February Minutes

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GARDEN CLUB OF NEW HAVEN, INC.

GENERAL MEETING

www.gcnh.blogspot.com

February 8, 2010

Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station

The General Meeting was called to order by President Carol Ross on Monday, February 8, 2010, at 12:17 p.m., at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT.

Thank you to Rosita Murphy and the Membership Committee for the lovely reception for prospective members on Sunday, January 7.

Program

Debbie Moore, Program Chair, introduced guest speaker, Rick Macsuga, from the Connecticut Department of Agriculture.

Mr. Macsuga is responsible for agricultural development, resource preservation, and promotion of “Connecticut Grown.” His presentation was “Agriculture in Connecticut—Past, Present, and Future.”

Business Meeting

The Business Meeting was called to order by President Carol Ross at 1:18 p.m.

President’s Report—Carol Ross

Minutes of the January GCNH General Meeting can be found on the GCNH blog, www.gcnh.blogspot.com, and hard copies are always available each meeting at the sign-in table for those without Internet access. Reminder: The Sunday after the General Meeting is the deadline for submitting information to be included in the GCNH Newsletter blog to Ann Hoefer.

The Civic Committee, chaired by Judi Freudenburg, has distributed a questionnaire regarding outreach activities of GCNH. All members are requested to fill out and return this questionnaire to provide information about activities in which members are currently involved and activities of future interest.

FGCCT Flower Show: “Spice of Life,” is February 18-21.

FGCCT Courses: See the Flower Design Committee Report (page 2) for more information.

Voting will take place next month on the Founder’s Fund Grant. Information is available on the GCA website and in the GCA Bulletin.

All members are welcome to attend GCNH Board of Directors monthly meetings—the next meeting is March 4. Guest speaker, Sharon Cappetta, will speak about the history and management of the Garden Club Tree Fund monies (which are housed at the Community Foundation).

Committee Reports

Hospitality—Rosita Murphy

Thank you to all who brought refreshments—Beth Gilson, Ina Jaffee, Billie Ladd, Deborah Lifton, and Carolyn Millman. Thank you to Adele Edgerton for the beautiful table arrangement.

Flower Design—Lisa Lovejoy

Thank you to GCNH members who made floral arrangements for the prospective member wine and cheese reception, and a special thank you to Rosita Murphy for volunteering her home for the event.

K-1 Floral Design classes: Wednesday, March 3, Asymmetrical Triangle. Wednesday, March 7, Hogarth Curve Design.

Meet in the lower level laboratory room of the Jenkins Building at the Ag. Station.

Please contact Lisa if you are interested in either of these workshops. Workshops are open to all interested members.

Kay Vosburg is the scheduled guest speaker for the March GCNH General Meeting, demonstrating floral design of Sogetsu Ikebana. Club members are asked to make an Ikebana arrangement and bring it to share at the March meeting. Lisa provided each member with a fact sheet about Ikebana floral arranging.

FGCCT Flower and Garden Show, “Spice of Life,” is February 18-21. February 13 is the deadline for registration of Horticulture entries.

FGCCT Flower School Course, April 14-16 at the Ag. Station (Jones Auditorium). Registration deadline is March 31. Sign-up for the full course + bring a friend who can attend for half-price! See the December issue of FGCCT News or www.ctgardenclubs.org.

FGCCT 2010 Landscape Design Study Program, Course IV, March 30, 31, and April 1 at the Ag. Station. See the December Issue of FGCCT News or www.ctgardenclubs.org .

Horticulture—Cordalie Benoit

Members wishing to enter a specimen in Horticulture at the February FGCCT Flower and Garden Show in Hartford can contact Cordalie—she will make a “house call” to help you with your entry selection, pick-up and deliver your entry to the show, and return it to you in perfect condition! Service with a smile! 

2011 Zone II Meeting—Betsy Hartmayer

Current project ideas: (1) A Zone II Cookbook containing recipes from members, their families and friends. (2) Expansion of the Holiday Boutique & Workshop to include a larger selection of boutique items and an opportunity to participate in hands-on, creative workshops. Volunteers are needed to help with these two projects. Contact Betsy if you are interested.

Photography—Amy Estabrook

Members are invited to join this new committee. A committee meeting is planned for March 4, at 1:00 p.m. after the GCNH Board of Directors Meeting. If interested in attending but this date does not work for you, sign-up and let Amy know a date that does work. There is no need to be a photographer to join this committee—just an interest! A sign-up sheet was provided.

Any members having photos taken through the years of GCNH activities, please loan these photos to the committee; copies will be made for a GCNH archive, and your original photos returned.

Garden History and Design—Karyl Evans

A committee meeting was held February 5, at the home of committee chair, Karyl Evans. It was decided a “Feature’s List” resource book would be compiled containing 100+ features of garden design. This resource tool will be used by committee members as they scout for gardens to document for the Smithsonian; it will enable them to know what to look for in a garden and what to take note of on a garden plan.

The next committee meeting will be Friday, March 5, at the home of Anemone Schweizer-Kaplan. Committee members will bring proposals of gardens to be considered for documentation. Proposed gardens will be visited by the committee and the selected garden documented over the spring, summer, and fall of 2010.

Conservation—Mikey Hirschoff

The resource list compiled by GCNH last spring, “Where to Eat and Buy Local Agricultural Products In New Haven County, Connecticut” will be up-dated. Contact Mikey if you would like an updated copy.

Want to eat local year-round? “CT Farm Fresh Express” is one company that believes in eating local, and they deliver local produce to your doorstep when you want it, all year. www.CTFarmFreshExpress.com Phone: 860-873-8760 or 860-917-7627

The Conservation Committee, in conjunction with the Flower Arranging Committee, will be presenting a program of floral design techniques using reusable materials. This workshop is being planned for either April or May with a guest floral designer.

Mikey will be attending a legislative meeting this month in Washington, D.C. Any members with local environmental concerns, please give this information to Mikey.

M/S/P to adjourn at 1:38 p.m.

The next GCNH General Meeting will be held on Monday, March 8, 2010, at 11:45 a.m.

Minutes submitted by Recording Secretary, Marty Dauwalder