Community Corner
Garden Club of Newtown Program on Invasive Plants
THE GARDEN CLUB OF NEWTOWN
The Garden Club of Newtown will focus on invasive
plants with a presentation by Kathleen Nelson, the manager of Mad Gardener's Mile-a-Minute (MAM) Invasive Plant Control Project in New Milford, Bridgewater
and Roxbury.
A former college biology teacher, Ms. Nelson had a
small perennial nursery on a one-lane road in Gaylordsville, CT and is also a founding member and past president of Mad Gardeners, Inc. Her interest in invasive species began while doing site walks as a member of the New Milford Inland Wetlands Commission. She kept noticing how many things did NOT belong and over the years became more and more concerned. She has been visiting three of the large MAM populations in Newtown regularly since 2007.
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As a part of her talk, she will provide information
and control suggestions for several common invasive plants and will emphasize how gardeners can help by keeping watch. It is her strong belief that since
gardeners are the people who introduce new plants into the environment, they are in a unique position to provide early warnings about over-exuberant plants.
Mile-a-Minute Vine will be discussed in detail,
including maps, photos and videos from Newtown, and information will be provided that will help to prevent property from being overtaken by this horrendous
weed.
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Kathleen Nelson appeared on the very first cover of Fine
Gardening magazine in 1988 and was featured again in their 20th anniversary issue. She recalls in that article that the biggest change in her gardening life is the weeds that have taken over the landscape, invading fields, forests and wetlands.
This important and informative program will take
place in the Olga Knoepke meeting room on the first floor of the Cyrenius H. Booth Library on Tuesday, January 22nd at 1pm. There is a guest fee of $5 for non-members of the club and the public is encouraged to attend. Registration is
not required. This meeting will not be held if the Newtown Public Schools are closed for weather-related reasons. For more information call 203 512-7320.
