September 19, 2023

September Sproutings

Special Luncheon Honoring Past Presidents

We kick off our 55th birthday by honoring all Past Presidents of the CGC with a fabulous members-only luncheon. 

October 17, 2023

4:30pm (Note time change)

*Open to the Public

October Sproutings


Fall Migration Magic

with Phil Kyle

October is a great time to learn the fascinating secrets of bird migrations!  Phil Kyle was president of the Cape Cod Bird Club and authored the column on BIRDING for Cape Cod Times.  Phil’s program is called “Fall Migration Magic”.  We will learn which birds leave the Cape, why the birds fly south, what cues trigger birds that it is time for them to leave, when the migration starts, and where they will spend the winter.

 

November 21, 2023
*Open to the Public

November 21, 2023

November Sproutings

Have you ever wondered what plants were in the First Gardens of America?  Fred Dunford, Ph.D. is a horticulture specialist in the English Village at the Plimoth Patuxet Museums.  Prior to this position, he was an archeologist at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History.  He will educate us on the vital role Wampanoag women performed to influence the English “Planters” (the Pilgrims called themselves) in their 17th-Century Village. 

January 16, 2024
  *Open to the Public 
January Sproutings 

Windowsill Culture of Orchids

 with Dr. Robert H. Findlay

Let’s start the year with orchids! Bob Findlay, Ph.D. is a recipient of many awards from the American Orchid Society for the orchids he grew in his 12’x16’ greenhouse at his home in Brewster, MA.  Bob will present an overview of the orchid culture from the perspective of growing orchids on the windowsill.  He will also have much to share about his collection of several hundred orchids representing 23 different orchid genera, plus numerous intergeneric hybrids. 

February 20, 2024
  *Open to the Public  

February Sproutings

 

Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants 

with Jennifer Brown

Have you ever heard of Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka?  Jennifer Brown, Manager of the Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants will introduce us to the father and son glass artists who worked from 1886 through 1936.  Their glass flowers – as many as 4,300 scientifically accurate models representing 780 plant species - are on permanent display in the Harvard Museum of Natural History.  It is one of Harvard’s most internationally acclaimed treasures.  Even on a cold winter day, these garden flowers are in bloom! 

March 19, 2024
  *Open to the Public  
March Sproutings

Designing a Sunny Perennial Border

with Jana Milbocker

Border plantings can have several purposes in the garden: purely decorative, to create a demarcation between one area of the garden and another, or to make a pathway.  Jana Milbocker is the principal of Enchanted Gardens and author of the Garden Tourists Books.  She has been a lecturer at the Boston Flower & Garden Show and at Tower Hill Botanic Garden. Jana will combine horticulture and design to educate, inspire, and delight us -- whether we are a new gardener or a well-seasoned gardener!

April 16, 2024
 
 *Open to the Public  
April Sproutings

The Little Red Berry 

presented by the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association

Where does Massachusetts rank in the production of cranberries?  We are all aware of the bogs on the Cape, and Harwich celebrates with a Cranberry Festival.  A representative from the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association will present all the facts about this native berry, its history, how to farm, how to harvest, and why we should eat this little red berry!

May 21, 2024

4:30 pm  (Note time change.)
  *Open to the Public  
May Sproutings

with Neal Sanders

Why is so much gardening information on the internet so awful?  Why is it impossible to do just one thing in the garden?  Why should you never compute the value of your labor when you garden? Why do we have garden benches even though we never sit in them?

These are the questions that keep Neal Sanders awake at night.  As the spouse of an avid and accomplished gardener with no ‘real’ responsibilities other than to dig holes and move rocks, Neal has lots of time to observe gardeners and their foibles.  Today, he’ll share some of those observations in a talk – ‘Gardening Is Murder – that he guarantees will be unlike any gardening lecture you’ve ever heard.

Neal is the author of 15 mysteries, many of which use garden club or horticultural settings and all of which feature strong, independent women.  He writes ‘The Principal Undergardener’ blog, which addresses gardening as a non-gardener who loves gardens.  He and his wife, Betty, live in Medfield, Massachusetts.

June 25, 2024

June Sproutings

Private Member Luncheon

   Come enjoy the gardens of one of our Chatham Garden Club members.