We are the New England Gesneriad Society, a non-profit, 501c3 Massachusetts based organization for hobbyists, horticulturists and all who love, or want to learn about, or share, information about Gesneriad plants. We support research being done around the world to identify and preserve these species.
In 2021 we Celebrate our 60th year as a horticultural society!
Come join us! We've always met in person on the first Sunday of the Month from October thru May, with December's and June's meetings held at members' homes for our Potluck Luncheon Holiday Party and our Potluck Picnic. Our Annual Plant Show and Sale takes place usually the third weekend in September at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, MA.
Because of COVID restrictions, we have been unable to meet face-to-face, but we have been holding meetings online via Zoom, and communicating via email and phone calls to members, with a few outdoor meet-ups for plant sales/swaps. See below for our next meeting during this quarantine time.
Our NEXT online/ZOOM MEETING:
Sunday April 11, 2021 at 2:00PM Eastern Time online via ZOOM - but please check your latest Bells & Slippers Newsletter for login information to ZOOM. Check the newsletter for Meeting Agenda.
Our President, Stuart H., has asked that we do a quick 'Show and Tell' and if you'd like, hold up a plant for all to see, in an informal manner, perhaps this would stimulate exchange of cuttings by mail?! You can also take a picture of your plant, if it is not near where you are Zooming from, and you can simply share the photo via Zoom's "Share Screen" function.
So we will be meeting via the online application ZOOM accessible from your smart phone, iPad, laptop or computer. Zoom will allow each of our members to log in and do video chatting or just do voice participation during our meeting. You have been sent detailed information on this in our monthly Bells & Slippers Newsletter. If you did not receive this newsletter or are not a member and would like to participate, please get in touch with us and we will provide the information needed to join the Zoom meeting. Click here to contact us.
We are also planning to hold an outdoor plant sale in May and possibly June.
MEMBERSHIP DUES
Our Annual Membership is the best deal in town! It is a reasonable $10 and it is due before January 1st each year. Please consider renewing or joining our non-profit society, or consider a donation to our society so that we may continue to provide programs and speakers of interest, back research efforts, as well as purchase rare seeds and plants for sale to our members at reasonable prices.
And to our existing members, thanks in advance for renewing your membership!
NOTE:
We now have a page for a Plant of the Month meeting segment. It is found under the 'Gesneriads' dropdown menu at the top of our webpages. Each month, one of our members will make a presentation, any length allowed, on one or more plants, and the information they share will be posted there. Please let one of our officers know ahead of our next meeting, if you would like to make a presentation.
In lieu of our Annual Plant Show, Tower Hill Botanic Garden has put together a slide show of a few of our gesneriads on their website and info on our society for display on the weekend we would have had our show. That link is on the Tower Hill website at: https://www.towerhillbg.org/2020/09/09/dig-plant-shows-begonia-gesneriad/
Some Sad News
It is with a heavy heart that we share the sad news of our dear member, Mary Bozoian's peaceful passing on September 10, 2020, per her daughter, Paula M. Bozoian. A small funeral was held on the 17th.
Mary was a longtime member of NETGS and The Gesneriad Society, and served in many official capacities, including judging. She attended and contributed to all of our meetings, plant shows and sales, and took great pride in having chaired a national convention held in New England several years back. Mary's fondness for Sinningias was only surpassed by her love of Petrocosmeas, and photos of many of her stunning plants continue to make the rounds online.
Her attention to detail, and her kindness and welcoming spirit, made our society that much richer, and we will miss her greatly.
We had celebrated Mary's 100th Birthday at our last NETGS face-to-face meeting in February 2020, photos below.
RIP, Mary!
At February's NETGS Meeting we celebrated our senior member, Mary Bozoian's 100th Birthday! She is a wonderful teacher and inspiration to us all! Happy 100 Mary!
2019 Gesneriad Show and Sale
We had a great Show and Sale! We had quite a few people come to the combined shows, and we had lots of plants on display and lots of plants were sold! Thanks to every one of our volunteers for everything you do to make this a success!!
