PROGRAMS 2021
Katy Kingsolving
Monday | April 19, 2021
10:00 AM via Zoom
GENERAL MEETING AND CONSERVATION COMMITTEE
Katy Kinsolving – Food and Climate: The Way Forward
Katy Kinsolving is a frequent speaker on the ways in which natural systems can mitigate the effects of extreme weather, store more carbon in our soils, and improve our agricultural practices. She will speak to us about the complex relations between our agricultural systems and climate change. Katy is a co-founder of C-Change Conversations and serves as Vice-chair for Food and Agriculture on the GCA’s Conservation Committee. She is a special project manager for the Cary Center for Ecosystem Studies and sits on the Energy and Environment Commission of Sharon, CT.
Monday | May 10, 2021
10:00 AM via Zoom
GENERAL MEETING AND GARDEN HISTORY & DESIGN COMMITTEE
Bill Noble – Spirit of Place: The Making of a New England Garden
Paige Dickey describes Bill Noble as "that rare combination of a plant collector with an artistic sensibility." In his most recent book, Spirit of Place, he helps gardeners learn how to evoke a sense of place and relate their garden to the larger landscape by sharing how the natural environment influenced the creation of his garden in Vermont. Bill Noble is a lifelong gardener and the former Director of Preservation for the Garden Conservancy.
Thursday| May 20, 2021
7:00 PM via Zoom
2nd ANNUAL COSPONSORED ‘LECTURE AT CARY’ CONSERVATION COMMITTEE
Michael SanClements - Plastic Purge
In his book Plastic Purge, Michael SanClements, environmental scientist at the National Ecological Observatory Network in Colorado, takes on one of the most damaging and beneficial substances in modern life: plastic. Using scientifically rigorous sources—and his witty engaging tone—Mike tells us about “the good, the bad, and the ugly” of plastics, while providing us with ways to reduce our own plastic footprint, keep dangerous toxins out of our bodies, and reduce pollution. Oh, and save the sea turtles!
Monday | June 28, 2021
10:00 AM - In Person Meeting at Innisfree
AWARDS PROGRAM
Annual Meeting with Award Ceremony followed by at tour of Innisfree will take place from 10 AM-12 Noon
Innisfree
362 Tyrrel Road
Millbrook, NY 12545
Monday | July 12, 2021
10:00 AM via Zoom
ANNUAL MEETING AND HORTICULTURAL AND PHOTOGRAPHY COMMITTEE
Ken Druse - The Scentual Garden: Exploring the World of Botanical Fragrance
Discover ways to bring botanical fragrance into your garden and life to stimulate the senses, soothe and restore the spirit. “When I cannot find fragrance in a garden, or even a flower, I somehow find it lacking,” says Ken Druse. His 20th book, The Scentual Garden, is devoted to thrilling the senses. In this presentation, Ken introduces a wholly original survey of botanical fragrance. He tells how to sample smells, and even capture and preserve them— and he offers detailed descriptions of the scents of 100s of annual and perennial flowers, herbs, shrubs and trees. He provides suggestions for bringing fragrance into gardens, from making paths that offer a sequence of sensory experiences to night gardens that come alive with fragrance. As usual, Ken illustrates his talk with his award-winning photography. He also includes Ellen Hoverkamp’s vivid images created on a flat-bed scanner.
Abra Lee
Monday | August 9, 2021
10:00 AM
GENERAL MEETING AND HORTICULTURE AND GARDEN HISTORY
& DESIGN COMMITTEES
Abra Lee – Conquer the Soil: A History of Horticulture in the United States
Abra Lee has a passion for uncovering the history of contributions that African-Americans have made to American horticulture and the roles they have played in shaping the American landscape. Currently, she is working on a book about the history of Black Garden Clubs in America in the 1940s and ‘50s. A Longwood Fellow, Abra has worked in the field of public horticulture for 19 years–as an extension agent, city arborist, and landscape manager at the Atlanta Airport. Now, she owns Conquer the Soil, a brand that focuses on gardens, fashion, and culture.
Dutchess Day School
415 Route 343
Millbrook, NY 12545
Friday | September 10, 2021
5:30 - 7:30 pm
FARM TO STABLE COCKTAIL PARTY
Beth and Jack Meyer will host “Farm to Stable,” an elegant cocktail party in their handsome, new stables at Willow Grace Farm. This special fundraising event will celebrate the myriad offerings of local farms.
Willow Grace Farm
140 Butts Hollow Road
Dover Plains, NY 12522
Monday | September 13, 2021
10:00 AM
GENERAL MEETING AND FLORAL DESIGN COMMITTEE
Deborah Munson – Designing Containers for Seasonal Transition
Horticulturist and landscape designer Deborah Munson will give a talk on container plantings—with a focus on the season of transition between summer and fall. She will show us how to keep what we can from our summer displays and then how to be creative with a design that will see our containers through autumn as the days grow colder. Deborah combines her passion for garden history and ecological and sustainable design into all of her projects. She lives in Falls Village, Connecticut.
Troutbeck
515 Leedsville Road
Amenia, NY 12501
Monday | October 4, 2021
10:00 AM
GENERAL MEETING AND GARDEN HISTORY & DESIGN COMMITTEE
Arete Warren - More Glass than Wall: The Architectural and Cultural History of Glasshouses, Conservatories and Orangeries in America
Arete Warren is an architectural historian and past President of the MGC. She has served as the National Chair of GH&D, the Library, and is currently Chair of the National Archives Committee. She is on the GCA Board of Associates and was Chair of the 2011 Zone III Meeting. She is the co-author of Glass Houses: A History of Greenhouses, Orangeries, and Conservatories. She was the curator and author of the Grolier Club exhibition in 2013 of Gardening by the Book: Celebrating 100 Years of the Garden Club of America.
The White Hart
15 Under Mountain Road
Salisbury, CT 06068
Monday | November 8, 2021
10:00 AM
GENERAL MEETING AND FLORAL DESIGN COMMITTEE WORKSHOP
Lisa Foster and Richard McKeon – Flowers Under Glass: The Ancient Art of Pressing and Drying Flowers
Lisa Foster and Richard McKeon will lead a workshop featuring the ancient tradition of pressing flowers and then arranging them behind glass in a frame. Participants will be provided with flowers that have already been prepared and pressed and will arrange and frame them at the workshop. Frames will be available for everyone. As well as describing the process of drying flowers and identifying which flowers do well pressed, they will present the symbolic language of flowers of the Victorian era, which became part of the pressed flower tradition.
Church of the Messiah
Parish Hall
6436 Montgomery Street
Rhinebeck, NY 12572