New Canaan Beautification League

Winter Houseplant Care with Joy Dibiase of The Gardener’s Center of Darien
2025-01-08 09:30 - 11:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom
Houseplant Guru and Greenhouse Manager at the Gardener’s Center of Darien, Joy will pass along her love for all things green while she teaches us how to best care for our dear houseplants in the winter. This program is sure to help both you and your plants get through the cold winter months. Please register in advance of the program by clicking here.

Annual Holiday Wreaths and Greens Workshop
2024-12-04 08:30 - 12:00 | New Canaan Nature Center
Calling all to help as we join forces with New Canaan Garden Club to create beautiful wreaths to adorn our public buildings. Please bring clippers. (Set up on December 3)

NCBL Board Meeting (Board Members Only)
2024-11-20 09:30 - 11:00, 2024-10-16 09:30 - 11:00, 2024-09-18 09:30 - 11:00, 2024-05-15 09:30 - 11:00, 2024-02-14 09:30 - 11:00 | Lapham Community Center, 663 South Avenue, New Canaan, CT, 06840

Making Fall Planters in the Greenhouse with Colin Coogan, Green Up Group - Evening Program
2024-11-06 18:30 - 20:30 | Green Up Group Greenhouse, 197 New Norwalk Rd, New Canaan, CT, 06840-5911, United States
Co-founder of Green Up Group in New Canaan, Colin Coogan will host our fall container building workshop on sight at the Green Up Group greenhouse. With his decades of experience creating living walls and wide varieties of sustainable garden features, we will all surely leave with beautiful containers that will last throughout the fall season and beyond. An ‘eBlast’ was sent to Members with registration information.

Autumn Luncheon, Edibles and Ornaments in the Garden with Karen Bussolini
2024-10-09 11:15 - 14:00 | Country Club of New Canaan, 95 Country Club Road, New Canaan, CT, 06840
Renowned garden speaker, published photographer and Senior Horticultural Adviser at White Flower Farm, Karen Bussolini will share her knowledge about combining ornamental, herbal and edible plantings to create landscapes that are both beautiful and delicious.
Luncheon Menu
Mediterranean Salad (Baby Gem lettuce, tomato, onion, pepper, cucumber, olives, garbanzo, lemon couscous with Honey-Tahini dressing) with a choice of protein:

Thyme-Lemon Chicken Breast
Lemon-Dusted Salmon Filet
Crispy Miso-Honey Tempeh (Vegetarian option)

Basket of assorted breads and crackers with butter and spreads
Dessert: Flaky Apple Galette with Caramel Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream
Beverages: Iced tea and lemonade station, coffee and tea with dessert
Advance reservation and $42 per person fee required no later than end of day, Sunday, September 29. Please click here to register.

Welcome Back Coffee
2024-09-11 10:00 - 11:30 | Mead Park Colonade, 241 Park Street, New Canaan, CT, 06840
Join your fellow NCBL Members and Town Crew at our annual gathering to kick off the new year! Rain date, September 12.

Informal Private Garden Visit
2024-08-07 09:30 - 12:00, 2024-07-10 09:30 - 12:00, 2024-05-09 09:30 - 12:00, 2024-04-18 09:30 - 12:00
MEMBERS ONLY

It’s time to mark your calendar for the 2024 NCBL Informal Garden Visits. This year we will be having garden visits on: Thursday, April 18, Thursday, May 9, Thursday, June 13, Wednesday, July 10, and Wednesday, August 7. The gardens will be open from 9:30 to noon to 35 registered NCBL members. Watch the newsletter for updated information and pre-registration information.

Informal Private Garden Tour
2024-06-13 09:30 - 12:00

NCBL Board Meeting (Board Members Only)
2024-06-12 11:00 - 14:00 | Waveny House
Our annual meeting to thank outgoing board members and to welcome the new. Lunch will be served.

Annual Meeting and Program: Good Bug or Bad Bug featuring Mark Kokinchak
2024-06-05 09:30 - 11:30 | New Canaan Nature Center
The NCBL will get a taste of the New York Botanical Garden during our June 5th program. Horticulturist, arborist, and instructor Mark Kokinchak will present a preview of the classes he teaches at NYBG on pest and disease management in gardens and landscapes.
Mark obtained a degree in Environmental Horticulture from UCONN and later trained with Bartlett Tree to monitor the first Integrated Pest Management Program in Danbury. In addition to teaching in the Horticulture Certificate Program at NYBG, he maintains insect and disease control systems at various wholesale nurseries across CT and holds a state-issued Custom Grounds 3A license and an Arborist 3D license.
In June, he will share some of his 35-plus years of knowledge about identifying and controlling pests and diseases using cultural and biological techniques to minimize the use of toxic alternatives.
You will want to come prepared to take notes!
The annual meeting is open to all members.

Landscaping for Beauty and Resilience by New Canaan Pollinator Pathway
2024-05-19 15:00 - 16:30 | New Canaan Library, 151 Main St, New Canaan, CT, 06840-5911, United States
Landscape design is an investment. The right selection and balance of plants can enhance our enjoyment of our homes and neighborhoods, increase property values, and build resilience during erratic weather like floods and drought. Landscape designer Pennington Grey will share images and interventions from distinctive landscapes in our area to show interesting,innovative solutions that are as practical as they are refined and beautiful. Pennington Grey’s firm produces and maintains high-caliber, quality work in the Northeast, adhering to strict standards of best practices. He is on the board of the Ecological Landscape Alliance, and is known for the judicious use of native plantings and minimal chemical inputs for maximum visual and environmental benefit.

Lee Garden's Open Garden Day
2024-05-19 13:00 - 16:00 | Olive and George Lee Memorial Garden, 89 Chichester Rd, New Canaan, CT, 06840
Come see the breathtaking display of azaleas and rhododendrons in their peak Spring bloom! Bring your friends, family, and camera!

How to Talk to Your Landscaper with Robin Mason, Ty Tan, and Martin Skrelenas (Evening Program)
2024-05-01 18:30 - 20:30 | New Canaan Nature Center
Come join us for this panel discussion with Robin Mason, Plant New Canaan President; Ty Tan, Landscape Designer; and Martin Skrulenas, Landscape Architect and owner of Architecture and Landscape Preservation.

NCBL Board Meeting (Board Members Only)
2024-04-17 09:30 - 11:00, 2024-03-20 09:30 - 11:00, 2024-01-17 09:30 - 11:00, 2023-11-15 09:30 - 11:00 | Waveny House

Growing Beautiful Food
2024-04-10 09:30 - 11:30
Author and photographer, Matthew Benson, of Stonegate Farm (an 1860s organic estate farm in Balmville, NY) grows, photographs, and writes about the importance and esthetics of growing vegetables, fruits, and flowers.
Growing Beautiful Food will be available for purchase and signing.
This is a joint program with New Canaan Garden Club.

Annual Victorian Tea
2024-04-03 11:30 - 14:00 | Waveny House
Always a special treat for NCBL Members and their Guests!

Texas Tree Lady
2024-03-06 09:30 - 11:00 | Zoom
Janette Monear, President and CEO of Texas Trees Foundation, will speak to us about her work with the urban forestry non-profit dedicated to connecting people with trees to improve the quality of life in cities.
The motto of the Texas Trees Foundation is “The Greening of North Central Texas”. This foundation sustains a tree planting initiative for neighborhood parkways and medians, schools and other public open spaces, a tree growing facility to assure a healthy supply of trees for the future, and education programs to teach the importance and benefits of maintaining a healthy urban forest.
This presentation is offered through Zoom. Please click here to register and join this program.

New Perennials: A Love Story, a personal introduction to design principles of the New Perennial Movement
2024-02-07 09:30 - 11:00 | Zoom
Deborah Chud is a retired Massachusetts physician turned garden-maker, consultant and educator. Her 6 years of research on New Perennial gardens, including New York’s High Line, Chicago’s Lurie Garden, the Oudolf Meadow at Delaware Botanic Gardens, and Oudolf Garden Detroit, generated the most comprehensive existing database of New Perennial plant combinations and led to the creation of her own highly unusual New Perennial garden. She will be speaking to us about her research at our February program.
This presentation is offered via Zoom. Please click here to register and join this program.

Exploring Connecticut’s Historic Gardens
2024-01-03 09:30 - 11:00 | Zoom
Laurie Masciandaro, Site Manager of Roseland Cottage and Garden, introduces us to the history and beauty of the CT gardens that have inspired visitors for a century or more. This program will be presented through Zoom. Please click here to view the replay of this program on our YouTube channel.

Annual Holiday Wreaths and Greens Workshop
2023-11-29 08:30 - 12:00 | New Canaan Nature Center
Calling all Members to help create beautiful wreaths to adorn our public buildings. We will assemble in the New Canaan Nature Center Greenhouse. Please bring clippers.
This is a shared event with New Canaan Garden Club. (Set up on Nov. 28)
