Meetings
One of the great benefits of the Bedford Garden Club is our presentations. We hold monthly meetings with a great variety of guest speakers who speak on a plethora of topics related to perennial, annual and vegetable gardening; trees; fruits and berries; flower arranging and wreath creation; cooking and more. In addition, we conduct special workshops, many of them hands-on, and also hold field trips to visit wonderful gardens, public and private.
Program Schedule – 2023/2024
The Ouch House
Friday, June 9, 2023
Carlisle Garden Tour – Ouch House
Meeting: 10:00 am.
Location: Carlisle, MA.
Joanne Orlando received an email from Marc Raibert, owner of the Ouch House in Carlisle, confirming our visit to his Succulent and Cactus Greenhouse. on Friday, June 9, 2023, at 10:00 AM. Marc will give us a tour of the greenhouse. His giant Saguaro Cactus blooms in June. Hopefully our visit will be in time to see this beautiful Arizona native in bloom.
Joanne will work to set up carpooling for members, guests, and the address.
Marc Raibert is the founder of Boston Dynamics, a robotics company. This unusual greenhouse is located at his residence in Carlisle, Massachusetts. Judy Storer’s son Jonathan helped build the greenhouse.
Tuesday, July 11, 2023
Tuesday, July 11, 2023Selecting Sustainable Roses
Social: 10:00 am Meeting: 10:30 am.
Location: First Church of Christ, Congregational, 25 Great Rd., Bedford, MA
Bakers: Christine Sampson and Bridget Clayton
Guest Speakers Mike and Angelina Chute of RoseSolutions on the topic, Selecting Sustainable Roses.
Mike and Angelina Chute have been growing roses for over 25 years in their East Providence, Rhode Island, garden. To reach more home gardeners, they started RoseSolutions, a landscape company that offers educational programs, workshops, seminars and consulting services on rose horticulture.
This program features modern, recently introduced varieties of roses as well as old favorites that are disease-resistant, winter hardy, easy to grow and bloom all season.
Selecting Sustainable Roses delves into the core of sustain-ability, explains the different grades and types of roses, their growth habits, and how to select the best varieties for one’s garden.
The Chutes write, blog, and publish a quarterly e-newsletter that is all about roses.
Tuesday, August 1, 2023
Tuesday, August 1, 2023Bedford Garden Club Book Club
Meeting: 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
Location: Job Lane Farm Museum Barn, 295 North Rd., Bedford, MA
Join Club members in a casual discussion of Two Gardeners: A Friendship in Letters by Katharine S. White and Elizabeth Lawrence. A description of the book, modified from the jacket, follows:
This book is a collection of luminous letters between legendary New Yorker editor Katharine S. White and noted southern garden writer Elizabeth Lawrence. The letters, spanning the years 1958-1977, bring to life a unique epistolary friendship between two intelligent women, both avid gardeners and readers, both at a stage of life when to make a new friend was rare, indeed.
More than 150 letters were exchanged during their correspondence, though the two would meet face-to-face only once.
Whether writing about gardens or books, friends or family, each held a special place in the other’s life.
Katie Walter
Tuesday, September 12, 2023
Demonstration-style cooking class showcasing locally available Fall vegetables.
Social: 9:30 am Meeting: 10:00 am
Location: First Church of Christ, Congregational, 25 Great Rd., Bedford, MA
Bakers: Nancy Bilafer and Jeannette Pothier
NOTE: This program is limited to 40 attendees – Garden Club members only.
Katie Walter, the owner of Two Aprons Cookery, enjoys food: cooking it, eating it, traveling for it, reading about it, and writing about it. She cooks simply, from scratch and using seasonal foods. She is passionate about composting and running a less-wasteful, sustainable kitchen.
Katie has been teaching cooking classes out of her home – first in London and now in Lexington, Massachusetts – for over 10 years. She has co-authored a cookbook titled Some Like it Hot (Chronicle Books, 2005) and has spent time at America’s Test Kitchen in Boston.
This program will be a demonstration-style cooking class. The menu will showcase locally-available Fall vegetables. A sample tasting will follow the demonstration.
Saturday, September 23, 2023
Saturday, September 23, 2023Garden Club Booth: 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Location: Parking lot next to Town Hall.
9:00 am to 3:00 pm: Bedford Garden Club’s Bedford Day Yard Sale, 12 School Ave., Bedford, MA – home of Gayle Lewis.
NOTE: For this fall Yard Sale fundraiser, please save garden-related items, sporting goods, and children’s toys and games.
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
Tuesday, October 10, 2023Carlton Willard At-Home
Social: 9:30 am Meeting: 10:00 am.
Location: First Church of Christ, Congregational, 25 Great Rd., Bedford, MA
Bakers: Barbara O’Neil, Sarah Freeman and Christine Sampson
Guest speaker Judi Tabor, MSW, LCSW at Carleton-Willard, will speak about CW (Carleton-Willard) at Home.
Many adults would like to continue living in their own homes, but in order to do so, need some extra help. Judi Tabor, Master of Social Work and Licensed Clinical Social Worker from CW at Home, will describe how CW at Home can provide security and peace of mind, as well as the support and encouragement important to stay independent, active and engaged in life.
CW at Home offers a variety of services to persons who wish to age in their homes, including home maintenance, transportation, in-home health care, and a Gourmet-To-Go meal delivery service. Judi will provide information packets about Carleton-Willard and the CW at Home program.
Michele Schuckel
Tuesday, November 14, 2023
Holiday Swag Workshop.
Social: 9:30 am Meeting: 10:00 am
Location: First Church of Christ, Congregational, 25 Great Rd., Bedford, MA
Bakers: Carol Amick, Christine McGovern, and Dawn Warrington
NOTE: This program is limited to 30 attendees – Garden Club members only.
There will be a per-person materials charge for this workshop which is $20.
In this program, Michele Schuckel will teach how to make a long-lasting swag for the holidays. She will demonstrate how to apply creative themes and adornments for a one-of-a-kind seasonal decoration. She also will review the history of the holiday wreath.
Michele is an experienced, organized and detail-oriented public speaker, a certified Master Gardener and home compost instructor.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023
Tuesday, December 12, 2023Holiday Party.
Time: 12:00 pm
Location: Pepper’s Grille, 321 Great Rd., Bedford, MA
Bedford Garden Club’s Holiday Party. Details about the luncheon price will be available closer to the date of the event.
Jana Milbocker
Tuesday, January 9, 2024
The Garden Tourists’ Northeast.
Social: 9:30 am Prepare your own cup of coffee or tea and socialize with Club members online. Meeting: 10:00 am
Location: Join Zoom Meeting
Guest speaker Jana Milbocker of Enchanted Gardens will present The Garden Tourists’ Northeast.
Jana is the principal of Enchanted Gardens, a lecturer and author. She combines horticulture, design, and travel tips to educate, inspire, and delight both new and seasoned gardeners.
Jana loves to visit gardens and historic sites in the U.S. and abroad, and share her trips through her books, photos and blog.
Everyone enjoys touring beautiful gardens! Jana will present a visual tour of the best public gardens, nursery display gardens, and private gardens open to the public in the Northeast that should be visited for inspiration!
Learn about each garden’s highlights, ideal times to visit, and enjoy a pictorial tour of each amazing destination.
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
A Year in the Life of a Beehive and its Beekeeper
Social: 9:30 am Meeting: 10:00 am.
Location: First Church of Christ, Congregational, 25 Great Rd., Bedford, MA
Bakers: Dorothy Africa and Sandy Alexander
Guest speaker Amelie Behaeghel presents A Year in the Life of a Beehive and its Beekeeper.
Amelie Behaeghel put her engineering and research experiences towards keeping honey bees and developed a group of talks under the title, The Fascinating Honey Bee. She has been working for an organic candle and honey shop where, in addition to making candles, she educates customers about honey bees.
This presentation depicts activities in and around a beehive from January to the Fall’s honey harvest. Also included is a discussion of pollen and nectar-producing blossoms, which are attractive to honeybees.
Karen O’Brien
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Herbs Beyond the Basics: 10 Herbs Everyone Should Know and Grow
Social: 9:30 am Meeting: 10:00 am.
Location: First Church of Christ, Congregational, 25 Great Rd., Bedford, MA
Bakers: Gayle Lewis, Beth Taylor and Judy Watkins
Guest speaker Karen O’Brien of Green Woman’s Garden will present Herbs Beyond the Basics: 10 Herbs Everyone Should Know and Grow.
Karen O’Brien has gardened for more than 40 years and is certified as a Master Gardener. She is actively involved with The Herb Society of America and the International Herb Association, serving on their boards.
Parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, and basil are great herbs that form the backbone to a good herb garden. Karen will go beyond the basics to explore 10 lesser-known herbs that should be included to make a great herb garden. Culinary, fragrant, and ornamental, these herbs will add a new dimension to the garden and kitchen.
Samples will be offered showing a variety of ways that fresh herbs can be used (cooking, home-made decorations, in the landscape, for fragrance, etc.)
Karen’s business, The Green Woman’s Garden in Richmond, NH, sells herbs and native plants.
Saturday, May 11, 2024
Bedford Garden Club Geranium/Perennial/Mother’s Day Flower Arrangements Sale
Time: 9:30 am to 2:00 pm.
Location: Bedford DPW Building, 314 The Great Rd., Bedford, MA
For More Information click here!
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Tuesday, May 14, 2024Annual Meeting / Luncheon
Meeting: 12:00 pm.
Location: Princeton Station: 147 Princeton St, North Chelmsford, MA
More Information Coming!!
Mary Beth Hayes
Tuesday, June 11, 2024
Create Your Own Cutting Garden
Social: 9:30 am Meeting: 10:00 am.
Location: First Church of Christ, Congregational, 25 Great Rd., Bedford, MA
Bakers: Ruth Beauchesne and Marion Connarton
Guest speaker Mary Beth Hayes, of Semper Virens Flowers, will present Create Your Own Cutting Garden.
Mary Beth is the owner of Semper Virens. Her design ethos is to work with nature using the freshest seasonal flowers. Unexpected flowers and greens rule, the more textured, the better!
Mary Beth will show how to create one’s own small, but productive, cutting garden that will produce lots of fresh flowers for arrangements. Learn easy and reliable plants to grow, soil preparation, maintenance and harvesting, flower conditioning, end of season breakdown, and more. Mary Beth also will make a spiral hand tied bouquet.