The Long Hill Garden Club of Trumbull, Connecticut

Meetings for 2011 - 2012

Regular business meetings are held on the fourth Monday of the month at Trumbull Library, Quality Street, Trumbull, CT (unless otherwise noted).

Design and horticulture exhibits must be in place before 11:30 a.m. to earn credit.

Judging begins at 11:30 a.m. (Judges may not submit exhibits the month they are judging).

Refreshments are served at 11:30 a.m. Bring your lunch. Guests are welcome.

The business meeting begins promptly at 12:00 p.m.

Programs are scheduled to begin at 12:45 p.m.

September 26, 2011

Tree Care: A Homeowner’s Guide
Stewardship of the land includes planting and caring for trees and shrubs to provide beauty, harmony, privacy, shade, wildlife value, and financial equity. Often, this process becomes confusing, time consuming, and costly. Fortunately, lots of scientifically sound and practical advice is available right down the street and will be presented at this month’s meeting when our guest speaker will be Jeff Ward, “the tree guy at the Ag Station”. His talk will focus on tree care for homeowners and include a pruning demo.
Dr. Jeffrey S. Ward is Chief Scientist, Department Head, and Station Forester of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), department of Forestry and Horticulture in New Haven. He has expertise in identification and life histories of native trees and shrubs, forest management, invasive shrub control, plantation establishment, and forest nursery operation. He is knowledgeable about the natural history of Connecticut, landscape maintenance, and methods of reducing deer browse damage. For a full list of his extensive research and publication credentials go to http://www.ct.gov/caes/cwp/view.asp?a=2812&q=34508

September 28, 2011
Optional Field Trip: Wild Food Walk,
Terry Stoleson, OAM, will lead us on a walking tour of Indian Ledge Park and show how many edible items there are in our midst.

October 14, 2011--10:30a.m.
Club work Project: Golden Days Daffodil Planting
All those interested in helping with this ongoing project, please meet at Hedgehog Circle--top of Beaches Park, with shovel and work gloves.

October 24, 2011
One Model, Four Themes: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah, New Years
Elaine Romano of Booth House of Flowers in Stratford, CT will be demonstrating how to use one basic model to create an endless variety of small floral arrangements using simple variations. She will focus on four upcoming events: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah, and New Years. The basic model will consist of a clear glass vase (4” by 4” square), oasis, a tie leaf, and greens. This basic model will then be enhanced using a variety of flowers, branches, grasses, and other natural materials. Additionally, she will deviate from our strict flower show rules and add some “fun” decorative touches to enhance the arrangements, e.g. plaid ribbons for Christmas, snowflakes and/or touches of blue and silver for Chanukah, hot pink and orange streamers for New Years. When Elaine is done, four lucky women will take home her beautiful arrangements.
Elaine has been at Booth House since it opened several years ago and specializes in contemporary design. She previously owned 2 shops of her own. Booth House is owned by Alice Dinihanian Arcuri. It is a member of the Society of American Florists and the Connecticut Florists Association. See www.boothhouseofflowers.com or look for it on Facebook under Booth House of Flowers.

October TBD 2011
Optional Demo: Wreath making
Carol Pisani, will demonstrate how to make a Christmas wreath.

November 28, 2011
Enchanting Irish Gardens and Landscapes: A Virtual Tour
Take a virtual tour with the Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut through Ireland’s internationally renowned gardens. This tour will be led by members of the Milford Garden Club: Kathy Kobishyn, President, and June Bencivenga and Janet Kuryla, Vice-Presidents.
The tour will include: prize winning, private Boyce Garden on the River Shannon in Killarney: Killarney National Park with its lake, mountains, waterfalls and parkland; Muckross House renowned world-wide for fine azaleas and rhododendrons, and extensive water garden; Glengariff one of Ireland's most beautiful villages in an area of special interest to botanists because of the mild climate; Bantry House Garden, a wonderful mix of formal and informal plantings, with terraces, Italianate garden and ancient Wisteria Circle; the famous Ballymaloe Cookery School with its beautifully laid out vegetable garden, pretty water feature and .Celtic maze; Fota Arboretum with its collection of rare tender trees and shrubs, grown outdoors, and its walled garden, ferns, and orangery; the garden of garden writer and designer, Helen Dillon and urban Dublin garden, an oasis in the city, created over 25 years, where a series of little gardens are arranged around a central lawn, each with a different theme

November 19-20, 2011
Optional Workshop: Hypertufa Troughs
Marge Barnes will lead a 2 day workshop teaching us how to make a Hyperufa trough. Materials cost: $30

November 29, 2011
Optional Workshop: Boxwood Tree
Cathy Ritch, Arlene Field and Linda Kentosh will lead a workshop teaching us how to make a tree with a form and boxwood clippings.

December 12, 2011 Christmas Tea

The holiday party is alwayys fun as well as a wonderful opportunity for members to mingle and become better acquainted. The festivities would not be complete without our spirited sing-along with Aurora Montini at the piano, providing some very lively entertainment! You won't want to miss this annual event!

January 23, 2012

Becoming a Master Gardener
The Master Gardener Program is an Educational Outreach Program that is part of the University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension System. The program started in 1978 and consists of horticulture training and an outreach component that focus on the community at large. What sets them apart from other home gardeners is their special horticultural training. In exchange for this training, Master Gardeners commit time as volunteers working through their local Cooperative Extension Center and the Bartlett Arboretum in Stamford to provide horticultural-related information to the community.
LHGC Master Gardeners Nancy Baker, Meg Barners, Cheryl Damiani, Arlene Fields, and Mary Williamson will give a brief overview of the Master Gardener program including the following topics: 1) Introduction, i.e., application and requirements for completion/continuance of the Master Gardener certificate including class time, plant clinic, volunteerism and hot topics; 2) Botany, 3) Entomology, 4) Herbaceous Ornamentals, 5) Invasives, 6) IPM and Pesticide Safety, 7) Plant Pathology, 8) Plants Environment, 9) Small Fruit, 10) Soils, 11) Tree Fruit, 12) Turf, 13) Vegetables, 14) Water Quality, 15) Woody Ornamentals. This short presentation will be followed by a Q&A. Joining us will be a special guest, Sandi Wilson.
Sandi is an Advanced Master Gardener, NOFA Certified Organic landscape Professional, and licensed arborist with the CT DEP. She has been coordinating the Fairfield County Master Gardener Program for the past 10 years. There is nothing she likes more than trees except maybe insects!

February 27, 2011
Organic Gardening and Composting
The dreary days of New England’s winter offer the perfect time to begin planning for Spring. Colleen Plimpton joins us to share her expertise, especially about organic gardening and composting. Although trendy, growing organically and composting are not “hippie” or “baby-boomer” fads but in fact have been used for the last 60 years to avoid harming the environment. Organic gardeners only use animal or vegetable fertilizers rather than synthetics which where discovered in the 1840’s. They also use natural pest control devoid of industrial insecticides. But it’s also more than what they use or don’t use. It is a philosophy that stresses increasing the natural health of the soil, choosing appropriate plants that are suited to your area, and working with nature to produce a healthy and productive garden.
Colleen is a popular garden author, lecturer, instructor and coach, Colleen is a member of Garden Writers Association, the Federated Garden Clubs of America, Tri-State Hosta Society, Mad Gardeners, The Nature Conservancy, The Garden Conservancy, Highstead Arboretum, the Connecticut Horticultural Society, the New York Botanical Garden, and many other groups. Her award-winning one-acre ornamental garden has been on numerous tours, and serves as a living classroom laboratory where she teaches composting, composition, color and many additional how-to’s of gardening. She runs a garden coaching business, and teaches gardening at the New York Botanical Garden. Her essays, memoir pieces and feature articles have appeared in publications such as People, Places and Plants, Fine Gardening, GreenPrints, The Litchfield Review, Connecticut Gardener and Toastmaster. Her most recent book is a gardening memoir, Mentors in the Garden of Life.
.

March 26, 2012
Beyond Salt and Pepper: Cooking with Herbs and Edible Flowers
Herbs are enchanting and easy to grow. They can be grown in single pots on a sunny deck or patio, in window boxes, in tidy little patches or in a full-blown garden. They are fragrant, colorful, and textured. Most gardeners are also great cooks and enjoy using what they have grown to add fragrance, color, and texture to their food. During the summer, herbs from our gardens are usually used fresh but they can also be dried or frozen and saved to use all year.
This month’s speaker is Nancy Moore who will demonstrate how to cook with herbs and edible flowers. Ever hear of people quitting their day job to grow and sell herbs? Well, look no further than the Nichols section of Trumbull where Nancy., a former high school English teacher, owns a 6-acre herb farm named Moorefield Herb Farm. Besides growing herbs, Nancy keeps a very busy schedule. During season, she and her son, Richard, do 11 farmers’s markets a week including Trumbull, where she is the Market Master. Nancy is a certified Master gardener, past chairman of the CT Unit of the Herb Society of America, and has been speaking for 35 years.

April 23, 2011
Voice of the Farmer: A Plea to Save Connecticut’s Farms
If you’ve been to one of the many farmer’s markets in Connecticut, you know how delicious locally grown food can be. You are also aware that these foods are almost always organically grown and healthier for the environment and our body’s health.
By the early 19th century, 60% of Connecticut had been cleared for agriculture and 94% of the population was engaged in some type of farming activity. Today, only 2% of the population farms 12% of the land. 9,000 acres of farmland are lost each year.
A deeply concerned citizen, Beverly Corvino and her son Sean have created a documentary highlighting the plight of Connecticut’s small family farms. Using local farmers as teachers, they have recorded their wisdoms and concerns as well as their joys and rewards. Beverly states that “by buying produce from your local farmer, you are working to maintain a healthy environment, a vibrant community, and a strong and sustainable economy for you and your kids to thrive in.

May 14, 2012 Mona Lisa Restaurant

11:30 Annual Meeting and Installation Luncheon

Luncheon Chairman: Barbara Pezzullo and Evelyn Montagnino

"Installation of Officers and Presentation of Awards for Design and Horticulture"

Mona Lisa Restaurant

160 South Main Street

Route 25

Newtown, CT 06470


North from Trumbull Library on rte 11 to intersection of Rte 111 and rte 25, go left and follow rte 25 to Newtown and 160 South Main Street (rte 25) Mona Lisa on left, across from the Old Pfizer Building.

June 4, 2012 9:30 Garden Tour

July 9, 2012 9:30 Plant Exchange