Four garden therapy committee members visited Oasis, A Haven for Women and Children on June 1 to work with women in the "Survive and Strive" group, where we planted six rooftop raised garden containers with colorful perennials and annuals (see photos below).. Oasis clients had varying degrees of gardening experience and totally took ownership of the beds. We explained which plants would attract pollinators, and which were hosts for the swallowtail butterflies and what to look for as caterpillars emerged and grew. We learned of some of the trauma that these women had experienced and left with high hopes of the women gaining solace as they visited and worked in the garden over the summer. GCM members were: Sheila Curry-Oakes, Michele Trevenan, Susan Dumont, Sarah Olson.

For the first time in three years, the Montclair Art Museum held its biannual fundraising luncheon on May 19 for the Art in Bloom exhibition. The honoree was community activist and contributor to so many Montclair and other organizations, our good friend and Garden Club member Betty Murphy. Below, see pictures in no particular order of this wonderful event, featuring a presentation by the extraordinary floral artist Francoise Weeks who traveled from Oregon to demonstrate her unique woodland and flower wearable creations

Quick! Get yourselves up to the Montclair Art Museum before Sunday to see our members' inspiring interpretations of the Museum's works of art, both temporary and permanent. Below, just a few random snapshots of some of the awe-inspiring creations. More -- better photos, and all of them -- will be available on the Museum site and elsewhere in the weeks to come. And, at right, the lovely Amy South in front of her lovely flower wall.

Please join us Wednesday, May 25th, 2022 at 1:30 pm for The Annual Awards Celebration and Installation of our new President and Officers. Masks are required. The meeting will be held at Union Congregational Church Parish Hall 176 Cooper Ave Upper Montclair NJ 07043 Refreshments only will be served.

Garden Therapy's program of delivering floral arrangements to the nurses at Mountainside Hospital has come to a seasonal end. Our Mountainside coordinator shared that the nurses really appreciated all of our efforts. Deliveries began in October and continued monthly through May. We will take a break over the summer. Thank you to all of our talented and generous designers who's efforts enhanced the moods of our indispensable nurses."

Margaret Kenrick became a Provisional of the Garden Club of Montclair in 1972 and remained an active member for 44 years until 2016. Margaret’s passion was Flower Design and she served as a Flower Design consultant for all levels regularly throughout her membership. She was a Master Gardener and National Accredited Landscape Design School graduate. She won the Betty B. Merriam Silver Bowl for the Standard Flower Show in 2009 and the Tilll Beatty Allis Award for Flower Design and Flower Education. “Magrit” as she was known to friends, was a passionate Flower Designer, and worked on many Flower Shows. In 1995 she became Horticulture co-chair and in 2010-2011 she took a leadership role as Garden Therapy Chair For two years she led her committee to visit Senior Care, Montclair Manor, Gates, Van Dyke and Little Nursing Home to play games and brighten residents’ lives. Other than that, Magrit maintained her steady contributions to the world of Flower Design. She was a mentor to new members each year at the Crane House when we decorated for holidays and was a strict adherer to the authentic materials of the time. But that did not keep her from being one of the friendliest and funniest of members to work with. She did chair the Perennial Gardens (as they were known at the time), but primarily was a solid, ever-present member who served where she was needed. Respectfully submitted, Deborah Hirsch

The annual meeting was held again at Avis on May 25 -- another beautiful day, full of beautiful people and beautiful flowers. See some of the pictures below (click on any one to view them at a larger size). Thank you Claire Stepleton and Victoria Herrera, as always for your wonderful photos. Stay tuned for the list of awardees (which will also show on our awards page which shows all awards going back to 1987.).

Garden Therapy delivered one hundred May Day floral arrangements to Canterbury Rehab Center in Cedar Grove on Friday, April 29. Sixteen club members assembled the designs using spring colored blooms, and numerous other members generously supplied greens to fill out the arrangements. See more photos, below.

... from an ordinary Tuesday at Avis Campbell Gardens. Thank you, Wendy Stahl.

Do not miss this month's jammed Potpourri, the last one of this season. And thanks to Claire Stepleton and Karen Whitehaus for their work on Potpourri this year. (And of course to Claire for all the magnificent photographs she has shared with us over the years.) Read: Florence Leyssène's farewell to her three-year tenure as President of our club; Barbara Baletti's salute to Florence; Avis Campbell Garden's birthday; Results of the April Floral Design and Horticultural competitions; Three workshops heralding spring; News about this summer's Open Gardens; and much, much more.

The last Design Competition of the 2021-2022 year will be on April 25th at the Union Congregational Church. This is a Multi-RythmicDesign, Allotted space 24" W x 18" D. Staging panel and underlay required. See Handbook for Flower Shows, page 75. Designs may be dropped off between 9:15 am and 10:00 am, Please enter through the East door on the far left of the building. If you are not attending the evening Program meeting, please arrange to pick up your design between 1:00 and 1:30 pm. You must register at fackerly1@gmail.com no later than Wednesday, April 20 to reserve a space for your design. Masks must be worn.

Eleanor Roosevelt receives a May basket in 1938. Garden Therapy will be making their "May Day" basket arrangements for Canterbury Rehab Center in Cedar Grove this year on Friday, April 29 at 10am in the Garden Club club room on S. Fullerton St. We could use a few more volunteers for this activity. Sign up here if you would like to join us: We will also be needing some "greens" such as boxwood, ilex, or other small leaved shrubs so if you're trimming back your bushes close to our event date, please save those clippings and contact Sarah or Susan so we can arrange a pick-up or drop-off. It'll help us stretch our dollars further. Sarah Olson (sarahjolson@comcast.net) or Susan Dumont (susancdumont@gmail.com).

Come one, come all, for an EVENING program meeting on Monday, April 25, another “first” for the 2021-2022 year! Anna Coy, the owner of Blooms in Hand in Verona, a floral design studio that specializes in unique hand-tied European bouquets, will discuss her approach to floral design while demonstrating techniques for creating three different designs. Enjoy watching Anna create one of her signature hand-tied bouquets, as well as an artful compote centerpiece and a modern sculptural design. This special evening will be held at Union Congregational Church, 176 Cooper Ave.. The reception will be at 6:00 (changed from 6:30) and the program will be at 7:00.

Maureen Sprong sent these pictures of peonies at Avis.

It's hard to remember Avis in its full glory at this time of year. But on Tuesday, April 5, devotees and bed captains gathered to plan for the summer. They may have been wrapped in down jackets, but they were ready!

We need a few more volunteers to help decorate the Crane House and Historic YWCA in Montclair. It’s Wednesday, December 1 from 10:00am-2:00pm at 108 Orange Road in Montclair. Please sign up here to join us this year. Public tours begin Dec. 3, 5, and 8 where visitors will see your beautiful decorations. In addition, the Crane House and Historic YWCA is a nominee for 2021’s top 10 Holiday Home Tours! You can vote for them here. We are looking forward to a day of camaraderie with all of you. Any questions, contact Floss O’Sullivan or Sarah Olson. All are welcome, so please join us!

From Floss and Sarah: "What a marvelous day spent with all of you! Jane and her team at Montclair History Center were thrilled with the beautiful decorations. Everyone went above and beyond to make each room very special and clean up afterwards — thank you! How lucky we are to appreciate and enjoy one another's talents. Click here to see the amazing pictures of each room taken by Claire Stepleton and others. So many of you donated, purchased, or created unique pieces for the house. The list goes on and on with the creativity each of you demonstrated. My favorite part of the day was to see so many of you catching up, having meaningful conversations, encouraging one another, and appreciating each person's unique contribution. Sarah and I are grateful for your support for this annual workshop and hope the tradition continues for many years to come! "Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love." — Hamilton Wright Mabi Many, many thanks!

Your beautiful arrangements have gone to the judges for their exacting critiques.

To celebrate Valentine's Day, program director Hilda Krus shared the poem, below, as part of her moving presentation today. It was written by one of the participants in this extraordinary program. You can simply enjoy it, or download it here, and read about the program in the New York Times. Let nature take its course, only nature can correct man. And Man finds that it is difficult to correct nature. Still we try. We are like seeds who grow if only fertilized in opportunity, watered with hope and placed in a bed of ambition. Instead of heavy restraints give us light so we see the direction in which to rise. Consider that mistakes are similar to weeds They are easily noticed yet let them not distract you from our beauty. They grow as we grow and their roots lay deep. So be patient in understanding that as some flowers bloom, some leaves dry and fall But a seed is never looked at as it is, or as it was but a seed is looked at as what it can be. E. S., who spent ten months with the GreenHouse program

The National Garden Club designated April as "Plant America Month" because: Earth Day is on the 26th; Frederick Law Olmstead will be 200 years old on 26th Arbot Day will be 150 years old on the 29th And just because we acknowledge our members' refuge in our gardens during the pandemic. Read more about Plant America Month here.