President’s Message

Dear Gardening Friends,

I am starting this message out by saying the Expo was a huge success!  The idea started as a seed, and with our team planting, watering and weeding it, it became a full fledge event that surpassed all of our expectations. The people that attended, left with a lot of gardening information and appeared to thoroughly enjoy themselves in the process. We had keynote speakers, PechaKucha style speakers, breakout sessions, book signings and table displays.  We also had David Kibbe’s ‘farm’ available for them to tour and ask questions. So, while we did not offer a typical garden tour this year, we did meet our mission by providing education to the community. 

My heartfelt appreciation to all of you who were on the Expo team.  They are as listed:  Laura Anthony, Allison Matlack, Ali Dailey, Mary Miller, Christina Verrastro, Jennifer Gromada, Lucy Ebbert, Andrea Bell, Elisabeth Cohen, David Kibbe and Peter Rich. A big thank you to Blake Sanborn for providing us with a break out session on floral arrangement, Mary Miller for having a beautiful table display and David Kibbe for allowing us to tour his lovely farm. I also appreciate those of you who volunteered to help that day.

Village Green cleanup is Monday, August 4.  If you have a Garden Gnome assignment for August, be sure to keep your commitment.  If you have gnome questions, please contact Barb Ohland or Laura Anthony. Other Club activities are minimal this month as we try to keep August open for you to enjoy your family and friends. We do have a club meeting on August 28. I hope to see many of you then. 

Take care-

Vicki

It’s a Wrap! 2025 Garden Expo

“Edible Gardens & Bountiful Tables," is history and a joyful memory for Club members and guests alike. It was a rich array of talented, dedicated, life-long food-to-table heroes who offered a full morning of expertise. Their practical wisdom will stay with the 200 participants for years to come. Many guests spoke with President Vicki Mast to share their enthusiasm. It was an opportunity for Club members to meet and speak with many new guests who are interested in joining the Club.

Andrea and her volunteers could not have been more welcoming and helpful. The Expo committee team seemed to be everywhere at once. For example, Laura Anthony assisted Chef Phil Lebreton with his sassy sauces. Is there a YouTube channel in their future?

Keynote speakers, Nancy Harmon Jenkins and Barbara Damrosch, hit it out of the park with tales from their gardens over the last 50 years. They generously answered questions and followed up with a very robust book signing. Our own Blake Sanborn wowed his group with two extraordinary bouquets while telling stories and subtly showing the crowd how it is done. The Tablescapes were exquisite as town designers delivered their best ideas. Pechakucha speakers fit together like puzzle pieces as they spoke of their contribution to the field of farming and gardening. Merryspring’s John Fromer gave us a floor plan for a mini-farm that would fit in small spaces. There is so much more and so many to thank.

The crescendo of the day was a tour of David Kibbe’s beautiful farmlet, Old Souls Farm. The talk of the morning became a reality as visitors could see up close a real microfarm in progress, 5 minutes drive from downtown Camden. David was on hand to answer all questions and share his beloved home. At the end of the day, Amy Thomas met David’s old sailing pals from North Carolina, Herb and Ruth Weise and their son, John. Herb was our oldest visitor. He is 106 years old and, after a brief overview from David, emphatically chirped “Okay! What are going to look at next.” He was ready to see it all. May we all be so fortunate.

The event was bigger and better than we imagined, as it brought us together with our community in such a significant way. Thank you, Club members, for your gracious participation. It was an honor to attend Expo ’25.

Be sure to check Facebook and Instagram for articles and photos about our speakers, presenters, demonstrators, and Tablescapers. We will be thanking them all summer long, Visit the Expo Photo Gallery.

Blake Sanborn is a landscape architect who has won numerous awards for his innovative approach to urban landscapes and has been recognized for producing design excellence in Australia, Asia, and the United States. 

Blake has recently moved to Camden and joined the Club. He serves on the Board as Education Co-Chair, and most recently volunteered to lead a floral design breakout at the Garden Expo

While trained as a landscape architect, Blake applies many of the same design principles to floristry. Indeed, his breakout session gave attendees hands-on, step-by-step instructions on how to create not just a floral bouquet but a work of art. The two arrangements he made in a matter of minutes were simply breathtaking. The Club is definitely fortunate to have such a valuable resource in Blake!

Blake Sanborn photo credit: Lynne Meagher. Flower arrangements photo credit: Blake Sanborn.

Upcoming Activities, General Member Meetings, Volunteer Opportunity

Monday, August 4 Village Green Public Spaces volunteer opportunity
Join us at 9 am for our monthly volunteer gathering at the Village Green. We will be doing routine maintenance and grooming of the VG and if time and number of volunteers permits, other public spaces in the area.

Please dress for the weather and bring your gardening hand tools and water. Thanks to all. Please contact Laura Anthony lmtanthony505@gmail.com with any questions. 

Thursday, August 28 General Membership Meeting with speaker Wendy Reinemann, co-owner of Guinea Ridge Nursey and Farm speaking on “Gardening in an Era of Climate Change” touching on topics such as changing plants, calendars and Zones. Join us for coffee at 9am followed by the presentation and business meeting. All are welcome. St Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Chestnut Street, Camden.

Thursday, September 18 - rain date September 19th Mushroom Foraging and Talk with Greg Marley. Location and time TBD. There will be a fee for attending this workshop. Greg Marley has been studying, growing, collecting and cooking wild mushrooms for 50 years. He is a frequent speaker and lecturer teaching mushroom identification and ecology to hundreds of new foragers. He lives and mushrooms along the coast of Maine.

Full details will be emailed to Members, promoted on the Club website and in the September 1st newsletter. Please RSVP to Karen Cease: kbcease@aol.com

Thursday, September 25 General Membership Meeting with speaker Genie Everett, GCFM liaison to Horticulture Therapy and Wiscasset Garden Club member, will enlighten us about the burgeoning field of Horticultural Therapy and ways in which individual garden clubs can participate and aid in the cause.

Thursday, October 23 General Membership Meeting with speaker Rebecca Goldenthal, owner of In Full Bloom Container Gardens in Portland, will guide us in transforming tired summer containers into festive outdoor holiday décor, sure to be the envy of all  your neighbors.