2025 Greens Sale a Success
Framingham Garden Club wishes to thank its customers, both new and longtime, for helping to make this year’s Greens Sale a success. 
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FGC earns blue ribbons at 2025 New England Flower Show
Congratulations to Shannon Fitzpatrick for her blue-ribbon Mono-Botanic Design at the New England Fall Flower Show at Elm Bank. A Mono-Botanic Design is one that incorporates three or more parts of a plant of one family of genus. Parts may be stems, blooms, foliage, buds, and/or roots.
Betsy Szymczak also represented our FGC (and Natick GC), and we congratulate her for eight Horticulture entries at MassHort that earned four blues, two reds, two yellow, with Begonia grandis for propagation. Shannon also entered the horticulture competition, earning four blues, five reds, one yellow and two honorable mentions. 
Minal Akkad and Ruth Evans participated in the show as Design judges, while Betsy also judged Horticulture.…
…Spot the News Contest
Once you’ve opened this post and guessed the news, email your guess to Shannon Fitzpatrick at fgcfitzlaw@gmail.com. The first 10 correct guesses win a prize! 
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Grow Bags are perfect for container gardening
No Backyard? No Problem! Grow Bags Make Gardening Accessible for All
Think you need a sprawling yard to start a garden? Think again! With grow bags, anyone can become a gardener—even if your “green space” is a sunny corner of a porch or balcony.
Here’s how easy it is to get started:
- A 5-gallon bag is perfect for one tomato plant
- A 3-gallon bag supports a pepper or a generous helping of salad greens
- 🌼 Want flowers? These sizes hold three spreading annuals like petunias, or double that number if planting compact varieties like pansies
- Larger sizes are good for planting more plants at a time, or larger plants.
FGC Designers Stun at 2025 Art in Bloom
FCG designers sublimely interpret art at Museum of Fine Arts "Art in Bloom"
Read More 
Framingham Garden Club Honored with Multiple Awards at GCFM Annual Meeting
We’re thrilled to share that the Framingham Garden Club proudly brought home a total of 15 awards, including three National Awards awarded specifically to FGC at the recent Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts (GCFM) annual meeting. Additionally, two additional National Awards were given for district-wide programs created by FGC members
Here’s a look at our award-winning achievements:
🌟 GCFM (State) Awards
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Patricia C. Michaud Award – Outstanding Design Program
For “The Character of Color” Team Challenge designed and executed by Ruth Evans
🎉 Bonus: This award included a $100 prize! -
William J. Thompson Award
For our Earth Day Celebration 2024 put together by Terrie Pirozzi, Irene Gazda and Marie Giorgetti -
Publications Award for the FGC club brochure designed by Shannon Fitzpatrick
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Special Achievement Service Award
For our stunning Tablescapes program conceived and implemented by Marilyn Hanley and Pat Towle -
Media Production Award
For statewide educational outreach on the Garden Therapy Model Program, another elite program designed by Marilyn Hanley and Pat Towle - Media Production Award
For the Moments of Joy Video created by Shannon Fitzpatrick and submitted on behalf of 3 districts - Youth Poetry (Sponsored by FGC – Congratulations to these talented young writers!)
New Officers installed for 2025-2026 at Joyful Annual Meeting
On May 14, 2025, new officers were installed for the 2025-2026 year during FGC’s annual meeting. Past presidents Andi Saari, Minal Akkaad, Mary Hanley, Ruth Evans and Marie Giorgetti presented a yellow rose and recited the duty of each officer as the new officers took their place. 
Member Pat Towle also wrote an engaging game testing our knowledge about departing president, Marie Giorgetti
Many thanks go to Pam Keeney and Marilyn Hanley for planning the big event, and to Marilyn Hanley and Suzanne Fioretti for co-hosting on the day.
New officers are as follows:
President, Shannon Fitzpatrick
1st Vice President Lianne Manzella
2nd Vice President Kathy Hoogeboom
Recording Secretary Pam Keeney
Recording Secretary Eileen Fialkow
Treasurer Cathy DeNorscia
Communications Secretary Maria 
Chaput
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Let’s Talk About Mulch – two common mistakes
Let’s Talk About Mulching
Recently, I invested quite a bit in having aged hemlock mulch applied to my front gardens. My goals were simple: suppress weeds, retain moisture, and give the beds a tidy, refreshed appearance. And at first glance—it looked beautiful. Until I started seeing weeds popping through just a few days later.
Mistake #1: Not enough coverage
It turns out the mulch had been applied too sparsely in quite a few areas. Some areas had a proper 2–3 inch layer, while others were barely covered with an inch. Insufficient coverage defeats the purpose of mulching. When done properly, mulch helps:
- Regulate soil temperature
- Conserve soil moisture
- Suppress weed growth
When done poorly, it’s ineffective, wasteful, and at times even harmful – see Mistake #2.…
How to Preserve Peonies to Last for Months
How to Store Peony Buds in the Refrigerator to Enjoy Later in the Summer
Peonies are one of the most beloved flowers, known for their lush, fragrant blooms. But their season is fleeting, leaving many gardeners wishing they could extend their beauty beyond spring. The good news? You can store peony buds in the refrigerator and enjoy their blooms weeks—even months—later!
Choosing the Right Peony Buds
Not all peony buds are ideal for storage. The key is to cut them at the right stage:
- Look for buds that are showing color but haven’t fully opened.
- The bud should feel soft like a marshmallow when gently squeezed.
FGC and FPL hosted Dr. Gegear who spoke about restoring native plant diversity
Now available: Watch the replay of Dr. Gegear’s talk.
On Tuesday March 25 famed Dr. Robert Gegear, Framingham resident and associate professor of Biology at UMass Dartmouth, shared Framingham’s ecological history and how we can help restore native plant and pollinator diversity in our own gardens. This special event was brought to you by the Framingham Garden Club, Inc. and the Framingham Public Library.
In his talk, “More Than Just The Buzz: A practical Guide to Restoring Native Plant-Pollinator Diversity (and why it matters),” Dr. Gegear discussed his research in the areas of the conservation of native pollination systems, floral diversity, and bumblebee ecology. …
