Driftwood Garden Club

and Dianne and Marcia have put together a great program for members!

Here are a few highlights:

The New American Garden

October
Tuesday, October 21, 7pm Abbot Public Library
Laura Eisner
Professor, The Landscape Institute Boston Architectural College

The New American Garden concept frees plants from forced and artificial forms and allows them to seek a natural course as they weave a tapestry across the entire garden plane. The results are layered masses of foliage that boldly celebrate the ephemeral through mystery, intrigue, and discovery. Built elements share importance equally with the plants. Carefully designed walls, terraces, steps, and other “hardscape” features complement the surrounding “softscape.” Famous landscape architect Oehme van Sweden is widely recognized as having pioneered the New American Garden style of landscape architecture. Our speaker, Laura Eisner, believes that teaching design is the surest way to ensure improvements in the region’s landscape and gardens, since it gives a greater number of people the skills and inspiration needed to create exciting and environmentally sound landscapes. Laura brings us up to date with current trends in her slide presentation and our discussion to follow.

—Public invited

Gleaning from the Wild

November
Saturday, November 22, 12-2pm Snug Harbor Farm, Kennebunk ME
Tony Elliot
Owner, Snug Harbor Farm

Glean the grounds of Snug Harbor Farm to find the perfect combination of berries, plants, pods and twigs to make a stunning and unique holiday container and add a festive touch to your home. Bring your own container or you can
buy one at their fabulous store. The workshop includes a tour of the farm, materials and a demonstration by owner,

Tony Elliott. Snug Harbor Farm is a year round retail greenhouse grower, plant nursery, landscape design service and garden shop located in the lower village of Kennebunk, ME. The nursery is a plant connoisseur’s dream. Tony Elliott is a purveyor of good taste.

Decorating the Holiday Home

December
Tuesday, December 9, 7pm Abbot Public Library
Nancy Mantilla
Owner, Flores Mantilla

Relax, have fun and enjoy the creativity of Nancy Mantilla, owner and extraordinarily talented floral designer at Flores Mantilla, which has been committed to beautifying the Boston area for over 20 years.

The holidays may be a hectic time, but Nancy will be with us to create and share beautiful centerpieces and holiday décor

which will be raffled off to three lucky members in the true spirit of holiday giving. An evening not to miss as we celebrate each other in good cheer...

Flora in Winter, Exhibition and tour

January
Saturday, January 24, 12-2 pm The Worcester Art Museum Worcester, MA

Breathtaking flowers bloom in the galleries of the Worcester Art Museum during its annual Flora in Winter Exhibition. During this premier floral design event, skilled arrangers from across the region create captivating and imaginative interpretations of artworks in virtually every gallery of the museum. It is a succulent feast for the eyes and spirit in the middle of winter. This is a gem of a museum and visitors quickly realize the breadth of its collections. The Worcester Art Museum is considered one of the finest small museums in the country.

Garden Choreography—Designing the Garden Path

February
Tuesday, February 17, 7pm Abbot Public Library
Heather Heimarck
Director of The Landscape Institute Boston Architectural College

In this talk on garden choreography, we examine the cinematographer’s use of storyboarding as a garden design tool. Moving away from designing in plan first, this technique engages “the fourth dimension:, that of movement through the garden. A short film on Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken”, is the springboard for our discussion on both the spatial and psychological effects of open spaces, narrow corridors, distant views, veiled glimpses, contrasts in color, and capturing the drama of “the road less taken”, the garden path. In appreciating the architecture of poetry and film, we return to the garden with fresh inspiration.

With her background in fine arts, sculpture and community service, Heather Heimarck brings a social and environmental ethic to the art of landscape design. She opened her own business, High Mark Land Design, following nine years of public practice with leading landscape design and urban planning firms in New England. As a sole practitioner, Ms. Heimarck has focused on community, smart growth, and the artistic design of the environment. She has been a pivotal force in the establishment and on going strategic vision of The Landscape Institute at The Boston Architectural College.
—Public invited

Jaw Dropping, Traffic Stopping, get your Neighbors Talking Containers

March
Tuesday, March 17, 7pm Abbot Public Library
Deborah Trickett
The Captured Garden Westwood, MA

Tired of the same old window boxes? Have you ever wanted to create lush container gardens that would be the envy of the neighborhood? Are you ready to move beyond the expected?

Master Gardener Deborah Trickett will present a slide presentation and demonstration as she show us how to take container gardens from “blah” to “aaah”. She’ll start with the basics, including appropriate containers, soil mixes and plant choices for different site containers, then proceed to new and unusual plant material and uncommon, including “green” container choices. Deborah Trickett has worked in the gardening industry for over 30 years, starting with her first greenhouse job at age 13. An award winning designer, she works with clients throughout New England who want their homes to be outstanding, not typical. By combining unusual plant material and creative design ideas, Deborah creates gardens and containers that are truly one of a kind.

A Massachusetts Certified Horticulturist and a Massachusetts Certified Landscape Professional, Deborah has lectured frequently on container gardening, speaking at the New England Spring Flower Show, the Philadelphia Flower Show and the Newport Flower Show. She also teaches classes and workshops at the Arnold Arboretum and her work has been featured in The Boston Globe, Garden Gate, and New England Home magazines, as well as on the television show New England Dream Home.

The full program can be found under the 2014-2015 page. We hope all of you can take advantage of our exciting and informative workshops and field trips!

On warm, sunny days like today, we can all appreciate those little corners of shade in our gardens. Shade gardens are peaceful, but they can also be colorful and interesting.

I have one area of shade in my garden, right along a fence, and it has been fun to pick and choose which plants might do well there.

Japanese forest grass really stands out in a shade garden and provides interest right through the fall.

Astilbe and coral bells are easy to grow and add lots of color and texture to a shade garden

Columbines and bleeding hearts are beautiful, although I don't always have luck with columbines and am still waiting for this white bleeding heart to bloom