Bloom Day North - December

Despite the vicious winter storms raging in other parts of the country, the Chester area remains unscathed. For now! We are, nevertheless, a little short on outdoor floral exhibits except for Christmas wreaths and other evergreen boughs adorning decks and houses. The single photo submitted for December 15th (Bloom Day North) came in from regular contributor, Sandy.

The display above comprises several Calluna vulgaris "Blazeaway" plants that are backed up by a golden cedar and some redwood branches. Although this photo doesn't show it, the lawns in our area are still quite green and, in some gardens, the first green shoots of crocus bulbs are pushing up above ground. Those poor shoots are in for a shock when the season actually kicks into gear.

Christmas Revels

Getting a head-start to the season, members of the Chester Garden Club held a pre-Christmas pot-luck party on December 4th. With spouses and friends included, the event drew about 40 revelers to a hospitable house in Chester, where wine and nibbles helped to "make the season bright."


Latecomers were in awe of the deft handling of a corkscrew and the skill exhibited by one of the party-goers as he uncorked many bottles of wine in the kitchen.

By then, most of the other guests had already made their way into the dining room, where the table was laden with delicious treats, hot and cold. Chester cooks rule!

Conversations kept the rooms abuzz as members and guests wandered through a series of sitting rooms, finding a comfy chair to sink into or a fire to cosy up to, or drinking a toast to the festive season.

The gathering was a lovely finish to the Club's activities for the year and a preview of the enthusiasm and energy that will be required of the members in the new year when the Club will be a co-host of the 2011 NSAGC Convention on June 3rd to 5th.

The program for the convention can be found by clicking on the link to the right side of this blog. See NSAGC Convention under "Events". The actual registration form precedes the program, and it should be noted that information on registering for two garden tours has been added since the form was posted last month. We will continue to post new information concerning the Convention as it becomes available.