"Poppies, Peacocks and Parterres—Gardens of Scotland" with Nancy Stevens (Virtual)
2023-03-16 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Online Meeting
From 17th century Renaissance parterres to a garden of cosmic speculation, gardener and author Nancy Stevens will fill us in on gardens from the likes of General Eisenhower and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and size up your garden wall status.
You’ll learn about everything, from a 17th century Renaissance parterres to a garden of cosmic speculation; from General Eisenhower’s “holiday home” to the garden where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes acquired his extensive knowledge of poisonous plants. You’ll view an artist’s garden, an author’s garden, see where Clive met Louise & Henrietta, and learn what the size of your walled garden says about your social status.
After working in the corporate world of banking, commerce and industry as ICI, GEC, Nancy Stevens decided to switch careers and become a freelance journalist. This has been augmented by her lifelong passion for plants and gardens: 30 years of owning gardens of various shapes, sizes and topography, supplemented by garden visits, broadened by the written word and topped off by membership of an excellent gardening club; in her case, Baldernock Gardening Club, where she was chairman “for seven very enjoyable years.”
Free for members; $10 suggested donation for non-members. After the event, you’ll receive a recorded copy of the talk.
Click here to register.

Philadelphia Flower Show-March 8-10
2023-03-08 08:00 - 2023-03-10 17:00 UTC
Spaces still open for the Philly Flower Show trip

Depart aboard a deluxe motor coach for three days, March 8-10, in the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, PA. We’ll be stopping at the brand new Faith & Liberty Discovery Center, the Museum of the American Revolution, the Barnes Foundation, and of course, the 194th Pennsylvania Horticulture Society’s Philadelphia Flower Show, back to its indoor space! John Bartram, botanist, horticulturalist and explorer, will join us for dinner one night. The costumed impersonator will share his stories, humor and horticultural history.
CT Hort member price: $879pp double / $1129pp single
Regular price: $929pp double / $1179pp single
Call Barbara at Friendship Tours: 860-243-1630 or go to www.friendshiptours.net.

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Grafting Dwarf Conifers with Kevin Wilcox--March 4
2023-03-04 13:30 - 15:30 UTC
CT Hort is delighted to present the workshop “Grafting Dwarf Conifers” with horticulturist Kevin Wilcox on Saturday, March 4 from 1:30-3:30 pm, at the Noah Webster House, 227 South Main Street, West Hartford. Register here!
Mr. Wilcox will teach participants how to successfully graft dwarf conifers, starting with a short slide presentation. Participants will prepare, cut and wrap the grafted conifer. Different conifer cultivars will be provided for people to graft, with selections from Oriental, Serbian, Norway and White spruces.
Attendees are welcome to bring selections of their own to try grafting (bring up to two year’s growth, not an entire large branch), and should bring a pair of hand pruners.
Kevin Wilcox is CT Hort’s resident horticulturist and has more than 30 years of experience in the field.
The workshop is limited to 20 people and costs $45. For more information and to register, click here.

March Board Meeting
2023-03-02 19:00 UTC | Online Meeting

A Visit to Chile Feb. 27-March 8
2023-02-27 08:00 - 17:00 UTC
Experience the majesty and culture of Chile with Garden and Nature Tours with C. Colston Burrell, Friendship Tours, The Minnesota State Horticultural Society and Meme Larivière. Join us for an unforgettable autumnal journey of discovery to magnificent and varied landscapes, gracious private gardens, monumental public parks, museums, wineries and spectacular scenery. This unique South American nation is at once sophisticated, cosmopolitan and ruggedly wild.
Click here to see the brochure and register.

"New Perennials: A Love Story" with Deborah Chud (Virtual)
2023-02-16 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Online Meeting
“New Perennials: A Love Story” is a personal introduction to the design principles of the New Perennialists, who gave rise to the hottest gardening trend in the world today—naturalistic landscaping. In the US, their influence can be seen in New York’s High Line, Chicago’s Lurie Garden, the Oudolf Meadow at Delaware Botanic Gardens, and Oudolf Garden Detroit. Deborah Chud’s six years of research on these gardens led to her own highly unusual New Perennial garden and the only known database of New Perennial plant combinations. Her talk is part memoir, part history, and part design theory–with some practical “dos and don’ts” for gardeners at every level.
Deborah Chud is a retired Massachusetts physician turned garden maker, consultant and educator. In the fall of 2020, she presented her work as part of “Piet Oudolf: How Does He Do It?”–an international event organized by Piet Oudolf’s co-author, Noel Kingsbury, under the aegis of gardenmasterclass.org. She has also presented to members of the following institutions and organizations: Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum, the United States Botanical Garden in Washington, D.C., the Ecological Landscape Alliance, the Northwest Perennial Alliance, Toronto Botanical Garden, and Delaware Botanic Gardens.

Free for members; $10 suggested donation for non-members. After the event, you’ll receive a recorded copy of the talk.
Click here to register.

February Board Meeting
2023-02-02 19:00 UTC | Online Meeting

"Designing with Native Plants" with James Dillon (Virtual)
2023-01-19 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Online Meeting
James Dillon, landscape designer and horticulturalist, views landscape design as the integration of science, nature and art. He will show us how to meld all of that together with native plants to create a beautiful garden.
James Dillon, PCH is a Certified Horticulturist with over 20 years of experience working in the green industry. With a B.Sc. in Biology from East Carolina University, he views landscape design as the integration of science, nature and art.
He practiced horticulture in the northern Delaware area, most notably at the Delaware Center for Horticulture, with continuing education at Longwood Gardens. Previously, as manager and buyer of woody plants for a diversified garden center in Chambersburg, PA, James became familiar with a large palette of native plants and plant cultivars.
Native plant selection, environmental benefits, and low maintenance gardens are emphasized in many designs. James has designed several rain gardens and continues taking coursework on ecological landscape design. James enjoys volunteering for The Monarch Alliance (a PVAS program), designing Monarch waystation gardens for them, in Maryland and West Virginia.
Mr. Dillon owns and operates Native Havens LLC, a small landscape/gardening company based out of his home, where he’s an avid gardener in Kearneysville, WV.
The talk is free for members and $10 for non-members. For more information or for non-members to register, click here.

A Trip to Costa Rica: Gardens, Volcanoes and Waterfalls
2023-01-12 - 2023-01-22
Join Garden and Nature Tours with C. Colston Burrell, local guide Vernon Campos and Brett Isaacson of Friendship Tours in San Jose, Costa Rica to explore a tropical paradise for 10 nights/11 days.
Click through to Friendship Tours for all the info: https://www.friendshiptours.net/tours/costa-rica

January Board Meeting
2023-01-05 19:00 UTC | Online Meeting

Wreathmaking Workshop at Broken Arrow Nursery
2022-12-13 18:30 - 20:30 UTC
Imagine: An evening by a warm fire in the teaching barn at Broken Arrow Nursery. An incredible selection of unusual, colorful evergreens and berry branches at your disposal. You will be given a 14″ wreath ring and will be guided by Mark Marenholz, wreath making expert, to make your own amazing mixed evergreen wreath. (A 14″ ring will make a wreath 20-22″ in outside diameter.) We can’t think of a better way to get into the holiday spirit. Sign up with a friend or two and make it a very special evening.
Broken Arrow Nursery is at 13 Broken Arrow Road in Hamden.
The cost to attend is $68. Space is limited to 14 people!
Click here to register.

SOLD OUT! Holiday Greens Workshop
2022-12-06 15:30 - 17:00 UTC
CT Hort is thrilled to present a Holiday Greens Workshop at the Connecticut Flower Collective, 5 Cross Street, Meriden, on Tuesday, December 6 from 3:30 -5:00pm.
Create your own handmade wreath with locally harvested grapevines and fresh cut greens from the Connecticut Flower Collective. Learn to twist up a grapevine wreath and then make a mixed evergreen swag to decorate it. Nancy DuBrule-Clemente will be your teacher at the headquarters of the local flower movement in CT. Ribbons will be available at additional cost including exquisite botanically hand-dyed ribbons from Goldust Gardens.
The cost is $45 and we are limited to 12 people. Click here to register.
The workshop has sold out. Email office@cthort.org to be put on the waiting list.

A Longwood Gardens Christmas
2022-11-29 - 2022-12-01
Join us for a Longwood Gardens Christmas. From towering trees that touch the sky to acres of twinkling lights, a Longwood Christmas makes your holiday oh so merry & bright.
We will travel through Pennsylvania & Delaware, and will visit:

Longwood Gardens
Nemours Mansion
Winterthur Museum
Brandywine River Museum

"Shrubs, the New Perennial" with Lorraine Ballato
2022-11-17 19:30 UTC | Emanuel Synagogue, 160 Mohegan Drive, West Hartford, CT, 06117, United States
Shrubs are the new garden accessory! Lorraine Ballato, horticulturist, garden writer, and speaker, will discuss how shrubs now come in small sizes, just right to take the place of perennials in your borders and gardens, with little maintenance.
Shrubs now come in sizes from 12″ to 24″, just the right size to take the place of perennials in your borders and gardens. They dazzle with their foliage and flowers and require almost no maintenance.
Lorraine Ballato is a professional horticulturist who shares her knowledge through lectures, social media, and magazines. You can find her contributions in Connecticut Gardener, Edible Nutmeg, Coast of Maine, and more. She has been an instructor at the New York Botanical Garden for more than 10 years and can be found on numerous gardening radio programs and podcasts.
Besides tending the Connecticut garden which Lorraine and her husband have created (including many plants under trial conditions), Lorraine’s organic home garden includes seasonal vegetables, her beloved hydrangeas and all manner of ornamentals, which have informed her writing, lectures, and radio guest spots.
When she is not in her own garden, Lorraine volunteers her time to the Fairfield County Master Gardener Organic Vegetable Demonstration Garden in Bethel, CT. There, she works with a team of Master Gardeners and interns, teaching the public about growing vegetables organically. Their combined efforts result in annual food bank contributions of more than 1000 pounds.

Lorraine’s latest book is the best-selling Success With Hydrangeas, A Gardener’s Guide. Prior to that, she published Successful Self Watering Containers: Converting Your Favorite Container to a Self-Waterer.
The talk is free for members and $10 for non-members. After the event, you’ll receive a recorded copy of the talk. For more information or for non-members to register, click here.

November Board Meeting
2022-11-03 19:00 UTC | Online Meeting

“Stone in the Garden” with Andrew Pighills
2022-10-20 19:30 UTC | Emanuel Synagogue, 160 Mohegan Drive, West Hartford, CT, 06117, United States
Stone artisan Andrew Pighills will explore the myriad ways in which stone plays a part in the garden, how it defines garden areas, or paths, walkways and patios, and more, and which material is most suitable to creating contrast or harmony.
Born in Yorkshire, England, Andrew Pighills is an accomplished gardener, horticulturist and builder of dry stone walls. He received his formal horticulture training with The Royal Horticultural Society and has spent 30 years creating gardens and building dry stone walls in his native England in and around the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District.
In 2001, Andrew moved to the United States where he and his wife, Michelle Becker, an accomplished artist, designer and gardener, have combined their complementary skills to form English Gardens and Landscaping, in Killingworth, CT. They distinguish themselves in designing and installing residential landscapes that draw inspiration from the enchanting settings and exuberant lushness of the traditional English “cottage” gardens that they know and love so well.
Andrew’s stone work has been featured in a programming series on traditional English construction methods on BBC television. More recently, Andrew’s work has been featured in The New York Times, Martha Stewart Radio, The New Haven Register, Yankee Magazine and numerous other publications. Andrew is a member of the prestigious Dry Stone Walling Association.
The talk is free for members and $10 for non-members. For more information or for non-members to register, click here.

October Board Meeting
2022-10-05 19:00 UTC | Online Meeting

Gardens of New York: Hudson Valley to Brooklyn
2022-09-28 - 2022-10-01
Come join us on this great trip through the Hudson Valley to Brooklyn! This trip will be escorted by Brett Isaacson and we will be joined by special guest, Jana Milbocker. Jana is a garden designer, speaker, and author of the Garden Tourist travel guides.

“A Bountiful Year: Six Seasons of Beauty from Brandywine Cottage” with David Culp
2022-09-15 19:30 UTC | Emanuel Synagogue, 160 Mohegan Drive, West Hartford, CT, 06117, United States
Connecticut Horticultural Society and New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill are thrilled to be co-sponsoring David Culp, who will present “A Bountiful Year: Six Seasons of Beauty from Brandywine Cottage,” on September 15 at 7:30pm at Emanuel Synagogue (160 Mohegan Drive, West Hartford) and on Zoom. A Q&A follows the talk.
David Culp blurs the lines between indoor and outdoor living through his celebrated garden, Brandywine Cottage. In his talk, based on his most recent book of the same name, he offers recipes, a garden to-do list and tips on flower arrangements. He provides his favorite mail order sources and cover gardening for biodiversity and wildlife habitat, and discusses the creation of the meadow at Brandywine Cottage, plants for dry places. He even mentions some of his favorite weeds!
David Culp is the creator of the gardens at Brandywine Cottage in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. He has been lecturing about gardens nationwide for more than 15 years. His articles have appeared in Martha Stewart Living, Country Living, Fine Gardening, Green Scene, and many other publications. He is a former contributing editor to Horticulture magazine and served as chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Hardy Plant Society. He is an herbaceous perennials instructor at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA.
David has developed the Brandywine Hybrid strain of hellebores, and was recently cited in the Wall Street Journal for his expertise on snowdrops. Brandywine Cottage is listed in the Smithsonian Institution Archives of American Gardens. His best-selling 2013 book, The Layered Garden, was selected by Garden Writers Association as the 2013 Best Overall Book. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Garden Award from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in 1997 and 2016, and has also been awarded the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Award of Merit.
The talk is free for members and $10 for non-members. Click here for non-member registration.
Not a member? This talk could be free if you are. Get all the perks of membership! Join CT Hort!

A scene from David Culp’s Brandywine Cottage

September Board Meeting
2022-09-01 19:00 UTC | Online Meeting
