Flower Design Committee Reports Committees 2024-2025 — Barbara Baletti, Chair; Floss O’Sullivan, Vice Chair We experienced an innovative and diverse Flower Design year which was quite successful. We eliminated the use of green floral foam and challenged our designers to utilize alternative techniques in their creations. We maintained a focus on the basic design types for Provisionals and Novices as they continue to learn the importance of the Principles and Elements of Design. We introduced new challenges for our Intermediates to test their skills with Petite, Multi-rhythmic and Creative designs. Our Advanced and Advanced Plus designers did amazing work with Abstract, Transparency, Tapestry, and Armature designs, just to name a few. The move into more difficult and challenging designs would not have been possible without the technical advice and assistance of our resident accredited judges, Florence Leyssène, Debbie Moran, and Brenda Bingham. We exhibited 87 floral designs in our competitions this year, 16 for our Holiday Tea and 15 for our Awards Luncheon. This speaks to a vibrant group of designers who love what they do, and a Club membership that appreciates and enjoys it all. Special thanks to Floss O’Sullivan, my Vice Chair, for her invaluable assistance and expertise. 2024-2025 Committee : Susan Brady, Carol Callahan, Cynthia Corhan-Aitken, Karen Fricke, Florence Leyssène, Tova Narrett, Debbie Moran, Amy Poster, Michele Quinn, Cheryl Slutzky, Sarah Stransky. 2023-2024 — Fran Ackerly, Chair; Barbara Baletti, Vice Chair In keeping with one purpose of the Garden Club of Montclair, education, the Flower Design committee chose to go “back to basics” this year. In September, a two-part workshop was given exploring the principles and elements of design and how to apply them in creating a flower design. Later in the year, a point-scoring workshop was held to show how flower designs are judged in a competition or flower show. Trial Run was brought back which gave designers an opportunity to do a design new to them to be critiqued only. Thanks to our member NGC judges, the Invitational showcased more advanced designs as examples of what was ahead on the design schedule. Thank you to each member of the committee for her valuable contributions in planning this year, to Barbara Baletti who was there every step of the way, and to the 28 designers who participated by exhibiting 64 designs this year. 2022-2023 — Fran Ackerly, Chair; Barbara Baletti, Vice Chair It was an exciting year for Flower Design. Inspired by the success of our award-winning flower show, Arts & Flowers : A Design Specialty Flower Show, the committee made some changes to the design schedule for monthly competitions. The format was altered to follow the schedule of an actual flower show, allowing Members more freedom in choosing a design class and type. New workshops were offered, interesting challenges in Flower Design were introduced, and Botanical Arts made its debut. Members enjoyed the new opportunities, and Club competitions were replete with decorated hats and boxes, dazzling masks, and necklaces. These new additions were enthusiastically embraced by designers. We exhibited fifty-two Flower Designs and twenty-five Botanical Arts designs in five competitions this year. To educate new Members and increase participation in Flower Design, we are going "back to basics," returning to our original flower design format. Botanical Arts will become a separate division and have its own committee. 2021-2022 — Fran Ackerly, Chair; Barbara Baletti, Vice Chair Concerns about COVID-19 had an impact on Flower Design events again this year. Virtual Design Exhibitions were held in October, November, January, and February. Designers took a photo of their flower design, attached the photo to the online entry form, and sent their entry to The Garden Club of Montclair 's website. The judges were able to view the design photos and add their comments. I want to thank our own judges, Florence Leyssène and Debbie Moran, for the countless hours they spent critiquing the designs each month, and Sue Young for putting each Exhibition on the website for Members to enjoy viewing. To everyone's delight, in March and April there was a return to inperson Design Competitions. March brought us lovely Petite Designs ranging in size from 3 inches to 12 inches. In April, designers rose to the challenge of a Multi-Rhythmic Design. I want to thank all designers for participating and for sharing their creativity and talent. This year, 28 designers entered a total of 72 flower designs. A thank you also must go to Barbara Baletti, Vice Chair of Flower Design, whose ideas, suggestions, and support were invaluable. Working together this year was great and Flower Design survived and thrived. 2020-2021 — Fran Ackerly, Chair; Barbara Baletti, Vice Chair Many things were different this year due to the pandemic and Flower Design was no exception. The monthly Flower Design Competitions became Virtual Design Exhibitions. Each month, designers took photos of their designs and submitted them electronically to the Club’s website. Once submitted, they were critiqued by our own member Judges and each designer was awarded one point for participation. No Flower Design awards were given this year. The aim was to keep members connected and involved during the difficult time of COVID-19. In all, 23 designers submitted a total of 95 designs. This success would not have been possible without the support of Vice-Chair Barbara Baletti, Flower Design Committee members, Workshops Chair Floss O'Sullivan, and the Communications Chair Amy South. Thank you to all. 2019-2020 — Cynthia Corhan-Aitken, Fran Ackerly, Vice Chair This will serve as my last report as Chair of Flower Design as I pass the baton to Fran Ackerly and her Vice Chair Barbara Baletti. I have loved every minute of serving as Chair of this committee mainly due to the fact that I have always had an enthusiastic group of volunteers with whom to work. My sincerest thanks go to Fran Ackerly who served as my Vice Chair during my second term and took a huge weight off my shoulders by always being willing to help and advise. Much gratitude and many thanks go to Florence Leyssène and Debbie Moran for always being there to support me, answer my many questions and, in general, encourage me every step of the way. To my Flower Design Committee members: Barbara Baletti, Brenda Bingham. Joan Crowther, Firth Fabend, Sharla Blanz, Carol Callahan, Tova Narrett, Floss O'Sullivan, Michele Quinn, Sarah Stransky, and Marylin Zaret; you have all always been willing to help and have taken on the many tasks that go along with this Committee with willingness and grace. Most importantly, thank you to all the designers who have participated in our monthly Flower Design Competitions. Your creativity has never failed to impress and amaze me. Without you all there would be a lot less beauty in the world! This has been a difficult spring for everyone. Who could have predicted that the world would go into lockdown in March and that life as we know it would change so extremely? Sadly, we missed two competitions for Design and Botanical Arts in March and April and, of course, there was the cancellation of our Design Specialty Flower Show scheduled for September. I look forward to the day, hopefully in the not too distant future, when we will all be back together again doing the things we love and sharing it with all of our Garden Club friends.

Properties Committee Reports Committees 2024-2025 — Pamela Turre, Chair; Melody Brown, Vice Chair 2024-2025 was a busy year for the Properties Committee. Last summer we thoroughly revamped the Properties room at 60 South Fullerton Avenue to its current condition. The room was emptied, scrubbed, and painted, and all properties/inventories were organized in groups and placed on newly installed shelves. As a result, the monthly set-ups for routine meetings, workshops, and competitions were much easier. A special thank you to Sarah Olson, Karen Whitehaus, Floss O’Sullivan, Debra Hirsch, Barbara Baletti, and Christine James for their support and participation throughout the year. Looking forward to an exciting year in the fall. 2023-2024 — Nancy Stroud, Chair It was goodbye to Properties storage at Union Congregational Church and the Van Vleck basement; time to consolidate. Much thanks to those helping hands that moved pedestals, glassware, and many additional items to our Properties Room in 60 South Fullerton and down the street to Bnai Keshet. This move was a breeze because of the elevator there. Setups and breakdowns for the remaining competitions included repositioning chairs in the beautiful Temple and helping set up tables for floral designs, horticultural specimens, and botanical arts. Much gratitude to our members who graciously pitched in to assist. We assisted with pick up and return of pedestals for our Art in Bloom designers. Inventories are up to date. Best of luck and thanks to incoming Properties Chair Pam Turre and Vice Chair Melody Brown. 2022-2023 — Nancy Stroud, Chair 2022-23 glided by with ease for the Properties Committee. Union Congregational Church handled all our Program setups. Volunteers helped move some items out of Van Vleck House & Gardens and into Union Congregational Church's basement. Volunteers also assisted with moving photo display racks and pedestals in and out of basements. Workshops and meetings at 60 S. Fullerton were handled by presenters and attendees. The major effort went into the set-ups and breakdowns for our Arts & Flowers: A Design Specialty Flower Show held at Van Vleck House & Gardens in September. Many, many helping hands were greatly appreciated. All inventories are now complete. Properties are located at Union Congregational Church and in our properties room at 60 S. Fullerton. Thank you to all our Members who stepped up to haul our display properties up and down basement stairs. We are a team! 2021-2022 — Nancy Stroud, Chair As in-person activities and events progressed throughout the year, Properties stepped in for setups. Assistance from members of the Union Congregational Church staff, one GCM Member's husband, and many Club Members helped to lighten our work. Setups for competitions, workshops, Art in Bloom pedestal pickup and drop off, and our Annual meeting in the Garden were smooth and easy. Much gratitude to Florence Leyssène, outgoing President, for her advice and support, to Peter Zaret, Committee Members, and all who helped. Thank you to all. 2020-2021 — Nancy Stroud, Chair The Committee set up for our Awards Program, held in May in the beautiful Avis Campbell Gardens. New, lightweight folding tables were purchased for this as well as future events. Folding chairs were also set up. Recognition is due to Marilyn Zaret for her assistance carrying more than fifty metal folding chairs from the basement Club Room to the Garden, as well as to Deborah Hirsch for purchasing and delivering the new tables. Thanks to the members who stepped up to help us put everything away. Otherwise, it was a quiet year for Properties due to the COVID-19 lockdown. 2019-2020 — Debbie Moran, Chair The properties identified to go to Van Vleck for the year were taken over on "Moving Day" last summer and stored in the basement. Properties remaining in the storage room at the United Way Building were identified as either "keep" or "discard." Tables from Van Vleck made set up for Horticultural Competitions relatively fast. Using only lightweight pedestals was a boon because they had to be brought up from and then back down to the basement storage room. A set of four new pedestals for Design classes was made to add to the properties on hand at Van Vleck. There was no activity in March or April due to the corona virus lockdown.

Explanation of Provisional Requirements back to main Provisional page Program Meetings are held monthly from September to April for Garden Club Members and guests. Speakers come with an extensive knowledge of subjects germane to gardening, Flower Design, Horticulture, and Botanical Arts. Meetings coincide with monthly Flower Design, Horticulture, and Botanical Arts competitions. A tea and social follow Program Meetings. Workshops are offered throughout the year to help Provisionals learn about Flower Design, cultivating and exhibiting Horticulture, as well as other topics related to gardening. Workshops are entertaining, hands-on, and fun. Avis Campbell Gardens & Grounds are the pride of the Garden Club. The Gardens are located at 60 South Fullerton Avenue and maintained by the Membership, both Active and Provisional. Volunteering time at Avis Campbell is an enjoyable experience. It is an opportunity to meet and work with other Provisionals and learn about gardening from our experts. Triangle Mall Gardens are the raised planting beds along Church Street in downtown Montclair. They are maintained in the fall and spring by Club Members with the help of Provisionals. The Business Improvement District (BID) partners with the Garden Club in supplying funds and maintenance assistance during the growing season. The Club has recently taken on the task of creating and maintaining the plantings at the traffic circle where Church Street meets Valley Road and Hillside Avenue. Garden Therapy is an opportunity to aid the physical, mental, and emotional health of persons in the community who are facing personal challenges such as physical disability, homelessness, or violence. We lead flower arranging workshops and other garden-related activities that inspire creativity and personal achievement for the individuals we serve. Flower Design is an integral component of the Garden Club. There are opportunities to create traditional designs, as well as those which express more "freedom of style", and exhibit in monthly competitions. You will learn through Workshop participation and the help of our expert designers. Provisional designs are not judged, but receive constructive comments. Horticulture involves the cultivation of fruits, flowering plants, vegetables, and ornamental plants with opportunities for Members to exhibit specimens from their gardens or potted plants from their homes. Our workshops will teach you to experiment and improve your own gardens. Clerking Flower Design, Horticulture, and Botanical Arts competitions include shadowing judges as they view all entries in the monthly in-house competition, recording their comments, criticism, points, and placing awards. The purpose of these requirements is to provide exposure to the important activities of the Club. We encourage you to attend Membership meetings whenever possible, to try your hand at additional Flower Design, Horticulture, and Botanical Arts competitions, and to partake in as many Workshops as you can. In addition, you might like to join in the seasonal decoration of Montclair History Center's Crane House & Historic YWCA or the biennial "Art in Bloom" exhibition at the Montclair Art Museum — two important civic events that are both meaningful and fun. 2025-2026 marks our centennial with many different events and opportunities planned. The more activities you become involved in, the sooner you become acquainted with other Members and begin to feel that you are a part of a wonderful organization.

Church Street Gardens (formerly Triangle Gardens) Committee Reports Committees 2024-2025 — Betty Jagoda Murphy, Chair; Janet Oscar, Vice Chair Triangle Gardens had a transformative year. After the completely new native design was installed in the Church Street planters (and one planter on South Fullerton Avenue) last spring, the committee worked hard to keep the planters looking fresh all summer. Unfortunately, some of the shrubs in the large Triangle didn’t get enough water and had to be removed. A few of the ilex in the planters also had to be replaced but, for the most part, Cynthia Corhan-Aiken’s wonderful native redesign worked beautifully, and the maintenance of the planters should now prove to be less arduous. The committee planted tulip bulbs in November 2024. In May 2025, we lifted the bulbs and planted SunPatiens in the specific color palette for each planter. We worked closely with the BID regarding watering the plants adequately so the blooms would beautify Church Street throughout the summer season. It has been a pleasure to work with all the dedicated and hardworking members of the Triangle Gardens Committee, and I look forward to working with the new Co Chairs, Kathy Bachmann and Maggie Rothman. 2024-2025 Committee: Olga Bequillard, Charlene Connolly, Susan Dumont, Nancy Foster, Nancy Gerber, Helene Peck, Maggie Rothman, Kathy Sorkin, Wendy Stahl, Nancy Stroud, Patt Sullivan-Perry. 2023-2024 — Betty Jagoda Murphy, Chair; Janet Oscar, Vice Chair BIG NEWS: Triangle has seriously entered the “native plant” arena! Inspired by GC President Sarah Olson’s impassioned speech at last year’s awards meeting, I asked Cynthia Corhan-Aitken if she would create a new design incorporating native species for Church Street. After several meetings with Celia Radek, Janet Oscar and me, Cynthia created a brand-new planting scheme incorporating native and perennial plants to beautify and bring Church Street into the environmentally conscious century! The drawings, complete with examples of envisioned plants, were presented to the BID for approval. The BID agreed to support the work with a $4,000 contribution and The Montclair Foundation granted an additional $2,000. Along with several personal donations, the $6,500 project was fully funded. The ever-committed Triangle Committee has always shown up! Planting tulips in the fall, removing the bulbs in the spring (great thanks to co-chair Janet Oscar) and, following the heavy work that was shouldered by Cynthia’s landscape crew, the committee met on Church Street to implement Cynthia’s design, the first week in June. 2022-2023 — Susan Yu, Chair; Betty Murphy, Vice Chair Triangle Gardens had a beautiful pink spring display of the "Pink Impressions" tulips collection (early and mid-spring blooming Darwin varieties) this year. Calendar days were dashed when Mother Nature gave us some over 80-degree, summer-like April days coupled with torrential downpours in early May. The hot and rainy days finished off our pink flowers ahead of our usual timetable and left us looking only at green stalks. A great crew assembled at the last minute to lift the bulbs on Thursday, May 4 and then plant the rose pink and peppermint white Vincas, dark purple Elephant Ears, white and purple Astilbes, and Rose Cannas on Friday, May 12th, just in time for Mother's Day. It was wonderful to meet and see many of our Provisionals join in alongside our devoted "regulars." Our summer maintenance schedule begins soon, and we hope to see you throughout the season. Hands will be needed for mulching and adding more native plants. COVID-19 presented new challenges on Church Street, including construction that eliminated three of our longtime raised beds, but also wonderful new opportunities outdoors, like meeting when much of life was on Zoom. We team with the Montclair Center BID, namely director Jason Gleason and new manager Jerry Rafalovich. We were honored to be recognized with a GCNJ Civic Beautification award last year. Thanks to the incredible Betty Murphy and Janet Oscar who will now take over chairing Triangle Gardens — a continuance of seventy plus years of beauty and excellence. 2021-2022 — Susan Yu, Chair; Jamie Chase, Vice Chair This is a special year for Triangle Gardens. Not only is it our 70th anniversary of tending the large planters of the "triangular intersection" of Church Street, Bloomfield, and South Fullerton Avenues, but we were also honored by the Garden Club of New Jersey this June with a special Large Club Civic Beautification award. We could not have achieved this without our wonderful, enthusiastic, and dedicated committee and our longtime, expert guide Jamie Chase, who helped us implement a new matrix planting method this year. Last November 6th, into our nine large planters went 1,500 tulip bulbs. This winter, the town removed three of the bulb-filled planters (in front of the now defunct Hampton House and the Pure Energy Salon corner), while undertaking road construction on Bloomfield Avenue. They were deemed hazardous after conducting a quick pedestrian safety study. Also, in early April, the town considered a proposal to require all public spaces be 70-90% native plantings. Special thanks to Betty Murphy, Cynthia Corhan-Aitken, and Celia Radek for representing GCM at the April town ordinance meeting. We plan to incorporate more native plants with Jamie's new matrix system as the season progresses. We hope to see more Provisionals during our summer maintenance schedule and for mulching. May 16th, right after Mother's Day, we removed all the faded red-edged Hocus Pocus and white-tinged Golden Parade yellow tulips from our remaining six planters. The following Monday morning, on May 23rd, we planted Maui Gold elephant ears, pink and white periwinkles (Vinca minor), some native pollinators of coral bells and Jacob's Ladder, and replenished some soil. Thank you to our wonderful crew: Susan Benner, Jamie Chase, Susan Dumont, Maria Matesanz, Penny McCook, Betty Murphy, Sheila Oakes, Janet Oscar, Maggie Rothmann, Kathy Sorkin, Maureen Sprong, Wendy Stahl, Lauren Zodel, and our favorite duo-Charlene & Terry Connelly. All their invaluable help provides another year of beautiful plantings! We are grateful to the Montclair BID, who still supports us with funding and maintenance help, and all the local businesses and public that thank us and appreciate our efforts! 2020-2021 — Susan Yu, Chair; Jamie Chase, Vice Chair In late October our intrepid Triangle Committee enthusiastically turned out to quickly remove the annuals despite COVID conditions and a chilly, misty, steady drizzle. In less than four hours we lifted the pink and white vincas, purple salvia, red cannas and enormous elephant ears. As befitting the challenging year, our tulip bulbs were held up in delivery so we waited for their arrival and planted them mid-November. They bloomed beautifully in the spring. In mid-May, our fantastic Triangle crew removed the spent waves of yellow tulip bulbs and planted the multicolored annual varieties (rose periwinkle, purple astilbe, various cannas) all on a beautiful spring day, and in record time. Normally these tasks, bagging over a thousand tulips and planting hundreds of annuals, would take more than one work day. Later, Jamie Chase planted the crowd favorite — Maui Gold elephant ears. We will continue the summer maintenance of mulching, light weeding, pruning, and rubbish removal. Occasionally we get an extra surprise set of hands via some husbands, and we hope to see more Provisionals. We are excited to welcome the wonderful Betty Murphy, who has agreed to be our new Vice Chair next year. 2019-2020 — Susan Yu, Chair; Jamie Chase, Vice Chair Covid-19 has been a strange and challenging situation and I am especially grateful this year's committee braved the quarantine to enthusiastically help lift, plant, and mulch the Triangle planters. While most of Montclair turned into a virtual ghost town this spring, Church Street lit up downtown with its cheery waves of bright Big Smile yellow tulip blooms that our autumn 2019 committee and Provisional members planted. The tulips were soon offset by the colorful shrubs and white flowering Venus Dogwood planted in 2015. Mid-May, our Triangle crew arrived gloved and masked to lift the 1,600 spent tulips and plant the annuals and later mulch all the raised planter beds. This year's two vinca varieties were Cooler Rose and Cooler Peppermint and were again interspersed with the magnificent elephant ears, Colocasia esculenta "Jack's Giant. " Cannova Rose cannas and Sizzler White salvias were also featured in the Hampton House bed. The planters are maintained through the summer, mostly light weeding and pruning. Montclair Center Business Improvement District (BID) continues to kindly assist us with funding and maintenance. I am thankful to Debbie Moran who generously shared her many skills, especially organizing the Triangle Gardens Committee. Extra thanks are due to Kathy Parsons for transporting the tulip bulbs and helping remove and dispose of the giant elephant ears last fall, and especially to Jamie Chase, current Vice Chair and longtime Committee Chair who continues to provide her expertise and invaluable assistance.

Awards Committee Reports Committees See also the full list of GCM awardees and other awards since 1980. Earlier awards are listed in Yearbooks dating back to 1951. 2024-2025 — Sarah Stransky, Chair Many thanks to our dedicated Awards Committee—Fran Ackerly, Deb Hirsch, Floss O’Sullivan, Suzy Straten, and President Sarah Olson—who handled unexpected changes with grace. After much thought, the Committee retired the tradition of hand engraving the Silver Awards, as our longtime engraver passed away and the craft faded. At the May 22, Awards Meeting and Luncheon, 2024–25 Silver Award winners received certificates, and their Silver Awards were loaned to them, as usual. Also at the Luncheon, engraved glass trophies for special recognition were presented to Jacquelin McMullen (55 years) and Brenda Bingham (50 years), along with community partners The Montclair Foundation and the Placek Foundation. Our new crowd favorite, the just-for-fun “Bloomies,” was a festive closer. Although we didn’t win an award this year, we proudly submitted applications to the GCNJ and NGC, often honoring us in the past. 2024-2025 Committee : Fran Ackerly, Deborah Hirsch, Floss O'Sullivan, Susan Straten, Kate Khachaturian 2023-2024 — Deborah Hirsch, Chair Thank you to the Awards team of Floss O’Sullivan, Kate Khachaturian, Celia Radek, Maureen Sprong and Florence Leyssène. Your collective knowledge, wit, compassion and attention to detail were so important to the process. And thanks, too, to Sarah Olson for attending our meetings. As of this writing we are waiting on the State, CAR, and National Clubs for responses to our five applications. We are delighted to announce the following GCNJ award: Certificate of Merit with Gold Seal for our Yearbook 2023-2024. Award Application: Floss O’Sullivan, editor in chief of the Yearbook.. The Garden Club of Montclair Awards were distributed at the Glen Ridge Country Club on May 30, 2024. We introduced a new category, The Bloomies , to recognize many unsung heroes who stepped in to make a difference during the year. Emeritus Awards 2024: Susan Straten, Gretchen Prater, and Barbara Meyer The Till Beatty Allis Award 2024: Deborah Moran The Bauer Horticulture Award 2024: Karen Whitehaus The Louise D. Mann Award 2024: Sue Young 2022-2023 — Celia Radek, Chair Ribbons, rosettes, and silver. This was a very full awards year that included a Flower Show and competitions in Horticulture, Flower Design, and Botanical Arts at monthly meetings. The Club inaugurated a new award in the Botanical Arts Division, joining top point-scored honors in other categories. Thanks to Susan Straten for her gift of the silver bowl for this new award. Silver bowl perpetual trophies earned at the Arts & Flowers : A Design Specialty Flower Show were among the Club awards and special tributes presented at the Annual Meeting in May. The President's Award for Horticulture —Sarah J. Olson The Amy Hatrak Herb Award —Denise Silverman The Barbara Meyer Rose Award —Denise Silverman The Estelle Leibrecht Horticulture Award —Debbie Moran The Bauer Horticulture Award —Maureen Sprong The President's Trophy for Flower Design, lntermed .—Sarah J. Olson The Garden Club Award for Flower Design, Adv .—Barbara Baletti The Kay Maclane Van Deusen Rose Award —Fran Ackerly The Betty B. Merriam Silver Bowl —Debbie Moran The Barbara Slockbower Schaeberle Award —Tova Narrett The Botanical Arts Award —Floss O'Sullivan The Till Beatty Allis Award —Fran Ackerly The Louise D. Mann Award —Deborah Hirsch Special Tributes —Susan Benner, Marilyn & Peter Zaret 2023 President's Special Recognition Award —Sue Young Congratulations to the Yearbook Committee and Editor Floss O'Sullivan for the Garden Club of New Jersey Certificate of Merit for Yearbook 2022-23. Many more GCNJ and NGC Awards are detailed in the report on Arts & Flowers : A Design Specialty Flower Show . With appreciation to the 2022-23 Awards Committee members: Cynthia Corhan-Aitken, Florence Leyssène, Sarah J. Olson, Maureen Sprong, and Sarah Stransky, ex officio. 2021-2022 — Sarah Stransky, Chair The Awards Committee is to be applauded for their work on GCM Awards and active participation in National and State Award/Grant applications writing. Many thanks to Cynthia Corhan-Aitken, Sarah Olson, Celia Radek, and Fran Wong. We also appreciated the guidance of the GCNJ Awards Chair, Peggy Morrissey, who helped facilitate our application process. We are delighted to announce the following GCNJ Awards: Certificate of Merit with Gold Seal 1st Place YB-1 Yearbook 2021-22 (100-299 members). Award application by Editor, Claire Stepleton. Score 100%. Hanover Garden Club Trophy for outstanding innovative project: Website 2021-22. Award application by Sue Young, 1st Vice President and Website Webmaster, and Sarah Stransky. GCNJ Special Award/Large Club for Triangle Gardens (a Civic Beautification project since 1952). Award application by Susan Yu, Triangle Gardens Chair, and Sarah Olson. The Garden Club of Montclair Awards were given at the Annual Meeting held at Avis Campbell Gardens on May 25, 2022, with the help of the Properties Chair, Nancy Stroud, Membership Chairs, Deborah Hirsch and Cheryl Slutzky, the Awards Committee, and Marilyn and Peter Zaret, who set up and dismantled chairs and tables for the event. The venue location was revised to be outdoors because of a recent outbreak of COVID-19. Emeritus Award 2022 - Brenda Bingham. Dedication to GCM, GCNJ, and NGC through focus on flower design since 1975. Tribute 2022 - Sue Young . Webmaster/renovator of current website. The Till Beatty Allis Award 2022 – Floss O’Sullivan . Flower Design Education through the creation of virtual workshops and exhibitions. The Louise D. Mann Award 2022 - Sarah Olson . Garden Therapy development and expansion of programs involving many more Members and reaching out to more people facing personal challenges in our communities. 2020-2021 — Sarah Stransky, Chair Many thanks to the 2020-21 Awards Committee including Cynthia Corhan-Aitken, Karen Kadus, Kate Khachaturian, Michele Tomasik, and Fran Wong for their Zoom input, and collection and cleaning of the silver awards. Special thanks to Michele Tomasik for her assistance writing and editing several of the Emeritus and Tribute Awards. We also appreciate the support of GCNJ Awards Chair, Peggy Morrissey, whose guidance facilitated our state and national award application processes. We are thrilled to announce these GCNJ and NGC Awards received in June 2021 for outstanding achievements in 2020 during the pandemic: Yearbook 2020-21 — Award application by Celia Radek, Editor. Score 100%. Certificate of Commendation First Place YB-1 Yearbooks (100-299 members) awarded by National Garden Clubs, Inc. Certificate of Merit with Gold Seal YB-1 Yearbooks (100-299 members) awarded by Garden Club of New Jersey. Virtual Flower Design Education 2021 — Award application by Workshop Chair, Floss O'Sullivan, Florence Leyssène, and Sarah Stransky. Certificate of Merit First Place and Overall Winner Award FD-2 (Aiv) Floral Design Program/Single Club awarded by National Garden Clubs, Inc. Garden Therapy 2021 — Award application by Garden Therapy Chair, Sarah Olson, and Sarah Stransky. Myra Brooks Garden Therapy Trophy #15a Renovated Garden Therapy Program awarded by the Garden Club of New Jersey. The Garden Club of Montclair Awards were given at the 2020-21 Annual Meeting held in Avis Campbell Gardens on May 26 with the help of the Hospitality, Properties, Membership, and Avis Campbell Gardens Committees. A celebration for Connie Young’s 100 birthday was an important part of the agenda! The Bauer Horticulture Award 2021 — Debbie Moran The Louise D. Mann Award 2021 — Floss O’Sullivan The Till Beatty Allis Award 2021 — Florence Leyssène Tributes — Cynthia Corhan-Aitken, Sandy Sorkin, Karen Whitehaus, Fran Wong Emeritus Award Members 2021 — Bonni Babson, Betty Ann Cannell, Chris Cowles, Firth Fabend, Joan Larkin, Mary McGeown, Fritzi Mills, C.Y. Treene. 2019-2020 — Sarah Stransky, Chair T he 2019-2020 Awards Program, held annually in May, was postponed until fall of 2020. Because we have chosen to honor the recipients in a timely fashion, it is with great pleasure that we announce the following 2019-2020 awards: The President's Award for Horticulture — Denise Silverman The Amy Hatrak Herb Award — Denise Silverman The Bauer Horticulture Award — Maureen Sprong The Elsie Bristol Novice Award — Ginny Demoreuille The Garden Club Award for Flower Design, Advanced — Fran Ackerly The Kay Maclane Van Deusen Rose Award — Sarah J. Olson The Louise D. Mann Award — Claire Stepleton Special Tributes — Sarah J. Olson and Floss O'Sullivan All Awards will be presented at the Awards Program in the fall of 2020. The Awards Committee congratulates the above listed, and all our members, as you further our purposes of Education, Beautification, and Fellowship! And a big Thank You to the 2019-2020 members of the Awards Committee: Fran Ackerly, Karen Kadus, Kate Khachaturian, and Michele Tomasik.

Donate a Brick to Avis Campbell Gardens CLICK HERE to donate a brick. 4" x 8" $200 8" x 8" $300 Pay by credit card or check. For over 70 years, the Garden Club of Montclair has lovingly maintained the Avis Campbell Gardens, our cherished historical gardens in Montclair located behind 60 South Fullerton Avenue (next to the library). Volunteers dedicate over 800 hours each season tending this hidden but public oasis , but the pathways have deteriorated over time, making it harder for visitors to fully enjoy this special space. As part of our 100th-anniversary celebration, we are launching a Pathway Renovation Project—and you can be a part of it! We invite you to leave your mark on this historical treasure of Montclair by donating an engraved brick to be incorporated into the new pathways between the gardens. Your contribution will help restore the paths, enhance accessibility and provide new benches for visitors to enjoy. Join us in preserving the beauty of the Avis Campbell Gardens for future generations. Donate today and become a part of this lasting legacy! The Garden Club of Montclair is a 501(c)(3) organization, and your donation is fully tax deductible. Your donation supports our ongoing service and restoration of the Avis Campbell Gardens. Disclaimer: The Garden Club of Montclair reserves the right to review and finalize all inscriptions. Should a inscription require revision, you will be contacted for assistance in submitting an alternative inscription. Questions? Ask at ACGbricks@gmail.com The Plan: Over the years, the pathways, last replaced between 1970-72, have become uneven, weed-prone, and unsafe for visitors and volunteers. The gardens' plastic edging has deteriorated, allowing the bricks to shift. The plan is to repair the existing pathways by leveling and resetting the bricks, incorporating new ones where needed, and adding polymeric sand for stability. Metal edging will be installed to secure the bricks. Additionally, benches will be placed for visitors to rest and enjoy the gardens.

Photo: Claire Stepleton Sometimes known as Montclair’s “secret garden,” the beds of the Avis Campbell Gardens are lovingly tended every Tuesday morning (and other days, too) by Members of our Club. The gardens, recognized as a historic property by the township of Montclair, were planted behind 60 South Fullerton Avenue (next to the library) in 1953, using a plan created by noted landscape architect Avis Campbell. Her Wheel of Life design from 70 years ago has been maintained until the current day with brick paths radiating out from a central fountain, lining the rich beds of flowers blooming from early spring through the cold days of late November. The beds themselves are a tribute to the glories of gardening, with more and more native plants increasing a profusion of bees, butterflies, birds, and other happy pollinators. Come and visit this gentle, hidden jewel of Montclair! Visitors are always welcome, and the cost is free. Scroll down to see the gardens in full bloom as well as some historical photos from the Smithsonian. Members should click here for committee roles and responsibilities. And see, below, three photos from the Smithsonian Institution 's Maida Babson Adams American garden collection. Molly (Maida Babson) Adams (1918 - 2003) had a 40+ year career as a nationally recognized free-lance garden and wildlife photographer and conservationist. She took thousands of photos of gardens up and down the east coast of America from the 1950s to the 1990s. Although these particular photos are not dated, the cars suggest they were taken in the late 50s to early 60s, while the beds were still being populated.. Avis Campbell Gardens Anchor 1