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January 17, 2019
GCA RESTORATION INITIATIVE
In the face of catastrophic weather-related disasters across the country, The Garden Club of America (GCA) launched a national Restoration Initiative in 2018. Five GCA clubs, whose communities had been devastated by natural disasters, received $10,000 each to help underwrite restoration costs due to damage caused by hurricanes, flooding, and fires. With projects underway in Florida, Georgia, Oregon, and Texas, the impact of the GCA in times of crisis is tangible. Read more about the five projects.
January 15, 2019
Citizen Scientists Track Frecklebelly Madtom and Clean Up the Strong River
For the past 10 years, The Garden Club of Jackson (GCJ) and members of Garden Club of America (GCA) clubs in Greenville, Natchez, and Laurel, Mississippi, as well as Monroe, Louisiana, have taken a conservation canoe trip on the Strong River—a spring-fed free-flowing river without major industry along its banks—to collect garbage. But in 2016 the river was too low for canoeing and the club needed an alternative project, a good Plan B. Enter the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks...
January 11, 2019
Millstones: No Burden in the Garden!
There is a saying that a heavy burden is like a “millstone around one’s neck.” In fact, the Oxford Dictionary has a second definition for a millstone as “a heavy and inescapable responsibility.” However, some gardeners have made light of millstones by incorporating them into their gardens. Originally used for food production and industrial purposes, they have been adapted for both utilitarian and decorative purposes today.
January 08, 2019
Help Solve A Garden Mystery - The Smithsonian’s Archives of American Gardens
Do you love gardens and the thrill of the hunt? The Garden Club of America Collection at the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Gardens has images of numerous gardens across the United States that need a bit of sleuthing to be positively identified. Some images belonged to slide lectures that were dismantled over time or simply never were labelled. Regardless of how it happened, they are a mystery!
January 02, 2019
Make a New Year’s Resolution to Reduce Use of Plastics
Due to its lightweight, chemical resistance, and low cost, plastic has found its way into everything from makeup to medical equipment to the aerospace industry, supposedly improving life. Or has it? A two-fold increase in plastic consumption since 1959, a throw-away mentality, easy dispersal, and the 500+ year rate of plastic degradation have created a garbage crisis. Garden Club of America (GCA) members are educating themselves about plastics, initiating projects to reduce the use of plastics, and pledging to change their behavior.
December 20, 2018
In Memoriam: ‘Godfather of the English Rose,’ David Austin
The Garden Club of America mourns the passing of David C. H. Austin OBE, of Shropshire, England, a rose breeder, writer and founder of David Austin Roses, Ltd. Mr. Austin died on December 18, 2018 at the age of 92. The GCA will present the Jane Righter Rose Medal for outstanding achievement in rose culture to David Austin Roses, Ltd. at the GCA Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts on May 19, 2019.
December 20, 2018
George Washington Crossed the Delaware on December 25, 1776
When George Washington crossed the Delaware River on December 25, 1776, it wasn’t just to get to the other side—he had a plan. His surprise attack on Hessian troops in and around Trenton, NJ was an important turning point in the American Revolutionary War. In 2007, the Garden Club of Trenton (GCT) also had a plan—the creation of a garden complete with a picket fence in front of the Nelson House at Washington Crossing State Park. Built within the grounds of the 3,575-acre park, the house occupies the high ground of the site where Washington’s Continental Army crossed that historic Christmas night.
December 20, 2018
Bee-utiful Gardens: The Possibilities with Pollinators
The Archives of American Gardens, with support from members of The Garden Club of America, has worked to preserve thousands of gardens through photographic and written documentation. These gardens, with their flowers, fruits, and vegetables, would hardly be possible without the busy pollinators facilitating seed production. Pollinators are a diverse group of insects, birds, and mammals which generally consume nectar, in the process spread pollen, and fertilize flowers. It has been well-documented that pollinators are necessary and important parts of the world’s ecosystem.
December 18, 2018
Christmas Home Tour Embraces the Giving Spirit
It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Atlanta, Georgia when the Peachtree Garden Club hosted its annual Christmas Home Tour on December 6th. The event featured four festively decorated homes in Buckhead, one of which was the site of a cast party for Gone With the Wind in 1939. See more holiday photos by reading more.
December 14, 2018
Birds of a Feather
The National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count begins December 14th and culminates January 5th, International Bird Day. Many Garden Club of America members are joining the flock. Nearly 77,000 individuals will take to the field or watch feeders as part of the world’s longest-running wildlife census (119 years). Get the link to learn more, check out incredible statistics about the count, and learn about the GCA's MOU with the National Audubon Society ... by reading more.