ADDITIONAL PAST PROGRAMS

APRIL 3 2025 -   Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants in  Your Backyard

Speaker: Heather Flournoy - Heather is chief forager of Wild Nearby, an Environmental Conservation Organization. She has over 25 years of foraging under her belt. In 2019 she launched Wild Nearby to share her knowledge and love of wild food and medicine. “No matter where we are, there is wilderness nearby. Get to know the wild.”  

CANCELLED February 6 - Invasive Species & Harmful Pests in  Westchester County: How to  Manage  Them - Speakers: Ben Kleist and Susan Leighton

Ben Kleist is the preserve manager for Westchester Land Trust (WLT) and is responsible for monitoring and protecting WLT’s preserves. Susan Leighton is program director. WLT works together with public and private partners to preserve land in perpetuity, and to protect and enhance the natural resources in our communities for generations to come.

April  4, 2024 GENERAL MEETING

Program: Jazzing Up the Garden with Color, Contrast and Movement

Presenter: Karen Bussolini

Karen Bussolini is a widely published garden photographer, speaker, writer, and eco-friendly garden coach. She is now the Senior Horticultural Advisor at White Flower Farm. Karen has been a gardener as long as she can remember. She trained as a painter and had a career as an architectural photographer before turning her attention entirely to gardens. Karen will talk about how to jazz up your garden by explaining how to use color, texture, light-reflecting qualities, repetition, color echoes and other qualities, beginning with simple combinations and then progressing to more complex schemes.

March  7, 2024  GENERAL MEETING

Program: The Art of Botanical Art – The Magic of Art & Science 

Presenter: Corinne Lapin-Cohen

Corinne is an artist who specializes in Botanical Watercolors in addition to other art forms. She has a background in both the fine arts and science which makes her pictures both informative and artistically pleasing. Corinne will tell us about how she creates these beautiful pictures and how nature has served as her muse for 40 years. Corinne’s work has been exhibited in numerous arboretums, galleries and museums throughout the country. 

February 1, 2024  GENERAL MEETING

Program: “How to Have Bird-Friendly, Bird-Safe Properties”

Presenter: Anne Swaim

Anne Swaim is Executive Director of the Saw Mill River Audubon, a local chapter of National Audubon, based in Chappaqua. Anne works together with four staff and dozens of volunteers to maintain eight wildlife sanctuaries. She will share beautiful images, sounds and videos of Westchester birds across the seasons and in various county birding hotspots. She will provide tips on how to start birding and how to have bird-friendly, bird-safe properties, residential, business or community-owned.

JANUARY 4, 2024 Plant Life Along the Nanny Hagen Brook 

Presenter: Michael Inglis & GG Kopilak

Pleasantville Garden Club member, Michael Inglis, will talk about the plant life he discovered along the Nanny Hagen Brook. He wrote about the flora and fauna of this area in his book, Woods and Water: Walking New York’s Nanny Hagen Brook. He will be joined by GG Kopilak, PGC member and talented artist, who illustrated the book using charming black & white illustrations. Michael and GG have presented the book at other venues so you may have already had the opportunity to hear their wonderful presentation. This presentation differs from those in that it has been prepared specifically for the Garden Club to discuss plant life along the brook. Michael is a member of Pleasantville’s Conservation Advisory Council. GG is a member of the Town of Mt. Pleasant’s Conservation Advisory Council. 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022 @ 6:30P SPECIAL EVENING PROGRAM: At Presbyterian Church - 400 Bedford Road, Pleasantville, Light dinner, coffee and dessert served  Program: “Ask a Master Gardener”Presenters:  ·  Fall bulbs by Carolyn Ramsey ·  Grasses by Ed Impara ·  Fall perennials for pollinators by Nancy Giges ·  Fall seeding of native perennials by Susanna Kwong ·  The Layered Garden, by Mitzi Weissman ·  Preparing perennial beds for winter by Michael Inglis Introduction by Senta Stich

OCTOBER 6, 2022 Your Garden Bouquet Enriched with A Dash of Asian Flavo 

Presenter: Jan Gordon

One of PGC’s own members, Jan is the owner of East Meets West Flowers in Pleasantville where she creates contemporary designs that incorporate traditional Japanese floral principles that echo nature’s beauty. She will demonstrate and guide us as we each create our own handheld bouquets by incorporating the clean line of greens and/or branches with the varying heights of flowers. Bring your seasonal bounty from your gardens. Jan will supplement with a few Asian accents she can find. Time permitting, we should be able to create two bouquets to take home.

NOVEMBER 3, 2022  “Pot Luck” 

Presenter: Abbie Zabar

Abbie is a published author, accomplished artist, designer, speaker and, always, a gardener. She gardens on a NYC rooftop now in pots and in spite of the odds. Every nook and cranny, every single plant, every last container is accounted for, and accountable. The possibilities are limitless for this creative spirit! Abbie delighted us with tales of plants in every conceivable type of container, from traditional pots of stone and terracotta, to a little lichen-covered log overflowing with Sempervivum arachnoideum.

October  5, 2023 - Going Wild in Westchester - One Yard at a Time

Presenter: Carol Sommerfield

Carol Sommerfield is the founder and chair of the Ardsley Pollinator Pathway which she founded in 2021. Carol will discuss the successes and challenges she encountered during the past two years in developing the Ardsley Pollinator Pathway as she has tried to win hearts and minds. She will also advocate for a new aesthetic in our yards – one that celebrates biodiversity, promotes less lawn, supports all creatures, and rebuilds a healthy ecosystem – one yard at a time. Carol’s talk will provide inspiration for our club’s goal of growing Mt Pleasant’s pollinator pathway.