Colleen Malik (right), owner of Chapman’s Greenhouse in Beverly Farms, at Tuesday’s workshop hosted by her family’s greenhouse and the Manchester Garden Club. With Malik, from left, are Sue McDermott and Lynda Mini.
Why settle for a single bit of holiday cheer when you can have an armful? The Manchester Garden Club adheres to a “more is more” mentality when it comes to celebrating the holiday season as was evident at this week’s Annual Holiday Workshop held at Chapman’s Greenhouse in Beverly Farms. Like many gardening groups, the MGC has made their December meeting an opportunity to gather in fellowship while creating one-of-a-kind decorations. What originally began as a wreath decorating evening has grown into a well-orchestrated production of five to six holiday projects. This year’s event featured a Norwegian-inspired centerpiece tree, a unique square wreath, a birchwood porch pot, a holiday swag, and stunning urn candleholders, plus a special holiday arrangement to be donated to Manchester’s Council on Aging. Members and guests could choose to make as many projects as they wanted or to simply enjoy the wonderful company and spectacular holiday brunch that always accompanies this event. The MGC is grateful for the hard work of its volunteer designers who created and led each project and to Chapman’s Greenhouse for donating the use of their beautiful facility. The Manchester Garden Club has a deep tradition of decorating key places of celebration at the holidays, including this year at the Manchester Historical Museum and Castle Hill at Crane’s Beach in Ipswich. It is a beautiful tradition. Next week’s edition of The Cricket will feature a story and photographs on this year’s decorating.
