Horticulture
The Horticulture Committee aims to educate club members about growing and propagating plant material and best practices for garden design and maintenance. The committee brings in outside experts to demonstrate pruning, unfamiliar plant categories, and the benefits of growing native material and its impact on pollinators. Members visit one another’s gardens and make occasional field trips to see plants used in the landscape. Recent activities within the committee include bulb forcing, seed propagation and moss gardening.
Horticulture is a major component of the club’s two annual flower shows, where members enter examples of plant material from their own gardens in a judged competition, providing an opportunity for our growers to show off their considerable accomplishments.
Civic Improvement
Civic Improvement maintains the lovely triangle garden adjacent to the Chestnut Hill Post Office. Our mission is to enhance this beautiful neighborhood space for the community to enjoy. Committee members gather at the Post Office four times per year - two Spring Cleanups prepare the garden for summer blooms and two Fall Cleanups involve cutting back summer flowers and planing bulbs for spring. It is particularly beautiful in April when the daffodils are in full bloom followed by summer lilies and fall sedum. Neighbors often pass by and thank the garden club members for their volunteer efforts.
It’s wonderful to share the joy of gardening.
Conservation
The Conservation Committee keeps the club members well informed on current conservation issues, promotes respect and responsibility for our environment and encourages conservation work and education programs within the club and in the community.
The National Affairs and Legislation Committee upholds the GCA’s vision of “Informed volunteers for a beautiful, healthy planet” and keeps the membership current on federal legislation and policy initiatives that relate to the GCA’s mission, identifies advocacy opportunities based on the GCA’s nine position papers, advocates for legislative action and plans and executes the annual NAL conference in Washington , D.C.
Conservation Committee members attend GCA’s annual National Affairs and Legislation (NAL) annual conference in Washington D.C..
Garden History and Design
The Garden History and Design Committee cultivates an appreciation for America’s gardens by researching, documenting, and photographing member or community gardens for submission into the Smithsonian Archives of American Gardens.
Visiting Gardens
The CHGC Visiting Gardens Committee plans trips for members to visit and tour gardens of interest in the New England Area.
The goal is to find gardens with historic or design significance and unique or dedicated gardens featuring an environmental or horticultural focus. Trips can be local and include visits to our club members' gardens, and visits can also include day trips and other opportunities to expand the possibilities. The VG committee also acts as a liaison for visits to the gardens of other members of the Garden Club of America (GCA) in our area and will help club members arrange to visit clubs nationwide. The chair will also advise club members of resources, visits, and trips GCA offers nationally and internationally.
Floral Design
The Floral Design Committee helps our membership engage in creative, artistic pursuits with flowers and plants. The committee organizes workshops, hosts demonstrations and shares information and outside events related to floral design. The goal of the committee is to de-mystify the art of floral design and help our members find the joy in working creatively with plants, flowers, and other organic materials. We are committed to encouraging sustainable floristry practices as we share the beauty and artistry of floral design among our members and in the greater world.
As a part of the club's two annual flower shows, the Floral Design Committee organizes floral design shows, encouraging participation and learning in the flower show process.
Photo Study Group
The Photo Study Group works to stimulate creativity while educating members about basic principles of taking a great photograph, what makes a photograph successful, how to edit your work, and how to enter one’s images in a show. We arrange local field trips and hold one judged photography show each year. We also assist the Garden History and Design Committee by taking responsibility for photographing and documenting members’ gardens.
