The Quechee Garden Club will hold its Annual Plant & Bake Sale on the Village Green, Saturday, May 17 from 8am-12pm.
Shoppers will find a variety of annuals, herbs, vegetable starters, and hanging baskets supplied from local greenhouses along with perennials from members’ gardens.
“We’ll have a variety of plants to kick start your summer garden, and our members will be on hand to help with questions or selection,” said Carol Rynk, QGC co-president. “It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year, and we appreciate the community response. The proceeds from this sale help to support village beautification, local school outreach, and an annual college scholarship award.”
Marge Gray, selling plants to a customer at the annual Quechee
Garden Club plant sale
In addition, the bake sale table, back by popular demand, will offer plenty of fresh-baked cookies, breads, and cupcakes to take home. For more information, visit quecheegardenclub.com.
Meetings this spring have been replete with helpful tips for gardening. On March 6th, Lisa Steinberg began her presentation by saying that there are three essentials for great plants: light, soil, and water. She said, “Plants need light to photosynthesize. All plants need a bright spot to actually thrive. West and southern exposures are best but if you can’t get that, think about grow lights; they come in all shapes and sizes.”
Continuing her tips, she talked about soil. “A good aerated soil can help the roots get oxygen and help the water drain. Think about adding perlite which lightens the soil and helps the roots get the oxygen they need.”
Water is the third essential element for great plants. Lisa said, “Check for dry soil with a water meter, or just by sticking your finger in it! Clear pots can really make your job easier; you’ll be able to see what’s going on with the soil, and you can take your pot straight to the sink to water. Give it a thorough drink, and wait for the water to drain out the bottom. Then put it back into an outer pot. That way your plant is not sitting in water, and there will be less chance of its roots rotting. Most plants that are struggling are getting too much water!”
Valerie Woodhouse, from Honey Field Farm in Norwich, VT, the
April 3 speaker
On April 3rd, Valerie Woodhouse from Honey Field Farm in Norwich gave a presentation on herbs. She had slides with information about growing, nourishing, drying, and using herbs for culinary, medicinal, and decorative purposes. If you want herbs that will come back every year, bigger and stronger, she said to try chives, thyme, sage, oregano, mint, lemon balm, French tarragon, and winter savory. In Vermont, parsley, rosemary, lavender, lemon verbena, and bay laurel are grown like annuals due to our harsh winters. She said that growing herbs from nursery starts gives quicker results with less effort and risk, as opposed to starting from seed or from rooted cuttings. A useful suggestion is to give aggressive herbs such as mint, lemon balm, cilantro, dill, chamomile, oregano, and parsley their own planters. As for harvesting, Valerie said “harvesting during the cooler morning or evening periods will lead to less wilting, and herb cuttings that last longer.”
On May 8, Jo Evarts will be our guest speaker. Her topic is: “The Influence of the Italian Renaissance Architecture on the Cornish Colony, NH.” Carol Rynk says, “Jo Evarts, historian, writer, journalist, and teacher, will discuss the design elements of the Cornish, NH art colony of the late 1800s to the early 1900s. She has been living on a Cornish Colony family estate since 1996.” We are excited to have her as our speaker again.
