While we wait for the cooler temperatures and better conditions that entice us back to our gardens, we can look ahead and mark our calendars for the fun, engaging, educational and creative opportunities that the Garden Club of Virginia has planned for the year ahead.

Our Symposium, “Grow Your Knowledge,” promises to be a spectacular two-day event. I hope you have registered and will encourage your friends to join us in September at the Science Museum of Virginia. It’s a not-to-miss GCV event for everyone!

Look for the dates and details within this Membership News for our upcoming Conservation Forum, Daffodil Day, Horticulture Field Day and the 2023 Lily Show, “Summer Fun!,” hosted by the Dolley Madison Garden Club. The GCV committees have been hard at work to plan a year of informative and fun activities for all.

Enjoy your summer and I will see you in September!

Join the Garden Club of Virginia for a two-day, flower-filled extravaganza packed with educational opportunities, interesting speakers, and lots of fun.

Enjoy a wide range of free and ticketed programs, including a full-scale flower show integrating Horticulture, Artistic Design and Photography. All events will be open to the public and will take place at the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond. Attend one or two programs, or come for the full experience.

Attendees will hear from experts in sustainable landscape design and conservation, botanical floral design and artistry, tree and plant management, and various types of photography techniques and styles. In addition, participants will learn about Harlem Renaissance poet Anne Spencer’s garden restoration. Symposium information, tickets, schedules and exhibit registration.

The 64th Annual Conservation Forum will take place Nov. 3, 2022, in a live webinar format, from 9 a.m.-noon. A series of speakers will discuss the topic of PFAS, polyfluoroalkyl substances or “forever chemicals” that have been around since the 1940s and can now be found in land, water, household products, and even on us. The Forum is free to all who register. Watch for registration details on gcvirginia.org. Please join us to explore PFAS through in-depth discussions with experts about this important and relevant topic.

We hear the buzz of all the GCV clubs working to help their cities become a Bee City USA. Bravo! There are currently nine Bee Cities in Virginia: Fauquier County, Hampton, Lynchburg, Manassas, Martinsville, Scottsville, Vienna, Virginia Beach and Woodstock. The Lynchburg Garden Club and Hillside Garden Club, The Martinsville Garden Club and The Garden Study Club, and The Warrenton Garden Club helped their cities earn this designation. As champions of Bee Cities, we could work together to promote pollinator-friendly policies across the state including reducing chemical use, excessive mowing and by planting more native plants. It’s an easy and effective way for our clubs to have a meaningful impact in our communities and together we could make Virginia a leader in pollinator protection. Join the Bee City buzz!

Learn More! Visit the Bee City USA website and read the GCV Pollinator Resolution.

Photo by Heidi James heidifjames@gmail.com, who is happy to answer your Bee City questions.

The Symposium Horticulture Division offers a fun opportunity for all of our gardeners. Whether you are going for the blue or just trying something new, this show is for you. Bring blossoms, stems, or container plantings to Richmond and enter the GCV Symposium Horticulture Division. Display your finest specimens and enjoy the two-day event. View the Horticulture Schedule.

From the Foreword in Follow the Green Arrow Vol. 1

Of the inaugural garden club members, legislators called us "those nosy, meddling women," billboard advertisers made derisive reference to "the scenic sisters," utility companies called us "a threat to progress," and automobile graveyard owners were terming us "a threat to free enterprise."

 Christine Hale Martin, 1970

Watch your mailbox in September for the late summer/early fall edition of the Journal. You'll learn all about the GCV's upcoming 2022 Symposium, including bonus coverage on Thomas Woltz, who changes landscapes in Virginia and around the world. A spotlight also shines on November's Conservation Forum and recipients of two of the GCV's awards, the Elizabeth Cabell Dugdale Award for Meritorious Achievement in Conservation and the Conservation Educator Award.

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 2022 Common Wealth Award Nominees. Clubs will vote electronically by Sept. 30 and the recipient will be announced at the Board of Governors meeting in October.  Read the Descriptions.

The Garden Club of the Eastern Shore:

Beautification & Conservation of

the Eastern Shore Coalition Against

Domestic Violence Campus

HOME Pocket Park

The Garden Club of Norfolk:

GCN’s Tribute to Frederick Law

Olmsted—Greenways Along

Norfolk’s Elizabeth River Trail

Three Chopt Garden Club:

Horticulture Therapy for Pediatric

Patients at Virginia Treatment

Center for Children (VTCC)

Check out the fun and useful items for sale in our shop!

In an article about the historic gardens of the University of Virginia in the July 21, 2022, edition of UVA today, writer Matt Kelly notes “The gardens have been restored and renovated a number of times since the 1950s – most notably by the Garden Club of Virginia – and are considered public spaces, open to visitors.” Read the article here.