Adults | $20.00
Children (16&Under) | Free

The 69th Annual Holiday Greens Show is bringing the red carpet to you!

Back for it's 69th year, this Troy holiday tradition transforms 13 rooms of the 1827 Federal-Style Hart-Cluett House into a unique showcase. Members of the Van Rensselaer Garden Club incorporate fresh seasonal greens, trees, flowers, and other natural material to create expressive history-inspired displays related to the theme. This year’s theme is “Lights, Camera, Action: Celebrating Holiday Movies,” featuring seasonal cinematic classics in each room. 

Come back soon to see a full listing of events!

History of the Van Rensselaer Garden Club

The possibility of forming a garden club in Troy was initially discussed at a gathering of “garden-minded gals" in October 1952. Several of these women continued to meet and were joined by additional women through the spring and summer of 1953. On September 17, 1953 they adopted a constitution and officially became known as the Van Rensselaer Garden Club.

Meeting minutes began in November 18, 1954. It was reported that at this time the club joined the Federated Garden Clubs of New York, and then after research and discussion several years later, a vote was held to become unaffiliated. Archival records show much information and details on joining in 1962/3, but no decisions were seemingly made.

The best known project then, as it is today, is the Greens Show.

Initially it was held in cooperation with the Junior Museum and Birchkill. We have held one every year since 1956 with the exception of year 2000 when our "Holiday in Washington Park" was held at 200 Washington Park. In 2020, due to the Covid pandemic, only the façade at the Hart Cluett Museum was decorated.

Over the years the Van Rensselaer Garden Club has regularly reached out into the Troy community. Past projects included restoration of grounds of the old Marshall Sanitarium, a Litter Bag Campaign, maintaining gardens at the Troy Public Library and RCHS, and support of a 4-H group with Rensselaer County Extension Service.

More recently we have supported Rensselaer County ARC with prep-ping, planting, and cleaning up their gardens and the 112th Street

Memorial Garden. Additionally, flower shows, House and Garden Tours and a summer garden Open House have been held.

In the early years meetings were held in member's homes. Other meeting places have been Tamarac Plaza, Pruyn House, RCCA, Emma Willard School, Troy Masonic Community Center, RPI Neuman Chapel, and then, in 1991, our more permanent home became RCHS.

In 2020, with Covid restrictions in effect, we began meeting at the Shriner's Facility and expanded our outreach through ZOOM.

In 2022, we became incorporated and our new name is the Van Rensselaer Garden Club Inc. We are now a tax-exempt organization as well.

Information for this brief history was collected from the VRGC records stored at HCM.