education

The Andover Garden Club offers scholarships to attend any of the four GCFM Schools: Gardening School, Flower Show School, Landscape Design School, and Environmental School.

The GCFM Gardening School consists of a series of four courses. Once all course exams are passed, the student gains the designation of National Garden Club (NGC) Gardening Consultant.
The GCFM Flower Show School is a comprehensive program that teaches all you need to know about judging, entering, competing, and chairing an NGC flower show.
Students participating in the GCFM Landscape Design School acquire the tools for making their own gardens more beautiful and easier to maintain.
The GCFM Environmental Schools sponsor a series of courses with classes that investigate, challenge and explore all aspects of the environment with a focus on the interrelationships of plants, animals, insects and people. The goal of these classes is to maintain and renew an energy efficient and sustainable environment.

Along with these formal GCFM courses, the Andover Garden Club members learn from expert speaker presentations at their monthly general meetings.

A lecture by Craig Gibson discussed the winter occurrence when thousands of crows roost every evening in various locations throughout Lawrence.
Kaye Vosburgh presented tips for growing plants for the art of floral arranging.
Jen Ketell of Radiant Leaf lectured on selecting and growing drought tolerant plants for our changing New England climate.
Russell Bowers of Boston Ikebana demonstrated the technique of Ikebana floral arranging.
Curt Rogers, executive director of the Merrimack River Watershed Council, along with Matthew Cranney, the restoration program manager, provided an informative presentation about the Merrimack River, including various efforts to monitor and improve water quality.
Stacey Lee from Paeonia Design created exquisite floral arrangements using paeonies from her farm, while educating attendees on flower farming, peonies, and floral design for all kinds of special events.