Our new year of garden club begins with an activity "cooked" up by our hostesses for September, led by JoAnn Cook. The activity was a creative and fun way for members to get to know one another.

In addition to our unconventional hostess program activity, one of our newer members, Littany Hollerbach, presented the latest on the Swann Park Project. Littany has graciously agreed to chair the Swann Park Project for the coming year.

Crofton Village Garden Club welcomes new member Paul Heward, sponsored by his wife Paulette Heward.

President Cathy Gallagher announced member Marcia Richard is the 2022 recipient of the Bernie Robertson Award. Marcia will be awarded for her outstanding service and dedication to Crofton Village Garden Club at the Greater Crofton Community Awards Celebration on Wednesday, October 19, 2022. 

Deemed "the most outstanding topiary garden in America" by the Garden Club of America, Ladew Topiary Gardens is the perfect spot nestled in beautiful hunt country in Monkton, Maryland. In the early 1920s, Harvey S. Ladew purchased the 200+ acre property known as Pleasant Valley Farm, which included a farmhouse built in the late 1700s/early 1800s. Ladew renovated and expanded the house, filling it with treasures purchased during his extensive travels. He then designed and created the 22 acres of formal gardens which feature life-size topiaries and 15 themed garden rooms.

The eastern bluebird is the most widespread of the three bluebirds. Although it is mostly "eastern" in our area, its total range extends south to Nicaragua. A high percentage of eastern bluebirds in North America today nest in birdhouses put up for them along bluebird trails. When they are not nesting, these birds roam the countryside in small flocks.

Nancy Percivall, Committee Chair for Horticulture, talked about the Environmental Trail Project at Generals Highway Park – a 2015 youth project led by Girl Scout Gold Award candidate, Alex Hunt.

Members met at Generals Highway Corridor Park located at 1758 Crownsville Road, Crownsville. Pat and Juanita Tate, members of the Anne Arundel Bird Club, led us on a walking tour of the bluebird trail and let us take a glimpse into their nesting habits. 

Scroll over the image above and use the play button or arrow buttons located at the top of the photo to view images.

​For more information on the eastern bluebird, click the button below.

Guest speaker Peggy Riccio, Chair of the Potomac Unit of the Herb Society of America, gave an instructional talk, One Dozen Herbs to Use and Grow. For each herb (dill, cilantro, basil, fennel, rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano/marjoram, chives, mint, lemon balm, and parsley), she discussed the best season to plant, when to start harvesting, preservation techniques, and methods for using each herb in the kitchen, and included a few tasty recipes. These herbs are so easy to grow, you can even grow them in containers for the summer.

For more information on herbs and gardening in general, click the button below to visit Peggy's website Pegplant. There you can subscribe to Pegplant's Post, a free monthly e-newsletter. The newsletter lists gardening events in the area, including virtual events in other mid-Atlantic states, recently published gardening books, articles, and tips.

To read Peggy's article, Breeding Better Herbs, published in the March/April issue of The American Gardener, the magazine of the American Horticultural Society, click the button below.

For a copy of Peggy's basic culinary herb recipes, click the button below.

Members Rosa Johnson and Nancy Percivall demonstrate how to make beautiful plant containers that will last for years! Hypertufa is a technique that lets you create handmade pots and garden art with few ingredients – Portland cement, perlite or vermiculite, peat moss and water. The handmade pots look like natural hand carved stone but are molded and relatively light weight and are extremely versatile. Completely weatherproof, these pots work indoors or out and can freeze and thaw naturally as a result of their porous nature.
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