May 2026

Friday, May 1 - Saturday, May 2

Home Sweet Home, Back to Nature - Fairfield Garden Club’s flower show

Sunday, May 3

Nature’s Pearls Flower Show | Registration closes for all classes

 Monday, May 4

Board Meeting
8:30am Arrival | 9am Start
At the home of Leslie McCarthy, 6 Lantern Lane

Tuesday, May 5

Pleasure Through Plants | Mather Center and ElderHouse
10am Set Up

Monday, May 11

Photography | “The Living Garden; Bees, Butterflies and Birds” Competition
Photos must be dropped off no later than 11am
At the home of Kathy Lozier, 10 Cook Street, Rowayton

A color photograph capturing the presence of pollinators caught in natural moments in the garden. Please see the Photography landing page for details.

Tuesday, May 12

Membership Meeting | Program: TBD
9:30am Social | 10am Start
At the DCA

Floral Design | No Competition

Horticulture | No Competition
Dividing workshop to be held at the DCA immediately following the meeting. 
Please see the Horticulture landing page for details.

Community Gardens | Clean Up with Wine and Cheese
4pm | Group Planting and Staking of Signs
All hands on deck - full committee attendance expected.
At the Museum of Darien Herb Garden

Photography | “The Living Garden; Bees, Butterflies and Birds” Display

Thursday, May 14

Plan It Wild - An Ecological Approach to Landscape Design
6:30 - 8pm
At the Darien Library
Co-sponsored by Garden Club of Darien and others.
Please see link here to register.

Friday, May 15

Newsletter Deadline for the June edition
Guidelines on how to submit, click here

Horticulture | Plant Exchange
9am plant drop-off
10am plant exchange (late drop-offs allowed)
At the home of Ginger Morgan, 1 Peach Hill Rd.
Please see the Horticulture landing page for more information.

Thursday, May 21

Art in Bloom show and reception
5:30 - 8:30pm
Country Club of Darien
300 Mansfield Avenue

June 2026

Monday, June 1

Board Meeting
8:30am Arrival | 9am Start
At the home of Barbara Close, 9 Forge Road, Wilton

Nature’s Pearls Flower Show | GCD will assign Zone II clubs who have not registered for classes in floral design, horticulture and photography.

Saturday, June 6

Grandiflora Garden tour: self-guided tour of private gardens in Greenwich
Please see link here for additional information and tickets
9am - 4pm

Monday, June 8

Photography | Photo Drop Off.

GCD will be submitting one photo for the Nature’s Pearl Zone II meeting - Class 3 Nature’s Gift. Please bring your photo in the following category: A color 8” x 10” photo showcasing the overall beauty of the coastline. Plant material required. GCD members will vote on the photos at the June meeting, and the winning photo will be GCD’s entry in the Nature’s Pearl Zone II meeting.

Photos that received first place in 2025-2026 will also be exhibited at the meeting. Please drop your photos at Kathy Lozier’s house on June 8 by 11:00am, so that they can be displayed at the meeting.
At the home of Kathy Lozier, 10 Cook Street, Rowayton

Tuesday, June 9

Annual Membership Meeting and Luncheon
Tokeneke Club

Floral Design | Annual Rose Competition
Two classes: Home-grown and store-bought.
Please see the Floral Design landing page for details.

Horticulture | Rose and Early Summer Cut Stem Competition
Please see the Horticulture landing page for details.

Photography | Nature’s Pearl Class 3 Nature’s Gift photo competition - see June 8 for details.
2025-2026 First Place Photo Exhibition

Friday, June 12 — Saturday, June 13

Gardens by the Sea - A Walking Tour of Gardens in Stonington Village, CT
"Gardens by the Sea” is a walking tour of rarely seen private gardens in the historic Borough of Stonington, Connecticut, to be held on Friday, June 12, and Saturday, June 13, 2026. GCD plans to attend as a group on Friday, June 12. Please purchase your ticket here and also email gcdvisit@gmail.com that you will be attending on June 12 - group lunch to follow.

Saturday, June 13

Community Gardens | Children’s seed planting workshop at the Museum of Darien in coordination with the Darien Library. Volunteers welcome! Contact Lisa von Steulpnagel for more information.

Monday, June 29

Nature’s Pearls Flower Show | Horticulture - 3-month ownership deadline

August 2026

Monday, August 3

Nature’s Pearls Flower Show | Photography entries delivery deadline to GCD

Saturday, August 29

Nature’s Pearls Flower Show | Horticulture - one-month deadline for classes 2, 3 and 4

September 2026

Friday, September 25 - Monday, September 28

Set up for GCA Zone II Meeting
Hosted by the Garden Club of Darien
Full team effort need - please save the dates

Tuesday, September 29 - Wednesday, September 30

Nature’s Pearls ~Garden Club of America Zone II Meeting
Hosted by the Garden Club of Darien
Please save the dates - help needed from all GCD members

Tuesday, September 29

Nature’s Pearls Flower Show |
Floral Design, Botanical Arts and Horticulture entries accepted and passed
9am-12 noon

Guest registration; Flower show drop-off, passing, and floral design assembly
9am-12 noon

Judges luncheon
12 noon

Judges briefing
12:45pm

Judging begins
1pm

Flower show evaluation and refreshments
3pm

Wednesday, September 30

Nature’s Pearls Flower Show |
Refresh and maintenance of exhibits
8:30-9am

Flower show opens
8:30-9:15am

Flower show closes; all entries must be removed
4pm

October 2026

Monday, October 19-22

2026 Shirley Meneice Horticulture Conference
At the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California