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February 21, 2019
The GCA, Seed Your Future and the Power of Plants
The Garden Club of America is pleased to be working with Seed Your Future to connect youth to the power of plants. Why? In 2019, 56.6 million kids are enrolled in K-12 schools across the country. The majority of them don’t know anything about plants — how to grow them, how they impact lives, and how they are critical to the future of the planet. Without plants, there’s no future. And that’s why we are working hard to turn this around. In 2018, Seed Your Future, the GCA, and partners around the country helped reached almost 1 million kids with a middle-school BLOOM! campaign. What’s happening in 2019?
February 19, 2019
This Month in GCA History - February
Since the inception of the GCA in 1913, members have exerted their influence to help safeguard our environment. In the early 1970’s the GCA advocated for the environmental laws on Clean Air, Clean Water, Endangered Species and the National Environmental Policy Act all of which helped form the foundation of environmental protection in America.
February 14, 2019
The GCA Promotes Horticulture Careers
Every year, The Garden Club of America offers 28 merit-based scholarships and fellowships. Last year, the GCA awarded over $300,000 in grants to young scholars around the country whose work ranges from the study of coastal botany to landscape design. We're pleased to be working with Seed Your Future, a national movement to promote horticulture education and careers, which has just announced the launch of a new online career exploration resource.
February 13, 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! If this garden looks familiar to you, let us know by contacting the Archives at aag@si.edu. To view more mystery gardens, please visit the Archives of American Gardens Mystery Page.
February 07, 2019
Boxwood Blight on the Move in the U.S.
Member clubs of the The Garden Club of America (GCA) are taking action to educate their members and local communities about boxwood blight—a devastating fungal disease that is on the move in the United States. Caused by Calonectria pseudonaviculata, the blight was first reported in the United Kingdom in the mid 1990s. It is now widespread in Europe and has emerged in New Zealand. In October of 2011, the blight was found in North America in both North Carolina and Connecticut and is now reported to be in more than 22 states and at least 3 Canadian provinces. Importing shipments of infected boxwood from surrounding states has proven to be a problem. In May 2018 boxwood blight arrived in Indiana through a shipment to home and garden stores—on the move again. Learn about the resources GCA clubs are sharing with their members and communities about the best management practices.
February 05, 2019
MONARCHS RETURN!
As much of the northern US endures record cold, there is good news from farther south. The monarch butterfly count is up—and up dramatically. In a new graphic posted by GCA Honorary Member Chip Taylor, head of Monarch Watch, the total forest area now covered by monarchs overwintering in Mexico has grown substantially; up 144% since last year. This means the number of monarchs that successfully made the trip south for the winter has jumped, indicating efforts to save the monarch may be having results. For more than a decade, the GCA has worked hard to restore healthy populations of monarchs.
January 31, 2019
THE GCA ANNOUNCES ITS 2019 PLANT OF THE YEAR: ARISTOLOCHIA MACROPHYLLA
Aristolochia macrophylla, (also known as Isotrema macrophylla) commonly known as Dutchman's Pipe, is the winner of the 2019 Montine McDaniel Freeman Medal: GCA Plant of the Year. Annually since 1995, the GCA has identified a stellar North American native plant to receive its Montine McDaniel Freeman Medal for Plant of the Year. Native plants are important because they adapt to local environmental conditions, they require far less water, saving time, money, and perhaps the most valuable natural resource, water. In addition to providing vital habitat for birds, many other species of wildlife benefit as well.
January 29, 2019
The Garden Club of America and The Great Healthy Yard Project Partner
The Garden Club of America is joining with The Great Healthy Yard Project to reduce pesticide use on lawns and gardens across the United States. Synthetic chemicals can pose a danger to pets and wildlife and pollute our rivers and streams. The partnership encourages homeowners to “Take the Pledge” and protect the environment by simply eliminating the use of synthetic chemicals, weed-killers, and fertilizers on lawns, and by not discarding pharmaceuticals down drains or toilets. Learn more about The Great Healthy Yard Project (TGHYP) and take the pledge.
January 23, 2019
This Month In GCA History, January 2019
Soon after the 1913 founding of The Garden Club of America, the first GCA scholarship was established. The Rome Prize Fellowship in Landscape Architecture began in 1928 with enthusiastic contributions from GCA member clubs. It provides American landscape architects with a special opportunity for advanced study, travel, and association with other fellows at The American Academy in Rome, founded in 1894. This scholarship was the starting point for what has become an expansive list of GCA funded awards in a wide range of fields.
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.