NAUSET GARDEN CLUB’S Summer 2012, VOL XXVII, No. 4, Issue 125 Bev Singleton, Editor

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE – Mary Ellen Sussman

Of course it is with mixed feelings that I write my last Grapevine message as your president. I'm happy to be turning over the responsibilities of the job to Sharon Davis who will be our leader for the next two years. But I have truly enjoyed getting to know many of the newer members of the club while having the warm support and total cooperation of all the rest of you. One thing I've learned is that this club would not function without its strong Executive Board. Each and every one has been an important contributing member of the team that has lead the club in the past two years. I will speak more fully about them at our annual luncheon on June 20th, but trust me, they have been exceptional, and I am truly thankful for all of their hard work. I am also so

impressed with the two Provisional classes that have joined the club since 2010, now comprising almost one-third of the active membership. At least partly the result, I am sure, of the thoughtful and engaging leadership of Sandy Marshall and her committee, these recent members have jumped in with energy and enthusiasm to participate in all aspects of the club. Have you noticed how they are winning the design and horticulture competitions, not to mention taking leadership positions next year? When I wrote my first President's Message in the fall of 2010, I told you that we should belong to this club mostly to have enjoyable times together, and maybe to learn something in the process. I have, on both counts, and hope you have, too. EXECUTIVE BOARD 2012-2013 – Sharon Davis

The executive board for 2012-2013 will be made up of the following officers and standing committee chairmen:

Officers:

President Sharon Davis First Vice President Bev Singleton Second Vice President Heidi Quill Recording Secretary Kate McNulty Corresponding Secretary Joyce Wood Treasurer Carolyn Dowd

Standing Committee Chairmen:

Awards Stacey Morgano Design Carol Newsome and Irene Mitchell Environment Jan Roberts Garden Therapy Marcia Bechtold Historian Peg Sheehan Grapevine Jan Capodilupo Horticulture Fran McClennen Hospitality Carolyn Dranginis Membership Sue McFarlane and Jan Crabtree Nominating Wendy Bellavance Plant Sale Lynn Farber and Ellen Bernstein Program Bev Singleton Provisional Members Heidi Quill Publicity Karen Helliwell Scholarship Phyllis Mead Website Mary Ellen Bower Wildflower Garden Jeanne Berdik and Sue Christie Workshops Melinda Conrad-Cooke Yearbook Sandy Marshall

CALENDAR

JUNE

6 BOARD MEETING: 9:30 AM* – Hostess: Mary Ellen Sussman and Sue McFarlane *Refreshments at 9:00 AM This month’s board meeting will be at Mary Ellen Sussman’s home, 695 Fox Hill Road, Chatham. Please carpool, if possible.

13, 14 STANDARD FLOWER SHOW – Crosby Mansion, Brewster

20 ANNUAL MEETING AND LUNCHEON: 11:30 AM – Eastward Ho! Country Club

Presentations and final business of the club year

JULY

NO MEETING – HAPPY GARDENING!

AUGUST NO MEETING – HAPPY GARDENING! 1 YEARBOOK 2012-2013 Deadline (Send copy to Sandy Marshall) 10 GRAPEVINE Deadline (Send copy to Jan Capodilupo)

RECEPTION FLOWERS for CCMNH – Debby Saliba

Each week one of our members supplies a plant or flower arrangement to be displayed on the reception desk of the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History. Assignments are made alphabetically. The arrangements are to be delivered on Thursday in a disposable container, if possible. If the container is not disposable put your name on the bottom and the member delivering flowers the following week can pick it up and return it to you at the next meeting. A card with the names of the plants should be tucked under the container. No artificial plant material may be used. A quarterly schedule of museum flower assignments is published in the Grapevine and on the web site. If you are

unable to fulfill your assignment, please find someone to replace you and notify the chairman, Debby Saliba, at 508-255-8652. JUNE 7 – Kathy Riddell JULY 5 – Debby Saliba AUGUST 2 – Helene Simon 14 – Jan Roberts 12 – Judy Saulnier 9 – Ann Sinclair 21 – Barbara Roessner 19 – Karen Schwalm 16 – Stephanie Gray

28 – Pam Russell 26 – Peggy Sheehan 23 – Linda Smith 30 – Anne Stawiarski GARDEN THERAPY – Heidi Quill

We have almost completed our five projects at the Latham Center. We did a dried arrangement in October, an evergreens with glitz arrangement in December, and a Valentine crown with a nosegay in February. April brought white pine seedlings to be planted in individual pots in honor of Earth Day, and June will be our annual campus container plantings with each student planting a pot of their own as well. Thanks go to the project leaders, Mary Beth Kelligrew, Martine Amundson, Mal Bornemeir, Nancy Miller, Janet Chappel, Barbara Blanchard, Sally Drew, and Judy Saulnier and to the twenty-one club members who assisted with the projects.

MEMBERSHIP – Sue McFarlane/Jan Crabtree

Please make the following change to the Membership Roster in your yearbook.

Judy McKenzie’s new address is 17 Landing Lane, Brewster, MA 02631 Sue Christie’s new email address is schristie91@comcast.net SCHOLARSHIPS – Stacey Morgano

This year the club awarded four scholarships, each worth $5000. We had 33 request for applications of which 21 were completed, with applicants were from 13 towns on the Cape and Islands and from 19 colleges and universities across the country. The four winners of this year’s scholarships are:

Rachel Johnson from Mass Maritime Academy. She is a resident of South Chatham and has a G.P.A. of 3.35. Rache; has spent months at sea studying the ocean’s features and the

importance of salt marsh ecosystems like those on the Cape. She believes that Cape Cod would not be what it is today if salt marshes were not here to help hold back the sea, provide protection, host life, produce oxygen. Unfortunately, not enough is known about salt marshes to protect them properly. Abigail Larsen from Roger Williams University. She is a resident of Chilmark on Martha’s Vineyard and has a GPA of 3.05. Abigail is a National Honor Society member and was editor in chief of the Seabreezes literary /art magazine of Martha’s Vineyard the year it won the National Award of Excellence. Abigail attended the 150-year-old Menemsha School where she became passionate about the ocean and marine life and she hopes to one-day work to help remedy the earth’s oceans from their uncertain future. Katrina Malakhoff from Harvard College. She is a resident of Centerville and has a GPA of 3.72. Katrina was on the steering committee of the Economy Futures Group, who worked to plan a large conference entitled “Organizing for a new Economy.” It would prioritize human, social, and environmental well-being over inequitable and unsustainable economic practices. Katrina is Chair of the Environmental Justice Subcommittee of the Environmental Action Committee at Harvard. Rydell Welch from the University of Vermont. She is a resident of Brewster and has a GPA of 3.66. Rydell currently has an internship with the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in Boston, one of fifteen National Marine Sanctuaries. Stellwagen provides essential habitat for many species of marine mammals, including the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale. During her internship, Rydell will have exposure to the scientific research and policy behind Stellwagen Bank Sanctuary, which will prepare her for the future.

“HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS AT CROSBY MANSION” NOVEMBER 8-11, 2012 – Heidi Quill

As if you could forget the dates! We are steaming along with plans. The room themes we have heard about sound wonderful. To mention a few: Christmas in Antarctica, in a Dutch kitchen, in Scotland, in a winter wonderland, and a Victorian nursery…to say nothing of “The Day Before the Wedding.” By September all members should have 5 tickets to sell for the event. Ticket prices are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Preview party plans are being organized. Invitations will be ready in late August or early September. Members will have first chance to respond to those invitations. Then it will be opened to the general public. And best of all, Mary Ellen Sussman will join me as co-chair in September.

GRAPEVINE/YEARBOOK – Bev Singleton

After 8 years as editor of the Grapevine, this issue will be my last. Jan Capodilupo, will take over as editor this summer, bringing her extensive editorial experience and computer skills to the job. Other changes are also in the works. After 27 years as a printed publication, the

Grapevine is moving into the electronic age. This issue will be the last to be printed and distributed by snail mail. All future issues, beginning this fall, will be emailed to you and posted on our web site. And…this summer, Sandy Marshall, with her wealth of editing and publishing experience, will become editor of the yearbook. Sandy and Jan will bring fresh eyes and a very professional touch to these publications. I have very much enjoyed editing the Grapevine and yearbook, but it’s time to move on. As I begin serving the club as program chairman this year, I will welcome your suggestions for speakers. Please call (508-240-0571) or email me (seafarms@gmail.com), if you know someone who would be good speaker for one of our club meetings. Thanks!

TEACHER MINI-GRANTS “GO GREEN” – Mary Ellen Bower/Debby Saliba/Bev Singleton

Jane McGowen’s design class at Nauset Regional High School is “Going Green.” In January Jane received a Nauset Garden Club Mini-Grant to initiate a class project, “Eco Couture,” that she feels is making a difference. The girls are designing clothes and making them with eco-friendly fabrics. These fabrics are the wave of the future. What makes a fabric eco-friendly? It may be a natural fiber such as cotton, hemp or bamboo, which has been grown without the use of pesticides in soil that has not been treated for at least three years. If the fabric is dyed, it must be with a low-impact dye. Recycled plastic is also considered as eco-friendly. The fabrics that have been used by the fashion design students have met these conditions as "green fabrics" and 'green notions'. These fabrics are hard to find, so the girls have been researching them on the Internet. In the picture below on the left, Jane McGowen is with Margaret Clancy, a senior. Margaret is featuring a dress made of 100% organic cotton fabric. Margaret is headed for UMASS Amherst next year and will major in business with the hope of one day opening her own design studio. In the picture on the right, Victoria Kantor, a sophomore, is modeling a princess line dress made of 100% organic cotton print fabric. Ms McGowen’s class will be putting on a fashion show on Monday May 21st at 6:30 at Nauset Regional High School with some wonderful design ideas that are very green. Congratulations to Jane’s class and her students for such a successful “go-green” project.

”I heard it through

the Grapevine…”

Editor’s Note: As time and space permit, we will include items of personal interest in this column. If you have a special gardening story, recipe, poem, photograph, helpful hint, or special event in your life that you would like to share with our members, please mail it to Jan Capodilupo.

Preventing Mold in Berries - Submitted by Mary Ellen Sussman

Berries are delicious, but they’re also kind of delicate. Raspberries in particular seem like they can mold before you even get them home from the market. There’s nothing more tragic than paying $4 for a pint of local raspberries, only to look in the fridge the next day and find that fuzzy mold growing on their insides. Well, with fresh berries just starting to hit farmers’ markets, we can tell you how to keep them fresh! Wash them in vinegar. When you get your berries home, prepare a mixture of one part vinegar (white or apple cider probably works best) and ten parts water. Dump the berries into the mixture and swirl around. Drain, rinse if you want (though the mixture is so diluted, you can’t taste the vinegar,) and pop in the fridge. The vinegar kills any mold spores and other bacteria that might be on the surface of the fruit, and voila! Raspberries will last a week or more, and strawberries go almost two weeks without getting moldy and soft. So go forth and stock up on those pricey little gems, knowing they’ll stay fresh as long as it takes you to eat them.

IT’S TIME TO PAY YOUR DUES! Please make your check payable to Nauset Garden Club and mail it along with this form to: Mrs. Jan Crabtree, Nauset Garden Club, P.O. Box 858, South Orleans, MA 02662. All dues must be paid in full by the date of the annual meeting and luncheon, June 20th, at the latest.

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NAUSET GARDEN CLUB MEMBERSHIP DUES

Active Member ($50.00) $____________

Associate Member ($60.00) $____________

One-year subscription to the Mayflower ($8.00) $____________

Total Amount Enclosed: $____________ Name: _______________________________________Telephone ________________________________ Address: ______________________________________________________________________________ Email address: _________________________________________________________________________

NAUSET GARDEN CLUB ANNUAL MEETING AND LUNCHEON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2012, 11:30 AM

EASTWARD HO! COUNTRY CLUB 325 FOX HILL RD., CHATHAM

$30 per person

Invitations will be mailed on May 22nd and will include a tear-off sheet for your menu selection and a return envelope. Kindly make sure that you include your check and menu selection in the envelope and return it to Dinny Goodwin by June 10th. It’s time to celebrate all our accomplishments!

Summer

NAUSET GARDEN CLUB P.O. Box 103 South Orleans, MA 02662