Members of The Garden Club of Newtown recently spent time waking up the club’s rows within The Victory Garden at Fairfield Hills. The group’s next plans include a monthly meeting and visiting guest program.

During the first week of this month, members gathered at the Fairfield Hills Victory Garden to wake up four rows in preparation for planting seeds and seedlings for the season. The intergenerational group included four local high school students who did the “heavy lifting,” hauling compost .

Last summer, a team of dedicated gardeners planted, watered, weeded and harvested 300+ pounds of organic produce to donate to FAITH Food Pantry and Nunnawauk Meadows. This year seeds/seedlings include onions, lettuce, Swiss chard, bok choy, carrots, cucumbers, summer squashes, beans, peppers, parsley and basil, and plenty of the summer favorite: tomatoes!

‘Not In My Garden’

The Garden Club of Newtown will host Peter Russell, a Connecticut Extension Certified Advanced Master Gardener, on Tuesday, May 23, at 1 pm. The program will be offered in the meeting room of C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street in Newtown.

His program, “Not In My Garden: How to Identify and Control Garden Weeds,” will define and discuss the characteristics and lifestyles of weeds common to Connecticut, their ID features, and the four keys to weed control without chemicals.

Russell is chairman of the board of Bartlett Arboretum and Gardens in Stamford, and chairman of its Buildings and Grounds Committee. In addition to conducting weed and invasive plant identification and control workshops, Russell works with corporations and organizations volunteering on projects on the Arboretum’s 93-acre campus.

The program is open to the public. Reservations are not required. The Garden Club of Newtown is affiliated with the Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut, Inc. The club website is gardenclubnewtownct.org, and new members are always welcome.