2024

Rodney Streeter of Stone Blossom Design and Landscape was our speaker for the May 22 meeting. Rodney spoke about the importance of the right plant in the right space, how plants should not be grouped close together but can be manipulated to look like a fuller garden, the importance of knowing the PH of your soil, knowing your exact zone and other great gardening tips. He answered questions from the audience at the end of his talk. 

Rodney Streeter on Plant Design for Any Size Area

On May 23, four members of the Bridge Committee planted the  52 flower boxes that will go on the Memorial Bridge in Hooksett in mid June to remain until September. 

On May 29 the NHFGC held its 91st Annual Meeting. District II, which  is comprised of the garden clubs of Bow, Goffstown, Hooksett and Manchester, were in charge of putting on the meeting this year and they chose the Back Room Conference Center as the venue. The Hooksett Club was responsible for creating the name tags and being at the registration desk to check people in as they arrived. They also had to provide a raffle item – which was a chair and a plant to put in your garden. Eleven members of the club attended. Elena Whitfield, a long time club member, was honored with the Silver Star Award.

91st Annual Meeting of the NHFGC

Last week of Pansies on the Memorial Bridge June 3, 2024

July

Our July meeting was a garden tour of  the beautiful gardens of Jane Beaulieu at her home in Manchester on July 24. Stepping off busy South Main Street into her yard you forget that you are right in the city. Her one acre property includes some beautiful old trees including two huge one hundred year old Elm trees, a black walnut tree, and pear, peach and cherry trees. She has multiple flower and vegetable gardens and her property also includes a pool and pool house with a 25’ long canopy of champagne grapes vines. Jane was a wonderful host, serving us food and drinks from the pool house, an unexpected surprise. Her chicken coop contained several chickens, too old to be laying eggs but enjoying their life. Nineteen members and a few spouses attended and everyone had a very nice evening

Gardens of Jane Beaulieu

Bridge of Flowers on July 25, 2024

August

 On Wednesday night, August 28, we did our last summer outdoor event for 2024. This was the fourth time that the garden club has toured Hip Peas Farm, (the last time was a tour before our 25th Anniversary party in 2022), but this time we were treated to a very different type of tour. Our previous visits were to the High Tunnels that are used to grow vegetables for the Tap House Grille. This was a flower tour. A large portion of the land is now being used by Josh Gagnon and Nick Brattan who own Blue Violet Botanicals and served as our guides. They started their business in 2022 during the pandemic. As gardeners and friends they decided to share the abundance from their gardens with the world around them and thus their business was born. Now three years later they provide specialty flowers for weddings and events; sell retail at Osborne’s Farm and Garden Center in Hooksett, Robie’s Store, and at  the Farm and Flower Market on Webster St. in Manchester; and have a weekly flower subscription service. Most of their flowers are old standards such as dahlias, zinnias, asters, marigolds and other well known flowers. But they also have some very unusual flowers that people love for wedding bouquets and dramatic displays such as the Mahogany Splendor Hibiscus, grown for its beautiful mahogany colored foliage. They also have a passion for David Austin Old English roses. 

Hip Peas Farm

September

The NHFGC Annual Fall meeting was held this year at Bedrock Gardens in Lee, NH on September 23rd. Four members of the Hooksett Garden Club attended. A memorial table honored all members of the Federation that had passed this past year. We honored long time member Linda Currier, who died on January 23, 2024.

Bedrock Gardens

 The Wednesday September 25 meeting included a floral arranging demonstration by Frannie Bader. She is a designer, wedding planner and gardening enthusiast with 38 years of experience in the floral industry. The plants she brought to work with came from grocery stores and her own garden. Frannie works using a small sharp knife, a small scissors and two pruners for woody stems. She created four designs and at the end of the night all four of the arrangements were raffled off. The lucky winners were: Bill Kirmes, Sue Carvalho, Karen Derie and Megan Locker.

Fran Bader

October

Fifteen HGC members, one spouse and Boy Scout Leader Jeff Scott all showed up on Saturday, October 5th to do the final fall cleanup at the library. They worked from 10am to almost 2pm. The day before and the Monday after, Rachel, Diana and Michael cleaned up the very front. The garden has officially been “put to bed”. After working, the group enjoyed pizza and drinks on the porch. 

Fall Cleanup at the Library

For the October 23 meeting, our last of the year, Elena Whitfield did a demonstration showing us how to create a bulb garden and was assisted by Brianna Bowden. Elena used two large plastic pots that had drainage holes on the bottom which were coverd by coffee filters. A good 6” of soil was added to the bottom, enough room for the roots of the first bulbs. When you have put in 3-4” add some fertilizer. Elena used PlantTone by Espoma, or you can use any bulb fertilizer. Add the rest of the soil to reach 6”. The first bulbs she put in were Daffodil bulbs as they will come up first. The second layer will be Tulips. The very center is where you put your hyacinths.The last layer are your Crocus. Cover with soil almost to the top of the pot. You can use seed starting soil, woodchips or shreded leaves on the very top for added insulation. When you are finished water deeply until it runs out of the holes in the bottom but not so much that the soil is soggy as you don’t want the bulbs to rot. Put the pots into an unheated garage, basement or shed as they need to stay as cold as they would in the ground. But they cannot be allowed to freeze. Do not put into a heated basement or garage and do not put them outside or your pots will freeze.  At the end of March check on them and you can just dampen the soil. When they are starting to bloom in early May you can put them outside on a porch, deck, etc. 

Also at this meeting, Paula Harris and Jocelyn Scarpetti, Pajama Co-Chairs, collected the pajamas and books which the club donates to the Kiwanis Kids Kloset.

October Meeting

November

Wreath pick up Day was Saturday, November 30, the Saturday after Thanksgiving as it always is. This year however, we were not at the Hooksett Library, our usual place, but were at the Hooksett Congregational Church. We worked in the large parking lot and also had a warm place to go inside and a place for Irene Bergeron to keep track of the orders being put up. Rachel picked up coffee and goodies. Most of the orders were being delivered by our members with only a few being picked up. We started at 8am and 

were finished by 10:30. Thank you to everyone who showed up to work.

Wreath Pick Up Day

December

Susan St. Germain, our Holiday Function Chair,  did a fabulous job putting together a holiday luncheon that was held at the Tap House Grill on December 7. She had arranged with the restaurant to allow the twelve attending to each pay for their own meal, making it easier for us. Susan had a cute game printed out and waiting for us on the table and had some lovely prizes, several that she had made herself.

Holiday Party

The Hooksett Garden Club tradionally spends one day ringing bells for the Salvation Army. This year it was on December 14 from 10am to 6pm at Bass Pro Shops in Hooksett. The day was co-ordinated by Bell Ringing Chair, Connie Snair.

Bell Ringing