Scituate Garden Club

December’s birth 'flowers' are Holly and Narcissus. Today’s focus is holly!

Members of the Aquifoliaceae family (genus Ilex), there are more than 400 species that in addition to shrubs including trees that can grow more than 50 feet tall. Many species have glossy green leaves that have spiny teeth or serrated edges. Holly is native to North America, China, Japan, Europe, and North Africa.

Historically, Holly symbolized the crown of thorns in Christianity, and was used to celebrate winter solstice by ancient Romans, Druids, Pagans and Celtics. Some believed that the holly symbolized hope, wealth, and fertility. More recently, it has represented happiness and peace. Its spiky leaves caused holly to also be viewed as a symbol of combativeness, pain, and trickery. Others saw the plant as a representation of protection and defense.

Read more about holly at https://www.almanac.com/content/december-birth-flowers #:~:text=December%20Birth%20Flowers%3A%20Holly%20and,Paperwhite)%20%7C%20The%20Old%20Farmer's%20Almanac

Happy Solstice friends! 🌞 Here's to another circle around the sun!

✨"Winter solstice ushers in lengthening days and shortening nights. It occurs when one of the Earth’s poles has its maximum tilt away from the Sun, which in the northern hemisphere occurs on or near 21 December. Ancient names for the winter solstice (from the Latin sol, “sun,” and stit, “stationary”), include Longest Night, Midwinter, and Yuletide. Solstice also includes ceremonial time spent visiting with loved ones, eating, singing, wassailing, dancing, and reveling at festivals, and fires—all urging on a return to the light.

Even though it represents the beginning of what is often the worst of winter weather, this solstice brings an end to winter’s darkest days and welcomes in the growing light that helps us keep heart. Though bitter cold can sometimes disconnect us from nature and community, postharvest abundance and celebratory foods remind us to feast and share the perishable surplus of fruits, roots, winter greens, and holiday roasts. The same ancient holiday traditions inspire us to carry boughs of evergreens into our homes and add the warming light of candles and fires to keep the connection alive through long cold nights.

At midwinter, the Twelve Days of Christmas offered weary gardeners time to visit and check in on one another. Sharing abundance when it was to be had and making kindness a ritual by commemorating the innocence of a newborn. If we saw need, we returned bearing food or firewood. If we saw loneliness or illness, we returned to raise spirits. Lighting a candle, raising a cup, singing carols, bedecking the halls, adapting a seasonal family recipe, and remembering our part in making life kinder.

The older I get, the more I aspire to tap into the symphonic song of nature. To harmonize with the flow of seasons, the cycles in our landscapes, and the larger universe. Solstices and equinoxes mark the four movements in a celestial score. I often go to nature to find peace and solace, but winter solstice reminds me to go out on a limb. Extend myself where I can, and take rest where I can. My agricultural roots remind me that even the earth must rest in winter, and that a new year offers a chance for introspection, connection, and renewal. Occasion to pore through seed catalogs and dream new landscapes into being. Time to slow down, observe, and reflect"

Excerpt from my book "The Heirloom Gardener - Traditional Plants and Skills for the Modern World" by John Forti *(available for purchase and gift-giving here: https://www.amazon.com/Heirloom-Gardener-Traditional-Plants-Skills/dp/1604699930

Woodcut by Mary Azarian

Introduction to Horticulture, 10 Week Course https://www.cognitoforms.com/MassachusettsHorticulturalSociety/_240108IntroductionToGardening6SessionCourse

WREATHS (from the Middle English wrethe, a twisted garland or ring of leaves and flowers) have been used ceremonially for centuries to create a circle of hope. Since ancient times, they have symbolized eternity, because the ring shape has no beginning or end.
A linear path merely takes us from beginning to end, but the wheel of life symbolized in a wreath reminds us that we are always most vital, engaged, and alive when we accept our current phase, create forward movement, and celebrate the season at hand. Entwined botanicals form an artful intersect between natural and domestic worlds—and turn a front doorway into a portal bridging the two...Taking a walk, gathering natural materials, making a wreath—all become a link to ritual and a meditation on the season.
Creating a wreath that is a labor of love is a reminder that no matter where we are in the seasons and phases of our lives, we will continue to cycle through the good, the bad, the ups and downs, youth and aging, life and death. Taking comfort in the recurrence of winter, spring, summer, and fall. Drawing vitality from each to celebrate the mood and spirit of the season. Each of us, according to season or phase, will find ourselves moving along the wheel of life, marking the present, utilizing the greens and botanicals that are thriving at the time. Holly and ivy, rosemary and bay, spruce and pine to bring the best of the outdoors in when we celebrate solstice and Christmas in the bleak midwinter. P***y willow and forsythia to herald spring. Lavender and roses to celebrate summer, and fruits, nuts, grains, and fall foliage to bid farewell to another growing season. Wreaths of laurel for times of celebration, baby’s breath for birth, and acacia for times of mourning.
After the holidays, I move my wreaths to trees along the edge of the woods. I pay these fading seasonal markers homage by giving them back to nature and making way for the next turn of the wheel. Seemingly in tribute to this cyclical process, the fruits, seeds, and berries turn wreaths into neighborhood bird feeders, and the wildlife that replants them create new generations of growth as faded heirloom and native botanicals are sown into the surrounding landscape. Once the wreaths are picked over, they almost inevitably become places for nesting. Another visible reminder of the circle of life and our own creative contribution to the larger wheel of life.
Happy Yuletide gathering & decorating! The Heirloom Gardener - John Forti excerpt from my book "The Heirloom Gardener - Traditional Plants & Skills for the Modern World" I made this wreath with ivy, larch, hemlock, arborvitae, mushrooms and rhododendron. https://www.amazon.com/Heirloom-Gardener-Traditional-Plants-Skills/dp/1604699930/ref=sr_1_1?crid=18IE9KRVYB2L&keywords=john%20forti%20heirloom%20gardener%20book&qid=1637012192&qsid=142-2534266-1903157&sprefix=john%20Forti%2Caps%2C304&sr=8-1&sres=1604699930%2C1635650836%2C0486429784%2C1452145768%2C0760368724%2C1641525096%2CB097L1DXL7%2C076035992X%2CB08W7DMWZ3%2C1571988459%2C1525804618%2C1401324398%2C0988474913%2C1603442138%2C1616895543%2C1603421386&srpt=ABIS_BOOK&fbclid=IwAR1LE0j6IgQv14as_nuKKdx1tt2Nxij6Szwuktt6EmPML-nt4F0c5v4exrc

Pine cones are all around us in amazing shapes, sizes and colors: Pine cones are of of the symbols of the fall and winter holiday seasons.
Conifer cone or pinecone (strobilus, pl.: strobili in formal botanical usage) is a seed-bearing organ. It is usually woody, ovoid to globular, including scales and bracts arranged around a central axis, especially in conifers. The cone contains the reproductive structures. The woody cone is the female cone, which produces plants. The male cone, which produces pollen.

You can do so much with pine cones! What is your favorite thing to use pine ones for??

Photo credit: Kate Dolamare, artist

Introduction to Gardening, 6 Session Course https://www.cognitoforms.com/MassachusettsHorticulturalSociety/_240108IntroductionToGardening6SessionCourse

Go to our web site to find out how to Join Scituate Garden Club. Www.scituategardenclub.org

There are many benefits to belonging to a garden club; information, friendship, volunteer opportunities, creating beautiful spaces, etc. What are some of the benefits you see to being part of National Garden Clubs?

www.gardenclub.org

15th Annual Festival of Trees https://shop.masshort.org/

Yuletide in the Winter Garden from The Heirloom Gardener - John Forti
Gathering backyard botanicals for holiday decorations can connect us to age old traditions. Celebrations born of the season, and a long look back into the garden and forest floor. As we walk in our gardens at this time of year, the bones of the landscape are evident. We can see where to prune, and where we could improve on plantings in the year ahead.
Once December arrives, I bundle up, and head out with clippers and the intention to find greens to fill my urns, window boxes, and planters with the beauty of the season. Some days, I enjoy solitary time in nature. Other days, I find great pleasure in turning a walk with friends or family into an opportunity to collect botanicals. In the process, we engage in conversation about the environment and plants we share in common. As we walk in the crisp air, we collect treasures (nests, shells, seed pods, cones, herbs and fruit) to make wreaths into a celebration of place.
Since ancient times, the wreath has symbolized the wheel of life. When we make wreaths with loved ones, we bring nature indoors during the cold season, and create a token of our time together that brings a smile each time we enter that door.
After the holidays (Twelfth Night or January 6th in early tradition), I move my wreaths to trees along the edge of the woods. The fruits, seeds and berries turn wreaths into neighborhood bird feeders and places for nesting by spring. Similarly, I move my tree out into my yard, lights and all.
The tree helps to illuminate the long winter nights. Over the holidays, I take time with kids to make peanut butter and bird seed pine cone ornaments that we can hang to bring the tree to life outside our windows.
Perhaps this is the year you could take a walk in nature with family and friends. Make your own wreaths from the special things you gather, and renew this ancient holiday tradition designed to engage us in the spirit of the season.
Here's one of my 'Wheel of Life' holiday wreaths. Please post a picture of a wreath you create here too!

We can't let November slip by without recognizing its birth flower: the chrysanthemum.

Generally, chrysanthemums symbolize loyalty, friendship, and joy, but each color conveys a specific meaning. For example, red represents true love, white signifies innocence and honesty, and yellow symbolizes a wounded heart or neglected love.

The Chinese and Japanese view the chrysanthemum as a sign of youth. According to folklore, one chrysanthemum petal at the bottom of a glass of wine would promote longevity. However, In parts of Europe, the chrysanthemum is seen as an expression of sorrow and a symbol of death and mourning.

Read more about chrysanthemums at https://www.almanac.com/november-birth-flower

🌿Sage (Salvia officinalis): The Herb of Thanksgiving...
Ever wonder why we put sage in stuffing?
Today we understand that sage is an antibacterial herb. Our ancestors also knew that to insure food safety, it was best to add an abundance of sage to the stuffing or 'belly pudding', and rub the bird inside and out with salt before filling the cavity (where we know today bacteria is most likely to form). Scientific studies can now help us understand why many of our 'classic flavor combinations', demonstrate that our ancestors knew a great deal about preserving food, food quality and health - leading to the old adage that 'The cook is half a physician'.
Sage is also synonymous with wisdom. In fact, it might be said that many an 'old sage' gained her wisdom from the use of sage. "As far back as 1597, herbalist John Gerard wrote that sage was 'singularly good for the head and brain and quickeneth the nerves and memory.' Half a century later, Nicholas Culpeper, claimed the herb 'heals the memory, warming and quickening the senses".
The Latin name for Sage is Salvia which translates to "Life"...so add some life to your holiday foods this season with Salvia officinalis or our common perennial garden sage!
*(I just made a great batch of cornmeal, apricot, sage cookies, and a pot of sage tea to ring in the beginning of the baking season. Sage cookie recipe in the comments below...) What's your favorite way to use sage?

Sage Woodcut - Leonhart Fuchs 1501–1566

Wow, Scituate use to be 6b now we are 7a.

The USDA has just released a new Plant Hardiness Zone Map, the first new version since 2012. The map is based on 30-year averages (1991 to 2020) for the lowest annual winter temperatures. The new data, along with the addition of more temperature stations and better mapping techniques, shifted about half the country into a warmer half-zone (such as Zone 6a to 6b). Find your current zone by entering your ZIP code on the map at this link: https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/

Wild Cohasset Established in 2017, we are a non-profit with a mission to aid biodiversity in our region by removing

Ever considered taking a NGC Landscape Design course. You can take the courses for your own education or take all four with the tests to become a Landscape Design Consultant. They are offered both in person and via zoom.

Courses consist of:
Course 1 – Your Ecosystem; Space, Design & People; Principles & Elements of LD; Developing Your Garden Plan; Basics of Site Plan; Color in the Landscape; Design for the Environment; Development of LD - Ancient Times to 1840; Xeriscaping

Course 2 – LD Process; Designing for Pollinators & Wildlife; Plants in the Landscape; Accessible, Enabling & Therapeutic Gardens; Structures in the Landscape; Redesign of Areas; Development of North American LD; Preservation of Historic Sites & Structures; Overused, Often Invasive Plants & Native Alternatives

Course 3 – LD Process; Woody Plants in the Landscape; Herbaceous Materials in the Landscape; LD with Maintenance in Mind; Graphics Interpretation; Creating Your Own Home Garden Landscaping Plan

Course 4 – Contemporary LD Trends; Community Participation in Landscaping Projects; History & Development of Community Gardens; Suburban Design; Guidelines for Evaluating Landscape Designs; Evaluation of Landscape Designs

To see current courses offered go to: www.gardenclub.org/school/landscape-design-school-courses

Tickets for our Yuletide House Tour on December 7th from 10am to 4 pm are going fast.

This year, there are six spectacular Cohasset homes on the tour, and you do not want to miss the inspirational designs coming together under the theme "Let nature sing...".

Don't delay, please use the QRC in the below image to purchase your tickets before they sell out.

The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, Inc. Seaside Gardeners of Marshfield HULL GARDEN CLUB Garden Club of Hingham Garden Club of Hingham Scituate Garden Club The Plymouth Garden Club Osterville Garden Club Beacon Hill Garden Club Beacon Hill Garden Club Garden Club of the Back Bay Community Garden Club of Duxbury

communitygardenclubofcohasset.com

Piet Oudolf: a life in plants Learn all about the Dutch planting designer - how he got into gardening, some of his most famous projects and the landscapes that inspire him.

Get ready for the Holidays
Join Scituate Garden Club & Norwell Garden Club Thursday, Nov. 16,2023
6 PM @ The Cushing Center, 673
Main St, Norwell
“Holiday Decorating In and Out: Indoor Arrangements and Outdoor Decorative Wreaths and Planters” presented by SGC Member Donna Hamel. Open to the Public free of charge.

Love this! We have one starting to bloom.

It's hard to believe that THANKSGIVING is less than 3 weeks away!!! The SCITUATE FOOD PANTRY is truly thankful that it is in very good shape to provide all its Clients with the makings of a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner. The only things that the PANTRY is short on are the 5 items listed below on the "WISH LIST"! When you're at the supermarket it would be wonderful if you could pick up a few of the items on the list and drop them into the white wooden covered bins at the Pantry (the rear of the former Gates School), the Library, Shaw's , or the Village Market so that everyone in our wonderful TOWN will be able to have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!

Look for this poster in the storefronts of Anchor & Sail, DariLynn's, and Buttonwood Books and Toys.

“When Florence Merriam Bailey was born in 1863, birds were more often seen ornamenting women's hats than they were in the wild! In fact, on one walk through Manhattan in 1886, she counted 40 different species, stuffed and mounted for fashion. The pioneering ornithologist wanted to stop this trend, which killed an estimated five million birds a year. Her solution was to encourage people to go out and admire living birds through bird watching. "We won’t say too much about the hats," she declared. "We’ll take the girls afield, and let them get acquainted with the birds. Then of inborn necessity, they will wear feathers never more.””

“In 1889, at the age of 26, she published "Birds Through An Opera-Glass." It was the first modern bird watching field guide: an illustrated guide to recognizing 70 common species in the wild, written for hobbyists and young people.”

“Bailey went on to write over 100 journal articles and ten books, including the "Handbook of Birds of the Western United States," which remained a standard text for over 50 years. Bailey was named the first woman associate member of the American Ornithologists' Union in 1885; in 1929, she became its first woman fellow and received its Brewster Medal, which recognizes authors of exceptional work about birds, in 1931.”

To read more about this groundbreaking ornithologist, go to https://www.facebook.com/amightygirl/posts/pfbid02hFAztMAFQB2dD111qzZbVjmpkLjswLVGLWjz28pVkjdYXEBAQbMe9QfSxHAHQ7aEl