What's New at Bridge Gardens: May 4, 2015

Let's Celebrate National Public Gardens Day!

This Friday, May 8, join us for National Public Gardens Day! We have partnered with our friends at the two other public gardens on the South Fork -- LongHouse Reserve and Madoo Conservancy -- to offer a free guided tour at each of the gardens in honor of the day:

LongHouse Reserve: 10:30 am in
East Hampton
Madoo Conservancy: 1:00 pm in Sagaponack
Bridge Gardens: 3:00 pm in Bridgehampton

Can't make the tour times? No worries. Each of the gardens are offering free admission all day long and can be self-toured.

This is a great way to see the public gardens of the East End! To RSVP for the tours, call 631.283.3195 or email to Events@PeconicLandTrust.org

I'm also pleased to welcome back this season Ed Hagmeyer. Ed joined the Bridge Gardens team last summer, and was a wonderful addition at the gardens. Ed has worked as a native plant gardener and on an organic farm before joining us at Bridge Gardens -- where he makes the daily commute from Rocky Point "which is so worth it once I get here," adds Ed.

Among his favorite places at Bridge Gardens are the vegetable garden beds, but more importantly, the new community gardens. "The fact that people are coming here and gardening -- alongside Rick and I -- is really fun and exciting. The community gardens are bringing Bridge Gardens to the next level of engagement with the public. It is great see people gardening here," said Ed.

I hope that you will visit us often throughout the season, and if you haven't joined as a member of Bridge Gardens for 2015, now is the perfect time.

Our programming is just starting and we offer member discounts to all of our programs -- many

of which are FREE to members! Join today!

It Looks to be a Busy Summer:

SOLD OUT: Community Gardens: Our new community garden plots are filled! We welcome 15 new gardeners to Bridge Gardens this year. The community garden plots are located in the Outer Gardens, and are quickly being planted with everything from seeds to seedlings.

Reminder: Paul Wagner Offers Free Lawn and Landscape Advice on Wednesdays from 2 to 5 pm. For that extra bit of help, Paul of Treewise Organics and Soil Foodweb NY is available to answer questions in person at the gardens. Or, you can email him at LawnExpert@PeconicLandTrust.org
Sustainable Landscape Workshops: We are offering a full season of workshops on a variety of subjects including composting, fertilizers, pests in the gardens, native plants for beneficial insects, irrigation and water management, and more. See our listing below or visit our online calendar for more programs and dates.
NEW: We have two fabulous programs with the Southampton Rose Society: On Saturday, May 23, at 10 am, we are hosting Dency Kane, renowned garden photographer for a workshop to help you capture the natural beauty of your garden; and on Saturday, June 6, also starting at 10 am, speaker Peter Bertrand will share the "Secrets of Growing a Queen of Show Hybrid Tea" with strategies and tricks of the trade! Visit our website for additional details.

I hope to see you at the gardens often this season. The summer snowflake (Leucojum aestivum), which is pictured at the top of the newsletter is just starting as is Grecian windflower (Anemone blanda).

Other flowers that will be joining us soon include Tulips, late daffodils -- like the poet's daffodil -- flowering onions (Allium), including "Purple Sensation" and Gladiator", and wild sweet crabapple (Malus coronaria,) a native species. Our tree at Bridge Gardens must be 30 to 40 years old.

We should also see foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea) starting in the herb garden. However, many of the flowers that normally bloom in May probably won't bloom until June, given the cold Spring we've had so far.

Volunteers Carol Ahlers and Susan Edwards have already started helping us with weeding this season. If you'd be interested in coming by and helping -- we'd love to have you join us. Contact me or Kathy Kennedy!

And don't forget to mark your calendar for our upcoming Friday Music in the Gardens, this year on July 17 with Charles Certain and Friends and on August 21 with Joe Hampton and the Kingpins. Save the dates and invite your family and friends to join us for what is always a fun show.

Wishing you a bountiful season,

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Bridge Gardens Notecards

Last season, photographer Jeff Heatley spent the year documenting the changing seasons at Bridge Gardens. The entire portfolio of images from Jeff is on his website, Art & Architecture Quarterly, starting with April 2014 through January 2015.

We've taken 8 of Jeff's images from the season and created gift set of note cards -- four featuring . A wonderful way to share Bridge Gardens with your friends and family.

The notecards, $12 for a set of 8 cards, are available on our website or call 631.283.3195.

More Happenings at the Gardens:

Sustainable Lawn and Landscape Programs

Save the date for these educational programs, a partnership with the Peconic Land Trust, Perfect Earth Project, Peconic Estuary Program and

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County

NEW: Photography and Rose Care programs

with the Southampton Rose Society

May 9: Your Soil: From Compost to Fertilizer with Paul Wagner of Treewise Organics. 10:00 am.
NEW: May 23: Garden Photography Lecture with Dency Kane. This program is presented in partnership with the Southampton Rose Society. 10:00 am.
June 13: Managing Pests and Diseases of the Lawn with Tamson Yeh. 10:00 am.
NEW: June 6: The Secrets of Growing a "Queen of Show" Hybrid Tea with Peter Bertrand. This program is presented in partnership with the Southampton Rose Society. 10:00 am.
July 25: Native Plants to Attract Pollinators & Beneficial Insects, Plus a Native Plant Sale with Vicki Bustamante. 10:00 am.
August 9: Managing Water Resources for the Home Garden with Robert Boyle of RB Irrigation. 2:00 pm.
August 15: Planting and Managing a Sustainable Lawn with Sean O'Neill, Tamson Yeh, and Paul Wagner. 10:00 am.
September 12: Designing with Native Grasses with Edwina von Gal. 10:00 am.
October 17: Bayscaping for the Health of Our Waterways with Sherryll Jones of Peconic Estuary Program. 10:00 am.

Visit our online calendar for details.

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Watercolor Classes Continue at Bridge Gardens!

Lois Bender continues her Spring series of watercolor classes

-- for all skill levels --

May 9, 16, and 23, 12-3pm.

Learn to paint floral bouquets and landscapes in a "nature sketchbook" style or bring your own project idea for development.

$45/class, reservation required through Lois' website at

www.GardenSpiritsNY.com

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Did you know?
Peconic Estuary Program Offers A

Homeowner Rewards Program

Peconic Estuary Program offers a Reward Program for homeowners who add

rain gardens, native plantings and/or rain barrels to their properties. The program is available to homeowners in the towns of Southold, Riverhead, Southampton, East Hampton and Brookhaven. Funds are limited and will be granted on a first come, first served basis. Check it out today and see if you qualify! www.PeconicEstuary.org

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A special thank you to Robert Boyle of

RB Irrigation for his Corporate Sponsorship

of Bridge Gardens this year!

If you'd like to know more about becoming a sponsor

of the Gardens, please contact us!

Thank you also to Goldman Sachs and Macy's -- both organizations will be sponsoring Corporate Volunteer Days at Bridge Gardens this Spring! We look forward to working with their teams.

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Don't Forget...

Lawn and Garden Advice

The Peconic Land Trust is partnering with the Peconic Estuary Program,

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County and Perfect Earth Project

to offer advice to homeowners on Sustainable Landscaping.

Visit our new Lawn and Landscape advice section on our website for more tips!

www.PeconicLandTrust.org/turf.html

Now is the Time:

Join Bridge Gardens Today!

photo by Jeff Heatley

Join today and visit as often as you like throughout the Spring, Summer and Fall. Also, memberships include free admission to our "Friday at Six" Music in the Gardens on July 17 and August 21 -- as well as reduced fees for programs throughout the year.

Individual: $50; Family: $75

You can purchase your membership online or call Robin Harris at 631.283.3195, ext. 19, or RHarris@PeconicLandTrust.org

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Partner News: Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons

trip to . . .

The Gardens of Seattle and Puget Sound

August 3 - 10, 2015

Hosted by C. Colston Burrell

The Northwest is a hub of innovative horticultural design and offers many opportunities to see historic gardens as well as those imbued with a modern ethos. The tour will visit the crème de la crème of private and public gardens, showcasing a variety of styles from Asian to Northwest Naturalistic.

Space is limited. Visit HAHGarden.org for more details.

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About Bridge Gardens and the Peconic land Trust

Bridge Gardens is a unique public and demonstration garden with a focus on sustainable practices in the heart of Bridgehampton, featuring an expansive herb garden, perennial and vegetable beds, an array of specimen trees and shrubs,

and much more. New in 2015: Community Gardens.

Managed by Rick Bogusch, Bridge Gardens is a stewardship project

of the Peconic Land Trust, which conserves Long Island's working farms,

natural lands and heritage. Bridge Gardens supports the Trust's mission

by serving as a multi-purpose, multi-disciplinary outdoor classroom,

demonstration garden and community resource.

For more information, visit our website at

www.PeconicLandTrust.org or call 631.283.3195.

Please help us further reduce our carbon footprint - If you change your address, or would like to receive all (or some) of your communications from the

Peconic Land Trust by email, let us know!

Contact Janet Schutt, Systems Manager, at 631.283.3195 ext. 24 or

email her at JSchutt@PeconicLandTrust.org.

Thank you for all you do in support of conservation in our communities!

Peconic Land Trust conserves Long Island's working farms, natural lands, and heritage for our communities now and in the future.

Financial Disclosure Statement: A copy of the last financial report filed with the New York State Attorney General may be obtained in writing to: New York State Attorney General's Charities Bureau, Attn: FOIL Officer, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271 or Peconic Land Trust, PO Box 1776, Southampton, NY 11969.