Programs the garden club has provided to Arlington over the decades. Note: annual repeatable items such as our continuing projects, annual meetings, many flower arrangement workshops and subsequent flower shows, open gardens, regional meetings, fundraisers, or holiday events have been largely omitted, due to space. This list focuses on the unique educational programs of the Arlington Garden Club. Radio Programs and Junior Gardener Programs have been included when recorded (some programs guides have been lost to time).
1952
April 15 - Foundation Planting, Doorways
May 20 - Food and Lodging for the Birds
June 17 - Compost Making
July 15 - Principles of Flower Arrangements
September 16 - Herbs and How to Use Them
December 16 - Christmas Decorations
1955
April 19 - Film, “The Story of Modern Roses”
May 17 - Bird and Flower Walk
July 19 - Field trip to Berkshire Garden Center at Stockbridge, MA
August 16 - Church Flower Arrangements
September 20 - Bringing the Garden Indoors
1956
April 17 - Slides/lecture: “All About Birds”
May 22 - Fern and Wildflower Walk
July 16-20 - Vermont State Garden Pilgrimage
July 24 - Landscape Design
September 18 - Demonstration of Dried Materials/Uses in Winter Bouquets
1957
March 20 - Continuous Bloom in Your Garden
April 23 - “Turn to the Right, Flowers and Services” (film)
May 21 - Meet the Rose Family
June 18 - Bird and Wildflower Walk, (including breakfast)
August 20 - How to Catch the Judge’s Eye
August 27 - Our Bird Friends
September 10 - Lilies
September 17 - Gardens at Home and Abroad
December 10 - Decorating for Christmas
1958
Radio Programs: Flower Shows and Why, Our Elm Trees, Iris – Poor Man’s Orchid, A Fern Walk, Native and Cultivated Shrubs of Vermont, Beautifying Main Street, The Outdoor Living Room, Dahlias and Other Summer Tubers, Gardening for the Juniors, Winter Care of Houseplants
March 18 - Chemicals, Our Daily Poison
April 15 - The Fun of Growing Annuals
May 20 - Let’s Take a Walk, Birds and Shrub Study
June 17 - Arranging for the American Home
September 16 - Shrubs and Their Culture
December 9 - Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly
1959
Radio Programs: Nature Creates the Wildflower, Adding Annuals and Perennials to Your Garden, Tiny Gardens for Window Boxes, The Art of Pruning Shrubs and Trees, Drying Flowers for Winter Bouquets, The Invitation to Walk in Neighbors’ Gardens, Vermont Publications Offer Valuable Information, Making Your Home Attractive to Birds, Preparing the Garden for Winter Sleep, Now Is the Time to Plant for Spring Blooming
March 17 - Bringing Spring into Your Home, Forcing Bulbs
April 21 - Knowing the Native Birds
May 19 - By a Babbling Brook, A Study of Shrubs and Birds
June 23 - Houseplants
July 21 - Open Meeting, Flowers In Your Antiques
August 18 - Flower Show Judge, Teacher Not Critic
September 15 - Open Meeting, Development of Any Site for Beauty
December 8 - Holiday Arrangements
1960
Radio Programs: Do Keep a Bird Guestbook, If I Were Starting a Garden, Flowers and Services Inc., Keeping Vermont Beautiful, Make Your House Welcome with Flowers, Mrs. Gardener and Mrs. Birdwatcher Go Camping, Our Bog, Fun with Herbs, Goodbye to Summer Glory, How I Water in Winter
March 11 - Ecology, a Quick Look
April 19 - Your Desirable Perennials
May 17 - Over the Hills and Far Away, Birds and Wildflowers
June 21 - Open Meeting, Table Setting, Seasoned to Taste
September 20 - The Amazing Lily
December 6 - Christmas Arrangements
1961
Radio Programs: A Look into New Garden Books, Good Eating from Your Own Backyard, Organic Gardening, Sensible Billboard Regulation, It’s Not Too Soon to Start a Winter Bouquet, Insects: Friends and Foe, Landscaping for Outdoor Living, Herbs Then and Now, Opening the Eyes of a Child to Nature, A Beauty Spot in a Cemetery, Know Your Native Shrubs, Plant Now for Spring Color, The Fun of Feeding Winter Birds
March 21 - Growing for Showing
April 18 - The Tale of the Tulip
May 23 - A Nature Walk
June 20 - Open Meeting, Vermont Water Control/Effects on Battenkill Valley
July 25 - Open Meeting, Arranging for Showing
August 22 - What My Herb Garden Means to Me and an Herb Tea
December 5 - Holiday Splendor, Christmas Trees, Christmas Tables
1962
Radio Programs: The Taming of Wildflowers, Wildflowers Growing Around Us, My Pale Green Thumb, Gardens on the Rocks, Our Feathered Friends, Roses, A Decorator’s Garden, An Old-fashioned Garden, Those with Glass Houses, Naturalizing Daffodils, Trees in Your Community, The Fascination of Orchids, African Violets
March 20 - Greenhouse Practices/Pleasures of Small Greenhouses
April 17 - The World of Flowers, An Illustrated Lecture by Mrs. Frank Churchhill, (photographer who specializes in close-ups of wildflowers)
May 15 - Over the River and Through the Woods, A Nature Walk
June 19 - House Tour, Lady Gosford Opens Topping Tavern
July 31 - Pre-flower Show Demonstration
September 18 - Open Meeting, Saving Our Trees, (Horticulture Magazine: progress of control of tree diseases; suitable shade trees for replacement)
December 4 - Christmas at Spring Hill
1963
Radio Programs: Anyone Can Grow Roses in Vermont, A Gardener’s Bookshelf, My Pale Green Thumb, Photographing Wildflowers in Bennington County, Landscaping Our Most Precious Plot, A Gardener’s Look at the Soil, Old Flower Books, How Do I Identify Area Birds, Feeding the Birds Year Round, Vines, Edible Mushrooms, Putting the Garden to Bed, Nature Study at Kurn Hattin
April 16 - Geology in Relation to Soils
May 21 - A Bird Walk, Breakfast
June 18 - Open Meeting, Bees, Their Products and Their Value to Man
July 16 - Unusual Plants for This Area
August 20 - The Floral Theme in Early American Decoration
September 17 - Behind the Scenes with the Judges
December 10 - Christmas Decorations à la mode
1964
March 17 - It’s Time to Get Growing
April 21 - Trees Versus Progress
May 19 - Breakfast, Showing of Edward Brundage’s Bird Paintings
June 16 - The Japanese Tea Ceremony
December 8 - Musical Christmas Party, (Bennington College cello quartet)
1965
March 16 - Wildflowers and Conservation
April 20 - A Succession of Blooms in an Arlington Garden
May 18 - Bog and Bird Watch
June 15 - Open Meeting, The Wise Use of our Natural Heritage
June 20 - Flower Arrangements for the Home
August 17 - Entertaining Houses, A House and Garden Tour
September 21 - Arrangements by Amateurs
December 7 - Greens at the Grange, Christmas Wreaths and Trimmings
1966
April 19 - Open Meeting and Baked Bean Supper, Civic Beautification
and Conservation of Open Spaces
May 17 - Attracting and Feeding Birds
June 21 - Everything‘s Coming up Roses
July 19 - Competitive Arrangements
August 16 - Choosing and Preparing Flowers; Dried Arrangements
September 20 - Mushrooms
November 15 - Thanksgiving Table Arrangements
December 6 - (slides): Christmas Trees/A Taste of Christmas Literature
1967
April 18 - Thoughts for Our Gardens
May 16 - “Yours for a Song” and “The Gooney Bird”, (colored bird films)
June 20 - Pilgrimage to Mrs. Robert Brogdale’s Wildflower Garden and Woodland Trails, Springfield, VT
July 18 - Member Participation Meeting, Show Your Ingenuity (arrangements of flowers, fruit, or foliage in a container not intended for that purpose; prizes)
August 17 - Decorating with Houseplants
September 19 - Flowers, Fruit and Foliage
October 17 - Soil and Water Conservation in Community Planning
November 14 - Garden Books in the Library
December 5 - Annual Meeting, (members bring gifts wrapped lunches, prizes awarded for appropriateness and originality, carol singing by all)
1968
April 16 - Soil Preparation and Planting for Continuous Bloom
May 21 - Bird and Nature Walk
June 18 - “Nature Scrap Book”, (film and talk by Mr. Percy Fellows)
September 17 - Bulbs for Vermont Gardens
October 15 - Planning for the Future of Arlington
November 19 - Thanksgiving Table/Using Fresh, Dried, or Artificial Material
Arlington Junior Garden Club
(Litter Pick-up Day)
(Pilgrimage to Mrs. Robert Brogdale’s Gardens)
(Essay Contest, topic: Vermont Trees)
1969
April 15 - Waking Your Garden in Spring
May 20 - Nature Walk, Breakfast, Slides, (roll call response: favorite bird)
June 18 - Field Trip: Berkshire Gardens, Stockbridge Massachusetts
July 15 - Herbs for Flavor, Fragrance, Fun, (roll call: favorite perennial)
August 19 - Workshops: 1 Working with Wildflowers, 2 Planning Ahead for Winter Beauty, 3 Flower Arranging for Beginners
August 14 - Arlington Street Fair, (flower table)
September 16 - World Gardening, (roll call response: favorite tree)
October 21 - Living with Houseplants, (roll call: favorite house plant)
November 18 - Open Meeting, Land Use in Vermont, (slides by Duncan Campbell, Vermont Natural Resources Council; question/answer with selectmen)
December 9 - Workshop: Christmas Wreaths, (lunch, roll call response: favorite program of the year. Each member please bring a gift and separate wrappings for residence of Brandon Training School)
Arlington Junior Garden Club
May (anti-litter day, help with plantings at the Remember Baker Memorial, War Memorial and Memorial Field, and Churchyard Wall)
June (Junior Essay Awards)
July (Field Trip and Fish and Game Conservation Camp)
August (Street Fair, assist at flower table)
September (Guests at World Gardening Program)
October (Bulb Planting)
December (Christmas Workshop)