LETTERS

Jeanette Heidrich and Flip Caldwell, members of Woodside-Atherton Garden Club in Zone XII, formed the Plants and Health Discussion Group based on the premise that “everyone’s health benefits from plants.” Take a peek at what they’ve been up to on the Club Member Showcase.

At the Zone XI meeting in September, Lisa Philander, director and curator of the University of Minnesota’s College of Botanical Sciences Conservatory, spoke about “The Roots to Healing.” “Humans have created a codependent relationship with plants, we are inextricably linked,” she said. “During Covid, people turned to gardening because it gave them hope and some degree of control over a situation totally beyond our control.”

According to The Garden Club of America: 100 Years of a Growing Legacy, by William Seale, the first GCA Founders Fund grants were made in 1938 to fund publication of a translation of The Badianus Manuscript, an Aztec medicinal notebook written in 1552. It was on loan to the Smithsonian Institution from the Vatican Library and described the medicinal properties of various plants and native herbs used by the Aztecs.

Cassandra Quave, one of the 2020 Shirley Meneice Horticulture Conference keynote speakers, was also a 2007 GCA scholar. She leads anti-infective drug discovery research initiatives and teaches courses on medicinal plants, food, and health at Emory University, where she is the herbarium curator and an associate professor of dermatology and human health. Quave is the author of a new book, The Plant Hunter: A Scientist’s Quest for Nature’s Next Medicines (Viking, 2021), an adventure-filled memoir that weaves together science, botany, and her own story to shed light on the important—and often overlooked—connection to the natural world, especially regarding the potential power of medicinal plants.

Dr. Mark Plotkin, a renowned ethnobotanist, has studied traditional indigenous plant use with elder shamans of Central and South America

GCA President Debbie Oliver. Photo courtesy of Sarah Hazelgrove

for over 30 years. His latest book, The Amazon: What Everyone Needs to Know, offers an engaging overview of this irreplaceable ecosystem and the challenges it faces. His earlier book, Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice, details his investigation into the healing power of plants.

Paul Alan Cox, the recipient of the GCA’s 2019 Eloise Payne Luquer Medal, speaks passionately about how our past and our future are deeply intertwined with plants. Richard Louv, the 2020 recipient of the Margaret Douglas Conservation Medal, maintains that a connection to nature is imperative for both physical and emotional wellbeing.

Our earliest human ancestors found plants to heal wounds, cure diseases, and ease troubled minds. There seems to be a renewed interest in the restorative nature of plants on health and wellbeing. Doesn’t all of this circle back to the GCA’s mission? Bringing clubs together to cultivate the bond among people, plants, and the environment.

Let’s continue to explore nature and champion the power of plants.

Debbie Oliver

Debbie Oliver, GCA President, 2021-2023

My mom often shares that when I was young my favorite time of year was “Funtender.” It started with the first morning going back to school, progressed through gathering around the TV watching the Colts over Thanksgiving, and went straight into the first big snowfall of winter. And while Funtender has changed through the years, it is still a time of wonder and discovery. Now Funtender fun comes from making my yard a home for the wildlife that shares our space. It means a messier, richer landscape and a closer look at the everyday mysteries of nature. My favorite fox just reappeared, and the bluebirds are back in force.

Now, Funtender brings the hush of fall and my way to garden, create, advocate.

Ginny Levy, Horticulture Committee Chairman (2021-2023), The West Chester Garden Club, Zone V

“There seems to be

Frederick Law Olmsted knew the correlation between exposure to nature and well-being; he was determined that everyone understand that access to clean, green space could profoundly impact both body and soul. The GCA joins Olmsted 200 in celebrating this brilliant visionary by commemorating the bicentennial of his birth in 2022. In this TRD issue, read more about FLO and his philosophy on democratizing nature on page 12. And don’t miss our FLO-inspired propagation challenge, detailed on page 7; it dovetails nicely with the 2022 Shirley Meneice Horticulture Conference next fall, which Zone I elves are busy planning. Dr. Aruni Bhatnagar spoke at the NAL conference in 2020. Widely regarded as spearheading the new field of environmental cardiology, Dr. B’s presentation resonated with everyone in attendance, so we invited him to contribute to our fall issue. Don’t miss his exploration of the benefits of nature—to cardiac health in particular—and his inspiring profile on Louisville’s Green Heart Institute, on page 15. Also in our pages, we recap the highly successful Shirley Meneice Horticulture Conference and present a holiday gift guide, courtesy of members of the Hort Committee.

Thanks to my fearless team who helped make this TRD issue happen, especially Dawn Borgeest, Peggy Mayfield, Brenda Barrett, and Jane Gamber.

Happy Gardening!

Madeline Mayhood, Horticulture Committee Vice Chairman, Editor, The Real Dirt, The James River Garden Club, Zone VII