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July 3, 2025

Talbot Spy

Nonpartisan Education-based News for Talbot County Community

Food and Garden Notes

Secret Gardens of Oxford Tour Returns on Saturday, June 4

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After 3 years, Secret Gardens of Oxford Tour reconvenes on Saturday, June 4. New this year is a rebranded shed sale (to a Chic Shed Sale) and the introduction of a Mascot– a rabbit carrying two tulips. Watch for posters, bookmarks, and totes featuring the rabbit that start popping up in the region in mid-April.

The Oxford Garden Club invites gardeners and those who enjoying viewing gardens to join the reboot. This year, the Secret Gardens of Oxford Tour comprises 3 events (the Garden Tour, the Chic Shed Sale, and a Raffle).

The Garden Tour gives participants access to 8 backyard gardens in picturesque Oxford, MD.  The 8 gardens present a variety of gardening themes, strategies, and visions. Participants with tickets are welcome to view the gardens from 10 am to 3 pm. Since our mascot rabbit, who obviously prefers tulips, knows all the gardens of Oxford, each the 8 gardens on the Tour will be marked by a large (wooden) tulip in the front yard. Docents will provide information about the gardens and the homeowners’ insights about their gardens. Complimentary ice water will be available at each garden. Tickets, in the form of the Tour Brochure, will be available for purchase at the Oxford Town Park and before the event. See below for information about prepaying for the Tour. (The events will be held rain or shine so prepaid tickets will not be refundable.)

The Chic Shed Sale will be held from 9 am to 1 pm in the Oxford Town Park. The Chic Shed Sale will offer a large selection of gently used garden tools and garden accessories. A Boutique Table is new to this year’s shed sale. The Boutique Table will offer elegant and fashionable linens and other home items in addition to rabbit tote bags and note cards. The shed sale is a popular event so consider arriving before the tour begins.

The Secret Gardens of Oxford Tour’s traditional Raffle will be held at the Oxford Town Park with the drawing of the winning ticket at 2:00 pm. (You need not be present to win.) Our unique prize will be on display and tickets will be available for purchase at the Oxford Park starting at 9 am.

The first Secret Gardens of Oxford Tour was held in 2006. The Oxford Garden Club uses of the proceeds of the tours to support club educational and civic programs. The Oxford Garden Club is affiliated the Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland, Inc., The National Garden Clubs, Inc., Central Atlantic Region, the Oxford Business Association, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and the Oxford Community Center.

The ticket price is $20 per person. Tickets are free to active military and/or spouses. (Please bring Military ID.) For Early Ticket Purchase (Pre-registration) or for additional information email ([email protected]) or phone Luann (410-829-0976).

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Oxford Garden Club In-House Flower Show

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Sue Betz won Best in Show and first in the Baby Shower Tablescape.

Oxford Garden Club held a members-only flower show, titled “Fun with Flowers – Tablescapes and Cake Decorating” for their October meeting at the Oxford Community Center. After months of social distancing and Zoom meetings, it was a fun and educational way to gather again.

Each entry had to include an arrangement consisting of fresh or dried flowers as required in the schedule. No artificial plant material was allowed.

Classes included.: Decorating Cakes, using a round cake-shaped oasis form which was to be covered with all fresh plant material, two classes of Tablescapes – Mardi Gras and Baby Shower, and two classes of Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement using the concept of minimalism.

Sue Betz won Best in Show and first in the Baby Shower Tablescape for four class, LuAnn Madary was the winner in the Mardi Gras Tablescape for four class, Susie Middleton won best in the Decorated Cake class, Ingrid Blanton won Ikebana-Color, and Phyllis Rambo won in Ikebana-Line.

Following the show, members were treated to Halloween themed delights.

Oxford Garden Club is a member of the Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland,Inc. and National Garden Clubs, Inc.
The mission is to promote the knowledge of garden and floral design, to participate in civic projects in order to conserve and beautify the the community and to actively support all forms of conservation. Members actively maintain the gardens of the Oxford Community Center, the Oxford Library and the Oxford Museum, as well as donate floral designs annually for the Oxford Community Center Fine Arts Fair.

For additional information, email: [email protected].

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Oxford Garden Club Grows Compassion and Hope During Pandemic

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Photo by Terry Holman. L-R: Oxford Garden Club Officers; President Dorothy Williams, Vice President Annie Leconte, Acting Treasurer, Luann Madary and Awards Chairman and acting Secretary Roberta Maguire.

The Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on our lives and garden clubs are suffering also. Our typical public meetings, events and fundraisers have all been shelved. The Oxford Garden Club, like other local nonprofits, are forced to be creative to connect with each other in a virtual or safe fashion.  We now use Zoom for business meetings and feature monthly presentations on gardening related subjects.  One of the biggest continuing projects of President Dorothy Williams term, has been the concentrated effort for her Sunshine Committee which continues to reach out to our members who have lost a spouse and suffer from health issues on the home front.  We continue as a club to use email to keep our members connected. This year has been especially hard.

Beginning in late March of 2020, when the Pandemic hit our state, many of our members utilized their sewing and quilting skills and used their sewing machines to create masks which were donated to local first responders when PPE was in short supply.  This past December, many club members gathered safely with masks,10 feet apart to create special holiday wreaths that were sold by the Oxford Business Association as a fundraiser.

Our OGC members joined in our Wreath’s Across America event locally and helped place (and later remove) wreaths on the graves of Maryland Eastern Shore Veterans Cemetery, in Hurlock, MD. Typically, this event is open to the public with planned, patriotic program and speakers but this ceremony was cancelled due to the pandemic.  With limited people, every Veteran gravesite was donned with a wreath to honor them.  All wreath donations were sponsored by local garden clubs on the Eastern Shore.  Our garden club has a proud history of honoring our veterans and servicemen and we look forward to honoring our servicemen in a more formal service in the future.

The Oxford Garden Club received many awards this spring and fall for our 2019 functions by the Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland, Inc., The Central Atlantic Region of State Garden Clubs and the National Garden Clubs, Inc. organizations for our 2019 activities. The FGCMD, Inc. notified our club that we had won two community service awards.  One for an event held on Memorial Day in 2019 which honored fallen heroes, featuring guest speakers, our District Director, Doris Key, the Mid-Shore Community Band for a patriotic day.  Another Community award was for our “Lunch Bunch” program where the OGC met monthly to create small, seasonally appropriate floral designs for the local Meals on Wheels program throughout the year.  We also received a Yearbook award for our publication consisting of our club’s scheduled activities, bylaws with membership information.

District I, of the FGCMD, Inc. announced several awards for the Oxford Garden Club for 2019 – 2020.  The entire club was awarded the Marguerite Wiley Award for the best district club project in promoting one of the state or national objectives of the FGCMD, Inc. for a District Standard Flower Show held October 19, 2019.  This award traditionally is delivered by the previous year’s club winner, filled with a beautiful daffodil display.  Marguerite Willey was President of the Somerset County Garden Club, in District I, and had a special interest in daffodils and emphasizing community service and garden therapy. Terry Holman was also honored to receive the prestigious Joanna Lloyd Tilghman Award of Special Recognition.  This award is a pewter Jefferson cup presented at the District I Annual Zoom meeting in October by District Director, Doris Key, for exemplifying the objectives of the Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland, Inc. by special dedication to District I work.

Every 20 years or so, a club in the District I hosts our District I – FGCMD, Inc. Standard Flower Show.  Luckily, we were able to host this show for public education and enjoyment before the pandemic hit. This National Garden Club Standard Flower Show consisted of all eleven of our district Garden Clubs on the eastern shore. The theme for this special District Standard Flower Show was, “Halloween” and it was held in Oxford at the Oxford Community Center on October 19, 2019.  We were awarded 1st place by the Central Atlantic Region of State Garden clubs for the District Flower Show Schedule.  In addition, we received a Flower Show Achievement award from National Garden Clubs, Inc. for our high caliber Standard Flower Show.  As all standard flower shows have been cancelled for now, we are hopeful to participate in future shows and to share our love of gardening, floral design and educating the public when it is safe to do so.

Forever a hopeful bunch, a large committee is planning our bi-annual Secret Gardens of Oxford Tour, a fundraiser, typically held every other year.  This year, the fundraiser committee will be adding Covid-19 CDC and Government safety protocols.  The annual Secret Gardens of Oxford Garden tour fundraiser is a known treat for the public.  This upcoming garden tour is currently being planned as a COVID-19-Safe, outdoor event for June 5, 2020.  This special secret garden tour sells tickets in advance which are picked up the day of the garden tour.  Maps and the featured secret gardens with garden descriptions are revealed on the day of the tour, along with a ticket in the form of a special mask.  Self-guided tours, with signs and garden club docents, allow the public a secret glance at gardens typically unseen from the street.  Each year we feature different gardens for public enjoyment. This year we are planning for the safe viewing of 8 different gardens, all within walking distance of the center of Oxford.  Stay tuned.

It is no surprise as gardeners are typically very hopeful and positive folk by nature.  We nurture people like we nurture our plants, and we welcome the opportunity for new members to grow with us.

Oxford Garden Club is a member of the Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland, Inc. and National Garden Clubs, Inc.  Our Mission: To promote the knowledge of gardening and floral design, to participate in civic projects to conserve and beautify the community and to actively support all forms of conservation. We are a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. For additional information visit us at: www.oxfordmdgc.org or email us at [email protected].

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Oxford Garden Club Represents Talbot County at MD State House Holiday Exhibit

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Patricia Jessup and Annie Leconte

Oxford Garden Club proudly represented Talbot County in decorating the Maryland State House Rotunda for the Holidays with 23 other garden clubs from all jurisdictions of Maryland on November 30th. This is the 5th year that Governor, Larry Hogan and First Lady, Yumi Hogan, have hosted this invitational decorating event to deck the halls of the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Maryland for the holidays. Each county or City was requested to have one or more garden clubs collaborate to create a six-foot, unlit, adorned Christmas tree with a theme that relates to the County or City’s legacy or history.

This year, Oxford Garden Club created a special historic Highlander themed Christmas Tree that relates to Scotland and the Battle of Culloden on April 16, 1746.  The “Highlander Tree” recounts the last battle of the “Forty-five” Rebellion of Jacobites under Charles Edward, the “Bonnie Prince Charlie” when they were defeated by the British forces under William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. This battle marked the beginning of the end of all Scottish Clan way of life.  Many Scottish prisoners were taken by the English and some were loaded onto the sailing vessel, Johnson, where prisoners were taken to be sold into servitude in America for a five-year term after they landed in Oxford, Maryland on July 20, 1747.  An enlarged page of the Johnson vessel log was displayed in a glassed frame near the Highlander Tree that listed the first and last names of each Scot prisoner. This historic information came with complements from the St. Andrew’s Society.

If you are an Outlander TV series fan based on Diana Gabaldon’s Book Series, you might have an impulse to scan for the name; James or Claire Frasier!  Alas, their names are not on the beautifully penned list displayed of 101 people, consisting of 10 women and 91 men, many whose family names continue to reside in Talbot County to this day.  It is said that after their five years of servitude, each was given 50 acres of land, tools and corn.

Oxford Garden Club Christmas tree decorators, Patricia Jessup, Ginny Wagner, Annie Leconte, Marie Davis and Dorothy Williams chose to commemorate this history of Oxford with “The Highlander Tree” and festooned it with a traditional plaid ribbon as a reference to the tartans of the various clans.  The tree topper is a stag’s head which represents Red Deer subspecies, Cervus elaphus scoticus.  Red Deer have existed in Scotland for some 40,000 years and were considered a spiritual, vigorous and strong animal spirit often the featured artwork subject of ancient Scots. The tree was also decorated with gilded stag antlers and other natural elements, including dried Eryngium plenum (Sea Holly) a purple flowering plant which was used to represent thistle, the national flower of Scotland.

Each Christmas Tree Decorating Team had the great opportunity to visit with First Lady, Yumi Hogan and Lieutenant Governor Boyd Kevin Rutherford and received a special certificate for their participation for decking the halls of the oldest State House in America, in the Maryland State House Rotunda at 100 State Circle, Annapolis, MD.To visit these beautiful creations, visit the MD State House from 9am-5pm every day except for Christmas and New Year’s Day until January 2nd. For additional information to visit this festive scene and historic site contact 410-946-5400.

Oxford Garden Club is a member of District I of the Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland, Inc. and National Garden Clubs, Inc. Our Mission: To promote the knowledge of gardening and floral design, to participate in civic projects in order to conserve and beautify the community and to actively support all forms of conservation. For additional information about the Oxford Garden Club, visit our website at www.oxfordmdgc.org or email us at [email protected].

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The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.