CALENDAR OF MEETINGS
2025-2026
All meetings will be held at 9:30 am social; 10 am brief business meeting and presentation.
Hillsborough United Methodist Church
130 W. Tryon St.
Hillsborough, NC
SEPTEMBER 11, 2025
PROGRAM - From Grocery Store to Glamorous
PRESENTER - Morgan Moylan, Owner, West Queen Floral Studio and HGC Member
Learn to turn a grocery store flower bouquet into a glamorous centerpiece. Morgan Moylan, HGC member and owner/designer at West Queen Floral Studio, will show us how to combine grocery store blooms with items from our home gardens to create beautiful arrangements for our tables.
This will be part of our Fall Flower Fling. Please bring flowers, greenery, grasses, seed heads, and a vase. After Morgan’s demonstration, we will head to the flower bar to create our own glamorous arrangements! Bloom on!
OCTOBER 9, 2025
PROGRAM - Making Peonies the Star of the Garden
PRESENTER - Diana Reynolds-DeBree, Owner, Elveden Hill Peony Farm and Ceramic Studio and HGC member
Diana will share her tips for success growing and propagating herbaceous peonies. Her
discussion will include how to dig, clean, divide, and replant established peony roots. She will also give tips for planting and maintenance just in time for your fall planting. Soon you’ll have the most beautiful peonies in the neighborhood and the stars of your garden!
NOVEMBER 13, 2025
PROGRAM - Trading Fine Dining for Flower Beds: A Story of Flavor, Flair and Sustainability
PRESENTER - Karel Leemkuil, Dutch-born chef turned flower farmer and co-founder of Homegrown Flower Farm in Hillsborough. Karel and his wife Julie are HGC members.
Karel has spent his life chasing beauty, flavor, and meaningful connections —- first through food and now through flowers. Karel will share some of his story as a global Executive Chef, as well as how he traded fine dining for flower beds, growing specialty blooms using sustainable methods rooted in quality and creativity. He will also demonstrate a tasty treat for us to make for our garden harvests!
DECEMBER 11, 2025
PROGRAM - Della Robbia Wreaths for Christmas Cheer and Cookie Swap
PRESENTER - Alice Moore, HGC Member
Get ready for Christmas with a special arrangement for your home. Talented HGC member Alice Moore will guide us in making beautiful Della Robbia wreaths in the style of Williamsburg. Always lovely, these wreaths will be a beautiful decoration or gift for a special friend.
*WREATH FORMS PROVIDED
*Bring bags of fruit and magnolia leaves to share.
*Bring your favorite cookies to share.
Thursday, January 8
Program: Discovering the Natural Wonders of the Wild South
Presenter: Georgann Eubanks, author
Georgann Eubanks, a Carrboro author, has spent her career in the natural landscapes that shape the South. She has published six books that document North Carolina's disappearing
cultural and literary landscapes. Her first, Literary Trails of the North Carolina Mountains, is a travel guide to the hometowns of authors and the places they write about (two additional titles cover writers from the Piedmont and Coastal Plain regions). “Over the years, I’ve become increasingly passionate about preservation as the state loses parts of its history, Eubanks explains. “While working on the literary trails books, I often visited locations I had read about, only to find that there was no longer a ‘there’ there. I found myself imagining these missing places through the words of the writers.” Her most recent project, The Fabulous Ordinary: Discovering the Natural Wonders of the Wild South, encourages readers to protect the delicate environments that define our landscapes.
Thursday, February 12
Program: Plant That Tree the Right Way!
Presenter: Jesse Breden, ISA Certified Arborist, and Owner, Knotty by Nature Trees and Natives
Have you wanted to plant a special tree in your yard but didn’t know how to give it a good start? Jesse Breden, certified tree arborist, will give us instructions on the why and how of proper tree planting. With his expert guidance, you’ll be able to keep your trees healthy, strong, and thriving.
Thursday, March 12
Program: Rethinking the Traditional Southern Lawn
Presenter: Danesha Seth Carley, Associate Professor in Horticultural Science at NCSU and Director of the Southern Integrated Pest Management Center
A dynamic speaker, Denesha has extensively researched and written about sustainable managed landscapes with an emphasis on insect pollinator habitat conservation and how urban landscapes can contribute to pollinator protection. She will be giving ideas on how to reduce turf grass in your yard, including why and how, as well as tips and tricks and inspiration.
Thursday, April 9
Program: Creating Art From Recycled Materials
Presenter: Ann Brownlee Hobgood, Renowned Hillsborough Artist and Designer
What an honor it is to have American artist Ann Brownlee Hobgood as our guest. As a designer, teacher, decorator, and artist, Ann has always had art as a part of her life. After retiring in 2006, she began making art using recycled materials, mostly figurative assemblages using metal and wood.
Her list of juried shows is long and we are lucky she is going to share her talents with us. Let’s learn to create some exciting art for our gardens!
Thursday, May 14
Program: Using the iPhone for Amazing Photos
Presenter: Dennis Szerszen, Art Photographer and Educator
Dennis is a Hillsborough-based fine art photographer who works in both traditional and digital photographic methods. He has taught iPhone photography for several years through Duke University’s OLLI educational program. He is also a member of the Orange County Art Guild. Now he will help us learn to take those amazing photos we will be happy to share.
Thursday, June 11
Program: Share the Bounty with Friends - Food and Flowers
Presenter: Members of HGC
Gardeners love to meet and show off their talents, whether culinary or horticulture. Let’s share both as we celebrate the end of another successful garden club year with a scrumptious potluck and a lovely plant for the garden. Bring a dish for the potluck and a plant to share!
