The October 7th Chestertown Garden Club Program featured an “in-house” Flower Show devoted to enhancing the members’ floral design abilities. Members were divided into groups of 3 or 4 and designed an informal table setting selecting a theme from a list including many popular holidays in the year. The designed table setting was used for the luncheon service for the garden club members participating in the creation of the exhibit.

Judging was done by secret ballots submitted by members and guests of the club in the following categories: Best Floral Design, Best Overall Design, Most Creative Design, and the Design that Best Represents the Selected Theme. Judging was followed with a luncheon and then the floral designs were raffled off.

Winners were:

Best Overall Design and Design that Best Represents the Selected Theme – Rita Premo, Sandy Griffin, Connie Schroth, and Lolli Sherry;

Best Floral Design was a tie between two groups – Nancy Hill, Barbara Macbeth, Jan Murphy & Leslie Seabrook, and Linda Verbeck, Heide Harlow, and Jeanne Johnson;

Most Creative Design went to Beryl Kemp, Sandy Ryan and Robin Emling.

The next meeting of the Chestertown Garden Club will be on November 4th in the evening at the Chester River Yacht & Country Club when John Bartram will join us for a presentation. This meeting will be open to the public and we would love to have you join us.

If you are looking for a new plant or have a question about gardening—then plan to stop by May Mart on Friday, May 9. The Chestertown Garden Club will hold its annual plant and bake sale from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Fountain Park in downtown Chestertown. The festive spring event helps to support the club’s efforts to maintain and beautify the town’s parks.

Spring annuals, perennials and shrubs, as well as specialty baked goods, vintage fashion accessories and “All Things Garden” array will be offered for sale. NEW for 2014 will be cut flowers available for purchase to present to Mom on Mother’s Day! Garden Club members will be available to provide information and advice on planting and plant care.

This year a child’s sized Adirondack chair with nautical themed cushions will be offered through a raffle. Tickets will be made available in Fountain Park on Farmers Market Saturdays as well as Chestertown’s First Friday in May on High Street.

The club will also hold its popular “picnic in the park” gourmet box lunch as part of May Mart. Lunches, priced at $8.50, may be ordered in advance by contacting Holly Bramble at 410-778-1857 or email at [email protected].

The Chestertown Garden Club was founded more than 75 years ago to bring together women with a mutual interest in gardening. Today, the civic-minded group has an active membership of approximately 30 women. Members contribute labor, time and resources to improve and maintain the Chestertown’s public spaces. The club also decorates Fountain Park for the Christmas season, and works with schools and the Kent Center on special gardening projects.

The Chestertown Garden Club invites you to join us on Tuesday, April 1, for a presentation by Jennie Carr on tips for preparing your garden for wild birds.

A Bird Friendly garden must provide your wild birds with all of their basic needs, including protection from the elements, safety from predators, and a reliable and appropriate source of food and water. Meeting these needs may be challenging, particularly if you are interested in maintaining a year round bird friendly garden. Learn the tips to reduce the challenges through preparedness.

Jennie Carr is an Assistant Professor who joined the Department of Biology at Washington College. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Juniata College and earned her PH.D in Biology from Indiana University. Her research focuses on bird behavior, ecology and thermophysiology.

The program will begin at 11:00AM at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 101 North Cross Street, Chestertown, MD, and will be open to the public.