Builder of Cool Stuff and Owner at Kilted Moose Outdoor Furniture (kiltedmoose.com)
Explain your job and what it entails.
I started by building, essentially, outdoor furniture, Adirondack chairs and coolers…. It kind of progressed from there to looking at something and then trying to figure out, ‘How do I make this and what’s the best way to make it?’ So I’ve done everything from the chairs, different style chairs to coffee tables, cutting boards, charcuterie boards from different materials just to see if I can work through how to do it and how to build something kind of different and maybe unique.
How long have you had this job?
I started doing this in 2017. It’s not my full-time position but it’s definitely something that helps fill the time and keep me active. You can’t really focus on anything other than what you’re doing when you start using table saws.
What led you to this career field and your current job?
I learned basic construction … from my dad. … I started getting interested in seeing the stuff people were making and wondering if I could make that and then I figured out that I could and then just trying to keep finding a way to challenge myself.
What kind of education or training did you need?
I haven’t had any formal education in making anything but I find that there’s a lot of really talented people out there, whether on YouTube or Instagram, who are really good at showing what they do. They kind of stress a woodworking community over competition, and helping each other get great ideas….
What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?
Depending on the weather, usually shorts and a T-shirt. Some type of … protection and I use a mask because a lot of the sawdust, particularly with exotic woods, is a bit toxic.
What is the most challenging thing about your work, and how do you deal with it?
My biggest challenge is I’m my own worst critic.
What do you wish you had known at the beginning of your career?
I wish I knew how to maximize what I am getting out of a piece of wood and to minimize waste. Particularly now when wood is so expensive. …. You want to be able to maximize every inch of that board considering the price of it these days.
What do you wish other people knew about your job?
I wish they understood what it costs to make something handmade.
What was your first job?
I worked at Burger King. I loaded hamburgers onto a conveyor belt,
What is the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?
Don’t take things too seriously, you have to enjoy the moment. You have to enjoy the process of putting together and creating something and not let the stress of trying to make it perfect overwhelm you. – Zachary Lewis
Five favorites Favorite book: The Stand by Stephen King Favorite movie:Death to Smoochy Favorite music: I like hard rock, metal Favorite food: Pizza Favorite thing about NH: I like that you can be in any environment within like 45 minutes depending on which direction you travel … the variety in New Hampshire is endless.
Gardening Advice from Local Green Thumbs Plus Garden Clubs & Plant Sales
Everyone’s thumb can be a little greener.
In this week’s issue, we offer tips for better gardening — or even just a better gardening mindset — from local experts. Whether this is your first spring putting seeds in the dirt or you’ve been tending to a yard full of plants for years, these experts have helpful advice.
Longtime gardener and gardening writer Henry Homeyer gives his advice for a successful vegetable garden this season. We asked some local garden club members for their tips for better gardening — want more from them? We also have a list of when and where to meet up with local garden clubs to get more hacks from longtime green thumbs. And whether you’re just starting with your gardening journey or expanding your garden every year, there’s no better place to get good advice and hardy plants than those clubs’ plant sales.
Despite late snow storms that dumped deep snow over much of New England, spring is right around the corner. Let’s take a look at some keys to a successful year in the vegetable garden.
1. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Yes, I grow about 40 tomato plants each year, but most folks don’t want to can or to put up many pounds in the freezer. A well-tended small garden is better than a huge weedy one. Select plants that you love, and just plant a few. Don’t crowd them. You don’t have to start everything from seed — most garden centers have plants for sale in six-packs, and a good selection of varieties.
2. Don’t use any chemicals in the garden. Mother Nature doesn’t, and you shouldn’t either. A chemical fertilizer is largely made of salts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Too much of these salts can kill the microorganisms that work with the roots of your plants to feed them. A bag of 10-10-10 is 70 percent filler, and the content of this portion is not specified — it’s a “trade secret.”
This potato beetle will lay orange eggs under potato leaves. Remove them all! Photo by Henry Homeyer.
3. Compost is your best friend in the garden. Unlike chemical fertilizers, it provides most or all of the micronutrients needed by plants, things like magnesium, calcium and sulfur. And it contains living organisms, the bacteria and fungi that work with your plant roots to provide nutrients to your plants. Mycorrhizal fungi coat the roots of plants. They produce acids that dissolve minerals and share them with your plants. The plants pay the fungi with excess sugars they produce on sunny days.
4. Build up mounds of soil and compost to create raised beds, or build wood-sided ones. You can hoe soil from the walkways into your raised beds, and maybe buy a pickup truck load of compost to mix in and enrich your soil. Most landscapers will deliver compost. Raised beds provide nice loose soil and discourage kids and dogs from walking through them. And in a rainy summer like the last one, raised beds drain well,
5. Enrich your soil with organic fertilizers like Pro-Gro and Plant Tone. They are made from things like ground peanut hulls, soybean meal, seaweed and oyster shells, with a few naturally occurring minerals. They are broken down in the soil and released slowly — just a small amount is water-soluble. They are a big help in poor soils, but don’t overdo these either.
Raised beds are easier to weed and harvest. Photo by Henry Homeyer.
6. Make a habit of walking through your garden every day. Look for problems: Are your newly transplanted tomatoes looking limp? If so, they probably need water. Are there potato beetles? The Colorado potato bug can be a real problem. But if you watch for orange egg masses under the leaves and scrape them off, and pick larvae and beetles every day, you can control the problem in a home garden. One adult lays many eggs that can produce new adults in 30 days or so.
7. Don’t let weeds blossom and produce seeds. Ever. Make 10 minutes of weeding every day a part of your daily ritual, just like you brush your teeth every day. Use a good weeding tool — I really like the CobraHead Weeder because it easily gets under weeds and can be used to tease out long roots. Some weeds spread by root, so getting out entire roots is important. A scrap of root from many grasses will survive and produce new plants.
8. Water judiciously. Those flip-flop overhead watering devices may be good for a newly planted lawn, but they waste a lot of water in your vegetable garden. Water with watering can, or attach a watering wand to your hose. A good watering wand allows you to water around your plants, but not your walkways or empty places. Too busy to water, or off to the beach? Use a water timer and soaker hoses. They can do the job for you.
9. Why weed your walkways and around your tomatoes many times in a season if you can prevent it? I put down four to six layers of newspaper, then a layer of straw or mulch hay to keep it in place and help hold in moisture. Most weeds won’t grow though the newspaper, and earthworms will eat it up by the end of the season. Inks in newspapers now are soy-based, but I avoid the colored sections.
10. Don’t get discouraged, no matter what. Last summer we had lots of rain and not so much sunshine, and many vegetables did not perform well for me — or anybody. Your garden will do better in times of drought or persistent rain if the soil is rich in organic matter and biologically active. Regularly re-plant some things you know how to grow, perhaps lettuce, and rejoice in fresh salads. And remember, there is never a good reason to spray chemicals on your plants — after all, if it kills the Japanese beetles, it can’t be good for you. Good luck!
Henry eats something from his garden every day of the year by storing and freezing things from his not-so-small garden. Send him questions or comments by email at [email protected], by mail at PO Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746. Please include SASE if you wish a response by mail. He will be writing just one article a month henceforth.
Plant sale season
Get greenery and advice
Looking for new perennials, annuals, herbs, vegetable seedlings and more? Head to a local plant sale, often held by local garden clubs. Not only can you find our-region-friendly plants; you can also find experts who can help you find success with that butterfly bush or early-producing tomato. And here’s a plant sale shopping tip: Show up early to have your pick of plants or show up near the end of the sale when remaining plants are often priced to move.
Know of a plant sale not mentioned here? Let us know at [email protected].
• Amherst Garden Club will host its plant sale on Saturday, May 11, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Wilkins School (80 Boston Post Road in Amherst). According to their website, they will be highlighting native plants this year. They encourage participants to come and learn why these are important for our environment by visiting the many vendors who will be selling vegetables, herbs, hanging pots, houseplants, garden ornaments, used garden books and magazines, container pots and more, according to the same site. There will also be delicious home-baked items to eat or for gifting, according to the same site. See amherstgardenclub.org/plant_sale.
• Bedford NH Garden Club will hold its plant sale Saturday, May 18, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Bedford Village Common, 15 Bell Hill Road. See bedfordgardenclubnh.org.
• Candia Garden Club will hold its annual plant sale Saturday, May 18, from 9 a.m. to noon at Rockingham Lodge #76 (12 South Road in Candia). The sale will feature annuals, herbs and vegetables. Members dig up perennials from their yards. There is a raffle of garden-related and other items.
• The Friends of the Daland Memorial Library will hold a plant sale on Saturday, May 18, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at Daland Memorial Library, 5 N. Main St. in Mont Vernon.
• The Derry Garden Club has a plant sale Saturday, June 1, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Robert Frost Farm on Rockingham Road in Derry. “We’ll have anywhere from 1,200 to 1,500 plants to sell,” said Diana Hill, club president. Their club puts a lot of focus on perennials, she said, “but we also do have members that start annuals and herb and vegetable plants as well. We sell trees.” See derrygardenclub.org.
• The Colonial Garden Club of Hollis will hold its plant sale on Saturday, May 11, at Lawrence Barn Field on Depot Road from 9 a.m. to noon. The event is their annual fundraiser and provides the funds for their monthly educational programs, community contributions, charitable contributions, scholarships, town plantings, seasonal decorations and more, according to hollisgardenclub.org.
• The Friends of the East Kingston Public Library will hold a book, bake and plant sale on Saturday, May 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the East Kingston Public Library, 47 Maplevale Road in East Kingston. See eknh.org.
• The Goffstown Community Garden Club will hold its plant sale on Saturday, May 18, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Town Commons (at the corner of Main and Elm streets in Goffsotwn).
• Great Island Garden Club in New Castle will hold a plant sale on Saturday, May 18, from noon to 3 p.m. at New Castle Recreation Center, 301 Wentworth Road in New Castle. See greatislandgardenclub.org.
Calla Lilies. Photo by Carolyn Taylor of the Hooksett Garden Club.
• Hooksett Garden Club plant sale will take place at the Hooksett Public Library, 31 Mount St. Mary’s Way in Hooksett, on Saturday, June 1, from 9 a.m. until noon, rain or shine. The event will feature annuals, perennials, vegetable plants, herbs, houseplants, a garden-related yard sale, and Ask A Master Gardener booth where you can find out all about the plants you are buying, a children’s table and raffle items from local businesses and crafters, according to hooksettnhgardenclub.org. Most plants are from Hooksett Garden Club members, the website said.
• Hopkinton Garden Club’s 2024 spring plant sale takes place on Saturday, May 11, between 8 a.m. and noon at the Hopkinton Town Common, where club members will sell a wide variety of annuals and perennials, many grown in their own gardens, and includes flowers, vegetables, herbs, native plants and hanging baskets, and cash, check and credit card payments will be accepted, according to their website. The spring plant sale is the Hopkinton Garden Club’s major annual fundraiser. See hopkintongardenclub.org.
• Massabesic Garden Club in Auburn will hold a plant sale on Saturday, May 18, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Griffin Free Public Library (22 Hooksett Road in Auburn). See massabesicgc.org.
• The Merrimack Garden Club will hold its plant sale on Saturday, Aug. 3, beginning at 8 a.m. at Saint James United Methodist Church, 646 D.W. Highway in Merrimack. See merrimackgardenclub.org.
• The Milford Garden Club will hold its annual plant sale on Saturday, May 18, from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Community House Lawn, 5 Union St. in Milford. The event will feature a variety of perennials as well as a raffle table, a bake table, other vendors and a performance by the MHS Jazz Band, according to milfordnhgardenclub.org.
• Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum, 18 Highlawn Road in Warner, will hold its annual plant sale on Saturday, June 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The New Hampshire Herbal Network will also hold its annual Herb and Garden Day in the museum’s Powwow Field. See indianmuseum.org.
• The Nashua NH Garden Club will hold its plant sale on Saturday, May 18, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Nashua Historical Society, 5 Abbott St. in Nashua.
• The Newfields Garden Club will hold its plant sale on Saturday, May 25, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Town Hall, 65 Main St. in Newfields. Find them on Facebook.
• Project Inspire 603, an organization that helps New Hampshire classrooms get school supplies, will hold a plant sale on Friday, May 17, and Saturday, May 18, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 88 Kelsey Mill Road in Northwood. Find them on Facebook.
• Tailgate Transport and Rescue, a dog rescue nonprofit, will hold its second annual plant sale on Saturday, June 1, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Burger King parking lot at 737 D.W. Highway in Manchester.
• The Unitarian Universalist Church of Manchester (669 Union St. in Manchester) will hold its annual plant sale on Saturday, May 18, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Persian Shield. Photo by Carolyn Taylor of the Hooksett Garden Club.
“Don’t know who needs to hear this … but, you’re a good gardener. The plant should have tried harder.” — a post on the Pelham Garden Group Facebook page.
Or, as a Canterbury Garden Club presentation put it, “Don’t sweat it! Whatever happens in the garden … just don’t sweat it!”
For more advice on how to approach your garden — from general philosophy to specific plant tips — we asked area garden club members to weigh in.
From the Bedford NH Garden Club
Jeanene Procopis, who handles publicity for the Bedford Garden Club, said, “In our garden club we concentrate on perennials, planting perennials, and we try to plant native plants, plants that are native to this region rather than plants that wouldn’t be acclimated to our conditions here, so we try to push those native plants.”
And you can plant what’s pretty, or easy.
“We all enjoy annuals for their pop of color during the growing season,” Procopis said. “Perennials come back every year and they can be divided. They can be shared with friends or neighbors. They’re kind of a workhorse of a plant but they can provide a lot of beauty and enjoyment to a garden.”
When asked for garden tips, she said, “I’m not a master gardener…. Daylilies usually will grow in lots of conditions. They’re an extremely hearty plant but they need to be divided after a while because they will start growing within the pot they are planted in and start crowding together…. A lot of people have daylilies in their yard because they come back every year and they’re very low-maintenance. In the fall you need to cut back the dead leaves to get them ready for winter but in the spring they push up their leaves. Some are early bloomers, some are a little later, so they’re just a really hearty plant.”
As for her views on gardening overall: “For most people it’s a fun hobby. You learn by trial and error sometimes. You might have the wrong plant in the wrong place, but it’s a hobby of discovery, and for most people it’s extremely relaxing and rewarding because you get to see something grow and it’s kind of fun and beautiful.”
From the Concord Garden Club
Gena Moses, president of the Concord Garden Club, encourages gardeners to “have less lawn and plant more areas that are friendly to native species, that are more friendly to animals … plant for wildlife value, reduce your nighttime light pollution. Don’t use fertilizers or sprays.”
From the Derry Garden Club
Diana Hill, president of Derry Garden Club, responded to a request for a tip on gardening by saying, “You mean 2,000 gardening tips.” After narrowing that number down, the first thing Hill spoke about was jumping worms and how to mitigate them. These are “horrible, invasive worms … and they eat the understory of our forests, and we don’t want to spread the jumping worm, so when we get plants in the community … we bare-root the plants, we take all the dirt off, we wash them and put them in clean soil so we’re not spreading these worms…. We have these huge parties where we wash [roots] and get together … have lunch and drink wine and just scrub pots clean so we know we’re not spreading any invasive species.”
Derry Garden Club is also into urban pollinator gardens.
“Don’t clean up your gardens too early in the spring.” Hill said. “The pollinators can’t survive under the temperature of 50 degrees at night and the pollinators and bees burrow in leaf litter and dead plant litter, and if you clean it up too soon the bees and pollinators will have no place to go at night … so don’t clean up your gardens until it’s 50 degrees in the day and the night.”
Her final tip was about the perennial flowering plant anise hyssop; these, she said, “will feed the pollinators with pollen, of course, and their nectar, but birds also eat the seed heads at the end of the season, so it becomes an empty tube for the bees to live in, in the wintertime. So it hits all three seasons. Some varieties are native to New Hampshire. They propagate very easily, they self-seed, which is nice, you can fill in your garden quickly and you can also transplant them to other areas of your yard and they are full-sun and drought tolerant, so they’re basically a hands-off plant.”
From the Epping Garden Club
Eunice Miller mentioned one of her favorite tips is that so many people buy something that isn’t the right fit, and that it is important to get the right plant for the right location. If it needs sun, put it where the plant will get sun, and so on.
From the Hooksett Garden Club
Carolyn Taylor, publicity chair for the Hooksett Garden Club, offered a gardening tip for a tropical plant that can live in New Hampshire: “A few years ago my brother gave me some canna bulbs, rhizomes actually, and I got hooked. Although they are tropical plants not native to New England you see them in large planters in front of stores, restaurants, etc. … I put them in the ground as soon as the soil has reached 50 degrees and no danger of frost, usually in May.”
They need space because the bulbs will multiply, and “each plant should have three to five ‘eyes’ planted facing up.” Canna bulbs love the sun and water. “They pretty much need full sun because they are tropical and they need quite a bit of water,” Taylor said. “They take about three weeks to come up … and once they come up, will bloom all summer into the fall. You can keep them blooming by cutting off dead flowers.”
Birds are big, if tiny, fans of the plant, she said. “They’re very attractive to hummingbirds. They really love the fact that they’re open, they can get into them.”
From the Litchfield NH Garden & Plant Enthusiasts (a Facebook group)
“Mulch, mulch, mulch. And weed right after the rain. Start small and then expand. When in doubt, ask! There are lots of people who have years of local experience. AND look around. See what other people in your community are growing and when. Then you will know what does well in your area,” posted Stacy Lamountain.
“Start small and get to know your plants. When you see and experiment with them in each stage, you can better understand and predict what techniques they might like and what they might not. Then you can start to recognize their sisters and cousins and predict what they might like too. And finally, because you’ve gotten to know them well, it isn’t quite work anymore to care for them. It’s more like visiting a friend,” posted Kate Stevens.
From the Manchester NH Garden Club
“Spending some time in the fall putting your garden to bed will make your job much easier in the following spring.” — Fiona McKenna
From the Merrimack Garden Club
“If you start plants from seed indoors, harden them off by leaving them outside during the day and bringing them back inside at night for a week. This will help prevent the seedlings from getting shocked when they get in the ground.” — Jennifer Mayer-Cox
From the Nashua Garden Club
“Stop the back-breaking work of adding mulch to your gardens each spring. Instead, use ground covers to block out weeds and add attractive flowers to the bare spots in your perennial beds.” — Terry Robinson Lemack
“In the fall, when I bring in plants that have spent the summer outside, I am very careful to hose off the leaves and roots in hopes that I don’t bring an infestation of insects into my house.” — Joan Bonnette
From the Salem Friendship and Gardening Club
“Plant native flowering plants that will feed pollinators. Please don’t spray your dandelions!” — Lorie Ball
From the Tailgate Transport Rescue, which is holding its second annual plant sale
“When you buy a new plant, find out what it needs, so you can plant it in your yard where it will get the right amount of sunlight.” — Jennifer Abericio
From the Unitarian Universalist Church in Manchester, which holds an annual plant sale
“Dig up plants for transplanting in the early spring, just as they are starting to bud. When planting transplants, water the hole thoroughly before burying the new plant, then again, after it’s been buried; this will give the roots a chance to have contact with moist soil.” — Jean Stfanik
Fellow gardeners
The Burleigh Triangle Garden. “The Burleigh” is a small trianglar garden at the intersection of Ministerial and Bedford Center roads. Photo courtesy of Jeanene Procopis of the Bedford Garden Club.
Here are some of the area garden clubs. Know of one not mentioned here? Let us know at [email protected].
• Amherst Garden Club meets monthly from September through June at the Messiah Lutheran Church (303 Route 101 in Amherst) on the first Thursday of the month except in September, when they meet the first Thursday after Labor Day. The meetings typically include a featured speaker, according to their website, amherstgardenclub.org, with their business meetings beginning at 9:15 a.m. and followed by a featured speaker at 10:30 a.m.
• The Bow Garden Club typically meets on the second Monday of the months of April, May, June, September, October and November while a special “Progressive Dinner & Garden Tour” is held in mid-July for members and their guests, according to bowgardenclub.org. There is no August meeting and the club’s annual business meeting and holiday brunch is held on the second Saturday of December, according to the same website.
• Candia Garden Club meetings are held the fourth Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. in the meeting room of the Smyth Public Library (194 High St. in Candia)
• Canterbury NH Garden Club meets every other month beginning in October and alternating weekday and Saturday mornings to accommodate a variety of schedules. Frequent communications are maintained through their email list. Contact [email protected].
• The Concord Garden Club holds monthly meetings, typically on Thursdays, from September through May plus the CGC annual luncheon in early May. “We do member-focused events all year long,” said Gena Moses, President of the Concord Garden Club. One event that is open to the public happens “in conjunction with Concord Parks and Rec department called Habitat at your Home which is to try to help residents learn how to plant more sustainable gardens at their homes.” This event will be held at City Wide Community Center at 14 Canterbury Road in Concord on Wednesday, May 1, from 6 to 8 p.m. with tickets ranging from $10 to $20 and participants will need to register to attend. See concordgardenclubnh.com.
• Derry Garden Club meets the first Friday of every month with most of the meetings held at the Boys & Girls Club (40 E. Derry Road in Derry); get in touch through their website, derrygardenclub.org, since they are not able to use the space in the summer months.
• Dunbarton Garden Club will celebrate the 20-year anniversary of the Daffodils of Dunbarton project with five different daffodil packages: General John Stark Blend, Molly Stark Mix, Caleb’s Courage, Scipio Page Blend and Dunn Cottage Blend, with sale information to be updated soon, according to dunbartongardenclub.org. The club meets once a month from April through December, typically on the second Monday of the month at the library/old town hall (1004 School St.) on the second floor, according to the website.
• The Epping Garden Club has an annual pansy fundraiser in the spring after the Memorial Day parade, a pink petunia sale around the first week of June, and a Fall Color sale with mums, asters and ornamental cabbages from Wentworth Greenhouses in Rollinsford at the end of August, for which the Epping Garden Club will take pre-paid orders. Email [email protected].
• The Goffstown Garden Club meets March through December on the first Thursdays at the Odd Fellows Lodge, 42 Mountain Road, at 6:30 p.m. It’s a community garden club with plots for residents. Find them on Facebook.
• The Colonial Garden Club of Hollis holds regular meetings on the first Tuesday of October, November, December, February, March, April and May at the Lawrence Barn at 9 a.m., according to hollisgardenclub.org.
• The Green Team of Londonderry meets on the third Thursday of each month from 6 to 7:45 p.m. at the Leach Public Library, 276 Mammoth Road in Londonderry. Find them on Facebook.
• The Hooksett Garden Club holds monthly meetings at the Hooksett Public Library (31 Mount Saint Mary’s Way in Hooksett) on the fourth Wednesday of the month, February through October, with social time from 6 to 6:30 p.m., the meeting (often with a program) starting at 6:30 p.m. and then a business meeting at 7:30 p.m. See hooksettnhgardenclub.org.
• The Hopkinton Garden Club meets on the third Tuesday of each month, September through May, according to hopkintongardenclub.org.
• The Kingston Garden Club meets in person on the third Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at Kingston Community Library, 2 Library Lane in Kingston. Find them on Facebook.
• The Loudon Gardeners Club meets on the third Tuesday of each month, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Loudon Community Building, 29 S. Village Road in Loudon, according to the Loudon Town Calendar. Find them on Facebook.
• The Manchester NH Garden Club meets one Thursday a month (see manchesternhgardenclub.weebly.com for the upcoming dates) at Girls at Work, 200 Bedford St. in Manchester.
• The Massabesic Garden Club in Auburn has monthly meetings on its schedule at massabesicgc.org, where you can find more about membership. The next meeting is Wednesday, May 8, at 6 p.m. and wraps up the 2023/2024 season.
• The Merrimack Garden Club meets on the fourth Tuesday of every month at 6:30 p.m. at the St. James United Methodist Church, 646 D.W. Highway in Merrimack. See merrimackgardenclub.org.
• The Milford Garden Club meets on the second Monday of every month at 10:30 a.m. at the First Congregational Church Parish House, 10 Union St. in Milford. See milfordnhgardenclub.org.
• The Nashua Garden Club meets the first Wednesday each month from 7 to 9 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, 121 Manchester St. in Nashua and via Zoom. See sites.google.com/view/nashuanhgardenclub.
• The Newfields Garden Club meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Paul Memorial Library, 76 Main St. in Newfields. Find them on Facebook.
• Salem Friendship and Gardening Club meets on the third Monday of each month from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at the Kelley Library, 234 Main St. in Salem. See salemfriendshipandgardenclub.org.
• Weare Garden Club meets the first Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Hand in Hand Senior Center and Thrift Shop, 33 N. Stark Highway in Weare. Find them on Facebook.
• Windham Garden Club meets on the third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. at Windham Town Hall, 4 N. Lowell Road in Windham. See windhamgardenclub.org.
Garden tours Get ideas from other people’s gardens at area garden tours. Know of other tours? Let us know at [email protected].
• See the Secret Gardens of New London in a tour of six gardens, held by the New London Garden Club on Thursday, June 20, from 9 a.m.to 3 p.m. Tickets cost $25 in advance; see newlondongardenclub.org. • The 35th annual Pocket Gardens of Portsmouth Tour will take place Friday, June 21, from 5 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, June 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The self-guided tour of eight private gardens and one public garden in the Little Harbor neighborhood will also include music, artists and more, according to southchurch-uu.org, the website of the South Church Unitarian Universalist Congregation, which is holding the event. Tickets cost $25 in advance and $30 on the day if available. • The Palace Theatre will hold its annual Garden Tour of nine gardens (plus other stops) around Manchester on Saturday, June 22, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets cost $25 in advance and $30 on the day. See palacetheatre.org. • The Bedford Garden Club will hold a “Follow the Blooms” garden tour of seven gardens in Bedford on Saturday, June 29, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets cost $25 when purchased in advance (see bedfordgardenclubnh.org) and $30 when purchased on the day from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Bedford Village Common at 15 Bell Hill Road.
Time to clean out. Wondering if there is any value to these homemade Barbie-size doll clothes made by my mom for my sister and myself. I have fond memories of playing with them. Tried to pass them on but no interest these days. What to do with them?
Thank you, Donna.
Cynthia
Dear Cynthia,
Your dresses bring back memories for me as well.
Handmade doll clothes (hand-stitched and sewing machine-made) can be collectible. I think the older the better, and detailing, material, condition etc. all come into play for value.
Barbie-era clothes would all have value to a collector. The patterns on ones like yours are so “modern”-looking. How fun to mix in with original Barbie outfits.
The value I think is in the buyer. I would think in the $5+ range for each outfit. The elaborate or wild could even bring lots more!
Cynthia, thanks for the memory and I hope you find a new home for the clothes.
Donna Welch has spent more than 35 years in the antiques and collectibles field, appraising and instructing. Her new location is an Antique Art Studio located in Dunbarton where she is still buying and selling. If you have questions about an antique or collectible send a clear photo and information to Donna at [email protected], or call her at 391-6550.
Check out the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire (27 Navigator Road in Londonderry; aviationmuseumofnh.org) on Thursday, April 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. — one of the extra days the museum is open for April vacation week. From 1 to 4 p.m., operators will be on duty for kids ages 12 and up to try the Elite Flight Simulator, according to a press release. Admission costs $10 for ages 13 and up, $5 for ages 6 to 12 (and for veterans) and free for kids under 6. The museum’s regular hours are Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m.
A quieter storytime
Nashua Public Library (2 Court St., Nashua) will host Sensory Story Time on Thursday, April 25, from 1:30 to 2 p.m. This is designed for kids in grades K-5 who have sensory processing challenges or autism, according to the website. The program will include a set schedule for kids to follow along, quieter music, and dimmed lights. Participants are encouraged to bring their own sensory seating and fidgets, according to the website. Visit nashualibrary.org.
A senatorial storytime
U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan is scheduled to attend the storytime on Friday, April 26, at 1:30 p.m. at Bookery (844 Elm St. in Manchester; bookerymht.com). The event is free; register online.
Movie night
Need some family entertainment? Shrek 2 (PG, 2004) is screening at the Chunky’s Cinema Pub in Manchester (707 Huse Road; chunkys.com). See it Thursday, April 25, at 2:30 p.m.
Science Playground
Weather permitting, the Science Playground at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Way in Concord; starhop.com) will open for the season on Wednesday, May 1. The center itself is open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Sunday, April 28 (and then reverts to regular school year hours of Wednesdays through Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.). The playground is part of the regular admission to the center, which costs $13 for adults, $12 for ages 13 through college or 62+ and $10 for ages 3 to 12. Planetarium shows cost an additional $7 per person; see the website for a schedule.
On a 35-acre parcel of land, The Educational Farm at Joppa Hill provides a path to learning about life on a farm for the whole family with their friendly menagerie of livestock and volunteers to guide you along the way. The farm is open and free to the public from sun-up to sundown every day of the year. Visitors can feed the animals, explore extensive trails, or take part in one of the many events, like fairs, concerts and even a Christmas tree bonfire after the holiday season.
The Farm and barnyard family will be growing this year.
“We are excited to announce that we are acquiring new animals,” Kim Wall, a member of their board of directors, said, and they will be “rebuilding our bunny enclosure, just to give you a hint of some of the animals that might be coming, and … we are redoing all the fencing around the farm and around the animal enclosures.” These additions and renovations will enhance an already pleasant environment.
Because it is an educational farm, Joppa Hill has a bountiful harvest of programs to educate the public throughout the year. One particular program that gets a lot of attention is the summer camp.
“There are kids who will sign up for multiple weeks,” of camp, Wall said. She pointed out a perk to visiting the Farm or attending summer camp: “You can play with these animals and not have them at home.”
Katie Schelzel, Farm Manager and Camp Director, gets a lot of joy from running the summer camp.
“It is so fun to watch [campers] gain ownership in the success of the farm and caring for the animals and taking care of the property and going inside of the barn,” Schelzel said. “My favorite part of camp is when parents come and pick the kids up … and they pull their exhausted parents around the entire farm and show them every animal in detail and stories of all the things they learned throughout the day, and I am an exhausted parent so I know what that’s like, but it’s a real treat to watch them feel so proud of what they do.”
Each camp is centered on activities tailored to a specific barnyard animal.
“For cow week we make butter. For horse week, we’re grooming the horses and bathing the horses. Chicken week we do a lot of experimentation with eggs.’ she said. “There’ll be farm- and animal-themed books. Daily lessons and activities about the animals are what really change.”
Some things are the same every week.
“We have eight weeks, we’re considering adding a ninth, and each week has a different animal theme but every day of every week has the same general routing.” Schelzel said. “Every day kids will do barn chores such as collecting eggs, measuring feed for the animals, or mucking the horse stalls. They’ll go on daily nature hikes.”
Sixty spots per week are available for kids ages 5 to 12 with two cohorts, the first for ages 5 to 8 and the other for 9 to 12, so that the experience is tailored to their age range. The day on the farm goes from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and registration starts in late March. Farm members get priority registration.
“It’s really structured so that kids could come for every week and still have something new every week,” Schelzel said. “Even if a week fills up, there’s a waitlist, which isn’t ust like the pie-in-the-sky waitlist …. As parents, you know, you sign your kids up in the spring and then you get an opportunity for summer plans and you have to change your week — so I would definitely encourage parents to use the waitlist … it’s rolling, so there isn’t a deadline.”
The first week of camp starts June 17, and it’s Sheep Week.
Schelzel signed her own daughter up a few years ago and she’s never looked back.
“My daughter actually went five, six years ago to camp, which is how I originally was introduced to the farm,” she said. “And then I started volunteering … working for the farm, and now I’m the Farm Manager and Camp Director and have an amazing team that helps keep it updated … and having an exciting curriculum to learn and be really hands-on with the animals.”
Fresh air with blue skies or rain clouds can’t be beat.
“There’s something naturally therapeutic about being out in nature and with animals all day. One of the most special things about the farm is that everybody leaves happy. Parents can feel good when they pick their kids up at the end of the day that they’re learning about nature and about animals,” Schelzel said. “They’re learning about teamwork and organization and responsibility and they’re having fun while doing it.”
Summer camp with farm animals
The Educational Farm at Joppa Hill 174 Joppa Hill Road, Bedford theeducationalfarm.org, 472-4724
Camp is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., $350 per week. Ages 5 – 8, limited to 30 campers per week. Ages 9 – 12, limited to 30 campers per week.
Extended day option (limited to 15 campers) offers early drop-off (8 a.m.) and late pick-up (by 5 p.m.) for $75 per week.
Snack boost: $20 per week. Sheep Week | Week 1: June 17 – June 21 Alpaca Week | Week 2: June 24 – June 28 Duck Week | Week 3: July 8 – July 12 Goat Week | Week 4: July 15 – July 19 Bunny Week | Week 5: July 22 – July 26 Horse Week | Week 6: July 29 – Aug. 2 Chicken Week | Week 7: Aug. 5 – Aug. 9 Cow Week | Week 8: Aug. 12 – Aug. 16
For anyone who ever wondered where songs come from, the Palace Theatre’s splendid production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical provides a perfect primer. It’s to director Carl Rajotte’s credit that the music, performed by a talented ensemble cast, is accompanied by photos of original artists like the Drifters, Shirelles and Righteous Brothers, as well as the principal artists played by feature actors.
Rachel Gubow shines in the title role, her first at the Palace, both as a singer and actress. She reveals how King, along with songwriting partner Gerry Goffin, helped shape the soundtrack of a generation. Austin Mirsoltani, also making his Palace debut, does an admirable job as Goffin, as he illustrates the inspiration for songs like “Up on the Roof” and “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” along with the challenges of working in a highly competitive creative environment.
That milieu is fleshed out by Donnie Kirschner, who ran Aldon Music in 1960s Times Square, played by Ken Quiricone, along with fellow songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. In the latter roles, Evan Ross Brody and Lauren Echausse are hilarious, earning more than a few laugh-out-loud moments on opening night.
Brody is reprising a role he recently played in a Florida production of Beautiful. In an interview following the initial performance, Director Rajotte called the pair’s contribution essential. “Evan sent us his reel, and I just thought he was hysterical,” he said. “This show needs that, Cynthia and Barry, to lighten it up.”
He continued that Gubow seemed destined to portray the artist who, as a composer, helped shape the mid-20th-century’s Great American Songbook and later joined contemporaries like James Taylor and Joni Mitchell for a singer-songwriter movement that included her 1971 solo album Tapestry.
When the show opened on Broadway, Gubow was just out of school and auditioned for the lead role, urged by her agent. “That was her first Broadway callback, and even though she knew at the time it was a dream, ever since then she’s been studying Carole King,” Rajotte said. Later, Gubow was an understudy in a Beverly, Mass., production, serving one time as lead. “She came in knowing the show really well, which is great, because Carole’s on stage all the time.”
There’s much more to King’s story than music. Beautiful spans a turbulent decade, and Mirsoltani is convincing as a man who feels constrained by suburbia, even as he’s writing the words to songs like “Pleasant Valley Sunday” for the Monkees sitcom. Goffin and King’s marital breakdown brought a visceral response from the opening night crowd; their acting is that convincing.
As written by Douglas McGrath, the musical’s book is a historical mashup. For example, Act 1 ends in a Vermont ski lodge in 1964, and the second begins with King working on an arrangement of “Chains” — which was actually a hit for the Cookies two years earlier. Also, and perhaps less critical, King’s transition from Goffin’s partner to solo performer omits a messy path that included both a failed trio called The City, and a pre-Tapestry solo record.
Such artistic license is allowable in the service of vividly depicting a moment that likely won’t come again, as a gaggle of creatives barely out of their teens followed their instincts into immortality. Nuanced performances from the core five cast members show the movement from musicians performing other people’s songs to writing their own, the cultural upheaval of the hippie movement, and creating in a place where, to use a Cynthia Weil line, there was “always magic in the air.”
There are many reasons to see this more than excellent production before it closes on May 12. All of them are good ones, but director Rajotte’s rationale is perhaps the best.
“I know everyone is coming to hear Carole King’s music,” he said, “but what I really want is that they hear her life story … where the music came from is just so important.”
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical When: Fridays, 7:30 p.m., Saturdays, 2 & 7:30 p.m., Sundays, 2 p.m. through May 12 Where: Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St., Manchester Tickets: $28 and up at palacetheatre.org
Featured Photo: Austin Mirsoltani and Rachel Gubow in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.
