April, 19th 2023
Nature Hike on Wildflowers
Matt Charpentier lead us on a wildflower walk to see spring ephemerals
Matt Charpentier lead us on a wildflower walk to see spring ephemerals
(click on individual pictures to enlarge)
Our March 8th, 2023 Meeting
Presented by Susan Guest, a certified fitness instructor and avid gardener. Susan provided us with educational and practical information on readying our bodies for gardening and how to keep healthy while doing it.
On February 15th 2023
Dot Odgren presented "Climate Change and Gardening: Drought Tolerance:
The Effects of Climate Change on your Garden"
January 20th, 2023 Annual Meeting
Our garden club Annual Meeting was at the Norco Sportsmen Club
pizza, salad and good times were the menu.
pizza, salad and good times were the menu.
Ephemeral Plants and Bulbs.
On Wednesday, October 12, 2022 we learned about the "now you see them, now you don't" world of ephemeral plants and bulbs. Gina Constantino and Jenny Sanders took us into that world.
There was also be a mystery daffodil bulb giveaway!
There was also be a mystery daffodil bulb giveaway!
Click below for the handout on forcing flowering bulbs!
Tower Hill Walk Aug 13th 2022
Integrated Pest Management (IPM).
On Wednesday, April 20, 2022 our speaker Marie Woodward from the University of Connecticut Home & Garden Education Center spoke about Integrated Pest Management (IPM). You can decrease damage to your plants or crops! We learned how to recognize pests and learn the best way to control them in the most environmentally friendly and economical way. This program was open to all members and friends of the Wachusett Garden Club.
Designing with Plant Communities
On Wednesday, March 16th, 2022 we learned a little bit about Designing with Plant Communities while watching an informative video with with Dan Jaffe Wilder, Horticulturalist,
co-author ‘Native Plants for New England Gardens’
All too often, during the design process, we think of plants on an individual or species basis. Yet in the landscape, plants are constantly interacting with one another in intricate ways. What happens if we create planting plans focused on complete systems rather than collections of individuals? Dan Wilder discusses how to create healthy, resilient plant communities by selecting and combining the right species for specific site conditions. He highlights a number of plant species and the settings for which they are well-adapted, with a focus on recommendations for tough light or soil conditions.
co-author ‘Native Plants for New England Gardens’
All too often, during the design process, we think of plants on an individual or species basis. Yet in the landscape, plants are constantly interacting with one another in intricate ways. What happens if we create planting plans focused on complete systems rather than collections of individuals? Dan Wilder discusses how to create healthy, resilient plant communities by selecting and combining the right species for specific site conditions. He highlights a number of plant species and the settings for which they are well-adapted, with a focus on recommendations for tough light or soil conditions.
Designing a Native Garden using Shrubs and Companion Plants program.
On Wednesday, October 13, 2021 club members and members of the public attended our program: Designing a Native Garden using Shrubs and Companion Plants. Our speaker is Cheryl Salatino, Landscape Designer, Certified Massachusetts Horticulturalist and owner of Dancing Shadows Garden Design, specializing in native plants and provided a lot of great ideas for planning next years gardens!
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Click the buttons below to download program handouts!
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Succulent Kissing Ball project
On Saturday Sept 11th, 2021 we learned how to make "Succulent Kissing Balls" in the Community Room of the Holden Light Department with the help of our instructor
"Cactus Cliff"
"Cactus Cliff"
Invasive Plant Walk
On Saturday Aug 7th, 2021 we learned how to identify invasive plants. It was done as an easy walk along the Thomas Prince School's nature trail, led by Jennifer Forman-Orth, a biologist with the Massachusetts Dept. of Agricultural Resources.
(Be sure to click on the plant pictures below for added descriptions)
(Be sure to click on the plant pictures below for added descriptions)
Oriental bittersweet
(Celastrus obiculus)
A vine that is known for entwining stems, branches and trunks and can break or knock over trees.
extension.unh.edu/blog/invasive-spotlight-oriental-bittersweet
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1081638.pdf
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1081638.pdf
Cotton Thistle/Scotch Thistle
(Onopordum acanthium)
(Onopordum acanthium)
New invasive plant to this area, found recently (2021) where construction took place on Rte 140
Bittersweet Nightshade
(Solanaceae dulcamara, tomato family)
Poisonous, flowers are purple-lavender, berries are RED; different from deadly nightshade (Atropa Belladonna)
(Solanaceae dulcamara, tomato family)
Poisonous, flowers are purple-lavender, berries are RED; different from deadly nightshade (Atropa Belladonna)
Click the following link to learn more about Massachusetts invasive plants: Invasive plant info
Our Annual plant sale and Raffle on May 8th, 2021 featured a selection of beautiful plants donated by members and friends of the club that included perennials, herbs, and annuals for sun and shade. Proceeds from the plant sale help benefit the local community. Our plant sale included educational information on invasive plants and eradication efforts.
On Saturday April 10th, 2021 we were treated to a nature walk at the Wachusett Meadows Audubon Sanctuary. The hike was led by Cindy Dunn, Assistant Sanctuary Director.
On Sunday October 18th, 2020 the club was treated to a nature walk with former Forestry Warden Joe Lee of Princeton Massachusetts. Joe brought his expertise in forest management, educated us all in the importance of our forests, and gave us tips on how we can take part in helping the various ecosystems within our forests!
On September 19th, 2020 Wayne Mezitt, owner of Weston Nurseries, Mass Horticultural Society’s chairmen of the board gave a presentation on propagating ornamental plants, shrubs and perennials!
On August 8th, 2020 we learned about Organic Gardening and Recycling from Jen Hilton
While practicing social distancing we were able to have a July 2020 garden tour hosted by Gina
May 23rd, 2020
While practicing social distancing, members of the garden club were on hand for the annual Princeton Memorial Garden clean up!
February 12th, 2020
Everyone enjoyed the presentation by Joan Butler on
"Birds: Creating welcoming habitats in your backyard"
This program was very informative and provided valuable information on how to create our own bird welcoming habitats!
Jana Milbocker was on hand to sign copies of her book
"The Garden Tourist's New England: A Guide to 140 Outstanding Gardens and Nurseries"
November 13th 2019
Rosalind Beck taught a class on how to create your own "Birdseed Feeders"
They were both festive and easy to make!
They were both festive and easy to make!
October 9th 2019
Some awesome terrariums were made in October. Just in time to bring a little green indoors!
Check out the "Gardening Tips" section of our website for details and instructions on how to make your own terrarium!!
Check out the "Gardening Tips" section of our website for details and instructions on how to make your own terrarium!!
September 22nd, 2019
Members had fun making Butterfly Puddlers and Stepping stones for the garden!
July 27th, 2019
Pickity Place was on the menu for club members at the end of July!!
July 13th, 2019
Club members were taken on a guided tour of the "Tower Hill Botanical Gardens"
June 22nd, 2019
Club members were treated to a wonderful tour of a local Princeton garden. A sudden burst of showers made the flowers shine!
June 19th, 2019
The club presented a program at the Princeton Counsel of Aging on "Container Gardening!"
April 10th, 2019
The Wachusett Garden Club
hosted a lecture on "Conserving Birds in Your Back Yard.” at the Thomas Prince School Library in Princeton.
Our speaker Dr. Jon Atwood has been a practicing ornithologist and conservation biologist for 40 years, specializing in integrating behavioral studies of rare and endangered bird species with habitat conservation planning. Members learned how to help the bird population in our own backyards!
hosted a lecture on "Conserving Birds in Your Back Yard.” at the Thomas Prince School Library in Princeton.
Our speaker Dr. Jon Atwood has been a practicing ornithologist and conservation biologist for 40 years, specializing in integrating behavioral studies of rare and endangered bird species with habitat conservation planning. Members learned how to help the bird population in our own backyards!
March 13th, 2019
Ken Warchol, who is the Program Director of the Worcester County Beekeeping Association. Gave an informative lecture on the importance of bees in our community. He is best known as The "Bee Whisperer". Ken brought lots of different varieties of honey for everyone to try!
February 13th, 2019
Cindy Dunn, Assistant Sanctuary Director at Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary, Princeton gave a presentation on the Eastern Monarch Butterfly to a packed house!
It was a great way to learn about this fascinating butterfly.
It was a great way to learn about this fascinating butterfly.
November 28th, 2018
Our former WGC President Rosalind Beck guided our hands on program, "A Design in the Round”. Members made a table centerpiece of flowers either in a vase or with a foam core.
October 13th, 2018
Everyone who was able to make it to the Harvard Museum's "Glass Flower" exhibit had a great time!
Sept 9th, 2018
The Concrete Leaf Birdbath project was
a great success!!
Special thanks to our host Gina Constantino
for opening up her house
and for the fabulous job of showing everybody how to make these wonderful keepsakes!
July 28th, 2018
The club took a self guided tour of the "Fuller Gardens" in North Hampton Beach New Hampshire.
Special thanks to all who were able to help clean up the Princeton Memorial Garden!
Once again the club helped in remembering the people who died while serving in the country's armed forces.
Once again the club helped in remembering the people who died while serving in the country's armed forces.
The 2018 Wachusett Garden Club's plant sale was a great success. People from Princeton and surrounding communities showed up to a great variety of local plants that they were able to choose from. Here are a few photos from the event!!
May 9th, 2018
Potting Party Photo!
There was a lot of work to be done for the Garden Club's plant sale!
This is just a few of the members who helped, and thanks to all that could attend!!
There was a lot of work to be done for the Garden Club's plant sale!
This is just a few of the members who helped, and thanks to all that could attend!!
April 2018
We met at "Longfellow's Wayside Inn" for a wonderful luncheon, and the went for a short drive down the road to the "Garden in the Woods" in Sudbury for a guided tour of the grounds.
March 2018
We met at the Thomas Prince School in Princeton and learned a little bit about how to get rid of Japanese Beetles and grubs.
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January 2018
January 2018: Had a wonderful time at the Luncheon at the Hartman Herb Farm in Barre. Lynn Hartman, co-owner of the farm spoke about the value of herbs and showed how to make an ornamental wreath.
September 2017
A Gourmet lunch at "Pickity Place" New Hampshire with a tour of the gardens and greenhouses
Making wreaths from natural materials, September, 2016:
Tour of Rosalind Beck's gardens, August, 2016:
Lavender Festival in Buckland, MA & Bridge of Flower, Shelburne Falls, MA, June 2016:
Princeton Arts Society 25th Annual Show with floral arrangements by Wachusett Garden Club members, May 2016. Arrangements left to right, 1st row: Beth MacAdams, Beth MacAdams, Gina Constantino; 2nd row: Kim Houde; 3rd row: Krista Ferrante, Lis Murphy. Click on a photo to see the full art work & floral arrangement.
2016 Plant Sale:
Making a living wreath (pansies & mosses), April 2016, taught by Rosalind Beck.
Making round centerpieces for Thanksgiving, Nov. 2015, taught by Rosalind Beck:
Succulents: Propagation & Care, Oct. 2015. Presented by 'Cactus Cliff', aka Cliff Livernois.
Preserving the Harvest Program, Aug. 2015. Taught by Dawn Desilets Sulmasy.
Bonsai for Beginners Program, July 22, 2015. Taught by club member Carol Schrader. Enthusiastically taken by new owners of ficus bonsai trees.
Lost Garden Tour, June 7, 2015 at Allen Hill Estate. Joint program with Princeton Historical Society. Photos & narrative of original estate gardens by Anna Lee Frolich. Garden tour by Karen Cruise and John Trexler, former Director of Tower Hill Botanical Gardens.
Wachusett Garden Club Plant Sale, May 23, 2015. Below, top left: club members (Beth, Roz, Karen, Alli, Dale, Gina, Lis, Phyllis, Dave, Susan).
WGC Arrangements for Princeton Arts Society Show, May, 2015. Clockwise from top left: Rosalind Beck, Lis Murphy, Gina Constantino, Alli Roche
WGC arrangements for Princeton Arts Society Show, May, 2015.
Concrete 101: Making Stepping Stones, April 2015:
Orchid Show, Nashua, NH, February, 2015:
Pot Luck dinner & Yankee swap, December, 2014:
Making Tufa Stones at Dale Kristoff's, October, 2014:
Demystifying Shade Gardens, tour of Gina Constantino's gardens, August 2014:
Tour of Phyllis George's gardens, July 2014:
2014 Plant Sale:
Rustic table building program with Frank Hamm, April, 2014:
Holiday Pot Luck & Yankee Swap & Calendar Planning meeting, Jan. 2014:
Kissing Ball Program, October, 2013:
Canning What you Grow with Peggy Corbett, Sept. 18, 2013:
Kim Houde's Best in Show for Flowers, Bolton Fair, Sept. 2013:
Garden Tour at Phyllis George's, August 21, 2013:
Mason Hollow Nursery Trip, July 6, 2013:
Mt. Auburn Cemetery Trip, June 15, 2013:
May, 2013 Plant Sale:
April 2013 - Garden Trellis Building Program
Click on a photo to get a larger image and photo caption.
June 2011 - Bog Walk
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May 2011 - Plant Sale
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May 2011 - Arnold Arboretum
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April 2011 - Tower Hill Botanical Garden Tour with John Drexler
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February 2011 - Pruning with Joe Biagioni of Arbour Alliance
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January 2011 - Flora in Winter at WAM
January 2011 - Perennial Slideshow by Cathy Harragian of Organic Garden Design www.organicgardendesign.us
March 6th, 2011 - Members Gina Constantino and Rosalind Beck created a "Children's Hideaway in a Woodland Glade" for the Worcester DCU Center Flower and Patio show. The display won the "Peoples Choice" award!
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Our Spring Vignette at the 2009 Worcester Flower Show at the DCU Center.
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The Wachusett Garden Club splashed into March with a fantastic Vignette at the 2009 Flower Show . Kudos to the Project Leader and Senior Event Coordinator Karen Johnson! She lead a fantastic team effort to make 2009's show one to remember! Karen Johnson's team of crack designers included: Kim Houde, Cathy Lavin, Gina Constantino, and Karin Komenda! Thank you all for doing a fanatstic job!