I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o'er vales and hills,
when all at once I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils;
beside the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
William Wordsworth
Spring is in the air! The crocuses, a symbol of cheer and happiness have come and gone, promoting a general spirit of hope and positively. I feel that and know you do too. Our “host of golden daffodils” follows as a sign of rebirth and new beginnings, which is also a pertinent message for all of us slowly easing out of COVID’s grasp. Once the hyacinths appear, we are ready for sport and playfulness, which is their meaning in the Language of Flowers. Also heralds of spring: tulips, the classic flower of love, happiness and peace.
We have made it through an odd and lonely year, but we will be back together soon. We planned on meeting in person for our May 11th General Meeting, but GCA’s Annual Meeting will be available to everyone on Zoom that morning. Speaking at the meeting will be DBG’s own Brian Vogt, so I know many of you would like to be there. Please be sure to register! We will have a short May General Meeting that morning on Zoom, during a break, so we can enjoy all the Annual meeting has to offer. If you have never attended an Annual Meeting, you are in for a real treat! Meanwhile, we have a busy April planned with fun workshops, and don’t forget GCA’s Virtual Floral Design Conference.
The last stanza of this sweet poem by Miss H.F. Gould in The Poetry of Flowers, an old Victorian collection, is guaranteed to make you smile.
As rays of the sun from their focus;
I from the darkness of earth shall emerge,
A happy and beautiful Crocus!
Many, perhaps, from so simple a flower,
This little lesson may borrow,
Patient today, through its gloomiest hour,
We come out the brighter tomorrow.
Hope for a brighter and COVID-free tomorrow, all from an unassuming bulb that grows into a beautiful flower. That’s simply good stuff, isn’t it?
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Mark your calendar!
Photography Field Shoot
Monday, April 5, 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.
President's Council Meeting
Wednesday, April 7, 10 - 11 a.m.
Got Photos? Zoom Meeting
Thursday, April 8, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Horticulture Seed Starting Workshop
Friday, April 9, 12 p.m. or 1 p.m., TBD. See details below.
April General Meeting
Tuesday, April 13,
11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
eNews deadline
Thursday, April 15
"Overcoming Your Fear of Entering a Flower Show" Workshop, Part 1
Thursday, April 15, 2:30 - 3:30 p.m.
"Overcoming Your Fear of Entering a Flower Show" Workshop, Part 2
Wednesday, April 28, 10 - 11 a.m.
"Beyond Basketweave Stitch" Needlepoint Workshop
Thursday, April 29, 10 - 11 a.m.
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April General Meeting
by Tish Szurek
Our April speaker will be Tammy VerCauteren of the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies. She and her team will lead us in an exploration of the backyard birds of the Front Range, how to identify them, and which garden plants they love. The meeting will be Tuesday, April 13 at 11:00 am via Zoom.
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Interested in a
GCA job?
While submitting the form does not guarantee that you will get a position on a GCA committee, it is an important first step in the process. Please update your information on the GCA website while you are at it!
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Join Our Seed Workshop!
Spring planting is right around the corner. Join the Horticulture Committee for a seed starting workshop featuring a variety of annual cut flowers that could make their way into arrangements for The Language of Flowers show. We will provide you with pots, soil, and seed so you’ll go home ready to nurture new additions to your pots and gardens.
When: Friday, April 9th
Location: Nancy Schotters' garage, 2420 S. Columbine Street (in the alley between Columbine and Clayton)
Time: Friday, April 9 at 12 - 1 p.m. or 1 - 2 p.m.
RSVP: Leslie Liedtke: leliedtke@gmail.com
Cost: $10
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The Language of Flowers
Flower Show News
By Missy Eliot
Thanks to all who registered to enter what promises to be a fun, stress-free educational exhibition (aka GCA Flower Show). We have some slight changes and clarifications to the schedule that we want to be sure you are aware of.
Floral Design, Class II – Thank you
- Class II container (provided by GCD) will be 4”x 4”, not 4” x 6”.
Horticulture, Class VI A – Garden Folly
- The container, provided by GCD, can be embellished.
- There are no growing/compatibility restrictions in this class.
Horticulture, Class VI, B – Divine Design
- There is no ownership requirement in this class.
Photography, Class II – Baby, Please Don’t Go
- The three photos are to be mounted and displayed horizontally, not vertically.
Botanical Arts, Class III – Worth a Pretty Penny
- The wooden plate (provided by GCD) is actually 10” in diameter, not 9”.
All Class Consultants will be reaching out to all registrants to answer any questions that may come up as you play with flowers, propagate and plant, photograph and mat, and try your hand at botanical and needle arts.
Do You Have Flower Show Fear?
We have set up some fun, interactive Zooms with three GCA Judges to talk about overcoming your fear of entering a flower show. They will talk about how to prepare and enter your wonderful exhibit so that it dazzles! Below are the dates of each Zoom:
April 15th, 2:30 p.m. – Meg Tapp, Garden Club of Houston (and YouTube star!), will talk about all things related to entering the Horticulture Division, including grooming, staging and transporting your prized plant or cutting.
April 28th, 10:00 a.m. – Sandra Bergsten, Garden Club of Dayton and Area Vice Chairman for the GCA Photography Committee, will talk about how to select and edit your photo, get it matted, shipped and ready to be exhibited.
May 18th, 1:00 p.m. – Linda Holden, The Augusta Garden Club, who has too many GCA jobs to list, including but not limited to: past Chairman of the GCA Judging Committee, will share with us her tips and tricks for creating and transporting sublime floral design.
All three of these ladies are fun and promise to share lots of good tips and tricks as well as humor during these hour-long Zoom meetings. Zoom invitations will be sent out a couple of days in advance of each one of these to the entire Club. Please mark your calendars now and get ready for some fun!
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Bringing Birds Back
to One’s Garden
by Lisë Woodard
When we went birding last month on the South Platte River, I learned that fellow GCD member Jane Davis is an avid bird enthusiast. She mentioned that this was the year she was going to return her garden to the birds. So I called her up to ask her how she was going to accomplish this goal.
Jane noted that a few years ago, her backyard had many different kinds of birds (and a few coyotes) taking refuge in overgrown Fitzer evergreens. In her effort to beautify her garden (and get rid of the coyotes), she removed the Fitzers and unwittingly, the birds at the same time; the birds no longer had a safe place to shelter. A COVID winter was a perfect time to learn about how to bring them back, so she enrolled in a Denver Audubon course, Building Backyard Bird Habitat. There she learned the importance of planting native plants, not nativars (cultivars of native plants), to attract the native pollinators that birds count on for food. Interestingly, nativars do not attract insects like native plants do.
Jane will not be ripping out her entire garden, but has made a commitment to integrate native plants into her landscape as well as designate spaces in her front and back yards almost entirely to natives. By planting gardens with native plants for birds and other wildlife, it is her hope that her demonstration gardens might one day qualify for a “Habitat Hero” designation and will serve as an education for all who walk by.
In addition to adding native plants and shrubs, Jane has made a brush pile of dead branches and leaves for insects to lay eggs and birds to make nests. She has also installed pollinator houses for native insects and an owl house high in a tree. And, of course, there are lots of bird feeders! This type of gardening, called Wildscaping, aims to attract wildlife in an area as small as pots on a patio. A key component is creating natural layers, connecting trees and tall shrubs to plants near the ground. Layers provide opportunities for protection and nesting. Dead branches provide homes for hole-nesting wildlife, including screech owls.
We will have to check out Jane’s garden in the Spring of 2022!
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Need help finding a COVID Shot?
Call, email, or text Kathleen Thomas at woodberry@gmail.com or 303-898-3900. She can help you!
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Spring Inspiration
by Deborah Foy
With all the colorful new blossoms and buzzing insects this spring, you may find yourself reaching for your camera or iPhone more often. To capture your best shots here are a few tips shared at the GCA Photography Conference by Eddie Solloway, an award winning photographer, teacher, and photographic storyteller. For more inspiration check out his presentation, Eyes Wide Open, which can be found here.
Tips for Nature Photography from Eddie Solloway:
- Go Slow
- Go Back
- Get In It! Stand in the water or lay in the dirt to capture the best angle
- Surround Yourself with Art for Inspiration
- Be Playful. I wonder what would happen if…
- Don’t Forget to Turn Around! Look behind you, what does the backside look like?
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Photography Committee members getting playful at our March field shoot.
Photo by Deborah Foy
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CONGRATS!
Congratulations to our members who are or will be serving on GCA Committees in 2021.
Lindsay Dodge:
COVID-19 Advisory Board
Missy Eliot:
Chairman of GCA’s Marketplace
Suellen White:
Editor of ConWatch, Member of the GCA’s Virtual Meeting Group, Member of of GCA’s Publications Advisory Group
We are so proud of all of you!
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Why You Should Be Using More Native Plants
In Your Garden
by Janet Manning
I’m passionate about gardening and I’m especially passionate about incorporating more natives in my garden – and gardens everywhere! The person who has influenced me most is Doug Tallamy, an ecologist and entomologist and author of the best-selling books, Bringing Nature Home and Nature’s Best Hope. He’s concerned about ecosystems and the diversity of life in a landscape.
There are many reasons to use native plants.
· Natives are adapted to Colorado’s climate, soils and environment so gardening is easier. Natives require less in the way of external inputs, such as water and fertilizer, when they’re planted in conditions like their native habitat. And that makes maintenance easier.
· Planting natives helps to establish a sense of place. It’s what Colorado should look like.
· Using natives can prevent the introduction and spread of invasives and the introduction of alien diseases and insects.
· Native plants produce long, deep root systems to hold soil in place.
· Native plants can be used to restore native habitat and increase biodiversity.
· Native plants are necessary to support insect biodiversity: 80-85% of all insects require a specific host plant to lay their eggs on, like the Monarch and the milkweed. If these native plants aren’t available, insects die off, and with them, the birds that require these insects to feed their young. It’s all about the interconnectedness of life.
There are many natives in my garden that serve this important ecological function. Some of these are Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens), bigtooth maple (Acer grandidentatum), western serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia), common chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), curl-leaf mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius), fern bush Chamaebatiaria millefolium), bearberry or kinnikinnick (Arcostaphylos uva-ursi), butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), little blue stem (Schizachyrium scoparium), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), many species of Penstemon, and black-eyed Susan (Rudbckia fulgida var. sullivantii ‘Goldsturm.’) I’m far from a purist when it comes to native plants. I can’t imagine not growing roses, peonies and iris in my garden. But I recognize the importance of using as many natives as possible.
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Penstemon flourishing in a container
Photo by Janet Manning
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Miniature Arrangements
by Nina Sisk and Cora Wheeler
Per the GCD Yellow Book, "Miniature arrangements, including all components, are five inches or less in height, width, and depth." As in all floral arrangements, the principles of floral design: balance, contrast, dominance, proportion, rhythm, and scale should be considered. Scale and proportion are the most important elements. Miniatures may be of dried or fresh plant material.
Miniatures exhibit creativity and originality. When we think "Miniature," we usually are describing the use of a vessel not naturally intended for floral arrangements. Think: Tiny. The vessel might be a thimble, perfume bottle, vintage mustard jar, a salt cellar, a demitasse...virtually any container that might hold water. Due to the scale of miniatures, nontraditional plant materials are commonly used. Many times we are deconstructing larger flower heads or greenery stems in order to achieve "small"; i.e. hydrangea, pentas, or a woody flowering branch.
The execution of the miniature requires nimble fingers and the mechanics might take a little practice Floral tape, tiny pin frogs, a small piece of floral foam, or even small amounts of gravel might be your method of anchoring your plant material. For smaller vases with narrow openings, it may be easier to arrange the bouquet in your fingers, snip all the stems to the desired length, and then put the whole bouquet in the tiny vase. Beautiful miniatures only require investing time in planning and just a few flowers.
Consider using miniatures as a hostess, birthday, or graduation gift, table favors, powder room arrangements, or just a little cheerful addition to your kitchen sink. Because so few flowers are needed, foraging in your yard will provide just what you need. We hope you will challenge yourself to grab something little and have fun with this category of floral arrangement.
Consider these for your miniature arrangement:
Alyssum, variegated boxwood, sedum, lemon thyme, barberry, cypress, cotoneaster, miniature daisies, saxifrage, sea pink thrift, dwarf lady's mantle, and spray roses. Or deconstruct larger flower heads such as hydrangea, delphinium, larkspur or pentas.
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Floral Design Classes
GCA "Springtide", Floral Design Conference, April 8th. Register now by clicking here.
"The Miniature Arrangement" Video now available on the GCD website.
"Creating the Large Arrangement", Demonstration by Kit Ruth of the Perfect Petal. Date: Late May, Day and Time are TBD.
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Bedrock Garden, Bedrock, NY
Photo by Anita Stockbridge
Bedford Garden Club
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Geologic Overlook Trail & Trading Post Loop,
Red Rocks Park
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Garden History & Design
by Holley Sanford
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Despite the huge snowstorm we had recently, I think everyone has seen just enough springtime here in Denver to inspire thoughts of gardening soon! If you need inspiration and have not yet taken a look at Bedrock Garden, one of the most recent gardens to be submitted by a GCA member to the Smithsonian American Archives of Gardens (AAG), please take the time. It is a beautiful garden and has a wonderful family history. It can be found here.
As you all may be aware GCA is a proud partner of the Olmsted 200 campaign, a celebration of the 200th anniversary of Frederick Law Olmsted’s birth in April, 2022. Read more here.
GH&D is currently planning a GCD project that pays homage to Olmsted's remarkable contribution to landscape design. We will keep you updated on our final plan. In the meantime you might be interested in learning more about Olmsted’s six primary design principles that were summarized by a Smithsonian AAG intern. Several could be considered and applied when planning your own garden. Read more here.
We will be planning a field trip in early fall to Washington Park, our local Olmsted designed jewel, and we can discuss how these principles were applied there. Olmsted also helped design Denver Mountain Parks, which are a rural park and parkway system set among 13,500 acres within Clear Creek, Douglas, Grand, and Jefferson Counties. This encompasses 47 foothill and mountain parks interconnected by scenic drives. Red Rocks Park, pictured is part of this system.
For future entertainment you may enjoy watching some of the Nowness Great Gardens Series. There are short videos on interesting gardens all over the world narrated by their creators.
For your reading pleasure, The Earth in Her Hands, 75 Extraordinary Women Working in the World of Plants is a beautiful book written by Jennifer Jewell.
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Don't forget to follow Garden Club of America
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GCD Board and Committees
2020-2021
Executive Committee
President: Meg Nichols
Vice President: Cindy Scott
Corresponding Secretary: Bar Chadwick
Recording Secretary: Alice Hughes
Treasurer: Maureen Barker
Director: Missy Eliot
Committee Chairmen
Admissions & Membership-elected:
Jane Davis & Margaret Garbe
Awards & Founders Fund:
Sally Obregon
Bulletin & Communications:
Sarah Young
Conservation National Affairs and Legislation:
Lisë Woodard & Amy Mower
Denver Botanic Gardens Committees:
Cutting Garden:
Genie Waters & Linda Zinn
Fete Liaisons:
Debbie Davis & Nan Procknow
Flower Arranging:
Debbie Davis
Holiday Décor:
Lisa Duke & Ann Ellis
Directory (Roster):
Amy Slothower & Megan Mahncke
Floral Design:
Nina Sisk & Cora Wheeler
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Committee Chairmen (Continued)
2021 GCA Flower Show:
Missy Eliot & Nina Sisk
Fund Development:
Liza Grant
Garden History & Design:
Holley Sanford
Historian:
Muffie Dahlberg
Horticulture:
Leslie Liedtke & Nancy Schotters
Hospitality:
Nancy Jones & Martha Veldkamp
Judging:
Hope Connors
eNews:
Marianne Sulser & Mary Talbot
Nominating:
Missy Eliot
Photography:
Suellen White & Deborah Foy
Programs:
Caroline Rassenfoss & Tish Szurek
Scholarships:
Ann Crammond
Visiting Gardens:
Lindsay Dodge
Website:
Kathleen Woodberry
& Elizabeth Weigand
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