Gallery--Events 2026
FGC FIELD TRIP TO PINE HILL NURSERY
Tuesday, June 2, 2026
Our field trip to Pine Hill Nursery was truly amazing! Not only did Pine Hill have just about every imaginable plant you could possibly want for a pollinator garden and then some, but we experienced a truly, delightful, enthusiastic speaker, Lauri Juday, who is a pollinator garden consultant. She was inspiring. She impressed upon us the great urgency and need there is for "Monarch Waystations." Milkweeds and nectar sources are declining due to wide use of herbicides and development which represent in the decrease of approximately the size of the state of Illinois every sixteen years! Monarchs need our help.
To offset the loss of nectar sources and milkweeds, we need to create, conserve and protect monarch butterfly habitats by creating Monarch Waystations in our home gardens. For more information, contact: MONARCHWATCH.ORG
FGC EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH PROGRAM
Poster Contest: "Who Lives in a Tree"
Taught by The Friendly Garden Club Youth Gardening Committee Members
The Youth Gardening Educational Outreach Program presented a poster contest, "Who Lives in a Tree," at the Montessori School on May 8th. The targeted age group for this program was 7-10 year old's. Several members from The Friendly Garden Club read and taught a short lesson.
There were a total of 128 entries with six winners chosen blindly by the judges: three 1st place winners and three runners-up. They will each receive a gift card to Horizon Books for their favorite book!!
Poster Contest: "Who Lives in a Tree"
1st Place Winners
First Place - 7 yr
First Place - 8 yr
First Place - 9-10 yr
CSG EDUCATIONAL CITRONELLA CLASS
Taught by The Friendly Garden Club--Janet Hickman & Leo, Instructors
Click on the photos to enlarge them.
Updates to CSG
Check out the new additions to the Children's Sensory Garden!
The Children’s Sensory Garden has gotten some new additions as well this spring. The addition of the entrance gate and new arbors have been added to the Maze area, which enhances the flow of the maze. Everything is starting to bloom and all the planting efforts from last year are starting to appear.
Updates to Our Giving Garden
Check out the new additions to Our Giving Garden--raised beds!
To better support our educational programs at the Giving Garden new wheel chair accessible containers were purchased. The committee is hard at work preparing, planting, and tending to Our Giving Garden to get ready for more of our educational programs.
Landscape Design School
April 23-24, 2026
Kudos to Janet Hickman, Terry Harding, Sue Soderberg, Marilyn Astroth, Marilyn Rebant, and Mary Melvin for a wonderful Landscape Design Course I program. Speakers Tim Banfield and Matthew Ross were excellent speakers explaining the history of landscape design to more recent trends. Course 2 will be on October 8-9, 2026.
2025 MEMORABLE EVENTS
HONORS LUNCHEON
September 18, 2025
THE CHILDREN'S SENSORY GARDEN GRAND OPENING
August 10, 2025
After six years in the making the Children's Sensory Garden (CSG) had its "Grand Opening" on Sunday, August 10. It all started with a vision by The Friendly Garden Club of Traverse City to create a living legacy for our community. With help from Mark Polinko, our landscape architect, and our collaboration with The Botanic Garden, the CSG finally became a reality yesterday. The Friendly Garden Club and The Botanic Garden are extremely happy for all of you who helped us along the way! Please come and enjoy this beautiful space, and let us be proud of what we created!
