From Zone III director Kathy Metz

I wish to extend a very warm welcome to returning club presidents, recently elected club presidents, and newly appointed Zone III representatives. We anticipate a year of exciting workshops, flower shows and speakers addressing current conservation, climate, and horticulture concerns. You are not alone. We will work together to make this a very successful year for Zone III. Many of us are new at our jobs!

This is also a time for change in leadership within The Garden Club of America. Maryjo Garre led us through two extraordinary years with exceptional thought and grace. Joan George now takes the reins of GCA and will continue to energize and strengthen the membership.

Today we launch our first Zone III Newsletter. I encourage you to read it and contribute information about your club and your members. I look forward to reading about the myriad of activities and programs from the representative to GCA National Committees, and the programs and activities supported by you, the members of the 22 clubs in Zone III. Sharing valuable information is important and necessary as we aim to fulfill the mission of the Garden Club of America.

Let us all help to make this Zone III Newsletter a grand success.

Most sincerely, Kathy Metz, Zone III Director

Z o n e I I I G c a

Zone directory

Zone III Director Kathy Metz, Millbrook GC

Zone III Chairman Marilyn Donahue, Little GC of Rye

Zone III Vice Chairman Lisa Gerard, Rusticus GC

Zone Representatives

Admissions Committee Margy Richardson, Rochester GC

Awards Committee Linda Fraser, Southampton GC

Bulletin Committee Carolyn Fadden, Philipstown GC

Conservation/NAL Committees Linda James, GC of East Hampton

Flower Show Committee Laura Haley , Little GC of Rye

Founders Fund Committee Suzanne Kingsley, Lake & Valley GC

Garden History & Design Committee Anne Unger, South Side GC

Horticulture Committee Chris Murray, Little GC of Rye

Judging Committee Susan Detjens, Millbrook GC

Nominating Committee Sue Bullock, GC of East Hampton

Program Committee Nan Berger, Syracuse GC

Public Relations Committee Cindy Willis, Southampton GC

Scholarship Committee Donna Ganson, GC of Lawrence

Visiting Gardens MJ Mercurio, Rusticus GC

In this issue

Welcome from Zone III Director Page 1 News from the Zone III Chairman Page 2 Calendar Page 3 Horticulture Committee Report Page 4 Awards Committee Report Page 4 Flower Show Committee Report Page 5 Program Committee Report Page 6

From Zone III Chairman Marilyn Donahue

To: Zone III Club Presidents and Zone III Representatives

Re: Zone III Presidents’ Council, October 29, 2009

GCA Headquarters, 9:30 AM

Club Presidents are strongly encouraged to bring a delegate to the meeting

Meet Zone III Representatives and GCA National Chairs

We will be having round table discussions, with each table reporting back to the group following

group discussions

Topics for discussion will include:

How to encourage all members to take a leadership position at some time

How to attract and recruit younger members, and membership procedures

How do you educate new members about your club and GCA—do you feel connected to GCA?

How is the role of GCA changing? How to raise money without huge amounts of time and effort,

and how to balance efficiency with board functions and the need to include all members

Online newsletters? the mechanics, software, etc.

If there are other topics you would like to see discussed at the meeting please let me know. Please respond by October 9th. Your check for the luncheon must be received with your RSVP.

Zone III Presidents’ Council, October 29, 2009, 9:30 AM, GCA Headquarters

President/Zone Representative - Please circle one

Name Club

Delegate Position

Please include a check for $26.00 per person for lunch. Checks should be made payable to Marilyn Donahue and sent to me at 191 Kirby Lane, Rye, NY 10580. I must confirm the number of attendees by October 9, 2009. I look forward to seeing you on October 29th! Marilyn Donahue, Zone III Chairman

Zone III Calendar 2009 - 2010

September 18-19 Philipstown Garden Club presents ―A Highland Fling‖, A GCA Flower Show

September 19-21 Shirley Meneice Horticulture Conference Chicago, Illinois

September 30- October 3

Garden History & Design Committee Meeting in Washington, DC; Meeting followed by reunion of the committee in Philadelphia, PA

October 5 Symposium: TREES FOR LIFE—TREES FOR LONG ISLAND 10:00 AM, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

October 6 Garden History & Design Symposium, Presentation by Katy Moss Warner and Tour of Manitoga, Russell Wright’s home and studio

October 29 Zone III Presidents’ Council, GCA Headquarters,9:30 AM—2:00 PM, Club Presidents are invited to attend with a delegate

November 18 Zone III Flower Show Committee Meeting, GCA Headquarters, 9:30 AM—2:30 PM, Club Flower Show Chairmen are invited to attend with a delegate

February 22-25 National Affairs and Legislation Conference Washington, DC

April 15 - 16 Garden Club of Irvington-on-Hudson GCA Flower Show

April 29 – 30 Rye Garden Club GCA Flower Show

May 13-15 GCA Annual Meeting East Brunswick, NJ

May 20 North Country Garden Club GCA Flower Show

June 16-18 Zone III Annual Meeting hosted by the Garden Club of East Hampton East Hampton, NY

June 24 Garden Club of Lawrence GCA Flower Show

Awards Committee

The following awards were presented at the 2009 Zone III Awards Banquet at the Zone III Meeting in Albany, New York on June 10, 2009.

GCA Zone III Awards for Members

Civic Improvement Award Audrey Hawkins, Fort Orange Garden Club

Conservation Award Beth Stradar Santiago, Garden Club of Orange & Dutchess Counties

Horticulture Arts Award Lily Y. Beck, Millbrook Garden Club

Judging Award Neil Wattles, Rusticus Garden Club

Historic Preservation Award Phebe Banta, Garden Club of Orange and Dutchess Counties

Creative Leadership Award Angel Morris, Rye Garden Club

Zone Commendations for Non-Members

Conservation Commendation New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr.

Horticulture Commendation Judy Stacey, Albany City Gardener

Historic Preservation Commendation Norman Rice, Director Emeritus, Albany Institute of History & Art

Linda Fraser Zone III Awards Representative

Horticulture Committee

The 2010 Plant Exchange (PX) will take place at the Zone III Meeting in East Hampton on June 15th. This year’s theme is Hydrangeas. Clubs are busily propagating softwood cuttings to submit. In early 2010, many clubs will be growing hydrangeas from seed, so there is still time to participate. Your club horticulture chairman will be in touch. Plants that don’t go to the Plant Exchange can be contributed to an in-club PX so that members can diversify their own collections of these beautiful carefree shrubs. Chris Murray Zone III Horticulture Representative

Flower show committee

The Fine Art of Flower Arranging states ―creative expression is a basic human need, suppressed in some, fulfilled in others. Flower arranging offers the artist in all of us an accessible and beautiful medium with which to express our innate creativity -- on the kitchen counter at home or on a pedes-tal in a flower show.‖ Flower Shows challenge clubs to work together to create successful events. This summer two clubs in Zone III rose to the challenge and delighted visitors with flower arrangements, horticulture and photography. Congratulations to Southampton and Lake and Valley Garden Clubs for plan-ning, staging and executing outstanding shows for all of us to enjoy.

Highlights from Southampton Garden Club Flower Show The Enchanted Garden

Five clubs have shows on the drawing board for 2009-2010, Philipstown, Irvington, Rye, North Country and Lawrence Garden Clubs. Perhaps your club is considering a show as well. My job as your Flower Show Rep is to encourage and assist you through the process of executing a flower show. To that extent, I have scheduled a meeting at GCA HQ on Wednesday, November 18 to re-view the roadmap to Flower Shows for all club Flower Show Chairman and a delegate. This meeting should help you understand the procedures outlined in the Yellow Book and inspire you to schedule a Flower Show as well.

Highlights from Lake & Valley Garden Club Flower Show Reflections on a Cooperstown Summer

Laura Haley Zone III Flower Show Representative

Class 2 - Once Upon a Time Best In Show, Blue Ribbon

Arranged by: Susan Detjens

Class 1 - Black Magic - Magic and sorcery in Lore Blue Ribbon

Arranged by: Lynn Packard

Class 3 - Mad Hatter Blue Ribbon

Arranged by: Linda Fraser & Lynn Mortimer

Division II Class 2 - Random Harvest Best In Show, Blue Ribbon

Arranged by: Lucy Townsend

Division I Class 5 - Lakefront - Novice Class Blue Ribbon, Sandra Baylor Award

Arranged by: Fran Harris

Division II Class 1 - Lettuce Alone Blue Ribbon, Judge’s Commendation

Program Committee

Looking for program ideas for your club for 2010-2011? Ellen Conrad, a member of Bedford Garden Club describes the Customized Education Programs for Garden Clubs at the New York Botanical Garden.

Last year, the Bedford Garden Club customized a horticulture lecture series with the New York Botanical Garden. Our program consisted of eight, monthly, two-hour lectures and was titled ―Fundamentals of Horticulture for Garden Club Members‖. A NYBG Certificate was issued to those who completed the course requirements. The exact course description is listed below. We have had several conversations with NYBG’s Vice President for Education, Jeff Downing, and his staff, and he has agreed to allow other GCA clubs to contact his department to customize their own programs. We discussed various formats for possible courses, such as:

A full program similar to ―Fundamentals of Horticulture for Garden Club Members‖ Any kind of customized program that addresses a particular interest of a club, for example, a garden design course focused on the particular civic garden for which a club is responsible; a specific garden history and design course; a specific area of flower arranging, or a project, like community gardens or municipal composting An intense 3 or 4 full day program, customized for a single club or a group of clubs that would be a ―New York Experience‖ with lectures and workshops during the day and, perhaps, spe-cial events at night. This type of program would be appealing to clubs that are not within com-muting distance to New York City.

The staff at the NYBG Education Department is very cooperative and happy to discuss whatever program a club or group of clubs might be interested in exploring. Our experience with the NYBG was very positive. They have a stable of educators who are extremely professional, usually the top in their field. Our customized program was a first rate educational experience that has significantly advanced our club’s level of horticultural expertise. Last year, our basic horticulture program featured gardening workshops, behind the scenes tours led by the Garden’s Horticulture curators, and classes in fundamental gardening techniques taught by instructors of the Garden’s certificate programs and School of Professional Horticulture. The program included the following course topics:

Introduction to Fundamentals of Horticulture Soil Basics and Composting Principles of Plant Propagation Choosing the Right Plant for the Right Place Concepts of Garden Design Pruning Principles for Shrubs and Trees Selecting and Planting Trees Orchid Repotting Workshop

What made this one-of-a-kind program truly unique was that it was designed collaboratively to fit the Bedford Garden Club’s schedule and to address the topics we identified as most important to our members. With a curriculum of over 500 courses offered annually and the expertise of the Garden’s Horticulture staff, the Garden possesses the resources to address virtually any horticultural topic your club would want to cover. If you are interested in exploring this idea further, you can contact Sabine Stezenbach, Director of Continuing Education at 718-817-8566; Sstezenbach@nybg.org, or Duncan Himmelman, Pro-gram Manager for Continuing Education, at 718-817-8741; dhimmelman@nybg.org.

Nan Berger Zone III Program Representative