About Us

Our Story

Nearly a century of cultivating gardens, community, and environmental stewardship in Concord.

Our Mission

Growing Gardens. Cultivating knowledge. Serving Community.

The mission of the Garden Club of Concord is to promote the appreciation of and to aid in the preservation, restoration and development of gardens and the natural environment in the Concord community through education and community service projects.

Founded in 1928, the Garden Club of Concord meets monthly from September to June for a range of activities, including educational programs, community service projects, workshops and field trips. Over the years we have worked with the Concord Council on Aging, Concord Free Public Library, Concord Museum, Emerson House, Emerson Health, Minuteman National Historic Park, the Old Manse, the Town and the wider community.

The Garden Club of Concord is a member of the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts

Years of Service

Active Members

Grants Awarded

Gardens Planted

Community Partners

Working Across Concord

For nearly a century we\u2019ve collaborated with the institutions that shape our town.

Concord Free Public Library
Concord Museum
Emerson House
Emerson Hospital
Minuteman National Historic Park
Concord Housing Authority
Town of Concord
What We Do

Programs & Traditions

A year-round calendar of projects that beautify Concord, support our neighbors, and fund community grants.

Ag Day (September)

Each September, the Garden Club participates in Concord’s Ag Day, a farmer’s market type event held on a Saturday on Main Street in Concord Center. A booth is set up where Club members are ready and able to answer questions and provide information about a range of general gardening topics. We are eager to help visitors learn about native plants, trees and pollinators. Ag Day is also an opportunity to share what we do for the Concord community and engage with potential members. Our grants program is featured at Ag Day to provide information about Concord community grant recipients and encourage small public-minded projects to apply.

Arbor Day (April)

As a way of celebrating Arbor Day, annually in April the Club works with Concord’s town’s arborist to select and donate a tree to be planted at a community site. Over the years the Club has gifted a variety of trees to Concord including a Princeton Elm, yellowwood tree, red maple, and a Wildfire Black Gum tree.

MFA Art in Bloom (April/May)

Every spring, two talented Club members help celebrate the return of Spring by creating a floral arrangement to complement a piece of art featured at the Museum of Fine Arts’ annual Art in Bloom. The arrangement aims to provide a creative floral interpretation associated with that paired piece of art.

Cans for Caring Workshop (December)

In early December, Club members gather together to create festive arrangements of boxwood greens and holiday decorations, transforming them into “holiday trees” to distribute to recipients of the Meals on Wheels Program through Minuteman Senior Services; a delightful way of bringing holiday cheer to all. This event is always a Club favorite and much enjoyed by all who attend.

Concord Museum Holiday Family Tree (November-December)

Each holiday season, the Club participates in “Family Trees,” which is hosted by the Concord Museum. For Family Trees, the Club selects a garden-themed children’s book and Club members create and install hand-made holiday tree decorations that are inspired by the theme of the book and executed masterfully and whimsically for the enjoyment of all visitors to the museum, young and old. The museum’s Family Trees is enjoyed late November through early January.

Council on Aging Holiday Workshop (December)

Each December a dedicated committee hosts a holiday workshop at the Council on Aging, a much anticipated event where COA members come together to create holiday arrangements consisting of greens and long-lasting fresh cut flowers. When completed, participants take their holiday creations home for enjoyment throughout the season. A delightful project for this time of year!

Town Holiday Wreaths (December)

In early December, a committee of Club members create and install over 20 holiday wreaths on municipal buildings throughout Concord. This creative committee enjoys tweaking the theme every year; it is always a fun event to kick off the holiday season by helping to enhance town entrances by adding holiday cheer.

Spring Outreach Project (March)

Every March, Club members gather to create a “touch of spring” after winter months with fresh flower arrangements that are delivered to approximately 150 Concord residents referred by local nonprofits and agencies. This large-scale project relies on the work of several committees to design arrangements and acquire the flowers, do outreach to Concord organizations for their referrals of recipients, and coordinate details for the day of the event including dozens of volunteers who gather early morning to create the flower arrangements and make deliveries early afternoon. It is well-attended and much enjoyed by those creating the arrangements as well as by those receiving them, as is evidenced by the many handwritten notes of appreciation received each year.

Town Gardens

In 2002 the Club designed and installed the garden at the Town House in Concord Center to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Club, and to this day continues to maintain these perennial gardens. In 2019, the Club designed and installed another garden located at the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail in West Concord along Main Street. This garden features drought resistant and native plants and is enjoyably maintained by Club members. Both gardens provide beauty and teaching moments to each passerby in these locations.

Community Grants (updated annually, e.g. for current dates)

Every Fall, the Garden Club of Concord seeks grant proposals from local organizations and nonprofits interested in funding for gardening-related community projects that support the preservation, restoration, and development of gardens and the natural environment in the Concord community. Grant applications and instructions are available through the Club’s website. The Grants Committee meets each Fall to review the grant applications and make recommendations for formal approval. Applications that include efforts to maintain native plants are especially appreciated. Organizations recently benefiting from the Club’s grants program include Gaining Ground, Minute Man Arc, Concord schools and libraries, the Concord Integrated Preschool, and the Pollinator Health Advisory. The Club’s grants program is funded entirely by proceeds for its annual May Plant Sale.

Annual Plant Sale

Our annual plant sale, held the second Saturday in May, funds our grants and scholarship programs. Each year we distribute funds to community organizations and provide a scholarship to a Concord-Carlisle High School graduating senior pursuing studies in horticulture, environmental studies, or related fields.

2025 Special Project: Pansy Project

The excitement ahead of the 250th anniversary of the Battle of North Bridge energized all of Concord. The Garden Club was inspired to look for its own way of contributing. Fifty years ago, club members had independently donated ten granite benches that are still visible around the downtown area, West Concord village, and Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. For the 250th celebration, the Club envisioned a unifying theme for the planters and window boxes of the downtown area for April 19th. Along with our sister garden club, Seeds and Weeds, we contracted with local nurseries to custom grow red, white, and blue pansies.

On an appointed day in early April, the Club gathered on the lawn of Middlesex Savings Bank with trowels, potting soil, and wheelbarrows to fill the planters of Main and Walden streets with pussy willows, alyssum, and cheerful pansies ahead of the Patriots’ Day parade. Generous donations have made it possible for a repeat in 2026, when the nation will also be celebrating 250 years. Thank you to the downtown merchants who allowed us to have our way with their flowerpots, to Colonial Gardens for sharing their horticultural expertise, and to the Concord 250th Committee who brought the town together to review and appreciate our shared history.

2026 Concord Center Triangle Project

Funds remaining from the 2025 Pansy Project will provide the Club the opportunity to donate an additional gift to the Town of Concord. We are targeting the triangle island in the center with pending design options, awaiting town approval.

Want to Learn More?

P.O. Box 1296, Concord, MA 01742

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