Bristol Garden Club

Bristol Rhode Island

Today Dan will demonstrate various techniques and tricks for creating small and large topiaries. He will donate a topiary to be awarded as a door prize for one lucky winner. Dan hopes we will be inspired to try making our own topiaries, and that we will continue to love the gardens we cultivate.

Hostesses: Mary-Fran Snow and Bonnie Evans

JULY 2021

No Meeting

AUGUST 2021

August 11, 2021

Winemaking, From Grape to Glass

Speakers: Skott Rebello, Production Manager, Salt Creek Vineyard;

Stacey Edwards, Asst Manager, Running Brook Vineyard and Winery

11:00 am brown bag lunch and business meeting at Salt Creek Vineyard

12:00 pm lecture and tour of Salt Creek Vineyard

1:30 pm lecture and tour of Running Brook Vineyard, followed by optional wine tasting

Locations: Salt Creek Vineyard, 205-227 Bakerville Rd., Dartmouth, MA; and

Running Brook Vineyard and Winery, 335 Old Fall River Road, No. Dartmouth, MA

We will begin today’s program at Salt Creek Vineyard, seeing and learning how wine grapes are grown and tended until they are harvested and sold to winemakers. Salt Creek is strictly agricultural -- a farm, not a winery. Skott’s goal as Production Manager is “to create a great grape.”

At Running Brook Vineyard we will learn how grapes become wine, from fruit to bottling and enjoyable maturity. Stacey will share the history of her company and will describe the wines we can taste at the close of the tour. Flights of 5 wines will be available for purchase by individual club members at $10 per flight.

Hostesses: Carol Glanville and Pam Delaney

SEPTEMBER 2021

September 8, 2021

Butterflies and Teacups

Speaker: Michelle Mensinger,

Birds, Bugs, and Butterflies Chair, NE Garden Clubs

11:30 am – 2:45 pm

Location: Event Tent, Blithewold Mansion, 101 Ferry Road, Bristol, RI

Members will meet at 11:30 to discuss club business.

Following the meeting, members and ticketed attendees will enjoy an informative presentation, “Butterflies of New England,” presented by noted naturalist Michelle Mensinger. Blithewold’s famous tea will be served after the presentation.

Cost $30 members $35 non members

Hostesses: Bonnie Evans, Mary-Fran Snow, and Barbara Curtis

OCTOBER 2021

October 13, 2021

Natural Dyeing and Botanical Printing- a Fabric Demonstration

Speaker: Robyn Borges

1:00 pm

Location: TBD

BGC member, Robyn Borges, has been a textile designer & fiber artist for over 30 years. Her love of gardening and textiles has culminated in the creation of one-of-a-kind silk scarves and fabrics.

Natural dyeing of fabric has been around since before the Egyptian times and has recently been rediscovered by fiber artists. Robyn will demonstrate how to dye fabrics with natural dyes such as Madder root and Logwood bark. This demo will also include the creative process of printing silk scarves with native leaves & flowers by transferring the leaf dyes onto the fabric. This is commonly known as Eco printing.

Hostesses: Diana Campbell and Barbara Curtis

NOVEMBER 2021

November 10, 2021

Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf (film and Commentary)

Presenter: Mary-Fran Snow

1:00 pm

Location: TBD

Club member, Mary-Fran Snow, has hands-on experience working at New York’s acclaimed High Line. She has graciously agreed to obtain the film which features this garden, among others designed by Oudolf. Mary-Fran will share books about High Line as well as information and personal insights.

Hostesses: Celeste Bernardino and Pam Bishop

DECEMBER 2021

December 8, 2021

Annual Holiday Luncheon

12:00 pm

Location TBD

Bring your favorite holiday side dish, appetizer, or dessert to share at our festive annual potluck get-together. The club will provide the main course and beverages. (Please plan to give Vera $5 each to defray this cost.)

This is a social event, without a designated program. As you enjoy visiting and wishing each other the happiest season’s greetings, please remember to support some less fortunate ladies at the local women’s shelter. They will greatly appreciate your donations of toiletries.

Hostesses: Karen Kestenberg and Mary Millard

JANUARY 2022

No Meeting

FEBRUARY 2022

February 9, 2022

Six Simple Steps to Successful Rose Gardening

Speakers: Mike and Angelina Chute

1:00 pm

Location: TBD

According to our speakers, “It’s easy to grow beautiful roses in your home garden once you know how.” This program will appeal to every gardener who wants to grow roses, and will explain “everything you need to know in six easy-to-follow steps that take the mystery out of rose gardening.” The Chutes will include an abundance of tips and personal anecdotes gathered during over twenty years of successful rose gardening.

Hostesses: Gail Burmeister and Laurel Curtis

MARCH 2022

March 9, 2022

Water Gardens, Large and Small

Speaker: Rick Burt, Instructor

1:00

Location TBD

No garden is complete without water -- still and reflective, or moving and contributing its melody. Enthusiastic and experienced water gardener Rick Burt will inspire and encourage us to try this rewarding aspect of gardening, and tell us how to get started with practical information, and tips on plants and how and where to obtain them. Whether it’s a simple container with a lovely tropical water lily sitting on your patio or a full- blown pond in your yard, you can begin enjoying a water garden of your own this year.

Hostesses: Robyn Borges and Linda Sheehan

APRIL 2022

April 13, 2022

Floral Design Grand Finale

Speaker: TBD

(time TBD)

Location: TBD

Today’s program will be the final demonstration in our club’s newly developed Floral Design Series . Open to all interested members, the series will feature presentations by some of our club’s best award-winning designers.

Hostesses: Karen Aveson and Hope Avery

MAY 2022

May 11, 2022

Annual Spring Luncheon Meeting

12:00 pm

Location TBD

We will meet during a delicious lunch, with time for socializing before and after. There is no formal program at this meeting.

Hostesses: Bonnie Evans, Mary-Fran Snow, and Barbara Curtis

JUNE 2022

June 8, 2022

What Cheer Flower Farm, tour and presentation

Speaker: Destenie Vital, Executive Director

12:00 pm brown bag lunch and meeting

1:00 pm tour and presentation

Location: What Cheer Flower Farm

46 Atwood Street, Providence, RI

“What Cheer Flower Farm gives away 44,500 flowers a year to charity…because everyone deserves a bouquet.” This description encompasses part of the mission of this unique new 501c3 in Providence. Founded in 2017, the farm grows or rescues, and gives away flowers to underserved people in stress – those in shelters and recovery centers, hospitals and hospices, seniors with dementia, and others.

The farm began when 4,000 sf of parking lot was remediated into an organic raised bed field in 2018, on the site of an abandoned former factory. Since then, growing fields, which we will visit, have been expanded and a barn has been built to contain event flower rescues. Future goals include creation of a green job training center on-site, and development of expanded growing fields, topics which our tour guide will discuss.

Hostesses: Marsha Petaja and Carol Botelho