See some photos from the wonderful Family Day at Van Vleck, part of the four-day Good Grows Here celebration.

If you’re comfortable getting together again, join us for a trip to Morris County Farms Nursery to shop for Holiday plants and greens (we get a 20% discount) followed by lunch at Tabor Road Tavern. If you’d prefer not to gather for lunch, please let us know so transportation can be arranged back to our starting point. Wednesday, December 8, at 9:30 am. Depart from Whole Foods West Orange parking lot (park up near Verizon). Lunch at 12:15. We will carpool so please let us know if you can be a driver. Contact Karen Kadus or Susan Dumont (see phone numbers) no later than Wednesday December 1.

Many of you have been collecting pine cones, disposable water bottles, and a variety of dried floral material for our Thanksgiving Sharon's Harvest event which we very much appreciate. We have one more drop-off date for you: November 11 from 10am to 11:30am. Drop-off point: Van Vleck Greenhouse (entrance on N. Mountain Ave.) A Garden Therapy committee member will be there to receive your gifts! If neither of these dates work for you, please contact Sarah Olson or Susan Dumont to make alternative arrangements.

Members, granddaughters, and even a sleeping butterfly stepped up today, preparing dried flowers and grasses for Sharon's Harvest and Family Day at the Van Vleck celebration this Sunday, November 21. See pictures, below. Thank you all!

See this month's designs and comments. There were no entries for horticulture.

This year's climate change and supply chain issues worked out to extra bloom time for the Triangle Gardens workers. They removed the pink and white vincas and white astilbe on a brisk Saturday November 6 and hoped some provisionals could come for a weekend workdate. Sunday, Susan Yu's husband Matt gave a hand with some of the elephant ears. Monday fortunately was a warm sunny morning for the group to plant 1,500 tulip bulbs and dig out the remaining large elephant ears and cannas (See photos below and—coming soon—full size photos on the Civic Beautification page.) Dylan and Christian from Montclair BID gave them a welcomed helping hand with the unwieldy elephant ears and bed turning. Thanks so much to Lauren Zodel, Maggie Rothmann, Sheila Curry Oakes, Susan Benner, Wendy Stahl, Kathy Sorkin, and Maureen Sprong who joined Jamie, Betty and Susan Yu. These hard workers also were surprised by fresh, hot baguettes by the grateful French Dad bakery! A delicious finish!

The holiday season is beginning, and it’s time to decorate the Crane House and Historic YWCA! All are welcome to help on Wednesday, December 1 from 10:00am-2:00pm at 108 Orange Road in Montclair. This year, we are offering the workshop as a hybrid event. If you are comfortable being inside the house (with masks) and working with other members, please come. If you are staying socially distant, feel free to design a centerpiece at home and drop it off outside on December 1. To make things easier, please click on this link to sign up and choose a room you would like to decorate in historical fashion or to drop off a period relevant centerpiece. We will have greens, artificial fruit, ribbons, and other materials available. The Crane House is in the running for best Holiday House Tour again and last year they won fourth place, thanks to our combined efforts. Any questions, contact Floss O’Sullivan or Sarah Olson.

From November 1 until midnight, November 8, the door is open for members to upload photographs of their entries for both the Flower Design and Horticultural exhibitions.

The door is locked. No more Flower Design or Horticultural entries for November! Entries with the judges' comments will be available for viewing on Monday, November 15.

Wall Street Journal writer Lindsey Taylor has been rescheduled from November to January 24. In her place, we are happy to welcome Steven Kristoph on November 15 at 1 pm as our scheduled speaker.. Steven received his Bachelor and Master’s degrees in horticulture from Rutgers University where he has taught as an adjunct professor of horticulture and Landscape Architecture for over 40 years. He owns and operates the Steven Kristoph Nursery in Millstone Township of Monmouth County NJ where he grows many types of ornamental trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials. Steve is passionate about plants and likes to share this with others. Plant walks with him are always an adventure. Taking time to smell all the roses is important to him and you can bet if there's indumentum on a rhododendron leaf close by Steven will take note. For his presentation Steven will regale us with a talk entitled Garden Getaways. Many gardens and arboretums can offer educational programs and conduct horticultural research which may include the introduction of new and exciting plants and hybrids. Over his lifetime Steve has visited many of these Gardens and he will provide images and information about each. His focus will be on Garden Getaways in the Northeast. And after being cooped up for so long we look forward hearing about these Great Garden Escapes.

Coordinated by our own Deborah Hirsch, the Montclair Foundation is putting on a four-day extravaganza from November 18-21. On Thursday and Friday, 18 of Montclair's most exciting and exclusive boutiques will solve all your holiday giving issues. (Thursday for Van Vleck members only.) On Friday, there will be a luncheon featuring Nancy Kitchen, renowned floral designer to no fewer than four US Presidents. 11 am: check out the boutiques; noon: lunch; 1 pm: program. Saturday evening, there will be a giant dinner and dance in a heated tent, honoring long-time Club Member Brenda Bingham. And Sunday is Family Day, honoring our member, Sharon Karlson, who was a faithful part of our Garden Therapy program, and an offering to Toni’s Kitchen for their clients. (See details of where to drop off the items you have been collecting.) See the invitation at left, and click here for the REALLY full details and the chance to snap up your tickets before they are all gone.

Only one week left to sign up for Maureen Sprong’s Dahlia Dig Workshop! It’s happening Tuesday, November 9 from 10:00am-noon at the club room and outside at Avis Campbell Gardens. You’ll be wowed by Maureen’s photos and hands on explanation for how to overwinter these beauties for your own garden. Dahlia names are fun as well from “Boogie Woogie” to “Giggles.” Look at this gorgeous dahlia Maureen shared recently! Please RSVP to Floss O'Sullivan.

Still need a few more volunteers for prep! sign up here. November 14 and 18, 1-4 pm. Also need volunteers for the actual Family Day on November 21 at Van Vleck. Sharon's family and friends will be there and are planning to provide lunch for our group between 1 and 2pm.Sign up here. Contact Sarah Olson or Susan Dumont with questions.

Dahlias at Avis Campbell Garden are showstoppers thanks to Maureen Sprong, our resident expert. On Tuesday, November 9 at 10 am, Maureen will share her pictures and expertise on dahlia care, as well as time in the garden lifting and storing dahlias for the winter. Watch the video! Bundle up and meet at Avis Campbell Gardens. Please RSVP to Floss O'Sulllivan.

Both the Flower Design and Horticulture October exhibitions are now viewable, with comments from the judges.

Don’t miss speaker Bruce Crawford on Zoom (see email for logon details) at 1 pm on Monday, October 18 and let him get you excited about adding some fun, interesting, and lesser-known plants into your garden. This year Bruce was awarded the National Garden Club’s highest honor, the Award of Excellence, for his innovation in education and landscape design. Bruce has been a well-known landscape designer, lecturer, and writer in New Jersey, having started his own garden design business, served as Director of Rutgers Gardens for fifteen years, and been the State Program Leader for Home and Public Horticulture at the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. He recently became the Horticultural Manager for the Morris County Parks Commission. Bruce will share with us his innovative gardening ideas and knowledge of horticulture, highlighting 25 plants that have been planted successfully but to the point of near monotony. He’ll be suggesting instead some refreshingly fun alternatives (members only can click here to see the full list and print it out) to make our gardens more unique and enjoyable!

Check out two new photo albums — the provisional Flower Design Workshop taken on a glorious afternoon at Avis, and the recent visit to OASIS, the very special community center in Patterson. See them both by going to "Galleries" in the navigation bar.

Sadly, this highly anticipated workshop has been cancelled due to a conflict in the instructor's schedule. Stay tuned for the new date in the spring!

From October 1 until midnight, October 8, the door was open for members to upload photographs of their entries for both the Flower Design and Horticultural exhibitions.

The door is locked. No more Flower Design or Horticultural entries for October, but there's always next month! Entries with the judges' comments will be available for viewing on Monday, October 18.