MONTHLY PROGRAMS
Held on the second Monday of the month, the Club’s meetings include a lecture featuring a well-known personality from the horticultural world followed by Club business announcements and a delicious luncheon prepared by member volunteers. These meetings are held at the Wilton Congregational Church (Pilgrim Hall), 70 Ridgefield Rd, Wilton.
Please note that monthly programs are for members only. If you are interested in joining the club and/or attending one of our meetings, more information is available on the Join Us page or please contact our membership chairs: Emily Nesmith nesmith.emily@gmail.com and Kathy Rosenbaum kmrosenbaum@icloud.com
The 2023/24 meeting schedule is listed below:
DATE: September 11, 2023
SPEAKER: Karen Bussolini
TOPIC: Jazzing up the Garden with Color Contrast and Movement
Award-winning garden photographer Karen blossomed into a widely-published writer, well-traveled speaker, eco-friendly garden coach and NOFA-accredited organic land care professional. She will explore the connection between art, the garden and the environment.
DATE: October 16, 2023
SPEAKER: Tim Abbott
TOPIC: Housatonic Valley Association
Tim has been the Regional Conservation and Greenprint Director for 20 years at the Housatonic Valley Association. He has helped many organizations with private funding. He is a strong advocate for Family Farmlands, woodlands and special places in Western New England and Eastern NY that provide many benefits that land protection provides to our communities.
DATE: November 13, 2023
SPEAKER: Lorraine Ballato
TOPIC: Hydrangeas and Cold Climate Gardens
Growing Hydrangeas can be tricky if you lust for big mophead flowers. Our fate has been to enjoy these flowers every three years, but there are measures we can take to improve these odds, starting with the right plant in the right place. But it’s much more than this. Lorraine will talk about what and how to get closer to 100%.
DATE: December 11, 2023
ANNUAL HOLIDAY LUNCHEON
DATE: January 8, 2024
SPEAKER: Renee Marsh
TOPIC: Garden Jeopardy
Renee is a garden designer in advanced management and horticulture. She is the owner of “A Simpler Place” garden design, and also teaches garden classes at the NY Botanical Garden and adult education classes. You may remember when she did a “Garden Jeopardy” program previously.
DATE: February 12, 2024
SPEAKER: Roberta DiBisceglie, Owner and Founder of Columbine LLC.
TOPIC: Reawakening Beauty: Revitalizing the Landscape of a Historic House
In 2019, Columbine embarked on a transformative collaboration with the owners of DeRham Farm, a historic home nestled above the Hudson River in Garrison, NY. Her mission: to breathe new life into the estate’s enchanting landscape. The ambitious plan involved restoring a sunken garden within an old foundation and creating a vibrant 1/3 acre native plant meadow while preserving the estate’s sweeping views of the river and the hills beyond. Join us on a journey through the restoration and revitalization of this captivating land, where history meets modernity in perfect harmony.
DATE: March 11, 2024
SPEAKER: Haiku Durden and Committee Chairs
TOPIC: Everything you need to know about the Plant Sale
DATE: April 8, 2024
SPEAKER: Lee Ganim
TOPIC: That Garden Guy
Lee owns Ganim’s Garden Center and Florist and has over 45 years of gardening experience which he shares on his radio program each week. If you need information, suggestions and advice call him (he also shares recipes) between 8 am and 9 am on WICC 600am or 107.3FM @ 203 333-9422.
DATE: May 20, 2024
SPEAKER: Neal Sanders
TOPIC: Gardening is Murder
Neals’ book and talk is a humorous spouse’s point of view of gardening for and with his spouse and is just one of his books on the subject. He will discuss why so much gardening advice on the internet is awful, why you never compute the value of your gardening labor, prove that wildlife doesn’t watch Walt Disney movies, and why it requires digging 3 holes to plant one thing. His books are for sale after the program.