Alice Hughes

Membership Update

This has been a surprisingly busy summer for Membership.  We have added two new members to our new Emeriti Category:  Sally Harvey and Sissy Gibson.  Sally and husband Bill have moved to Carlsbad, CA to be closer to family.  Sally has always been passionate about landscaping with xeric plants.  We hope she enjoys learning the native plants in her new state. 

Sissy has served as a GCA horticulture judge and also a Federated Garden Club horticulture and flower arranging judge.  She’s staying put in Denver, so hopefully we’ll be able to call on her expertise from time to time. 

Our Emeriti Members now include Muffie Dahlberg, King Dobbins, Sissy Gibson, Mel Grant, Sally Harvey, Lainie Jackson, Tinka Kurtz, Susie Sheridan and Joanne Sinclaire.

The Membership Committee is also pleased to share that we anticipate having several openings for new members in 2023.  We encourage you to begin thinking about people who would be enthusiastic, engaged and contributing additions to the Garden Club of Denver.  As noted in our new strategic plan, we are also committed to becoming a more inclusive group and we encourage you to think broadly about potential candidates.  It is important that those being proposed for membership have some familiarity with GCD and have gotten to know several current members.  To that end, we are expanding the number of open meetings we will have this year and encourage you to bring those you might propose to at least one of these events.  Both the October and November meetings will be open meetings. The October meeting will be coffee at Chief Hosa Lodge and Bill Wenk will be speaking about sustainable design.  The November meeting is lunch at the DCC and Hannah Van Ark will be speaking about plant-based eating.  Members who bring a guest will be asked to pay for their guest’s lunch.  As always, workshops are also open to guests and are a great way for candidates to get to know members.  We will share additional information about the nomination process later in the year.  For now, please just help us get to know your candidates.  If you have any questions, please reach out to Amy Slothower or Debbie Davis.

Colorado On The Road

Colorado on the Road, a joint gathering of members of the Garden Club of Denver and the Broadmoor Garden Club, met on July 12 for a day-long conservation tour of South Park hosted by Colorado Open Lands (COL) and Twelve Mile Ranch. We learned about the ecology of South Park and the efforts of COL to conserve this area.  South Park is a 1,000-square-mile high altitude grassland basin with an average elevation of 9,000 feet, surrounded by majestic mountain peaks.  It’s located in the center of the state and has many unique features, including incredible scenic views, abundant wildlife, rare alkaline fens, and globally rare plant species.  Population is sparse and most of the land is used for agriculture; both outdoor recreation and tourism are also important.

Edward Phillips Connors (1934-2022)

It is with a sad heart we pass along the news that we have lost a beloved friend of the Garden Club of Denver. Edward Phillips Connors was an Honorary Member of GCA since 1988.  He was a dedicated horticulturist, conservationist and well known speaker on Art History, English and French Gardens, Landscape Design and Wilderness Areas.  According to Brian Vogt, “Ed was a champion of the (Denver Botanic) gardens in every way.” He brightened many of our lives and many garden club events in Denver.

There will be a celebration of Eddie’s life at 11 a.m. on Saturday, October 8, at the Denver Botanic Gardens. In lieu of flowers, please make any contributions to the Denver Botanic Gardens in his name by calling 720-865-3528.