Our March program speaker was Horatio Joyce who introduced us to the story of The Garden Conservancy and the evolution of its mission to restore, rescue, and rehabilitate public gardens as well as to open private gardens to the public. Frank Cabot, a financier and passionate gardener and horticulturalist founded the Conservancy in 1989 after noting that two-thirds of America's great gardens had been destroyed by development. The Conservancy began with "four acres of giant cactuses, succulents and native species" in Walnut Creek, California, the life's work of gardener Ruth Bancroft. The Conservancy is now a nationwide organization, active in the preservation of 17 important private gardens for posterity, including the rehabilitation of the gardens at Alcatraz. Its Open Days program has introduced more than 300 private gardens to the public throughout the United States ― including the garden of our own Cynthia Corhan-Aitken whose garden will be open on Saturday, June 1 from 10am-4 pm. Click here to book a ticket and find out more about this special event!

Rutgers is hosting a series of seminars this spring as part of the university's "Earth Day Every Day" program. The webinars look interesting, very science-based.  The soil lecture should be great ― always lots more to learn there. Click here to see the descriptions of each topic along with the registration link.. And click here to view their monthly newsletter "Earth Day is Every Day."

The exhibits this March showed why this Club is going from strength to strength. Whether it was the superb quality of the flower designs, the wild imagination of the botanical arts creations or the sheer abundance of spring's lush horticutural specimens, everything simply sang. At right, Sarah Olson's sweet tea table decoration, and below, the winners in each category as well as Brenda Bingham's astonishing two-sided design. Flower Design Novice 1st: Karen Fricke 2nd: Olga Bequillard 3rd: Kathy Bachmann Intermediate 1st: Deb Hirsch, 2nd: Marie Donnelly Advanced 1st: Floss O'Sullivan 2nd: Barbara Baletti 3rd: Carol Callahan Advanced Plus 1st: Cynthia Corhan-Aitken 2nd: Sarah Stransky Trial Run Karen Fricke (critiqued only) Botanical Arts Topiary 1st: Michele Tomasik 2nd: Karen Fricke 3rd: Cynthia Corhan-Aitken HM: Fran Ackerly The Shoe class (all entries with the two firsts at top shown below) was divided by the judges into a ‘dress’ shoe group and a more ‘casual/informal’ shoe group, as there were nine entries total: The other winners in no particular order .... ‘Dress’ Shoe group 1st:  Floss O’Sullivan 2nd: Michele Tomasik 3rd:  Fran Ackerly HM: Cynthia Corhan-Aitken HM: Jacoba Coes “Casual/Informal” Shoe group 1st:  Karen Fricke 2nd: Cheryl Slutzky 3rd:  Marilyn Zaret HM: Barbara Baletti Horticulture First Place—TIE: Cynthia Corhan-Aitken/Kathy Bachmann Second Place: Celia Radek Third PlaceL Maureen Sprong Invitational Brenda Bingham created this dramatic two-sided design.

The last competitions of 2023-2024 (Theme: Dawn) will be held on Monday, April 15. Do not fear: September is not that far away and there is, of course, Art in Bloom to come in May! Remember that this is an evening program meeting. As always, your entries should be dropped off between 8:15 and 9:15 am and must be picked up immediately after the meeting. If you are not attending the evening meeting you must pick up your design between 12:00 and 12:30 pm after the judging. Register no later than Thursday, April 11, For Flower Design, Fran Ackerly at  fackerly1@gmail.com.. See the schedule HERE or in the Yearbook on page 42. For Botanical Arts, Florence Leyssene at florenceleyssene@gmail.com. See the schedule HERE or in your Yearbook on page 43. For Horticulture, Karen Whitehaus at parlonny@comcast.net. See the schedule HERE or in your Yearbook on page 43.

Once again Jacoba Coes has been scouring the internet for timely and important conversations about what is happening to the world around us. This month she is focusing on the world of insects, and everything affected by them. She ran across a beautifully illustrated article on the Reuters website, entitled "The collapse of insects," published on Dec. 2, 2022. “Insects are the food that make all the birds and make all the fish,” said entomologist David Wagner, quoted in the article. “They’re the fabric tethering together every freshwater and terrestrial ecosystem across the planet.” She also points us to a great follow up to the stark information delivered by the Reuters article, a TED talk by Rebecca McMackin called "Let your garden grow wild." Don't miss what this ecologically obsessed horticulturist has to say about public and private gardens. You will be inspired.

With 100% chance of rain forecase for Wednesday, the spring gardening workshop at Van Vleck will now take place on Friday, April 5, beginning at 10 am. The workshop will take place outdoors. Meet at the Van Vleck Garden Visitors Center. If you plan on attending, please RSVP to celiaradek@gmail.com.

Rosemary reminds you that the deadline for your annual renewal is March 31. CLICK HERE to fill out your form and pay online, or to get full information about downloading the form, filling it out, and mailing it with your check to Cheryl. Many thanks to those who have already chosen their committees, and sent their dues.

Date: Wednesday, April 3 Time: 10:00 - 11.30 am Place: Van Vleck Gardens ___________________________ The roses are pruned, magnolias are blooming, and it’s time to get growing!! Laura Roberts, director of Horticulture at Van Vleck Gardens will lead this early spring session on gardening.  Wed., April 3 from 10:00 am to 11:30 am at Van Vleck. A thriving garden starts from the roots on up. First, we’ll dig into the source of success ― compost.  Learn how to turn garden debris into nourishing treasure. Then we’ll head to the edible garden to learn about sustainable practices for the home garden and cool season crops you can start now. The workshop will start promptly at 10:00 am.  On street parking is plentiful on Van Vleck St. and on Mountain Ave. We need a headcount so please RSVP to celiaradek@gmail.com (Rain date: Friday April 5th, 10am)

Once again this spring, Barbara Meyer shared her vast knowledge of roses with members old and new ― their beauty, their culture, their care, and their myriad attackers, animal, fungal and climatic. See us in the garden, below, with our clippers and Elmer's Glue. Barbara held her audience in awe as she took us through her weekly calendar, starting NOW as the forsythia blooms and ending in the late fall. Members are welcome to the handouts (this page is only available to members) she provided.. Said member Deborah Hirsch, "I did exactly what she said last year, and my roses were beautiful." We even gained a new member who joined the Club specifically for this annual workshop.

Patricia (Pat) Anne Fitzgerald Green, 88 of Blairstown, NJ, former long time resident of Montclair, NJ, passed peacefully at home, surrounded by family on December 16, 2023. Pat’s passions in life included spending quality time with family, traveling the world with her husband and friends, summering in Savannah while staying in her beautiful home on Tybee Island, studying philosophy and the French language, and attending countless Broadway shows with her sister. Pat was active in a host of local organizations such as The Garden Club of Montclair, in which she served as President from 1999-2001. She also held the offices of 2nd Vice President-Program Chair, 1st Vice President-Membership Chair. During her 30 year membership, Pat’s  talent in Flower Design and Horticulture led her to achieve The Elsie Bristol Novice Flower Design Award, The President’s Trophy for Flower Arrangers and The Estelle Leibrecht Horticulture Award. Pat was known for her acts of kindness and generosity to those in need. Pat delighted in being alive. Her exuberance and zest for life attracted throngs of people to her. The world is now dimmer without her light and a bit colder without her warmth and zeal. Pat is preceded in death by her handsome husband Peter P. Green III. She is survived by her sister Jerry Buckley, daughter Marianne, sons Peter and John, grandchildren Katie, Meghan, Dylan, John John, Jessica, Mia and Ryder. A funeral mass was held for Pat on December 23, 2023 at St. John The Apostle Church in Linden, NJ.   An Interment followed in Colonia, NJ.

The most exciting current environmental project in New Jersey is The Greenway and Jacoba Coes of our Environmental Committee has been attending most of these early meetings., The Greenway is an approximately nine-mile, 100-foot-wide former rail line spanning Essex and Hudson Counties through eight municipalities ― Montclair, Glen Ridge, Bloomfield, Belleville, Newark, Kearny, Secaucus, and Jersey City. The NJ Department of Environmental Protection is undertaking the conversion of this blighted corridor into a thriving park with recreation and transportation amenities. As Jacoba explains below these images from The Greenway's website, the first couple of years will be taken up by the remediation of these rusty old train tracks before the exciting work of creating a nine-mile park where none existed before can begin. We are privileged to be part of this giant project in its early stages, and grateful to Jacoba for her fascinating descriptions of how such a project is created. From Jacoba Coes The meeting on the 14th March was informative. It was focused on updating people in the areas that will be part of the first sections being constructed. I touched base with the consultants. Volunteer involvement will not start until 2025, as all the work currently is remediation, clean up, soil preparation etc. Our organization's interest and my contact information is noted and on file! The room was set up with displays relating to the 4 identified needs ― relax, gather, play and connect.  Each display provided opportunities to leave input via commenting on a post-it note or ranking the importance of various features. The displays include comments from participants and are continuously updated.  I've attached pictures for you below of three of the displays (click on each for full-size version). The meeting was kicked off by Susannah Ross , Director/Landscape Architect, Agency Landscape + Planning.  She introduced Allen Penniman, an Urban Planner with them and then turned the meeting over to state/local officials. State Senator Ruiz and Newark Councilman Ramos spoke about the importance of the Greenway, that creating this space as a park will improve the safety of the space, their work in driving the project funding and the importance of community engagement.  Shawn LaTourette, DEP commissioner provided additional color and discussed state police presence, and improved safety as well. Senator Ruiz said she is currently advocating for the Greenway to include Light Rail between Montclair to Jersey City providing access to the high quality open space and bringing people together.  She said there is space for this connection in addition to all the other amenities but that if it comes to pass it would be a final phase.  The audience greated that news enthusiastically. Susannah Ross then laid out the remainder of the agenda Overview of the project area scope Opportunity for the local community to ask questions of the consultants and officials Request that residents make their opinions and ideas known so that they could be taken into account. Allen Penniman took us through the following points about the work being conducted before the meeting broke up into the survey portion. What was collected and considered in design Survey workshops conducted in 2023 On line survey in 2023 which by the way continues to collect data Discussions with municipal and local business leaders Complete sampling of all 9 miles of Greenway Determination of which sections will be built based upon greatest ease and providing the highest impact to their communities ― this lead to Newark and Kearny sections. Newark also provides the potential to link with Branch Brook Park. Sections constitute 1.9 miles Design considerations include leaning into the history of the area, alluding to  the rail line history and industrial use such as ice shipment in the design. Items that were brought up as particularly important to the Newark area Community Gardening Water play and outdoor gym equipment Connection between communities without using a car Some concept sketches were displayed and included scenic overlooks by Branch Brook Park community hubs for gathering ― perhaps a small venue for performances Hope this information is helpful to you.  Personally I am continuously inspired by the work that is being done, the inclusivity, and the vision for the Greenway's impact. I was surprised to see one of my comments show up, but happy to see that accessibility is front and center for others as well. Please let me know if you have any questions. Jacoba Coes

The deadline for Monday, March 25 competitions is this week ― Thursday, March 21. See details of who you should contact and the schedules for: Botanical Arts Flower Design Horticulture. Don't forget to check the rules for all three: Botanical Arts Flower Design Horticulture.