2019 Preliminary Schedule

Ready for a new gardening year?

The Gardeners Exchange Program Team has put together a great schedule of events for the new year! Thanks to all who provided ideas and input through the potluck, the survey and through individual conversations and emails.

2019 Changes

There are some changes to Gardeners Exchange Memberships for 2019. Here are the highlights:

  • Individual dues are $25 and couples’ dues are $35
  • Members no longer pay the $5 surcharge for a meeting with a paid speaker
  • Non-Members pay a $5 fee when we have guest speakers
  • Couples now receive one set of dividends per couple and have an opportunity to buy additional dividends

Treasurer Rae Price will provide information regarding payment in the next week or two so be sure to keep an eye out for her email. Membership benefits include all events plus dividends and discounts at many area nurseries and garden centers.

This year our meetings fall on a mix of the third and fourth Saturdays and a Sunday or two so pay close attention to the dates and to the monthly email reminders. The website calendar will be updated as we finalize the events.

This is a preliminary look at our 2019 events from our fabulous program team. Events later in the year are subject to change so, as always, keep an eye out for reminders sent in advance of each meeting since they always include last minute details.

Preliminary 2019 Program Schedule

Our first meeting of 2019 will take place at the Hazen Library in Shirley on Saturday, February 23 from 10:30am to 12:30pm and will include our seed share and gardening catalog & magazine swap. The topic is “Get Ready! The Spring Garden”.

Speaker and Master Gardener Cheryl Monroe will help us prepare for a productive and creative gardening season. Topics include: what to prune now and why, tool sharpening (demonstration and bring yours too!), flower bed cleanup and evaluation, transplanting, lawn care, pest control (voles, winter moth, and scale), houseplant basics, bulb care and bare root plants. Get through this busy season informed, prepared, and ready for whatever Mother Nature throws your way.

In our March 23rd meeting, member Diane Kazanjian will talk about “Tools of the Trade”.

This program is the product of over 35 years of gardening experience. Gardeners Exchange member Dianne Kazanjian shares what she has learned about tools that make gardening tasks easier. Effective tools do not need to be expensive. Dianne will bring a number of her tools that she has found to be the best.

Dianne Kazanjian is a graduated Master Gardener who ran the business Flower Bed Designs for many years. A member of Pepperell Garden Club for 32 years, she has been a member of The Gardeners Exchange for 5 years.

On April 27th, Ben Barkan of Home Harvest returns for “Creating the Edible Garden”. Learn how to design and create attractive gardens filled with ornamental plants and nutrient-dense edibles.

This workshop will discuss soil health, site preparation, sustainable land-use techniques, and how to maximize garden productivity while harmonizing with the landscape. With a home garden you can grow sweeter and more nutritious produce than anything you can buy in a store, but it’s essential that you start with healthy soil and learn the basics of garden design. This workshop will help those interested in growing edibles, ornamentals or both to create an inviting garden using sustainable and organic practices.

For May 19th, we’ll have a Guided Horticultural Tour of Mount Auburn Cemetery. Mount Auburn Cemetery is one of the most beautiful and historic landscapes in America. Its impressive collection of over 5,000 trees represents 630 taxa. Thousands of shrubs and herbaceous plants weave through 175 acres of hills, dells, ponds, woodlands and clearings.

Plant species from around the world that grow in a northern temperate climate can be seen on the grounds, including individual specimens recorded as Massachusetts state or New England champions of their species. Walking tours will be customized to highlight areas of seasonal interest.

June 1st is a special event: a field trip for a Guided Tour of the Lyman Greenhouses and Gardens at Smith College in North Hampton. Our regular meeting on June 22nd will be a member garden tour. July brings our summer garden tour and potluck at Lucy and John’s.

August 24th or 25th (TBD) is tentatively scheduled as a guided tour at Tower Hill Botanical Garden where we’ll focus on the Vegetable Garden and Heirloom Apples.

September 21st is a member-led Crafting with Dried Flowers from the Garden event. If you have grape vines, antique roses or other materials that work well for crafts or have crafting skills to share, please contact member Celeste Huber who is coordinating this event.

We’ll wrap up the year with our Fall Potluck at Center Town Hall in Shirley on October 20th.