What goes up, must come down. What to do with half-dried orange slices? Who owns the forlorn ribbon in the kitchen? Who's storing the pinecones? Where's the dustpan? Intrepid members gathered at Crane House under Celia Radek's watchful eye this morning to take down the last of the festivities and to wish one another a happy new year. (Click here to see us putting up the decorations.) Next December: new provisionals, new ideas, fresh greens, and old friends.

The National Garden Club's quarterly magazine "The National Gardener" is out today. More than 40 pages are jammed with useful information ranging from: Grants for tools for local community projects Ideas for providing curb appeal for the front of your house The latest article on garden planning by our recent speaker Bruce Crawford How contribuing to Natural Disaster USA Fund helps restore the land The success of planting for pollinators national project ... and much much more. See the previous 12 issues The National Gardener on our state and national page, (located under "Business,") or visit the NGC's own website.

2023 is nearly over, and here are many, many photos from our last event of the year ― our annual holiday tea held this year at Imke Oster's beautiful home on December 13. If you or your gorgeous flower or food arrangement does not appear on this page, forgive the webmaster! Photographer Susan Yu and others captured everything they could of that happy afternoon ― our members, the arrangements, and the delicious repast. Four slideshows ,below, show, first, photos of attendees, then flowers, then more of the party, and finally Marilyn Zaret's fantastical fabrication exhibiting our happy and rather silly friends in silk, tulle, and satin on Imke's doorstep. Click on any photo to see the displays as slideshows. If you have photos you would like to include of that splendid day, send them to Sue Young and she will add them to the display. The party ... The floral arrangements ... More of the party ... and Marilyn's fantasy ...

Another fun holiday outing at Morris County Farms and Tabor Road Tavern! Twelve Club members purchased fresh greens, flowering plants and decorations — all at a generous discount courtesy of the Farm. We even had snow flurries, hot beverages and pastries to make the day even more festive. Then on to the Tavern for a delicious lunch and time to chat with old friends and new ones.

There are probably way too many photos on this page, but it's hard to cut out any of the joy and fellowship felt by our members on November 29 as they worked together to decorate Montclair's historical Crane House -- as the Club has done for decades. As the photos show, the results are probably more spectacular this year than they have ever been. Click on any one of the photos below to see a full-size image and to scroll through them all. Thanks to our photographers, Susan Yu, Barbara Baletti, Celia Radek and Sue Young.

Thanks to everyone who performed their magic on Thursday! The Montclair History Center's Crane House, dressed up for the holidays, will wow visitors beginning this weekend with the Essex County Holiday House Tours on Saturday and Sunday. Open House and tours continue through mid-December. Click here for the full schedule. And stay tuned for a full array of splendid photos. ― Celia Radek

The Greens Workshop and Crane House Decorating take place this Wednesday, November 29 from 10am - 2pm at the Montclair History Center, 108 Orange Road. Even if you only have an hour, come and join in the holiday spirit. And click here to vote in the 2023 USA Today's Best Historic Holiday Home Tour. You need to vote BEFORE Wednesday at noon. The rules allow you to vote once a day.

Fruit, flowers, and best of all...fun!  Thanks to our District II Director, Julie Morgan, members of our Club had the opportunity to attend a workshop on creating a Williamsburg centerpiece just in time for Thanksgiving. The workshop took place at Freylinghuysen Arboretum on a gorgeous Fall day. Carpooling up and back gave members Imke Oster, Sarah J. Olson, Suzy Straten, Anna Lee, a friend of Anna's, Fran Ackerly, Nancy Stroud, Carol Callahan, and Floss O'Sullivan time to catch up socially before the holidays whisk us all in different directions. Similar to our Club's Challenge Designs, we were all given the same materials. Using greens from the surrounding property, fruits like lemons, limes, clementines, and apples, we added various fresh and/or dried plant material (similar to our Toni's Kitchen arrangements in the past). The finished centerpieces were not just beautiful, but showcased each person's creativity. When I delivered mine to my neighbors (who will be hosting Thanksgiving), she and her husband were over the moon, saying they "loved the fruits and variety of life in it."  Happy Thanksgiving everyone! ― Floss O'Sullivan

On two sunny, crisp days during the first week of November, the Youth committee teamed with students and staff from Deron school to plant tulips at Mountainside Hospital and with students and staff from Montclair High's Community Based Instruction Program to plant tulips at the Park Street YMCA. Both sessions were great fun for the students and their GCM instructors Sue Straten, Nancy Foster, Allyn Young, Donna Karanja, and Celia Radek. The Youth committee is  grateful to Deron School teachers Patricia Schmidt and Jennifer Dugdale , MHS teacher Leslie Wallace, Mountainside, YMCA's volunteer manager Jen Grisafi,  and Mountainside's volunteer coordinator Grettl Muscato for helping  plan these sessions and to May in Montclair Tulip Project Chair Celia Radek for toting bins of tulips to each site and guiding us in the dos and don'ts of bulb planting. We're eager to see the results next bloom season!

Flower Design Novice 1st - Karen Fricke 2nd - Olga Bequillard 3rd - Jacoba Coes HM – Kathy Bachmann Intermediate 1st Cheryl Slutzky Advanced 1st - Michele Tomasik 2nd with 90+ - Susan Benner 3rd with 90+ Floss O’Sullivan HM - Carol Callahan and Suzy Straten Advanced Plus 1st - Sarah Stransky 2nd - Cynthia Corhan-Aitken 3rd - Fran Ackerly Provisional Greta Schiedl Click on each image below for full view of winners. Botanical Arts Dried Hydrangea 1st - Cynthia Corhan-Aitken 2nd - Heidi Muschik 3rd - Denise Silverman HM - Sheila Oakes HM - Susan Benner HM - Barbara Baletti HM - Maria Matesantz HM - Kathy Bachmann Collage  1st - Barbara Baletti 2nd +90 - Floss O'Sullivan 3rd +90 - Karen Fricke HM - Cynthia Corhan-Aitken HM - Terri Breen HM - Karen DeLuca The two firsts Horticulture 1st in total points - 52 for Denise Silverman 2nd in total points - 33 for Cynthia Corhan-Aitken 3rd in total points - 26 for Heidi Muschick 5 people had 90+ points scored on their samples Some of the winners in the horticulture division.

Once again, the Garden Therapy committee lovingly prepared their annual bouquets to decorate the Thanksgiving feast offered by Montclair's wonderful Toni's Kitchen. See more pictures, below.

Once again, our monthly meeting, held at Bnai Keshet on Monday, November 13, exceeded expectations, as Dan Benarcik, horticulturalist and raconteur, introduced us to the endless possibilities of pots, His joy in the opportunities provided by containers of all sizes ranged from rich profusions of banana plants and riotious colors to heavily disguised chimney pots with new lives. He also showed the oddly effective image of a completely empty pot in the middle of a leafy landscape. Dan's long history at the 50-acre Chanticleer Gardens in Wayne, PA where he learned, experimented, made mistakes, and created a glorious and imaginative world, enabled him to share his experience with us all. "Never, ever become complacent in your designs, your dreams or your garden," he said. And it was clear that many of us will be visiting Chanticleer next spring. Below is a list of some of the plants he showed in his presentation. Chanticleer Courtyard, Canna ‘Orange punch’, Artemesia ‘Powis Castle’ Chanticleer Courtyard, Aechmea ‘Burgundy, Melianthus major Cycas revoluta, Coleus ‘Rustic Orange’, Sanchesia speciosa, Hackonechloa cv. Beta ‘Bulls Blood’, Thymus, Kale ‘Cosmic’ Ranunculus cv., Thymus, Petroselinum crispum, Woven Salix basket Canna ‘Orange Punch’, Curcuma longa  ‘Snowdrift’ Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’, Coleus ‘Atlas’, Salvia elegans ‘Aurea’ Artemesia ‘Powis Castle’, Canna ‘Orange Punch’, Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ Ravenna rivularis, Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’,Blackbird, Coleus ‘Dark Star’ Osteospermum cv. Thymus and Viola, with Coarse red Mustard behind. Papaver ’Champagne Bubbles’ and Salix twigs Salix alba ‘Britzensis’ branches Salix ‘Britzensis’ again with Muscari Violas and Carex ‘Everillo’ Hanging basket of Cilantro, Parsley, Red Lettuce, Mustard and Chives Beta and Fragraria Peony flowered Tulipa ‘Cretaceous’ and Muscari Muscari armeniacus Phormium tenax ‘Purpurea’ Strelitzia reginea var. Junciformis, Cuphea ‘Samba’ Alcantera imperialis ‘Rubra’ with Artemesia’Powis Castle’ Ravenna rivularis, Coleus ‘Rustic Orange’, Nephrolepsis ‘Macho’, Jasminum ‘Fiona Sunrise’ Ravenna rivularis, Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’, Hedychium cv., Nephrolepsis ‘Macho’ Ensete, Agave, Graphtopetalum and Hibiscus cvs. Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’, Coleus ‘Atlas’, Abutlon cv., Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’ Canna ‘Jivago’, Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’, coleus ‘Atlas’ Melianthus major, restraint… Abutilon cv, Codieaum cv. Irsene ‘Grenadine’, Hibiscus cv. Bromeliad pots, Billbergia cv. And Aechmea blanchettiana X Fulgens Aechmea ‘Dean’ Jasminum ‘Fiona Sunrise’, Nephrolepsis cv., Begonia luxurians , Abutilon cv. Fuschia cv Philodendron ‘Autumn’, Caladium ‘Postman Joyner’, Fuschia ‘Gartemeister’ Cordyline fruiticosa cv. Canna ‘Tropicanna’ Amicia zygomeris Alcantera imperialis ‘Rubra’ Bromeliads, Annas comosas ‘Variegata’ and Guzmania cv. Aechmea blanchetiana X Fulgens Melianthus major Ensete ventricosum ‘Muarelii’ Cyperus papyrus With Colocasia ‘Jet Black’, Nephrolepsis ‘macho’ Phormium tenax ‘Maori Sunset’ Manihot grahamanii Caladium, ‘Thai Beauty’