The Nation Garden Club is inviting us to join them at 1 PM ET on November 16th for their special webinar Expanding the Reach of Agriculture with speaker Josie Walker, a true warrior in the war against food insecurity. Josie has started many programs and brought organizations and faith-based groups how to create engagement within their communities to support food programs. Josie believes garden clubs could play a vital role in their communities. Not just donating cans of food but growing food and engaging many age groups in the process. Register by clicking here.

At the Triangle gardens and at Avis, our members were cleaning up on Election Day and planting bulbs ready for Spring. Triangle Gardens Ten Garden Club members, including several enthusiastic provisionals "elected" to meet and quickly plant 100's of tulip bulbs in the Church Street Planters on Election Day morning. A huge round of applause for Jamie Chase for preparing each planter with the patterned placement of tulip bulbs so that the actual planting was a breeze! Betty Murphy Co-Chair Triangle Gardens Avis Campbell Gardens And of course the intrepid Avis Campbell Gardeners were hard at work, as they are every Tuesday.

This month's gift to the nurses of Mountainside Hospital: Barbara Baletti's flaming challenge to the coming dark of winter.

These pictures show the initial garden installations that were done earlier this fall at Watchung. More plantings will be done in the spring and the school is still waiting for the educational equipment that was ordered. This has been a project that has spanned several years... our Youth Committee has been involved as well as our own Cynthia Corhan-Aitken. and before ....

And just like that…the Garden Club of Montclair Horticulture competition is back in full bloom! The October horticulture competition featured 15 participants including three members of the provisional class. Way to go — Anne Kerr, Kem Louie, and Karen Fricke. The judges were impressed with the depth of our Club’s horticulture display this month. Sarah Olson received first place for points scored, followed by Denise Silverman in second place and Debbie Moran in third. The Horticulture Committee featured three Club honors during the October competition. Congratulations to Debbie Moran, winner of The Estelle Leibrecht Horticulture Award for her blue ribbon “Miss Muffet” caladium. A double kudos to Denise Silverman who placed first in The Amy Hatrak Herb Award competition with her unique collection of herbs and The Barbara Meyer Award for her blue-ribbon award for her single rose specimen.

Program, November 14, 1:30 p.m. Union Congregational Church Our planned November speaker, Page Dickey, who was going to speak about her most recent book, Uprooted, has unfortunately had to cancel due to health concerns. However, we were very pleased to be able to secure Montclair’s Deb Ellis to speak about a very timely topic! Fall and Winter in the Native Garden Deb Ellis — environmental activist, community builder and teacher — will talk about how to extend the gardening season throughout the fall and winter with native flowers, evergreen ferns and berry-producing bushes. She will also be discussing how to modernize fall cleanup, how “leaving the leaves” can nurture a garden, and how native plants can serve as a home and winter food source for pollinators and birds. Deb is the Vice President for chapters of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey and the founder and leader of the Essex County Chapter. She is a Master Gardener and a Rutgers Environmental Steward. Deb gardens in Montclair where her smallish property hosts over 100 species of native plants.

The Communications Committee would be most grateful if you could fill out our questionnaire — if you have not already done so — as soon as possible. The more people who complete it, the better the picture we have of your likes and dislikes. We thank you again.

The online expense reimbursement form has been updated to allow you to attach your receipts as photos (either JPGs or PNGs) as a PDF, or as a document such as Word. The submitted form and its attachments goes directly to Bob Chapman.

... is what comes to mind when you walk up the winding driveway, so wear your sturdy shoes. Meredith is our sister member who invites us to her Heaven. Her design and hands-on touch is everywhere you look, and this is the season that sings “Oh My Lloyd”. Open Garden of Meredith Bergmann 3:00 to 5:00, Friday Oct. 28, 2022 Click here for address Marilyn Zaret

Garden Therapy members brightened a rainy morning at The Cliffs at Eagle Rock this morning, leading residents through the the creation of some excellent petite designs. See some photos below.

See below for winners in each class. Click on each photo to see larger. For photos of other exhibits on SmugMug, click here. Class 1: Traditional Mass Design (Provisionals only) Karen Fricke Class 2: Freedom of Style (all except provisionals) Ist Place: Michele Tomasik (shown here) 2nd Place with 90+: Tova Narrett 3rd Place: Virginia Woo Honorable Mention: Wendy Stahl Honorable Mention: Carol Callahan Class 3: A Grouped Mass Design (all except provisionals) 1st Place: Fran Ackerly (shown here) Fran also received the Kay Maclane Van Deusen Rose Award 2nd Place with 90+: Susan Brady 3rd place with 90+:Cynthia Corhan-Aitken Honorable Mention with 90+: Floss O'Sullivan Honorable Mention: Cheryl Slutzky Honorable Mention: Suzy Straten Class 4: Botanical Design - Decorated Wreath (open to all) 1st Place: Carol Callahan (shown here) 2nd place with 90+: Floss O'Sullivan 3rd place: Marie Donnelly Provisional entry - Karen Fricke And of course the beautiful dahlias on the Tea Table - Maureen Sprong

From 2-5 tomorrow -- before the rain -- don't miss the dahlias as well as everything else in Maureen Sprong's beautiful open garden. Click here for her address.

The proposed planting at First Congregational Church planned for November 6 and 7 has been postponed. We will let you know when it has been rescheduled.

The grounds of the First Congregational Church in Montclair were designed by the Olmsted Firm in early 1900s but there is no evidence that the design had ever been implemented. Last fall the plans and plant list were found, and with help from a landscape architect, and a funder, the planting is ready to begin on Nov 5 and 6. While the garden is on church grounds, they intend it to be a community space and want the community involved right from the beginning. The Church is seeking anyone who is willing to help plant. The ground will be prepared by the professional landscaping team. They need people (with their own tools) to actually dig and plant. If you are interested, sign up for a two-hour shift by clicking here.

And what a roaring success it was. Marc Hachadourian, senior Curator of the New York Botanical Garden Orchid Collection and Director of Glasshouse Horticulture at the Garden, told the jammed room at Union Congregational Church everything we wanted to know about orchids. He paced around the room with an upside-down orchid peeling off old moss while answering dozens of questions at the same time. The many entries in Flower Design, Botanical Arts, and Horticulture were judged by NJC accredited judges Gail Bassolino and Teddie Falcone (see photos and results very soon). After the lecture, members repaired to a sumptuous tea table, laden with contributions from the Hospitality committee, including Gretchen Prater's delicious and impossible rose cakes and graced with Maureen Sprong's glorious dahlias.

This year a number of members planted a “Miss Muffet” caladium bulb in the spring to be judged in the fall. Tomorrow we will see some success stories, but the sad emails, below, show why we need a Club where we can share our sorrows and get good advice. "After a slow start, my Miss Muffet looked bright and lush in September, now it is almost past due and lost its luster. Definitely not competition worthy." MT "My little Miss Muffet fell off her tuffet And couldn’t eat curds and whey The cold and the rain Just caused so much pain She had no nice leaves to display! "I’ll nurse her and warm her Thru winter and spring And maybe just maybe Next year she will sing!!" BB "Miss Muffet and I had a lovely relationship through the summer and she was so kind about my inability to influence the weather, tolerating and appreciating what I could do for her. But she got tired of looking gorgeous and has decided to get ready for a vacation and wait for another day. So disappointed!" FW "Not a good outcome for my Miss Muffet." KW "Same story. It was a beautiful summer and a swift fall to oblivion last week." DH "Me too! It went from struggling to perky to very dead." SY "She was so pretty this summer and brought me joy but the the cold snap did her in but for four leaves. Poor Miss Muffet!" MS "As unlikely a story as it might be, mine, after a good summer in CT, came home to Montclair and was eaten by the dog!" SS "We all tried!" CC

Betty Harris Lamborn August 2, 1935 - September 17, 2022 Betty H. Lamborn passed away September 17, 2022. A longtime resident of Essex Fells and Montclair, she left a legacy of benevolence, philanthropy, loyalty, and kindness. Born in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1935 to Betty Bloch and Wilmot L. Harris,she was called “Bubbles” by her father. Happy, fair, quietly competitive, and very observant, she lived a grand life, one that she cut out for herself, quietly. She attended The Holton Arms School and Briarcliff College. By 1957 she moved to New York City and earned the job of Assistant to the CEO of I. Miller shoes, headquartered in the Empire State Building, on the 82nd floor. Two things about this job changed her life. First, by accounts, she was the first female Director of Marketing and Public Relations of a major corporation in New York. Second, she was petrified of heights. Around this time, she met George Lamborn through their best friends, and the group hit the clubs and made their rounds. After marrying in 1959 they moved to Essex Fells, where they made their home and raised two daughters. Betty’s active community life began. A member of Montclair Golf Club since 1959, she took it upon herself to organize and “host” The Fourth of July festivities and other special events for many years. She also joined the Junior League of Montclair-Newark and began a storied career. First, she organized a grocery run project with members to drive with their children into downtown Newark during the riots and supervise the children as they delivered grocery bags of food to the local children. Next, Betty suggested a cookbook as a fundraiser. Entirely Entertaining, edited by Betty, Joan Crowther, and Patsy Coward, became the number one selling Junior League cookbook in the country at that time. Its first printing was in 1968, and it was printed into the 1980s. In 1974 she and Joan edited and published Fifteen Affairs to benefit the Essex Fells PTA. In 1991 she joined The Garden Club of Montclair. Awarded Emeritus Status in 2019, she served on the Board of Trustees as well as on many committees until 2016 when her illness intervened. For 25 years she gave generously of her talents as a cook, hostess, connoisseur of food, and cookbook writer. She had a natural flair for creating ingenious ideas for events to raise money for the benefit of the Club and the community. It was a love and passion of hers to create events that were fun, memorable and profitable... and of course beautiful. Among her events, Ways and Means contributions, and much more, she edited a third cookbook for The Garden Club, Whisk Right In. Her daughters, Elizabeth (Lisa) Lamborn Adams and Shelly L. Lamborn survive her, as do her siblings, Mike, Jessie, and Randy Harris, as well as many, many nieces, and nephews. She is also survived by Dora Casas, her 55 year-long confidant, aide, and dear friend, and by Mitzi Benoit, her adored companion and nurse. She loved her life-long friends from all over the world. May we all share her grace and compassion for others. She is hosting her last luncheon at The Montclair Golf Club on October 27, at 11 a.m. Garden Club friends who wish to celebrate Betty’s life are welcome to attend. Please RSVP to Lisa by October 20, text or cellphone (404) 556-1914. Condolences may be sent to Lisa at 256 Harding Place, Belle Meade, TN 37205. In lieu of flowers please consider donations to The Garden Club of Montclair.

Provisionals and novices attended Flower Design 101, run by Fran Ackerly and Barbara Baletti. As you can see, it was well-attended. Fran demoed two traditional American designs, and she and Barbara reviewed all design basics with a “What’s in My GC Toolbox?” display and discussion. Susan Benner was on hand with boutique items to show and sell. Need a refresher prior to GCM's monthly competitions? We have online videos for flower design styles and pointers for exhibiting horticulture from Florence Leyssène and Debbie Moran, NGC accredited Master Flower Show Judges. Click here to access the videos (which do require you to log in to the website. Questions about how to log in? Ask Sue Young.)

Our fellow member, Debbie Fitzpatrick, is suddenly in need of driving assistance to get her to and from Robert Woods Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick where her husband is very sick. We have set up a sign-in sheet, and hope that some of you will be able to volunteer for either the morning or the evening drive. Please contact Sarah Stransky for details.

The Flower Design Committee is eagerly awaiting the Design Competition on Monday, October 17. The design schedule has an exciting new look! There are Flower Design and Botanical Arts Design divisions and a choice of design class to enter. There is a limit of six (6) entries per class. Please email Fran Ackerly no later than Wednesday, October 12 to register your design and receive an entry number. Designs may be eligible for the Kay Maclane VanDeusen Rose Award, see Yearbook pg.31. Designs may be dropped off Monday, October 17 at Union Congregational Church, Cooper Ave., Montclair between 8am – 9am. They must be picked up by 3:30pm that day. Enter through the doors on the porch. Parking is on the street only. You may not enter the driveway. If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact us. Fran Ackerly and Barbara Baletti, Flower Design Chairs