Garden Club of Annapolis
Calendar 2023 – 2024

The Club’s calendar year of activities runs from September thru June. Regular Meetings are held at the Annapolis Yacht Club on the third Wednesday of the month in September, November, December and from January thru April. We have field trips in October and May and a picnic in June.

Regular Meeting Agendas:
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.    Workshop
10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.   Socializing
​10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.   Business Meeting
​11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.   Program
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.     Lunch

Upcoming Meetings:
September 20, 2023 – Regular Meeting – Beekeeping 101
Workshop: Lori Ross will be leading a workshop teaching us how to create lucious herbal sugars and salts.
Program: Club member and Membership Chair Gail Tegler, who is a Member of Maryland State Beekeepers Association and Anne Arundel County Beekeepers Association, will present September’s program on Beekeeping 101. Gail will discuss Hive components; Acquiring bees; Inside the hive; Life of bees; Honey harvesting; and Pollinator gardens.  She will be bringing samples of bee related products.

October 18, 2023 – Field Trip – The Vineyards at Dodon & Lunch at Harvest Thyme
We are headed to the nearby locally owned and operated Dodon Winery in Davidsonville. Lunch to follow at Harvest Thyme restaurant, which highlights local farm to table cuisine. Our day begins with a guided tour discussing Dodon’s history, farming, and winemaking philosophy with a knowledgeable member of the Dodon team. Included is a tour of the vineyard, cellar, and barrel room. We finish our winery tour with a seated tasting flight of four local wines. We will all enjoy lunch at Harvest Thyme farm to table restaurant for a preordered luncheon following the vineyard tour.

November 15, 2023 – Regular Meeting – Birding – Around the Year With the Birds of the Chesapeake Bay Region with Dan Hess

Workshop: Karen Wass will be leading attendees in creating beautiful seasonal flower arrangements.
Program:  Local Birder Dan Haas has been searching, listening, traveling, photographing, finding, and identifying birds in and around our region. Dan created the MDBirding group on Facebook, has led numerous bird walks, and advocated for our feathered friends when needed. While Dan has observed 668 species of birds on planet earth, a small number compared to most birding enthusiasts, he has focused his efforts and found the most success (323 species), right here in Anne Arundel County. Dan will be taking you through a year in the county, what to expect, where to go, when to search, and why this region is so important for all birds, both residents and migrants.

December 20, 2023 – Holiday Meeting – Deck the Halls
Our traditional holiday program provides members an opportunity to create fresh greens arrangements for local Meals on Wheels clients, AYC staff and our own homes.

January 17, 2024 – Regular Meeting – The Story of Landscape Architect Frederick Olmsted with Anne “Dede” Petri
Workshop:  Kathy Antosek will conduct creating a Winter Table Arrangement.  
Program:  Anne “Dede” Petri will  provide a garden design presentation and overview of Frederick Olmsted’s life and work. He is best known for designing the grounds of New York City’s Central Park, the U.S. Capitol grounds in Washington, D.C., and the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina. Dede was the 42nd president of The Garden Club of America, a national nonprofit founded in 1913 with 201 clubs and more than 18,000 club members around the country. She has authored or co-authored studies including Restoring the Olmsted Woods, Ecological Restoration Magazine, University of WI Arboretum (2003); Washington National Cathedral Gardens: A Guide for Families.

February 21, 2024 – Regular Meeting – Protecting the Chesapeake Bay Using the Bay-Wise MD Yardstick with Mary Yee
Workshop: TheJapanese art form of Kokedama — moss balls.  Kokedama is a centuries-old garden art form that can be hung, displayed on a piece of wood, in a bowl or container. The ball is formed of moist soil coated in sheet moss secured by string or twine; a small plant is suspended in the middle of the ball where it thrives and grows. Garden Club members will learn how to make these unique Kokedama balls and hopefully be inspired to create them again for their own homes and gardens. The workshop will be led by Elizabeth Keyes, GCA member, and her friend and gardening colleague, Danielle Brabazon. 
Program:  Mary Yee became a Master Gardener in 2011. She will present adopting certain lawn and garden practices that can help improve the health of our land, waterways, and wildlife habitat. She’ll share some best practices for a bay-friendly landscape, offer some stalwart native plant recommendations, and review the process for your garden becoming Bay-Wise Certified.

March 20, 2024 – Regular Meeting – Natives & Non Native Perennials in your Landscape with Kim Forry Chase
Workshop: Katherine Barnett will lead a Flower Arrangement workshop with sprightly pastel spring flowers.
Program:  Kim Forry will examine what we love that isn’t native and what to plant that is. She can help us  create habitat for birds, butterflies, bees and beneficial insects.Kim became a master gardener in 2014, she then became a Certified Professional Horticulturalist. Since 2012 she has been the gardener at the historic Chase Lloyd House in Annapolis.

April 17, 2024 – Regular Meeting –  Private Gardens of the Potomac & Chesapeake by Claudia Kousoulas
Workshop:  Debbie Beatley will demonstrate how to decoupage Chesapeake Bay oyster shells.  Each participant in the workshop will make an ornament style shell and a trinket style shell.
Program: Creating a garden is a work of complexity and creativity. Each region has its own landscape materials and traditions, each site has its challenges and opportunities, and each gardener has a vision for their personal expression and environment.  Claudia Kousoulas worked as a land use planner in the Capital region for more than 20 years. She is a freelance writer and editor.

May 15, 2024 – Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens located in NE Washington DC with a Park Ranger led tour of the beautiful water lily ponds. Lunch is at the historic Franklin’s Brewery in Hyattsville.

Last updated: August 24, 2023