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Programs 

Every month we get together for a wide-ranging and unusual set of programs — usually a lecture from an outside expert — organized by our inquisitive and knowledgeable Programs Committee. See the schedule below for this year's offerings. As events pass, they move to the bottom of the page.

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Stoneleigh Garden and Using Natives in a Formal Setting 
60 S. Fullerton Avenue, Auditorium

Monday, November 18, 2024, 1PM 

Ethan Kauffman, Director of Stoneleigh, a public garden on an old estate in Villanova, PA, will share the story of how he and his team turned an historic formal space into a forward-thinking landscape of native plants.  Their goal is to reinterpret the grand old landscape with a natives-only ethos, handed down to them by the non-profit, Natural Lands, that conserved the space.

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Art in Flower: Finding Inspiration in Art and Nature
60 S. Fullerton Avenue, Auditorium
Monday, January 13, 2025, 1PM 

Lindsey Taylor, landscape designer and writer, introduces her new book, Art in Flower, based on her popular Wall Street Journal column, ‘Flower School.”  She will share stunning but achievable floral arrangements inspired by works of art, and show us how she interprets the palettes, compositions, brushstrokes, and mood of the artwork using floral and plant material. 

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Better Together: Plant Combinations That Wow
60 S. Fullerton Avenue, Auditorium

Monday, February 10, 2025, 1PM 

We match our clothes, and pair our food with wine, because they are better together. Caitlin Boyle, landscape designer, writer, lecturer, and owner of Dirt Diva Designs, will show us that plants are no different.  She will share with us how varying textures, colors, and shapes are the building blocks to make a garden go from ho-hum to wow.

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Beyond Gatsby: The Fabled Gardens of the North Shore of Long Island
60 S. Fullerton Avenue, Auditorium

Monday, March 10, 2025, 1PM 

A life-long passion for literature and historic gardens led CeCe Haydock, landscape architect, to write and lecture on historic Italian, French, and American gardens.  In this lecture, she focuses on the North Shore of Long Island, a favorite retreat of the rich and famous, who built elaborate gardens to accompany their grand houses.  CeCe will show us the gardens as they were originally built, and teach us about their history, landscape design, and present conditions.

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Throw Down with GCNJ Judges
60 S. Fullerton Avenue, Auditorium

Monday, April 21, 2025, 6PM

Have you ever wondered what goes on in the mind of a judge?  We’ll find out as three Garden Club of New Jersey Judges take on a Challenge Design, receiving the same plant materials and supplies.  We’ll watch as each one creates her own interpretation using nothing other than the materials provided.  They’ll walk us through their creative process, explaining their aesthetic and mechanical choices, and help us understand the steps they take to achieve a 90+ design.

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The Gardening Guru Open Forum
60 S. Fullerton Avenue, Auditorium

Monday, September 16, 2024, 6-8:30pm

Best known for his twenty-five-year running radio show, “The Gardening Guru,” David Daehnke will answer all our gardening questions in an Open Gardening Forum.  Bring your diseased, your shriveled, your barely-hanging-on specimens, stories and questions.  David will bring wisdom and expertise to solve your problems, as well as share his love of gardening and belief in an organic, common-sense approach.

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Wild and Free: The Art of Naturalistic Planting
60 S. Fullerton Avenue, Auditorium

Monday, October 21, 2024, 1PM 

Glen Ridge resident, Co-Chair of Brookdale Park Conservancy, host of the popular YouTube channel Y Garden, and landscape designer, Yulia Bellinger will discuss how to achieve a wild, yet aesthetically pleasing garden that supports biodiversity.  She doesn’t consider herself to be a native purist, but she does incorporate many native plants into her own gardens.  She is excited to share this approach with us, and present some “gateway” native plants that we can use to begin our own journeys towards more ecological gardens.

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