Greetings!
What a busy fall it has been as we look ahead to the upcoming holiday season. Members, clubs and committees have been finding creative and fun new ways to stay connected through virtual and open air get-togethers and meetings. The leadership of the Garden Club of Virginia has been updated and informed as Board members and committee chairmen have travelled the state for the first ever Board of Governors meetings and Leadership Luncheons planned in our six districts.
Another first for the GCV this past month was the launch of the Conservation and Beautification committee’s online Conservation Forum, The Urban Landscape. This virtual approach has allowed us to offer the most comprehensive environmental information from across Virginia and beyond to our membership and the general public. The local and national response has been exciting, with more than 1,000 views in the first few days.
Your GCV headquarters, the historic Kent-Valentine House, has happily opened its doors with health and safety standards in place to members and clubs who have visited after touring the Centennial exhibition, and has hosted small committee meetings and workshops.
As we approach Thanksgiving, I would like to express my deep appreciation and thanks to all of you for your continued enthusiasm, commitment and support of the Garden Club of Virginia.
“Let us be thankful to the people who bring us happiness;
They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom”
Marcel Proust, Pleasures and Days
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Missy Buckingham
GCV President, 2020-2022
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Our newest publication, Historic Garden Week – The Magazine, makes its debut in mid-November. The Magazine is organized by geographic region, with travel stories, articles and photographs contributed by GCV members. It highlights the 30 tours planned for this spring, thanks our 2020 local tour sponsors and Guidebook advertisers while offering expanded visibility to our 2021 advertisers.
The Magazine takes the place of the state brochure and complements our traditional Guidebook, which will continue to be the source for logistical tour information about the private properties which are the mainstay of this statewide event.
While tour chairs, co-chairs, ad chairs and club presidents will receive issues in the mail, we encourage other members to patronize and support the 500 distribution outlets across our state that are so generously helping to distribute this free publication. For a complete list, please visit VAGardenWeek.org. So many members and relationships in the communities where GCV member clubs exist helped to make this inaugural publication possible. Thank you!
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Kent-Valentine House Painting |
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This lovely oil painting of our GCV headquarters by artist Beth Marchant was commissioned by the Historic Garden Week committee as a Centennial gift to the Kent-Valentine House. Over the past eight years Beth has provided the watercolors of our tour homes for the HGW Guidebook.
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Board of Governors Meetings |
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During the month of October and into the first week of November President Missy Buckingham and members of the GCV Board of Directors travelled to all six membership districts across our state to hold small open air Board of Governors meetings and Leadership Luncheons with former GCV Presidents, Standing and Special committee chairmen and club Presidents. In addition to conducting business and presenting reports, there was an opportunity for valuable discussion and networking. The club horticulture exhibits in pumpkins were enjoyed by all. |
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Photos from our first four Board of Governors meetings: Clockwise from top left: Forrest Moore, Missy Buckingham and Valeta Pittman, Bassett; Brent & Becky’s Bulbs, Gloucester; Horticulture exhibits; Poplar Forest; Bloemendaal House and Grace Arents Garden, Richmond. |
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The Common Wealth Award committee is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020 Common Wealth Award, The Virginia Beach Garden Club and The Mill Mountain Garden Club. We look forward to seeing how these exciting, club-driven community projects progress with the help of this award.
First Place: Living Green Wall at Brock Environmental Center’s Classroom Annex
Submitted by the Virginia Beach Garden Club
The Virginia Beach Garden Club will provide support for a “green wall” to be located in the Virginia Beach Public School’s Classroom Annex affiliated with the Brock Environmental Center. Here local high school students will participate in a program focusing on environmental science, green building practices, and sustainable approaches to real world issues. Green walls include greenery, a growing medium and a water delivery system. The walls provide indoor environmental health benefits combatting attention fatigue by connecting students to “outdoor nature” within the indoor environment. Additionally, green walls reduce energy costs. The extra layer of air between the plants and the wall absorbs acoustic energy and reduces noise. The green wall is an example of a sustainability practice that can be modeled in future homes and workplaces.
Second Place: Mill Mountain Wildflower Garden: The Next Fifty Years and Beyond
Enhancing the Visitor Experience Through Educational Signage
Submitted by Mill Mountain Garden Club
High atop Mill Mountain in Roanoke’s most visited urban park is the Mill Mountain Wildflower Garden. As the primary caretakers, Mill Mountain Garden Club members tend this beloved, iconic 2.5-acre garden weekly. To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the garden, the club launched their largest and most ambitious fundraising campaign contributing to an overall restoration of the garden. The Common Wealth Award will provide funds for enhancing the educational experience of the visitor in the garden while highlighting the vital mission of conservation. Along the “Discovery Trail” path four permanent, colorful and informative signs will showcase and identify Virginia native plants, wildflowers, trees, insects, and pollinators. Signage will also emphasize the importance of planting natives in the garden and feature other takeaways on the nexus of nature, climate science, and health.
GCV clubs are asked to consider submitting a proposal or resubmitting a proposal if not chosen this year. The application is on the GCV website and the deadline for the 2021 Common Wealth Award submission is March 1, 2021.
Gifts may be made to the Common Wealth Award Fund to help assure a continuation of these supportive grants for extraordinary club projects and partnerships that serve to further the conservation, preservation, and restoration ideals intrinsic to our GCV.
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The Artistic Design committee is pleased to offer this lively lime apron with an embroidered Garden Club of Virginia logo. Pretty yet durable, this “must have” item is perfect for identifying yourself as part of the GCV team whether gathering, arranging, exhibiting, judging or volunteering. The apron has pockets for your snips, supplies and cell phone. Adjustable at the neck and ties in back, one size fits all.
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As we enter into fall and winter, what a great time to catch up on some reading to learn more about our environment, gardening and flowers. Here is a list of books and blogs to enjoy as you settle in for a cozy night by the fire.
Books
Uprooted: A Gardener Reflects on Beginning Again, by Page Dickey
Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard, by Douglas W. Tallamy
Naturalistic Planting Design: The Essential Guide, by Nigel Dunnett
A Way To Garden: A Hands-On Primer for Every Season, by Margaret Roach
Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss, by Margaret Renkl
American Gardens, by Monty Don with photographs by Derry Moore
What it’s Like To Be a Bird, by David Allen Sibley
The Reason for Flowers: Their History, Culture, Biology, and How They Change Our Lives
The Earth in Her Hands: 75 Extraordinary Women Working in the World of Plants
Blogs and Websites
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Horticulture Award of Merit |
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The Garden Club of Virginia Horticulture Award of Merit was established in 1960 to recognize individual members of local clubs who have achieved significant accomplishments in horticulture, both personally and in their communities. The application is on the GCV website and the deadline for nomination is March 1, 2021.
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A Landscape Saved: The Garden Club of Virginia at 100 - The Video |
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While the GCV Centennial Exhibition at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture has closed, a video of the exhibition is in production and will be shared with you soon.
Our sincere appreciation and gratitude is extended to the Roller-Bottimore Foundation and the Richard S. Reynolds Foundation for their support of this endeavor and to those GCV members who were instrumental in making our rich history come to life.
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The Tulips are Frozen! The Tulips are Frozen!
It’s time for a belly laugh and a good giggle! This delightfully humorous booklet makes a wonderful gift for friends and fellow club members. Editor Judy Perry, The Elizabeth River Garden Club, collected these amusing recollections and artist Marcia Long, The Williamsburg Garden Club, created the delightful illustrations.
Order your copy today for $10 plus shipping & handling on the GCV website shop page or purchase copies at the Kent-Valentine House.
There is a bulk discount of $2 off per copy when purchasing 10 or more.
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Waterford Crystal Keepsake Ornament
Celebrate the upcoming holidays with the charming Waterford Centennial Ornament. Beautifully engraved with a decorative hanger and presented in an appealing Waterford gift box.
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Reminder: Former GCV Presidents, Board members, Standing and Special Committee chairmen and member club Presidents, please submit your nominations for the 2021-2022 Director at Large positions in District 2,5 & 6. The deadline for submission to Nominations chairman Jean Gilpin is November 20. |
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Mill Mountain
Laura Beard
Mary McBurney
Leigh Thomas
Spotswood
Barbara Mancini
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We want to hear from you! What is going on in your clubs and communities? What fun and creative ways are you finding to stay connected during this time of social distancing? Please share with us by contacting Membership News chairman Molly Ill at mollyill.vb@gmail.com.
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Mark Your Calendar (All dates are subject to change.)
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November 2 District 6 Board of Governors Meeting and Leadership Luncheon, Norfolk
November 5 District 5 Board of Governors Meeting and Leadership Luncheon, Leesburg
November 9 Horticulture Committee Meeting, Teleconference
November 9 Conservation and Beautification Committee Meeting, Teleconference
November 12 Historic Garden Week Marketing Meeting, Online
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November 16 Artistic Design Committee Meeting, Kent-Valentine House
November 16 Artistic Design Workshop, Tentative, Kent-Valentine House
November 17 Historic Garden Week Committee Meeting, Teleconference
December 7 Strategic Planning Committee Meeting, Kent-Valentine House
December 8-9 Nominations Committee Meeting, Kent-Valentine House
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