Did You know that April 2023 was declared “Native Plant Month” by New York State? 

As part of a Garden Club of America-wide initiative, we are looking to increase recognition of the critical role native plants play in supporting a healthy environment, thriving wildlife and pollinator populations, reducing the use of pesticides and fertilizers, and cleaning air and water.

Elina Thatcher and Sheri ZeKraus, Lisa de Guzman and Phoebe de Guzman created an illustrative and handy brochure called Plant This! Not That!, to promote the use of natives in our yards. This full-color PDF which gives information about each plant—and what it is a great alternative for and can be found under "Native Plant" on our website at: threeharborsgardenclub.org.

Our club was thrilled to partner with the Lloyd Harbor Conservation Commission to host a fun and informative evening about native plants in April with Edwina von Gal, a prominent landscape designer and founder of the Perfect Earth Project-perfectearthproject.org. Her presentation outlined the benefits of biodiversity and how we can view native plantings and landscapes with a new lens. Lisa De Guzman from the Three Harbors Garden Club and Corine Perotta from the Lloyd Harbor Conservation Committee collaborated to create a wonderful event at the Seminary of Immaculate Conception, complete with an hour of wine, cheese, cocktails and mingling beforehand in a beautiful setting. We were also excited to have Lloyd Harbor’s Mayor, Jean Thatcher, on hand to introduce the event and Joy Flynn, Garden Club of America's Zone III Conservation Representative. 

Also, in April, Three Harbors Garden Club brought cheer and a little something unexpected as we flashed our local community of Huntington with a rainbow of colors. Inspired by New York Floral Designer Lewis Miller’s Flower Flashes, our members collected flowers targeted for the trash and added natural elements from our yards, such as rhododendrons, pine, boxwood, juniper, and pussy willow. Our creative members then repurposed them into a large-scale floral design to express love for our hometown and appreciation for community members. 

The flower flash was located at the corner of Wall Street and Gerard Street (near the AMC Movie Theater) and utilized the graphic art on the utility box to create this one-of-a-kind piece. Elizabeth Benson-DuMaurier, Ellie Harrison, and Mandy Dalal lead our group from a beautiful design concept to an amazing final piece.

In March, our members gathered at West Neck Beach for our 2nd Annual Beach Clean Up.  We collected over 30 bags of plastics and other toxic materials. The litter we picked up meant many fewer pieces that could end up in our oceans. Marine debris is a huge problem. Beach cleanup projects protect our aquatic ecosystems from the harmful effects of pollution. 

Jeanann Suter, Dawn Titcomb, and Pat Wolfert organized our group and supplied compostable gloves, bags and reusable garbage grabbers, which made clean-up a breeze.

Learn more about us on our club's mission on our website at threeharborsgardenclub.org.