ASHBY — Calling all green thumbs!
Friends of Ashby Council on Aging is sponsoring an Ashby Gardener’s Day on May 11 at Mason Brook Nursery in Mason, N.H., the chance for gardeners to purchase flowers and other items while supporting the COA and a local business.
“It’s that time of year to start planting,” said COA Director Lisa Lavargna. “In Ashby most of us love gardens. Friends of the COA decided it would be a great time to do something fun and help raise money for the seniors in Ashby.”
The event will run from 2 to 7 p.m. at the nursery, which is just a hop, skip and a jump from Ashby. The nursery is contributing 10% of purchase revenue to The Friends of Ashby COA. Town residents who identify themselves as such will be entered into a drawing for $50 gift certificate to the nursery for a future purchase.
“We are very excited to partner with Mason Brook Nursery for this, our first fund raising event,” said Friends of the COA Events Committee Chair Chuck Pernaa. “They have been most generous with their support of our Friends group, and we hope to have a very successful day at the nursery.”
Maureen Vaillancourt, who co-owns the nursery with Michael Ordway, said they are happy to support the fundraiser.
“Ashby residents have been some of our best and most loyal customers,” she said. “We view this as a great opportunity to show our appreciation and support a very worthy cause for the Ashby seniors at the same time.”
Mason Brook Nursey, located on Route 124 just off Route 31, has been providing the gardening needs of Ashby and other communities in and around Mason since 2004. Lavargna called it “an Ashby favorite.”
“Most folks in town go there for their vegetable plants, flowers and anything gardening related,” she said. “I’m looking forward to seeing folks come out and enjoy picking out their flowers and gardening essentials.”
The nonprofit Friends group organized the event under the direction of group President Dr. Gary Asher.
“First, I want to thank Dr. Gary Asher and all the Friends of the Ashby COA,” Lavargna said. “They are an amazing group of people that have been working very hard at forming this group. Secondly, to everyone that is coming out to support this fundraiser, thank you! Things like this make it possible to help meet the needs of the Ashby seniors. In doing so, we can help make the aging process just a little bit easier.”
Asher said that “all Ashby gardeners are encouraged to attend and support this project,” and that the collaboration with the nursery made sense.
“They have a huge collection of annual and perennial plants and trees as well as a large greenhouse full of hundreds of spring plantings and hanging arrangements to meet the needs of the most discriminating gardener,” he said. “They also have all the topsoils, fertilizers, and other yard and garden necessities for the successful garden to flourish.”
Asher moved to town four years ago after retiring as a physician and was inspired to volunteer with the COA.
“Having called on my local COA for years to help me meet needs of my senior patients — Meals on Wheels, social connections, medical equipment loans, etc. — I decided in retirement to start to work with the Ashby COA to continue this connection,” he said.
He began by delivering Meals on Wheels once a week and then joined the COA board in 2018.
“After three years on the board, and with the board’s blessing, I decided that my energies could be better spent on their behalf if I tried to develop a Friends group with the mission of providing additional financial and volunteer support for their activities,” Asher said.
The Friends started organizing last July and became incorporated in February. It has grown from 15 people to 61 members and Asher said it has truly been a group effort and that he enjoys “furthering the success of this group.”
“The Ashby COA has a limited budget and like all COAs is a government regulated organization and is not allowed to fundraise on its own,” he said. “That’s why most town COAs have a friends group to support additional social, educational, and fun filled events the COA could not afford to do on its own, with the goal of increasing the town’s senior social life.”
Friends of Ashby COA members will be on hand to assist with the event. For more information call Chuck Pernaa at 978-386-7769 or Maureen Vaillancourt at 603-878-0080.
