A Visit to Patti Hunt's

On Thursday, September 13th, the Garden Club had a field trip to Patti Hunt's beautiful home and gardens in the hills of Weston - overlooking the mountains of Vermont and Magic Mountain Ski Area. It was a gorgeous fall sunny day. We had our lunch and meeting on Patti's patio overlooking the gardens and mountains. Our hostesses - Chris Salerno, Harriet Brooks, and JoAnn Milza - provided us with wonderful desserts and beverages.

After the meeting, Patti Hunt and her associate Martin Bemis (of Jamaica Gardens) gave a talk on the ornamental grasses in general, and the specific ones seen at Patti's home.

The members, with Patti and Martin, then toured the gardens - discussing the plants, along with gardening tips. Under the right conditions, these grasses are easy, hardy, usually require dry and sunny weather. A fun and informative day.

New Hampshire Hosta Gardens

On Thursday, August 9th, members of the Ludlow Garden club went over the river to visit the Lawrence & Williams Hosta Gardens, in Unity, NH (about 4 miles from downtown Claremont). What a fascinating place!! Almost Alice-in-Wonderland - trees, shade, tall perennial flowers, knarled tree trunks over walkways, paths to nowhere, and hostas, hostas, hostas. Sue Lawrence was very welcoming, we lunched in her screened porch (delicious desserts from our hostesses), and she gave us educated and interesting facts on hostas. Then we toured around, and some bought hostas for their own gardens. If you'd like to visit, call them and make an appointment; as they have no set hours. The phone # is 603-542-4321.

The other interesting fact, is that she is hosting the annual meeting of the New England Hosta Ass. at Ascutney Resort on June 27, 28, 29, 2008. This is called "First Look", as all the presenters bring new varieties of hostas - never seen before. Sue Lawrence is also looking for volunteers to help with the organization of the meeting, so call her if you're interested. We'll also mention it at the Spring meetings of the Garden Club.

I apologize for not having my camera to record this Garden Club field trip. Will try to do better next month at Patti Hunt's Ornamental Grass gardens. Janet

Garden Club Flowers of Ludlow

With our sunny days and frequent rain, the flowers planted around town by the Beautification Committee, and other volunteers - under the expert supervision of Barbara Whittaker - have been doing very well. Here's a sample of some of the sites. The Gazabo in Veterans Memorial Park

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The flowers at Walker Bridge and Jewell Brook Bridge

New Town Hall planters have been added by Streetscapes, and made by Bill Salmon. A wonderful addition to our downtown. The Garden Club then provided the flowers.

The Club should be proud of our efforts to beautify the town!!

A Sunny Day at Saint-Gaudens

On Thursday, July 12th, the Garden Club took advantage of one of the few sunny and warm days to visit Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish, NH. The staff at Saint Gaudens set up a picnic site by the Visitors Center, made a beautiful flower arrangement for the table; and our hostesses - Jackie, Barbara, Marge and Alice (in absentia) offered us delicious desserts and beverages.

After the picnic, James Haff, the head Gardener, who had previously spoken to us during a regular meeting, took us on a tour of the Gardens and the Sculpture. For those who have never been there, it's a beautiful place with the flowers, scrubs, trees, etc. Plus the examples of Augustus Saint-Gaudens sculptures are inspiring.

The Farragut Momument and the Shaw Memorial are only two of the many sculptures to be seen. There is also the beautiful gold relief in the Atrium, the statue of Diana, and too many more to detail.

The hollyhocks in front of Saint-Gaudens Little Studio were another delight.

We ended the tour at Saint-Gaudens beautiful home - Aspet, with gardens, terraces, porticos, and the largest honey locust tree in New Hampshire.

A wonderful day for us all!

June Luncheon at Landgrove Inn

On June 14th, the Ludlow Garden Club had a wonderful luncheon at the Landgrove Inn.
With 34 members in attendance, a delicious dinner of Indonesian Chicken, and interesting conversation and companionship, a good time was had by all. Many thanks to Kay O'Hare for arranging this delightful day.

After the Luncheon, we all adjourned to the grounds of the Landgrove Inn and had a "guided" tour, with a description of the plantings from their designer, Maura Gehring. Interesting plants, shrubs, trees, etc.; along with a view into the Workshop building in back of the Inn. Check their website for planned workshops.

Another great program from the Garden Club!

Plant Sale is BIG Success

June 2nd was the date of the Ludlow Garden Club's most sucessful plant sale to date. The weather cleared, our new tent was assembled, along with the new and beautiful sign for the"Ludlow Garden Club", and all the members brought plants, plants and more plants! Business was brisk, almost all the plants were sold, and the profits (close to $1000) can be used for projects to beautify the Ludlow area. Many thanks to Patsy Kuntz for her organization, and to all the members who assisted. And it was great fun, all working and laughing together.

Spring Clean-up

With good weather on May 22nd and May 24th, members of the Ludlow Garden club did their annual spring clean-up at the Black River Academy Museum and the Mini-Park next to Town Hall. The Museum activities were led by Nancy Sears and the Mini-Park by Barbara Whittaker. With many members helping, (including our newest member, Marilyn Dunwoody), "many hands made light work"and we were done each morning. Many thanks to all!!

Making Twig Structures

The May 10th meeting of the Ludlow Garden Club was a fun, hands-on workshop making trellis' from twigs. Lara, from Black River Produce, provided the twigs and the expertise to enable the members to produce several interesting trellis'. Look for some of them to be up for sale at the Plant Sale!

Fall Flower Arrangements - October 2006

The October 12th meeting of the Garden Club was devoted to the design and arrangement of fall foliage. With many flowers - fresh and dried - the members had a fun time doing the arrangements. Thanks to Patsy and Marie for the flowers and the containers.