A valiant crew braved gusts of wind on an otherwise mild and sunny December day to neaten up the Potting Shed beds for winter. Pictured here are just a few of the diligent souls who got the area neat and clean, cutting back perennials, raking leaves and filling planters with …
Funded by donations and fees from Potting Shed workshops and events with additional Rowayton Gardeners underwriting, the fence for our organic teaching garden is in the midst of installation. Stop down and take a look! It will match the fence behind the rose garden when it is completed and will serve …
The date for our much anticipated NYC outing has been set as Thursday, January 22nd! Members (only) are encouraged to join us for a trip to the Museum of the City of New York and catch a glimpse of the visual culture of elite New York in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. After …
Following up on their fall centerpieces and decorations, the Hill Top Gardeners spent time with our “Garden Therapy” Committee and put leftover Christmas Market greens to good use. Their resulting centerpieces were beautiful and festive. Click below for photos of the work session.
If you have resident or visiting furry friends for the holidays, please refresh your memory about the toxicity of many of our favorite seasonal decorations. Thanks to Pet MD for this important rundown of the dangers!
Hard work was made easy, thanks to great planning from our Christmas Market Committee and the presence of scores of members on hand for the various workshops and then the sale itself. Even the sprinkles and then the downpour on Saturday could not slow the purchasing frenzy or dim holiday spirits. Click …
Monarchs cannot survive without milkweed; their caterpillars only eat milkweed plants and monarch butterflies needs milkweed to lay their eggs. With shifting land management practices, we have lost much milkweed from the landscape and our monarch population is in decline. Please consider planting milkweed – November is the best …
On Wednesday afternoon, at the Annual Awards Meeting of the FGC of Connecticut, our very own Rowayton Gardeners won several important awards and citations! This formal recognition of our efforts was applauded by almost 400 garden club members from around Connecticut (a thrill for attending Gardeners June Klopfer, Carol Hooper …
The second annual Carve-A-Thon at the Potting Shed was a huge success. Kids, parents, Gardeners – a recipe for fun when pumpkins are thrown in for seasoning. Creative juices were flowing, as were grins and giggles as a record number of pumpkins were carved for Halloween. See more photos of …
The Hilltop Gardeners have requested a name change for their periodic work with the Rowayton Gardeners (formerly called “garden therapy”). This lively group enjoyed a recent work session overseen by our Club members Ellen Bieber, Rilla Neafsey, June Foster, Ann Purcell, Bev Hennessey and Susanne Miller using pumpkin containers to create …
Pesticide Free New Canaan has some great tips to get our lawns into good shape for next year. A SOIL TEST will take the guesswork out of fertilizing. See link. AERATE & SEED – now is the time! MOW your grass a little shorter, to about 2″, to promote growth. …
Recently, the Rowayton Gardeners hosted the UCNS Fours for garden fun. They dug and planted in the new Potting Shed Patch beds, then watched a terrific puppet show about the glories of compost! Lots of smiles and dirty hands were a recipe for fabulous fun!
What a thrill to be in our new “home” for the annual cocktail party! Members and their spouses/significant others got together as they do each year to bid farewell to an exceptionally busy summer and greet the fall. This year the Potting Shed provided the backdrop for our festivities. Click …
Our Pot Luck Harvest Supper was a tremendous hit on September 21st. Families celebrated the opening of the Potting Shed Patch with scarecrow making, pumpkin & gourd bedazzling, a kids’ garden puppet theatre, a worm feeding session, and a “fun with compost” talk. Check out some photos by Club Photographer, Petrea …
Kids ages 7 and up were invited to come to the Potting Shed to build a fairy or gnome house out of clay with resident artist Denise Bennett Minerly. The four-part series has already proven to be a great hit, giving participants a chance to create their own clay house, compose a creative …
Every Saturday (9:30 – 11:30 am) from September 6th to November 8th, our fabulous team of Rowayton Gardeners will host kids and parents for some amazing fall experiences and all are welcome to join us at the Potting Shed! Enjoy free nature-inspired crafts, garden art and harvest snacking for kids …
The Wilton Garden Club will host this standard flower show at the Wilton Historical Society, 224 Danbury Road, on Thursday, October 9th from 1:00-5:00pm, Friday, October 10th from 10:00am-4:00pm and Saturday, October 11th from 10:00am-2:00pm. Almost 50 spectacular floral designs, plus hundreds of horticultural specimens, photography and educational exhibits will be …
The Rowayton Gardeners & our good friends at Round Meadow Landscaping have worked together to create a magical new educational garden patch alongside the greenhouse. Eight new raised beds were installed inside beautiful stone retaining walls, a custom super-sized picnic table was built to enhance our outdoor classroom, an outdoor …
Please try to resist tidying away the hollow plant stems in your garden in the autumn and instead wait until the following year. They may have tiny bees hibernating inside! For more information, check out the Buzz About Bees website.
Thanks to our Environmental Awareness Chair, Mary Verel, for a thought-provoking article from the Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens website. When you’re shopping for native plants there are a few very important questions to ask your local nursery before buying anything. This article lists them and makes the point that there are many …
Sign up soon for this terrific opportunity – space is limited! The new UConn Master Composter Program will take place on five consecutive Saturdays, starting with October 4. The first and fourth classes will be held in the Silver Education Center at the Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens, 151 Brookdale Road, …
Thanks to our resident healthy options experts (Bridget, Sam, Linda and Pippa), Potting Shed campers learned nutritional facts first hand and had some tasty treats. Then, in the final session of PS Camp,
Regular weekly weeding days have been put on our calendar and the continuous and formidable efforts are making a difference around the Rowayton Community Center! The Rose Garden/Flagpole crew works 8:30 – 10 am on Monday mornings and the Field/Building Beds crew works Saturdays from 10:45 am – noon throughout the …
Our crack program planners have designed a delightful day of gardens and art on Thursday, September 18th in Old Lyme, CT. The Florence Griswold House, Museum and Garden together form a mecca for those who love art (particularly American Impressionism) and history. Tours of house and museum will be followed …
Thanks to Club Carpenter Michael Poler and Jim Ackerly who have just installed a handrail to the basement at the Potting Shed! The underground area provides newly cleaned and organized storage for hundreds of clay pots and other goodies we will be using in months to come. Stop by and …
Be sure to stop by the Potting Shed often in the next few weeks to see the how our new “educational garden patch” develops! There will be lots of opportunities to help as well. The week of June 30th, the Sixth Taxing District arranged to have several trees next to the …
Artist and Gardener Lynn Massey led an enthusiastic group of campers in some bug fun at the Potting Shed. Part of a collaborative series run by the Rowayton Library and Rowayton Gardeners on Thursdays this month and next, the session was a huge success. Another featured “camp counselor” was Nick …
Thanks to Petrea and Michael Poler for these beautiful photos of the herb garden at Pinkney Park! What a glorious setting. The herbs have been cut and are now hung in the Potting Shed to dry – nature’s bounty will provide sweet aromas and flavors in the future.
It has long been known that some plants can respond to sound. But why would a plant evolve the ability to hear? Now researchers are reporting that one reason may be to defend itself against predators. A new study suggests that response is linked to self defense. To see whether …
Thanks to Gardeners Lilly Langotsky and Phyllis Padro and with a healthy dose of inspiration from Erin Coombs, the Rowayton Library Courtyard has undergone a transformation. New planters and gorgeous plants in old and new places now provide a backdrop for the bistro tables and chairs that welcome visitors. Thanks …
The Potting Shed has been active since the Gardeners started using it on Farrell Day last fall. Still, with the debut of our Potting Shed Garden Camp in June, it felt to many that the true potential for the space to serve as a dynamic center for learning and fun truly …
Welcome back after summer! Please arrive promptly for this meeting as our annual photograph of members will be the first order of business. Please note that this meeting will take place at the Bayley Beach Pavilion. 10 – 10:30am Arrival & Group Photo 10:30 …
The Connecticut Agricultural Experimental Station have published an article “Protecting Bees from Pesticides” which includes advice to homeowners on insecticide use. Note that some common trademark names of pesticides containing neonicotinoids, which pose a special hazard to pollinators, are: Bayer Advanced 12 Month Tree and Shrub, Bayer Advanced 3 in 1 Insect, Disease, and …
Q: My Hydrangeas are only putting out new growth from the bottom of the plant – all the buds on old growth seem to have dried up and last year’s stalks are totally dry and dead. What should I do? A: Hydrangeas really took a hit this winter. Most of …
Q.: What is the best way to propagate roses? A.: The Royal Horticultural Society (the UK’s leading gardening charity dedicated to advancing horticulture and promoting good gardening) suggests several ways to foster growth of new plants in their pages on roses: Roses are usually budded in summer, but rootstocks are seldom available …
Members, please help us sow some Plant Sale love this month at the Potting Shed from 10-11:30 am on Monday, March 31st. We will provide all of the materials, just show up and help toss in a seed or two. We are also looking for seedling caregivers to take home a …
Please join us in signing a petition that will be delivered to Gina McCarthy( EPA Administrator) urging the EPA to adopt new herbicide restrictions to save monarchs. The National Resources Defense Council explain the need for action: As Big Ag has dramatically increased its use of genetically modified crops resistant to …
The Spring 2014 Market is now history, and a happy history it IS! Beautiful weather and our new location at the Potting Shed set the backdrop for a fabulous morning with throngs of happy shoppers. The tag sale tent teemed with bargain hunters and attractively arranged items flew off the …
Did you know that conifers come in an assortment of colors? Although they are known as evergreens, in fact you can find conifers in red, bronze, yellow, and even blue. Did you know that some conifers are actually deciduous and drop their needles in the fall as the broadleaf trees …
Spring will be here before we know it and the Rowayton Gardeners will be ready! There is much to do this year to prune and clean up the Rowayton Community Center gardens and both experienced and new gardeners are invited to join in the work on Saturday, April 5th, from …
The Garden Education Center is a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to promoting horticulture, conservation and the arts through educational programs, outreach activities and special events. Be sure to check their website and you may want to sign up for their newsletter to stay abreast of all the wonderful learning opportunities they …
Join us for the Potting Shed’s First Annual “Let There Be Light” Fondue Soirée on Thursday, March 27th, at 7 pm! Originally planned for February 27th, the gathering has been rescheduled to take place on a warmer date (Mother Nature just won’t let up with the frigid conditions!). We will …
Want to add beauty and wildlife value to your yard? Consider these native plant champions suggested by editors of the National Wildlife Federation website. To identify North American species worthy of “gold medals,” they turned to gardeners across the country for their recommendations. The article contains a beautiful picture and description …
