What Do Pigeons and Doves Have in Common?
From the GCA Collection at the Archives of American Gardens

What do pigeons and doves have in common? When asked this question, many won’t have much to say except that they are both birds. You might be surprised to find that one thing they have in common is found in a number of gardens today, dovecotes.

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Newest Oudolf Public Garden
GCA Medalist’s Detroit Garden in Good Hands

Piet Oudolf came to Detroit to build a garden at the invitation of The Garden Club of Michigan (GCM). This public garden, more than four years in the making, was planted in early September and its designer, Piet Oudolf, had to oversee it virtually from the Netherlands due to travel restrictions. Fortunately, his latest creation was in good hands. Leading the effort to transfer Oudolf’s design from paper to dirt were 2018 GCA Honorary Member Roy Diblik and Oudolf protégé Austin Eischeid. Oudolf, the 2019 GCA Medal of Honor winner, connected via iPhone daily to give his input. A core group of GCM members assisted with the planting.

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The GCA's First National Medal in Photography
J. Sherwood Chalmers Medal Awarded to Michael Forsberg

Michael Forsberg is the GCA’s first recipient of the J. Sherwood Chalmers medal, awarded for outstanding achievement in the field of photography and/or photography education as it relates to the purpose of The Garden Club of America. Forsberg, a Nebraska native, has devoted 25 years to photographing America’s Great Plains, covering 100,000 miles across twelve states and three Canadian provinces.

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GCA Grant Helps Combat Widespread Damage at Beaumont Botanical Gardens
Restoration Funds Go to Magnolia Garden Club

In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey brought 52 inches of rain to Beaumont Botanical Gardens (BBG), resulting in widespread damage, soil erosion, and havoc from displaced feral hogs. To help restore the flood-ravaged gardens, The Garden Club of America awarded a $10,000 Restoration Initiative grant to Magnolia Garden Club (MGC), whose involvement with BBG spans 25 years. Before the restoration could be completed however, Mother Nature dealt yet another devastating blow in September 2019 with Tropical Storm Imelda.

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Blocks in Bloom
The Greening of Communities in Rochester, NY

It all began in 2014, as a two-block pilot project to strengthen a disadvantaged neighborhood in Rochester, NY. Thanks to the efforts of Master Gardeners from the Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) of Monroe County, the Rochester Garden Club (RGC), and the City of Rochester, Blocks in Bloom has impacted more than 71 blocks and 665 households. Neighbors who barely knew each other have transformed neighborhoods. Dry, barren front yards have become mini oases of vegetable and perennial gardens.

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What You Plant Matters
The Westport Garden Club and Deep Roots Work to Increase Native Landscapes

Encouraging the appreciation, conservation, and use of native plants in the heartland through education, collaboration, and facilitation of more regenerative native landscapes that are essential for a healthy planet is the mission of Deep Roots. Originally founded in 2014 by The Westport Garden Club in an effort to broaden native plant use, the organization now numbers more than 70 multi-sector partners working across state, county, and city lines in a collaborative effort to increase native plant landscapes.

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GCA Advocacy Inspires Founding of Bedford 2020
Members of Bedford Garden Club take action on environmental issues

Participation in the GCA's 2008 National Affairs & Legislation Conference provided the inspiration for members of the Bedford Garden Club (BGC) to take action on their town's environmental issues. These BGC members, along with the Town of Bedford’s Energy Advisory Panel (BEAP), organized the Bedford Environmental Summit in 2009. More than 1,000 people participated in the one-day event, resulting in a community of environmental advocates and the adoption of a Climate Action Plan. Building on the summit's success, the Bedford 2020 Coalition was founded.

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