Branford Garden Club
The Branford Garden Club has two sections – Daytime, and Evening which best accommodates people who work. The monthly speaker/topic is different for each group and members are welcome to attend all the meetings. All meetings are open so that members may include guests. Programs are selected for their relevance to our mission, are appealing to members, and offer diversity in topics. Speakers may come from experts within our membership or external expert speakers, or programs may include demonstrations, field trips and civic projects.
DAYTIME MEETINGS are held on the first Thursday of the month. There are no meetings in January, July and August. A light lunch of finger sandwiches and salads is served at noon, followed by a business meeting and program speaker. We are delighted to include members guests. We do not serve drinks in Styrofoam cups, so everyone must bring their own cup. Thank you!
EVENING MEETINGS are held on the first Tuesday of the month, beginning at 6:30 PM. A short business meeting precedes the speaker who normally starts at 6:45 PM.
Meetings are at the Joe Trapasso Community House, 46 Church Street, Branford unless noted.
The Trapasso Community House, 46 Church Street
Long Island Sound, Branford
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5th 6:30 PM - Garden ‘Show & Tell’
EVENING MEETING: Please bring some food to share from your garden, or someone else’s garden, any unusual tools you may want to show us. We will meet at the Branford Yacht Club Pavilion at 6 – weather permitting.
THURSDAY, September 7th - Noon - Branford Land Trust
Daytime Program: George Hutchinson, VP This is an historical overview with timeline for the development of a Land Trust in Branford. The talk explains the current work of its volunteers, trails crew, monthly work parties, Osprey project, native plant protection, and collaboration with various other educational and conservation organizations.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3rd - 6:30PM EVENING MEETING:
Evening Program: Wendy Bellmore, “Living On Long Island Sound”
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5th - Noon - In-House Mini Horticulture Show
Daytime Program: Theresa Donovan and Ivy Bigelow Kim
Our Conservation and Hort Chairs will oversee an In-House Mini Horticulture Show. Bring in your beautiful and best specimens from your gardens with botanical name and common name descriptions, properly placed in the correct containers, for judging by our fabulous judges--Eunice Lasala, Deb Vallas, Larry Huzi, and Paula Inglese. This is a lot of fun, and we learn a lot! Details of how to enter and deadline information will be in Scattered Seeds and on our website events page.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2nd - Noon - Frosty, Bold Look for the Holiday’s
Daytime Program: Lawrence Huzi - Co-Chair, Design
Five beautiful holiday arrangements to be raffled. “I have a strong connection with nature which makes the basis of my work. From this connection, I look for new structures that can ‘carry’ natural materials, and strength their expressiveness even more.”
Larry is an NGC Accredited Judge, and a member of Creative Arrangers of CT. Larry has conducted workshops and demonstrations for many garden clubs. He has been invited to interpret paintings through floral design, most recently at the Florence Griswold Museum.
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 14th* 6:30PM - EVENING MEETING
(*note date changed due to Election Day)
Evening Program - Design with unusual materials with our creative design team Deb & Larry.
Larry Huzi, Floral Designer
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7th - 5:30PM HOLIDAY PARTY
This is our seasonal social gathering for daytime and evening members at Pine Orchard Yacht Club. Please join in the fun and mingle with old and new friends at our wonderful holiday party. Dinner choices and cost to be announced. Cash bar.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2024!
JANUARY 2024 NO MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1st Noon - Town of Branford Updates
Daytime Program: Tyler Bowne, Sustainability and Compliance Manager for Branford will talk about his time living and working on different farms, what it is like to be a WOOFER. He will also talk about what Branford plans to do to reduce food waste in town and how you can reduce food waste yourself. Also, Forestry Commission update with Doreen Larson-Oboyski, Susan Hally, Ivy Bigelow Kim and Shirley McCarthy
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6th - 6:30PM - The Need To Grow
Evening Program: “The Need To Grow” an Academy award-winning documentary – with popcorn and soft drinks.
TUESDAY, MARCH 5th - 6:30PM - “Waste Not, Want Not”
Evening Program: Malaine Trecoske “Waste Not, Want Not”. What we can do to preserve water quality/quantity and look at how to prevent food waste, and what to do with your banana peels in Branford.
THURSDAY, MARCH 7th - Noon - Foundation Gardens and Native Plants
Daytime Program: Kathleen Connolly, In this one-hour presentation, we first consider the design problems posed by the foundation area around the house. Then we look at native plants that fit into that highly visible setting. Let’s take a look at how we can achieve curb appeal and nature support in the foundation area of our homes and buildings. Kathy Connolly is a landscape designer, writer, and speaker who emphasizes earth-friendly designs, native plants, and low-impact land care techniques
TUESDAY, APRIL 2nd 6:30 PM - Container Gardens
Evening Program: Eva, Senior Landscape Architect from Austin Ganim Landscaping, will demonstrate container gardens that will enchant you.
THURSDAY, APRIL 4th Noon - Community Gardens Awards & Gourmet Lunch
Daytime Program: The Community Gardens Awards Committee will recognize and present awards to Branford gardeners, both residential and commercial, who beautify our town with their colorful and creative gardens. Awardees will join us for a gourmet lunch.
THURSDAY, MAY 2nd Noon - Springtime Designs with Leslie
Daytime Program: We are pleased to have Leslie Martino make five beautiful Springtime arrangements. We will be raffling them at the end of the meeting.
TUESDAY, MAY 7th 6:30PM - Planting the Year-Round Pollinator Garden
Evening Program: Karen Bussolini will speak on best plants and practices for Gardeners to support the entire life cycle of beneficial insects and other pollinators. Good plant choices and land care, coupled with simple awareness of the living world buzzing all around us make all the difference.
TUESDAY, JUNE 4th 6:30PM
Evening Program: Potluck and also bring samples of what is growing in your garden – flowers, greenery, and herbs.
THURSDAY, JUNE 6th 11:00 AM Annual Meeting
Annual Meeting
Pine Orchard Country Yacht Club Social
Installation of Officers
Lunch choices to be announced.
Cash bar. Annual dues due!