Photo by Charlotte Reed, The Seattle Garden Club
The 21st-century garden club member is an active environmentalist, a historic preservationist, a floral designer, a horticulturist, a neighbor.
Garden club members know how to dig in the dirt and also how to use technology for learning and sharing. They restore, improve, and protect the environment, and they engage meaningfully with the broader community.
Garden Club of America Membership
Photo by Anne Shultz, Ulster Garden Club
Garden clubs are about engaging with nature.
Author Florence Williams writes about the “epidemic dislocation from the outdoors”: Americans checking their phones 1,500 times a week; students spending more time indoors than outside; a majority of Americans living in cities, where engagement with nature is increasingly difficult.
Photo by Jo Anne Rosen, The Seattle Garden Club
Garden clubs are about engaging with the community.
Those who have no awe for nature feel no need to respect or protect it. That’s why garden clubs are actively engaging in communities as varied as Savannah and San Francisco. They provide education in the schools, maintain public gardens, teach prison inmates about propagation, and educate the public about recycling. They implement horticultural therapy in hospital gardens and illustrate “farm to table” in community and urban harvest programs.
Photo by Joan Laracy, Worcester Garden Club
Garden clubs are conservationists.
Through concerted action, they help address climate change, protect native habitat, and maintain and sustain public lands. Only a few years after garden clubs across the country pledged to grow milkweed, scientists reported an identifiable resurgence in the monarch population in Mexico. Annually, garden clubs contribute millions of dollars to environmental and civic projects, offering a powerful private response to environmental problems at a time when public resources and public support are challenged.
Photo by Lisa Granozio, Stony Brook Garden Club of Princeton
Garden clubs respect the past and invest in the future.
Thousands of historic sites are sustained through the efforts of dedicated volunteers. They understand that a garden is not made in a day or a week or a month. Like friendships, gardening requires sustained care and maintenance, hard work, and a love of the unknown. Gardening teaches us persistence, humility, humor, and hope. To grow a garden, as so many poets and writers have recognized, is to be an optimist.
Photo by Suzette de Turenne, The Seattle Garden Club
Gardening unites us as a people—across time, and through families and cultures.
Most if not all of us have some special memories of plants and gardens: a rose that reminds us of a beloved grandmother; a bush transplanted from one home to another; a tree propagated from seed; a “gift plant” now dominating the backyard. Garden clubs matter because they foster appreciation and protection of our ever-changing land. In different places, and in different ways, we all find a common connection.
Text excerpts from a Bulletin article by former GCA President Dede Petri.
What is a garden club?
While there is no one definition, at its core a garden club is a network for education and friendship among people who enjoy gardening and nature. There are thousands of garden clubs of all kinds throughout the United States and across the world. 200 of these established clubs in the United States are currently members of The Garden Club of America.
How can I join a local garden club?
Garden clubs of all sizes exist in communities across the country. You might find them by contacting a public garden or arboretum, on social media, or through signage at a public space acknowledging the involvement of a local garden club.
All GCA member clubs are autonomous from the GCA, and their membership models vary based on their unique history and circumstances. Individual clubs control their own membership process, which allows for flexibility and ownership on their local level. Many member clubs have their own websites where you can learn more about their activities, civic involvement, and their club priorities.
Could I start a garden club in my area?
Absolutely! Lead the way in your community. Bring together friends and neighbors and connect with diverse community groups to build your network and outreach.
You can start small. Organize a meet up in a local park around a theme, like searching for native plants. Or partner with an organization to host a “done in a day” volunteer project—Weed Wrangle is a fun, easy, one day approach. Over time, as relationships develop, your routine get-togethers will bring shape and purpose to your club.
Have more questions about starting a club, or taking your club to the next level? Connect with us by emailing membership@gcamerica.org.
What’s the Pathway to Membership in the GCA?
The Garden Club of America’s membership is composed of 200 member clubs, as well as a select number of individuals through honorary membership.
GCA member garden clubs are located throughout the United States. They are established clubs with distinguished records of accomplishments in key GCA areas of purpose. The GCA also connects internationally via courtesy club membership.
Visit gcamerica.org/membership to learn more about the opportunities offered to member clubs by The Garden Club of America.
Are any GCA events open to the public?
Yes! A number of club and national events are open to the public.
- Flower Shows — Search for upcoming flower shows in your area.
- Club Events — Visit the website of a garden club in your area to find events like garden tours, volunteer days, and more.
- GCA in the City — GCA in the City provides professional, city-dwelling non-members a unique opportunity for participation in the GCA with a series of educational and social evening events. The program also provides this next generation of advocates and gardeners with hands-on, side-by-side gardening experiences and civic opportunities. Learn more here.