The Garden Club of Larchmont

Judy Rozanski, Master Gardener

Do you live in an apartment, have a postage-stamp sized yard, or deal with another limited space for growing a garden? Explore how to maximize gardening in a small space, whether suburban or urban. This talk covers topics including valuable tips and techniques for planting a terrace, patio, containers, or other small area. Learn how to choose appropriate plants, including flowering annuals, perennials, and vegetables for the site.

Judy Rozanski pursued her interest in horticulture after retiring from teaching middle school special education. She holds two certificates from the New York Botanical Garden in Horticultural Therapy and in Gardening. Judy completed the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Westchester County Master Gardener Training Program and enjoys sharing her horticultural knowledge with others as a Master Gardener Volunteer.

Larchmont Library, Michael Coords Room

121 Larchmont Avenue, Larchmont, NY 10538

All invited. Refreshments served.

April 1st, 2023                                                                                                            Nedra Gillette, Editor

President’s Message                                                                                            Andrea Boyar, President

This spring again begins our publication of Leaves, our Garden Club of Larchmont newsletter that has been dormant for a short time as we were looking for a new Club member to take on this important communication responsibility.  It is a great pleasure to recognize our long-time Garden Club member Nedra Gillette who has volunteered to become our new editor.  Please join me in thanking Nedra for stepping in to this important position.

This is also a good opportunity to thank Beth Dowd who edited Leaves before, during and after the pandemic and continued to bring all of us Club news, events and gardening information during difficult times.

As spring is finally arriving please join us at our many planned Club events and think about how we can make the Club more in line with the interests of our members. We welcome new ideas on speakers, activities, field trips and other opportunities to share our love of flowers, gardens and the natural world.  Please take the time to drop me an email at aboyar@mac.com and let me know your thoughts. 

Thanks, and I hope to see you at our Origami workshop on April 3rd.  Happy Spring!

Andrea

Programs, Workshops and Opportunities to Learn

On April 3rd the Garden Club of Larchmont will be treated to an Origami workshop, presented by Julie Tang.  Julie has been teaching origami art for over 15 years.  She shared her passion for paper folding at many cultural 2festivals such as the annual Dragon Boat Festival in Flushing, NY, at the Scarsdale Chinese New Year festival, and at the annual Asian Heritage Festival at the Kensico Dam.  She has taught origami at many senior centers in Scarsdale, Bronxville and Mt. Vernon.  She also taught at the Larchmont and City Island Garden Clubs.  Besides origami Julie continues to promote cultural understanding by programs such as Lunar New Year celebrations with crafts and origami projects. RSVP to Coylecamille@gmail.com to reserve a spot at this dynamic workshop!

Mark your Calendars!  Earth Day is coming! On Saturday April 22nd, 1-4 p.m. (rain date April 23rd) the Larchmont Environmental Committee is hosting an Earth Day Celebration in Constitution Park, showcasing our tri-municipal Environmental Committees.  There will be activities for kids, live music, vegan food, and opportunities to learn about local environmental action.

On Monday, May 1st, Perri McKinney who owns the landscape and floral design firm “Salad Days” in Larchmont will teach us about “Gardening Without Chemicals” i.e., Organic Gardening.  This is a critical topic if we are to enact our club’s second objective, “To further education in landscaping, garden planning, nature study and the conservation of our natural resources.”  This program will be held at 12:30 at the Community Room in the Village Center behind the Library.

Then on Monday, June 5th, the club will meet at Kathy Tamagna’s for a Plant Exchange.   Kathy lives at 45 Old County Road, in New Rochelle.  Bring your perennials and any houseplants you’d like to trade for things others have brought, and get there about 11:00 a.m.  This is an excellent opportunity to increase the diversity of plants you have for your house and/or garden.

The annual Spring Luncheon and Awards Ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, June 16th, at 11:30.  The event will be held at Orienta Beach Club.  Cost is $65 per person. We are in the process of locating a speaker so please save the date. The form to register is at the end of this newsletter.

Announcements

Our garden club is contributing $12,000 to the new landscaping at the Senior Center.  The major planting was done when the driveway and parking areas were resurfaced. Now, as spring is arriving, we will be organizing some workdays to put in pollinator-friendly plants and do a little trimming.  We will keep you posted with dates and times. In the meantime, please stop at the Senior Center to see how much work has been done!

The Larchmont Library’s Annual Spelling Bee is scheduled for Sunday, April 23rd.  As customary, the garden club has entered a super team of Garden Bees. Please come out and support them! The event will be held at the Social Hall of the Larchmont Temple, from 4:00-5:30.  Refreshments will be available beginning at 3:30, so you can socialize with your friends. 

                                                                      OR

You can stretch your loyalty and attend the Harrison Club’s program called “Sip, Swap, and Sow:  A Garden Party to Launch Our Seed Library!  Sunday April 23 from 2:00-4:00 p.m.”  It is being held in the Community Room of the Halperin Building, and the Library Garden.  They say, “Join us for a fun-filled event of swapping seeds, sipping wine, and planting the seeds of community growth.”

Native Species in Larchmont: To add native species to public land in Larchmont Glenna Lee and Luke Brussel of Larchmont have hand-collected seeds from about 20  local plant species including rare ecotypes growing wildly in Larchmont/Mamaroneck, other parts of Westchester, and the Hudson River Valley, and have also sourced local seeds of many  other species from knowledgeable, reputable native plant specialists.  As Luke has stated: “When completed, Kane Park will be a place for children to discover and for all of us to experience again and again, the exquisite complexities and everyday wonders of the diversity of life in a healthful and vibrant ecosystem.  It will make our hometown healthier, more beautiful and a greater part of the solution to our planet’s ecological crisis”. These seeds are currently being cold-stratified for eventual planting in Kane Park.  If you are interested in participating in this project, please let Luke know at clukebrussel@gmail.com .

Ever Featured Yourself in a Book?  The Westchester Pollinators Group is asking for your contributions to a book they want to publish.  They write, “The subject, you guessed it, is healthy landscaping.  But here is our problem:  we can’t do it without you!  We need YOUR pictures; a bird in your tree, your fancy or failed garden design, a pollinator pathway sign on the mailbox or kids playing in an overgrown lawn; anything related to the yard is welcome!  Selected photos will be credited in the book with your name (or your business), and you will receive a free copy of the book.  The book will be printed in spring 2024. All royalties will be used towards Healthy Yards materials and programs.  We really hope you can help us!  Reply to: Healthy Yards info@healthyyards.org .

Daffodils!!!:  Come to the Jay Estate Gardens on the Post road in Rye for a FREE daffodil workshop on Sunday, April 2, at 10:00 a.m. with their Horticulture Director, Lucia Maestro.  Learn how to enter your favorite daffodils in a flower show!  From cleaning to “clocking”, watch how to prep your blooms and win ribbons.  Ideal for families and children.  E-mail hortdirector.jhc@gmail.com  to register.

Summer Bulbs! Time’s here to begin buying the bulbs you’ll want to plant in your garden for summer blooms.  A recent article by Betty Montgomery in the Journal News (March 26) suggests a variety of bulbs you will enjoy across the season and into the Fall.  High on her list  is Agapanthus, only recently suited for year-round growth in our area due to climate warming. Its colors usually are bright blues along with white.  Another is Croscomia, which gives you bright red in combos with yellow.  Striking! But the bulbs we should all remember are dahlias.  They come in dozens of types, shapes, and colors and you will have blooms right up until frost.  Should you be entering garden club shows, dahlias provide blooms that are hard to beat!

Book Review:  H is for Hawk

Written by Helen MacDonald, a naturalist and scholar at the University of Cambridge, this fascinating story tells of her year-long relationship with a fledgling hawk.  She needs the bird as much as the young bird relies on her; Dr. MacDonald has just lost her father, and is desperate for “intelligent” company. Previously she has trained falcons, and is eager to have this challenge once again to help assuage her loneliness.  Her commitment to this challenge is described as follows:

“To train a hawk you must watch it like a hawk, and so you come to understand its moods. Then you gain the ability to predict what it will do next. This is the sixth sense of the practiced animal trainer. Eventually you don’t see the hawk’s body language at all. You seem to feel what it feels. Notice what it notices.  The hawk’s apprehension becomes your own.” (p. 86).

The book’s cover notes that “Heart-wrenching and humorous, this book is an unflinching account of bereavement and a unique look at the magnetism of an extraordinary beast, with a parallel examination of a legendary writer’s eccentric falconry.  Obsession, madness, memory, myth and history combine to achieve a distinctive blend of nature writing and memoir from an outstanding literary innovator.”

For nature loves, this book brings many insights into our understanding of the relationship (or potential relationships) between humans and wildlife.   It is a New York Times Bestseller, and the winner of other prestigious awards. 

In Memoriam:  Mary Frances Bowles passed away on March 22nd.  She was a long-time garden club member and judge, active primarily with the New Rochelle Club.  Mary had an interesting career that involved a good deal of travel, but when she retired it was gardening that gave her the greatest pleasure.  She frequently served as a judge at Larchmont Garden Club shows.    

Dues Notice: 

Our Treasurer, Sandy Weed, announces that dues will continue to be $60.  Sandy will have the notices at the April meeting, and then she will put them in the mail.  Dues must be received by June 15th.