Upcoming Events
Sunday, 23 April - Photographer's Meet & Greet
See "Photographer's Meet & Greet" article below.
Thursday, 1 June - Friends of Chatham Annual Meeting
Mark your calendars Event details to follow
President's Message
Happy Spring to all of our Friends! While we didn't have much of a winter, there is always something special about seeing the spring flowers come up and start blooming. This year we seem to be especially blessed with a profusion of blossoms as we visit the Chatham gardens and the trails around Fredericksburg.
Each Spring, the Board of Directors also starts thinking about the Annual Meeting which will be coming up in the first week of June. It's our time to reflect upon the last fiscal year (July 1st to June 30th) and to set the stage for the coming fiscal year. This year, we'll be asking some of our Friends to participate in the Nominating Committee which will be tasked with developing the slate of candidates for the 2-year terms to be voted on in June 2024.
Does it seem a bit early to mention this upcoming election? Maybe, but we need your help in making sure that Friends of Chatham continues to evolve and grow as an organization. If you have been a Friend of Chatham for sometime or just joined this year, we need your input and the skills you can bring to the organization and the Board. If you would like to be on the nominating committee, send us a quick email to friendsofchatham@gmail.com and let me know. The nominating committee is a short term commitment that can make a difference in so many ways!
Thank you for your ongoing support and we look forward to seeing you soon on the grounds of Chatham, at the Photographer Meet & Greet on April 23rd, at the Annual Meeting in the first week of June, at future Member Mingles and upcoming events.
As always, we are grateful for you!
Nancy Fahy, President
Friends of Chatham Member Mingle
At the Colonial Tavern
Friends of Chatham were a “Wee Bit Irish” on March 10th when members gathered for an early St. Patrick’s Day Member Mingle celebration. The Dutch-treat luncheon was held at the Colonial Tavern - Home to the Irish Brigade. Members had an opportunity to make new friends and to connect with long-term members while listening to Irish music and eating good food.
Photographer's Meet & Greet
Sunday, 23 April, 4:30-7pm
On Sunday, 23 April from 4:30 to 7 PM, Friends of Chatham is hosting a Meet & Greet for local photography enthusiasts of all skill levels at Chatham Manor. Attendees will be placed in small groups for congenial collaboration while competing in a friendly photo contest for Downtown Fredericksburg gift card prizes. The initial event gathering will be at the picnic tables on the north side of the screened-in summer house.
The event creator and coordinator is the Friends of Chatham Treasurer/On the Fredericksburg Va Trails Facebook Group Administrator, Kevin Brown. Looking forward to seeing everyone there!
IMPORTANT: The gate at the entrance to the Chatham parking area will close at 5 PM. If you arrive after 5 PM, please park at Pratt Park using the River Road entrance and walk over to Chatham. Thank you in advance!
Photo above, Chatham Gardens, by Wayne Butler.
From the Garden
As usual, the beginning of the year is clean-up and mulch time in the garden. In addition to those normal tasks, Gardener Scott Blake received a request from NPS to remove the ivy (which had become totally overgrown) from the exterior of the garden wall and surrounding trees. Scott started the project and one volunteer Wednesday was devoted to the effort. The addition of many volunteer hands made much quicker work of this task and resulted in a much neater appearance for the approach to the garden. Meanwhile, weeding and mulching have proceeded and the interior of the garden is also looking neat and orderly.
As we moved into February, daffodils began to appear and continued to sprout and to bloom. It has truly been an outstanding daffodil year, with fuller beds and long-lasting blooms attracting visitors and inspiring many photographs.
On a chilly Wednesday morning in mid-February, this year’s greenhouse adventure began in earnest, as the bulk of the plant plug order arrived. The volunteers, many of whom are experienced at this process from the past two years, sprung into action and got the repotting assembly line working like a well oiled machine. By the end of the day, more than 1,000 little plants were settled into 4-inch pots, lined up on the greenhouse benches, tenderly watered by Scott and ready to start growing.
The plant selection includes pink petunias; red and white mixed impatiens; cherry, yellow and red lantana and blue ageratum. Plants started from seed will also be grown in the greenhouses, including red and blue salvia, cherry and white zinnias and yellow and orange marigolds.
After the plants have matured sufficiently, they will make their way to the cold frames to be hardened and then to the beds in the garden to provide summer color. We hope these efforts yield another beautiful summer in the garden.
For Sale: $35 each*
FoC is selling signed and numbered limited edition prints of Chatham Manor by Joseph M. Serino, 18 1/2 in. x 23 3/4 in. If you are interested in buying a print you can email us at friendsofchatham@gmail.com. Prints can also be purchased online from our homepage at www.friendsofchatham.org.
Did you know you can support FoC when you buy bulbs for your garden from Brent and Becky's Bulbs? Go to www.bloominbucks.com. Select Friends of Chatham in the drop down menu, follow the prompts, and start shopping. Twenty-five percent of your purchase will go directly to Friends of Chatham.