A kindly reminder that if you want to enter a photograph for the October 21 competition, you must pre-register with    florenceleyssene@gmail.com   at the latest Saturday 10/12  and   you must drop your photograph off on Thursday 17 at the garden club room between 10 am - 2 pm . Debbie and Florence will be there to accept your entry. We have this great opportunity to have our photographs judged by Barry DiBernardo, renowned and talented photographer, but I need to know in advance how many people are going to participate so Barry does not come for 2 or 3 entries. Thank you for your understanding.   Theme: A Color Photograph of Fall Foliage. Must be 8” x 10", matted in white, with a maximum size of 11” x 14” including the mat provided by exhibitor. Staged on a black metal grid provided by committee.   Technical Guidelines from Barry Minor digital enhancements like cropping, color/contrast adjustments, and sharpening are usually allowed. Significant digital alterations or combining of images is typically not permitted. Techniques used should enhance understanding of the plant content   florence leyssene florenceleyssene@gmail.com cell: 201 310 1971

Just a reminder: Kate Khachachurian's funeral will be held tomorrow, Oct. 7 at 10:00AM at Union Congregational Church, 176 Cooper Avenue.

Here are some photos from the Basics of Flower Design Workshop on Sept. 9 starring the dynamic duo of Florence Leyssène and Debbie Moran. If you missed it, don't despair! You have another chance on Thursday, October 17 at the American Traditional Mass Design Workshop, Step-by-Step workshop. Click here for details and the sign up link. But you need to hurry! Not only is space limited to 20 participants, but you need to get a $20 check or cash to Karen Fricke by October 14 to cover the cost of the specially selected floral material. You can either hand it to her, contact her for her Venmo address, or mail it to her at her address in the directory (just put her name in the Search Box.) The fee MUST arrive by October 14 in order to purchase the material.

The Daffodil Workshop scheduled for Monday, October 7 has been rescheduled one week later to Monday, October 14, 10:00-11:30AM CLICK HERE to go to the Workshop page for all the exciting details and to sign up. And, while you're there, don't forget to sign up for the American Traditional Mass Design Workshop three days later as well. Details also on the Workshop page .

Minimal/Maximal is the theme of this month's competitions on October 21, so feel free to unfetter your creativity. You need to email the committee representatives by October 16 if you wish to enter. Specific schedules, as well as links to the Rules and the NGC’s Handbook for Flower Design. are laid out on the website pages for Botanical Arts , Flower Design and Horticulture , found on the website under the heading "What We Do" in the navigation bar at the top of this page. Scroll down each page for details of this and later months. BOTANICAL ARTS See the schedule on the Botanical Arts page HERE , and contact Florence Leyssène by October 16 to enter. Remember, only one entry per section, meaning one mask and one photograph.r. Barry DiBernardo, Heidi Muschick’s husband, an expert and talented  photographer agreed to come and judge our competition. But he can’t do it on Monday so he offered to judge on Sunday afternoon, October 20 at 4 pm. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to learn more about photography. You must bring your photograph to the garden club room on Thursday, Oct. 17 between noon and 2PM. Debbie and Florence will be there. The photos will be judged by Barry on Sunday, October 20th, results will be announced on Monday, October 21st at the Program meeting. FLOWER DESIGN See the schedule on the Flower Design page HERE , and contact Barbara Ba letti by October 16 to enter. October designs are eligible to win the  Kay MacLane Van Deusen Rose Award.   Designer's choice of plant material. No green or black floral foam can be used in any designs but AgraWool or TerraBrick is permitted. The competition will take place in our space at 60 South Fullerton Ave,, Montclair. HORTICULTURE See the schedule on the Horticulture Page HERE and contact Susan Straten by October 16 to enter.

With great sadness we share that our member, Kate Khachaturian died suddenly Wednesday, October 2 while she and Armen were on a trip with friends. The photo above was taken October 1 at a joyful gathering with those friends.  Kate has been a member of Union Congregational Church since 1981, and The Garden Club of Montclair since 1985, gracing our common life with faithfulness, care, love and wisdom. She loved reading, gardening, traveling, swimming, singing, and treasured her family and friends.  We especially hold her husband Armen, her children Sara and Adam, grandchildren, and many close friends in our prayers.  There will be a visitation Sunday, October 6, 1-4pm at Caggiano Funeral Home 62 Grove Street Montclair, and a Memorial Service on Monday, October 7, 10am at Union Congregational Church 176 Cooper Avenue Upper Montclair.  We know many of you will want to reach out to Armen. The family asks that you do so via cards and email at this time.

CLICK HERE for the October issue of Potpourri.

Basics of Flower Design Workshop for Provisionals and Novices Tuesday, October 1, 5-6:30PM 60 South Fullerton Avenue in the Club Room This demonstration will provide a solid foundation to kick off your first (or second) year of Floral Design competitions. Join Debbie Moran and Florence Leyssène, NGC accredited Master Flower Show Judges, as they demonstrate and explain the basics for creating show-worthy arrangements. This is a great refresher for any level of membership.  Open to all levels. Sign up HERE .

Daffodil Workshop Monday, October 7, 10-11:30AM 60 South Fullerton Avenue in the Club Room Heidi Muschick, NGC accredited Master Flower Show Judge and Instructor, and American Daffodil Society Judge, will show us everything we need to know about planting, growing, and caring for daffodils.  She’ll discuss the many varieties available, and share her knowledge about selecting and grooming daffodils for competition.  Heidi will walk us through the steps of choosing and purchasing early blooming daffodils to enter into the March Horticulture competition, which will include a special class: A collection of five different daffodils, qualifying for the Estelle Leibrecht Horticulture Award.  Open to all levels. Sign up HERE . Photo: courtesy Jim Evans, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Open Garden of Florence Sinofsky & Bob Chapman, see address Sunday, September 29, 2024, 3:00-6:00PM Seven years ago, Bob Chapman joined our club so he could host an Open Garden. Consequently, we were blessed with this stunning outdoor museum that showcased his DIY talents and he was blessed with Florence Sinofsky who was among the dozens of guests that summer day. This will be the fourth Open Garden given by our favorite couple. Friends are welcome. Marilyn Zaret ( marzaret@comcast.net )

Due to the weather forecast, Bob Chapman's and Florence Sinovsky's Open Garden will be held this SUNDAY SEPT 29 and not Saturday as advertised. It will still be from 3-6PM. Don't miss this gorgeous garden! See all details by clicking here.

Note: Photos of winners appear throughout the text, and a slideshow with random pictures of the event appears at the bottom of the page. It's best to view on a laptop or tablet. No words can do justice to the beauty on display at our recent September Serenades Flower Show, but here's some of what the judges had to say: “T he horticulture was amazing, especially at this time of the year with all the various weather conditions. The designs reflected the advanced creative talents of your members depicting the class titles in very distinctive modes.” – Mary Anne Finch “Your committee and members are to be congratulated.  The horticulture display was lovely and the designs impressive.” – Marina Kerber Horticulture Results Overall, Horticulture presented 19 classes with 80 entries in total. Members were awarded 27 blue ribbons, 25 second places with six receiving a score of 90+, 21 third places with one receiving a score of 90+, and seven honorable mentions. Karen Fricke scored the most overall points with 20 while there was a three-way tie for second most overall points at 19: Donna Karanja, Barbara Meyer, and Debbie Moran.   There were ample opportunities to earn ribbons due to this being a small standard flower show. For Horticulture, the following ribbons were awarded to the best of the best. Award of Merit: Karen Fricke’s Sunflower ‘Evening Sun’ Award of Merit: Michele Tomasik’s Coleus Award of Merit: Karen Fricke’s Dahlia ‘Thomas Edison’ Award of Merit: Karen Fricke’s Caryopteris ‘Beyond Midnight’ Award of Merit: Barbara Meyer’s Hybrid Tea ‘Octoberfest’ Award of Merit: Sarah Olson’s Herb Rue Award of Horticultural Excellence: Karen Fricke’s Sunflower ‘Evening Sun’   We also had the opportunity to present The Garden Club of Montclair specific awards that can only be designated in a flower show.  These were: The Barbara Meyer Rose Award: Barbara Meyer’s Hybrid Tea ‘Octoberfest’ The Amy Hatrak Herb Award: Karen Fricke’s collection of 5 herbs   Here are photographs of the award winners, but please see all the photos at the end of this article for the awe-inspiring bounty from our members’ gardens. Flower Design Results Overall, Flower Design featured 4 classes with 4 entries each: 16 entries in total and offering Traditional designs, Creative designs, Petite designs, and Challenge Petite designs.  As usual, the creativity and imagination of our members was on display and the public visitors were wowed with what they saw.  In addition, a ribbon for Best in Show was awarded during the flower show to Cynthia Corhan-Aitken for her gravity defying design.  Here are all the results: Traditional 1st           Patricia Rodio 2nd/90+ Michele Tomasik 3rd           Olga Bequillard HM        Fran Ackerly Creative 1st/Best in Show Cynthia Corhan-Aitken 2nd/90+ Sarah Stransky 3rd                  Barbara Baletti HM                       Tova Narrett Petite 1st Heidi Muschick 2nd Susan Straten 3rd  Deborah Hirsch HM Karen Fricke Petite Challenge 1st Celia Radek 2nd/90+ Floss O’Sullivan 3rd   Sarah Olson HM Nancy Stroud Botanical Arts Results Even though Gershwin was not one of the musical themes listed in our September Serenades schedule, the Botanical Arts division presented creations with “Fascinating Rhythms.”  Imaginative and meticulous designs made this category a favorite with the public.  With these beautiful designs and ones from the past 2 years, we could host a botanical arts’ fashion show featuring hats, jewelry, shoes, and fascinators!  1st Karen Fricke 2nd/90+ Floss O’Sullivan 3rd     Fran Ackerly HM Nancy Stroud An orchestra of talented players made this flower show a success. Thank you to Debbie Moran, Schedule and Signage Chair , Celia Radek, Horticulture Chair , Heidi Muschick, Classification/ Placement Chair , Fran Ackerly, Design Chair , Florence Leysséne,  Botanical Arts/Judges Chair , Karen Fricke, Awards/Clerking Chair , and Florence Sinofsky, Hospitality Chair . In addition, Karen Whitehaus, Pamela Turre, and Melody Brown organized our Properties needed for the show and set up our space beautifully.  Also, Sue Young and Sue Yu are our faithful photographers and check out additional photos Sue Yu took that are studio masterpieces highlighting the creations of our gardeners and designers. Finally, thanks to Sarah Olson who supports all our endeavors with her unlimited energy, encouragement, and generosity of spirit. Congratulations to all!  - With gratitude, Floss O’Sullivan, Flower Show Chair And here's a slideshow of the event with some random photos. Click on any one to open them all to their full size.

Join us with hostess Gretchen Prater for sips and fall shopping in support of the Garden Club of Montclair.   Thursday, September 26 2:30 – 5:30 PM J. McLaughlin 219 Belleue Avenue 15% of sales  will benefit the Garden Club of Montclair.

Some photos from yesterday's Clip, Dip, and Sip in glorious Avis Campbell Garden from Wendy Stahl and new member Amy Poster. Thank you Ana and your committee for organizing this delicious celebration of the Garden's beauty. xxxxx xxxxx xxxxxx xxx

Once again, members of the Civic/Environment Committee and their spouses and children met at Moss & More (thanks again, Amy, for hosting us) with their grabbers, compostable garbage bags and garish safety jackets to clean up the streets of Upper Montclair. The extremely gross garbage in the photo was picked up from the two parking lots and the streets around. Last March nothing was growing and there was a lot more trash. This year we realized the gardeners in us are needed around tree beds and sidewalk cracks. We will focus our next event on Saturday, October 19 (rain date, Sunday, October 20) on more weeding.    Imke Oster will be reaching out to invite us to a town hall where we can address the outrageous neglect in the Upper Montclair business district.

Join us with hostess Gretchen Prater for sips and fall shopping in support of the Garden Club of Montclair.   Thursday, September 26 2:30 – 5:30 PM J. McLaughlin 219 Belleue Avenue 15% of sales will benefit the Garden Club of Montclair.

Heidi Muschick, our own National Garden Club Horticulture Instructor for Flower Show School and Chair of our Horticulture Committee, led a highly successful workshop at Avis on September 9. She explained the intricacies of displaying our garden beauties and winning points with finicky judges. The results can be seen in the photos of the Flower Show winners (coming soon!)

Please join us next Tuesday, September 24 from 4-7PM at Avis Campbell Gardens for an end of summer garden party! The Avis Campbell Gardens Committee members have worked hard this Summer maintaining the stunning colors and textures in the garden beds. Most recently, they initiated the process of creating new plant tags to help the community put plants' common names, botanical names, and origin together. It has been wonderful to see that Avis has many native and pollinator plants amongst its great collection!   Come join us to support the work of this wonderful Committee and enjoy some finger food and creative “mocktails” prepared with the harvests of the growing Herb Garden!!   What can I bring?  A plate of finger food, savory or sweet, would be fantastic!  Please email Ana Moore at zallesmoore@gmail.com  with any questions.   Looking forward to seeing you at Avis!

If you haven’t yet downloaded this year's dates , the Calendar states our first Civic/Environmental clean up in the Upper Montclair Business District,   Sunday, September 22 at 10 AM is the date, with a rain date the following day. Moss & More (Amy South, owner and GC member) in Upper Montclair Plaza will once again be our home base. The change to Sunday resulted because the Upper Montclair Sidewalk Sale changed to Saturday the 21, our original date. However, this means there will be a treasure of Trash!   We will have cider, biodegradable cups, biodegradable trash bags and orange and yellow vests and picker upper claws for our use.  If you have your own, there will be GCof Montclair signs to pin on your backs.  Feel free to invite friends.