Join us to Celebrate You! Thursday, May 30th, 10:30 am at The Glen Ridge Country Club, 555 Ridgewood Avenue, Glen Ridge. All levels of Garden Club membership and their guests are welcome! Luncheon Country Club attire is requested (no jeans or sneakers). Tickets: Peony: $70 (base price) Dahlia $90 (+$20 donation) Rose $120 (+$50 donation) Click here to pay online (under "Business") and click here for the invitation explaining where to send a check if you prefer to pay that way.

Before even looking at the competition results, see a view of the crowded kitchen at Bnai Keshet at 8 in the morning as members prepare their specimens before the judges arrive. And now to the results. Flower Design The last Flower Design competition of 2023-24 proved to be a showcase of the talent in our Club. Designers from Provisional to Advanced Plus entered designs of differing styles and types. Horizontal Mass, Petite, Illuminary, and Abstract Designs were exhibited. The judges awarded the following: Provisional – Allyn Young (critique only) Novice – 1st Karen Fricke, 2nd Olga Bequillard Intermediate – 1st Susan Brady Advanced – 1st Floss O’Sullivan (see photo), 2nd Barbara Baletti, 3rd Suzy Straten Advanced Plus – 1st Fran Ackerly, 2nd Cynthia Corhan-Aitken Botanical Arts Section A: Cuff Bracelet 1st:       Karen Fricke (see photo) 2nd:     Debbie Moran 3rd:      Michele Tomasick HM:      Floss O’Sullivan Section B: This Section was divided into 2 classes. B1: Early morning Landscape 1st:      Debbie Moran 2nd:     Olga Bequillard 3rd:      Denise Silverman HM:      Barbara Baletti B2: Trees/Branches under early lighting 1st:      Michele Tomasik 2nd:     Floss O'Sullivan 3rd:      Celia Radek HM:      Sheila Oakes Horticulture Jacoba Coes was in first place with 48 points Celia Radek was in second place with 44 points Sue Straten was in third place with 42 points. Eighteen participants in the competition with one provisional included. Congrats to Allyn Young for completing her Provisional  Horticulture requirement. Our members displayed 96 specimens in 7 Classes. Of the specimens exhibited, 32 Blue Ribbons were awarded! Pretty impressive numbers all around. Jacoba Coes was in first place with 48 points Celia Radek was in second place with 44 points Sue Straten was in third place with 42 points. Eighteen participants in the competition with one provisional included. Congrats to Allyn Young for completing her Provisional  Horticulture requirement. Our members displayed 96 specimens in 7 Classes. Of the specimens exhibited, 32 Blue Ribbons were awarded! Pretty impressive numbers all around.

For a number of years now, members of the Garden Therapy committee have been visiting Oasis, the extraordinary nonprofit organization in Paterson that supports 1,000 women and children a day with all kinds of services from hot meals, emergency food, clothing, and social support to educational programs. On February 28, The Club held an aroma therapy workshop at the center, created, curated, and presented by Jacoba Coes. Club volunteers supported 25 Oasis clients as together they created aromatic jars of therapeutic scent using lavender, calendula, rosebuds and sunflower petals. This workshop was a brand new success for the Garden Therapy committee!

Photo: Sue Young Education Beautification Fellowship Annual Awards Meeting & Buffet Brunch 1 day ago Last Competitions of the Year 5 days ago Aroma Therapy at Oasis Apr 14 Susie Price 1930-2024 Apr 11 Click here to see all posts In the News Don't wait for your GCM news! Click here to get these stories forwarded to your email the minute they are posted!

Committees Descriptions, Chairs, and Members Click on a committee button, or scroll down to read about them all. Avis Campbell Awards Botanical Arts Civic Beauty Communications Environment Facilities Finance Flower Design Garden Boutique Garden Therapy Horticulture Hospitality Membership Nominating Open Gardens Potpourri Program Properties Triangle Gardens Ways & Means Workshop Yearbook Youth 2022 Arts & Flowers: A Design Specialty Flower Show See full report of the event with full award list and links to photos of winning entries. Avis Campbell Avis Campbell Gardens The Avis Campbell Gardens and Grounds Committee maintains the grounds and the display gardens located behind 60 S Fullerton Ave. The gardens are open to the public. Designed by landscape architect and Garden Club member Avis Campbell and installed in 1952, the gardens are inspired by the Wheel of Life and feature a pedestal fountain surrounded by roses and beds of flowering perennials and annuals. The grounds include a memorial to Essex County residents who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. Volunteers are welcome to join committee members who garden every Tuesday morning from April through mid-November. Chair and Members Reports 2019-2023 Awards This group of members is responsible for managing which members receive Garden Club awards. See the full list of awards and recipients here . ​ ​ ​ Chair and Members Reports 2019-2023 Awards Botanical Arts Recently joining the line-up of Club activities, Botanical Arts (BA) offers additional opportunity for creative expression and presentation of other types of horticulture, design and exhib its. Included under the BA umbrella are Botanical Horticulture, Botanical Design, Artistic Crafts, and Photography. ​ Chair and Members BA Civic Beautification Civic Beautification This committee's goal is to promote environmentally responsible existing green spaces and help implement the creation of beautiful new green spaces in the community, including planters in front of town businesses with an emphasis on native and pollinator plants. The committee will act as a resource for projects throughout the town and provide physical help where appropriate. Chair and Members Reports 2019-2023 Communications/Publicity Not only do we need to inform members of all our activities, but we need to reach out to potential new gardeners. The Club runs this website, creates an annual yearbook, produces seven newsletters a year (see Potpourri below), communicates with weekly emails, and ensures the press is aware of all our activities. Chair and Members Reports 2019-2023 Communications Environment This committee's mission centers on creating an Act of Restorative Kindness to our earth within our community. Members work to restore, improve and protect the quality of our environment with like minded community partners. This involves embracing new knowledge and science in the field of conservation and restoration as well as challenging current standards of beauty and landscape-care habits. Chair and Members Environmental Facilities Members of this committee are responsible for overseeing the very important maintenance of the Club’s physical plant. They are responsible for maintaining the Club's meeting rooms, whether at 60 South Fullerton Avenue or elsewhere. Chair and Members Reports 2019-2023 Facilities Finance As in any organization, this committee is responsible for collecting dues, creating and managing a budget, and ensuring we meet all legal and ethical standards concerning our finances. ​ ​ Chair and Members Reports 2019-2023 Finance Flower Design Flower Design Flower Design is an integral component of the Garden Club. There are opportunities to create traditional designs, as well as those which express more "freedom of style," and exhibit in monthly competitions. Members learn through Workshop participation and the help of our expert designers. Provisional designs are not judged but receive constructive criticism. Chair and Members Reports 2019-2023 Garden Boutique Garden Boutique The Garden Boutique not only provides gardening and flower design tools, caps, aprons, and other eye-catching gifts to members, but it makes a profit and contributes to our annual budget. Our chair is always open to new ideas for items. Chair and Members Reports 2019-2023 Garden Therapy Garden Therapy Garden Therapy is an opportunity to "give back" to the community with visits to nursing homes, senior centers, specialized schools, and refuges. Garden Club members work with the institutions to design programs that will interest participants and members alike, ranging from assistance with planting bulbs and potting plants, to providing floral decorations to Toni's Kitchen's Thanksgiving feasts. ​ Chair and Members Reports 2019-2023 Horticulture Horticulture involves the cultivation of fruits, flowering plants, vegetables, and ornamental plants wth opportunities for members to exhibit specimens from their gardens or potted plants from their homes. Chair and Members Reports 2019-2023 Horticulture Hospitality One of our three goals is "Fellowship," and the Hospitality Committee ensures that it is never far from any Club event. Sadly, Covid has put a dent in the extraordinary efforts of this committee, but in the past and in the future, we can look forward to the renewed tradition of delicious lunches, teas and all kinds of comforting fare conjured — apparently — out of nowhere. Chair and Members Reports 2019-2023 Hospitality Membership This committee is responsible for recruiting and welcoming new members and managing all aspects of membership in the Club. ​ ​ Chair and Members Reports 2019-2023 Membership Nominating The Nominating Committee prepares slates of candidates for Club officers and fills vacancies should they occur. Chair and Members Reports 2019-2023 Nominating Open Gardens Open Gardens Connecting our Members, Open Gardens provides an opportunity to sh are knowledge and creativity. With friends included, these periodic social gatherings continue to expand in popula ri ty, and serve as outreach to our community. Organized by Marilyn Za ret. ​ Reports 2019-2023 Potpourri Potpourri Seven times a year, Potpourri provides Club members with detailed information and articles about upcoming and past events from outings and workshops to community service and celebrations. Most members receive the newsletter via email, but a significant number still receive hard copies. See also Communications/ Publicity . Editor and Members Reports 2019-2023 Program Program meetings are held monthly from September to April for members and guests. Speakers come with an extensive knowledge of gardening, Flower Design and Horticulture as well as topics as varied as the history of Essex County parks, Emily Dickinson's garden, and the secrets of the fragrance industry. Chair and Members Reports 2019-2023 Program Properties These behind-the-scenes troupers are responsible for making sure our exhibitions and shows have the right equipment to make everything run smoothly. Chair and Members Reports 2019-2023 Properties Triangle Gardens Triangle Gardens are the raised planting beds along Church Street. Members and provisionals plant in the spring and maintain through the summer and fall, turning downtown Montclair into an oasis that residents take for granted. The Business Improvement District partners with the club, supplying funds and maintenance assistance during the growing season. Chair and Members Reports 2019-2023 Triangle Ways & Means Ways & Means organizes trips and outings, both near (the High Line in New York City) and far (the bulb fields of Holland). Chair and Members Reports 2019-2023 Ways & Means Workshop Workshops are organized throughout the year to help members — provisionals in particular — learn about Flower Design, cultivating and exhibiting Horticulture, as well as other topics related to gardening. Chair and Members Reports 2019-2023 Workshop Yearbook The award=winning Yearbook is the Garden Club member's essential companion. It provides all the information she or he needs to know, from member contact information, to the calendar, award winners, committee reports, and even the by-laws. ​ ​ Editor and Members Reports 2019-2023 Yearbook Youth Youth This committee focuses on specific projects with the youth of Montclair, such as the development of the "Connected Courtyard" at Watchung School, working with local Girl Scout troops, maintaining the pollinator gardens we planted in Montclair's elementary schools. ​ ​ ​ ​ Chair and Members Reports 2019-2023