The bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds are happy in my garden! It’s August, a time to delight in the rewards that come from perennial and annual pollinator plantings. I hope that you are enjoying all the gifts that summer offers as it won’t be long before our calendars are once again filled with activities and opportunities in our own communities and across the state.

As you will see within this Membership News, the Garden Club of Virginia is offering a host of fun and educational events during the upcoming months. Mark your calendars now and plan to join us as we embark on a new partnership with Virginia Museum of History & Culture, History Blooms, a weekend of events that include our families and friends. And don’t miss the details and registration for our 65th Annual Conservation Forum titled, EcoLandscaping: Restoring Nature’s Balance. Read on for more!

I want to offer a special thanks to the GCV committees for their commitment and hard work and to all of you for your continued support and engagement. Your time, talent, and financial support make all that we do possible.

My best,

Please join world renowned daffodil grower and flower show judge Brent Heath of Brent and Becky’s Bulbs, Gloucester, Virginia, for a talk on the use of daffodils as companion plants. Mr. Heath is a long time bulb supplier of GCV Daffodil Test Collections. Details and Registration. Space is limited.

Plans for History Blooms, in partnership with the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, are taking root for Oct 6-8! Flower arrangers won’t want to miss presenters and workshops from highly regarded designers including Christin Geall, from Vancouver, presenting “Color Theory for Designers and Gardeners;” Libbey Oliver, former manager of floral design for Colonial Williamsburg, presenting “A 20th-Century Look at 18th-Century Flower Arranging;” and Nancy Ross Hugo, GCV Honorary Member, former director of education at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden and author of five acclaimed books, and her daughter, Kate Vernon, owner of The Arranger’s Market, with a floral design workshop. Horticulturist Abra Lee will share a fascinating history of Black women and floriculture.

Additional presenters and registration details will be announced soon. This upcoming information will also be sent via email and to your home mailboxes.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn how to bring your garden to life at the 65th Annual Conservation Forum, happening Thursday, Nov. 2 at the Irving Theater at The CODE Building in Charlottesville.

This year’s forum will feature three incredible speakers on topics that can be easily applied to help your home gardens (and the wildlife that depends upon them) thrive. Join us for sessions on applying innovative and ecologically-functional concepts at home, growing heirloom and nearly extinct fruit and nut cultivars, and developing a natural landscape design for your garden, whether you have meadows, water, or woodlands.

Participants will have the chance to engage in hands-on activities and to take home treasures from our on-site vendors including Bartlett Tree Experts, Rivermont Refillery and Blue Ridge Conservation.

Complete information and registration will be available on the GCV website soon.

March 26-27, 2024

Virginia Wesleyan University, Virginia Beach

June 4-5, 2024, Leesburg

Through your generosity, the 2022-2023 Annual Fund exceeded our goal!

The 2023 GCV Lily Collection is now available and features six lilies: L. ‘Baferrari’ (Pictured) L. ‘Beverly Dreams’, L. ‘Empoli’, L. ‘Forever Susan’, L. martagon ‘Peppard Gold ’and L. ‘Muscadet’. Please contact GCV Lily Chairman Patsy Smith with questions.

View the Horticulture Field Day and the Lily Show photos.

The Common Wealth Award was established in 1979 to provide an annual grant to promote projects in the interest of conservation, beautification, horticulture, preservation and education. The two word name Common Wealth was chosen to describe the "wealth" that is "common" to all Virginians.

The following are the 2023 Common Wealth Award Nominees. The recipient will be announced at the Board of Governors meeting in October. Read the Full Descriptions.

The Boxwood Garden Club, The James River Garden Club, Three Chopt Garden Club, and The Tuckahoe Garden Club of Westhampton proposed:

Gabriella Garden Club proposed:

The Garden Study Club and The Martinsville Garden Club proposed:

So often we find ourselves in quiet areas as we photograph flowers, gardens, butterflies and birds. Only the sounds of nature accompany us on our journey and we find that patience pays out as we capture that perfect angle, that perfect light.

In his video, The Life of a Photograph, former National Geographic Photographer Sam Abell shares lessons he has learned from his 63 years of photography, one of the most important being advice Abell’s father gave him as a boy: compose and wait. In his own quiet way, Abell seeks maximum impact and great detail using this and other techniques to capture stunning images in camera which need only minimal editing. In this two-hour live lecture, Abell gives a step-by-step demonstration of how lasting photographs are made through simplified techniques and critical vision.

Exciting news! The Virginia Museum of History & Culture, the Garden Club of Virginia’s partner in our upcoming fall event, History Blooms, and the host of our 2020 centennial exhibition: A Landscape Saved, received the Award of Excellence by the American Association of State and Local History. This prestigious award recognizes high achievement in the preservation of state and local history. The VMHC is among just 50 organizations, out of America’s more than 20,000 history institutions, and the only museum in Virginia to be recognized in 2023.

The Martinsville Garden Club and the Patrick Henry Rose Society present the 47th Annual Rose Show Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023

Piedmonts Arts Center, 215 Starling Ave., Martinsville, VA.

Workrooms open at 6 a.m. Open to the public: 1 - 4 p.m.

This show will consist of horticulture, artistic design and photography. Advance registration is required for artistic design only. Further information contact Joyce Moorman at moorjoy@verizon.net

Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023

10 a.m.–3 p.m.

The Woman’s Club at the Bolling Haxall House

211 East Franklin Street, Richmond, VA 23219

*Open to the Public and Free of Charge*

This special “Ebb & Flow” Flower Show, hosted by The James River Garden Club, takes its theme from one of Richmond’s greatest assets—the James River—and will feature elements of its unique ecosystem throughout the show. Educational displays by area non-profits will highlight conservation and preservation in and around the river. Visitors will have the opportunity to walk through many creative and fascinating entries in Floral Design, Horticulture, Photography and Botanical Arts. Submissions will come from individuals and clubs of GCA’s Zone VII, which currently numbers 18 clubs and 1,400 members throughout Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The purpose of a flower show is threefold: to set standards of artistic and horticultural excellence; to broaden knowledge of horticulture, floral design, conservation, photography and other related areas; and to share the beauty of a show with fellow club members and with the public. We hope you will come to see these fabulous botanical creations and support the talented people behind them.

The flower show will also include the “River Run Boutique” where visitors will find clothing, jewelry, art, ceramics, and accessories—the perfect place to shop for gifts or a special treat for yourself. Raffle tickets with great prizes will be available at the Welcome Table. Boutique location and hours are same as Flower Show. For more information, please contact Andrea Erda at afishindc@aol.com.

Albemarle Garden Club is proud to present a two-day design forum with nationally acclaimed designer and tastemaker Mark D. Sikes on Oct. 11 and 12, 2023 at the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville. Details are provided below.

In conjunction with The Design Forum, Albemarle Garden Club invites all to participate in “The Beautiful Flower Show,” Oct. 11-12, 2023, at The Paramount Theater, 215 East Main Street, Charlottesville, Virginia.  View the Schedule.

Does your club have an upcoming event you'd like to share with other GCV members? Email Membership News Chairman Edie Hessberg with details.

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