The St. Mary’s County Garden Club has been in existence since 1938. Meetings are held on the third Monday of each month at 11:00 a.m. at the location selected by the hostesses. The general meeting may be preceded by a Board meeting at 10:00 a.m. and a social gathering for members at 10:30 a.m. Lunch is served at 12:00 noon, followed by the program. Invited guests are welcome at all programs unless otherwise specified.
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2023 General MeetingsMarch 20, 2023
Program: Using Native Plants to Attract Birds Presenters: Beverly Walker and Bob Boxwell Location: Tolerance Hall at the Fairgrounds Hostesses: Gerri Frazier, Jean Illingworth, Debbie Kole, Lynne Lansberg Beverly Walker has been a member of the Southern Maryland Audubon Society since relocating from New York in 1992. Her lifelong interests in gardening and the world of nature were inspired and nurtured by her mother, an avid gardener, although her educational background and career experience were in unrelated fields. She earned a BA in Spanish from SUNY in Albany and a MALS with concentration in Linguistics from SUNY Stoneybrook. Beverly’s favorite activities include gardening outdoors in warm weather and maintaining an assortment of houseplants, most notable begonias. Bird watching and exploring the wonders of nature are a year-round passion. Bob Boxwell is a former president, field trip leader and count coordinator for the Southern Maryland Audubon Society. His interest in nature lead to work in the environmental education field and certification for both the Maryland Master Naturalist and Gardener Programs. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in political science and returned to St. Mary’s College where he received a degree in Biology. Bob was education assistant at the Calvert Marine Museum from 1997 to 2003. He became the firs t staff member for Cove Point Natural Heritage Trust, where he manages nearly 200 acres of mixed woods, farm acreage and marsh along Helen Creek in Calvert County. He enjoys the challenges of bird identification in the field. April 17, 2023 Program: Green Front Yard Garden and Tour Presenters: Liz Curtz, with assistance from Becki Wolf and Amy Henderson Location: Leonardtown Library Hostesses: Pat Cole, Macy Hovland Julie Kemp,Carol Perrie The construction of the beautiful new Leonardtown Branch Library and Garvey Senior Center offered an irresistible opportunity to create a native garden. The “Front Yard” plantings at the main entrance celebrate the beauty and be nefits of landscaping with native trees and plants. Join us to learn more about the process and help develop ideas for future programming that will encourage library users to try native plants at home Liz Curtz, Amy Henderson and Becki Wolf are volunteers with Friends of St. Clements Bay, a local community watershed organization. All three are native plant enthusiasts committed to preserving natural resources for future generations. May 15, 2023 Program: Ikebana Presenters: Duffy Boyd, Macy Hovland Location: Christ Church Episcopal Church Hall, Chaptico Hostesses: Robbie Loker, Manjeet Singh, Becki Wolf Duffy Boyd is a Junior Mas ter in the Ichiyo School of Ikebana. She is a cer tified instructor and member of the Ikebana International Washington DC Chapter No. 1. Ilchiyo is one of many schools in Ikebana and focuses on arrangements for the home. Duffy’s interest was sparked when she became a member of the SMCGC where she took to horticulture. Duffy is also a Mas ter Gardener. She attended her firs t Ichiya demonstration given by the late Lemoto Akihiro in Washington, DC and found her niche. Macy Hovland has earned three Ikebana certificates with her teacher Judy Roa. Each level of achievement includes a series of 20 lessons and 20 arrangements which are collected into an album which is presented to the head master in Tokyo for approval and certification. As active students, both Duffy and Macy have attended workshops, retreats and international conferences with other Ikebana enthusiasts. June 19, 2023 Program: Lavender Planting and Products Presenter: Claudinne Miller Dixon Location: Dixon Farm Pavillion, 27075 S. Sandgates Road, Mechanicsville, MD Hostesses: Joyce McFadden Fran Munley, Patty Teague Jeff and Claudinne Miller were working and living in Europe when Jeff’s mother passed away. It was difficult traveling back and forth from Germany to Southern Maryland to maintain the family property. The family farmhouse and barns were deteriorating with holes in the roof, being overrun by vines and trees and overgrown fields. Plans changed! Rather then complete their planned move to Italy, they decided to take a risk and restore the farm. In October 2019, they moved back to the states and dove head first into a new adventure:farming and innkeeping. Claudinne explored Google on the flight home to learn how to farm. Besides their lavender fields and clover flower fields, the Dixon Farm is home to Susannah’s Watch, a Bed and Breakfast on the banks of the Patuxent River. Jeff has 23 years of service with the USMC and currently responds to international disasters for USAID/OFDA. Claudinne is adjunct faculty at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. July 17, 2023 Program: Growing Microgreens Presenter: Cathy Brucacher Location: St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church Hall, Leonardtown, MD Hostesses: Beth Bonifant, Judy Roa, Louise Snell Cathy Brubacher, owner of Sweet Magnolia Farm in Leonardtown, and her husband, Wes are on a MISSION to inspire our local community to provide environmentally sustainable produce through innovative practices for home gardens and small scale farms. Their goal is to feed and support families and our Southern Maryland community where they both grew up and so proudly call home. They currently grow Microgreens, herbs and flowers year-round which are provided to businesses and residents in Leonardtown, Solomons and surrounding towns. August 21, 2023 Program: Flower Show Design Challenge Presenters: Paula Winkler Location: Tolerance Hall at the Fairgrounds Hostesses: Gina Hersh, Judy Moe, Mary Jane Palmby, Genise Rondina Paula Winkler is a past District II Director, past Chairman of the Judges Council, a Nationally Accredited Master Judge. She currently serves on the District II Executive Board as Chairman of Councils, Schools, Flower Show Evaluations and Flower Show School. She reviews and approves District II Flower Show Schedules, and works with Maryland Garden Clubs through the Judge’s Council Mentoring Program. Paula recently completed a second term as President of the Charles County Garden Club (CCGC). She is Co-Chairman of the CCGC-sponsored Annual Flower Show, a position she has held for the past 17 years. Paula works specifically with District I, II and III garden clubs in all aspects of flower show planning and execution. September 11, 2023 (Second Monday) Program: Climate Change - Impact to our Local Communities. Includes a tour of the Biologic Lab Presenter: Dr. Hali Kilbourne Location: Chesapeake Biologic Lab, 146 Williams Street Solomons, MD Hostesses: Kathy Glockner, Cherie Heely, Dot Sparling Dr. Kilbourne is an associate research professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Chesapeake Biological Laboratory. Her areas of interest are Paleoclimatology and paleoceanography, contextualizing modern climate change and exploring the processes causing seasonal to centennial climate variability. October 16, 2023 Program: Mental Health Awareness Presenter Tammy Loewe, St. Mary’s County Health Department Location: Ironwood Grille, Breton Bay Golf and Country Club Hostesses: Nell Elder, Beth Matthews, Kimberly Westcoat The St. Mary’s County Health Hub is a facility that helps to ensure easier access to critical mental and physical health services in the community. The aim is to remove the barriers to healthcare treatment (mental and physical) and to provide a link to community health services. This is done in partnership with the St. Mary’s County Equity Task Force, the Housing Authority of St. Mary’s and the St. Mary’s County Health Department. Services available through the Health Hub include behavioral health screening, crisis stabilization services, jail diversion programs which focus on substance use treatment and recovery, and primary care services which include preventive care, health education and diagnosis and treatment. Tammy Loewe is the Division Director of Behavioral Health at the St. Mary’s County Health Department. As director, her responsibilities include providing system management for behavioral health services in our community. This program refers residents to local resources for mental health, substance abuse support, as well as strategies to educate, reduce and prevent substance abuse, Opioid misuse and overdose. Tammy has 29 years of experience working with behavioral health and social services. She received a Masters in Social Work from the University of Maryland. Upon moving to St Mary’s County, she worked at the St. Mary’s County Department of Social Services before joining the St. Mary’s County Health Department as the Behavioral Health Director. November 20, 2023 Program: History of the American Chestnut Presenter: Bruce Levine Location: St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church Hall, Mechanicsville, MD Hostesses: Dawn Szot, Susan tyner The Maryland Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation has been formed to support the efforts of the national organization to restore the American chestnut tree, to identify and preserve American chestnut survivors in Maryland and to promote educational and scientific research efforts directed at restoring American chestnuts in Maryland. Bruce Levine is a PhD student in Plant Science at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he studies the host-pathogen interaction between chestnut blight fungus and the chestnut. After 20+ years of membership and volunteer work with TACF, he chose to retire from his diplomatic career in the U.S. Foreign Service and devote his efforts to chestnut restoration. |