Our plant booth at the Strawberry Festival was a huge success!!
Accolades go to Anne Petzold, who single-handedly chaired the Strawberry Festival plant booth this year. She attended numerous meetings with the festival organizer, arranged for the volunteers, gathered all the supplies needed, and oversaw the setup to take down of the booth. She and her crew of volunteers moved and priced plants to the sale, helped customers, managed payments and cared for the plants.
We are also grateful to Mary Dominique and Kathy Gaskill for coordinating planting and potting at Century High School, as well as at their own homes, then caring for those plants for several months. Many more helpers watered, repotted and transported plants to the festival.
Our perennial selection was especially delightful, thanks to divisions from members and friends. We could offer customers plants for the sun and shade and a few deer resistant flowers. We had a large number of shrubs and even tree seedlings.
House plants and garden gloves were a new addition to our repertoire this year.
Donations from local growers greatly enhanced our selection of plants. Their eye-catching flowers, vegetables and shrubs brought many people to the booth.
Leftover vegetable plants were given to the Friends House for their community gardens and to Harvest Share, an organization that gives free plants to residents in the city.
The Museum Gardens
The many beautiful gardens on the Sandy Spring Museum compound have been lovingly designed and maintained by the Sandy Spring Museum Garden Club soon after the new building was dedicated in 1997.
In the center of the complex is a large open space used for weddings, luncheons and Strawberry Festival activities. The grassy Courtyard Garden area is surrounded by museum buildings and artists workshops and is comprised of six gardens.
The shade garden next to the glass wall of the gallery is filled with ferns, hellebores and begonias, among others.
The boxwoods on the western side are book-ended with two beautiful urns donated by member Jane Keller and planted with colorful heuchera.
Opposite the boxwoods and surrounding the octagonal library are mature shrubs including a huge hydrangea and a winter- blooming camellia. In front of the pottery studios are two large perennial beds and a delightful herb garden. A sculpture by member Karen Montgomery sits among the lavender and other herbs. A plaque amongst the flowers dedicates the gardens to the Garden Club founder, Mary Rice. Last year the club celebrated it's 30th anniversary.
The Garden Club also cares for many gardens at the front of the museum. Near the entrance is a welcoming mixture of perennials and annuals. The wisteria on the arbor has been recently restored and is lined with beds of irises and annuals. In early Spring, hellebores fill an open area under the trees.
Several times a year a dedicated group of gardeners weed, mulch and plant these gardens. We systematically divide perennials and pot them up for sale at the Strawberry Festival, while also adding annuals for instant color.
The Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, in London, is perhaps the most famous flower show on earth, and every year it draws in large crowds. The first Show at Chelsea in 1913 was a three day event. In 1927 the RHS expanded the Show to four days, with one day reserved for RHS members. In 2005 the Show was expanded to five days, with two days reserved for members. Chelsea continues to attract around 160,000 visitors each year.
Chelsea is the flower show most associated with the Royal family, who attend the opening day every year. The first Chelsea Show in 1913 was opened by Queen Alexandra, wife of King Edward VII. This year King Charles and Queen Camilla visited the garden show.
Watch BBC's coverage of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show with British gardeners Monty Don, Joe Swift, Carol Klein, among others. In 12 episodes they interview garden design winners, discuss home adaptations and meet the growers.
For garden activities is our area visit:
The Sandy Spring Museum Garden Club is an activity group of the Sandy Spring Museum. Our activities can be found on the Garden Club webpage: https://www.sandyspringmuseum.org/programs-and-events/garden-club/.
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