Established in 1952 as a volunteer, non-profit organization, the DGC maintains the Abbot Public Library gardens and provides educational opportunities in gardening and support of our environment.
Members of the Driftwood Garden Club gathered once again at the Marblehead Community Center to participate in our annual wreath decorating program. In collaboration with the Marblehead Council on Aging, Driftwood members decorate wreaths and swags as one of our civic programs, thus giving back to the community during this holiday season.
After members enjoyed a social time with delicious homemade treats provided by our hosts for the evening, we got to work. Members came prepared with scissors, glue, floral wire, ribbons and various decorations to use in their decorating endeavors. There was also a table, provided by the Driftwood, laden with pre-made bows, pinecones, and assorted ribbons and decorations for all to share.
As the members worked, they chatted and laughed and shared in the spirit of the season. They began to turn the fresh wreaths and swags into lovely gifts to be given to Marblehead residents who participate in the lunch program through the Council on Aging. Each of these residents will receive a decorated wreath or swag with their lunch which is delivered the following day.
We know, through the Marblehead Council on Aging, that the recipients of our wreaths are delighted to be part of the program, and we know how it brightens their day to receive a beautiful wreath. We receive many thank yous in return, and we hope they know that we are just as delighted to do this for them. Happy Holidays, everyone!
It was a perfect fall day for members of the Driftwood Garden Club to embark on a field trip. Our destination: The Arnold Arboretum in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston. The air was crisp, the sun was shining, and the leaves on the trees had turned beautiful shades of yellow, gold, orange, and red. While waiting for our group to assemble, we viewed a wood turners’ exhibit inside the Hunnewell Visitor Center. Some of the wood bowls exhibited were turned from wood that had come from trees within the Arboretum. We learned that each year around 400 trees are removed from the collection due to disease, damage, or managing the collection with a goal of creating opportunities for new plants to be introduced. If possible, that wood is repurposed in several different ways.
We met our very knowledgeable and friendly guide, Brad, outside of the building to begin our walking tour of the trees. He first gave us a little history of the Arboretum. It began in the mid-1800’s when two men made gifts to Harvard College: Benjamin Bussey, a wealthy Boston merchant, left land (about 300 acres) to the school in 1842; and James Arnold, a New Bedford whaling merchant, left a financial bequest ($100,000) in 1868 with the purpose of creating a public arboretum. Together, The Arnold Arboretum was founded in March 1872. The first director was Charles Sprague Sargent who partnered with Frederick Law Olmsted on the landscape layout. The two men formed a partnership with the city of Boston: Harvard gave the land to the city and then leased it back for $1/year, on a thousand year lease, with a renewal option. The Arnold Arboretum was born, and with that knowledge, we were ready to see some trees!
Brad explained that, just like an art museum that has rooms with particular periods of art, the arboretum is organized by types of trees. We saw linden trees, cork trees, tulip trees, and horse chestnuts, stopping along the way so Brad could tell us about a particular tree. He was a wealth of knowledge! There are over 16,000 plants (trees, vines and shrubs) within the arboretum. The Arboretum’s mission is to cultivate and care for all of the woody plants that can survive in Boston’s climate, so these are not just native trees. Some plants come from right around the corner (Mr. Sargent, the first director, took a red maple from his neighbor’s yard to plant here); and some plants come from around the world. Remember that The Arnold Arboretum, as part of Harvard University, is also a research institution, and the arboretum itself is a laboratory for students and professors alike. Each tree in the Arboretum has a tag with its common and scientific names, family, and origin, and we found ourselves stopping to investigate various name tags.
Many people who visit the Arboretum come especially for Lilac Sunday, that time in May when the lilacs are in full bloom and their scent fills the air. It is one of the busiest times at the Arboretum. Brad informed us that, although it was a beautiful event at the Arboretum, he was really not a fan of lilacs. Why? He thought that the flower did not give enough bang for the buck; it had a very short bloom time, and there were other plants that did a better job, if a longer bloom is what you wanted.
As we made our way along the lilacs path, we stopped to admire a backdrop of golden leaves behind a wooden bench. We asked to stop for a photo op, and of course, Brad obliged by taking our group picture. The bench was made of wood from a tree that had been taken down and repurposed, and there was a dedication and name on the bench. Brad explained that for $1,000 a year, you could buy a bench in honor or memory of someone. At the end of 10 years (that’s $10,000), you could renew your bench. We all had the same thought: “What a great idea!”
Returning to our starting point, a park ranger on horseback passed us on his patrol around the arboretum. We thanked Brad for a wonderful and information-filled tour and headed to our next destination: lunch!
Members of the Driftwood Garden Club enjoyed a very informative program about growing and caring for peonies, one of the most lush and beautiful of all the flowers in our gardens. Stacey Lee, our presenter, is a floral designer and sustainability advocate. They own and operate Paeonia Designs in Framingham, and their knowledge and enthusiasm was contagious. Stacey’s career began as a civil engineer, working on projects relating to clean water sustainability. But they always had a passion for flowers, so they created Paeonia Designs as a side hustle. At the same time that Stacey was asked to create the floral designs for her close friend’s wedding, their engineering career was waning, and Paeonia Designs became a new, full-time endeavor.
Stacey’s talk began with a few fun facts, such as:
-Did you know that Homer, Alaska has the largest peony market in America? (Our climates are very similar.)
-Did you know that it is an old wives’ tale that ants crawl on peony blossoms to help them open? (The ants just want the peony sugar.)
-Did you know that peonies can live for over 100 years? (Just ask Stacey who has some peony plants from her grandmother’s garden!)
Stacey was a wealth of serious information as well, beginning with the three types of peonies:
the tree peony which has woody stems, grows quite tall, needs more shade, and is not cut back in fall,
the herbaceous peony, the most common, which needs lots of sun and, when cut back in the fall, will regrow from the roots the following spring, and
the intersectional peony, a hybrid of tree and herbaceous peonies, and has elements of both plant types.
No matter what type of peony you choose to grow, it is that spectacular blossom that we all admire. There are many varieties of peonies, and many variations in color, but they are all beautiful. Stacey’s professional tip for cutting the blooms is to cut BEFORE the flower is in full bloom. They called it a marshmallow pouf. If you cut the flower at this stage, wrap it in newspaper, and refrigerate it, the bloom will last for several days. When you put it in your floral arrangement, the “marshmallow pouf” will open and will last longer.
To avoid powdery mildew, plant your peonies in full sun with room around them for good air circulation, and water them at the base, not on the leaves. If you are planting a new peony plant or rerooting from an existing peony, patience is the key. Peonies usually take three years before they are established and are blooming successfully. Just remember these three words: roots, shoots, and fruits. If you follow these suggestions, your peony will live a long and happy life.
As always, a very sincere thank you to our hosts for the evening. They prepared and helped serve a beautifully laid table full of delicious sweet and savory offerings. It always makes our social time together extra special thanks to our hosts for the evening.
Driftwood Garden Club members, along with their guests, gathered at the lovely home of Joy Purdin to kick off the 2025/2026 season. Our annual cocktail party is a popular event for everyone, allowing people to mingle and get to know one another outside of the gardens that we care for throughout the spring, summer and fall.
The savory hors-d’oeurves and sweet desserts are made and contributed by our members and are always delicious. The member hostesses seamlessly served, replenished plates and kept the kitchen area spotless, as they also circulated and enjoyed the party. A special shout-out to our bartenders, Cliff and Joe, who manned the wine bar and kept everyone happy.
Members, old and new, shared stories of gardens, trips, and family, as well as all that was accomplished by their hard work in the gardens of Abbot Library and Farrell Court this past season.
The Driftwood Garden Club is looking forward to the fantastic schedule of workshops, speakers, and field trips planned over the coming year. There is definitely something everyone can enjoy!
The wind and rain could not stop the Driftwood Garden Club members from welcoming hundreds of people to their 2025 Plant Sale. Proceeds from the sale help fund the landscaping and maintenance of the Abbot Public Library gardens, as well as our civic gardening projects at Farrell Court in Marblehead.
It takes a coordinated effort of many people to orchestrate this amazing plant sale each year. We are grateful to our hardworking members, especially our Plant Sale Committee, as well as the Marblehead Masonic Hall for hosting the event. A shout out to Louise from Every Little Breeze Catering for providing a delicious luncheon for our members after the sale ended.
We would also like to thank the Marblehead Garden Center for partnering with us each year by providing the colorful annuals, herbs and hanging baskets. Between the tables of carefully tended perennials from our Dig & Divide, to the specialty tables (Dahlias, Woodland Plants, Mother’s Day gift orchids), and the pop of color with the hanging baskets and annuals, there was something for everyone.
Our members were kept busy answering questions and helping people select plants, while member Ginny VonRueden was at her Window Box display helping people arrange various plants for their own planters at home.
We especially thank our gardening customers, both long-time friends and first-time buyers, who came to our sale. We love seeing everyone’s happy faces as they leave with a box, or two, of plants to transplant into their own gardens. With our plant sale over, the gardening season has officially begun!
Members of the Driftwood Garden Club enjoyed a doubleheader at their April program. Past-Presidents Kathy Bradford and Joy Purdin presented first with “Nifty Garden Tools” that every gardener should know about, and the essential tools to carry in your garden bag. Then Lisa Biggio, our Civic Beautification Chair, talked with members about the importance of our upcoming Dig & Divide, demonstrating dividing and repotting a plant, as well as having members participate in a hands-on dig and divide activity.
Thank you to our Hostess Committee for a beautifully prepared table of treats for the socializing portion of our meeting. The centerpiece was a perfect reflection of the evening’s theme with four miniature pots planted with miniature daffodils and miniature blue muscari. As an added touch, there were miniature garden tools to complement the potted flowers!
Kathy and Joy organized the tools by categories of use and created a hand-out for people to follow as each tool was discussed. All of the tools were laid out on the table, and as they talked about each tool, they could pick it up for display. The categories were tools for: Pruning and Deadheading; Weeding; Digging and Planting; Clearing and Tidying; and Miscellaneous Items. Miscellaneous items included a choice of a garden bag, gloves (long and short), and a bar of soap to scrape your fingernails on before you put on your gloves to start working in the dirt. At the end, each presenter selected their three favorite tools. Both gardeners agreed that the Spearhead shovel was their top favorite. Joy chose dutch hoe (Japanese hoe) and the pruning saw to complete her three, while Kathy chose her trowel (both her new trowel and the trowel that had belonged to her mom) and her pruning clippers.
For the second part of our program, Lisa did a wonderful job talking to members about the importance of the upcoming Dig & Divide. She thanked our Plant Sale Committee for their incredible job of finding the thirteen “volunteer” gardens that we will use this year. The Plant Sale Committee coordinates the Captains for each garden, organizes the signups for members to work, and supplies all the needed materials for the Captains’ boxes. This is definitely a team endeavor, and the Plant Sale Committee does the groundwork to organize it all. The perennials that are dug from a garden during Dig & Divide are then divvied up among members of the team and brought home to be cared for until the Plant Sale. Lisa gave some suggestions such as putting all of the newly dug plants in a shady spot in your yard for the first few days, as the plants are in shock from the transplant. Perennials that require full sun can then be moved to a sunnier spot in a day or two.
Lisa then demonstrated how to “dig” and divide and repot a portion of a snake plant. As she worked, she chatted about the snake plant (also known as mother-in-law tongue because of the leaf shape). She said this was a great indoor plant because it was very low-maintenance, and it was also a plant that releases quite a bit of oxygen, even during the night, making it a great plant for the bedroom. She answered questions from the audience about the plant as well as questions about the Dig and Divide. Members then had an opportunity to practice the dig and divide technique on their own at work tables Lisa had set up around the room.
Our program was a good review for everyone, a wonderful team builder, and, at the end of the evening, our members were ready for their Dig & Divide. They also had a lovely plant to take home with them.
It was a chilly, overcast afternoon when our group of gardeners from the Driftwood Garden Club arrived at Long Hill Reservation in Beverly to participate in a pruning workshop. Dan and Melissa, who care for the Long Hill property year round, were our friendly and knowledgeable instructors for the afternoon. They greeted us outside at a work table laid out with various pruning tools.
After an introduction, Dan began his talk with why and when we prune our trees and shrubs. He said to follow the four D’s: if a branch is dead, diseased, damaged, or dysfunctional (a branch might cross over another branch or grow in an awkward position), it is time to be pruned. Then he and Melissa talked in length about appropriate tools and how to use them.
Beginning with an ordinary pair of pruning shears (the blade can be curved or straight), Dan said that gardeners often attempt to cut too large a branch with these small shears, and they can injure the tree by crushing the remaining edge of the branch. He said that trees heal themselves after pruning, but that a crushed edge can impede the healing and even invite bacteria into the tree. Their advice was to not cut anything larger than your pinky finger with the handheld pruner. In fact, he said, trimming flowers and stems of a rose bush is what these pruners should be used for.
The lopper, everyone’s favorite, is another misused pruning tool. Again, gardeners attempt to cut a branch that is either too high overhead (not allowing you to get a good clean cut) or by cutting something too big, thus damaging the remaining branch. Need to cut a larger branch? Use a small pruning saw which can be folded and stored in your garden tool bag. There is even a pocket-sized pruning saw which is very convenient and very sharp. Dan and Melissa also demonstrated how, with a small file, we could sharpen our own bladed tools if we wanted to. Just be careful, and slowly follow the edge of the blade with the file.
The group then followed Dan and Melissa to a large viburnum bush in need of some care. We looked for the four D’s and pointed out some of the branches that could be taken out. Several of our members demonstrated their pruning skills on the viburnum, and it looked much better after being pruned.
We made our way to the lower gardens, taking pruning shears with us, and spent the remainder of our time pruning roses and other small bushes in the gardens. We all learned some new things, refreshed our knowledge of others, and had a wonderful afternoon at Long Hill.
It was a full house for our March program on hydrangeas! Our presenter, Kathie Skinner, is a Lifetime Master Gardener and a retired educator with over 40 years experience in teaching and administration. Although her home is in Cambridge, her gardens are on Martha’s Vineyard, and she was a wealth of experience and knowledge of how to grow beautiful and healthy hydrangeas in our own gardens here in Marblehead.
As always, our Hostess Committee provided us with a delicious assortment of goodies, and a beautiful centerpiece of silk hydrangeas, perfect for the presentation.
Kathie began her talk by letting us know we had a bit of an advantage in Marblehead because hydrangeas thrive in a maritime environment. Fog and early morning dew, as well as a temperate climate, help these plants thrive. As we all know, with changes in our climate, our winters can be colder and our summers hotter, and these changing elements can affect hydrangeas.
Identifying the species of hydrangea we have in our own gardens is the most important thing we can do for success. Knowing what species you have will determine the amount of sun or shade, whether the color of the flower can be changed by Ph, and how to prune the plant. Although there are many species of hydrangea, there are seven that are normally found in our region and do well here. They are:
H. anamola (climbing hydrangea). Does best in part-sun/full shade, has old and new wood varieties;
H. arborescens (smooth-leaf). Does best in full-sun/part shade, blooms on new wood.
H. aspera (rough-leaf). Does best in part-sun, blooms on old wood.
H. macrophylla (Bigleaf). Does best in part-sun/full shade, blooms on old wood.
H. paniculate (Panicle). Does best in full-sun, blooms on new wood.
H. quercifolia (Oakleaf). Does best in full sun/part-shade, blooms on old wood.
H. Serrata (Mountain). Does best in part sun, blooms on old wood.
Hydrangeas can be identified by leaf type and shape of blossom, so you may have to wait for spring to identify what you have in your garden. We also learned that hydrangeas should be watered from the bottom, at the base of the plant, where the water can be absorbed by the roots. Knowing the type of wood (old or new) on which you will get blooms, will determine when and how to prune. Kathie explained rejuvenation pruning vs. pruning on both old and new wood, and left us with a wonderful reference sheet to use, as well as a list of website and sources for hydrangea gardening.
Although hydrangeas are not deer resistant, most are rabbit resistant, and, with the exception of H. macrophylla mophead, they are great pollinators in our gardens. Hydrangeas, whether climbing or a shrub, white, pink, blue or purple, are in a class of their own when it comes to a beautiful addition to our landscapes.
Have you ever received a beautiful begonia plant as a gift, enjoyed its beautiful blooms, and then had difficulty keeping the plant alive and thriving? Was it in the wrong light? Did it get too much water? Was it in a room that was too hot, too cold, or too dry?
Well, all of these questions and more were answered at our February program, “A Begonia for Every Season.” Betsy Szymczak, our speaker, is a retired college professor of clinical microbiology, a past president of the Buxton Branch of the American Begonia Society, and an ABS certified begonia judge. She is also an avid gardener, with a particular interest in growing and propagating begonias.
A warm thank you to our wonderful hostesses for the evening. They presented a beautiful table of sweet and savory treats, along with a gorgeous basket of red and white begonias as a centerpiece. It was a perfect tribute to our presentation on begonias, as well as Valentine’s Day, only a few days away.
Betsy’s presentation began with the biology of the begonia plant and its structure. We learned that male and female parts are on the same plant. The male makes the pollen, the female is where the seeds are produced. Begonias are pan tropical, meaning they are native to regions below the equator, although with the right conditions and care, they can be grown almost anywhere. We also learned that the French botanist, Charlies Plumier sailed on board an explorer ship to the West Indies in the early 1700s, discovered the plant genus “begonia,” and named it after Michel Begon, the governor of Haiti, as a tribute to Begon.
We think of begonias as a summertime plant because we see so many wax begonias used in landscaping, perhaps at your local mall, or in a hanging basket. Their blooms are magnificent, but there are also many begonias used for their beautiful foliage in planters or borders. The light, water, temperature and moisture (humidity) are the keys to the success of growing begonias. Outdoors, begonias need shade, never direct sunlight, and not too much watering.
In the fall, begonias can be brought indoors. Again, the light they receive is important. East and west windows are best, and remember that overwatering can be a problem. Make sure the soil is dry before watering, or use a simple soil moisture meter (hygrometer) to help. Most begonias will tolerate temperatures between 55 and 75 degrees, and some require more humidity than others. Betsy demonstrated how a delicate begonia could be placed under a plastic dome to retain the humidity. Fall is also the time you might try to propagate your begonia, and we learned several methods, including leaf cuttings, stem cuttings and division of tubers.
During the winter, with the right conditions, begonias can thrive inside. Begonia Kellermanii and Begonia Vitafolia are called “The Survivors” because they typically do well inside over the winter. Begonia Grandis, a tuber begonia, grows well in New England, and Rieger begonia blooms in winter with bright, indirect sunlight.
When spring comes, enjoy the flower shows in your area, while you wait for the weather to warm up, and you can bring your begonias outside again.
Members of the Driftwood Garden Club became Santa’s elves on Monday evening at the Marblehead Community Center. Each year, in collaboration with the Marblehead Council on Aging, one of our civic projects is to decorate holiday wreaths as a way to give back to the community.
After members enjoyed a social time with delicious homemade treats provided by our hostesses for the evening, our members got to work. They came prepared with scissors, glue glue guns, floral wire, and various decorations to use. There was also a table filled with bows, pinecones, ribbons and an assortment of decorations provided by the club for all to share.
As the members worked, they chatted and laughed and shared in the spirit of the season. They began to turn the fresh wreaths into lovely gifts to be given to Marblehead residents who participate in the bag lunch program through the Council on Aging. Each of these residents will receive a decorated wreath, or swag, with their lunch which is delivered to them the next day.
We know, through the Marblehead Council on Aging, that the recipients of our wreaths are delighted to be part of this program, and we know how it brightens their day to receive a beautiful wreath. We receive many thank yous in return, and we hope they know that we are just as delighted to do this for them. Happy Holidays, everyone!
Driftwood Garden Club 