Technology Workshop: Navigating the New Online Yearbook Thursday, September 5 10am-noon Montclair Public Library 55 S. Fullerton Avenue in the Community Room, first floor   Whether you’re feeling intimidated or confident about using the website to access Garden Club information, there is something for everyone in this workshop!   This is the first year that our Yearbook will not be printed, but distributed exclusively online.    Our resident IT expert and Communications Chair Sue Young will walk us through the easier-than-you-imagined steps to access the Yearbook on laptop, tablet, or phone.  Still wishing for a hard copy? Sue has formatted the most frequently accessed topics so that you can easily print those pages for yourself.   Sue will also show us some of the lesser-known pages on the website and explain how to find exactly what you want to know.  Did you know that many of the workshops have online videos or power point presentations for reference? She also wants to know what would make it easier for you to make the best use of the site. What would you like to see that is not there? Tell her what works and what doesn't work. There will be plenty of time for questions, and hands-on help from our own computer whiz kid.   Be sure to bring your laptop or tablet with you to the workshop.   Sign up by clicking HERE .

This year the Club is making a big change to our Yearbook, published continuously since 1950, for both economic and environmental reasons. The Board agreed unanimously that we would create a hybrid Yearbook this year, a combination of online information with a printable file including the most used sections: Letter from the President Board of Trustees Calendar Botanical Schedules Flower Design Schedules Horticulture Schedules Committee Chairs and Members Directory As has been the case for the past couple of years, ALL THE INFORMATION   previously contained in our printed Yearbooks is available on your computer, laptop, or phone . CLICK HERE  to go to our Yearbook page with links to everything you might need, including the printable version. (It is the top link on the "Business" menu heading.) Sue Young will be introducing the new Yearbook as well as answering all your website questions on Thursday, September 5 at the Library Community Room from 10 am to noon. CLICK HERE  to sign up. ―Sarah Olson .

With the Flower Show, September Serenades , just over two weeks away, now is the time to take a walk in your garden with the Show Schedule  in hand to consider which Horticulture Classes you’ll enter. Familiarize yourself with the Horticulture rules in the Schedule and review the Basics of Exhibiting on the website.    If you’re exhibiting a large-type dahlia, remember to remove the side buds and leave a set of leaves. Not sure what kind of Marigold ( Tagetes ) or Sedum you're growing? Find the plant tag to help identify your entry. Only fully named specimens are eligible for top exhibitor awards.   Each participant is limited to four entries total. Exhibitors are required to pre-register their entries by Wednesday, September 11, no later than 5:00pm, with the Horticulture Entries chair, Celia Radek . Email Celia with any questions. See you in September!!

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Education Beautification Fellowship In the News CLICK HERE to see ALL "In the News" posts Explore Our Website 3 days ago Yearbook 2024-2025 4 days ago A Little Night Music Aug 28 Marilyn Mapes Yeutter Aug 25 Our Little Arboretum Aug 13 Request for Centerpieces Aug 8 Don't wait for your GCM news! Click here to get these stories forwarded to your email the minute they are posted!

Flower Design Division Rules 2024-2025 Back to main Flower Design page. See also the online NGC Handbook for Flower Shows See Clerking Guidelines ​ All Club Members are encouraged to enter flower designs in the monthly competitions as listed on the Flower Design page and in the Yearbook. ​ RULES Exhibitors may have one (1) entry in Flower Design in each monthly competition. Some plant material must be used in every design. All plant material used in a design must be identified on a 3"x 5" index card and included with the entry card. Common names of plant material are acceptable. No floral foam may be used in any design. AgraWool and TerraBrick (an Oasis product) are acceptable. Designers are also encouraged to employ alternative mechanics. Fresh material may never be treated and artificial plant material is not permitted. Refer to the NGC Handbook for Flower Shows , pp. 80-81 for a complete list of plant material and non-plant material that is permitted and not permitted. Plant material on the New Jersey Conservation List may not be used unless it has been grown by the exhibitor or legally acquired and is so stated on an accompanying 3"x 5" index card. Entries must conform to the design type named in the schedule. Flower Designs are judged using the Design Scale of Points found on p. 130 in the Handbook for Flower Shows. Advanced registration with the Flower Design Chair is required no later than four (4) days before each Design Competition by emailing Flower Design Chair Barbara Baletti. Designs should be dropped off downstairs in the Garden Club Room between 8:15am and 9:15am Judging will begin promptly at 10am. Designs arriving late will not be judged. Designs must be picked up no later than 30 minutes after the end of the program meeting. For questions about rules, design schedule, or specific designs, please consult with Flower Design Chairs or club judges (Florence Leysséne, Debbie Moran, Brenda Bingham.) ​ ​ FLOWER DESIGN LEVELS Provisional: Flower Designs exhibited by Provisionals are critiqued, not judged. Designs do not qualify for points or awards. Provisionals who are interested in moving to the Novice Level MUST submit at least one design during their term. Novice: Includes those who have earned up to nine points in Flower Design. Novices are eligible to receive The Elsie Bristol Novice Award (see award description ). Intermediate: Includes Members who have earned ten or more points in Flower Design. Intermediate designers are eligible to receive The President's Trophy for Flower Design, Intermediate (see award description ). Advanced: Includes Members who have progressed from the Intermediate Level by earning 20 points and one blue ribbon within a three year period in Flower Design. Advanced designers are eligible to receive The Garden Club Award for Flower Design, Advanced (see award description ). Every member of this level is expected to exhibit once a year. Advanced Plus: A competitive level for those who have won The Garden Club Award for Flower Design, Advanced twice. Advanced Plus designers are eligible to receive the Elsie Bristol Flower Award, Advanced II for achieving the highest points score and the winning of one blue ribbon. Invitational: Open to nationally accredited judges, professional flower designers, and Members at the Advanced Level invited by the Flower Design Committee. Participants exhibit for educational purposes and are critiqued. POINT SCORING ​ 1st Blue 5 points 2nd Red 4 points 3rd Yellow 3 points Honorable Mention 2 points Unawarded Exhibits 1 point Tea/Luncheon Table 1 point ​