MEETINGS & EVENTS 2024
Garden Club meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month beginning in February. Meeting locations may vary depending on activity/availability. Main location: Northfield Depot at 204 3rd St W, Northfield. Please follow current CDC guidelines regarding pandemic conditions. Some meetings may be held via Zoom, or locations may change. Guests are always welcome!.
JANUARY -- No Meeting
FEBRUARY 13th 2024 -- Luncheon at St. Olaf College, Buntrock Commons Bldg, Valhalla Rm.
TIME: 11:30am
SPEAKER: Dave and Diana Hering, Backyard Maple Syrup
TOPIC: Enjoy a Minnesota themed meal while hearing from the Herings about making Maple syrup in the backyard. From choosing the trees to a finished product. Maple syrup is one of the oldest forms of Minnesota agriculture. Keeping with that theme, our catered lunch will be locally sourced Swedish meatballs with a wild rice dressing and Minnesota blueberries in a buttermilk tart to round off the meal.
Membership booklets for 2024 will be on site for your to pick up, which includes the 2024 program/meeting calendar.
MARCH 12th -- Northfield Depot / 12:45 pm
Ins and Outs of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
Speakers: Erin Johnson and Ben Dougherty Owners of Open Hands Farm
Description: Hear from Erin and Ben, who own a 17 acre certified organic farm just north of town. They raise over 270 varieties of vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs, many of which are heirloom or open-pollinated. Their members come every week from early June through October to pick up freshly harvested in season produce supporting the local economy and minimized the environmental impact of their food.
APRIL 9th -- Northfield Depot / 12:45pm
The Top Ten Peony Questions
Swenson Gardens - Howard Lake
Description: The Swensons have been growing peonies for 21 years, and are one of the main hybridizers in the market. They have had many conversations with gardeners over the years and have distilled down the main concerns. Learn about growing peonies as well as what’s coming and what’s new to peonies this year.
MAY 14th -- St Olaf College / Special time: 10am
(Meet the group in front of Buntrock Commons, we will walk over to the site together)
Tour of St Olaf rooftop gardens and Greenhouse
Speaker/Guide: Charles Umbanhower PhD Botany
St Olaf Biology Department
Description: Have you seen the rooftop garden perched atop the Regents Hall at St. Olaf? Come satisfy your curiosity about the space. The greenhouse boasts 300+ species of plants with space for student and class experiments. There are five growing spaces with water coming from a 3000 gallon cistern that collects rainwater from the central atrium of the building. Wow!
JUNE 11th -- Northfield Depot / 12 noon
The Depot 204 3rd St W, Northfield, MN 55057
Potluck & Flower Show
Description: Summer lunch with friends sharing this seasons home garden triumphs. Sign up for a dish to share (details on sign up provided closer to event)
Flower Show: Bring your favorite flowers from your garden for the garden clubs inaugural flower show. Prizes will be awarded for Best in Show; A Nod to Natives; Outstanding Arrangement and People’s choice.
JULY 13th & 14th -- Northfield Area Garden Tour
TIME: 11AM TO 4PM Sat & Sun
Tour of Six beautiful Northfield area gardens.
AUGUST 13th -- St Olaf natural land guided tour / 12:45 pm
Guided Tour of St Olaf’s Natural Lands
Guide:Wes Braker, St. Olaf Natural Lands Manager
Description: Explore a portion of St Olaf Natural Land (there are 430 acres adjacent to the college). A vast majority of the land that is now forests, prairies, and wetlands was restored from agricultural land. Hear from Wes Braker about the unique plants there, local adaptations of Little Bluestem Grasses and restoration ecology.
SEPTEMBER 10th -- Northfield Depot / 12:45pm
Speaker: Rachel Kinney, Paisley Gardens
Keeping color in your yard through fall & beyond.
OCTOBER 8th -- Brosseau Farm / 12:45 pm
Fall Wreaths
Heidi Brosseau, CNLP
Description: This is a hand-on event. Learn how to use natural items to design beautiful fall wreaths of grapevine or branches. Bring Autumn’s contribution to your own yard and collectively create something new.
Suggested Contributions: birch branches, dogwood twigs, seed pods, decorative grasses, dried apple slices, dried oranges slices, berry sprigs, sunflower heads, sedum heads, oak leaves
NOVEMBER 12th / Departure: 11am for 12pm program
Como Conservatory and Wise Acre Eatery Field Trip
Description: Travel through the many gardens of the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory as you explore the Jewel of Como and learn about their rich history. Go behind-the-scenes and uncover how the garden staff keep the conservatory looking lush and green all year long and produce the many spectacular and beloved Sunken Garden flower shows.
Then enjoy an afternoon snack at the Wise Acre Eatery. Wise Acre is a restaurant in Minneapolis run by two farm boys who met at as Horticulture students at the U of M, they run their restaurant now using the produce grown themselves in a greenhouse type setting.
Prepay for the tour: $15 pp
DECEMBER 10th -- Northfield Depot / 12:45 pm
Holiday Seed Wreaths
Come join your garden club friends for a homey holiday party. There will be treats and we will create wreaths from seed - some grown in our own gardens. These will be given to nursing homes and retirement centers in town to bring nature to the resident’s winter landscape.