Garden Club Will Host Program With A Master Gardener

Susan J. Burns, who holds a bachelor’s degree in interior design and a masters in plant science (both from UConn/Storrs), will be the guest speaker during the next meeting of Town & Country Garden Club of Newtown. The club will be at Newtown’s multi-purpose building/the senior center on Tuesday, October 10, at 7:30 pm. The public is invited. Ms Burns’ presentation will concern gardens of Japan.

Ms Burns has been studying landscape history since 1982, and it is her research that she uses to back up her presentations. She has taken her own photographs, all around the world. In addition to her “Gardens of Japan” program, Ms Burns has also developed “Gardens of Italy,” “Gardens of France,” “Gardens of England,” “Gardens in Winter,” and “Victorian Gardens” programs.

Additionally, she has programs that concern everything from garden ornamentation, gardening with containers, landscape history, landscapes for historic buildings and gardening in small spaces to herbs for cooking, color and cure, plant materials in the landscape, annuals, perennials, and shrubs and trees.

Ms Burns is a licensed landscape designer, capable of creating historic and contemporary designs. Her specialty is in historic landscapes, so she is able to create landscape plans to match the date and style of a home as well as lists of plants that would have been used during the period the home was first built.

Because she is a certified master gardener, Ms Burns is also able to help solve landscape problems. She has advised clients on healthy lawn care, from when to lime to when and how to mow and fertilize. She knows composting, soil testing and amendments, proper pruning techniques, proper planting techniques, and integrated pest management. She can additionally diagnose plant insects and plant diseases.

Town & Country Garden Club regularly meets at the senior center/multi-purpose building on the second Wednesday of each month. It is a member of Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut and National Council of State Garden Clubs, Inc.

The club’s objectives are to promote interest in horticulture, to increase knowledge of the artistic use of plant material, to further the conservation of natural resources, and to get involved in civic projects. Among the club’s ongoing projects is the maintenance of three traffic islands in the center of Newtown and putting up decorations at C.H. Booth Library during the holiday season.

The public is invited to attend Wednesday evening’s program, free of charge. For additional information about the program or the club call 426-5359.

A Special

Garden Club Event

The garden club recently held an in-house flower show. The event, called “September Song,” was held at the home of club president Corina Prokai. There were approximately 150 horticulture entries, in addition to the artistic entries, for the September 22 event.

“It was really quite spectacular, especially considering it was by a fairly small club,” member Liz Arneth said.

The entries were judged by Certified Federation Garden Club judges Dot Anderson and Terry Stoleson.

Categories and their winners were as follows:

“Night and Day” — first place, Ena Higgins; second, Terry Merola; third, Carol Hoffman.

“School Days” — first place, Ena Higgins; second, Liljan Minck; third, Norene Casey; fourth, Marianne Muskus.

“Autumn in New York” — first place, Corina Prokai; second, Margareta Kotch; third, Felicia Valus.

“Stormy Weather” — first place Barbara O’Connor; second, Arline Shanley; third, Felicia Valus; honorable mention, Barbara Finnell.

“Don’t Sit Under The Apple Tree” — first place, Liz Arneth; second, Ruth Garrett.

“Autumn Leaves” — first place, Lee Frech; second, Arline Shanley; third, Marianne Muskus.