News

In the Belly of Winter

In the Belly of Winter

Since 2023, Imbolc, or St. Brigid’s Day, has been celebrated on the first Monday in February as a national holiday in Ireland. One of the four ancient Celtic seasonal holidays (the others being Beltane on May 1, Lughnasadh on August 1, and Samhain on November 1), Imbolc is thought optimistically to mark the first day of spring. Were the holiday celebrated in Maine, we would probably hew closer to simply acknowledging the fact that it is the approximate midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Yes, dear reader, it is true: Another winter is halfway over. When you…

Words to Garden By

Words to Garden By

Contributed by Carol Herwig, TWiG committee chair Henry Mitchell was the garden columnist for The Washington Post, appearing weekly in thefeature section for more than 25 years. He must shoulder some of the blame for my interest in gardens and plants and trees, although he was more of a azalea man than an oak fan.He wrote about the right way to dig an iris bed, about how to adorn the fence between yourand your neighbor’s yard, about how to plant a clematis (dig deep, spread the roots and waitthree years).His columns were collected in a series of books – my…

TWIG25

Wales Park Patch Forest

Members of the TWiG committee, led by the indefatigable Carol Herwig, have been busy this autumn clearing brush in the designated patch forest area of Wales Park. Culling over a thousand Norway maple seedlings by hand, girdling larger volunteer trees, and trimming low-growing and damaged branches on other trees kept the committee busy after meetings, but the work couldn’t have been completed without the help of Belfast Area High School students who volunteered time and labor as part of their hands-on learning in an environmental studies class. Park visitors will enjoy a safer landscape in the area where trees have…

Allison Beards Elected Honorary Member

Allison Beards was nominated and unanimously voted by the BGC board to be given an honorary membership in recognition of her 26 years of leadership, hard work and dedication to the mission of the Belfast Garden Club. Allison has provided detailed, contextual information to the Executive Board and membership on a range of issues.  Her contribution and longstanding perspective to the club is highly respected and valued by the whole membership.   Allison joined the Belfast Garden Club in 1998 and has held a number of positions, including Vice President, Corresponding Secretary, account co-manager of BGC FaceBook page, Book Donations,…