Author: seabarb2

Driftwood Garden Club of Marblehead members gathered recently at the lovely home of member Adrienne Sweetser and Rick Weed to kick off the 2024/2025 season. Our annual Fall Cocktail Party is always a popular event and enjoyed by members and their guests.

The food was both delicious and creative. We thank our hardworking hostesses for passing the many trays of hors d’oeuvres and desserts, and we thank our volunteer bartenders for keeping the libations flowing. We do love a good party!

Members, old and new, shared their successes and mishaps in their gardens over the summer, and discussed our ongoing civic projects at the newly renovated Abbot Public Library and Old Farrell Court gardens.

The Driftwood Garden Club looks forward to the fantastic educational program of speakers, hands-on workshops, and several field trips over the coming year. There will be something for everyone!

The newly renovated Abbot Public Library, 235 Pleasant Street in Marblehead, recently dedicated a bronze plaque to honor the Driftwood Garden Club’s many years of service in the gardens.

The plaque, located on the brick wall on the Maverick Street side, reads “with gratitude to the Driftwood Garden Club, established 1952, whose members have designed, planted and cared for the library’s gardens for many decades.”

Library Director Kimberly Grad welcomed us with refreshments in the bright Event Center meeting room.  She thanked our members for their dedication, and she praised DGC member and landscape architect Kathy Bradford, of Bradford Design Associates, for her sustainable landscape design.

We followed Kim for a tour of the light and airy building and marveled at the flexible floor plan, self-checkout kiosk, and comfortable seating in fireplace room. While the building is still getting finishing touches, it will be a treasured resource for everyone in Marblehead to enjoy. We look forward to getting back to work in the gardens!

On a sunny June afternoon, members of the Driftwood Garden Club of Marblehead gathered for their annual business meeting and traditional lobster roll luncheon.

President Joy Purdin reviewed the years activities and then members, old and new, voted on changes to our by-laws and then voted on the upcoming roster of officers and committee members. Our Treasurer Laurie Boggis announced the good news of the most successful plant sale ever.

Our historian Ginny von Rueden will spearhead a project to archive the history of the Driftwood Garden Club since its inception in 1952. Old newspaper articles, photos, and scrapbook pages will be scanned and uploaded to our website for all members to enjoy in the future.

In what has become a new tradition, the ‘Unsung Hero Award’ was bestowed on member Kathy Bradford of Bradford Design Associates for her tireless work planning the outdoor space of the (soon-to-be-completed) Abbot Public Library. Kathy has devoted countless hours working with library committees to choose an attractive and sustainable landscape. The Driftwood Garden Club is pleased to contribute funds to make Kathy’s design plan a reality for all to enjoy.

We look forward to our camaraderie and gardening over the summer months. May your gardens bloom!

The Driftwood Garden Club of Marblehead recently held its 2024 plant sale. We are thrilled to report that this was our most successful sale to date! Proceeds from the sale will help fund landscaping at the newly renovated Abbot Public Library on Pleasant Street, as well as our civic gardening projects at Farrell Court in Marblehead.

It takes a village to pull off a successful fundraiser. We are grateful to all our hardworking members, to the Marblehead Masonic Hall for hosting the event, and to Marblehead Gardens for the fabulous herbs and annuals. And hats off to Louise from Every Little Breeze Catering for feeding us so well after the sale ended.

We especially thank our gardening customers, both long-time friends and first-time buyers, who purchase the plants lovingly divided from local gardens. It is especially gratifying to see young children picking out Mother’s Day plants for their moms and grandmoms!

May your gardens continue to grow!

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!