Arbor Day
In 2009-2010, the Club will continue to collaborate with the Boy Scouts.  Instead of planting a tree, we hope to eliminate invasive species that are killing local trees and then replace the plant material with native species.

Arts in Bloom/Cultural Arts Alliance

Five years ago, the Hopkinton Garden Club partnered with the Cultural Arts Alliance to stage an “Arts in Bloom” show.  On par with flower shows staged at the Worcester Art Museum and  Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, the HGC/CAA

Arts in Bloom show highlights nearly a dozen floral arrangements created by garden club members to interpret select pieces of artworks. Floral arranging is truly an art and this well attended show is always eagerly anticipated by the general public as a rite of Spring!

Beautification
One of the most significant Committees in the Club (and the most popular) is the Beautification Committee.  The beautification of Hopkinton includes three seasonal plantings at the Elmwood School, the Welcome Sign (across from Golden Pond), the Doughboy Memorial, the Town Common Water Trough, Colella's Triangle, the median strip across from the Middle School and the downtown flowerpots.  This is true gardening including planning, planting, fertilizing, watering, and weeding plants, both perennial and annual.  Most new members spend some time on this Committee learning more about gardening and helping make our Town as beautiful as can be.

Bulb Ordering
In spring and fall members gather together to select the latest and greatest bulbs for fall and spring planting.  Orders are made and received in the fall and spring, making for beautiful member gardens.

Challenge Plant
For those unafraid to take a risk and perhaps have a good laugh, every October a "Challenge Plant" is chosen.  Members can choose to purchase the plant and grow it for several months at home.  At the last meeting of the year, all the plants come back and a vote is taken as to the "best in show" and the "worst"!!  Not for the weak of heart!!  But it is great fun and members can show off their horticultural prowess.

December Holiday Dinner

Every December, Hopkinton Garden Club members gather at a special venue to  welcome this festive season amidst seasonal floral arrangements and decorations that celebrate the season. Good cheer and fare abound, carols are sung and the tradition continues for well over a dozen years whereby Club members welcome in another new year with  each other.

"Flora in Winter 2011", Worcester Art Museum
With "budding" and experienced floral arrangers in the Club, for the past four years members have interpreted an art piece provided by the Museum at this annual Museum event.  The challenge for 2010 was Venus and Cupid by Cornelis van Haarlem.  This piece was interpreted by Hopkinton Garden Club members Deborah Coleman, Ruth Gorman and Jackie Potenzone.  The arrangers used roses, tulips, peonies and lilies in this very graceful arrangement  - see it here along with the designs from other local garden clubs! (new window)

Fundraisers
The Club plans a major fundraiser every year.  We have had the Holiday Open House, where professional floral arrangers present anecdotal and educational information to members and guests; Garden Tours whereby the Club seeks out unique gardens around Hopkinton for the public to enjoy. In 2009, the Club will hosted a Holiday Open House, featuring nationally-known and Honorary Member Diane Bullock.  In June 2010, the Club will host a Spring Garden Tour. 

Healing Garden
In 2009 we began discussions of and set aside money for the design and building of a Healing Garden to be located on the grounds of the Cultural Arts Alliance at 98 Hayden Rowe Street.  This new committee will meet with a designer, plan and make a breakdown of specific jobs, forecast expenses and ultimately install the Healing Garden.  The Healing Garden’s purpose will be to provide a pleasant respite area with multi-sensory stimulus to promote healing and restfulness.

Holiday Gazebo Decorating
The Veterans Memorial Gazebo on the Hopkinton Town Common provides the Club with the opportunity to help make the community a festive holiday place.  Lights are hung, and greens and wreaths are strategically placed to make the gazebo beautiful.  The Downtown Revitalization's Annual Holiday Walk ends at the Gazebo with hot chocolate for all.         

Holiday Library Decorating
A longstanding community beautification effort, this Committee decorates the Hopkinton Town Library right after Thanksgiving for the December and New Year holidays.  Greens and ribbons abound and the public truly enjoys the scene and has often commented that this is the most memorable event that we do in town!

MLK Day of Giving Back
In January 2009 the HGC participated in the 2nd annual MLK Day of Giving Back.  This event occurs on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and is a town-wide volunteer effort.  This year the HGC provided clay pots for students to decorate with paint pens.  The students  painted positive messages and art and then planted each pot with an easy to care for plant.  The pots were then handed out at the Senior Center where they were having a special luncheon.

Newsletter
The Club publishes two or three newsletters during the year to update members and the public on news, the latest gardening issues, fundraisers, and committee doings.  For those who cannot attend every meeting, this helps keep members abreast of what is happening. 

Plant Sale Fundraiser
In order to fund our many community and educational endeavors, we hold an annual plant sale fundraiser the Saturday after Mother's Day in May.  Members contribute plants from their own gardens and the Club also purchases plants for resale.  The public shows up early and sales are brisk.  It is the perfect time for planting.

Poly Arts
This annual town wide event held in September on the Hopkinton Town Common provides the Hopkinton Garden Club an opportunity to share its mission with the public.  In 2009, the Club prepared an educational exhibit on the "2009 late tomato blight".  Membership applications are always available.

Scholarship/Education/Grants
Annually, the Hopkinton Garden Club reserves funds for students, young and old, to educate themselves in some form of Horticulture, Design, Environment and/or related subjects.  Last year, we gave two scholarships to graduating seniors ($500 each).

Scholarships are available to anyone from the public who wishes to pursue this education.

Senior Gardening Program
One of the Club's most well attended and appreciated programs is Senior Gardening at the Hopkinton Senior Center.  This Committee provides monthly and seasonal hands-on programs to the seniors, from speakers to making their own container gardens.  Also, the Club has incorporated the High School's Senior ArtReach Club in some of their programs.  This makes for a very successful multi-generational program.

Veterans' Breakfasts
On the first Friday of each month, the Senior Center hosts the town’s resident veterans for a special breakfast.  The Committee meets on the first Thursday of each month (from September through June) to arrange centerpieces at the Senior Center in Hopkinton.  The Committee’s members take turns chairing the arranging and picking up flowers at one of the local florists or using their own plant material.

Wayside Inn Decorating 
Since 2005 the Hopkinton Garden Club has been decorating a dining room during the Christmas season at the historic Wayside Inn located in Sudbury, Massachusetts. By invitation only, the garden clubs are selected by the Sudbury Garden Club to participate in an interior design commitment working with a theme selected by the management at the Wayside Inn. The theme for 2009 was “Christmas Around The World” and the Hopkinton Garden Club decorated the Washington Dining Room, centrally located at the Inn, reflecting the delicate designs of the country of Japan. This committee is a terrific way for garden club members to transfer their creative talents from the garden to indoors during the winter season. The Wayside Inn is the continually oldest operating Inn in the United States of America and has been designated as a National and State Historic Landmark. The funds to decorate the Wayside Inn are now solely funded by the Inn itself and the Hopkinton Garden Club is honored to participate.