Mad Gardeners
Mad Gardeners, Inc. is an organization of professional horticulturists and serious home gardeners. The Corporation is formed for charitable, scientific, and education purposes, including to promote and foster the appreciation and understanding of horticulture, botany, and related environmental and ecological concerns; to conduct educational programs and forums; to promote public education, the development of students, and the improvement of professional skill in the field; to provide support to schools, arboreta and other organizations qualified under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and conduct any other activities and perform any and all acts which may be necessary, useful, suitable, or proper for the furtherance of the foregoing purposes.
Our fall and winter talks are only for Members and their guests. If you are interested, please go to the About Us/Join page of our website to become a member.
Saturday, November 8, at 11:00 am. George Schoellkopf, the creator of Hollister House Garden, will talk about his brand-new book Horticultural Heretic: An American Gardener Tells How He Broke the Rules to Make a Classic English Garden on a Hillside in New England. George will be signing copies of his book after the talk. Hollister House Garden is beautifully situated on a sloping, terraced site in the rolling hills of Litchfield County in Washington, CT. An American interpretation of such classic English gardens as Sissinghurst , Great Dixter and Hidcote, it is formal in structure but informal and rather wild in its style of planting. Begun in 1979 by George Schoellkopf, the garden unfolds in successive layers of space and color with delightful informal vistas from one section to the next. Eight-to-ten-foot walls and hedges with dramatic changes in level define the progression of garden rooms and create a firm architectural framework for the romantic abundance of the plantings. A winding brook and a large pond at the bottom of the lawn add to the variety of the garden scene. George was born in 1942 in Dallas, Texas, where he battled as a child against the harsh Texas climate to make his first garden. In 2005, he entered into an irrevocable agreement with the Garden Conservancy and Hollister House Garden Inc. to donate the entire property, including house, garden and twenty-five acres, to Hollister House Garden Inc. and has promised a large endowment to the organization toward the maintenance of the property in perpetuity.
Sunday, January 11, 2026, at 2:00 pm. It is great that you are adding native plants to your garden but did you know that water is also essential for wildlife to thrive. Mad Gardeners member Paul Tarasuk, owner of PD Waterscapes, will talk about ways you can add a water feature to your garden from simple to elaborate.
Saturday, February 7, 2026, at 2:00 pm. Please join us for the Mad Gardeners Annual Membership Meeting. All members are encouraged to attend the annual meeting to vote for the board of directors and hear reports on the finances and activities of the organization. Following the annual meeting, Chris Ferrero, a Cornell Master Gardener and a member of the Horticulture Advisory Committee of the Berkshire Botanical Garden, will present Gardening in Shades of Shade: How to Brighten All Kinds of Shady Home Landscapes.
Saturday, March 7, 2026 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Housatonic Valley Regional High School, 246 Warren Turnpike in Falls Village, Connecticut 06031
The Mad Gardeners 2026 Symposium will feature three terrific speakers: Lee Clippard, Executive Director of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, will speak about the center, its native plant database and their research on wildflower meadows; Cassie Banning, the Director of Farm and Gardens at the Mt. Desert Land & Garden Preserve, will speak about the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden, a 1920s collaborative design between Mrs. Rockefeller and Beatrix Farrand, and the over 160 annual varieties in its ten-thousand-square-foot border; and Madeline Hooper, creator and host of the public broadcasting series GardenFit, will lead a fun, interactive class on how to use your body to garden without causing aches and pains. Tickets go on sale in January!
Saturday, February 7, 2026 at 2 PM, New Milford Public Library. The Annual Meeting for the election of officers is scheduled for Feb. 7th. Following the annual meeting, Chris Ferrero, a Cornell Master Gardener and a member of the Horticulture Advisory Committee of the Berkshire Botanical Garden, will present Gardening in Shades: How to Brighten All Kinds of Shady Home Landscapes. Please contact us if you have any questions.
Members can see the most recent newsletter with photos and links on the members page.
To Join Mad Gardeners: Membership renewal forms are mailed to members every fall. Membership applications for new members are available 1) on-line on our website (see below), 2) by email from moebius122@optonline.net, or 3) by sending a request for an application with a stamped self-addressed business-sized envelope to the membership coordinator, Margaret Moebius, 122 Ridge Road, Clinton Corners, NY 12514-2549. People requesting membership applications after 9/1/2023 will receive the 2024 membership application when it is ready.
Donations: Mad Gardeners members have always been generous when we have been in need of money. Dues cover our basic expenses. Please continue your generosity. Your tax-deductible donations have allowed us to cover increased costs, organize educational programs, provide student scholarships and launch the Mile-a-Minute Control Project. Thank you!
The Early Career Award has been developed for professionals to further develop their desire to become more knowledgeable in their field. The purpose of this award is to provide a platform for new horticulturists to advance their work and reputation.
This opportunity is available to established professional gardeners, growers, landscape designers within the first 2 to 4 years of their current position to attend classes or meetings. It may also be awarded to qualifying second-year Horticultural and Environmental Science College students.
A one-time stipend not to exceed $2,000.00 will be offered.
Each participant will be required to submit details of the costs of the proposed program and an expanded 500-word letter detailing and explaining the entire learning program and how the learning opportunity will benefit them and the local community.
The applications will be judged by the Scholarship committee based on the following criteria:
• Applicants must be a member of Mad Gardeners and/or other professional Horticultural Organization.
• Scholarly Content: Description of the desired program is original, relevant, and presented clearly.
• Writing is concise, informative and effectively conveys knowledge. The story about the applicant's need is clear.
• Importance to Horticulture: The value and contribution to the horticultural science profession is substantiated.
Application may be submitted at any time.
For questions or to submit your application, please contact Robert Gambino, Chairman, Mad Gardeners' Scholarship Committee, 4 Old Mill Road, New Milford, CT 06776 • Telephone: 860 354-3319
The award will be announced as needed.
JOIN / RENEW Mad Gardeners Membership—Download the Mad Gardeners Membership Application using the button below. Visit the About Us page to learn about the benefits of joining.
Do not hesitate to recommend us to anyone who might benefit from the networking and educational opportunities we provide. As always, any donation sent in with your membership is greatly appreciated!
OUR WEBSITE—Our website is now open to the public, so it is much easier for our members to spread the word about our organization. Feel free to share the website link with prospective members. The Members section of the site remains private, however, and requires use of our password.
AREA EVENTS—Noteworthy events and announcements are listed. It is a frequently updated resource for garden-related events in the area, and is a page we recommend you visit regularly. Events open only to MG members will be listed in the Members section of the site and accessible by password.
HOW TO SHARE NEWS & EVENTS—How to spread the word about your non-profit organization’s event through us: We are an informal group. Our 3 mailed newsletters are published fall, winter and spring.
Some events are included in the newsletter, but all are forwarded to our webmaster for possible posting. Note: notices emailed to members are restricted to business-related information and meeting reminders, with other events occasionally tacked on. They are sent infrequently so we recommend that you regularly check this website for area news and events.
Thank you to Douglas Tallamy for his talk "Plant It And They Will Come" and thank you to all who attended! The video is posted below.
Douglas Tallamy: Plant It And They Will Come
sponsored by Mad Gardeners
a non-profit organization of professional and non-professional gardeners dedicated to promoting "appreciation and cultivation of plants, and the creation, conservation and maintenance of gardens and suitable habitats for such plants through educational programs and meetings.
LINKS—Here are some links from Douglas Tallamy's talk:
• Homegrown National Park—https://homegrownnationalpark.org/
• Native Plant Finder—https://www.nwf.org/NativePlantFinder/
Email:
MadGardener@MadGardeners.org
Mailing Address: PO Box 146, Sherman, CT 06784-0146
Copyright © 2021 Mad Gardeners. All rights reserved.