News

Irwin Park: New Canaan’s gathering place!

February 6, 2018 | News
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IP Open Days 2017
Last spring, the New Canaan Garden Club held a successful plant sale fundraiser and instructional planting activity for children at Irwin Park Barn. Club members were on hand to provide assistance with selecting plants and advising on best planting practices. Open to the public for the first time, the barn is part of the 36 acre park which is a vibrant community gathering place for walking, jogging and exercising dogs on its environmentally friendly Flexi-Pave trails. The New Canaan Garden Club manages ongoing conservation and beautification projects at Irwin including the addition of 44,000 daffodils and 42 trees. According to Irwin Park Committee Co-Chair Judy Neville, “As stewards of this varied habitat, we continue our efforts to sustain the rich biodiversity of Irwin by adding plantings and trees to help protect the environment and the endangered Monarch Butterfly. Butterflies represent the essence of nature; freedom, beauty and peace. Irwin park provides an opportunity for people of all ages in our community to enjoy the changing seasons and connect with nature.” An important civic project for the New Canaan Garden Club since 2005, Irwin Park provides social, health and environmental benefits for residents of the town of New Canaan and those from neighboring communities.     

2017 Holiday Giving

February 6, 2018 | News
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NCGC Holiday Giving
At its December holiday party, the New Canaan Garden Club raised $3,000 which was donated to the Department of Health and Human Services for the town’s Food Pantry and Warm-Up Fund. The Food Pantry makes its largest distribution during the holidays with between 120 and 190 individuals accessing the food bank every two weeks. Many of the people who use the food bank also benefit from the Warm-Up Fund which helps with heating and shut off notices. Continuing a long history of holiday civic projects, the New Canaan Garden Club also decorated trees for the town Holiday Stroll and assembled festive miniature arrangements for delivery through Meals on Wheels. The club worked with another organization to make large wreaths that decorated many of the town’s public buildings helping to create a cheerful atmosphere for residents and visitors.     From left to right: Catharine Sturgess, New Canaan Garden Club Holiday Stroll Chair, Carol McDonald, Director New Canaan Health and Human Services, Ellen Zumbach, New Canaan Garden Club President, and Kevin Moynihan, New Canaan First Selectman     

“Toxic Puzzle – Hunt for the Hidden Killer” Film Screening

October 25, 2017 | News
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Toxic Puzzle Poster

Possible links of harmful algal blooms to ALS and Alzheimer’s disease are portrayed in the new film “Toxic Puzzle – Hunt for the Hidden Killer” directed by internationally-renowned film director Bo Landin. Narrated by Harrison Ford, the film portrays the efforts of the Brain Chemistry Labs (BCL) in Jackson, Wyoming, to find and fight environmental triggers for neurodegenerative illness like ALS.     Continue Reading →

Help Keep Our Water Clean!

August 21, 2017 | News
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We recently received the information below from our Zone II Conservation Rep, Karen Marache. On behalf of the Conservation and NAL committees, the GCA submitted an official comment to the Federal Register. Now these committees are asking our own clubs and individual members to write comments directly to the EPA to avoid them redefining the regulations that help keep our water and watersheds clean. Please read the information and sample letter and if you choose to submit a comment, click here to write a submission to the comment box. The comment period will close on August 28th. Many thanks for your attention to this matter — every comment matters and will be registered. Help preserve our clean water and watersheds!   clean_water_act.pdf     

2018/19 Membership Dues & Committee Signups

June 21, 2018 | News
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We would like to continue our move to the digital and paperless world by collecting membership dues and committee signups through our website. To this end, please select your membership class and then click on the Add to Cart button below to pay your 2018/19 dues either by credit card or through PayPal. Additionally, you can click on the SignUpGenius button below to select the civic projects and club committees you would like to be part of for the 2018/19 season. We hope you find this new procedure simple and efficient. If successful, we will collect all membership dues in the future through this process. Many thanks for your participation and assistance!   Membership Dues:  
Classes

Committee SignUps:     Please consider an additional tax-deductible contribution to the New Canaan Garden Club to support programs and workshops as well as general administration – thank you!       

2018 Flower Show Schedule

June 17, 2017 | News
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HOT OFF THE PRESS!  Attached is the schedule for our spring 2018 Zone II Flower Show entitled “Iconic Style – A Design Legacy”. Show will be held at the Carriage Barn Arts Center in Waveny Park on Wednesday, June 13th and Thursday, June 14th, 2018. It is open to the public at no charge. As described in the schedule’s introduction, “Iconic Style – A Design Legacy” celebrates New Canaan’s distinctive architecture, landscape architecture and open spaces. Known for its charming colonials, grand estates, mid-century moderns, vast open spaces and formal gardens, there is certainly a varied and unique array of “Iconic Styles” in New Canaan.      

American Copper Butterflies

May 12, 2017 | News
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American Copper Butterfly
  From Susan Bergen . . . . I saw several of these American Copper butterflies in the Irwin Meadow yesterday when I planted Jane’s milkweed. They are common in CT, thought to have been introduced from Europe during Colonial times. The host plant for their caterpillars is curly dock (Rumex crispus) – no shortage of that at Irwin! The butterflies are quite small – with a 1 1/8″ wingspan. They were getting nectar from the white flowers of wild strawberries. These little beauties are active from late April through October in 3 flights (generations), and overwinter in chrysalis form.     

Visiting Gardens Trip to Holland – April 2018

March 26, 2017 | News
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A Very Special NCGC Trip to Holland ~ April 2018   The NCGC Visiting Gardens Committee is delighted to offer this special 7 day trip to Holland April 16-22, 2018. It will be led by Marie-Elizabeth Offierski, who specializes in creating custom garden tours. See www.toursbymarie.com and Architectural Digest, Dec.10, 2016 which contains an article about a trip she led for her step-mother Page Dickey and Bunny Williams. Marie has led multiple European trips for Sasqua Garden Club, to their unanimous delight.   Marie says that the choice of this particular week should be very floriferous. Note that Easter next year falls on April 1, 2018. Having the opportunity to have access to so many private notable gardens makes this trip unique. It will be open to a maximum of 15 members. Please take the time to look through the enticing itinerary and get back to me ASAP if you would like to be a part of this fun week!   If you have any questions please let me know and I will contact Marie before our information meeting on Thursday, March 30 at 10:00 at my house. Lydee Hummel, NCGC Visiting Gardens Chair.