up so car pools can be established.
Kay Borek stated that the club’s library is up and running. Members may sign out magazines or books at any time and just return them when finished so items can remain in the library for other members to enjoy. She also requested members to bring in any garden sculptures in good condition to the next meeting for raffle items.
Janet Clifford circulated a lovely club photo history album depicting the club’s “year in review.”
Florence Clifford donated an exquisite quilt to our club.
Members were reminded to let Marie Blanchard know of any members who might benefit from cards and get well wishes. She is the “remembrance” chairperson and will disseminate the information to other club members who might wish to send along uplifting and/or get well messages.
Carol Fischer thanked everyone who helped make the July 07 Club Garden Tour such a success. Hostesses were thanked for opening their homes and gardens to members and the refreshment committee was acknowledged for all the delicious treats. She reminded members to water their gardens because there was no rain in August and the plants need watering before the winter months ahead. Members received a hand out entitled “House Plants for Five Exposures” The fifth exposure is decorative ~someplace attractive but not in front of a window so they would use an alternate light source.
The “East Window Workshop” presentation by Art Scarpa began at 1:00P.M. Art was nominated as an honorary member of the WGC and he will be consulting with members who take plants to nurture for the club’s East Window entry for the upcoming New England Flower Show.
Meeting adjourned at 2:15P.M. Maureen Mesheau, Secretary
Wollaston Garden Club May 2007 Meeting  The last meeting of our 2006-2007 club year was May 17, and our speaker for the evening was Donna Lane, a well known expert on Dahlias.
Donna first presented a slideshow, with commentary about the various types and colors found in the dahlia family, as well as some very specific steps for keeping dahlias indoors during the winter and replanting them outside in the warmer weather. She also brought a tray of small dahlia plants that were raffled off to lucky members. Donna explained that dahlias are not easy to care for, so dedication and some pampering are necessary, although the final product is well worth the effort, and properly cared for, the plants will bloom year after year. 
Earlier in the evening, horticulture chair Carol Fischer demonstrated how to quickly and easily assemble a container garden, using materials purchased locally. Her choice of plants was very interesting and attractive, and the finished products were auctioned off. The winner was Connie O’Brien, who is proudly displaying the containers on her front porch, where many of us can see them daily.
We wish to thank our hostess for the evening, Lynn Petitti for some wonderful snacks, , and Elaine Sullivan who created a beautiful arrangement of lilacs and pink roses. Although formal meetings are on hold for the summer, there are still plenty of activities happening, so keep an eye on this site for announcements. The calendar for the upcoming season is now available as well in the Calendar section.
Wollaston Garden Club April 2007 Meeting  The three Quincy garden clubs joined forces on April 19 at the Wollaston Congregational Church for their annual luncheon and meeting. Presidents Janet Lynch of Wollaston Garden Club. Jo Morris of Houghs Neck Garden Club and Jean Green of the Seaside Gardeners of Squantum were all in attendance, with about 50 members of the three clubs, to hear a presentation by Norma Jane Langford on the topic of “Sassy, Classy Grasses”. Grasses represent 10 of the 15 foods that “ stand between man and starvation.” Langford told the group, and explained that the damages to New Orleans might have been far less severe if the natural grasses, which had largely died off because of the man-made straightening of the Mississippi over the years, had been there to protect against flooding. We are fortunate in having a number of varieties of grasses growing in this area.
 Lunch and floral arrangements were provided by the SeasideGardeners, as the groups rotate hostess duties annually. The next meeting of the Wollaston Garden Club will be on May 17 at 6:45 p.m. at the Wollaston Congregational Church, with a presentation and slideshow at 7:30 on “Sensational Dahlias—Something for Everyone” by Donna Lane. This will be the last club meeting of the season, and non-members are invited as well. Fee for nonmembers is $3.00. The club will hold its annual plant sale on Saturday, May 19, from 9-11 at the church, and everyone is invited to come and buy hardy perennials and herbs plants. Come early for the best selection.
Wollaston Garden Club March Meeting
The Wollaston Garden Club held its latest meeting on March 15 in the Wollaston Congregational Church, with the main topic of the evening a talk by Jill Carter, Senior Associate at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Her topic, Art in Bloom, has been an annual fixture at the MFA for the past 31 years.  Only garden clubs recognized by the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts are allowed to participate, and each participating club may select only two members to represent them. Each club is assigned an object from one of the museum’s many collections, and the goal is to interpret that object by means of a floral arrangement. Ms. Carter took us through the steps, and then showed slides of some of the most memorable arrangements, one of which was submitted by the Wollaston Garden Club in 2003. She indicated that this particular slide is a showstopper wherever she speaks, for its unusual and clever use of materials. We will be participating again in 2007; Cynthia Antonopolous and Pat Artis will be representing the club.
Our next meeting will take place on April 19 and will be a joint one with the Squantum and Houghs Neck clubs, with a presentation by Norma Jane Langford on Sassy, Classy Grasses.
Our annual plant sale is scheduled for May 19 from 9-12 at the Wollaston Congregational Church and is being coordinated by Cynthia Antonopolous.
We wish to thank our hostess, Anita Fasano and her crew of helpers, as well as Liz Adamson for her creative floral arrangement.
Wollaston Garden Club February Meeting On February 15, a day when the ground was covered with several inches of ice and a cold wind was blowing, 40 hardy members of the Garden Club made their way to Wollaston Congregational Church for the first ever “Cooking with Herbs” luncheon.
Following a business meeting and horticultural report, as well as the annual seed exchange, the group got down to the main event, enjoying the various recipes coordinated by Pat Artis and Cynthia Antonopolous and Anneli Johnson. The meal consisted of Rosemary chicken, cheese and parsley potatoes, mixed greens with herbal vinaigrette dressing, herb breads with herbal butter, cranberry mousse, pepper and anisette cookies and currant cake. The group wishes to thank Pat and Cynthia and Anneli as well as all their volunteers for pulling together a very successful event, despite the weather. Thanks also to Florence Clifford, the hostess, who provided a floral arrangement and, in keeping with the theme, a decorative basket of herbs as a centerpiece, and all her assistants.
Copies of all the recipes will be available on our website shortly.
The club will hold its annual garden tour in July. Carol Fischer is organizing this event.
Led by the skillful auctioneering of Fran Guida, the Club then held its annual auction. Members were asked to donate one or two new or almost new items that they weren’t using, and the proceeds will be used to fund additional club events, guest speakers and charitable donations. Together with a lot of laughter, we raised approximately $134.
The next meeting is a night meeting, with the business portion starting at 6:45 for members. Non-members are invited to come at 7:30, when our topic/slide presentation will be Art in Bloom Road Show, with guest speaker Jill Carter.
Wollaston Garden Club January Meeting At the most recent evening meeting of the Wollaston Garden Club on January 18, 2007, we were treated to a panel discussion by long time members Pat Artis, Cynthia Antonopoulos, Anneli Johnson and Carol Fischer on the importance of Journaling or recordkeeping. Each panelist had been asked to address the questions:
· Why we journal or record keep?
· What materials do we use?
· How would a newcomer begin? (the answer is to make a plot plan, and
graph paper was given out to get everyone started) Following the formal presentation, which included samples of each panelist’s personal records, other club members shared their own methods. A timetable of gardening activities was distributed, showing the extensive year-round effort needed to keep our gardens beautiful and healthy. Carol Fischer, our Horticultural chair, also distributed copies of a catalog she has been developing with names, locations, website information and commentary about various nurseries and online plant sellers. She updates this information constantly and makes it available to any club member.
We thank the panelists for all their hard work in putting together the materials, as well as the evening’s hostess, Barbara Linden, and a special thank you to Edible Arrangements for providing a lovely and delicious centerpiece.
The next meeting will be our “Cooking with Herbs” luncheon on February 15 at 11:45, followed by the annual Auction and Seed Exchange. Members should bring no more than 2-3 items for the auction on that day.
Wollaston Garden Club December Meeting The Wollaston Garden Club held its December business meeting and annual Holiday luncheon on December 21, 2006. We wish to thank our hostess, Nancy Nickerson and her crew for the delicious lunch, as well as Agnes Smith for the lovely seasonal floral arrangement. Lunch was followed by a timely horticultural presentation on forcing winter dormancy of bulbous plants, in particular the amaryllis, and how to revive them in the spring.
The Club was also flattered to have been recognized by the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts on its 75th year anniversary. The main guest speaker of the day was Tom Galvin, a man of many talents who modestly calls himself only a “Quincy Historian”. As Tom is a columnist and frequent contributor to the Sun, most Quincy residents are familiar with his work. The particular topic of the meeting was his collection of local postcards, preceded by a brief history of the postcard itself. To the disappointment of many, we ran out of time because of the great interest in the photos of Quincy of 75 years ago; many of the sites featured on the slides are still standing and recognizable, and others are remembered from our childhood. The club would like to officially invite Tom to return for another session in the very near future. Tom’s speech was followed by a Yankee Plant Swap, a different twist on the famous Yankee Swaps, and reflected a lot of the creativity and originality of our members. The next meeting, on January 18, will be an evening one, starting at 6:45 p.m. at the Wollaston Congregational Church. A panel of members will discuss Garden Journaling/Recordkeeping, and members are encouraged to bring any garden organizing materials they currently use as discussion topics.
Wollaston Garden Club Fall Meeting Who says winter is almost here? You’d never know it from the vast array of flowers at the Club’s meeting on November 9. Members were asked to bring a bouquet or two, either from a store or from our own garden, as well as a small sample of anything unusual or unique we might have growing in the garden. Once the official business of the meeting had been conducted by President Janet Lynch and Vice President Pat Artis, , with the minutes from the prior meeting and the Treasurer’s report being read by the secretary, Maureen Mesheau, the real fun began.
Carol Fischer, Horticultural chair, led off the meeting by identifying some of the more unusual samples club members had brought, as well as discussing some of the characteristics of the plants. Carol has been described as passionate about plants, and that is very apparent, as she finds beauty in every plant, and offers suggestions as to where they do best, where to acquire, and multiple uses. She also discussed the upcoming Annual Greens Sale at Wollaston Congregational Church on December 2, at which the club will be selling a variety of wreaths, sprays, arrangements and decorations for your holiday tables. Members are encouraged to bring in cuttings from the many evergreen plants that flourish in this area all year round, and to come to a workshop on November 30 to help create some of the beautiful and fragrant items to be sold. The public is encouraged to come to the sale, beginning at 9:00 a.m. and ending at about 12 noon, but in prior years, latecomers have found that everything goes quickly, so it’s best to come early.
The highlight of the evening was our guest speaker, John Habib, owner of Best of the Bunch Florist (bestbunchflorist.com). John is committed to being the best, and told us about his daily trips to the Flower Exchange, as well as giving the members some advice on buying individual flowers to make up your own bouquets. John also buys extra flowers so that he will have some left at the end of the day to prepare bouquets for the ill and infirm, as he understands from personal experience the joy that an unexpected gift of fresh flowers can bring. The purpose of bringing bouquets soon became apparent as John had us work along with him as he demonstrated the best methods for putting together flowers and greenery of different types and sizes to create a beautiful and unique arrangement with our own personal touches. He also had some helpful hints, and explained the theory behind some of the tenets we have always heard and seen:
--Always keep fresh flowers in water. Since this is difficult to do when transporting them, put a wet paper towel or wet newspaper around them until you get to your destination. Newspaper has traditionally been used for years by professionals, and there is something in the newsprint that actually helps keep the flowers fresh.
--It’s fine to put an aspirin in the water, but what the plant really likes is the sugar that is in the aspirin. Putting a half to full teaspoon of sugar in the water works just as well..
--Always cut the bottom on the diagonal, as it gives the stem an opportunity to “drink”. If a stem is cut flat, the flower can’t absorb the water properly, and will suffocate.
--Mix different colors and textures, make it interesting
--When making a bouquet, put the tallest and thinnest flowers in the middle, and work your way out with shorter, broader flowers on the outside to get the rounded effect.
--Have fun doing it! John, too, is passionate about what he does, as evidenced by the fact that he has been doing it for over 40 years. His only regret is that after all this time, he can no longer smell the fragrances, and he encouraged everyone to enjoy smelling the flowers while working on the displays. He had every table hold up their finished products, many of which were quite professional looking, and all of which contained a mixture of store bought and home grown fall flowers and foliage. There was a lot of talk and laughter while making the bouquets, and everyone had a lot of fun, even if ours weren’t the “best of the bunch”.
A special thank you as well to Lois Roche for her lovely floral arrangement, and to Jane McNulty, our hostess, and her helpers for the great refreshments. The next meeting will be a Yankee Plant Swap and a talk by Tom Galvin on Wollaston/Quincy memories. It you would like to become a member and join the festivities, please contact Marie Blanchard at 617-471-7936.
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