Framingham Garden Club (FGC) members – in collaboration with Framingham High School (FHS) students – recently welcomed Spring with an exciting four-day “Bridges and Blooms” community art exhibit at the Village Hall.  This FHS event celebrated the intersection of art, science, and history, with a focus on native plants and the environment. The exhibit featured the students’ creative works, like photography, botanical creations and other vibrant creations and artwork. It was coordinated by FHS Art teacher Kate Millman and Biology and Environmental Science Teacher Rebecca Maynard. FGC collaborated with the high school and the show was supported by several local sponsors, like Framingham Rotary Club, Fran’s Flowers, Rivers Edge, and Russell’s Garden Center.

As part of the exhibit 20 FGC members partnered with students in FHS’s ceramics classes to create “Stretch” and “Synergistic” creative floral designs, using the student’s unique containers. It was FGC’s first intergenerational collaboration with local students in 10 years. Each design featured two or three containers of flowers and other plant materials which were connected like a bridge with other plant materials such as Pussy Willows, Lily grass, Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick, and wooden materials, among others.  The talented students created their containers in various sizes, themes and colors after meeting with FGC members in Millman’s ceramics classroom.

FGC’s coordinators were President Shannon Fitzpatrick and Design Committee Chair Ruth Evans. Member designers were: Minal Akkad, Maria Chaput,  Sue Cohen, Joyce deLemos, Ruth Evans, Eileen Fialkow, Suzanne Fioretti, Shannon Fitzpatrick, Marie Giorgetti, Olga Goryanova, Marilyn Hanley, Susan Hehir, Kathy Hoogeboom, Margery Karger, Pam Keeney, Aparna Kumar, Meg Kelley, Aparna Kumar, Lianne Manzella, Nancy Martin, Meera Mathur, Betsy Szymczak, and Pat Towle.

Framingham Garden Club appreciates the support of the Framingham Cultural Council that helped fund this important educational initiative for the Framingham community.  Framingham’s historic bridges inspired this project, symbolizing unity, change, transition, and connections.

Don’t Miss FGC’s Annual Plant Sale!

 May 9, 2026 | 9am–1pm | Held indoors in the spacious Cushing Park Maintenance Building (entrance on Winter Street @ Keefe Tech).

Rain or shine, shop Framingham Garden Club’s Annual Plant Sale – one of Framingham’s most highly anticipated annual traditions!

Locally Grown, Garden Ready Because our plants are grown right here in the community, you can feel confident they’ll thrive in your garden. Our perennials are lovingly donated from the personal gardens of FGC members and generous local residents. We also offer a great selection of nursery annuals and beautiful hanging baskets to add instant color to your garden.

Support At-Risk Pollinators We again are excited to offer a limited selection of native plants from Dr. Gegear’s recommended plant list — species chosen specifically to support at-risk pollinators — along with a variety of other native plants. This is a wonderful opportunity to start or expand your native plant or pollinator garden at very reasonable prices.  

Visit Our Garden Oasis Stop by our Garden Oasis, where we offer specialty plants and one-of-a-kind gifts. It’s the perfect place to find something special for yourself or the gardener in your life – or even a Mother’s Day gift (remember that Mother’s Day is the next day)!

Expert Advice on Hand Not sure what to plant or how to care for your new additions? Club members will be available throughout the event to answer your gardening questions and help you find the perfect plant for your space.

Your Purchase Makes a Difference Proceeds from the sale support the Framingham community through civic projects and philanthropy. Framingham Garden Club designed AND maintains gardens at Cushing Chapel, Nobscot Pollinator Park,  Sax Dam, and the garden beds at the Framingham Memorial Building (City Hall). One of FGC’s key contributions is to award scholarships to Framingham high school seniors pursuing studies in horticulture, environmental sciences, and related fields.

We hope to see you there — happy planting!

Prev 1of17 Next

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.

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. 

After the season winds down, these bags fold up neatly for storage—ready to spring back into action next year.

Our Framingham Garden Club members have had great results with Root Pouch grow bags made from recycled water bottles. These durable, eco-friendly alternatives outlast traditional cheaper cloth bags that we have used. One member is even on her third growing season with a cherry tomato thriving in her Root Pouch!

Big Thanks to Root Pouch
Did you know that @Root Pouch gave a very generous donation of grow bags in support of our Community Giving Garden Program for our Earth Day 2025 donation? Thanks to their contribution of Boxer Grow bags, 86 local families are starting home gardens—and sharing their harvest with loved ones and local food pantries.

You’re helping us grow more than plants. You’re helping us grow community.

Framingham Garden Club designers Nancy Martin and Shannon Fitzpatrick faced an exciting challenge when paired with Jackson Pollock’s abstract piece, The Troubled Queen. After much experimentation, their final arrangement featured peacock-blue dried bird of paradise leaves, abstracted red Gerbera daisies, manipulated palm fronds and flax leaves, pincushion protea, chartreuse brain celosia, and other floral elements inspired by Pollock’s color palette.

Representing the Judges Council, Framingham Garden Club designers Ruth Evans and Betsy Szymczak interpreted a 9th Century A.D. Chinese Arched Lintel with Buddhist Triad, Disciples, and Guardian Deities with Engraved Decoration. Their arrangement featured allium, pincushion protea, calla lily, poppy seed heads, and manipulated steel grass to reflect the spherical head and halo motifs of the ancient sculpture. The team cited their greatest challenge as adhering to a 14-inch height limit.

Here’s a look at our award-winning achievements:

GCFM (State) Awards

• 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

• 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!)

• • Kindergarten – “Vegetable Sharing” (King School)

  • 3rd Grade – “Vegetables are Blue & Green” (Barbieri School)

  • 4th Grade – “My Garden” (Barbieri School)

  • 5th Grade – “Sprout to Smile” (Barbieri School)

New England Regional Award 

• Youth Poetry – My Garden (4th Grade, Barbieri School) – 1st Place

National Garden Club (NCG) Awards

• Environmental & Conservation Award –For Earth Day Festival 2024
• Floral Design Award – For Ruth Evan’s The Character of Color Design Challenge
• Membership Advancement Award – For our Club Brochure
• Publications Award – For the Garden Therapy Model Zoom Presentation
• Digital Media Award – For the Moments of Joy musical slideshow

Special Recognition

• Helen DeOrsay Freidberg Tribute Scholarship
  Awarded to Eileen Fialkow to attend Flower Show School on behalf of the Western/Central South District

We are so proud of the creativity, passion, and commitment that our members—and our community partners—continue to bring to every project. These awards are a true reflection of that spirit. Well done, everyone!

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

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.

 Mistake #2: Volcano Mulching
Another widespread mistake I noticed? Mulch piled directly against the base of my shrubs, trees and perennials. This is often called volcano mulching.

This might look neat at first, but it can cause real damage. Piling mulch up against trunks or stems traps moisture and creates a warm, damp environment—ideal conditions for:

• Fungal diseases
• Stem and trunk rot
• Burrowing insects and rodents

Trees need their root flare exposed, and all plants need airflow at their base. I once lost a valuable Japanese Maple after its trunk was buried in mulch for several years.

To prevent this from happening again, I spent the better part of a day scraping mulch away from the base of my plants to correct the issue.

 A Lesson for Next Time
Next time I have someone else mulch the garden, I’ll be sure to share these basic best practices before they start. Because mulching isn’t just about looking good for a few days.  

 Bonus Tip: Free Wood Chips!
Did you know you can often get mulch for free? Visit ChipDrop to request a free load of wood chips from local arborists. I’ve done it twice—just be prepared for a very large pile!