The Achievement Medal is awarded in recognition of outstanding achievement and in tribute to creative vision and ability in the interpretation and furtherance of the aims of The Garden Club of America.

The original iteration of the Achievement Medal was named for Emily D. Renwick, president of The Short Hills Garden Club, Zone IV, and GCA founder. It was designed by Henrietta Schroeder Stout, but discontinued after 1931. The present award was given by Julia Isham Taylor (Mrs. Henry Osborn Taylor), Middletown Garden Club, Zone II, designed by Paul Manship in 1932, and first awarded the same year. In 1963 the award was endowed by a member of the Garden Club of Somerset Hills.