Special Events

Each year we ordinarily host one or more Special Events in addition to our monthly program schedule. These events include our Annual Plant Sale and Auction, a June picnic at Tuck's Point in Manchester, members' open garden tours, and field trips to points of interest. To browse monthly program topics, click here: Monthly Programs.

January 25, 2024: Virtual Garden Tour and Pot Luck Supper

Our Annual Virtual Garden Tour and Potluck Dinner will start off our 2024 calendar. The slideshow showcases members’ gardens as well as photos from members’ travels.

6 pm slideshow and dinner. Please bring a dish to share and a serving utensil.

Guests are always welcome and there is no charge for them to attend the January meeting. Bring a neighbor or a gardening friend or both!

We Want Your Photos! To make our Virtual Garden Tour a success, please look through your photos from the past year. By January 19th, please send any horticultural moments that you captured to: nshsphotos2024@gmail.com. Send as many photos as you like. Limit the number attached to a single email to 3 so that we can download them successfully. For example, if you have 12 photos, send 4 emails. Optionally, in the emails, you can include information about the photos, such as date and location. By default, your name will be displayed along with your photos in the slideshow. If you prefer to be anonymous – just let us know in your email when you send the photos.

2024 Annual Picnic

This outing is for members and their guests only. Please see our Membership page to join! Scheduled for June 27, 2024.

A Few of Our Previous Special Events…

Plant Sale and Auction with Jo Goodwin-Rogers - May 23, 2024, Plant Sale - 6:00 PM, Auction - 6:30 PM

We welcome all to join us for our annual plant sale and auction! Free! At the Sacred Heart Church, 62 School Street, Manchester. Members offer wonderful plants, bulbs, ground covers, bushes, flowering trees and other items known to entice gardening enthusiasts. And garden-related items such as garden tools, planters, plant art, pots, garden furniture and garden whimsy are also welcome. This event is the major fundraiser for NSHS. Cash and checks are the only forms of payment that we can accept. The sale of pre-priced items starts at 6:00 PM, and the auction starts at 6:30 PM.

Jo Goodwin-Rogers will be our auctioneer and share her expertise with us as a rich variety of horticultural gems go up for bid. Jo assisted her good friend, the late Fred Rice, in past NSHS Plant Auctions. Jo owned a landscape design business for 20 years. She has lectured to garden clubs on landscape design, maintenance, and pruning. She has won multiple Best in Show awards at area flower shows. In addition, Jo has been a Fine Artist for over 60 years. You can see some of her recent work on her website: www.house-portraits.com.

Celebration of Life in Memory of Fred Rice - Saturday, June 3rd, 2023, 4 - 6PM

Manchester Community Center, Harbor Point, Manchester, MA

An informal gathering to celebrate and honor the life of Fred Rice. We will remember Fred – share stories, reminisce, and celebrate the impact that he made on our lives. Tea will be served with a variety of pastries. Optionally, bring your own tea cup in Fred’s honor. Please feel comfortable joining us whenever you can and staying for as long as you'd like. We look forward to your presence, no matter the duration.

Fred's obituary

2018 Annual Potluck Picnic at Tuck’s Point

The crowd that gathered for our annual picnic on June 26 were lucky souls! The weather was perfect, the food was wonderfully diverse and plentiful, and the folks full of good cheer.

There were some nice touches to this year’s picnic that made it extra special. For starters, we were using the just-renovated pavilion for the first time. The venue was the object of a make-over this Spring. The work that was done really showed its value and was much appreciated.

We also had a chance to hear words of appreciation for the contributions Traci Sobocinski, Allison Cohen and Sue Trent made during their tenure on the NSHS Board. Traci, of course, ably served as NSHS Secretary. Sue will be remembered for putting together our display at the Manchester Historical Museum’s 2017 exhibit, “Manchester in Bloom”. And Allison continues her work with the NSHS Facebook page.

Another notable highlight was the celebration of Carol Batdorf’s birthday. This year is a special one for our president, and it was good for us to let her know how we all appreciate her and, most particularly, her efforts on behalf of all NSHS members. Thank you, Carol!

Mostly, though, the evening was simply a great way to share food with friends. We all look forward to next year!

Bedrock Gardens
Lee, NH
Saturday, June 17, 2017

The NSHS Field Trip that year promised to be a little bit off the usual path and a lot of fun. And, it was!

The property known today as Bedrock Gardens has an extended history dating back to as early as 1740. It operated as a dairy farm for well more than a century by members of the Piper family, and was sold by Annie Piper to the present owner in 1980 (on a handshake!) The sixth generation of the Piper family now lives across the road from the Gardens.

The great changes needed to create Bedrock Gardens began in 1987. Bed by bed, the original gardens were formed. In 1991, a wildlife pond was added. In 1999, a family room was added to the original house, but the original house itself and the outbuildings (including the three-hole outhouse) remain. The work continues.

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
Boothbay, Maine
Saturday, June 9, 2016

Below was the basic itinerary for our visit to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine on Saturday, June 9:

10:30 Meet at the Visitors Center where we will be joined by our tour guide
10:30 – 12:30 Enjoy a two-hour tour of the Gardens led by our guide
12:30 – 1:00 Free time to visit the Gift Shop or to take care of any necessities
1:00 Enjoy a buffet lunch of sandwich, side, beverage, and dessert