For anyone who has avoided GCLP membership, maybe it’s time to reconsider.

For those who might imagine a room full of women with fancy hats, white gloves and floral chiffon blouses … or today’s fancy dress code equivalents, you should instead focus on your shoes for walking on field trips, for stepping through compost, mulch and weeds. The one lovely opportunity to play dress-up is the first meeting of the season at noon May 1, a luncheon at the Mirror Lake Inn.

Expecting monthly meetings run by officers following Robert’s Rules of Order, activities will instead engage you at a variety of times most any day of the week. Some will be in the morning or be full day opportunities. Others are scheduled for late afternoon or weekends to involve flower enthusiasts who are in the workforce.

Fearing everyone is a life-long resident related to a founding member, new members won’t be sidelined by legacy family members. So many recent members are relatively new residents to the community. They successfully landed in a fun, accepting group that combines interests in gardening, social and community involvement.

Assuming a level of plant knowledge is necessary to fit in, the members represent a wide continuum of knowledge and active gardening. Some are starting gardens while others are downsizing. Embarrassed your garden or greenhouse has not one example of an exotic flower, you will find member gardeners in Zone 4 simply take great pride in succeeding with getting flowers planted before mid-June and finding their perennials survived the winter.

Believing the members have no interests other than flowers, you can find yourself in conversations about travels, marathons, ski days, house repairs, families and other hobbies enjoyed in the off season.

Suspicious that no one will share their trade secrets, know that the guest speakers as well as experienced members are generous with tips. Many learned by trial and error what will thrive in this short growing season. And discovering the importance of their own microclimates, members do not criticize anyone’s attempt to grow a Zone 5 plant here. Plus they’ll show empathy in the spring when you find it did not return and a bit of envy if you mastered a plant not meant for here.

Distressed with the polarity and divisiveness in so much that surrounds us, you can find an antidote by enjoying the beauty of flowers with others in GCLP’s various programs and activities for members to lead, join and follow as their time and interests permit.

The May 1 luncheon will feature guest speaker, Lisa Salamon, with a presentation on native pollinator plants. It’s the perfect opportunity to go home with specific flower suggestions for our growing zone to give your garden color, while supporting pollinators throughout the season.

We encourage you to investigate membership further with an email to lpgardenclubinfo@gmail.com. Garden club President Joan Barton will reply to explain how to become a member and join us on May 1.

(Patricia Hofbauer is a member of the Garden Club of Lake Placid.)