🌱 The Grow & Show Garden Club of Interlaken

🌸 2026–2027 Theme

“Seeds of Today, the Gardens of Tomorrow” — “250 years and our gardens are still growing!”

“A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all, it teaches entire trust.” — Gertrude Jekyll

Gertrude Jekyll was an influential British horticulturist from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. She was a garden designer and artist who defined the quintessential “English Country Garden” style. She revolutionized landscape design by moving away from stiff Victorian layouts in favor of natural, painterly planting schemes and harmonious color palettes.

👥 Club Officers & Committees

Membership: about 35 members · Federated 1954 · Garden Club of New Jersey, District VIII

• Co-Presidents: Freddie Brown, Doreen Ryan
• Treasurer / Membership: Nancy Flanigan, Amanda Proscia
• Corresponding Secretary: Jeri DiMaggio
• Recording Secretary: Denise Sobotka

Special Committees

• Boro Hall Civic Plantings: Rose Coyne, Irene Joyce
• Planting Coordinator (Alternate Sites): Pam Angeles
• Historian: Linda Reeves
• Sunshine: Rose Coyne
• Program Coordinator: Linda Reeves
• Yearbook: Rose Venezia
• Hospitality: Marianne Casella, Dana DiBona

💌 Message from the Co-Presidents

Freddie Brown & Doreen Ryan

Dear Friends,

Growing relies on some terrific thoughts and ideas, a bit of knowledge, a lot of patience, tons of courage, and the help of many. In many ways, we look to the past and appreciate those bold and courageous gardeners that came before us. We must never be afraid to try. We might succeed, but even failing teaches us so many lessons that we might wonder how we got here without those lessons well learned.

What Gertrude Jekyll (our cover quote saying a garden is a grand teacher) teaches us about gardens is that we are all students, not masters. We have so much to learn and gardening is the humble teacher. When you garden, you are never old, you are never from a time that has past, you simply cease to age. It is because a garden inspires growth—in fact, it depends on it.

When you garden, you commit to living, and you will always be immortalized in the things you have planted, because they live on. You understand that growing can only be associated with becoming more beautiful. You cannot garden quickly. There is always something more to do. A garden, like your child, needs your attention and your ingenuity. You prepare and shape and plant and water and feed—and then you look back in pride at that piece of you and what you’ve accomplished.

This year, let’s lean on each other and put our hearts and souls into living, and the living things we sow.

— Freddie Brown and Doreen Ryan

📋 General Meeting Information

Executive Board Meetings are held on Wednesdays, as needed, before the monthly meeting—usually the second Wednesday of the month, September through June—and, unless otherwise noted, at Interlaken Borough Hall, 100 Grasmere Avenue, Interlaken, NJ 07712 · (732) 531-7405.

Duties of Club Members

• Participate in workshops and serve on at least one or more committees.
• Help plant and maintain garden club plantings.
• Attend and contribute to fundraisers.
• Volunteer in Hospitality Committee activities by bringing a refreshment for one meeting.
• Pay annual dues of $40.00 (Zelle: Growshowinterlaken@gmail.com).
• Cover costs of guests when applicable.

🗓️ Special Interest Calendar

Flower shows and garden events of interest beyond our club calendar:

• Joyful Harvest Flower Show — The Neshanic Garden Club, Inc., Hillsborough Municipal Building, 379 South Branch Road, Hillsborough, NJ. Sept. 11, 2026 (1–7pm) – Sept. 12, 2026 (10am–2pm).
• Color Me Autumn Flower Show — West Trenton Garden Club, Ewing Covenant Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, 100 Scotch Road, Ewing, NJ. Sept. 18, 2026 (1–6pm) – Sept. 19, 2026 (9am–3pm).
• Garden Club of Montclair Flower Show — A Century in Bloom (100th Anniversary) at Van Vleck House & Gardens, 21 Van Vleck St, Montclair, NJ. Sept. 25–27, 2026.
• New Jersey Home & Garden Show — NJ Convention & Exposition Center, 97 Sunfield Avenue, Edison, NJ. Feb. 19–21, 2027.
• Philadelphia Flower Show — Pennsylvania Convention Center, 1101 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA. March 13–27, 2027.

🌿 Continuing Club Projects for 2026–2027

• Provide seasonal plantings for the Interlaken Borough Hall planter, gardens, and town hall sign
• Collect canned and non-perishable foods (November meeting)
• Assist the Shade Tree Commission of Interlaken in maintaining the Arboretum
• Maintain plantings at Wright Brothers Sign (Bridlemere Ave)
• Maintain plantings at the Blue Star Site
• Prepare and maintain plantings at various “Triangle” sites
• Use the “Pass the Can” project to replenish areas devastated by natural disasters
• Collect and donate toiletries for The Center in Asbury Park and personal hygiene products to I Support The Girls (ISTG)

Donations

A budget of $400+ is distributed to the following organizations:

• $100 — Interfaith Neighbors / Garden Effort
• $100 — Fulfill NJ
• $100 — Jersey Shore Rescue Mission
• $100 — SPCA
• Plus “Pass the Can” at monthly meetings for the Garden Club of NJ

🏛️ Past Presidents