January 23, 2012 Meeting

Even though there was thick fog, we had a good turnout at the January meeting of the Belltown Garden Club. Eight members and four guests enjoyed the sights and smells of Nancy Ballek Mackinnon's herbs. Nancy brought some of her top ten herbs with her. As she spoke about the potted herbs and handed them around the audience, the earthy smell of dirt and the scent of the herbs make everyone long to garden again. Many of the herbs were healing herbs including yarrow, echinacea, eucalyptus (not the preserved type!), calendula, and catnip.  Many herbs act as bio-accumulators which heal the land (or bee hives) for other uses:  sorrel and thyme.  Ballek's Garden Center will be presenting a series of films on sustainability.  We will post on this blog the dates and times when we know them.  Nancy will also send a list of her favorite cookbooks with recipes for using herbs.  Look for this list on the blog soon.  Nancy also announced a 350th anniversary of the family farm in East Haddam the weekend after the Foruth of July.  We'll have more information here about that event also.  Nancy said the family is now part of the sustainability movement and the global grassroots movement to solve climate change.  More information on this organization is available at www.350.org.  It was an informative presentation infused with the smell of earth and herbs.  We were reminded to get back to nature--and take care of it.

Karen Gallmon, President, called the meeting to order after a short refreshment break.  Karen distributed a flyer on the Standard Flower Show presented by the Federated Garden Clubs of CT, Inc. The Fabulous Fifties is the theme for the show at the Convention Center in Hartford February 23-26, 2012.  More information at www.ctflowershow.com and the Federated Garden Clubs site.

Karen also invited anyone who might want to go to the Boston Garden Show March 17th to email her soon at kegallmon@hotmail.com. Friendship Tours is sponsoring a trip to Boston and to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden for the cherry blossoms April 29th. The cost for each trip is $68. Karen needs to hear from you soon if you are interested in going with her.

Next month's meeting will be a Wine & Cheese event.  Attendees should bring a cheese to sample with wine provided by the club. Each attendee should bring a horticultural exhibit including some live material in a floral design and the article, book, art or web site which inspired their creation.  Karen encouraged everyone to think "funky" and use just a few blooms (less expensive that way) and some clever, creative props like we see displayed at the standard flower shows.  We  donated a great book to the public library last year on floral displays, Flower Arranging the American Way by Nancy D'Oench, a local author. 

The East Hampton Public Library has many other books on floral design and flower arranging.  More details about the February meeting will be posted later on this blog and sent by email.  Photos from the meeting will be coming later. I'm having trouble getting them to stay horizontal again!