Club Calendar: July

View Full Calendar
There are no events for this period.

Our Publications:
• "The Eclectic Gardener" Inspirational know-how from club members... the information you were looking for when you joined! Color art by local artists, a month by month gardening journal, plant information plus recipes and crafts.
•"Cohasset Entertains" favorite recipes of the club
 
Both available at Fleming's in Cohasset or from board members - email for info
News & Updates
Summer 2009!
Enjoy our favorite hobby! Please take pictures of your gardens, prize veggies and flowers, and send them to us!

Welcome to the Community Garden Club of Cohasset, a group of garden enthusiasts who share horticulture information, conservation initiatives, field trips, workshops, and a host of other activities.

Our meetings reflect a wealth of interest in a wide range of topics while our energies are devoted to an eclectic mix of pursuits, from providing a program for our junior gardeners in grade school to designing and maintaining gardens at the Lightkeeper’s Cottage, the Historical Society, and Constitution Park.

The life of the club, however, derives from the genuine warmth and concern of the members for one another and for the world around us.
Lee Jenkins, President 2008-2010

Thanks for sending us this picture! Susan's Lupines in May!

JUNIOR GARDENERS '08-'09- JOIN US!
We are enjoying the monthly meetings of the Junior Gardeners - held monthly afterschool at Deer Hill. New! Meeting Dates and more info...
 

Crafting at a meeting of the Junior Gardeners. More info and photos...

July Tips

  • Lavender - needs neutral PH and full sun...take cuttings from sideshoots in summer.  Harvest just when flowers open in the morning as soon as the dew has dried.
  • Lawns... leave grass clippings on the lawn.... thatch is caused by dead roots, not clippings.
  • Roses are best cut in the early morning or early evening...make a slanted cut just above an outward-facing leavlet with 5 leaves.
  • Prune spring flowering shrubs right after flowering before they set buds for next year.
  • A drop of cinnamon oil in standing water will eliminate mosquito larvae
  • Deadhead roses
  • Pick beans as they mature or the plants will not continue producing.
  • Irises - after they bloom they can be divided and replanted.  Prep the soil with compost or peat... sprinkle with superphosphate.  Arrange rhizomes in a triangle so the fans point outward and tops are visible at the soil surface.

Our Current Newsletter: Summer '09
and special Junior Gardener Insert

Newsletter Back Issues

New! Photogallery! YOU can add pictures to this gallery - please contact Jackie for directions or email your photos and captions. Let's see those gardens!

"At my childhood home, if you wanted to eat it, you grew it. Planting a vegetable garden in the spring was not an optional pastime; it was as necessary as doing the laundry on wash day..."
Read our Garden Stories... and please share yours!

Ask the Garden Guru!
We are a group of folks who love to garden -
If we don't know it... (and who could know it all?) you can bet we have the books in our library, so we'd be glad to help
Put your questions about gardening - flower arranging - or anything related to the GARDEN GURU


Officers and Standing Committees

The Community Garden Club of Cohasset was organized in 1959 and affiliated in March of 1960 with the
Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts
and the National Garden Club


2008-2009 Themes
New England Region: "Future Choices - Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants"
Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts: "Work Together, Grow Together"
South Shore District: "Share the Power of the Flower"
National Garden Club: "Nurture the Earth - Plant Natives"

Membership Application Form

"Eclectic Gardener" Order form

 

Hawthorn
Crataegus laevigata

Hawthorn was used as a heart tonic long before it came to the attention of the medical establishment in the 1890’s, due to an article in a medical journal. Ancient Greeks and Romans used it as a ceremonial herb to symbolize hope and to ward off evil. High in bioflavonoids and antioxidants, Hawthorn had been shown to increase circulation to the heart and brain as well as regulate and strengthen contractions and mildly lower blood pressure.

In the early twentieth century, Hawthorn was the treatment of choice for heart related ailments. With all the modern advances in heart related research, today it is more widely used in Europe and Asia than here in America. It has been shown that extracts from the leaf and flowers improve peripheral circulation while fruit preparations may lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Hawthorn has also been used as a diuretic, especially in weight loss programs and as a treatment for insomnia, digestive problems and, in conjunction with ginkgo bilboa, a memory enhancer via improved cranial circulation. Although there is little evidence that indicates that Hawthorn, taken over time in small doses, is toxic, it is best to consult a physician prior to self medicating.

Hawthorn is a small tree or shrub with nasty thorns that can survive in a wide range of growing conditions from urban areas to open, exposed, windy seascapes. It is hardy to zone 3 and prefers a rich, loamy, alkaline soil in full sun to part shade.

If you have an appropriate spot in the garden for a thorny shrub that may grow to five feet, it will flower in the spring giving a beautiful display of white rose-like flowers followed by clusters of red berries. It has been called one of the most beautiful spring flowering shrubs. As an interesting aside, Hawthorn is also know as Mayblossom and lent its name to the ship Mayflower.   - Judy Dickstein
Contact us: webmaster@communitygardenclubofcohasset.org