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Programs and Events:

Stay tuned for exciting trips and events as they become available! 

June 15, 2024: Biennial Flower Show. 

July 1, 2024: The Eclectic Garden Oasis Tour. Member Barbara Whitcraft, former Director of Hershey Gardens and graduate of Longwood Gardens Professional Horticulture Program, invites you to her eclectic garden oasis! Decks and gardens exude colors and textures as container grown annuals, perennial shrubs, dwarf conifers and native plants abound throughout. Her collections include daylilies, hosta and coleus too. Wear comfortable shoes! (members only)  Bring a packed lunch.

August 5, 2024: A Two-stop Hummelstown Garden Tour. We will visit the lovely gardens of Master Gardener Joan Brandt’s late Victorian (1903) home on Main Street and then tour the nearby Schaffner Park Demonstration Garden, now in its fourth year as a beauty spot, which uses native shrubs while adding design elements to help facilitate storm water drainage. (members only) Bring a packed lunch.

September 9, 2024: Great Gardens of the World (A Ginny Suhring Lecture). Over the past 35 years Andrew Bunting, Vice President of Horticulture for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, has combed the globe in search of great gardens. This lecture will highlight his favorites, to include ones in the U.S., Europe, South America, Asia and Africa. We will travel to gorgeous and unique gardens to learn about amazing designs, ‘plantsmanship’ and the history of these storied gardens.

September 28, 2024: Fall Plant Sale

October 5, 2024: Hummelstown Chicken BBQ. (Fundraiser in partnership with the Hummelstown Fire Department)

October 7, 2024: Bedecked Pumpkin Workshop. Join us for a design workshop as we create a long-lasting fall decoration with local pumpkins, succulents and dried flowers from Diane Cornman’s Lavender and Locks Flower Farm. Diane has over nine years of experience in flower farming and design, and will guide us through best practices for adhering your design elements to the pumpkins, with tips on design and maintenance. Create a beautiful piece you can enjoy for months! Participants must pre-register with a $25 fee. 

November 4, 2024: Protecting Your Trees. Certified arborist Brian Chase from Bartlett Tree Experts will present an informative program on the care and management of the valuable trees on your property. He will focus on three areas: Healthy soil composition to protect trees from various diseases, invasive insect updates, and spotted lanternfly mitigation.

 December 2, 2024: Holiday Luncheon at the Hershey Country Club Picard Pavilion: The Magic of Christmas. John Enterline has spent most of his career designing flowers and Christmas programs for places such as Longwood Gardens, Lancaster’s Conestoga House and the Banning and Huntington Museums in  California. John will regale us with his favorite Christmas tales while demonstrating his prowess as a Christmas floral designer. Lucky winners will take home one of his designs! Guests are invited.

January 6, 2025: Qigong for the Gardener. Start the year off with a bang by learning ways to get your energy back in balance with Qigong. Member Linda D’Agostino will lead us in this ancient method of doing one posture at a time while focusing on your breathing. Studies have shown that this practice helps calm the mind, boosts the immune system, increases flexibility and focus. When you learn to cultivate the energy in your body, you will be more in tune with cultivating your garden and your life.

February 3, 2025: A Photographic Tour of Three English Gardens.

HHS President Deborah Musselman will offer an armchair photographic tour of Trebah Garden, a sub-tropical botanical garden in Cornwall (thanks to the Gulfstream!); the magical Lost Gardens of Heligan, one of the most popular gardens in England; and Sissinghurst Castle Garden, created by Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson in the 1930s from the ruins of an Elizabethan mansion and grounds. Today it is considered the crown jewel of England’s National Trust, and one of the most magnificent gardens in the world.

March 3, 2025: Tour of Milton Hershey School Project Market Program. This project opened on the MHS campus in the summer of 1995 as part of the Agriculture and Environmental educational program. Students plant, harvest and sell produce, plants and other products, including Spartan Ice Cream! After our business meeting and bag lunch, we’ll hear a presentation by the staff and students and tour the facility. Don’t miss this opportunity to see horticultural training in action! Bag lunches will be provided. (members only

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April 7, 2025: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.  Dauphin County Master Gardener Shirley Halk will address a variety of weeds, insects and animals which are problem children in our gardens, some of which you will recognize and others which might be new to you. This presentation offers information on plant and animal identification, updated control methods, and insights that might change how you understand wildlife in your garden. 

 

May 5, 2025:  Succulent Plants of the World.  With 25 years of experience growing succulents, as well as work in permaculture, field identification, landscape design and greenhouse maintenance, member Michael Messmer will discuss essential elements of cultivating succulents in various situations. His new business, Messmer’s Plant Culture, will provide live plants for both display and purchase. Bring your cameras for snapshots of some of his uncommon specimens!

May 10, 2025: Spring Plant Sale.

June 2, 2025: A Picnic in the Rose Garden. Something different for our Rose Luncheon! Join us under the tent at the Hershey Rose Gardens for a fun picnic catered by Lisa’s Cafe, followed by an informal talk about the newest best practices for rose care given by Alyssa Hagarman, Horticulture Manager at the gardens. Come early or stay late to tour the gardens at no extra charge. Wear hats! Guests are welcome.

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In Recent News...

We meet once a month. Join us and enjoy our presentations!

 

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