The Garden Club of America

Land Conservation has been one of the central aims of the advocacy work of the Garden Club of America since its founding in 1913. The GCA supports strengthening public policy to make conservation the priority in the management of our National Parks, wildlife refuges, forests and public lands, including tribal lands. ? The GCA Conservation Committee educates the GCA membership on best practices to restore and protect natural resources and encourages environmental stewardship within our communities, in alignment with the purpose, mission, vision, and values of the organization. ? Photograph of Delta Lake, Grand Teton National Park by Kimberly McMorrow, Woodside-Atherton Garden Club? ? #landconservation #nationalparks

It’s Photography Friday at the GCA! Furthering the knowledge and love of gardening and the natural landscape through photography. [an] avalanche of cumulus that hangs forever on the burnished unrippling surface of my memory?—?vast sky surf, cloud after cloud cresting, breaking to be washed away to blue nothing. Each of us?—?lovers, mothers, runners, me?—?no more than windblown swansdown. from by Cloud Study by Donald Platt photo by Claudia Swain, South County GC, Zone II #newengland #cloudappreciation #earlyspring #seascape #gardencreateadvocate #thegardenclubofamerica

When Garden Club of Michigan (GCM) member Jean Hudson suggested engaging renowned landscape architect Piet Oudolf to design a garden in Detroit, GCM’s then-President Maura Campbell wrote a “Love Letter from Detroit” to Oudolf. Hudson’s inspiration and Campbell’s powers of persuasion enticed Oudolf to bring his creative genius to Belle Isle Park. https://lnkd.in/euswUTh2 #GardenClubofMichigan #GardenCreateAdvocate

The GCA is working to preserve and protect America’s scenic highways. As part of its advocacy on issues of Transportation and Infrastructure, the GCA encourages undergrounding utility wires to safeguard bird populations, reduce wildfire risks, combat weather-related vulnerabilities, increase grid reliability, and enhance scenic beauty. ? The GCA, working for a beautiful, healthy planet. ? Photograph by Anne Kaufman, The Lake Minnetonka Garden Club. Best in Show in the GCA’s “This Land is Your Land” Photography Contest.? ? #landscapephotography #scenicbyway #conservation ? All nine GCA Position Papers can be found on the GCA website, here.?

It’s Photography Friday at the GCA! Furthering the knowledge and love of gardening and the natural landscape through photography. Hearing the frogs in a green marsh Breaks through the heart's dry twigs, making A sudden bud upon the harsh Mind's thorn, pointed and sweet - shaking Within. Hearing the frogs is like A fiddle-bow across the heart - At first so light it leaves no pain, Until the music strikes a part Long still, that now must live again. - Hearing the Frogs by Florence Ripley Mastin (1928) photo by a member of the GC of Jackson, Zone IX #americansouth #frogs #earlyspring #urbanwildlife #gardencreateadvocate #thegardenclubofamerica

800 miles from the North Pole, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault protects critical genetic resources: over one million seed varieties from nearly every country in the world. The concrete structure, located on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen in the remote Arctic Svalbard archipelago, was created by conservationists and opened by the Norwegian Government in 2008. Charly Frisk, GCA 2021 Zeller and 2022 Engle Scholar, explains, “The vault functions much like a bank for the world’s seeds, only the country that deposited the seeds can withdraw.” https://lnkd.in/emgadgqV #GCAScholarships #GardenCreateAdvocate

Dahlias are always something to look forward to. Plant them after your last spring frost and enjoy their vibrant blooms until the first fall frost. Photograph them, and they’ll last through the winter! ? Photograph by Dorothy Brodsky of Greenwich Garden Club, CT ? #dahlias

It’s Photography Friday at the GCA! Furthering the knowledge and love of gardening and the natural landscape through photography. The forest is awash in a dial of light more luminiferous than a Canaletto. I misuse the words? forest, woodland, jungle because I have never walked alone through forest, woodland, jungle. I say Canaletto because I long to be in a place of light different from this place of light. - from Tigress Hugs Manchurian Fir by Tishani Doshi? photo by a member of the Nashville GC, Zone IX #winterlandscape #waterways #earlyspring #frozen #gardencreateadvocate #thegardenclubofamerica

Paul Alan Cox, PhD, a GCA medalist and honorary member, recently announced a breakthrough in his research to find new diagnostics and treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), “a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.” A new diagnostic simple blood test is scheduled to be available within the next 18 months. The research incorporated microRNA in the blood test, which resulted in a rapid and highly accurate diagnosis capability. https://lnkd.in/eUyrgBVm #Medalists #HonoraryMembers #GardenCreateAdvocate

The opportunity to explore other people’s gardens and experience their unique joy, is one of the special benefits of being a member of a GCA club. The GCA’s Visiting Gardens Committee plans tours of public and private gardens to educate members of GCA clubs in garden history and design, horticulture, and the environment. In 2024 members visited gardens in Asheville, Oahu, the Palladian Villas & Gardens of the Veneto, South Tyrol & Venice and in 2025 members will tour both public and private gardens in Japan, Morocco, and England. The committee also facilitates member-to-member garden visits throughout the United States, as well as to the gardens of GCA international courtesy clubs.? ? Photograph by Jane Shafer earned a 1st Place and Best in Show at the Magical Landscapes club show hosted by the Short Hills Garden Club of New Jersey. ? #gardensoftheworld