THE GARDEN CLUB OF AMERICA

May 26, 2020

IN MEMORIAM: Nancy McLaren, Chairman of the Martin McLaren Horticultural Scholarship

Nancy McLaren (Mrs. Martin), a Garden Club of America (GCA) honorary member since 1987 and 2003 recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal, died on April 25, 2020. She was 98. We mourn the loss of this ardent contributor to international exchange and friendship, through the Martin McLaren Horticultural Scholarship Program (now The Garden Club of America and the Royal Horticultural Society Interchange Fellowships). She was a devoted horticulturist, gracious ambassador, and generous supporter of the Interchange Fellowships, as originally conceived in 1948 by the Hillsborough Garden Club.

May 21, 2020

GCA Medalist Delivers 39,000 Daffodils and Tulips

Untermyer Park and Gardens, Yonkers, New York closed in March with 30,000 daffodils and 9,000 tulips peppering the beds of the 43-acre garden. “If people cannot come to view the blossoming gardens, closed due to COVID-19, give the flowers to the people who need them the most,” said Stephen Byrns, the 2018 GCA Historic Preservation Medalist and president of the Untermyer Gardens Conservancy.

May 19, 2020

The GCA’s National Native Habitat Restoration Effort Grows

Warning - invasive weeds not welcome! This declaration is the battle cry that drives many of the member club projects that receive the GCA’s Partners for Plants (P4P) grants. In its third decade, P4P focuses on restoring native habitat on federal, state, and local public lands throughout the United States. Launched in 1992 with a mere six projects across four states, the program now totals 184 initiatives in thirty-six states. In 2019, fourteen new projects were approved. Learn how the North Dunes in Carmel, California were transformed into a healthy ecosystem with the help of P4P.

May 14, 2020

U.S. Postal Service’s American Gardens Forever Stamps Now Available

The United States Postal Service has released a pane of 20 Forever stamps recognizing the importance and beauty of American gardens. The stamps feature a photograph of a small but evocative area within each of 10 gardens. Botanic, country estate, and municipal gardens are represented in the series. The photographs were taken between 1996 and 2014 by photographer Allen Rokach. Deborah Edwards, president of The Garden Club of America, remarked on the significance of this new stamp collection: “I am delighted that the U.S. Postal Service has chosen to include a stamp collection celebrating American gardens in its 2020 Forever stamps program. This is one more acknowledgement of the importance that gardens play in our national landscape and psyche.”

May 12, 2020

In Memoriam: Elizabeth (Betty) Scholtz, GCA National Medalist

Elizabeth (Betty) Scholtz (1921-2020), 1990 GCA Medal of Honor recipient and director emeritus of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG), passed away April 22, 2020, one week prior to her 99th birthday. She had been associated with the BBG since 1960 when she moved to the United States from South Africa. Betty was appointed director of the garden in 1972, the first woman to lead a major urban botanic garden in the U.S. Although we mourn the loss of this gracious woman, who inspired generations of gardeners worldwide, her legacy will endure in the Elizabeth Scholtz Woodland Garden at the BBG and her eponymous grandiflora rose. The prestigious honors Betty received in the field of horticulture reflect her exceptional personal qualities and her lifelong commitment to outstanding work.

May 07, 2020

Weed Wrangle® Issues a Call to Action

This past Earth Day, Weed Wrangle®, a program championed by The Garden Club of America, issued a call to action to Stay at Home … pick an invasive plant and get rid of it! Weed Wrangle® began in 2015, when the Garden Club of Nashville hosted a one day, area wide, volunteer effort to help rescue public parks and green spaces from non-native invasive species through hands-on removal of especially harmful trees, vines, and flowering plants. Once limited to Nashville’s parks and green spaces, this trademarked movement is now in action in sixteen states.

May 05, 2020

GCA Scholar In the News...May 10th on PBS

Watched everything in your Netflix queue? Looking for something new? Check out the upcoming “Wild \Healing” episode of the PBS program, Ecosense for Living, featuring former GCA Scholar Dr. Cassandra Quave.

April 30, 2020

Books, A Perfect Escape

With activities limited due to COVID-19, it’s a perfect time to escape into our gardens, take a walk in our neighborhoods, and explore books about nature and gardens. What better place to start than with a sampling of books authored by club members and honorary members of The Garden Club of America?

April 28, 2020

GCA Scholarships Change Lives

GCA scholarships change lives. Former GCA scholars, now prominent in the fields of conservation and horticulture, share the impact of receiving a GCA scholarship early in their careers. Here’s what they said:

April 24, 2020

In Appreciation of Trees, the GCA Recognizes National Arbor Day, April 24

“Each generation takes the earth as trustees,” J. Sterling Morton, the founder of Arbor Day. Since 1913, members of The Garden Club of America have understood the importance of trees and have embraced their roles as dedicated trustees of planet earth. Through educational programs, advocacy initiatives, and civic improvement projects, clubs across the country observe Arbor Day every day. While in past years Arbor Day was a time for volunteer opportunities and community events for all ages, current CDC recommendations for COVID-19 make this year very different.