Founded 1962
The holiday season is around the corner and once again the Garden Club gathered at the Newbury Church community room to decorate wreaths for various buildings in town as well as to make and decorate the large wreath that is displayed over the entrance to Town Hall. It was a very, very busy morning and we were happy to once again meet in person for this fun event.
Be sure to keep an eye for these beauties around town. Happy Holidays!
The theme for November’s Garden Therapy program at the Brookfield Senior Center was
We are pleased to share that the Garden Club of Brookfield received two certificates of merit in public relations and communications (small club) for its work in improving membership awareness and for promoting national garden week. The awards were accepted by Joanne McKendry (President) and Norma Jean Macauto (Corresponding Secretary) at the annual awards meeting of the Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut.
What a wonderful day Saturday turned out to be! We had over one hundred visitors come to our event who helped us celebrate 60 wonderful years of gardening in Brookfield.
GARDEN TOURS were a big hit and the main event of our day. Six neighbors in town (3 members of the club and 3 non-members) opened their gardens for self-guided tours. Lots of questions. Lots of oohs and aahs. Lots of photo taking. Thank you to our garden hosts!
GARDEN 1
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We also had a lot of activity going on at our Museum Garden in town. This garden is the largest civic garden that club maintains. On Saturday it was host to a Plant Show-off event and a Garden Boutique.
PLANT SHOW-OFF – Members and friends submitted favorite specimens from their gardens which were voted for by a people’s choice balloting. Congratulations to our winners.
And here is a selection of other show-off submissions along with our trusty volunteers.
GARDEN BOUTIQUE – Shoppers came by to support our sale of new and gently used garden themed items. Puzzles, artwork, vases, planters, dishes, baskets. Something for every collector and gardener!
Thank you to all our visitors and supporters. We truly appreciate that you spent this special day with us.
The Garden Club of Brookfield held a Garden Therapy session at the Brookfield Senior Center on June 7th. The theme for the day was Fairy/Gnome Gardens and the team laid out a spread of delights for the seniors to create their own gardens. The emphasis was using many objects from nature to put in the gardens.
National Garden Clubs has issued its annual proclamation designating June 5 through June 11 as National Garden Week. The proclamation calls out and acknowledges the importance of gardening and the wonderful contributions that all gardeners make. Last year, to celebrate National Garden Week, the Garden Club of Brookfield took you on a virtual tour of member gardens. This year we invite you to our in-person Garden Tour Day on Saturday, July 9. Visit six gardens in town and then come to the Museum Garden for our Plant Show-off and our Garden Boutique. Help us celebrate our sixty years of gardening in Brookfield. See our Garden Tour page on this website for more details and information about how to get tickets.
Club members met at the Museum Garden on May 26 to spruce it up in advance of the town’s Memorial Day Parade. We worked together on the museum garden, the flagpole triangle garden, and the gardens at the Williams Park and Blue Star memorials. Welcome all parade spectators!
The club was very busy at its May general meeting. We learned how to make hypertufa planters and steppingstones from Kathy Wandelmaier. Hypertufa is a lightweight material comprised of cement, peat moss, and perlite. Members also worked on seed packets to be handed out at the upcoming town Memorial Day Parade. And the Wildflower committee chair gave a brief, impromptu talk about wildflowers currently in bloom in our area. It was a fun morning.
On Wednesday, April 13, our president, one of our vice-presidents and our corresponding secretary gathered with the members of many Connecticut garden clubs at the Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut Annual Meeting and Luncheon. Vendors were in good supply with products both beautiful and practical. Clubs across the state made centerpieces that decorated each table. There was a fun raffle with lots of wonderful prizes. The keynote speaker, Leslie Marino, gave a presentation on Frederick Law Olmsted that held the interest of all present. We were particularly proud when our president, Joanne McKendry, was called to the stage to receive an award of appreciation for her work as Chair of the Lovely Garden Award, given to her by FGCCT president Polly Brooks.
The club was pleased to be able to meet in person for its March 17th general meeting. We welcomed Renee Marsh, Horticultural Chair of FGCCT and owner of A Simpler Place, a landscaping consulting service. Renee helped us look at how to apply the basics of interior design to our gardens and add a personal flair to outdoor spaces. With a St. Patrick’s Day theme, the event was a happy gathering.
