Garden Club Program Preview—

Organizing A Garden Upon Spring’s Arrival

Now that spring is finally here and gardeners are cleaning up their gardens and going to the various garden centers to see what is available, Mary Ann McGourty will be speaking about garden organization for The Garden Club of Newtown members on Tuesday, April 25.

Her program will begin at 1 pm in the Olga Knoepke Memorial Room of Cyrenius H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street. Members and non-members of the garden club are invited.

Her presentation with slides, “Managing a Collector’s Garden,” will focus on garden organization for those gardeners who can’t resist the temptation to squeeze in “just one more” plant. The program provides a cohesive approach to combining plants for best effect.

Mary Ann McGourty and her husband Fred were the owners of Hillside Gardens in Norfolk for 20 years before retirement. Their company specialized in uncommon perennials and perennial garden design, creating perennial borders for clients in several states.

The McGourtys’ own showcase garden has been featured on PBS television’s Victory Garden, and they have appeared on Home and Garden Television’s “Great Gardeners” series.

Articles by Mrs McGourty, who is a native of Hampton, Va., have appeared in American Horticulturist and several Brooklyn Botanic Garden Handbooks.  She was the major contributor and editor of Taylor’s Guide to Ground Covers. She has served as horticultural consultant for several book publishers, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Mrs McGourty lectures extensively throughout the United States and is a past director of the Perennial Plant Association, a national nursery trade organization. She has been awarded a gold medal by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.

She and her husband were joint recipients of The Bronze Medal, the highest honor of The Federated Garden Club of Connecticut.  She is also an honorary member-at-large of the Garden club of America.

There is no charge for Mrs McGourty’s program, and registration is not necessary. For more information call 270-1108.