Monthly Meetings
1st Wednesday of every month
Unless otherwise noted, meetings are held at the Dennis Union Church at 713 Main St., Dennis, MA. at 12 noon, followed by a business meeting at 12:30 pm. These are FUN and informative social events. Members enjoy networking, club project discussions, guest speakers on various topics, horticultural discussions and more. All regular members are required to attend a minimum of four meetings. Associate members must attend a minimum of 3 meetings. The following is the 2024-25 meeting schedule.
September 4, 2024 – General Meeting - Noon
Speaker: Gail Conner - Monarch Butterflies
Gail will share interesting facts about the Migration and Life Cycle of the monarchs and to teach us how WE can help to increase their population here in our community. Gail Conner is an active member of the Plymouth Garden Club, Beekeeper, and Pollinator Advocate. She has been raising and teaching about the monarch butterflies for over 20 years now and maintains a registered Monarch Way Station pollinator garden in her yard as well as 3 beehives.
October 2, 2024 – General Meeting - Noon
Speaker: Kim Snyder - Birds and Climate Change
Birds are wonderful in many ways including their ability to act as "canaries in a coalmine" when we measure the complications of climate change. Mass Audubon’s previous research indicates 30% of our breeding birds are already declining and are in need of conservation action. Climate change will increase stress on many of those species, as well as additional species, and will do so in both predicted and unpredicted ways. We will highlight some of those efforts and celebrate progress as stewards to the remarkable resilient world of birds.
November 6, 2024 - General Meeting - Noon
Speaker: Karen Pinard - Ikebana
Karen will introduce us to Ikebana, also known as kadō, the traditional Japanese art of floral design. Ikebana uses lines, color, mass, form, movement, space, shape, balance, and a rich tradition of Japanese culture, religion, and symbolism to capture the perfect imperfection of nature and human emotion in floral design.
December 3, 2024 - Wreath Decorating - 9:00 AM Members Only
December 4, 2024 – Holiday Luncheon - Alberto's Restaurant - Members Only
January 8, 2025 - General Meeting - Noon
Speaker: Judith Holt - Green Consultant - Sustainability
Judith has analyzed 58 of the Mass Audubon bird sanctuaries, created and carried out a sustainability strategic plan for Heritage Museums and Gardens, and worked with many churches across Cape Cod to help them become more energy efficient and deploy solar. She writes a column for the Capenews.net/Enterprise system on Cape Cod and won an award for Environmental Writing from the New England Associated Press for a news column. Her work has been published in the Boston Design magazine, the Boston Globe, and Cape Cod Homes. She is passionate about climate change, she is a thought leader and dynamic project manager, and she does not comprehend the word retirement.
February 5, 2025 - General Meeting - Noon
No Speaker - Horticulture Activity with club members
March 5, 2025 - General Meeting - Noon
Speaker: Debbie Anderson - Vertical Gardening
Debbie Anderson is a Lifetime Master Gardener. While interested in all aspects of horticulture, she has a particular enthusiasm for both the practical and creative aspects of vertical gardening. Her vertical pallet garden project was included in a 2015 interview for PrimeTime Magazine. Debbie lives on Cape Cod and finds renewal in ‘having her hands in the soil and the sun on her shoulders.” When not in the garden, she can be found baking or writing poetry while enjoying a cup of hot tea. The main advantage of vertical gardening is that it only requires a small garden footprint. If you have a bit of sun, you have options. Plants can be grown in the ground or in containers, depending on the technique. Whether your interest is in edible crops or ornamentals, there are great, inexpensive ways to get into growing vertically, including repurposing fun and interesting objects. So, let’s get ready to “Gro Up!”
April 2, 2025 - General Meeting - Noon
Speaker: Maria Chieppo - Kick the Plastic Pot Habit
Maria creates spaces for wildlife to live and people to enjoy. The use of plastics in the horticulture industry and in our gardens is a problem with long-term consequences. Can we break our dependence on plastic to make our gardens more sustainable? Maria will address these issues.
May 6, 2025 (Tuesday) - Joint Meeting - with Harwich Garden Club
Speaker: C.L Fornari - Postcards from Plants
C.L. Fornari is an artist, writer and speaker who knows from experience that life takes you down roads you never intended to walk. She has always loved plants and gardens, but early in life all she wanted to do is to ‘go into the studio and make stuff.” In the mid 1990’s she was asked to write a book about gardening, and she thought, “when opportunity knocks, you’d better open the door.” Eight books later, C.L. is host of GradenLine, a live call-in radio program heard on WXTK since 2002, and is a frequent speaker to groups nationwide. C.L. grows vegetables, flowers and numerous other plants at Poison Ivy Acres on Cape Cod.
June 4, 2025 - ANNUAL MEETING & LUNCHEON, Place: Lighthouse Inn, West Dennis – Members Only
Board Meetings
Unless otherwise stated, all Board Meetings will begin at 9:30AM
on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at Dennis Memorial Library on Old Bass River Rd in Dennis Village.
August 21, 2024
September 18, 2024
October 16, 2024
November 20, 2024
December 18, 2024
January 15, 2025
February 19, 2025
March 19, 2025
April 16, 2025
May 21, 2025
August 20, 2025
Design Workshops
Floral design workshops will be conducted by experienced designers
who will lead these informative sessions using plant materials and flowers to create a pleasing and balanced composition.
September 19, 2024 - 9:30AM - Noon
February 27, 2025 - 9:30AM - Noon
Upcoming Special Events
2024-2025
VGC Annual Plant Sale
May 17, 2025
9AM - Noon
Native Plants, Vegetables, Herbs and Garden Treasures
Dennis Village Green
Rt 6A, Dennis, MA