April 25, 2001 (Wednesday) 7:30pm
Board Meeting at the home of Robin Kallfelz.

April 28, 2001 (Saturday) 8:30am
Field trip to "Art in Bloom" at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts guided by Gloria Freitas. Meet at Washington Plaza (Main and Washington Streets) at 8:30am.

Window Boxes:  There are still a few window boxes available to decorate if you would like to participate in the Main Street Window Box Contest. Each business will be decorated differently at the club's expense. There will be an informal judging, and the winners will receive a small prize. Call Darya Cotter for details.

Garden Walks:  It's that time of year…time to start thinking about our gardens and, of course, showing off our gardens. Garden Walks Chairman, Joyce Holster, is asking once again for volunteers to have a small group of garden club members tour their garden. The Summer Garden Walks program is an informal tour of several members' gardens on the first day of June, July, August and September. If you have a garden small or large, new or mature or perhaps would just like some advice on your garden, please give Joyce a call to sign up.

New Member: Welcome to new member Cathy Spadea of Ramblewood Drive, North Easton.  Cathy brings our current membership up to 100!

Dues…Dues…Dues:  It's that time of year again. Dues are due and payable to Membership Chairperson Mary Beth Meyer by May 30th for the 2001-2002 year. Please see Mary Beth at the next meeting or forward a check to her by mail. Dues are still only $15.00 for active members and $35.00 for associate membership.

• First of all let's talk about the bulbs, they're the first things that come up. If you have mulch around the bulbs, go ahead and pull it away from the bulbs, but leave it there. That way you've got the mulch and you can easily cover them should a frosty night threaten them.
• Now if you've had a problem with deer, some say that deer don't like anything that smells. Try putting cocoa bean mulch down. It works - you may want to try it!
• Now for your perennials, leave the mulch on as long as possible. You want to wait until they are actively growing and once temperatures are above the freezing point, you can slowly start removing it.
• The beauty of ornamental grass is of year-round interest, especially in the winter, but come spring it's not so pretty anymore. It's very important that to cut it down. Typically you want to cut your grasses down, leaving 6 inches (or just above the green growth).
• Speaking of pruning, early spring is also an excellent time to prune your apple trees. You want to get rid of all the dead limbs, any of the little suckers or any branch that seems to be rubbing against another branch, because that rub will open the tree up to disease.
• And finally, you definitely don't want to cut your spring blooming shrubs like your azaleas, spirea, or even your lilacs. If you cut them now then you've just cut off this years blossoms!

Garden Gimmick courtesy of rebeccasgarden.com.

Fine Art and Flowers
April 28 & 29, 2001 10am - 4pm
The Hull Garden Club - art show and sale, silent auction, raffle of fresh flower arrangements.
At the Mary Jeanette Murray Bathhouse in Hull

Color in the Shade Garden
April 28th, 2001
New England Wildflower Society Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. Delightful plants that add color to that shady corner.
Hours: 2 - 3:30 pm Sat. Type of Event: Lecture 508-877-6574

NERS Annual Rose and Fertilizer Sale
April 28th, 2001 at 8 am
240 Beaver St. (U of Mass Eastern MA Extension Center), Waltham, MA
We will have almost 150 different varieties of rose bushes. Prices are from $10.95 to $15.95 tax included.
Hours: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Type of Event: Plant Sale

Sale of Perennials, Tropicals
April 28th, 2001 at 10 am
Location: University of Mass. Extension Center 240 Beaver St., Waltham, MA
Sale of perennials, gesneriads, tropicals by non-profit societies.
Excellent prices. Free admission. Free parking. Wheelchair accessible.
Hours: 10AM-3PM. Type of Event: Plant Sale

Introduction to Aromatherapy (GH126)
Friday, April 27, 10:00-11:30 a.m.
Join herbalist Linda Patterson to discuss the many different ways of bringing the aromatic world of plants into your life. Linda Patterson, herbalist. $20 members, $25 non-members

Getting Your Garden Ready to Grow (GH105)
Saturday, April 28, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Join landscape designer C. L. Fornari, who will talk about spring pruning, soil preparation, planting and dividing, fertilizing, and readying containers. After the discussion, you will head outdoors for a hands-on demonstration of cleaning up winter debris. Dress for the weather.
C. L. Fornari, garden writer and landscape designer. $25 members, $30 non-members