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Maplewood Garden Club – Year 100 and Still Growing Strong!
Since 1927, the Maplewood Garden Club has been a hands-on garden club, open to the people of Maplewood, NJ and the surrounding communities. Meetings are held September through May at The Woodland in Maplewood at 7:30 p.m. and are open to the public.
2026-27 MGC Season
Our 2026-27 Garden Club year kicks off on September 14th 2026. We’re planning a great year, an exciting Design Exhibit theme, club trips and our usual club events. All of it cumulating in the 90th Annual Plant Sale in May. We hope to see you at our meetings and activities in this our 100th year!
Our members brought it all together for another very succesful MGC Plant Sale!
September Club Meeting:
When: Monday, September 14th, 7:30 PM
(Note: 2nd Monday in September due to holiday on 7th)
Where: The Woodland in Maplewood
Guest Speaker: Elizabeth Payne
Subject: Native (and Not So Native) Plants in Municipal Environments
Link: September Club Meeting
Native Plants in Municipal Environments
“Plant native plants, please!” is a frequent refrain from residents wanting input into plant installations around our municipalities. Sounds easy. The reality and practicality are very different. Oftentimes, what a homeowner can do versus what a municipality can do are vastly different. Elizabeth Payne is in her 7th season working for the South Orange DPW, balancing the many needs and wants of the community in making the town beautiful.
Biography: Elizabeth has been a lifelong gardener, learning classic garden design from her rosarian grandfather and vegetable gardening from her mother, and ultimately setting off for college intending to become a genetic engineer for plants. When that didn’t work out, she continued keeping her fingers in the dirt, building gardens in all sun and moisture conditions. In 2017, she received her Master Gardener certificate from Rutgers.
See our Programs page for details on this and all our guest speakers.
PLANT SWAP
If you have been busily propagating over the summer, or have some plants in need of a new home before the cold weather sets in, please bring them to the September meeting. Plants, cuttings, seeds, all are welcome. Please make sure to bring home any mate- rials that might be left at the meeting’s end.
2026-27 Design Exhibit Schedule
We have an exciting Exhibition Schedule planned. This season’s theme is Musical Inspiration of the 20th Century.
Each month we will express our interpretation of different musical genres of the 20th century through floral design. Let the rhythm and emotion of music through the decades influence your creativity when designing your arrangement. Think of “Attributes of Design” such as expression and harmony, “Elements of Design” such as use of color and advancing and receding colors, and “Principles of Design” such as balance and contrast, while you listen to music for inspiration.
September kicks off with The Roaring 20’s – Swing Music.
Please visit our Design Exhibits page for more details on this month’s design objectives and plant choices.
Remember this is all in fun, so don’t be shy and give it a try!
MGC Youth Garden!
The MGC Youth Garden received a special writeup in the Matters Magazine for the Summer 2026 issue. Our own Monika Hannemann (coined ‘enthusiastic translator of the natural world’ by Matters) received widespread recognition for raising young new garden hobbyists over the last 15+ years while running up the program. You can read more about it at the Matters Magazine website.
Congratulations Monika on receiving well deserved local recognition!
Monthly Gardening Tips – September
September brings the cooler weather with it which is a great time to start planning for next year’s garden, prepping plants for the coming winter, reorganizing your garden, planning & bulbs, and reinvigorating your grasses in prep for next Spring.
Please visit our September Gardening Tips page for a list of garden tasks you can start tackling.