PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Congratulations to the tour committee, the many volunteers, and those who worked tirelessly to prepare and share their gardens. The tour was a great success. Budget-wise expenses were kept low and ticket sales were strong, resulting in revenues that exceeded original estimates. This is great for the club as it enables us to do so much. 

As we celebrate the financial success of our event, there are many other reasons to celebrate the tour and how it enriches our lives and inspires our gardening experience.

Camden is a special tour which draws people from all over our state and the country. Things flowed well, signage was good, we were organized, the garden line up was top notch. The only unfortunate thing was a fast hitting storm which downed trees and electrical wires around 2:30, stymieing some of the gardens for visitors, otherwise I’ve received nothing but compliments.

I hope that each of us left with some special memories of the day. 

A few of my standout moments include the exterior glass wall and sedum roof at Bay View, the baby Barred Owl overlooking the pond at Lynne’s, the cottage vibe, pond and natives at Vicki‘s, the cozy seating area at Barb’s, the peaceful meadow, the colors, views, plein air artist Cassie Sano, bumping into friends, happy cheerful tour goers, and many many smiles.

Camden garden tour continues to inspire and impress. To put it in perspective, I returned from Provence just before the tour, and I attended the MDI (Mount Desert Islander) Open Garden Day shortly after our tour. We are on par with the loveliest places one can visit - all right here. We have an amazing Gardening Club, beautiful private gardens and a local gardening tradition to be proud of.

I don’t know where this summer’s gone, but there’s still lots coming to enjoy, see and do. 

Thursday, August 27, is our next General Meeting, where we host Camden’s Parks Department, Assistant Director Grace McMullen. 

Public Spaces and Village Green and Gardens can always use your help and is a great way to learn and be with fellow gardeners. The next Village Green Work day is Monday, August 3rd 9:00 AM. Amid challenges, Barb and several volunteers have been diligently working on the lampposts. Volunteers are always needed, now more than ever.
Please check in with Barbara Ohland and Laura Anthony and see how you can be involved as we finish out the summer in our very own special Midcoast hamlet.  

Amy 

Calendar of Events

Monday, August 3 9:00 AM
Village Green & Gardens Cleanup
Village Green & Gardens volunteers needed

During this busy month of summer, many of our members are not available to come to our monthly volunteer day.
We need your help.

We will gather on Monday, August 3rd at 9 AM at the Village Green to perform monthly maintenance there and at the Mural and Native Gardens. Routine tasks of weeding and trimming will be included. Please bring hand tools, garden gloves and hats and a water bottle.

We usually finish by 10 AM.

Please note paid parking is no longer in effect in Camden.

Muffins and gluten free snacks will be provided.

You can sign up electronically on the Camden Garden Club’s website under Membership or just show up.

Please reach out to Laura Anthony with any questions- lmtanthony505@gmail.com

Laura Anthony and Donna Barbieri
Village Green & Gardens Co-chairs

Camden Garden Club
2026 Garden Tour
Huge Success!

Our 77th Garden Tour was a huge success by any measure. We sold more than 600 tickets, participants provided enthusiastic feedback, and the weather held (mostly). We showed six private gardens in Camden and Rockport, five of which had never been on the tour before, and we also raised nearly $1,000 for our scholarship program through three raffles. Three of the gardens belonged to CGC members Vicki Mast, Lynne Meagher and Barb Ohland. Sixty-six members aided in the effort, by participating before, during or after the event.

As always, our guests came from far and wide. Groups travelled from all over Maine – Blue Hill to Farmington to Phippsburg – and from Nova Scotia to Monterey, California! We received compliments on the gardens, the general organization, and even the signage. Our new headquarters location at the American Legion was a big hit because it was easy to park, and there were bathrooms. 

The only thing that went wrong was the weather – a violent storm struck Camden about 2:30 p.m. and caused power outages and road closures all over town. Two properties, the barn on Colcord and the garden on Bayview, were closed to new entrants after the storm by a joint decision of CGC and the owners. The heavy rain and winds created hazardous conditions and drenched CGC members and tour participants alike. No one involved in the tour remembers a situation like this one, and our policy of “Rain or Shine” may need to be adjusted to accommodate severe weather that threatens the safety of our members and our guests.

The Tour Committee will meet for a final time on August 6 to review the day and prepare notes and recommendations for the 2028 event.

We would like to hear from you about your experiences and opinions about the day, so please send a message to the 2026 Tour Committee at info@camdengardenclub.org
A button on our site’s homepage is also available for your convenience.
Thank you for your participation!

Garden Tour Demonstrations
6 Colcord “The Barn”

Twigs and Things and Everlasting Dried Flower Wall Hanging

The day was perfect. “The Barn” on Colcord Avenue was bright, airy and air conditioned. Gabrielle Jansen of Firebird Farm demonstrated how to create a dramatic sculptural hanging out of driftwood, dried flowers and herbs.

Gabrielle showed us her technique of twisting gold wire around the flowers to create long strands of seemingly floating blooms. Guests were invited to string their own lengths and add them to the driftwood support.

This was a highly enjoyable workshop as dried flowers “everlastings” are re-emerging in popularity. Upbeat Gabrielle had a warm way of inviting people to join in therefore turning the demo into a fun, social and interactive event. Thank you so much Gabrielle!

The “Twigs and Things” demonstration was equally intriguing and well attended.  Linda Redman, renown gardener, showed the very attentive audience how to build a garden structure out of saplings and branches. Tools, screws, wire, drills and design were all described and demonstrated as she erected a handsome large arbor out of Cedar. (BTW, Cedar and driftwood are the most long-lived choices for structures in the garden.)  Linda brought with her, charming examples of gates and structures one could make, as well as her collection of books on this art form.

We want to thank Gabrielle and Linda for their very generous donation of time and talent in offering their artistry and skills as highlights to our garden tour. You both provided delight and depth of interest to the day. You both are amazing.

We couldn’t have had our demonstrations if it weren’t for the warm generosity of the owners of the beautiful barn on Colcord Avenue. A big burst of gratitude to Tammie and Mashaal Ahmadieh for the loan of their ideal space. It was perfect place in which to house a comfortable audience, and illustrate the talents of Linda and Gabrielle. They not only loaned the building but they helped us set up and clean up too which was very much appreciated. We look forward to other events in this space.

 What an incredible day of community involvement for the Club!  Personally, I heard compliments about the quality of the Tour all day long.   The attendees marveled at the knowledge and friendliness of the membership.  Equally, they were impressed that three club members had their gardens on the tour.  We owe a big thank you to Vicki Mast, Barbara Ohland, and Lynne Meagher for all the hours of work that went into their garden presentations.  And of course, mother nature graced us with the appearance of the Barred Owl.

A very special thank you needs to be given to the Sub-Committee whose professional management was an inspiration to all.  

Lynne Meagher – Chair

Susan Reider– Property Liaison

Debra Stokes – Ticket & Poster Design/Printing

Mary Miller and Christina Verrastro – Publicity

Karen Cease – Workshops at the Barn

Leslie Yambor -Ticketing

Alison Freeborn – Treasurer

Jennifer Gromada – Assistant Treasurer

Jennifer Marks & Andrea Bell - Flower Arrangements

Our success lies with your enthusiasm and smiles.  Thank you for participating.  We went way over our goal of selling 500 tickets!!!

Sincerely,

Lucy Ebbert, Volunteer Coordinator

A few days after July’s Garden tour, two of the CGC Board Members opened their gardens again to a lovely group from the Bittersweet Garden Club who travelled from Jefferson City, Missouri.
It was the Bittersweet Garden Club

Fernwood Shade Nursery will be rescheduled soon!

TROWEL & GROWL
Dianne Blahusch's
9 Evergreen Lane, Camden

On July 10 we had a walk on the wild side at Diane’s shady and forested property.  Part of the fun was being shadowed by her two sweet dogs and one blind white cat.  A priority during our garden visits is to hold a discussion about layout and design. 
How do you get the most out of the sun you’ve got?
How do you provide variety and interest in your shady corners?

Diane and partner Lindsay love a naturalized landscape so we talked about ways to gently tame the wildness and how to transition it into an attractive well designed interior garden planted with perennials and natives.  A surprise was to learn that Lindsay is quite the accomplished herbalist and grows, in raised beds, many plants known for their medicinal and healing qualities.   

THE NEXT T&Gs
September when we visit the gardens of Kathie Neyman and Shannon Engler.  Dates TBD

Trowel & Growls are casual, educational, social and fun – a great way for members to get to know each other in a small group environment.  They can be scheduled from April through October. It’s a perfect time to schedule your Trowel & Growl to help inspire ideas and projects for your garden!

Interested in scheduling? Have questions?
Karen prefers an email
kbcease@aol.com 

You can also
Sign Up Here to Schedule

Of Interest to our Gardening Community

Members now have a place to sign up online for club activities including gardening around town, special events and field trips!

Go to
Member Sign ups

When Signing up for Field Trips
Please Email Karen as well to confirm space
kbcease@aol.com

If you have any comments or additional @Town activities or suggestions for the website please e-mail info@camdengardenclub.org 

Our mission is to develop and preserve our environment by beautifying the community, enhancing public spaces, offering educational programs, and practicing resource conservation.