Past Events
2023
Out of Our Gardens: Heirloom Series Herbs!
Tour herbalist Pat Bramley’s Buck Mountain Herbs and enjoy an herbal iced tea how-to.
Herbs for sale. No fee. Space limited. Saturday, July 8th, 3-4:30pm
X Collab: Cornwall Library Summer Camp
Village garden tour for campers aged 6-10 years old. Vegetables and flowers.
Inquire with Cornwall Library on info for summer programs.
Friday, July 21st.
Sowing Circle: A Garden Habitat on the Housatonic
Join Dee Salomon to see the multitude of garden and woodland delights on her property.
Space limited. Sunday, July 23rd, 11am-12:30pm
Sowing Circle: The World of the Sunken Garden
Join Susie Lily Ott to explore her wonderful old school garden with ancient stone walls and heirloom plantings.
Space limited. Sunday, July 30th, 11am-12:30pm
Out of Our Gardens: Heirloom Series Jam!
Long-time jam maker Ann Gold provides expert instruction in this special workshop. Ann’s kitchen.
Space limited. Saturday, August 19th, 10am-12pm.
Out of Our Gardens: Heirloom Series Pickles!
Join Dave Cowen making pickles at the UC Parish kitchen.
Space limited. Sunday, August 27th, 3-4:30pm
Under the Green Tent at the Cornwall AG Fair
Visit the CGC at the Fair for flower pressing, compost info and natural gardening advice.
Cornwall Village Green. Saturday, September 9th, 10am-1pm.
3rd Annual CGC Garden Party
Swap seeds, stories and books with fellow Cornwallians.
Potluck. Rain or shine. Cream Hill Lake Association. Saturday, September 16th, 12-1:30pm.
1,000 Bulb Community Planting Project
Join us as we beautify the grounds of Cornwall Town Hall.
Free event. Bring a trowel. Hot cider and donuts. Saturday, October 14th, 9:30am -12pm
Earth Day Event: The Great Big Day of Composting
Hosted by The Cornwall Garden Club, The Cornwall Conservation Commission, and The Cornwall Conservation Trust, Inc. Expert panel moderated by broadcast journalist Richard Schlesinger, demonstration, and Village compost tour.
Cornwall Library, Saturday, April 22nd. 3 pm – 5 pm.
The RSVP is closed for the Compost Panel as the event is full and we must abide by the Fire Marshall’s indoor capacity settings for the library. Please feel free to join us at about 4:10 outside of the library for a compost demonstration followed by a village compost site stroll.
Thank you to our co sponsors: Sharon Energy and Environment Commission and Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy.
Panel Speakers:
Dr. Jane Lucas, a scientist at Cary Institute of Ecosystem studies, researches microbial communities, which exist in nearly every environment and play a key role in nutrient cycling. These tiny and abundant microorganisms help fertilize plants and recycle organic debris, with important implications for agriculture and ecosystem health. Lucas is working to uncover the hidden complexity of microbial life, primarily in soils, from tropical forests to farmlands around the world. Before coming to Cary, Lucas completed a USDA Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Idaho. She received her PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Lucas also specializes in understanding the scientific processes behind composting. She has experience working with a variety of composting methods, and is working with individuals across the Hudson Valley to help them successfully start and manage their compost.
Barbara Bettigole is Chair of the Salisbury/Sharon Transfer Station Recycling Advisory Committee (TRAC), where she has worked to launch a successful food waste program involving over 400 households. As a teacher at Dutchess Day School, Bettigole led the faculty Sustainability Team which worked with parents to build a four-bin composting system for the school’s kitchen. Barbara also incorporated composting into the school’s fourth-grade curriculum. A graduate of Yale University, Barbara has a Master Composting Certificate from the University of Connecticut, where she studied backyard composting, wind-row composting, vermicomposting, and anaerobic digestion. As a Master Composter, Barbara has presented Backyard Composting talks to classrooms, town halls, and farmers markets and has offered advice, lessons learned, and brochure templates to towns interested in launching a municipal composting system.
Michael Nadeau is one of the leading authorities in the field of sustainable organic and ethical land care strategies in the United States. He received an MS in Plant and Soil Science from the University of Maine and is sought after for creating attractive sustainable and restorative environments using organic practices that respect the ecology of the property. He is a co-founder of CT NOFA’s (Northeast Organic Farming Association) Organic Land Care program, which has educated and accredited nearly 4,000 land care professionals since its inception in 2001. In 1999, Michael helped write the NOFA Standards for Organic Land Care. Michael teaches courses within the program, lectures throughout the northeast region about organic land care and restorative practices, and offers a variety of organic land care and environmental restoration consulting services.
Ted Larson Born and raised in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Ted Larson graduated from Wamogo High School and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Park Management from Unity College, Unity Maine. Upon graduation 1989, Larson moved to Cornwall, Connecticut. Ted has always been interested in the environment and sustainability and his knowledge has been put to good use in his current role as Manager of the Cornwall Transfer Station. Ted is also Captain of the Cornwall Volunteer Fire Department and serves on Cornwall’s Agriculture Advisory Commission.
Gardener’s Adventure: Robin Hill Estate
Join head gardener, James McGrath, for a private tour of British landscape designer Dan Pearson’s extraordinary work.
Norfolk, CT. Space limited. $15 donation. Thursday, May 11th, 3:30-5:30pm.
Books & Blooms 3rd Annual Cut Flower Sale
Collect and donate fresh cut bouquets to benefit CGC’s 1,000 Bulb Planting. Volunteer to help the sale.
Front lawn of the Cornwall Public Library. Saturday, June 17th, 10am- 12:00pm
Gardener’s Lab: Jeb Breece Meadow Talk
Explore how to establish native wildflowers and grasses in your meadow.
Salisbury, CT. Space is limited. Saturday, June 24th, 3-4:30pm
Gardener’s Adventure: Hollister House
Special, private tour of renowned gardens with George Schoellkopf. Bring a bag lunch!
Space limited. $15 donation at door. Washington, CT. Friday, June 30th, 11am – 1pm
2022
Gardener Workshops—Under the Green Tent at the Cornwall Ag Fair!
Saturday, September 10, 10:00 A.M. – lunchtime
Visit the CGC table at the Fair for a kid’s craft workshop and info on natural gardening initiatives.
No fee, and no registration required!
2nd Annual End of Season Garden Party
Saturday, September 17, Noon – 1:30 P.M.
Seed swap and potluck lunch. Cream Hill Lake Association. No fee. Rain or shine.
X-Collab with Cornwall Library—Community Bulb Planting
Saturday, October 15, 10:00 A.M. – Noon
Join neighbors to plant bulbs in front of the Library. Bulbs provided. No fee. Bring a trowel or small shovel if you can. Hot cider and donuts.
Gardener’s Adventure—Tiny Hearts Flower Farm, Copake NY
POSTPONED from Thu, May 12 — TBD
Field walk, barn talk on dahlias & poppies at the Tiny Hearts Flower Farm in Copake, NY. A joint event with The Millbrook Garden Club. Limit 20, Fee $25 payable at door. Rain date, Thursday, May 19.
Gardener’s Adventure—Cornwall Village Vegetable Garden Stroll
Saturday, July 30, 4:00 P.M. – 5:30 P.M.
Self-guided tour with walking map. See neighbors’ raised beds, rustic potagers and productive plots. Cool beverage under the Hubbard grape arbor at 5:00 p.m.
Gardener’s Adventure—Naumkeag, Stockbridge, MA
Thursday, July 7, 11:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M.
Fletcher Steele garden tour and bag lunch. Limit 20, Fee at Door. Rain date July 14.
Gardener’s Workshop—Buck Mountain Farm
CANCELLED: Please stay tuned for updated information
Join Pat Bramley, owner of Buck Mountain Herbs, for an herbal garden tour, craft workshop and herbal themed lunch. Limit 12, fee $25. Rain Date June 30. RSVP to stay updated
X-Collab with Cornwall Library—Books and Blooms 2nd annual Cut Flower sale
Saturday, June 18, 9:00 A.M. – 11:00 AM
Enjoy fresh cut buds of spring artfully designed by neighbors, Purchase fresh cut buds of spring artfully arranged by fellow gardeners. Flower-arrangement donations of any size welcome prior to the sale. Front Lawn, Cornwall Library. Pennies to purchase.
Gardener’s Adventure—Earth Tones Nursery and Glebe House, Woodbury, CT
Thursday, June 2, 11:00 A.M. – 2:00 P.M.
Talk/Shop/Private tour
Nursery talk/shop at Earth Tones followed by Gertrude Jekyll garden tour and bag lunch @ Glebe House. Earth Tones, no fee; Glebe House, Limit 18, fee $10. Rain date June 9th.
Our first Gardners’ Gab at Frank’s
Our first Gardeners’ Gab on Sunday, May 29th at Frank’s was a huge success. 9 of us joined together at the community table and had fun! We were so lucky to have some wonderful garden books from Jean Gallup, a longtime Salisbury resident, to share and enjoy together. -CVD
Gardener’s Lab—Cornwall Barberry Hackathon
Sunday, April 10, 2022
Demo and info on eliminating barberry in your garden. 10 Pine St., Cornwall Village. Cornwall Conservation Trust co-sponsor.
The Great Cornwall Apple Bake-Off
An XCOLLAB to Benefit the Cornwall Food Pantry
Sunday, October 10, 2021
Join award winning food editor/stylist Stephana Bottom as she moderates three all star Cornwall master bakers in a Zoom bake-off of their best apple recipes. Celebrated culinary wizards Susie Lily Ott, Susan Saccardi and Frances Boswell will surprise, delight and educate a hungry Cornwall audience.
Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf
Saturday, October 16-18, 2021
“For me, garden design isn’t just about plants, it is about emotion, atmosphere, a sense of contemplation. You try to move people with what you do. You look at this, and it goes deeper than what you see. It reminds you of something in the genes — nature, or the longing for nature.”
– Piet Oudolf
Piet Oudolf has radically redefined what gardens can be. As Rick Darke, the famous botanist, says to Piet in the film, “your work teaches us to see what we have been unable to see.” Through poetic cinematography and unique access, FIVE SEASONS will reveal all that Piet sees, and celebrate all that we as viewers have been unable to see.