Letter From the Presidents- November

Dear Members,
The past month has been a whirlwind of garden club activities. If you had been so inclined, you could have spent time with your garden club friends on three or four days every single week! You could have been planting flowers at Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital; raking leaves, pruning bushes or sewing burlap onto the fence at Phelp’s Triangle; arranging flowers at Kitchen 1, Kitchen 2 or Designing Women workshops; touring the New Haven Green to learn about the trees; taking a walk at Long Wharf Nature Preserve; meeting to plan the Phelp’s Triangle renovation; meeting to plan future fund raisers; attending board meetings; attending general meetings; working on committees to plan other activities; attending awards luncheons.

But it’s too early to slow down yet; coming up is one of the highlights of the year, the Christmas workshop. In existence since 1997, it was organized by Lucy Elliot for the purpose of making Christmas arrangements for area nursing homes. This year, Lucy has enlisted Betsy Nininger to help her coordinate the effort, which will include 135 arrangements to be delivered to six area nursing homes. A small army of volunteers has been lined up to make sure that soaked oasis, containers, and supplies are transported to the workshop and to condition and deliver boxwood on the day of the workshop. All that’s left is gathering the hands to make the beautiful arrangements that are so appreciated by the residents at Arden Courts, the Whitney Center, the Mary Wade Home, Leeway, the Ella Scantlebury Senior Residence, and Hamden Health Center.

And that’s where you come in. On December 10 at 10:00 we will all meet at the Carriage House at Edgerton Park to assemble these arrangements. Please bring your clippers and evergreens from your garden. There’s no better way for us to share our love of gardening with our community, and we will top off the day with a festive holiday party and our annual holiday bake sale following the workshop.

Billie and I wish you and your families the healthiest and happiest of holidays!
Sincerely,
Debbie
“Pile high the hickory and the light
Log of chestnut struck by the blight.
Welcome–in the winter night.” (“Winter Night”, by Edna St. Vincent Millay)