Tag: gardening

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Plant Sale Proceeds Help Fund Renovated Library Landscape!

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The Driftwood Garden Club of Marblehead’s most recent meeting was all about getting ready for the Annual Plant Sale to be held at the Masonic Hall on Saturday, May 11, 2024. It is no small feat to organize a successful sale and many members on several committees were thanked for their contributions.

The Plant Sale on 5/11 is Driftwood’s sole fundraiser. As a club with civic responsibilities, the DGC supports and maintains the landscapes at the Abbot Public Library as well as Farrell Court in Marblehead. Renovations at the library at 235 Pleasant Street are on schedule to be completed in June.

The Driftwood Garden Club is proud to financially contribute to the landscape design, and we hope for a successful plant sale to raise funds to support this effort.

Kudos to Kathy Bradford of Bradford Design Associates for creating the fabulous landscape plan for the renovated library. According to Kathy, “The design responds to the building architecture and the desire for resiliency. We need gardens that can adjust to the effects of climate change. A resilient garden is a garden that will thrive in spite of changing weather patterns. Drought tolerant and native plants are used in many locations to reduce water consumption. Plants adjacent to the building are traditional and architectural in style and placement. The beds located away from the building are looser, more contemporary, more native, and designed to attract pollinators. Flowering shrubs, perennials, and spring bulbs are white, blue, and shades of lavender. The color scheme for the plants is complimentary and does not compete with the red brick of the building.”

The plant list contains diverse and low-maintenance plants in a timeless, elegant design for all to enjoy in the future.

Landscape Architect Kathy Bradford, Bradford Design Associates.

The Driftwood Garden Club hopes to see you at the Plant Sale on Saturday. May 11th!

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Lawns and Lawn Alternatives

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Members of the Driftwood Garden Club of Marblehead gathered recently for an informative lecture on Lawns and Lawn Alternatives presented by Master Gardener Gretel Anspach. Ms. Anspach is a Trustee of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, a Lifetime Master Gardener with the Massachusetts Master Gardener Association, and a retired systems engineer for Raytheon. Her primary focus is on the science behind horticulture.

Ms. Anspach shared many references on best practices for sound lawn care, including replanting, supplementing, and maintaining the site. Expert soil testing is vital to determine the pH and composition to properly supplement with the macro nutrients Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. Online forms for soil tests are available from UMass Amherst, Soil & Plant Nutrient Testing Laboratory, https://ag.umass.edu.

Your site assessment should focus on light, moisture, nutrients, soil compaction and thatch buildup. Depending on the results of your soil test, amend your soil with compost or sand, and aerate if compacted. Ms. Anspach noted that lawns like evenly moist soil. Water approximately one inch per week.

Picture-perfect turf lawns need full sun! We learned of many turf alternatives, including clovers, that support pollinators and will tolerate shade.

According to Gretel, a healthy lawn is fairly disease resistant and allows a few annual weeds (yes, dandelions!) to grow. Use a mulching mower and don’t mow when the lawn is wet. Turf grass in Massachusetts is considered ‘cool season grass’ so fall is the best time to reseed or overseed to enjoy your green lawn.