The New Canaan Garden Club members rallied again to deliver beautiful floral arrangements to Stella Clarke, Executive Director of Community Engagement and Volunteering at Waveny LifeCare Network for Mother’s Day weekend. The spring bouquets brightened up the common areas and nursing stations for all to enjoy.
Ellen McMahon, Co-Chair of Horticultural Therapy for The New Canaan Garden Club, recently provided over a dozen Easter arrangements designed by club members to Stella Clarke, Executive Director of Community Engagement and Volunteering at Waveny Lifecare Network. Stella was excited by the beautiful floral donations since this is the first time in over a year that flowers have been allowed in the Waveny community due to COVID restrictions. The spring bouquets will be on display in the dining rooms and common areas for the residents and staff to enjoy.
December proved to be a Season of Giving for the New Canaan Garden Club. 2020 was a difficult year for many. We wanted to do something special around the holidays to show our appreciation to those on the front lines and continue our annual civic projects to provide a little holiday spirit to local families going through difficult times. Click here for full story in New Canaan Advertiser.
Well, despite all the restrictions we had to adhere to due to Covid-19, we managed to pull it off and once again provide the beautiful wreaths that adorn our downtown area throughout the holidays! Together, with the Beautification League, we donned our masks, moved our workstations at least six feet apart, kept our volunteer numbers low, and had a ball making our festive wreaths! Interesting fact – since 1960 the Garden Club has convened each December to make these wreaths for our downtown, and no way were we going to let a stupid pandemic get in our way! Ho-Ho-Ho!
On Sunday evening, September 20th, the Irwin Park Committee hosted a reception for Friends of Irwin Park. We wanted to thank the donors who contributed to the completion of the Flexi-Pave loop at Irwin Park.
On two consecutive Saturdays, September 19th and 26th, a group of energetic NCGC members cut down several patches of Japanese knotweed, opposite the goat pen in Irwin Park. Armed with clippers, horticultural vinegar and black coffee, they cut and bagged the branches, and then poured vinegar and coffee in the hollow stalks. Hopefully, this will weaken the roots of the invasive knotweed plants at the time when they are the weakest (producing seeds). This action is part of a 3-year project to find the safest way to eradicate invasives from Irwin Park and encourage more native pollinators to return.
Unfortunately we are still in lock-down so all NCGC events for May have been cancelled. We are still hopeful that we can hold our Annual June Awards Meeting and Luncheon even if we have to push the date towards the end of the month and hold it outdoors. Please stay tuned!
2020 marks New Canaan Garden Club’s 100th Anniversary of being a member of the Garden Club of America. NCGC was founded by six forward-thinking New Canaan women in 1909. It was the third garden club to be organized in the United States.
Please note that all our April meetings and events have been CANCELLED. We look forward to reconnecting once this is all behind us. In the meantime, stay home, stay healthy and enjoy your gardens!
The New Canaan Sculpture Trail was created by the New Canaan Land Trust, in partnership with the Carriage Barn Arts Center, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. By joining art and nature, this inaugural outdoor art exhibition promises to uniquely connect residents and visitors to our natural surroundings. The exhibition features eight juried sculptural installations at six New Canaan Land Trust preserves, the front lawn of the New Canaan Town Hall, and the courtyard of the Carriage Barn Arts Center. The Sculpture Trail is open to the public from April 1 through July 31, 2020.