23 April
7:00 pm
The Grosse Pointe Garden Center, Inc. founded in 1950, is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to promote education, beautification, horticulture, and conservation in our community.
The GPGC is a gardening resource for the Grosse Pointes and neighboring communities. We offer public lectures by noted speakers on gardening and conservation-related topics. We also provide Master Gardener scholarships, manage the Trial Gardens, Veterans Garden, Test Garden, and Arbor Perennial Gardens located at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial, offer annual garden tours, bulb sales, workshops and many other activities and events. The Garden Center funds its many programs, projects, and activities from donations, memberships, and fundraisers.
Family Garden Fun Day: We had a very successful event for our Family Garden workshop on April 13 at Kerby Elementary School. There were horticultural experts for the adults to talk with and learn about garden best practices while the children were involved in lots of fun educational activities. The program was enjoyed by all.
How to Make a Butterfly Garden: John Blair shares his expertise and describes his journey in creating a beautiful pollinator garden on his rural 3,000-acre property in Brooklyn, MI. Learn some important design elements to create your own butterfly garden. Our Trial Gardens theme for 2024 is “A Butterfly Garden;” participating garden clubs will definitely want to attend this program! Thursday, May 2, 7:00 p.m. in the Reception Room at the War Memorial. Click here to register.
32nd Annual Garden Tour: Gardeners Create Community is the theme of our 2024 Garden Tour on Friday & Saturday, June 21 & 22, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Rain or Shine. Visit 7 lovely private gardens, enjoy complimentary refreshments, our Garden Shoppe and Native Plant Sale, take part in our scavenger hunt to win a prize, get questions answered by garden docents and at our Master Gardener table, win an exciting prize in our Tour Raffle, and enjoy local artists capturing garden scenes. Tickets are $15 pre-tour and $20 tour days. Advanced tickets are now available online and will be at ticket sellers after Memorial Day. Click here for tickets.
2024 Trial Gardens Theme: Grosse Pointe Farm & Garden announced the new competition theme for our 2024 Trial Gardens at our Annual Meeting: A Butterfly Garden. Clubs must meet 6 criteria: provide a water source, include a milkweed plant, include an herb, must have at least one shrub, must provide nectar-rich plants, and have multiple varieties of annuals. The gardens will be planted in late May.
Annual Trial Gardens Awards Tea: is Friday, September 20 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. in the Dining and Reception rooms at the War Memorial. Enjoy a sumptuous Tea, learn the top three Garden designs, followed by a horticultural speaker. Details will be available soon.
Chamber of Commerce Annual Breakfast and Awards 2024: The Garden Center is a member of the Grosse Pointe Chamber of Commerce. This year the Garden Center sponsored the Chamber’s Annual Breakfast which was on February 29 at the War Memorial.
Historic Irises: Preserving Beauty from the Past was a very informative program presented by Cathy Egerer, past President and current Outreach Coordinator of the Historic Iris Preservation Society (HIPS), a sub-section of the American Iris Society. Members who attended the lecture and need the handout, login to our Gardeners Resource Articles section to download the handout. Non-members who registered and paid for the program may email the Garden Center at gpgardencenter@outlook.com to request the handout. Also, there is a lot of information on the Historic Iris Preservation website.
Annual Meeting and Luncheon: was Friday, January 19, 2024 with featured speaker, Joseph Ferraro, presenting Beyond the Blooms, a Closer Look at Insects. We thank everyone for coming out in inclement weather, however attendance was almost at full capacity for a lovely luncheon, meeting, concluding with an intriguing presentation by Joseph Ferraro. It is clear from his enthusiasm that he loves what has become his profession of macro photography and giving us a glimpse into the micro-world of insects. We thank Mr. Ferraro for a fascinating program enjoyed by our audience.
Third Annual Legacy Seminar: was held Saturday, February 10, 2024 Two featured speakers, both very experienced horticulturists, Annamaria Leon and Roy Diblik, gave very informative presentations on their specialties. Annamaria, a certified permaculture designer and teacher, talked about Permaculture and Beyond. Her husband Roy is a renowned plantsman, co-founder of Northwind Perennial Farm, designer, and major grower for Piet Oudolf. He discussed Becoming the Cultural Gardener.
Garden Education Workshops is a Garden Center outreach initiative in cooperation with community schools and institutions to provide education and hands-on workshops on gardening basics for our youth. We maintain raised garden beds at The Helm at the Boll Life Center for an inter-generational gardening workshop bringing seniors and youth together. The Garden Center and the Ford House collaborated on a project: Explorers: An Education Garden Workshop for children of all ages. If you are interested in volunteering for any of our workshops, please contact us or call 313-499-0743.
