How to Find Local Garden Clubs, Events, and Flower Shows in Pennsylvania Through GCFP

The Garden Club Federation of Pennsylvania (GCFP) website, pagardenclubs.org, is the online home of roughly 4,700 Pennsylvania garden club members, and it organizes club and event information into a few specific sections: Districts and Directories for locating clubs by area, Calendar for dated events, and Club Flower Shows, Club Plant Sales & Tours, and GCFP Tour Information for specific activities. Start with Districts or Directories if you want to join or contact a club near you; start with Calendar or the flower show and plant sale pages if you already know what you want to attend.

Finding a Local Club Near You

GCFP groups its member clubs by district, so the fastest path to a local club is:

1. Open the Districts section to see how Pennsylvania is divided among GCFP districts.
2. Open the Directories section to look up clubs and contacts within those districts.
3. Use the Federation Contacts page if you need a person to reach out to directly rather than a club listing.

The site describes GCFP as a charitable, volunteer organization of women, men, and youth who share an interest in gardening, so clubs are not limited to one type of member. If you are unsure which district covers your county, the district listings themselves are the place to check rather than guessing from a map.

Checking the Calendar for Events

The Calendar section is the central schedule for GCFP events. This is where dated activities appear, including federation-wide programming and garden party highlights. If you want to know what is happening in a given month, the Calendar is the first place to look before checking individual club pages.

Alongside the Calendar, the site maintains Garden Party Highlights and a Photo Gallery, which show what past events looked like and can help you judge whether an event fits your interests.

Finding Flower Shows, Plant Sales, and Tours

Three sections cover specific public-facing activities:

If your goal is to attend rather than join, these three sections plus the Calendar are where to look. Note that individual club events may be listed under the club's own entry in the Directories as well, so it is worth checking both the federation-level page and the club listing.

Education, Youth, and Judge Information

Beyond clubs and events, GCFP hosts several resource sections that may matter depending on why you are visiting:

• Education Opportunities – programs for members and the public
• Youth Gardening Lessons – material aimed at young gardeners
• Flower Show Judges' Info – information for judges and those interested in showing
• Program Resources and Information Resources – supporting material for club programming
• Forms Library – downloadable forms, including the Plant Pennsylvania Grant Application (fillable PDF)

The PLANT PENNSYLVANIA initiative is a GCFP program with its own grant application, so if you are looking for funding for a planting project rather than a club to join, that page is the relevant starting point.

What GCFP Says It Exists to Do

GCFP's stated mission is "to promote gardening, civic beautification, floral and landscape design, and education for its members, while endeavoring to inspire, support and foster community involvement and stewardship of our natural resources." That mission explains why the site splits its content the way it does: club and district information serves members, while flower shows, plant sales, tours, and youth lessons serve the broader public.

A Practical Order of Operations

If you are new to the site, this sequence avoids backtracking:

1. Districts → identify your area.
2. Directories → find the club(s) in that area.
3. Calendar → check upcoming dates.
4. Club Flower Shows / Club Plant Sales & Tours → find specific events.
5. Federation Contacts → reach a person if the listings don't answer your question.

If you are visiting for a specific reason instead — a grant, a youth program, or judge information — go directly to that section, since those pages stand on their own and do not require working through the district structure first.