Canton Garden Club Projects

CIVIC BEAUTIFICATION

CGC plants seasonal flowers at the watering troughs, the “Welcome to

Canton” flower boxes, and the boxes at the Historical Society, Armando Center and Canton Library. We

maintain our Memorial Garden in the courtyard of Northern Spy at the Paul Revere Heritage site. In May,

members are asked to sign up to water and maintain these town plantings during the summer and early

fall. On Friday, June 24, 2026 in observance of Arbor Day, a tree will be planted at the Armando Center.

Co-Chairs: Maribel Powell & Diann Silvia

GARDEN THERAPY

Floral workshops with the Senior Citizens are held every other month on the 3rd

Thursday at 2pm. All are welcome!

Chair: Joan Marie Driscoll & Maureen Galvin

CANTON FARMERS MARKET

At the first and last market of the year, CGC has a table to promote

the club and encourage individuals to join. In June, we sell any leftover plants from the Annual Plant Sale

and in October, we encourage attendees to create their own mini fall floral arrangements.

Chair: TBD

PRE-ORDER HOLIDAY GREENS

Our on-line event Festive Wreaths and Holiday Decor will go

live in early October and close mid November.

Co-Chairs: TBD

DECORATE A WREATH

to be held Saturday, November 29th from 10am-3pm at the Senior Center.

All are welcome to start the holiday off with decorating their own holiday wreath with family & friends.

New offering this year: Learn how to make a boxwood tree.

Chair: Joan Marie Driscoll

ARTISTS IN BLOOM

In conjunction with the Canton Public Schools, to be held March 2027 at the

Canton Library. Student artwork is interpreted in beautiful floral arrangements created by CGC members.

Proceeds go to a scholarship for a graduating senior pursuing further education in the visual arts.

Chair: TBD

ANNUAL PLANT SALE

Our annual plant sale will be on Saturday, May 16, 2026 at the Armando

Center. Members are encouraged to divide & donate their perennials to the plant sale, as well as to

participate on the day of the event. All proceeds go to civic beautification and our scholarship fund.

Co-Chair: TBD

Garden Tour

The garden tour is scheduled for Saturday, June 20, 2026. Enjoy a tour of several

local gardens. All proceeds go to civic beautification and our annual scholarship fund.

Co-Chair: Joan Marie Driscoll & Roxy Gray

Canton Garden Club Supports

Canton Public Library- add a link to CP Library

Friends of the Arnold Arboretum- add a link to Arnold Arboretum

Massachusetts Audubon Society- add a link to Mass Audubon

Shriner’s Hospital Pull-Tab Project

NCG Plant a Tree Project (see below)

National Garden Club-Planting Trees and Saving Forests

For many years, National Garden Clubs, Inc. and the USDA Forest Service have maintained a partnership sustaining our national forests through the Plant-A-Tree program. Plant-A-Tree, formerly known as Penny Pines, is a reforestation and forest education program.

Your garden club can participate by contributing to this meaningful conservation project. All contributions help the Forest Service to plant trees across the national forest system where reforestation is needed most—the places most impacted by wildfires, flooding, drought, and other forest disturbances.

From Penny Pines to Plant-A-Tree

As some of you may already be familiar with this program when it was called Penny Pines, the new name "Plant-A-Tree" better reflects the program's mission and will help us reach a wider audience. Additionally, we are also making changes to the donation process to make it more accessible and user-friendly. Even if you are already familiar with the original Penny Pines program, please read through the changes below.

DONATION AMOUNT Previously, we required donations in increments of $68.00. Donors can now contribute any amount, starting from as little as $50.00 to as large as $10,000.00. This change provides greater flexibility for donors and enables a wider range of people to participate in the program.
CERTIFICATES IMPORTANT UPDATE: DIGITAL CERTIFICATES ONLY – As of May 31, 2025, NGC no longer mails certificates and has fully transitioned to a digital format.
An email address is required with each donation to receive a tax receipt and a link to a customizable digital certificate. Donors can opt to make a certificate in honor or in memory of someone if desired, however we no longer need to collect this information. We assure you that your privacy and personal information will be handled with the utmost care and security.
DONATING TO SPECIFIED FORESTS When donating, you may choose to have your donation go to where it's most needed or you may select a National Forest; however, the Forest Service reserves the right to utilize funds based on need. If you specify a National Forest where there is no tree planting need, then the donation may be used for planting trees on another forest. *Please note, individual plantings will not be identified per donor (ex: if you donate to a forest, you would be unable to locate a specific tree that you helped donate).

Once again, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks for your support and dedication to our reforestation efforts. Your contributions make a real and lasting impact, and we are honored to have you as part of our garden club community and are grateful for your partnership in this important work.

States, regions, districts, clubs, and/or individuals may participate in this program. Please note, a $50.00 minimum is required with each donation.

How to Participate

DONATE ONLINE

Donating online is the preferred way of donating as it is a great way to reduce paper waste. For online donations, we accept Debit Card, Credit Card, PayPal, and Venmo.

DONATE BY MAIL

For those who still wish to donate by check, use the link below to access the paper form. Mail in the completed form with a check made payable to "NGC Plant-A-Tree" to the address below:

National Garden Clubs, Inc.
National Headquarters
4401 Magnolia Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63110-3492

Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts- Plant A Tree Contest

The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts- Giving Back

The importance of Giving Back has been a key objective of the Canton Garden Club for many years. When the Federation started the Pull-Tab Project, the Board of Gardener’s saw a stress-free way we could help others. We began collecting aluminum tabs at every meeting and recently the question was raised as to why we collect the tabs. The edited article below gives an overview on how and why the Federation has taken on this charity. Let’s continue to remember to bring our tabs to every meeting! "Tab-ulation" By Margot Eckert As published in the GCFM Mayflower & SGC Iris Pedlar October 2021 (with edits) The gardeners of Massachusetts have “pulled” through again with over 60 pounds of pull-tabs collected and delivered to the Shriner’s Hospital in Springfield. For those of you new to the Pull-Tab Project, here is some background. Shriners Hospitals for Children, located throughout North America, have been serving children with complex and specialized healthcare needs since 1922. These include orthopedic and neuromuscular conditions and burn injuries to name just a few. As part of that commitment, all care and services are provided regardless of a family's ability to pay or insurance status. We are indeed fortunate to have a Shriners Hospital here in Springfield. To provide the care and research to accomplish its mission, the Shriner’s network has fundraisers and accepts donations. Aluminum pull-tabs are among the donations accepted. I asked how a tiny tab could count for anything. After all, a single tab in your palm hardly weighs anything. It was explained to me that the thousands of tabs collected at the Shriners Hospital in Springfield are periodically collected by a metal recycling company which converts the weight to the prevailing value for aluminum. Then a monetary donation – the value of the tabs at that time – is returned to Shriners Hospital to fulfill one of their many needs. The over 7 large contractor bags full of tabs were collected at the 2023 GCFM Annual Luncheon and than driven to the delivery dock at Shriners Hospital. At some point, the tabs from our clubs will be collected with other tab donations, and converted to dollars for pediatric equipment, child life programs, or whatever are the current needs as determined by the local chapter of The Ladies Oriental Shrine of North America Helma Court No. 64 which oversees the recycling tabs project for the hospital. Every little tab helps.

Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts

PULL-TABS FOR SHRINERS HOSPITALS An Easy Recycling Project That Helps Families Shriners Hospitals for Children, located throughout North America, have been serving children with complex and spe cialized healthcare needs since 1922. These include ortho pedic and neuromuscular conditions and burn injuries to name just a few. As part of that commitment, all care and services are provided regardless of a family's ability to pay or insurance status. Massachusetts is indeed fortunate to have a Shriners Hospital in Springfield. To provide the care and research to accomplish its mission, the Shriner’s net work has fundraisers and accepts donations. Aluminum pull-tabs are among the donations accepted. How can collecting aluminum can tabs make a difference? The thousands of tabs collected at the Shriners Hospital in Springfield are periodically collected by a metal recycling company which converts the weight to the prevailing value for aluminum. Then a mon etary donation – the value of the tabs at that time – is returned to Shriners Hospital to fulfill one of their many needs. What is the process? A. Designate a member to handle the process for your club B. Pull tabs can be collected at club meetings all year long Submitting the tabs – at your convenience: 1) Bring them to your District Director at your yearly Fall District Coffee Meeting 2) Bring them to the Annual Meeting in June 3) Give them to your District Director when they might visit your Club Meeting 4) Coordinate with Beate Bolen, Springfield Garden Club, beatebolen@gmail.com