Do not miss Milwaukee Area Open Days 2024!
ABOUT GCGM
A Note from the President:
Welcome to the website of the Garden Club of Greater Milwaukee (GCGM). The GCGM has a rich history dating back to the early 20th century when gardeners were influenced by English garden styles featuring large perennial beds and even larger lawns. Today we value the return to native plants, prairies and ecosystems that support our dwindling native species.
GCGM, a non-profit organization, is proud of our focus on community outreach through our work with area schools, urban gardens, and local parks. Club members volunteer at Alice’s Garden, Lakeshore State Park, Habitat for Humanity and projects that support community school educational programs. We are currently working with Riley School, a Milwaukee Public elementary school teaching the Montessori method, to offer nature programs hosted by the Schlitz Audubon Center. The students learn about and experience interaction with birds living in the state of Wisconsin .
We are pleased to increase our scholarship program threefold to $15,000 in 2024. We will be awarding scholarships to university students, technical and trade school students, and participants in a landscape and horticultural program that requires specific participatory projects through the UW system.
Our Program Committee has assembled a broad array of speakers and presentations on a variety of topics this year. Our goal is to engage as many of our members as possible through participation in a program, a volunteer effort, a workshop, a garden tour, or one of our many field trips and “pop-up” events.
I hope you consider joining us or a garden club near you. Best wishes for a wonderful and productive year in your personal garden of learning and growing.
Nancy Cody
President, GCGM
Our Mission
Garden Club of Greater Milwaukee’s mission is to educate members and the community about the art and science of gardening, floral design, landscape design, and horticulture.
We embrace best practices that promote sustainability, protect the environment, and conserve our natural resources.
We volunteer in our community to share our passion for the natural world.
Our Story
The Garden Club of Greater Milwaukee, Inc. (GCGM) was originally founded in 1921 as the Milwaukee Art Museum Garden Club. In 2022, we incorporated as a separate entity and remain the largest garden club in Wisconsin currently 190 members strong. Members of the Garden Club of Greater Milwaukee are proud to continue a long, rich history of conservation, education, and community service.
GCGM offers extensive programming designed to educate and intrigue our members, inviting speakers in many areas including horticulture, landscape design, environmental issues, and photography. Some of these lectures are on Zoom, which allows GCGM to engage speakers with a national reputation. GCGM also has hands-on workshops and member trips to notable public gardens and wild places, as well as a once yearly tour of member gardens, “Welcome to My Garden”.
Current community service projects include providing volunteers and monetary support to Lakeshore State Park, Alice’s Garden, MPS’s Riley School and the yearly Habitat for Humanity Plant Share. In 2024, we will award $15,000 worth of scholarships to students studying horticultural, environmental or agricultural subjects in Wisconsin colleges, universities and technical schools.
In 2021, GCGM entered into a partnership with The Garden Conservancy to allow members of the public to visit extraordinary private gardens in the greater Milwaukee area as part of its nationally recognized Open Days program. The Open Days program is our primary fund raising event.
At the heart of GCGM’s success is the hard work of our volunteer members, without whom there would be no Garden Club. From August to December 2023, 175 members volunteered 721 hours. Many thanks to all who volunteered!