The Garden Club of America

Create your own Botanical Photo Quilt! Last Fall, Photography Committee members of GCA member club Philipstown Garden Club (PGC) of Garrison, NY,? gathered botanic materials from their yards or local woods and created a patchwork quilt of 12” by 12” images. This quilt is displayed with a legend listing the materials contained in each image. The club has completed Fall, Spring, and Summer, and is looking forward to creating the Winter quilt in November. What a great way to tap into your creativity while honing your botanical knowledge and photography skills. #gardencreateadvocate

Over the past week, many Americans have been facing new and difficult challenges. Hurricane Helene has devastated areas throughout the Southeast, and we know that each member of The Garden Club of America community joins in an expression of concern and hope for recovery. We are inspired by and grateful to the individuals and organizations who are helping impacted communities. Each of you, in your own way, are working towards the vision of a beautiful, healthy planet. THANK YOU. How to help? FEMA says that financial contributions to trusted organizations help the most. Here's a list from Charity Navigator. https://lnkd.in/gB7KTFgU

Samantha Turner-Rosa, 2024 Douglas Dockery Thomas Fellow in Garden History and Design, seeks to harness “the power of botanic gardens, educators, scientists, and garden practitioners” in a community-driven project that will connect K-8th grade students to the Chicago Botanic Garden’s natural areas. Turner-Rosa says that her GCA Scholarship allowed her to explore new pathways linking students to plant biology research, restoration, and conservation. “Funding allowed me to kick off this project’s collaborative curriculum development process where I was able to gather in-person with a seed bank researcher, managing ecologist, seed biologist, seed bank manager, and plant propagator from the Chicago Botanic Garden.” https://lnkd.in/eBiMe5Nv #GCAScholarships #GardenCreateAdvocate

Join us in NYC on Tues Oct 1 for an Oyster Pop-Up Party for young professionals with Pete Malinowski, founder of the Billion Oyster Project AND enjoy fresh oysters provided by Aaron Waldman founder of The World Is Your Oyster Company. Registration required. Click on the QR code.

It’s Photography Friday at the GCA! Furthering the knowledge and love of gardening and the natural landscape through photography. [...] don [an] extraordinary suit for this ordinary day take our time studying trees to imagine the nests we would build if we were birds [...] ?- from Golden in the Morning We Crane Our Necks by CAConrad Photo by a member of the French Broad River Garden Club, Zone VII. #goldenhour #sunset #mountains #autumn #gardencreateadvocate #thegardenclubofamerica

When Houston’s Bayou Bend Gardens was devastated by extreme weather, the River Oaks Garden Club (ROGC) applied for a Garden Club of America (GCA) Restoration Initiative grant. The GCA’s Restoration Initiative, which funds landscape restoration and conservation projects in communities devastated by natural disasters, provided $10,000 to aid in restoring the grounds after devastating winds and rains of a derecho storm. But “lightning struck twice” and the garden faced further destruction from massive flooding due to Hurricane Beryl. The GCA grant and ROGC’s commitment to preserve this cultural treasure ensures that future generations can enjoy the beauty and history of Bayou Bend. https://lnkd.in/eZz3Pebf #GCAGrants #RiverOaksGardenClub #GardenCreateAdvocate

Through the contributions of the Fairfield Garden Club (FGC) visitors to Ogden House in Connecticut learn about land use in early America. FGC has maintained the property surrounding this 1750 New England home since 1934. The club has added a riparian garden dedicated to native plants, a reproduction eighteenth-century dooryard garden, beehives, and apple trees. Members created the plant markers found throughout the property which include botanical and common names for each plant as well as its place of origin and use in early America. A large-format sign describes the plantings of indigenous communities and colonial planting practices with further information available through an FGC-produced QR code audio tour. Photograph showing the Dooryard Garden of Ogden House was taken by a member of Fairfield Garden Club. GCA Values: Collaboration, Engagement, Respect, Excellence, Integrity, Knowledge

It’s Photography Friday at the GCA! Furthering the knowledge and love of gardening and the natural landscape through photography. I tell myself softly, this is how love begins— the air alive with something inconceivable, seeds of every imaginable possibility floating across the wet grasses […] ?- from Milkweed by Bradford Tice Photo by a member of the Dolley Madison Garden Club, Zone VII. #milkweed #monarch #wildflowers #autumn #gardencreateadvocate #thegardenclubofamerica

The Montine McDaniel Freeman Medal is awarded annually to acknowledge the cultivation and use of native plants, trees, shrubs, ground covers, vines, and perennials that are little known but are deemed worthy to be preserved, propagated, promoted, and planted. This year, the Quercus montana, common name “chestnut oak”, has been named the 2025 Plant of the Year: Freeman Medal winner by The Garden Club of America. https://lnkd.in/eXA2-PQA #GardenCreateAdvocate #FreemanMedal #GCA

Choose earth and people-friendly flowers! Source your flowers from responsible growers so that you aren’t exposed to chemical residue from pesticides.? Check out lists of reputable growers who use sustainable practices which protect the people who handle the flowers, while protecting and saving the earth’s many habitats and resources. Keep your flowers in the pink by using clean containers and rinsing stems under running water before snipping the ends. Dahlia ‘Café au Lait’ photographed by a Member of the Wissahickon Garden Club