Special Projects



Waterwise Gardening Project

The Acton Garden Club and the Acton Water District jointly developed the Waterwise Gardening Program to help residents become aware of our need to conserve water by encouraging waterwise landscaping. Our award-winning program helps educate and encourage the community to use the following techniques: minimal watering, use of mulch, amending the soil to retain water, the creation of drought-tolerant lawns and plantings, reduced lawn areas, water-conserving irrigation, and water collection devices.
From time to time, speakers are scheduled to increase under-standing of waterwise principles and techniques. With the Acton Water District, we have designed an eight-page color/glossy booklet entitled ‘Using Water Wisely: A Guide to Conserving Water in Acton, Massachusetts.’ It is part of our material to promote drought-tolerant planting and water conservation. In addition, we are exploring global warming and its impact on waterwise gardening.
The Acton Garden Club supports using water wisely and promotes drought-tolerant plants that are indigenous to the New England area. For our annual plant sale, we use our waterwise logo on plant identification markers to indicate plants that are drought-tolerant.
The Acton Garden Club and the Acton Water District jointly developed the Waterwise Gardening Program to help residents become aware of our need to conserve water by encouraging waterwise landscaping.


2009 Oktoberfest

The Acton Garden Club sold daffodil bulbs at Oktoberfest 2009, as it has for the past several years. This year’s selection was Actaea, which has sweetly scented, snow-white flowers with broadly overlapping petals and a flat eye of yellow with bright red rim. Actaea is one of the last daffodils to flower and one of the best for naturalizing.
Due to rain on the originally scheduled date, Oktoberfest 2009, took place on October 10, a week later. This is the first time there was a rain date for the festival. We ordered 700 bulbs, a big increase from the 500 that we have ordered in the past and sold them, as in the past, in bags of 10. Our plan was to sell whatever bulbs were left after Oktoberfest at our general meeting the following Tuesday. But because Oktoberfest was delayed a week due to rain, we sold bulbs at the general meeting first, and then sold the remaining bulbs at Oktoberfest.


Acton Area Looks Good

The Acton Garden Club feels that it is important to reach out in the community and recognize local businesses in Acton that have made exemplary efforts to beautify and maintain their properties. During the summer months, members of the committee serve as judges and evaluate landscape designs of local businesses. There is a set of criteria by which each property is judged. Criteria include color, texture, scale, and maintenance. The businesses are evaluated in one of several categories: single retail, plaza, multiple occupant retail, professional business, new business, most improved or continued excellence. The winners receive awards at the September meeting.



Because of the prevalence of deer in the Acton area, we have started a program to educate the public on the problems of deer tick infestation and Lyme Disease. There was an information table at the Plant Sale in May to promote public awareness. There have been 2 public forums, one a showing of the documentary award Special Projectswinning film ‘Under Our Skin’ with more to follow in conjunction with the Health Dept. Check out our website at www.actongardenclub.org for more information.



Art in Bloom

in Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts’ prestigious ‘Art in Bloom.’ This is a spring festival of art and flowers during which garden clubs from all over New England are invited to create floral interpretations of works of art which have been chosen by the MFA Associates.
This year Thelma Shoneman, assisted by Susanne Fuller, interpreted a painting, ‘Reclining Nude,’ by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Special Projectswho was the founder of the powerful artistic style now known as German Expressionism, 1909. To express this painting in the modern gallery, a colorful and textural palette of roses, anemones, ranunculus, crispy wave fern, flax, galax, ti, and leucadendron was selected and organized in the contemporary modern mass style. Approximate members participating



National Garden Week

The Acton Garden Club, in association with National Garden Clubs, Inc., celebrates National Garden Week the first full week of June by presenting a display at the Acton Memorial Library.
Linda Chance and Joan Yatteau created a display illustrating opportunities to learn more about outstanding garden plants, sustainable gardening, and growing green. Library patrons were encouraged to ‘Visit’ the wonderful public gardens in Acton such as the Wildflower and Daffodil Run gardens at Meeting House Hill and the Herb Garden at the Acton Arboretum to ‘Learn’ and ‘Read’ about the beauty of locally grown flowers, trees and shrubs, through horticultural and educational exhibits at Club flower shows.
The display also encouraged people to ‘Grow Green’ with smaller lawns, native and drought tolerant plants from organizations such as the New England Wild Flower Society’s Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass., UMass Extension links and other resources.




Acton Memorial Library Holiday Mini-Fair

In early December, the Acton Garden Club participated once again in the Holiday Mini-Fair sponsored by the Acton Memorial Library. At the fair, the Club presented a lovely table of holiday greens decorations made by members of the Club to be raffled off as a Club fund-raiser. Raffle tickets were sold both to Club members and the public.
Dia Chigas created a beautiful dried blue hydrangea blossom wreath.
Maureen Christmas designed a lovely greens and floral table centerpiece in which the flowers could be changed to continue through the month of December.
Karen Maines combined silk and live greens in a wonderful swag with burgundy and gold ribbon and ornaments.
At the fair, Club members sold raffle tickets and handed out brochures promoting the activities of the Acton Garden Club. The table was a feast for the eyes, and many people stopped by. It was a great opportunity for library patrons to learn about the Club and its programs.


Flora in Winter
Flora in Winter Event
at Worcester Art Museum

‘Flora in Winter’ is the combined effort of the Worcester Art Museum and the Tower Hill Botanic Garden – the home of the Worcester County Horticultural Society. It is an annual event with about twenty-five floral designers interpreting pieces of art at the museum and more than twenty designers interpreting a different theme each year at the Tower Hill location.
At the Museum, Thelma Shoneman interpreted a ceramic Model of Granary in the Chinese Gallery using all green plant material. Thelma was also invited to participate in the Demonstrative Interpretive Challenge demonstration in the Renaissance Court. The theme of the Show at Tower Hill was ‘Earth’s Gifts.’ Laura Lindop interpreted the gifts of ‘Light,’ morning light to twilight using an expressive color palette. Joan Yatteau and assistants, Sue Whitcomb and Gena Manalan, chose the gift of ‘Water,’ a gift more precious than gold in the Asian culture. The beautiful design was done in the oriental manner.

Propagating Daylilies

For many years the Club has benefited from the generous donation of hybrid daylilies from Fred Knippel for our annual Plant Sale. At his suggestion, we have begun a process of growing a supply of some of the beautiful plants he has donated in the past so that we will have them for future Plant Sales. Many of these plants will live in gardens that the club maintains until they have multiplied enough to be divided for sale.

Wildflower Retrieval

Working with the Town Conservation Commission, the Acton Garden Club is available to assist in a program to help retrieve wildflowers on property slated for development.

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