February's exhibitions are now closed. The judges' comments can be seen at this link. (The photo of the closed door is actually from "The Hobbit" movie set in New Zealand.)

We’re offering a do-it-yourself terrarium workshop in person. Come to 60 South Fullerton Thursday 2/24/22 for the 10am or 12:30pm session. Debbie Moran will help you create an indoor garden, create an ingenious gardening tool, and provide advice for maintaining your terrarium. Bring a glass container with at least a 6” opening. (Good sources include: Cedar Grove Garden Center, Crate & Barrel, or Ikea.) Purchase a kit onsite (3 plants for $15 or 5 plants for $20), which will have everything you need. Only 6 spots remain, so please RSVP by 2/14/22 to Floss O'Sullivan. Proof of vaccination and masks onsite are kindly requested. Click the start button of the video, below, to spark your interest!

We’re offering a fun night workshop to celebrate Galentine’s Day! Join us Thursday February 10 @7pm via Zoom. Watch as Florence Leyssène demonstrates Decorative Botanical tips and techniques. Then make your own floral gift box while she decorates along with you live. Kits with all the supplies and flowers you’ll need are available for $20 (the floral glue is a game-changer for designers!). Chocolate is included, so you know this will be fun! Whether you want to just watch or try it out with a kit, please attend either way. RSVP to Floss O'Sullivan. Watch Floss's video, below, to tempt you!

For those of you who missed Lindsay Taylor's presentation today, click here for a link to her PDF presentation that accompanied her riveting talk. Note: You will need to log in to this Programs Handouts page, since it is protected.

See the judges' comments on the creations of our January stars in flower design and horticulture.

Claire's extraordinary photos were recognized today on the National Garden Clubs' Facebook page. Aside from five more exquisite photos like the one on this page, the organization recognized Claire's work with the following words: "Claire Brown Stepleton is our photographer "Behind the Camera" this month. "Claire picked up a camera as a hobbyist about 6 years ago. Having spent most of her life in Colorado and overseas, landscape and travel photography were natural areas to explore. She then tackled long exposure with sunrises, sunsets, waterfalls, and finally astrophotography. After moving her primary residence to New Jersey, Claire became active in the Garden Club of Montclair. Tending her beds at the Club’s Avis Campbell Gardens and hiking among Colorado wildflowers every summer inspired her to start photographing flowers and their pollinators. Claire’s ‘less is more’ philosophy is often reflected in her flora photos. "With no formal training, Claire learns by watching videos, following photography groups online, attending workshops, and practicing in the field. Once she selects a project, she researches settings and equipment she will need, scouts the location and often makes several visits before ‘getting it right’. The 2017 solar eclipse was the first big project she researched and prepared for down to making a solar filter with a rubber band, sheet of ND5 film, and cardboard oatmeal canister! "Claire hopes her photographs convey the awe she feels while hiking trails, working in the garden, or watching the stars. She also aims to spark curiosity: “Where does the trail lead?” “Why is the moon so huge on the horizon?” "Claire is currently pursuing fast shutter speed subjects like birds in flight and moving animals but anything is fair game for her lens as long as it is outside!" We have long recognized Claire's extraordinary talent. Now every gardener in America knows it. Congratulations, Claire!

Replaced with Decorative Botanicals and Terrariums Floss writes: "We decided to postpone the Staging & Mechanics workshop originally scheduled for 1/10/22 to June of 2022. This type of workshop works best in person and will be instrumental in preparing exhibitors for the upcoming flower show, so moving it later in the year made sense. "That said, we are preparing two February workshops to ignite your creativity. We filmed last summer to prepare both Decorative Botanicals (rescheduled to 2/10/22) and Terrariums (scheduled for 2/24/22), so we will be ready via Zoom or in person, to be as flexible as possible. Don’t forget that the Decorative Botanicals session is a night workshop to accommodate our working members as well."

Time to put the decorations away! Join us as we clear the Crane House of its splendor and catch up with our garden club friends after the holidays. Click here to select your time.

After missing it for a year, we were all so happy to get together on December 15 for our beloved annual Holiday Tea. Hospitality Chair Gretchen Prater welcomed us to her beautiful home, which she had been decorating for weeks before the day! Vice Chair Janet Oscar and the entire Hospitality committee provided the delicious, elegant, and bounteous sustenance for us all and — so important — cleaned up afterwards. Scroll down to see four of the photos taken by our sterling photographers — Michele Tomasik, Claire Stepleton, Barbara Baletti, Susan Yu, Floss O'Sullivan, and Wendy Stahl — then click here to see dozens more memories of that wonderful day. May the plague be driven from our world in 2022, allowing us more opportunities to share our lives and our flowers.

"Tulips were a tray of jewels." —E.M. Forster, 'Howards End,' 1910. In late November, the Youth Committee planted tulips at the Park Street YMCA with students and staff of Montclair High's Community Based Instruction Program and at Mountainside Hospital with Deron School students and their teachers (see more pictures, below.). Despite very chilly weather on both occasions, everyone had a good time learning about tulips and sharing in the beautification of the town. Many thanks to Celia Radek, GMC member and May in Montclair tulip chair, for providing the bulbs and the planting expertise. All participants are looking forward to a beautiful tulip display next Spring.

These photos are all from Claire Stepleton, wonderful as always. Click here to see more lovely photos of a lovely day.

From Karen Kadus: After a very long pause in travel, Garden Club members were happily on the road again with a visit to Morris County Farms Nursery, a favorite Holiday plant and home decor destination in Denville. The greenhouse was well-stocked with flowering plants, pots and garden decor, and the gift shop offered a little something for everyone. After filling our cars with shopping bags, we headed over to The Capital Grille in Parsippany, where we (wined and) dined in a private room, caught up with some old friends and made new ones as well. How wonderful it was to be together again!

We are reviving the opportunity for you to upload your best and most beautiful photos using this form. Garden Therapy is collecting photos of gardens, flowers, and nature at work for various projects. Photos from all four seasons are requested. Very important! Please make sure your photos are as large as possible. They may be used in a video; a beautiful small photo can look blurry on a large screen. Equally important! Rename your photos before attaching them to the form and sending. For example, find your DSC-000001.JPG and rename it to Sue-Young-001. You can name it anything you like, but it MUST include your first and last name. If you don't know how to rename a file, please call Sue Young at 917-364-9020 for help. You can submit up to 10 photos per "location" at a time. For each additional "location" please start the whole process again. You can do this as often as you like. For example, you might fill out the form, add eight photos under the location "Avis Campbell Garden," click the 'Submit' button. Then you would click on the link, above, to bring up the form again to add four photos under the location "Personal Garden."

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.