Programs and Workshops for 2019-2020
Holiday Basket Craft Workshop
Date: Wed Aug 21, 2019
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: 7 Diamond Street, Norfook, MA
Following the “Go Native” annual plan from GCFM, our theme for the Holiday Baskets and Craft workshop will be making Pinecone Penguins and Twig Stars made from native trees. Join Helena and Michele Drolette at Emily Nicodemus’ house to make these decorations for the annual Holiday baskets to be distributed in December.
Please bring glue gun, glue, clippers, and scissors.
Biology of Seed Saving presented by Hannah Traggis, Senior Horticulturist, Massachusetts Horticultural Society
Date: Wed Sept 11, 2019
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Norfolk Library Community Room, 2 Liberty Lane, Norfolk, MA
Learn to save seed and understand the impact you can have on seed diversity. Hannah Traggis will present an introduction to the botany of plant reproduction and tips so you can successfully grow your own seed saving garden. Let’s help stock the library’s Seed Library for 2020!
Garden Therapy
Date: Mon Oct 7, 2019
Time: 2:00 -3:00 pm
Place: Maples Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, 90 Taunton Street, Wrentham, MA
Your Body in the Garden presented by Susan Guest
Date: Wed Oct 9, 2019
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Norfolk Library Community Room, 2 Liberty lane, Norfolk, MA
In our garden clubs, we learn about protecting our plants, protecting the pollinators, conservation, etc. This program takes time to focus on the health of our gardeners and the ergonomics of gardening.
This program provides strategies and information to gardeners, to increase awareness of how our body moves in the garden, and to be more aware of the many choices we have as we perform our garden tasks, from ergonomic tools to alternating activities.
Climate Change presented by Quentin Prideaux
Joint meeting with the Franklin Garden Club
Date: Tuesday, Nov 5, 2019
Time: 6:30 pm Social; 7:00 pm Program
Place: Franklin Senior Center, 10 Daniel McCahill Street, Franklin, MA
Come and learn about the causes and impacts of global warming, the actions you can take, and what it all means for Massachusetts and the Northeast. Then discuss the implications in a question-and-answer session.
Quentin’s talk will cover:
- Impacts and causes of climate change,
- The actions we need to take,
- What it means for Massachusetts and the Northeast,
- Why some have been confused about the science.
Although the subject is serious, Quentin keeps it positive and lighthearted where possible.
Green Gathering Party
Date: Sat Nov 30, 2018 (Snow Date – Sunday, December 1)
Meet at 1:00 pm at library parking lot before proceeding to assigned location.
Holiday Traditions in Boston ~ Author Talk by Tony Sammarco
Co-sponsored by the Norfolk Public Library
Date: Mon Dec 2, 2019
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Norfolk Library Community Room, 2 Liberty Lane, Norfolk, MA
Join us on the evening of December 2 as we officially kick off the holiday season with a visit from author Mr. Anthony Sammarco. He will be discussing his book, Christmas Traditions in Boston.
In his book, Anthony Sammarco outlines the celebration (or lack thereof) of Christmas in the first two centuries after the city was settled in 1630.
By the mid-19th century, the Christmas tree was introduced to Boston, followed shortly thereafter by colorful Christmas cards. During the next century, Boston would see caroling and hand bell ringing on Beacon Hill, a Nativity scene and other traditional New England displays on Boston Common and in the many department stores, including the once popular Enchanted Village of Saint Nicholas at Jordan Marsh, New England’s largest store.
Christmas Traditions in Boston revisits the memories of the past and brings together the shared tradition of how Bostonians celebrated the holiday season.
Garden Therapy – Postponed due to Snowstorm
Date: Mon Dec 3, 2018
Time: 2:00 – 3:00 pm
Place: Maples Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, 90 Taunton Street, Wrentham, MA
Holiday Baskets for the Norfolk Food Pantry Workshop
Date: Thurs Dec 5, 2019
Time: 6:30 pm
Place: Emmanuel Baptist Church, 63 Rockwood Road, Norfolk, MA 02056
Join our club members as we share in the joy of giving during the holidays. “Go Native!” will be our theme this year. Suggested items from members’ gardens are cones, pods, twigs, greens and grasses (natural or sprayed) collected from your garden along with the greens that are gathered from the area. Then we will add our special touches: handmade decorations, cookies, etc. The baskets will be distributed to families served by the Norfolk Food Pantry to wish them happy holidays from the Garden Club of Norfolk.
Annual Holiday Celebration
Date: Wed Dec 11, 2019
Time: 6:30 pm
Place: Norfolk Library Community Room, 2 Liberty Lane, Norfolk, MA
Members please join us in this festive annual celebration. Share the spirit of the holidays with gardening teammates and enjoy the surprises the season brings. As a special treat, Ella Brown will provide background harp music as we enjoy our dinner.
- It’s a pot luck dinner so bring your favorites to share with the club. The Hospitality Committee will provide dessert and beverages.
- If you wish to participate in the Gift Swap, please bring a garden-themed wrapped gift. ($10.00 max.)
- You are also invited to bring non-perishable food pantry items.
Meeting to plan 2020-21 Programs
Date: Wed Jan 8, 2020 (Snow Date: Wed, Jan 22, 2020)
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Norfolk Library Community Room, 2 Liberty Lane, Norfolk, MA
Please bring or send your ideas for presentations, workshops, field trips etc. you would like included next year. If you are unable to attend, please send ideas to
Michelle Noonan or Emily Nicodemus.
National Seed Swap Day: Seed Swap & Winter Seeding Workshop
Date: Sat Jan 25, 2020
Time: 1:00 – 3:00 pm
Place: Norfolk Library Community Room, 2 Liberty Lane, Norfolk, MA
Bring an empty milk or water jug and get a head start on your 2020 garden by making a mini greenhouse and starting some seeds. Bring seeds to swap or take some of ours or borow seeds from the Norfolk Public Library’s Seed Library.
We will have some great seeds to share. If you want to share, please bring seed packets or some seeds from your garden. Bags and markers will be provided for sharing seeds during the swap. There is no charge for this workshop.
Garden Therapy
Date: Mon Feb 10, 2020
Time: 2:00 – 3:00 pm
Place: Maples Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, 90 Taunton Street, Wrentham, MA
Native Plants presented by Suzanne Mahler
Date: Wed Feb 12, 2020
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Norfolk Library Community Room, 2 Liberty Lane, Norfolk, MA
Suzanne Mahler will share with us her knowledge of Native Plants. She has been sharing her passion for gardening for more than 30 years, having spoken at the Boston, Rhode Island, and New England Spring Flower Shows, Art in Bloom at the Museum of Fine Arts, the Environmental Protection Agency, and garden clubs and organizations throughout the New England area.
RESCHEDULED FOR NOV 18, 2020 ~ Plants Go to War: A Biological History of World War II presented by Judith Sumner
Joint Meeting with the Millis Garden Club
Date: Wed March 11, 2020
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Norfolk Library Community Room, 2 Liberty Lane, Norfolk, MA
We will look at military history from a botanical perspective, from Victory Gardens and agriculture to timber, rubber, coal, and cotton, the many plant products that supplied the military and the home front during a time of intense need and high demand. The talk will include a special look at medicinal plants, including their use in the Pacific War, the County Herb Committees in England, and the development of penicillin as a critical wartime drug. Join us for a unique view of World War II through a botanical lens. In short, we would not have won the war without plants!
RESCHEDULED ~ Cactus and Succulent Workshop presented by Lau Magner and Caroline Iacovello, Members of the Cactus and Succulent Society of MA (CSSMA.ORG)
Date: Wed Feb 10, 2021
Date: 6:30 pm
Place: Norfolk Library Community Room, 2 Liberty Lane, Norfolk, MA
During the first part of this workshop, participants will be introduced to the wonderful world of Cacti and Succulents, presented with some design considerations, and instructed on how to 
assemble their own container gardens, appropriately sized for tabletop or windowsill use. Then after a brief demo, each participant will receive everything they need to assemble their own beautiful container garden. At the end of the class, each participant will get to bring home their own tabletop garden, as well as printed instructions on proper cactus and succulent home care.
CANCELLED ~ Garden Therapy
Date: Mon May 4, 2020
Time: 2:00 – 3:00 pm
Place: Maples Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, 90 Taunton Street, Wrentham, MA
RESCHEDULED ~ Assembly of Table Arrangements for Norfolk’s 150th Birthday Celebration
Date: Sat Sept 26, 2020
Time: 9:00 am – noon
Place: Norfolk Library Lounge, 2 Liberty Lane, Norfolk, MA
This committee will create 34 floral decor for the 150th Anniversary Banquet Celebration for the Town of Norfolk.
CANCELLED ~ Annual Meeting & Kokedama Workshop presented by Lyn and Sam Benton
Date: Wed May 13, 2020
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Norfolk Library Community Room, 2 Liberty Lane, Norfolk, MA
Kokedama is a traditional Japanese garden art form, with origins believed to be a result of the bonsai craft. Kokedama literally translates as “moss ball” in English, with “koke” meaning moss and “dama” meaning ball. Ornamental plants are wrapped in a tight mixture of soil, clay and moss creating a beautiful, natural design that can even be hung. Join us in a workshop to create your very own Kokedama, which will include the materials, plants, and instruction on how to make and care for your own hanging garden.
CANCELLED ~ Annual Plant and Bake Sale
Nia Tzelias-Davis, Sharon Pierce and Leslie Lincoln (Co-chairmen)
Committee Members: Everyone
Date: Sat May 16, 2020
Time: 9:00 am – Noon
Place: Town Hill and Gazebo
Installation of Officers, Potluck Dinner & Plant Swap
Date: Wed June 10, 2020
Time: 6:30 pm
Place: Home of Joanne Wason, 4 Hoover Road, Norfolk, MA
Join us for a social evening recapping the year and installing new officers and board. The dinner is a potluck, so bring your favorite appetizer, salad or light main dish. The hospitality committee will supply dessert, beverages and paper goods.
We will also have a swap of plants with a cap of $10 per item if it is purchased.
RESCHEDULED – Tour of the Gardens at Elm Bank
Date: Wed June 9, 2021
Time: 6:15 pm – Leave from library parking lot to carpool to Wellesley; 7:00 pm – Tour starts
Place: 900 Washington Street (Route 16), Wellesley, MA 02482
Join Mass Hort’s horticultural team for a guided tour of The Gardens at Elm Bank. Explore unique specimens, while learning the history of our organization and the gardens upbringing. Hear what our horticulturalists have to say about the gardens current flora as well as what they have planned for future instalments.”
Open Board Meetings
All meetings are at 7:00 pm in the Norfolk Public Library Lounge, 2 Liberty Lane
Mon Aug 19, 2019
Mon Sept 30, 2019
Wed Oct 28, 2019
Mon Nov 25, 2019
Wed Jan 8, 2020
Mon Feb 24, 2020
Mon Mar 30, 2020 – online via zoom
Mon Apr 27, 2020 – online via zoom
RESCHEDULED to Wed June 3, 2020 via Zoom
The Garden Club of Norfolk, Inc. 