National, Regional and District Officers

Here are the officers for 2009-11

GCFP President ( Garden Club Federation of Pennsylvania)
Theme: 'Let's Keep Growing'
Project: 'GCFP vs. Litter'
Angela Raitano, President
angie.raitano@comcast.net
website: http://www.pagardenclubs.org/

CAR Director ( Central Atlantic Region)
Theme: 'Because of you and what you do, make our World a better place'
Carmie Devito, Director
carmiedevito@neo.rr.com
website: http://www.gardencentral.org/car

NGC President (National Garden Clubs, Inc.)
Theme: 'Golden Days' (planting of daffodils throughout the United States and 'Beautify Blight'
Renee Blaschke, President
renee.blaschke@sbcglobal.net
website: http://www.gardenclub.org/

District I Director
Theme: 'Weaving together garden clubs-district-community-one member at a time'
Linda Southerling, Director
lsfleur1@hotmail.com
blog: http://www.gardenchatpa.org/

GCFP headquarters
Lee Ann Stine
1525 Cedar Cliff Drive, STE 103
Camp Hill, PA 17011-7707
717-737-8219

District I General Board Meeting and Luncheon, June 16

Come to a Presidents’ Fête!

District I Invites You to celebrate summer at
Springton Manor Farm

Time: 10am to 1pm
Tuesday, June 16th

Enjoy a wonderful, fresh, seasonal luncheon at the historic home located on 300 picturesque acres in beautiful Chester County. Explore the home and the grounds, complete with a Victorian garden, gazebo, century-old Sugar Maples and the majestic "King and Queen" Penn Oaks. Door Prizes too!

Guest Speaker: Noted local author, Sharon White, discusses her award-winning book, Vanished Gardens, offering a historical look at Philadelphia gardens, gardeners, botanists, and plant collectors.

Springton Manor Farm 860 Springton Road, Glenmoore, PA 19343 Located 5 miles west of Downington off Route 322

No cost to District 1 Presidents

Cost for Club members and guests: $19
The public is invited to attend.

Door Prizes!!

RSVP by June 10th to:

Linda Southerling, District 1 Director
610-793-2573 or lsfleur1@hotmail.com

Club Trip to Susquehanna Park, MD

Cynthia LaPara offers the following info.....

On April 18th, 8 members of the Four Seasons Garden Club of Kennett Square and their guests visited Susquehanna Park, in Maryland. We saw bald eagles and other water birds, and a bald eagle’s nest, with both parents coming and going, bringing food for the young. Then we walked along the path by the river, where native plants were blooming in their native habitat. The weather was beautiful and the flowers were near their peak. In all, we saw or heard 18 species of birds and identified 29 species of plants, most of them native and most in bloom. The high points of the trip were seeing the activity at the bald eagle’s nest and walking through a field of Virginia bluebells. We ended the trip with a stop at the Spready Oak Country Café on Route 1 for lunch. Great trip!!

May Programs at Mt. Cuba

Join us on Saturday, May 16 at 1 PM to hear renowned native plant expert Richard Bir share his life's work in this illustrated lecture, Demystifying Native Plants. Learn about wonderful shrubs like azaleas, mountain laurel, hydrangeas, redbuds and more. Dick will also discuss such timely issues as "What is a native plant?", the effect of climate change on native plants, and habitat destruction. He will also touch on the topic of cultivars. Dick has long been a champion of the native plant movement and was a founder of the well-known Cullowhee Native Plant Conference in North Carolina. He is a horticulturist, conservationist, and faculty emeritus from the Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University and author of "Growing and Propagating Showy Native Woody Plants." If you are a native plant enthusiast, you will love this lecture.

On Thursday, May 21, Phil Oyerly will guide visitors on a magical evening walk through Mt. Cuba Center's gardens to view our outstanding lady's slipper orchid collection with the class In Praise of Cypripedium. Learn which lady's slipper orchids you can grow in your own backyard. Hope to see you there.

For more information and to register for these and other classes, please visit www.mtcubacenter.org or call us at 302-239-4244.

Sincerely, Eileen BoyleEducation Coordinator

Club Program - 'Greening of America--Our Roofs'

An illustrated lecture by Jeff Jabco
Coordinator of Horticulture, The Scott Arboretum, and
Director of Grounds, Swarthmore College

Jeff is an instructor at Longwood Gardens where he teaches a four-course Botany series in the Certificate in Ornamental Plants program, courses in landscape design and construction, and is an instructor for the two-year Longwood Professional Gardener program.
He has written for Fine Gardening magazine; Green Scene, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s magazine; American Nurseryman; and The Hybrid, the quarterly publication of the Scott Arboretum. He is co-founder and vice-president of the Mid-Atlantic Peony Society.
He lives in Swarthmore, PA, where he tends an ever-changing garden featuring a cottage-style border, a bog, an extensive dry-stone wall and an ever-increasing number of plants to trial.

JEFFREY P. JABCO 610-328-8294
Director of Grounds
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE, SWARTHMORE, PENNSYLVANIA 19081(610) 328-8000 FAX (610) 328-8574
Approx. cost $150.00

Recommended by Graham Boose of Garden Class of the Woman's Community Club of Uwchlan

Interested in a garden club?

Learn more about the garden clubs in District I. Look at the information on each club listed under Labels. If you would like to know more, write a Comment and someone will get back to you.

Mt. Cuba Wildflower Celebration

Join us this Sunday, April 26, 2009 for the 5th Annual Wildflower Celebration. This event will be held from 10 AM to 4 PM and is free for everyone. As usual, parking will be available at no charge at Red Clay Reservation, off Old Wilmington Rd. Signs will mark the route to the parking area.

Mt. Cuba Center is very pleased to announce a new, permanent addition to the garden. Renowned local artist, André Harvey, has created "Samara Turning with the Wind," a 13-foot tall, 600-pound cast bronze sculpture of a maple seed which has been placed in the Medallion Garden in the Lower Gum Allee. The sculpture is perched on a rock of local origin and turns gently at the slightest breeze. Attendees at Wildflower Celebration will be among the first visitors to view this magnificent creation.

Families and children will have the chance to learn more about ecologically-sound and sustainable gardening practices by visiting special activity centers. This year, topics include: Native Maples and Their Seeds, Tree Care, Glory of the Meadow, Dyeing Fibers with Native Plants, Native Plants for Dry Shade, Dogwoods, The Moss Bank and Natural Lands/Natural History. The first 500 families will receive a free potted wildflower. Enjoy live music as you stroll through the garden.

Enjoy our wildflower gardens at their peak and discover nature's landscapes in your own backyard at one of the region's most beautiful events. For more information call 302-239-4244 or go to our website at www.mtcubacenter.org