Civic Improvements and Grants

The Civic Improvement & Grants Committee provides guidance and administers monetary grants to projects in local communities whose efforts are in line with the GCA’s purpose, vision, mission, and values.

- Garden Club of America

Shelby Forest Wildflower Trail

Memphis Garden Club was instrumental in the establishment of Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park. In 1937, Memphis Garden Club received the Garden Club of America Founder’s Fund Award for planting a wildflower trail in the new park.

Mid-South Garden guide

First published in 1954, The Mid-South Garden Guide is still considered an essential handbook for gardening.

Purchase Mid-South Garden Guide on Amazon

Memphis Botanic Garden

Memphis Garden Club led efforts to help establish the Goldsmith Civic Garden Center, now known as Memphis Botanic Gardens, and has funded and renovated many gardens including the container garden, volunteer greenhouse, sculpture garden, and water garden from 1965 until present day.

Riverwoods

Memphis Garden Club gifted land to the Wolf River Conservancy with a conservation easement held by Ducks Unlimited to ensure the lands within Riverwoods would remain greenways.

Dixon Gallery and Gardens

Memphis Garden Club funded the Dixon Gallery and Gardens Cutting Garden as an educational and horticultural resource for the public. The garden also provides plant material for Memphis Garden Club members to use as they design floral arrangements weekly for the Dixon residence.

Memphis Flower Show

Biennially, Memphis Garden Club and Dixon Gallery and Gardens hold a Garden Club of America Major Flower Show that offers exhibits in horticulture, floral design, photography, botanical arts, conservation and education.

Phoebe Cook Lecture Series

The Phoebe Cook Lecture Series is an annual lecture that is free and open to the public at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens and supported by the Memphis Garden Club. National and international speakers lecture and demonstrate in the areas of floral design, landscape architecture and conservation.

Church Health Community Garden

Memphis Garden Club collaborated with Church Health, Big Green Educational Projects and the UT Health Sciences Rehabilitation at Crosstown Concourse to develop garden beds for food and wellness support. In 2024, Memphis Garden Club was a finalist for Garden Club of America’s Founder Fund and received funds to build the Founder’s Fund Church Health Pavilion at the garden.

Our Annual Impact in 2025

$2500 to The Dixon Gallery and Gardens for five new Dosatron Injectors

$2900 to The Memphis Botanic Garden for tree maintenance and the replacement of the Japanese Maple

$2500 to The Wolf River Conservancy as part of the restoration series for planting 1000 native trees

$2550 Grant from the Garden Club of America gifted to the Church Health Native Perennial Garden

Scholarship

The GCA Scholarship Committee was established to facilitate the administration of GCA scholarships and educational programs and to help achieve greater awareness of these scholarships and programs within and outside GCA membership.

- Garden Club of America

MGC Scholarship Recipients

Cathy Justis

Cathy was awarded the Hull Award in 2020. Cathy Justis is the Director of Education for the Wolf River Conservancy in Memphis, Tennessee. With an emphasis on water education, she provides a wide range of programming for K-12 students and others. Her activities are designed to provide Memphis and Shelby County youth with a greater appreciation of the natural environment, especially a better understanding of the source of clean drinking water. Justis also is certified to teach “Project WET” workshops, designed to provide educators at all levels with information on diverse water topics so that they can reach children with objective, science-based water education.