Month: June 2025

Driftwood Garden Club members were up to their elbows in sand and cement while attending a cement birdbath workshop at The Trustees of Reservation Long Hill in Beverly, MA. Long Hill, the 114-acre estate built in 1916 as a summer home of Ellery Sedgwick, was a perfect setting for this event.

Our birdbath guru, horticulturalist Dan Bouchard, led us on a short walk in the woods to find perfect leaves for our creations. He stressed the importance of using a leaf with the right shape and curve, and with prominent veins on the underside.

We observed Dan mound his sand on a board, carefully position the leaf, then mix the cement into a perfect consistency. Not too wet, not too dry!  After his demo, we were on our own shoveling sand from the pile, mixing water into the cement powder, and carefully covering the leaf with wet cement. Each participant carved her initials on the underside of the birdbath.

Our birdbaths, covered in plastic, took about a week to dry in this summer humidity. We know local birds and butterflies will be thrilled with these stunning new birdbaths!

This year, Marblehead Arts Association annual national exhibit called ‘Variations 2025’ also featured an Arts In Bloom event patterned after the popular Museum of Fine Arts event. Floral designers from local garden clubs, floral shop owners, and others from the floral design community were paired with a piece of art from the Variations collection to interpret in a floral masterpiece.

Driftwood Garden Club members Ginny von Rueden and Laurie Boggis have teamed-up in the past to design in the Boston MFA event. This year at the Marblehead Arts historic King Hooper Mansion, they each interpreted the same painting: a striking acrylic rendition of Seawall Boulevard in the Gulf Coast City of Galveston, Texas by artist Don Hammontree, complete with a vintage 1969 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am car in the foreground.

Laurie is a confirmed ‘Less is More’ kind of designer, while Ginny has a ‘More is More’ approach to her arrangements. The final results were both beautiful and yet entirely different from each other. The ‘Dueling Designers’ entertained the audience with tales of past adventures and challenges from their years of working together.

Also kudos to DGC member Jo Ann Augeri Silva who represented the Driftwood Garden Club well with her stunning rendition of the Spanish Stallion piece by equine photographer Susan Correia.

Ticket-holders to the Sunday afternoon event entered their names in a raffle, and the winners received a donated floral arrangement to take home and enjoy. Every stunning floral design captured the essence of the assigned art.

Congratulations and thanks to all the talented floral designers who interpreted the art with flowers.

On an overcast afternoon in June, members of Driftwood Garden Club enjoyed their Annual Luncheon to celebrate the successful 2025 plant sale and all the wonderful educational programs held over the past year. Drizzle may have restricted the lovely views, but wet weather couldn’t dampen the smiles of all who attended.

Many thanks to our host Loretta Connolly for sharing her beautiful home and gardens for our annual meeting. DGC hostesses provided a delicious variety of fresh salads, fruit, and side dishes for all to enjoy.

We especially thank Louise Moore of ‘Every Little Breeze Catering’ for the amazing lobster rolls and lobster salads, as well as Lilly at ‘Three Hundred Fifty Bakery’ for the yummy cupcakes.

After DGC President Joyce Raymond reviewed the past year’s activities, we voted on by-law changes, welcomed new members, and approved the upcoming roster of officers and committee members. Each committee chairperson gave a brief overview of their team’s accomplishments and goals.

We truly have an exceptional slate of officers and committee members, and we look forward to many Driftwood Garden Club events and programs next year!