2024 Calendar
Tuesday, February 13
6:15 PM, Newburyport Senior/Community Center
Illustrate And Demonstrate: Plant Division & Potting
This presentation will include the purpose and importance of the HORT’s May plant sale, along with steps and a demonstration of how to start flowers and vegetables from seeds. A video will demonstrate how to successfully divide perennials and keep them fresh and ready for sale.
Program Speakers
Irene (Rene) Pickering: Plant Sale Fundraiser Rene joined the Hort in 2018 and is a past President, Hostess/Recycling Chair, and current Plant Sale Fundraiser Chair. She inherited a love of gardening from her family. Her first solo try as a child was a vegetable garden that kept her family well supplied in fresh produce. As an adult, she now gardens at her home in Merrimac, tending to her beautiful eclectic gardens throughout her vast acreage, including an abundant vegetable garden. Her gardens were featured on our member’s 2022 garden tour.
Carole Gura: Starting Plants From Seeds
Carole is a long-time HORT member (since 1974) and a past President. Carole started gardening at age 5 with an elderly neighbor, Mrs. Green. Together, they kept her rock garden weed-free and pristine. Carole’s family always had a large vegetable garden and Carole helped her family pick vegetables that her mother then canned. In 1972, Carole & Gary built their home (half-acre plot) in Salisbury, excited to start gardening. Over the years, their gardens have grown and been featured on garden tours. In 1988, Carole graduated from the University of Massachusetts Master Gardener program sponsored by the Cooperative extension service. She is happy to share her gardening knowledge with friends and HORT members. Monthly, she writes “Carole’s Hints” that is sent via email to HORT members and published on the website.
Lori Kelley: Dividing Plants
Lori joined the HORT in 2014 and is the 2023-2024 Co-President with Janet Collett. As a child Lori loved plants and flowers so much she saved her allowance to buy and fill her bedroom with plants. Her first plant was a Venus Flytrap. Some said her room looked like a jungle. She is an accomplished gardener with a gorgeous formal garden in Newburyport. Her garden was featured on the HORT 2015 garden tour and also on the 2023 Historical Society of Olde Newbury (Cushing House) garden tour.
$10 VISITING GUEST FEE
Tuesday, March 12
6:15PM, Newburyport Senior/Community Center
Swords to Plowshares, The Right Reverend James E. Curry
Swords to Plowshares Northeast is a non-profit organization based in New Haven, CT that invites people to give-in their guns to Give-Backs and Buy-Backs. Guns are then destroyed and transformed into gardening tools using traditional blacksmithing and woodturning skills. According to Gun Violence Archive, in 2022, there were 44,247 deaths by guns in the U.S. Two-thirds of that number represents suicide by guns. In 2023, gun violence has become the leading of death for children and teenagers. Gun violence changes forever the families, neighborhoods, and communities in which it occurs. Gun violence knows no limits of race, socio-economic status, gender, age, or geography.
Rev. Curry is a graduate of Amherst College, the University of Massachusetts, and Yale Divinity School. In 1985, he was ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church. He retired in 2014 as Bishop Suffragan of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. Bishop Curry has specific responsibility for urban ministry, youth ministry, social justice ministries, international and ecumenical partnerships. For 10 years he was national convener for the Episcopal Church’s Coalition of Bishops. Working on a Just World: the social justice advocacy arm of the House of Bishops. He is a founding member of Bishops United Against Gun Violence and a contributor to the anthology, “Reclaiming the Gospel of Peace”. He's been treasurer of Mothers United Against Violence in Harword, a local grass roots community development agency which focuses on empowering the victims of violence to create safe and flourishing neighborhoods. He chairs the Swords to Plowshares Ministry Network of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut and is co-founder and Chief Blacksmith of Swords to Plowshares Northeast in New Haven. He works with faith communities and secular organizations throughout the Northeast to create public witness to challenge violence through the transformation of guns into garden tools, the expansion of community gardens, educational programs with youth empowerment programs, creative liturgy, the arts, and legislative advocacy.
$10 VISITING GUEST FEE
6:15PM, Newburyport Senior/Community Center
Swords to Plowshares, The Right Reverend James E. Curry
Swords to Plowshares Northeast is a non-profit organization based in New Haven, CT that invites people to give-in their guns to Give-Backs and Buy-Backs. Guns are then destroyed and transformed into gardening tools using traditional blacksmithing and woodturning skills. According to Gun Violence Archive, in 2022, there were 44,247 deaths by guns in the U.S. Two-thirds of that number represents suicide by guns. In 2023, gun violence has become the leading of death for children and teenagers. Gun violence changes forever the families, neighborhoods, and communities in which it occurs. Gun violence knows no limits of race, socio-economic status, gender, age, or geography.
Rev. Curry is a graduate of Amherst College, the University of Massachusetts, and Yale Divinity School. In 1985, he was ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church. He retired in 2014 as Bishop Suffragan of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. Bishop Curry has specific responsibility for urban ministry, youth ministry, social justice ministries, international and ecumenical partnerships. For 10 years he was national convener for the Episcopal Church’s Coalition of Bishops. Working on a Just World: the social justice advocacy arm of the House of Bishops. He is a founding member of Bishops United Against Gun Violence and a contributor to the anthology, “Reclaiming the Gospel of Peace”. He's been treasurer of Mothers United Against Violence in Harword, a local grass roots community development agency which focuses on empowering the victims of violence to create safe and flourishing neighborhoods. He chairs the Swords to Plowshares Ministry Network of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut and is co-founder and Chief Blacksmith of Swords to Plowshares Northeast in New Haven. He works with faith communities and secular organizations throughout the Northeast to create public witness to challenge violence through the transformation of guns into garden tools, the expansion of community gardens, educational programs with youth empowerment programs, creative liturgy, the arts, and legislative advocacy.
$10 VISITING GUEST FEE
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Tuesday, April 9
6:15PM, Newburyport Senior/Community Center Fantastical Folktales of Flowers, Diane Edgecomb with harper Margot Chamberlain This unique presentation brings alive the dramatic myths that surround favorite garden flowers creating a delightful weave of story, music, and song. Diane’s original adaptations include the tale of the Lamentable Narcissus, a Native American story about the Dandelion and the Persian legend: The Nightingale and Rose. A master storyteller, Diane transforms into the characters in her tales and brings each story to vibrant life. Master storyteller Diane Edgecomb and Celtic harper Margot Chamberlain have been featured on NPR and at storytelling festivals, coffeehouses, and theaters throughout the country. Diane is known for her unique style of storytelling, where she embodies the various characters and scenes in a tale bringing each moment alive. For this she has won the first National Oracle Award for Storytelling Excellence in the Northeast as well as five Storytelling World Awards. Margot has been an accompanist for Diane for over thirty years. Her versatile approach to harp and song brings an underlying poetic weave to support each tale. $10 VISITING GUEST FEE |
Saturday, May 11, 9 AM-12 PM, Newburyport Senior/Community Center, 331 High St.
Our Fabulous Plant Sale!
~“Ask The Experts”- Free Gardening Advice~
~Hundreds of Plants…All Varieties on Sale~
~“New To You” Garden Market: New & Gently Used Books and Gardening Items~
The Spring Fundraiser supports the Mission of the Horticultural Society throughout the year.
Tuesday, May 14
6:15 PM,
Immersion: Living And Learning In An Olmsted Garden, Nola Anderson
Author Nola Anderson will recount her personal story of restoring The Chimneys, a 28-acre estate in Manchester-by the-Sea.The original Italianate gardens were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., between 1903 and 1914. By 1991, when Ms. Anderson and her husband purchased the property, the gardens had been neglected for more than 40 years -and she had never gardened a day in her life. The restoration and renewal of these historic seaside gardens became Nola’s three-decade, hands-on personal passion, as she developed the enterprise and horticultural proficiency for their evolving design and management. The Chimney’s gardens are once again the centerpiece of the estate and a vibrant example of horticultural elegance. Using archival materials and sumptuous contemporary photographs, Nola’s talk will offer rare views of one of the most beautiful gardens in America. The Chimney’s gardens and the book, Living and Learning in an Olmstead Garden are recognized for excellence in The Archives of American Gardens at the Smithsonian.
Nola was an executive vice-president of a major Boston advertising agency and an independent marketing consultant before retiring to dedicate herself to the restoration of The Chimneys. She and her husband, Jim Mullen, have one daughter, who is a fourth-year medical student at Brown University.
$10 VISITING GUEST FEE
Tuesday, June 11 (Rain Date: Wednesday, June 12)
5 PM
Members Garden Tour
We welcome our members to visit the unique and beautiful gardens of our fellow members. We will gather at the first garden at 5:00pm, visit for a while and then travel on to enjoy the next two gardens. Please carpool if you are able.
MEMBERS ONLY
Tuesday, September 10
5 PM (Rain Date: September 11)
Harvest Dinner
For many years, our members have gathered in friendship every September to celebrate the bounty of the season at our Annual Harvest Dinner. Please bring your favorite dish to share, appropriate serving utensils, and a card briefly explaining your yummy offering! Appetizers, main dishes, salads, and desserts: our evening is bound to be heartwarming and delicious! Also, please remember to bring a folding chair. The Co-Presidents will conduct a brief business meeting. The annual budget for committee allocations will be presented for a membership vote.
Please consider bringing non-perishable food items that we will share with our neighbors at The Newbury Food Pantry.
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Tuesday, October 8 6:15 PM, Newburyport Senior/Community Center Books In Bloom The presentation will include the historical origin of Books in Bloom, as well as how it's grown into a much-anticipated social and literary gardening event for several area towns. Principles of design will be described, as well as the mechanics applied to each of the three featured Books in Bloom arrangements. The three presenters will share the creative processes they undertook to represent their chosen book. Carole Gura: Carole is a past President and 50-year active HORT member. She is a nationally recognized floral designer who has been featured in the National Gardener Magazine and won Arranger of the Year for her 1996 Vision of Beauty Calendar. Carole is a former flower show judge for the National Council of State Federated Garden Clubs and an exhibitor in several flower shows and museums in New England and once internationally. Carole has participated in the HORT’s Books in Bloom event for many years and is the author of the HORT’s monthly “Carole’s Hints." Judy Avery: Judy does not have a degree in Horticulture, but does have a passion for people, an eagerness to learn, and a sense of creativity. The HORT provides her with the perfect medium to foster these attributes. She helped initiate and has participated in Newburyport’s Books in Bloom since its inception, and for many years co-chaired the HORT’s Program Committee. Patsy Gallagher: Patsy was the HORT President when the HORT, along with the Friends of the Library, first initiated Books in Bloom as a library fundraiser. She served on the planning committee in the early years of the event. She’s participated as an amateur floral designer each year and loved the creativity, joy, and beauty that Books in Bloom evokes. Currently, Patsy provides hours of service each summer maintaining many of Newburyport’s floral arrangements that are found in town. $10 VISITING GUEST FEE. |
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Tuesday, November 12 6:15 PM, Newburyport Senior/Community Center Composting and Mulching for Climate-Wise Gardening, Ann McGovern MacAdam Learn how to increase the moisture-holding capacity of the soil in your garden, lawn, and woodlands by recycling kitchen scraps, leaves, grass clippings, brush and other yard debris into compost and mulch. Compost holds onto moisture and dramatically improves the water-holding capacity of soils. Mulch helps keep soil temperatures and roots cool and moist, reducing stress on plants caused by the severe heat and draught conditions we’ve recently experienced in our region. Composting and mulching are an easy way to help the garden, lawn and woods in our yards and communities, while also reducing the amount of waste requiring disposal. Be a Climate Wise Gardener for a healthier garden and planet! Ann is a Compost Specialist. After 32 years, she recently retired from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protections. She earned her Bachelors of Science degree in Environmental Sciences from the University of Vermont and did postgraduate work in Soil Science at the University of Mass, Amherst. $10 VISITING GUEST FEE |
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Tuesday, December 10
6:15 PM, Newburyport Senior/Community Center Our Annual Meeting & Make Your Own Holiday Arrangement The Annual Meeting is our opportunity to elect our future officers, vote on the 2025 budget, and share the year’s accomplishments. Following the Annual Meeting we will create beautiful arrangements made with greens. Members make either a table container, wreath, rope, or swag. The HORT provides the wet oasis. Members bring their own greens, container, ornament and ribbons; if able, please bring enough to share. Some ribbons and ornaments will be provided. Remember to bring your garden clippers, floral tape, floral wire, ribbons, and scissors. The holiday spirit will be in the air as we enjoy each other’s company…and delicious treats! Please bring your favorite dish to share, appropriate serving utensils, and a card briefly explaining your yummy offering! MEMBERS ONLY |
