Barrington Garden Club Annual Meeting

 Barrington Garden Club enjoyed it's last regular meeting of the season on May 18, 2021, at Ann Gralnek's garden with the Annual Meeting and Luncheon in person! Meeting highlights included a presentation of the 90 year history of the club by Sue Redden and Sandi Tinyk. Barrington Garden Club was organized on May 26, 1931, and federated on May 12, 1932, and continues to work for our environmental health by protecting trees, wild flowers, birds and natural resources, as well as promoting the interest and study of all phases of gardening and encouraging civic beautification.

Enjoy our gardens around town!

Beauty and the Bees: A different way of looking at garden design

On Tuesday, April 20, 2021, Barrington Garden Club were charmed by Deborah Trickett, owner of the Captured Garden, and her Zoom presentation. She has worked throughout New England designing gardens and creating containers for clients who want to live in harmony with nature. She showed us how, with a few tweaks, we can provide spaces that are not only beautiful but are also beneficial to bees and other pollinators. 

The Sakonnet Garden

Tuesday, March 16, 2021, Barrington Garden Club enjoyed a Zoom program presented by Mikel Folcarelli and John Gwynne, owners and designers of the Sakonnet Garden in Little Compton, RI. They discussed the history and inspiration for the garden rooms and explained how they have worked for over thirty years to create and build an enchanting, creative and diverse landscape on their seaside property. See glimpses of the garden on their website sakonnetgarden.net.

Gardening for the Birds

 On February 9, 2021, Barrington Garden Club presented via Zoom Charlie Nardozzi with his program "Gardening for the Birds". Charlie is an award winning, nationally recognized garden writer, speaker, radio and television personality. A resident of Vermont, Charlie explained how birds are struggling due to habitat loss, pesticide use and climate change. He discussed the best flowers, shrubs and trees to grow in your landscape to enhance bird life and still have a beautiful yard. Check out his website Gardening with Charlie.com!

Maximizing Space in the Garden: Creating More of a Good Thing

 Tovah Martin, renowned author, freelance writer and avid gardener, presented her program to Barrington Garden Club on January 19, 2021, via Zoom. Tovah is an accredited Organic Land Care Professional through NOFA, an honorary member of the Garden Club of America and recipient of their medal for outstanding literary achievement, as well as a member of the Connecticut Horticultural Society. 

Tovah describes her program. "No matter whether you are gardening in a close-knit neighborhood or a sprawling estate, you want to garden efficiently, prolifically, sustainable and beautifully. You need to garden smartly and you've got to conserve your resources. This lecture focuses on all the points on your checklist. When you layer a garden, not only do you maximize space, but you can also create hard-working habitats. You can fulfill a balance between what you need and what nature needs. Using my own garden that I call Furthermore as an example, I describe how to create layers in varied habitats including the perennial, berry, and vegetable gardens. The result is visually fulfilling, low maintenance, and mulch-eliminating when plants go wall-to-wall. This lecture shares how that shakes down to serve our needs as well as the needs of pollinators and other creatures. You can expect to hear many innovative ideas beyond the usual solutions." Tovah's lecture, accompanied by pictures of her garden, was a truly outstanding program. The club thanks you!!

Holiday Happenings for Barrington Garden Club

On Tuesday, November 17, Barrington Garden Club hosted, by Zoom meeting, Michelle Lariviere and her program 'Floral Designs for the Holidays'. Michelle created three different holiday floral designs as she discussed the fundamentals of design and the procurement of her materials. She also offered tips helpful to the amateur designers for their homes during the holiday season.

Do enjoy the town wide decorating done by the Barrington elves. Look for the lovely wreaths and garlands at various buildings and gardens around town. Please remember mask wearing to stay well for the holidays in this surging COVID season.

Plant Propagation at The Arnold Arboretum: Overview and History

On Tuesday, October 20, Barrington Garden Club via Zoom introduced Sean Halloran, Plant Propagator at The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, the oldest public arboretum in North America. He focused on the history, mission and future of propagation in a public garden setting. His slide presentation highlighted important wild collected and horticultural material that explores the biodiversity of the woody plant world. Included were practical ways that home gardeners can propagate their own plants from seed, cuttings and layering.

Thank you, Sean, for such an enlightening lecture!