The Garden Post

District I
Member of National Capital Area Garden Clubs, Inc.; Central Atlantic Region; National Garden Clubs, Inc.
Spring 2011

Notice of District I Awards Meeting hosted by Cheverly Garden Club

Thursday, March 10, 10:30 a.m.
Cheverly United Methodist Church
Foley Hall - 3rd floor on the elevator
2801 Cheverly Avenue
Cheverly, MD 20785
Arbor House Gift Shop Trunk Show
Photos of Tour to Henry Peters Rawling Conservatory, Baltimore
Continental Breakfast
Foods to be provided by each club
Beverages and tableware provided by District I

RSVP to Ann Gardenhour, Cheverly Garden Club

Director’s Notes
Enjoyment—of our gardens, our clubs, and our environment
By David Healy, Director, District I
Twenty District I members enjoyed a tour of the Henry Peters
Rawlings Conservatory in Baltimore’s Druid Hill Park on
Saturday, February 19. The palm house at the conservatory is the
second oldest in the United States and the three, display green-
houses are among the newest.
Cheverly Garden Club will host the District I Awards Meeting
at the Cheverly United Methodist Church at 10:30 a.m. on
Thursday, March 10. District I is providing the beverages and
tableware. Each club president is to arrange to have a dish there
for the continental breakfast. Items should be serving size pieces
or sliced and are to be placed on serving trays or
or pre-sliced and presidents are to notify Ann Gardenhour in the
platters. Club
Cheverly Garden Club how many of their club members are attending and what the club is contributing to the
table. Please use the parking lot at the rear of the building and side door entrance; then, take the elevator to the
3rd floor and go to Foley Hall.
This spring, the crunch is on as we prepare to host the National Garden Club convention over Memorial Day
weekend at the J.W. Marriott in downtown Washington, DC. District I member Shirley Nicolai of both Tanta
Cove Garden Club and Fergie’s Gardeners will be installed as national President at the conclusion of the
convention. The convention’s organizing committee needs volunteers to act as greeters and to work at the
information table before and during the convention. Volunteers are also needed as table hosts during the various
convention banquets. [You must pay for your own meal(s).] Information on attending the convention and on
volunteering during the convention can be found on the NCA website: http://ncagardenclubs.org/
Thank you for the many notes on the death of my father. He was 94, and his body gave out before his mind.
I also wish to thank those of you who have helped hold District I together while I’ve been in California tending
to my 92-year-old mother, who has suffered a sharp decline.
The Garden Post 2 Spring 2011
District I wins national award No. 18 for civic achievement

National Garden Clubs’ Certificate of Commendation for Civic Achievement

was awarded to District I during the NGC’s convention in Atlanta in May 2010.
District I received the award for its Memorial Grove civic project with Prospect
Hill Cemetery.
District I’s Book of Evidence scored all 100 possible points.
The judges’ comments:
What an awesome project.
Your Book of Evidence met all the requirements for your project.
Keep up the good work!

Above: NCA Awards Chairman Babs McClendon an-

nounces to District I that it won the National Garden Club’s
Civic Achievement award and presents the certificate to
District I Director David Healy during the District’s
Presidents' Meeting in June on the patio at Arbor House
at the U.S. National Arboretum. Source: District I’s blogspot
The Garden Post 3 Spring 2011
Holiday Design Showcase for the Home In memoriam
District I’s members, clubs help raise
funds for the national convention Jane Gridley
District I participated in the “Holiday Design July 3, 1923
Showcase for the Home,” the NCAGC’s fundraiser January 13, 2011
on December 3 for the May 2011 National Garden
Club convention in May in Washington, DC. A mass was held for Marian DiLorenzo
Connie Dalpra, Woodbury Garden Club; Poss former District I Board October 27, 1941
member Jane Gridley on November 28, 2010
Tarpley, Tanta-Cove Garden Club; and District I
Director David Healy, Capitol Hill Garden Club; January 17 at The Chapel A mass was held for
checked registrations at the door. at Riderwood Village, former District I Board
District I provided nametags, and, with Poss' help, Silver Spring, MD. Jane member Marian
provided the vegetable trays for the refreshment and her husband John DiLorenzo on December
tables. resided there for the past 4 at Saint Mary’s Pisca-
Three District I clubs donated the four children's three years. taway Catholic Church,
gift baskets shown below for the silent auction: Jane served several Clinton, MD.
consecutive, elected terms Marian served on
as District I’s Treasurer District I’s Board as
into 2007 and was a Awards Chairman and
member of Woodmoor was a member of Tanta-
Garden Club. Cove Garden Club.

Tanta-Cove, Capital Hill clubs receive

(Left to right) Adirondack chair basket by Cheverly Garden
Club; pink tub of art supplies by Woodmoor Garden Club
(Above) Two baskets of children’s books by Four Seasons
Garden Club
District I members too numerous to mention
donated costume jewelry for the resale table, which
was swarmed during breaks in the program.
Source: District I’s blogspot
Central Atlantic regional awards
The Central Atlantic Region (CAR) of National
Garden Clubs recognized two District I clubs with
awards in October.
Tanta Cove Garden Club received three awards for
its flower show, “Flights of Fancy.”
• 1st Place and $50 for a standard flower show
schedule;
• American Horticultural Society Regional
Perennial Award; and
• 3rd Place, Outstanding Educational Exhibit
Award, for a flower show exhibit on native
plants.
Capitol Hill Garden Club won 1st Place in the large
club category for the Jean Ladson Outstanding
Achievement Award. It is awarded to a club or group
of clubs presenting the most outstanding garden club
work that is not eligible for any other CAR award.
Capitol Hill received the award for its annual bulb
give away program, which has resulted in thousands
of daffodil and crocus bulbs planted in public spaces
on Capitol Hill over the past decade.
The award came with a certificate and a $100
check.
Source: District I’s blogspot
The Garden Post
Christine Hambach gets German charity
to give a $50K grant to the Youth Garden
Goddard Garden Club’s President Christine
Hambach, District I’s Award of Honor recipient for
uniting District I with Prospect Hill Cemetery for a
civic project, proves once again why she is worthy
of high praise.
This year, she provided the push that resulted in
Only dignitaries from Prince George’s County, the
a $50K grant to FONA for the Youth Garden at the
US National Arboretum from the dissolving German
Orphan Home’s foundation, a charity for children
and child-related organizations.
“As one of the Directors of the German Orphan
Home, I pushed hard and won a $50,000 grant for
the Youth Garden,” she said. “That should really
help them progress in their good work.”
Editor’s Note: Thank you, Christine, you do good work too!
Million dollar donation, stakeholders’
outrage save Arboretum’s azaleas,
boxwoods from deliberate destruction
FONA receives $1 million donation to save the
collections; hort experts and gardening groups lead
opposition to Arboretum’s destructive decision
On Valentine’s Day, Friends of the National
Arboretum (FONA) announced it received a $1
million donation that will establish an endowment to
help preserve the azalea and boxwood collections at
the Arboretum destined for deliberate destruction.
FONA plans to launch a major fundraising cam-
paign this spring to raise an additional $1 million
needed to maintain the collections into the future.
FONA reports the $1 million donation was made
anonymously by friends honoring prominent
attorney Brendan V. Sullivan, Jr., and Lila Sullivan,
longtime residents of the Washington area.
A successful “Save the Azaleas” website and
letter writing campaign created by horticulture
experts and other special interest groups helped save
the prized collections of boxwoods and azaleas at the
Arboretum.
The groups galvanized community responses and
led strong opposition to the Arboretum’s decision to
destroy or dismantle the azalea and boxwood
collections. The groups include the Azalea Society
of America; American Boxwood Society; American
Daffodil, Hemerocallis, and Rhododendron
societies; Garden Club of America, and National
Garden Clubs, Inc.
4 Spring 2011
NCA to revisit its recent instructions to
clubs on Youth Garden donations
In an NCAGC e-mail distributed February 23,
District Directors were instructed to notify club
treasurers that the Youth Garden is no longer an
NCAGC project and the NCAGC is no longer
accepting donations for the Youth Garden and no
longer will award clubs certificates for donations to
the Youth Garden. The NCAGC instructed club
treasurers to send their Youth Garden donations
directly to FONA.
Stay tuned
Since then, a dialogue has been developing among
those who want to take another look at the NCAGC’s
announced position regarding donations to the Youth
Garden. Watch for the NCAGC to provide more in-
formation regarding donations to the Youth Garden.
USDA names a woman as its new
Director of the U.S. National Arboretum
Acting Director Ramon Jordan
stays as key advisor
On December 3, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture
announced the appointment
of Dr. Colien Hefferan as
Dr. Colien Hefferan,
Director of the U.S. National
Director of the U.S.
National Arboretum. Arboretum.
Acting Director Ramon
Jordan will serve as a key
Photo courtesy of
National Institute of Food advisor to Dr. Hefferan on
and Agriculture (NIFA)
scientific and management
issues.
Dr. Hefferan is the former head of the USDA’s
Cooperative Research, Education, and Extension
Service that handles public education and making
grants.
She began working for the USDA in 1979 as an
economist with the Agriculture Research Service’s
Family Economics Research Group.
She holds a Ph.D. and M.S. from the University of
Illinois and a B.S. from the University of Arizona.
Before joining the USDA, she was a research fellow
at the Australian National University in Canberra, an
adjunct faculty member at the University of Mary-
land, and an assistant professor of behavioral eco-
nomics at Pennsylvania State University.
The Garden Post 5 Spring 2011
District I’s fall flower show’s top award winners
“Memories of a Lady’s Manor”
A Small Standard Petite Flower Show held September 25, 2010
Darnall’s Chance House Museum. Upper Marlboro, MD
District I's fall, small standard petite flower show,
“Memories of a Lady's Manor,” was well attended at
“September Colors”
Division I, Horticulture
Darnall’s Chance House Museum, the 18th century
Georgian home of Lettice Lee Wardrop Thompson Sim in
Two “Petite Award of Merit” rosettes were
Upper Marlboro, MD. awarded in Division I, Horticulture.

Section A ~ Flowers

Right: Julie
Harrison, Mount
Airy Clay Breakers
Garden Club, won
a “Petite Award of
Merit” rosette in
Above: (Left) Portrait of the lady, Lettice Lee, 1753. the flowers section
(Right) Darnall’s Chance, the lady’s manor. in the Horticulture
Division for her
Lantana camara,
“Lettice’s Day” "Anne Marie."
Division II, Design

Section B ~ Foliage

Above: Danielle Brabazon,

Woodmoor Garden Club, won
the “Petite Award” in the
design division for her entry in
the “Afternoon Tea” class, a Right: Steve Hannun,
small design in a teacup. Cheverly Garden Club,
won a “Petite Award of
Merit” rosette in the
Above: Christine Hambach, Goddard foliage section in the
Garden Club, won the “Director’s horticulture division for
Challenge Award” in the design his Harsford Canadian
division for her entry in the hemlock, Tsuga
“Candlelight Evening” class, a canadensis.
standard size, transparency design.
Source: District I’s blogspot: http://ncadistrict1.blogspot.com
The Garden Post 6
Club News (continues on page 7)
Spring 2011

Fergie’s Gardeners, Alice Ferguson Foundation co-host District I at Hard Bargain Farm

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Above: Fergie's Gardeners’ President Betsy Reid (left) and Above: Alice and Henry Ferguson’s house facing the Potomac
Alice Ferguson Foundation Deputy Director Libby Campbell River as seen from the foot of the garden. Alice Ferguson was a
welcome District I for its fall meeting and tour of the painter who had studied at the Corcoran. Henry was Ivy League
Foundation’s Hard Bargain Farm along the Potomac River in educated and a geologist with the U.S. Geologic Survey.
Accokeek, MD.

Below: Wareham Lodge, the Alice

Ferguson Foundation’s facility for
overnight environmental education
activities.

Above: Knock Out Roses and hyacinth beans intermingled

with scarlet runner beans enhance this entrance to the
house. This was a rose covered entrance when Alice
Ferguson lived here. Alice died in 1951 and Henry in
1966. Henry named their educational foundation after
Alice.
Above: District I Director David Healy poses on the tour with
Mount Airy Clay Breakers Garden Club members Joyce
Meyer, Linda Millette, Mary Beth Cecil, Sonia Johnson and
the club’s President, Julie Harrison.

Source: District I’s blogspot: http://ncadistrict1.blogspot.com

The Garden Post
Club News
Cheverly Garden Club got a head start on gardening
weather this year!
The Cheverly club’s own dynamic duo of Master Gardeners,
David and Carolyn “Casey” Kneipp, presented “Vegetable
Gardening 101” at the club’s February meeting.
At the meeting on March 21, Landscape Supervisor Mike
Tidd and gardeners Peter Bleich and Joe Mudd from the
Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
will present “Tough and Shade Tolerant Plants”—always great
kinds of plants to have in the shade covered yards in Cheverly.
All are welcome to attend. The club meets at 7 p.m. in the 4th
floor parlor in the Cheverly United Methodist Church, 2801
Cheverly Avenue, Cheverly, MD 20785.
To gather together more gardening ideas, the club hits the
road on April 16 for a visit to Hard Bargain Farm, Accokeek,
MD.
Finally, in May, the club is holding its annual plant sale on
the 7th, starting promptly at 8 a.m. The club, in combination
with the plant sale and with other Cheverly organizations, will
also hold workshops on composting and organic gardening at
the Cheverly Community Center, also at 6401 Forest Road.
Cheverly Garden Club’s Annual Plant Sale
with workshops on
composting and organic gardening
by
the Cheverly Conservation Alliance
Saturday, May 7
Plant Sale - 8 a.m. to Noon
at the Town of Cheverly Pavilion
Workshops – 9:30 a.m.
in the Cheverly Community Center
6401 Forest Road
Cheverly, MD, 20785
For more information on any of the Cheverly Garden
Club’s activities, please contact the club’s president.
Michael Giese
Above: Goddard Garden Club’s box of 20 small,
bedside floral arrangements ready for delivery to the
Magnolia Nursing Home, Lanham, MD, to bring a
little cheer to the residents for Valentine’s Day.
7 Spring 2011
(continues on page 8)
Paint Branch Garden Club honored
its member Patsy Mote with a reception/
tea and book signing to celebrate her first
cookbook, “Great Menus: Seasonal
Recipes for Entertaining.” She spoke
on her experiences writing her first
book, and she has two more books in
progress.
Patsy is also an artist and business-
woman and wife of now retired President
of the University of Maryland Dan Mote.
Paint Branch’s club co-hosted the “Great Menus”
event with the University of Maryland’s by Patsy Mote
Campus Club. Foods served were pre- DICMAR Publishers
pared from recipes in Patsy’s cookbook. Washington, DC
Above: Patsy Mote (seated) signs fellow Paint Branch club
member Joan Patterson’s copy of “Great Menus.”
Photo by Carolyn Fichtel
The Paint Branch club’s March and April programs involve
miniature flower arrangements and a horticulturist from the
Smithsonian talking about the history of the Ripley Garden. A
rose garden tour is the featured event for June; and, hopefully,
another District I club will join us on our excursion.
Donna Aldridge
The New Carrollton Garden Club's first attempt at a
Saturday meeting attracted five possible new members who had
never attended a garden club meeting.
Master Gardeners Casey and Dave Kneipp of Cheverly spoke
on the basics of vegetable gardening.
Casey led the group through a "how-to” for success with
vegetable gardens using slides and answered many questions.
Since the City of New Carrollton provides public plots for its
citizens to garden that are very popular, there was great interest
in the topic. The club hopes to do a follow up in April.
Polly Wilson
The Garden Post 8 Spring 2011
Club News (continues on page 9)
Mount Airy Clay Breakers Garden Club focuses on tabletop designs
District I Director David Healy addressed the
November meeting of Mount Airy Clay Breakers
Garden Club hosted by Gilda Allen. David praised
the club for their many activities and urged them to
participate in the 2011 National Garden Clubs con-
vention in Washington, DC, in May.
The evening's program featured three table settings
designed by club members.

Above: Pam Smart's Italian inspired Tuscan setting

features sunflowers.

Above: Gilda Allen uses the last blooms from her garden to
create her arrangement inside a large shell.

Above: Jackie George sets a traditional Thanksgiving table.

Annual Plant Sale

Mount Airy Clay Breakers Garden Club
Featuring plants from members’ gardens
May 8, 2011 ~ 8 a.m. until noon
8404 Trumps Hill Road, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772

Source: District I’s blogspot: http://ncadistrict1.blogspot.com

The Garden Post
Club News
New Carrollton Garden Club dedicates Blue Star Memorial Marker, historic highway
Above: New Carrollton Garden Club dedicated a Blue Star
Memorial Marker in September at Route 450 just southwest
of its intersection with the Capital Beltway. During the
ceremony, a section of Route 450 (also known as Annapolis
Road) from the Peace Cross through New Carrollton was
declared a Maryland Historic Highway.
Above (left to right): H. Steve Mason,
VFW Post 8950; Norma Hetrick, Co-
President, New Carrollton Garden
Club; and Andrew Hanko, Mayor,
City of New Carrollton; recite the
Pledge of Allegiance and present a
memorial wreath at the dedication.
Left: Geraldo Marshall plays taps.
Right: Guests at the reception could write welcome home cards
as part of the club’s participation in “Operation Welcome Home”
where Marylanders go to Thurgood Marshall BWI airport to greet
service men and women returning from overseas. Club member
Charmane Truesdell (left) and Lurraine Gettier write their cards.
Source: District I’s blogspot: http://ncadistrict1.blogspot.com
9 Spring 2011
Above (left to right): Among those attending the dedication
ceremony at Route 450 were District I Director David Healy,
NCA Garden Club President Mary Ellen Alden, National
Garden Club 1st Vice President Shirley Nicolai, NCA
Garden Club Blue Star Memorial Chairman Marion
Caldwell, New Carrollton Garden Club member Charmane
Truesdell, and New Carrollton’s Mayor Andrew Hanko.
The dedication program continued at the city’s municipal
center followed by a reception open to the public. Dick Esper,
Chaplain of VFW Post 8950, led the assembly in prayer.
Landover Hills Mayor Lee Walker, whose city is traversed by
the historic highway, followed Mayor Hanko’s welcome.
New Carrollton Garden Club’s Chairman of the dedication,
Margaret McKnew, explained the history behind the designation
of Route 450 as an historic highway and thanked the State of
Maryland, the City of New Carrollton, and VFW Post 8950 for
helping with the memorial marker, its dedication, and the public
reception. National Garden Club’s Blue Star Chairman Marion
Caldwell gave the history of garden clubs’ Blue Star Memorial
Marker program that honors all service men and women.
The city’s Police Department’s Color Guard presented the
colors, and students from Parkdale High School sang the
National Anthem.