After thirty years serving the Heritage Museums & Gardens in Sandwich on Cape Cod, horticulturist Jeanne Gillis said she still loves to work with people and plants.

Speaking before the Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club at its October meeting, Ms. Gillis presented more than thirty colorful slides in a talk titled Flowering Plants for the Landscape.

Many of the plants featured in her talk are strong and able to survive high winds.

The lead foreman of Vineyard Gardens, Jeremiah Brown, doesn’t mince words about his expertise.

“What I know is pruning,” he said.

He shared his experience with members of the Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club at its September meeting by combining a talk and hands-on demonstration on the grounds of the Old Mill in West Tisbury. 

Mr. Brown admitted to starting out his career in horticulture by “knocking out false bamboo in his mother’s garden with a golf club.”

Paul Mahoney, a nurseryman for 30 years and the owner of Jardin Mahoney in Oak Bluffs, spoke at a recent meeting of the Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club on the topic of Sustainable Plants in the Landscape.

Mr. Mahoney explained that the word sustainable, when used in gardening, has an open definition, but he bases it on three general concepts: a growing public enthusiasm for native plants, conservation of wildlife habitat, and a movement away from the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and fungicides.

The Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club has announced its 2009 beautification awards to businesses and landmarks across the Island. These recognize the most beautifully designed, planted and maintained window boxes and/or landscaping. Here are the organizations who caught the gardeners’ eyes, so you can check them out for yourself.

In Chilmark, awards went to Larson’s Fish Market, the Home Port restaurant, Chilmark Public Library, Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank, Menemsha Cafe, and to Chilmark Chocolates an honorable mention.

For many years, the Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club has sent two members to the mainland, to participate in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts’ exhibition, Art in Bloom. This annual April event is a collaboration between garden clubs from throughout New England and professional designers collaborating to produce vibrant floral displays, each one interpreting a different piece of art from the museum’s collection.