Daily Archives: July 10, 2023

Thursday, July 20, 9:30 am – 4:00 pm – 75th Annual Camden House and Garden Tour

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The Camden Garden Club held its first House and Garden Tour in 1948 with ten sites visited by about 500 people. The funds raised by these tours ensures that the Camden Garden Club will be able to continue in the spirit of the original founders all those years ago. Preparations for this year’s Tour are well underway. This major fundraising event has been the highlight of the summer season since it began in 1948, and this year ticket holders will be able to visit many beautiful homes and gardens that have graciously agreed to open their doors in support of this event.

This year, tickets include access to the month-long retrospective Garden Tour exhibit at the Camden Public Library, immersive gardenside performances by local musicians, local confectionery treats, flower arranging demonstrations, and the chance to win a painting done en plein air throughout the day by Maine artist Alexandra Perry-Weiss.

Once again, the Camden office of the Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce will be Tour Headquarters. This is our central location to pick up online purchased tickets and buy tickets the day of the tour. Tickets  purchased the day of the tour are $40. Tickets are non-refundable. No credit cards will be accepted the day of the tour day. The tour takes place rain or shine.

Please note last entry to all houses on the tour is at 3:30 p.m. This is not a walking tour. We encourage you to carpool. Visitors tour at their own risk. Properties on the tour are not handicapped accessible. Cameras, cell phones, pets, packages, strollers and umbrellas are prohibited in the homes. The tour is not appropriate for children. Infants may be carried on the tour. Any walking child must have a full-price ticket. For more information, or to purchase tickets online, visit https://www.camdengardenclub.org/events/2023-annual-garden-tour

 

Tuesday, July 18, 1:00 pm – Love Song for the Vineyard Lawn

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The Vineyard Conservation Society (VCS) is the Island’s local environmental organization, dedicated to preserving our land and water through advocacy, education, and legal defense. In this Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club program on July 18, Samantha Look will share the details of the VCS “Vineyard Lawns” initiative. Due to rising concerns for how the health of our ponds, our wildlife, our pets and our own bodies are impacted by lawn care practices, VCS is advocating for a more holistic and ecologically friendly approach to how we maintain our lawns. The collective area dedicated to lawn space in the United States is roughly equivalent to the combined landmass of Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. How we reduce and manage these spaces has significant impacts. Sam will share information about how the seemingly simple act of caring for a lawn intersects strongly with climate change, water quality and personal health, as well as tips and resources for how to apply the Vineyard Lawn approach in your own backyard. 

Samantha is the newly-appointed Executive Director of VCS. She began working with the organization in 2014 and helped lead plastic pollution reduction efforts, including the island-wide plastic bag ban. She is one of the three member team that maintains the Island Climate Action Network and is the liaison for the Land Use, Natural Resources and Biodiversity section of the MV Climate Action Plan. She helped lead efforts to draft and campaign the house size bylaw that was successfully adopted in West Tisbury in 2022. Sam is an avid gardener, and before working for VCS, was an assistant designer in her mother, Carly Look’s, landscape design office. Understanding the role that home gardeners can play in the protection of biodiversity and the ways in which our yards can act as extensions of our local ecosystems is a central interest to Sam and VCS. 


FREE to MVGC Members / Open to non-members @ $10.00 pp. The program will take place at 1 pm at The Old Mill in West Tisbury. Oak Bluffs members and VP to provide snacks & refreshments