GCFM members from around the state are invited to Open Garden Day for 2024 (yes, just one day this year!).  Two Cape Elizabeth gardens, owned by club members, will be open for you to browse and enjoy from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  As in past years, attendees should bring their own lunches and beverages, plus a chair.  Dress casually and appropriately for the weather and wear comfortable shoes/sneakers for walking.  There will be registration tables at both gardens where you will receive name badges and information about the day’s events.   Members may bring their non-member friends, but non-members need to accompany a member to attend.  There is a suggested donation of $10 for the day.  Both gardens are accessible to able bodied members, however, wheelchairs and wheeled walkers would be a problem and there are steep steps at points in the Zimmerman gardens.  There will be GCFM directional signs starting in the center of Cape Elizabeth (beginning at the town hall on Route 77).  Note that you may visit either garden first.

FEATURED GARDENS

Debbie and Jim Schulz reside at 4 Winding Way.  They are working to renovate their gardens by planting natives.  They are reducing their lawn and experimenting with native plants as foundation plantings as well.  Recently they added a couple of mini meadows, a native grass border, and a winter interest border with mostly native plants.  A small wildlife pond has also been added.  The couple does their own gardening and has a more casual approach to weeds and leaves.  They raise many of their native plants from seed and will be glad to show their seedlings.

Janie and Barry Zimmerman live at 4 Hunts Point Rd.  They also have a large lot, large house and garage, and have large gardens on both side borders of their lot.  The backyard has some gardens, but the ocean comes up to the lot edge, which cuts down on garden space, and the backyard is quite shady.  After attending a Cape Elizabeth Garden Club program on planting veggies in flower gardens, Janie wants to plant vegetables in their front gardens this year because that is the sunny side of their lot (you can see their progress!).

PROGRAMS FOR THE DAY

11 A.M..in the SCHULZ GARDEN
Andrew Tufts from Maine Audubon will present “Bringing Nature Home to Maine”.  Andrew is the Bringing Nature Home Manager at Maine Audubon, dedicated to restoring and rebuilding Maine’s natural biodiversity by growing, distributing and planting the native wildflowers, shrubs and trees that support the widest array of wildlife.  Originally from Topsham, Maine, Andrew has a deep
appreciation for the outdoors.  With a background in landscape architecture, he has diverse experience, from owning a gardening business to working in city planning and landscape design. Outside of work, Andrew enjoys travel, cycling and outdoor activities.  He currently resides in Portland, Maine, with his wife Anna and daughter Annika.  Andrew’s presentation should take about an hour.

1 P.M. in the ZIMMERMAN GARDEN
Following an hour’s lunch break, two GCFM members will use garden flowers and various containers to make floral arrangements that will be given away at the end of their program.  Sabrina Warner, a well-known flower arranger who is a St. Mary’s Garden Club member, will join Molly Foster, a National Garden Clubs Master Flower Show Judge and member of Camden Garden Club, and the two will discuss flowers – how to grow them, what to cut and what not to cut, how to arrange them, and so on.  Their presentation will also take about an hour and will include time for questions.

NOTE:  NO PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.  EVENT IS OPEN TO GCFM MEMBERS AND THEIR GUESTS ONLY.