HOLLISTON GARDEN CLUB

The Garden Club will hold its annual plant sale on Saturday, May 18, 9:am - 12:00 pm at the Congregational Church Green, corner of Hollis and Washington Streets, rain or shine.

There will be a huge selection of perennials dug from members' gardens, hanging baskets, and annual flowers for sale. Proceeds will supplement the Club's programs and civic plantings.

The Holliston Garden Club, with the assistance of Ahronian Landscaping and the town's Highway Department, recently installed a Royal Star Magnolia tree in the rail trail park area at Central Street and Railroad Street. This area was dedicated on Saturday, April 27th as "Blair Square" in honor of Bobby Blair. Several club members and Co-Presidents Erin Porter and Kathy Warburton attended the dedication.

Members of the Holliston Garden Club Our have been very busy getting our community ready for winter and for the upcoming holidays:

• The barrels at Fiske Corner and the Fire Station are stuffed with greens – thank you Debbie Coviello for sharing from your yard.
• Barbara Gardner planted bulbs on the Franklin & Norfolk island.
• Liz Theiler and Jana Milbocker decorated the Horse Trough in front of Town Hall with greens and ornaments for the holidays.
• Several members, led by presidents Erin Porter and Kathy Warburton cleaned up the perennial border in front of the Congregational Church.
• The Library committee, led by Toni Neal, completed their fall clean up of the Holliston Public Library grounds. 
• Mary Ellen Harm chaired the Wayside Inn decorating effort to prepare the historic Sudbury landmark for the hollidays.
• Lee Guertin along with Club volunteers is creating ornaments with town children in the Library to be used on the Children's Room Christmas tree.
• Maria Mahoney organized the Wreath Decorating workshop to supply fresh decorated wreaths for patrons of the Food Pantry.
• The Library will be decorated for the holidays by Garden Club members on December 5.
  
• Julie Pipe organized a group of volunteers that will make holiday floral arrangements with residents of the Timothy Daniels House.
  

Once again, the Holliston Garden Club joined a dozen other clubs to decorate Longfellow's Wayside Inn for the holidays – a tradition that’s almost 50 years old. In the spirit of  “An Old Fashioned Christmas,” HGC decked out the Hobgoblin room with handmade ornaments, wreaths, garland, and a decorated Christmas tree. The decorations will be featured until January 7th.

The Holliston Garden Club elves are planning to create ornaments on Saturday, December 1, from 10:30-12:00 in the Gilman Room of the Holliston Public Library with the first 50 children who sign up to participate. Children in pre-k through fifth grade are invited to make two ornaments each: one to keep, and on to hang on the Library's Children's Tree which will be set up in the Gilman Room.

The Holliston Garden Club has announced the presenter at their traditional holiday program will be Bill Graham, the owner of Beautiful Things in Salem and a renowned floral designer. Unique designs will be created as a live demonstration on Wednesday, Nov. 7. A wide array of hors d'oeuvres and sweets prepared by Garden Club members will follow the demonstration. The event begins at 7:30 pm at St. Mary's Church Parish Hall, at 8 Church Street in Holliston.

Bill has informed and entertained so many groups, there are too many to list here. He is not only an amazing floral designer but also a humorist, raconteur, educator, and entertainer extraordinaire. He has contributed his time and talents to organizations such as the Peabody Essex Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, AIDS hospice centers in Boston and the North Shore, and is much awarded by local and national floral designing institutes and academies.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Holliston Garden Club's many civic projects, which include tree and flower plantings throughout the town, programs for children and seniors, and Arbor Day events. The Club also provides scholarships and educational grants to benefit Holliston students.

Tickets for "A Winter Wonderland" are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Advance tickets may be purchased at these Holliston locations: Coffee Haven, 76 Railroad St.; Arcadian Farm, 200 Norfolk St.; Outpost Farm, 216 Prentice St.; Bird in Hand, 763 Washington St.; and Debra's Flowers, 44 Central St.

Interested parties can also send a check with a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Holliston Garden Club, c/o Porter, 80 Mellen St., Holliston, MA 01746.

For more information, phone Kathy Warburton at 508-429-5337 or Erin Porter at 508-429-7110.

The Garden Club's civic planting in town are looking especially great this year in preparation for the American in Bloom contest in mid July.

Memorial Square

Franklin & Norfold Island

Horse Trough at Town Hall

Koshivas Memorial

Holliston Public Library

Library Pocket Garden

The Holliston Garden Club was well represented at the Annual Meeting of the Garden Club Federation of Mass. on June 5. The Club received the Margaret K. Bell Newsletter Award (a silver tray) and a Certificate of Merit. The monthly newsletter is the creation of outgoing president and long-time member Carol Holly. The application was submitted by Awards chair Kathy Thomas.

Other Club members also participated in the Annual Meeting. Joan Schofield created an impressive floral design inspired by Frederick Law Olmstead, narrated by a brief biography. Kathy Thomas did an early morning program, set up a display, and helped the awards chair line up and introduce the award recipients. Joan Butler, Chair of the Landscape Design Council, introduced the executive Director Emeritus of Tower Hill Botanic Garden John W. Trexler who received an award from LDC. Julie Pipe represented our Club as our District Director.

The Garden Club's annual plant sale was a huge success thanks to the hard work of sale organizers and perennial plant donations from the Club's membership. Proceeds from the sale are used to fund Club programs and civic activities.

In honor of Arbor Day, the Garden Club is posting educational exhibits at the Library about the Asian Longhorned Beetle. Come to the Holliston Library from 4/21 through 4/28 and be a "Beatle Buster". Learn what to look for and how to identify this invader. There will be a 30-minute video  playing downstairs in the Gilman room on both Saturdays, 4/21 and  4/28. Keep Holliston safe - do not transport firewood from other towns! This is how the beatle is being spread. Keep and eye out for this invader along with some other intruders. Join the Holliston Garden club in our quest to keep Holliston safe from this pest.

Asian Longhorned Beetle ("ALB") is an invasive wood-boring pest that was discovered in Worcester, MA in August 2008 and in Boston in July 2010. ALB attacks maple, birch, elm, willow and other hardwoods, makingit a huge threat to the trees that grow in our parks and along every street. This pest also puts the livelihood of our state's forests as well as our nursery and maple syrup industries at risk.

ALB spreads through the transport of firewood or logs from infested areas. Once a tree is infested with ALB, there is no cure - it must be cut down.

Help protect your community from this invasive pest. Check trees for exit holes that are perfectly round and smooth, about 1⁄2 inch in diameter. In the summer, look for shiny black beetles, about 1 inch long, with bright white dots and long, banded antennae.

If you think you see ALB or ALB tree damage, report it at http://massnrc.org/pests/alb or call toll-free:1-866-702-9938

Helpful Websites:

Mass. ALB Cooperative Eradication Program: http://massnrc.org/pests/alb

ALB Media/Outreach Info: http://massnrc.org/pests/alb/albmedia.htm

USDA ALB Info: http://beetlebusters.info