Driftwood Garden Club

Longtime Driftwood Garden Club member Pal Bickford, along with Larry Simpson from Simpson Garden Design gave a wonderful Valentine’s Day presentation on the importance of trees in our fast changing landscapes. Led by Pal, she and Larry are members of our Town Trees and Urban Forestry, a working group of Sustainable Marblehead. They gave us a great update complete with maps on the Tree Replacement Project here in town. Larry is an accomplished garden designer and spoke to us at length about the importance of trees in our landscapes.

Of particular interest to all of us, was this list of trees native to our area and how much they do to support our local wildlife. Larry stressed that our native plants support our native insects and therefore all of our beautiful native birds. The common oak tree supports 473 species of insects and birds in our area- more than any other tree!

• Oak – Quercus (473)
• Beach plum, cherry, chokecherries – Prunus (411)
• Willow – Salix (399)
• Birch – Betula (393)
• Aspen, poplar, cottonwood – Populus (335)

Our hostesses provided deliciously festive treats, and many members pulled out all the stops to dress in all different shades of pink! As always, it was a great night.

    Designing and Building a

   Sustainable Container Garden

The Driftwood Garden Club welcomed Molly Janicki to our January meeting to teach us how to design and plant container gardens, both large and small. She taught us how to choose and fill containers made with eco-friendly materials and plants that will successfully grow in the chosen environment, producing beautiful flowers and foliage throughout the growing season!

As always, we began the meeting with our social time. Welcoming refreshments provided by our hostesses are always a delight. We also welcomed some new members! 

We learned the “secrets” to filling those large planters with layers of eco-friendly materials that provide good drainage as well as the best materials to grow well-rooted, healthy plants.

Here is a stunning example of container gardening on a deck surrounded by native plants in a challenging environment near the ocean.

Our members enjoyed learning all of Molly’s tips for constructing beautiful containers using her technique: ”Fill” with carefully chosen planting materials and plants, make sure one plant will “Spill” over the sides, and, finally, with the plants chosen for color, texture, and flowering and even how they look when they’re done growing, to “Thrill” us with their beauty. We ended our meeting with one lucky member who won the lovely container!

As part of the 52^nd Annual Marblehead Christmas Walk, local garden clubs are invited to decorate a space in Marblehead Arts Association’s historic home, the beautiful King Hooper Mansion. This year the decorating theme is ‘Holiday Traditions.’ Earlier in the fall, the Driftwood Garden Club design duo of Treasurer Laurie Boggis and Past President/Historian Ginny von Rueden chose ‘Giving Gifts for Christmas and Hanukkah’ as the holiday tradition to embellish the mantel and fireplace in the Liz Larrabee Gallery.

Preparations started back in early November with a shopping excursion to Jacobson Floral Supply in Boston to purchase any necessary materials, followed by a hands-on workshop to prepare and assemble the design elements.

Final installation is a collaborative effort of DGC members and the design team to transform the first-floor parlor in the 1728 mansion. Please stop in to admire all the magical holiday decorations during the 2023 Christmas Walk!

The November meeting of the Driftwood Garden Club of Marblehead was a fun and enlightening event. The Masonic Hall was magically transformed into a serene space where we were led in a restorative practice by yoga instructor Daphne Ramos. Daphne is trained in yin, vinyasa, and restorative yoga, as well as being a master reiki practitioner. Her gentle voice and soft music guided the class through a series of movements on and off the mat.

After a brief warm-up, our yoga movements stretched and strengthened the many muscles used in gardening. We ended the class in shavasana pose to relax the breath, body and mind.  

Kudos to our DGC Program Chairs for booking an event different from our usual garden-themed meetings. This evening was designed for the metaphorical gardener within each of us. Our yoga instructor ended the evening with the quote by Robert Louis Stevenson, “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.”

Namaste!

Driftwood Garden Club of Marblehead Members gathered recently for a delightful evening of Designing with Dahlias presented by Jocelyn Cook ‘s The Fleur de Mer flower bar. Jocelyn impressed us with her enthusiasm and technique of propagating, growing, and harvesting her garden-fresh flowers.

Although we all started with the same glass vases, every finished arrangement was unique. Some members subscribe to the ‘less is more’ philosophy, while others favor the ‘bigger is better’ style. Every floral arrangement had a different color palate and different fillers. In addition to the greenery supplied, many members brought in clippings from favorite plants in their own garden to make their arrangement personal and unique.

Having freshly-harvested blossoms from The Fleur de Mer flower bar makes such a difference. Jocelynn cut her dahlias that morning! These arrangements still look perky days later!

Hats off to our Program Chairpersons for coordinating this wonderful hands-on event for Driftwood Garden Club members and guests.

The Driftwood Garden Club of Marblehead’s 2023 Cocktail Party at Hollyhock Cottage was a warm success on a cool autumn evening. We were treated to a magical night in our current Vice President’s home to renew friendships, talk shop, and discuss the upcoming programs in ’23 and ‘24.

Many thanks to our host for providing such a cozy setting on a fall evening. And many thanks to our volunteer hostesses for passing endless trays of delectable appetizers and sweet treats.

The Driftwood Garden Club was established in 1952 as a volunteer, nonprofit organization and we proudly continue seven decades of gardening and support of the environment. We look forward to our educational, as well as hands-on, programs in the upcoming year.