Bellport Garden Club 2010-2011 Officers:
President: Diane Pettit
Vice President: Mary Cooper
Recording Secretary: Shirley MacKay
Corresponding Secretary: Kathy Desmond
Treasurer: Kathleen Wagner
The Bellport Garden Club was founded in
the summer of 1926 and is presently celebrating its 82nd year of
existence! From the beginning, the Garden Club worked for conservation
and beautification. In the early years the club cooperated with the Long
Island Roadside Commission in an effort to preserve our tree lined
streets.
In the Village, the Club did plantings in the park and built a fence and gateway there. Other plantings and replantings were done and maintained at the Yacht Club, Community House, Library, Country Club and the bandstand. In 1936 we began to work on window boxes in the Village. We have continued this each Spring and at Christmas. Later the Club planned the alley next to the former Village Hall.
The Club is most proud of the many trees it has planted along with the cooperation of the Village,
interested civic groups, and local citizens. After the devastating
hurricane of 1938, there were 120 Elms and 100 Norway Maples
planted. Since then, tree planting has been an annual program with the
Village supplying the labor.
Leave Leaves Alone Program
In their continuing effort to promote natural/non-chemical landscaping: "Blue Bays - Green Lawns," the Garden Club is supporting the "Leave Leaves Alone" program. Click here for more information.
Click here for information about upcoming leaf mulching training sessions.
2011
Street Garden Recognition Program
A street garden is a large or small garden of
living plants close to the curb primarily for the pleasure of neighbors or
passers by. The Bellport Garden Club invited all residents of the South
Country School District to create and maintain such a garden or enter an
existing garden in their Street Garden Recognition Program.
Gardens could be established or new, plain or fancy. The gardens had to consist
of live plants or shrubs and be maintained throughout the summer. Official garden plaques were distributed to the first
125 participants.
The Bellport Garden Club provided photos of the 2011 participants. Click here to see photos of the gardens showcased in the 2011 Street Garden Program.
Past Street Garden Photos (Photos below are courtesy of the Bellport Garden Club):
Click here to see photos of the gardens showcased in the 2010 Street Garden Program.
Click here to see photos of the gardens showcased in the 2009 Street Garden Program.
Click here to
see photos of the gardens showcased in the 2008
Street Garden Program.
Mission Of The Garden Club
The purpose of the Garden Club is:
- To stimulate the knowledge and love of gardening.
- To help the conservation of our natural resources and to work for the improvement of the ecology.
- To preserve and foster the natural
beauty of our surroundings.
Club Activities
The Bellport Garden Club has many club activities throughout the year. Here is a list of just some of these events:
- Monthly roadside cleanup of South Country Road
- Spring-time planting of window boxes throughout the Village
- Summer Garden Tour of selected local gardens (every other year)
- Awards to students/school projects in the South Country School District
- Planting of Christmas season window boxes in the Village
- Christmas Tour of local homes decorated for the season (every other year)
- Monthly meetings with various speakers on garden topics
- Outings and trips to local area gardens
- Participation in Village Christmas Parade
Recent Bellport Garden Club
Events
The Bellport Garden Club’s 4th Annual Plant Sale
The
Bellport Garden Club's 4th annual Memorial Day Plant Sale was great! There
were garden gifts, wonderful annuals, perennials, sun-shade, trees, bulbs
and (this year) pineapple plants- plants for all ages! The plants were all
from members' gardens. They also had fabulous garden implements and gifts:
gloves, trowels, buckets and books. You’ll find photos of the event below.
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Bag Lunches and Bouquets:
Go Green with the Bellport Garden Club
This year, the Garden Club gave themselves a Fourth of July challenge: Could
they offer a lunch as Green as their gardens? The answer is a resounding
“Yes!” Their bag lunch had less waste—No clamshell containers, Styrofoam,
plastic wrap, or plastic utensils. Here's the secret:
Made from at least 50% recycled fibers, they can be put in a paper recycling container when you’re done.
Old-fashioned wax bags
Made from unbleached fibers, these Natural Value Wax Paper Bags break down in the compost pile or landfill. The bags won't contaminate ground water and they're non-toxic if incinerated.
Deviled egg plates
Our Heavy Duty Dessert and Salad plates by Stalk Market are made from sugar cane bagasse (the fiber left after squeezing out the juice). Microwave and freezer safe, these compostable plates are oil, leak, and cut resistant—and non-toxic. How sweet!
Compostable cold cups
Clear plastic cups are now made from vegetables. In this case, from corn, rather than petroleum. Produced from a form of cornstarch, they are fully biodegradable and compostable.
Go here to find these items for your own picnics and barbecues:
www.greenfeet.com
www.greenhome.com
The Garden Club's Flower Show
The Bellport Garden Club held a Flower Show on Tuesday, June 9th, at St. James Parish Hall in Brookhaven. Below are photos of some of the entries. Click on any photo below to enlarge.
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| Entries In a Design Category |
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Gail Trujillo (award for most overall combined points in Horticulture and Design) and Laurie Fosmire (award for most overall points in Horticulture). |
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Winning Flower Show Arrangements |
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Michele DePalo's First
Place Table
Design ("Best in Show" in Design Category) |
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Gail Trujillo with her First Place Design Creation |
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Carol Chester's Table Design |
Annual Flower Box Planting In
Downtown Bellport
During the last weekend in May, the
Bellport Garden Club planted the flower boxes in Bellport Village.
Planting the flower boxes is an annual spring event by the Club and one
of the many ways they serve the community. Click on any photo
above to enlarge.
3rd Annual Memorial Day Plant
Sale
The
Bellport Garden Club's 3rd annual Memorial Day Plant Sale was a huge
success. They had garden gifts, wonderful annuals, perennials, vegetables,
trees- plants for all ages! All of the plants were from members' gardens and
all proceeds went towards planting trees in the village, planting window
boxes for some businesses, the Street Garden Recognition Program,
scholarship and outreach programs for students and seniors, and helping to
keep our roadsides clean and maintenance of special gardens in our area.
Click on the speaker to the left to see a
slideshow of photos from this year's Garden Club Plant Sale.
If you own a Mac instead of a PC,
click here to download the latest version
of Windows Media Player specifically for Mac users! This download is FREE!