2023 Program & Activity List
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Vertical Divider
11/01 Jolly Farmer-2024 Pre-Buy (Flyer) (Photos/Write-up)
10/14 Garden Angels Bulb Planting (Flyer/Write-up) (Photos)
09/01 Jane Verdrager's Garden (Photos/Write-up)
07/01 Grantham Old Home Day (Photos/Write-up)
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Vertical Divider
05/27 Civic Gardens Sponsorship Program (Photos/Write-up)
05/27 Civic Gardens Planting Weekend (Photos/Write-up)
04/14 Growing Dazzling Dahlias (Flyer)
03/10 Tips for Growing Great Flowers in NH (Flyer)
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OCTOBER ACTIVITY
The exciting 2023 “Garden Angel” project has been completed!
Mother Nature was kind this year and provided perfect weather for the hard work of digging and planting daffodil bulbs during the October 14-15 weekend. Now there are 818 new bulbs safely tucked into their beds all around town, joining the 390 Garden Angel daffodil bulbs we planted last autumn.
Mother Nature was kind this year and provided perfect weather for the hard work of digging and planting daffodil bulbs during the October 14-15 weekend. Now there are 818 new bulbs safely tucked into their beds all around town, joining the 390 Garden Angel daffodil bulbs we planted last autumn.
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You’ll recall that last year’s daffodil bulbs greeted us this past spring when they blossomed for the first time in several locations around town at the end of April. Fingers crossed that they, plus all of the newcomers, survive the upcoming winter and sprout up to dazzle us next springtime!
The planning for this year’s community planting started in the spring with the Bulb Leadership Team of Penny Willoughby, Sharon Parker, and Terri Munson, and later joined by Julie Strong and Carolee Shevlin. Again this year the Garden Angel project was part of the club’s daffodil bulb fundraiser for members and the public. It raised just over $500 for our club’s scholarship fund—a wonderful win for both our club and community!
In addition to the efforts of the Bulb Leadership Team, this autumn’s hard work—planting—was accomplished with the help of an additional 56 volunteers. Most were members of our club, others were recruited or just offered to help, but all were “Granthamites” who gladly came together for this project to help beautify our town.
Thank you to all the Garden Angels, who purchased the bulbs, and everyone who put on their gardening gloves and got to work digging!
* Be sure to read Terri Munson’s blog about the extra effort that went into planting at the post office.
The planning for this year’s community planting started in the spring with the Bulb Leadership Team of Penny Willoughby, Sharon Parker, and Terri Munson, and later joined by Julie Strong and Carolee Shevlin. Again this year the Garden Angel project was part of the club’s daffodil bulb fundraiser for members and the public. It raised just over $500 for our club’s scholarship fund—a wonderful win for both our club and community!
In addition to the efforts of the Bulb Leadership Team, this autumn’s hard work—planting—was accomplished with the help of an additional 56 volunteers. Most were members of our club, others were recruited or just offered to help, but all were “Granthamites” who gladly came together for this project to help beautify our town.
Thank you to all the Garden Angels, who purchased the bulbs, and everyone who put on their gardening gloves and got to work digging!
* Be sure to read Terri Munson’s blog about the extra effort that went into planting at the post office.
OCTOBER ACTIVITY
The exciting 2023 “Garden Angel” project has been completed!
Mother Nature was kind this year and provided perfect weather for the hard work of digging and planting daffodil bulbs during the October 14-15 weekend. Now there are 818 new bulbs safely tucked into their beds all around town, joining the 390 Garden Angel daffodil bulbs we planted last autumn.
Mother Nature was kind this year and provided perfect weather for the hard work of digging and planting daffodil bulbs during the October 14-15 weekend. Now there are 818 new bulbs safely tucked into their beds all around town, joining the 390 Garden Angel daffodil bulbs we planted last autumn.
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You’ll recall that last year’s daffodil bulbs greeted us this past spring when they blossomed for the first time in several locations around town at the end of April. Fingers crossed that they, plus all of the newcomers, survive the upcoming winter and sprout up to dazzle us next springtime!
The planning for this year’s community planting started in the spring with the Bulb Leadership Team of Penny Willoughby, Sharon Parker, and Terri Munson, and later joined by Julie Strong and Carolee Shevlin. Again this year the Garden Angel project was part of the club’s daffodil bulb fundraiser for members and the public. It raised just over $500 for our club’s scholarship fund—a wonderful win for both our club and community!
In addition to the efforts of the Bulb Leadership Team, this autumn’s hard work—planting—was accomplished with the help of an additional 56 volunteers. Most were members of our club, others were recruited or just offered to help, but all were “Granthamites” who gladly came together for this project to help beautify our town.
Thank you to all the Garden Angels, who purchased the bulbs, and everyone who put on their gardening gloves and got to work digging!
* Be sure to read Terri Munson’s blog about the extra effort that went into planting at the post office.
The planning for this year’s community planting started in the spring with the Bulb Leadership Team of Penny Willoughby, Sharon Parker, and Terri Munson, and later joined by Julie Strong and Carolee Shevlin. Again this year the Garden Angel project was part of the club’s daffodil bulb fundraiser for members and the public. It raised just over $500 for our club’s scholarship fund—a wonderful win for both our club and community!
In addition to the efforts of the Bulb Leadership Team, this autumn’s hard work—planting—was accomplished with the help of an additional 56 volunteers. Most were members of our club, others were recruited or just offered to help, but all were “Granthamites” who gladly came together for this project to help beautify our town.
Thank you to all the Garden Angels, who purchased the bulbs, and everyone who put on their gardening gloves and got to work digging!
* Be sure to read Terri Munson’s blog about the extra effort that went into planting at the post office.
OCTOBER PROGRAM
While our walk turned out to be much more adventurous than any of us had envisioned, we all had a great time! After helping each other through the muddy patches and pointing out particularly challenging spots where fallen leaves covered rocks and tree roots, Terri said the walk was a metaphor for the club--people helping people and having a wonderful time doing it!
As always, Dode Gladders was a delight and went above and beyond for us, checking out the trail loop beforehand—with his broken foot in a walking cast! We all learned so much from him about how to identify the types of trees found in our neck of the woods. The books he recommends are:
Many thanks to Emma for arranging this autumn outing! The club will send an honorarium to UNH Cooperative Extension-Sullivan County as our thanks to Dode.
As always, Dode Gladders was a delight and went above and beyond for us, checking out the trail loop beforehand—with his broken foot in a walking cast! We all learned so much from him about how to identify the types of trees found in our neck of the woods. The books he recommends are:
- Peterson Field Guides, Eastern Tree by George Petrides
- Bark, A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast by Michael Mojtech
- Burnt Potato Chip Bark and Other Ingenious Ways to Identify Trees by Dode Gladders (not yet released)
Many thanks to Emma for arranging this autumn outing! The club will send an honorarium to UNH Cooperative Extension-Sullivan County as our thanks to Dode.
SEPTEMBER ACTIVITY
Our 2023 GGC Member Appreciation Party at the South Cove Activity Center was a wonderful success and made even better this year because our celebration included honoring our new Civic Garden Sponsors!
We were so fortunate to have Kathy Houghton in charge of food planning and preparation, while Tina Gleich oversaw decorations for our Saturday night event. Their objective was to WOW everyone, which they definitely accomplished, as evidenced by the reaction of our members and guests as they enjoyed the food, ambiance, and one other’s company.
GGC President, Terri Munson, spoke to thank our members for all of their volunteer efforts this year and she especially wanted to thank our five new Civic Garden sponsors. We were so pleased that Ray Miner of Bar Harbor Bank and Erin Zagadailov of Lady Grantham Apiary were able to attend so that Terri could thank them directly.
We were so fortunate to have Kathy Houghton in charge of food planning and preparation, while Tina Gleich oversaw decorations for our Saturday night event. Their objective was to WOW everyone, which they definitely accomplished, as evidenced by the reaction of our members and guests as they enjoyed the food, ambiance, and one other’s company.
GGC President, Terri Munson, spoke to thank our members for all of their volunteer efforts this year and she especially wanted to thank our five new Civic Garden sponsors. We were so pleased that Ray Miner of Bar Harbor Bank and Erin Zagadailov of Lady Grantham Apiary were able to attend so that Terri could thank them directly.
GGC member, Jane Verdrager, presented a check for the amazing sum of $505 for our scholarship fund. Jane explained how she raised the money by dividing her garden plants throughout the summer and offering them to the community for donations. Jane felt her “experiment” worked out so well that she encouraged others to follow her lead whenever they are faced with garden beds full of plants that need to be divided.
GGC member, Erin Zagadailov, surprised Kathy Houghton with a beautiful bouquet of flowers she had grown on her flower farm and also presented a check for the scholarship fund. Erin said she raised $180 by selling hostas from her farm and matching the sales with her own donation, which she announced she plans to continue doing each summer in perpetuity.
GGC member, Erin Zagadailov, surprised Kathy Houghton with a beautiful bouquet of flowers she had grown on her flower farm and also presented a check for the scholarship fund. Erin said she raised $180 by selling hostas from her farm and matching the sales with her own donation, which she announced she plans to continue doing each summer in perpetuity.
Terri thanked everyone who was so willing to lend a hand for this year’s party—all in response to a single email request for volunteers, which she finds is so often the case with this enthusiastic bunch of members!
These are the folks who helped make the magic happen: Carol Currato, Michele Domini, Nancy Farrinelli, Betsy Fowler, Brian Fowler, Glenn Gauzza, Marty Gearhart, Tina Gleich, Doug Houghton, Kathy Houghton, Emma Kalaidjian, Andy Kargacos, Betty Kargacos, Amelia Lantz, Beverly Marshall, Bob Munson, Terri Munson, Louise Rauh, Neil Rauh, Steve Solomon, Penny Willoughby
These are the folks who helped make the magic happen: Carol Currato, Michele Domini, Nancy Farrinelli, Betsy Fowler, Brian Fowler, Glenn Gauzza, Marty Gearhart, Tina Gleich, Doug Houghton, Kathy Houghton, Emma Kalaidjian, Andy Kargacos, Betty Kargacos, Amelia Lantz, Beverly Marshall, Bob Munson, Terri Munson, Louise Rauh, Neil Rauh, Steve Solomon, Penny Willoughby
HOMEGROWN FUNDRAISER
Bee on Verbascum in Jane's beautiful garden (photo by Terri Munson)
Multiple times this summer, GGC member Jane Verdrager divided and gave away some of her gorgeous perennials with all the proceeds going to the garden club. Although she asked for only a small donation for each plant, Jane reported that most people donated extra, so by the time she put away her shovel in late September, Jane had raised a total of $545 and recruited a new member. WOW! THANK YOU JANE!
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JULY & AUGUST FUNDRAISER
Once again this summer, we served up homemade cookies and many other sweet treats for Music in the Meadows. Terri Munson took charge of organizing this fundraiser and was happy to announce the club made many new friends and our efforts brought in an amazing $979 in donations for our scholarship fund. While Mother Nature cooperated nicely this year, the August 8th concert was moved to the 29th when she threatened a washout!
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Many thanks go out to our talented and generous volunteer bakers who whipped up fresh batches of goodies each week and to those who served them up to the crowds of hungry and appreciative concertgoers!
Our Bakers: Martha Arnold, George Bachrach, Sue Berg, Diane Bilotta, Pat Brooks, Jane Deane Clark, Kate Cricco, Maryellen DeJong, Carol Ellenbecker, Nancy Farinella, Betsy Fowler, Liz Malone, Alecia Manning, Terri Munson, Sharon Parker, Joan Rachlin, Kathy Rudolph, Judy Simmons, Martha Sweeney
Our Servers: Betsy Fowler, Barb Jones, Michael Mulcahy, Terri Munson, Carolee Shevlin, Martha Sweeney, Susan Terwilliger, Penny Willoughby
Our Bakers: Martha Arnold, George Bachrach, Sue Berg, Diane Bilotta, Pat Brooks, Jane Deane Clark, Kate Cricco, Maryellen DeJong, Carol Ellenbecker, Nancy Farinella, Betsy Fowler, Liz Malone, Alecia Manning, Terri Munson, Sharon Parker, Joan Rachlin, Kathy Rudolph, Judy Simmons, Martha Sweeney
Our Servers: Betsy Fowler, Barb Jones, Michael Mulcahy, Terri Munson, Carolee Shevlin, Martha Sweeney, Susan Terwilliger, Penny Willoughby
JULY ACTIVITY
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Emily Rinde-Thorsen, the Recreation Director for the Town of Grantham, asked the garden club to join other nonprofits and local businesses on July 1st as part of Grantham's Old Home Day festivities. After the parade, and stopping at the chicken barbeque and children’s activities, many families visited our table to learn what’s what. Renee Gustafson and Terri Munson greeted lots of old friends and made some new ones. We greatly appreciated this opportunity to share our GGC news about what we've been doing and our upcoming plans.
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JUNE FUNDRAISER
It was fingers crossed up until the day of the 2023 GGC Tea Party but the skies cleared, and the sun shone brightly over the Clews’ lovely gardens. Forty Garden Club members and their guests enjoyed hot and iced tea, tasty savories, and sweet goodies. The menu was skillfully designed and prepared by Kathy Houghton who made all the delicious food with the one exception of Kristina Cole's yummy raspberry brownies. Tina Gliech was the hardworking sous chef. Waitresses were Jane Altobelli, Sue Berg, Kristina Cole, Elise Kendall, Sharon Parker, and Penny Willoughby. Heavy lifters were Jim Berg, Don Clews, and Bob Munson. We can't thank all of them and our gracious hosts Anke and Don enough. Definitely a day to remember!
JUNE FUNDRAISER
Early on Saturday, June 10th, we had eight tables loaded with vegetable plants, annuals, succulents, and perennials ready to sell. By the end of the day, our many volunteer hours had paid off beautifully, helping us generate a tidy profit for our scholarship and grant fund. In all, nineteen members participated with setting up the night before or working at the yard sale, and it was wonderful to see several additional members who stopped by to say hello or do a little shopping!
According to Emily Rinde-Thorsen, the Recreation Director for the Town of Grantham, our presence at the Yard Sale was clearly a big traffic generator for all of the other sales! You can see many more pictures and read about the club's transition from the spring plant sale we ran for many years prior to the pandemic to our participation in the community yard sale in Terri Munson's A Not So Mini Plant Sale blog.
After holding our Jolly Farmer and Van Berkum plant sales, the club participated in the Grantham yard sale to sell the additional plants we had ordered. We have Ray Miner and Pete LePre to thank for the vegetable plants they grew from seed for us to sell. Tina Gleich nurtured the beautiful succulents she grew from cuttings from plants she had purchased for her son’s wedding in 2022. Peg McGinnis and Ellis Robinson kindly donated potted plants. Kathy Houghton and her gardening crew dug up irises in the Triangle Garden. What a wonderful addition all of these extra plants made to our success!
In total, the yard sale raised $1,553 for our scholarship fund. Here’s the breakout:
The benefit for all GGC members who worked on this sale was seeing so many happy new plant owners enjoying taking their succulents, flowers, and vegetable plants home to brighten their window sills, flower pots, and garden beds. Just imagine all the people who will be picking thousands of tomatoes, cukes, peppers, squash, and zucchini, and enjoying them with their family and friends this summer!
Thank you to the following members who volunteered to make our participation in the town yard sale such a success: Jim and Sue Berg, Betsy Fowler, Marty Gearhart, Tina Gleich, Marcia Hanke, Kathy Houghton, Elise and Mark Kendall, Lee Ann Kerr, Amelia Lantz, Nancy Menton, Ray Miner and Pete LePre, Michael Mulcahy and Susan Terwilliger, Bob and Terri Munson, Cheryl Wilson.
According to Emily Rinde-Thorsen, the Recreation Director for the Town of Grantham, our presence at the Yard Sale was clearly a big traffic generator for all of the other sales! You can see many more pictures and read about the club's transition from the spring plant sale we ran for many years prior to the pandemic to our participation in the community yard sale in Terri Munson's A Not So Mini Plant Sale blog.
After holding our Jolly Farmer and Van Berkum plant sales, the club participated in the Grantham yard sale to sell the additional plants we had ordered. We have Ray Miner and Pete LePre to thank for the vegetable plants they grew from seed for us to sell. Tina Gleich nurtured the beautiful succulents she grew from cuttings from plants she had purchased for her son’s wedding in 2022. Peg McGinnis and Ellis Robinson kindly donated potted plants. Kathy Houghton and her gardening crew dug up irises in the Triangle Garden. What a wonderful addition all of these extra plants made to our success!
In total, the yard sale raised $1,553 for our scholarship fund. Here’s the breakout:
- $325 Jolly Farmer Annuals
- $115 Van Berkum Perennials
- $649 Vegetable Plants
- $410 Succulents
- $54 Siberian Irises
The benefit for all GGC members who worked on this sale was seeing so many happy new plant owners enjoying taking their succulents, flowers, and vegetable plants home to brighten their window sills, flower pots, and garden beds. Just imagine all the people who will be picking thousands of tomatoes, cukes, peppers, squash, and zucchini, and enjoying them with their family and friends this summer!
Thank you to the following members who volunteered to make our participation in the town yard sale such a success: Jim and Sue Berg, Betsy Fowler, Marty Gearhart, Tina Gleich, Marcia Hanke, Kathy Houghton, Elise and Mark Kendall, Lee Ann Kerr, Amelia Lantz, Nancy Menton, Ray Miner and Pete LePre, Michael Mulcahy and Susan Terwilliger, Bob and Terri Munson, Cheryl Wilson.
JUNE PROGRAM
Many garden club members who'd heard about our delightful visit to Jim Daigle’s hosta gardens, but couldn't attend last year, asked that we arrange for another visit so that more members could go on Jim’s garden tour. Jim offered a gift to each person on the tour—a bag of three or four different plants—all small and looking for a good home, and we were happy to help Jim by spreading his wonderful hostas all over Grantham!
MAY ACTIVITY
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Many local residents know about the Grantham Garden Club because of the civic gardens the club has maintained around town each summer for over 20 years. This year for the first time, five Grantham businesses provided us with funds to buy plants and have new signs made for the gardens. The sponsorships cover all five locations, so signs for CG Shepherd Realty, Coldwell Banker Lifestyles, Bar Harbor Bank, Lady Grantham Apiary, and Willis Auto Repair are being rotated every three weeks to make sure they are seen by as many people possible. When you see any of these wonderful folks, please thank them for their generous support!
Preparations for civic gardens begin in late autumn when a new design is planned for the following year and plants are ordered. In late May volunteers fill the planters and spruce up the triangle garden at the intersection of routes 10 and 114. From June through September, many volunteer members care for the plants at the post office, fire station, library, and town hall, by watering, deadheading, and fertilizing as needed to ensure they thrive and look their best throughout the summer season. We rely on Mother Nature to water the triangle garden! 
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MAY ACTIVITY
Many thanks to the GGC members who planted the containers and prepared the triangle garden this spring. They are Jane Altobelli, Sally Findley, Betsy Fowler, Kathy Houghton, Martha Sweeney, Susan Terwilliger, Penny Willoughby, Sela Young-Putnam, and Erin Zagadailov.
The GGC members who have volunteered to water the containers for a week this summer are Jane Altobelli, Christine Bachrach, Sue and Jim Berg, Clare Weed Castleberry, Janie Clark, Andrea Conger, Kate Cricco, Michele Dominy, Elise and Mark Kendall, Martha Gearhart, Marcia Hanke, Sue Johnson, Amelia Lantz, Michael Mulcahy, Terri and Bob Munson, Sharon Parker, Jeanne Raymond, and Susan Terwilliger.
As you can see, it takes a small army to make this happen each year!
The GGC members who have volunteered to water the containers for a week this summer are Jane Altobelli, Christine Bachrach, Sue and Jim Berg, Clare Weed Castleberry, Janie Clark, Andrea Conger, Kate Cricco, Michele Dominy, Elise and Mark Kendall, Martha Gearhart, Marcia Hanke, Sue Johnson, Amelia Lantz, Michael Mulcahy, Terri and Bob Munson, Sharon Parker, Jeanne Raymond, and Susan Terwilliger.
As you can see, it takes a small army to make this happen each year!
MAY FUNDRAISER
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It all started early last autumn when GGC members, Ray Miner and Pete LePre, volunteered to take on the monumental task of collecting orders before Thanksgiving from fellow garden club members for JOLLY FARMER perennials.
Their work continued on May 17th when the JOLLY FARMER truck finally rolled into the Grantham Town Hall parking lot after a long trip from their green houses New Brunswick, Canada. Inside were our beautiful plants, bursting with color, and ready for planting! The first thing our crew of volunteers needed to do though, was unload the plants, sort them into individual orders, and assisted club members with pick up. With Ray and Pete as our Team Leaders overseeing every aspect of this successful sale, from countless hours of detailed preparation, until the last of the plants they nurtured for several weeks were sold at the yard sale GGC participated in, we have them to thank for such a successful event! |
MAY PROGRAM
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Twenty-four garden club members attended the field trip we had to Jenny Cooke's wonderful garden in Lyme, NH. We had perfect weather that morning and everything from the carpooling arrangements to the lovely lunch we had at Stella's Restaurant afterwards ran as smooth as silk thanks to all of Emma's tremendous efforts ahead of time. We definitely enjoyed our opportunity to chat with Jenny about her beautiful blooming spring plants and her creative garden design. You will find many more pictures in Terri Munson's blog Pardon My Garden where you'll learn more about Jenny's garden and find out how the name for this blog came about.
Thanks to all the GGC folks for coming! |
Jenny chats with Sharon in front of Jenny's stone garden birds
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Julie, Jane A, Deborah, Martha, Marcia, Sue, Maryellen, Janie, Marty, Nancy M, Jane V, Jim, Nancy Mc, Michele, Michael, Susan, Jeanne, Barb, Karen, Jenny Cooke, Sharon, Kathy, Emma, Diane (not pictured is Terri who took this picture)
MAY ACTIVITY
For the first time in its brief 3-year history, the 2023 Clean Up Day had gorgeous weather which made picking up trash that much more pleasant. Fifty-four wonderful volunteers collected more than 65 bags of trash. The lesson learned from everyone is that there’s tons more trash out there than at first glance. A great big thank you to Diane Bilotta who presented the idea of a cleanup to the club and who has spearheaded it every year. And another shout out to the fabulous volunteers.
APRIL FUNDRAISER
Van Berkum perennials - Astilbe and Chocolate Snake Root
Despite being a brand new garden club member, Cheryl Wilson willingly stepped in to become the new Team Leader for the Van Berkum Perennial Plant Sale that Nancy Crocker ran so successfully for us for many years. The club is so grateful to Cheryl for keeping this club tradition alive when it was hours away from being abandoned! Thanks to Nancy's guidance and Cheryl's efforts, this year's sale raised more than $500.
FEBRUARY PROGRAM
Bill Weeks, a New Hampshire master gardener and GGC member, made his presentation to GGC members at Grantham Town Hall on February 10, 2023.
JANUARY PROGRAM
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The Grantham Garden Club started off the new year on January 13th by hosting its first, in person, general meeting at the Town Hall since March 2020. Forty people traveled to the Town Hall despite the rainy, slushy weather and another 25 joined in on Zoom for our first-ever hybrid meeting. Thanks to all who attended and participated in our first 2023 meeting and to our guest speaker who provided the inspiration to do more to help pollinators. Dr. Erin Zagadailov provided us with many ways to make gardens and yards more pollinator friendly.
Read more about the Lady Grantham Apiary in Terri Munson's blog. 
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