Since its founding in 1927, the Nahant Garden Club has been a staple of the town, providing not only education regarding fresh foliage but also scholarships and programs for students.
Club President Angela Bonin talked about her love of gardening and the impact of the club in town.
“I’m a newcomer, I’ve been here since 1985,” Bonin said.
Two months after her move, Bonin joined the Garden Club after becoming inspired by her neighbor, who she coined a “master gardener.”
“I just found these women and men… just to be so helpful and wonderful,” she said about the club’s members. “They’re willing to teach you everything they know.”
Bonin said a big inspiration for her was Marie Ford, who the Nahant Garden Club Marie Ford Scholarship Award was named after.
“She taught me all the things. The triangle, the bigger flowers go on the bottom, the smaller ones go on the top… always use odd numbers whenever you do things, watch your colors,” Bonin said. “If you’re doing church work, never use delphinium.”
Another thing Bonin mastered was making bows on arrangements.
“I was a great bow-maker until about five years ago when arthritis came to live in my house. I call him Arthur, Arthur Itis,” Bonin joked.
Bonin said her favorite parts of the club are the members’ camaraderie and willingness to share information, tools, and teachings.
“I was in my mid-30s when I moved here, and many of the women were older and I knew nothing from nothing… They were so willing to share and to teach,” Bonin said. “It’s just a nice, nice group of people.”
One program the club offers is the Junior Gardener Program at the Johnson School. Bonin said they established it within the past 10 years and have put in pollinator gardens, butterfly gardens, teach ecology classes, and much more.
When thinking about the greenery of Nahant, the first things that come to her mind are the trees, specifically the locust tree.
“They’re the only tree that don’t have any leaves on them right now, the leaves don’t come until June, and they’re very little. And, the leaves are gone in September,” she said. “But, the bark on the trees, (it) reminds me of the trees in ‘The Wizard of Oz …’ They’re gnarled and they have grooves in them. I look at them and they almost have personalities.”
When it comes to personal gardening, Bonin said anyone can do it, and urges them to do so.
“The thing about gardening is that no matter how rich you are, you’re not necessarily going to have better equipment,” Bonin said. “It doesn’t matter how much money you have. You can be a good gardener on pennies and you can be a lousy gardener as a millionaire.”
Bonin and her husband, John Wynne, gave a tour of their garden, which they have been tending to for over 17 years.
On one side of the yard, they have a large azalea shrub, filled with fuchsia rhododendrons. The space is decorated in shrubs. Bonin said her favorite is the andromeda pieris.
“It is my absolute favorite shrub, because it takes on a different hue for each season. The leaves right now are bright red but in a couple of months they’ll be lime green. And then in October they’ll be a little bit on the purple side and in December, when they’re in bud, they have a gorgeous, little, little bud that I use in Christmas arrangements,” Bonin said.
The best part about shrubbery and greens, to Bonin, is their versatility, as they can be used in the winter.
In the middle of the yard, Bonin and Wynne have a pine tree, which was shorter than Bonin when they planted it, and now towers above her.
“Anybody who likes to garden believes in the future,” she said. “If (I) plant a small tree, I’m never going to see it grow to full height, but I know maybe my grandchildren might, maybe their children might.”
The Nahant Garden Club is open to anyone who wants to join. Bonin said all people have to do is talk to a current member or inquire on the website to get started. Along with all the community work, the club has a meeting every month that covers a vast arrangement of topics including floral arrangements, irrigation techniques, gardening tips and tricks, and more.
