By Becky Stage, Florida Master Gardener Volunteer
This article appeared in the July 2021 Issue of Gardening in Orange County.
July is a beautiful time of year and the high season for garden tours. The pandemic has canceled many garden tours, but we can experience a small dose of beauty walking down the streets and parks in many of the local villages. These islands of horticultural artistry are designed and planted by of local garden clubs and comprise dedicated groups of people love to garden and take pride in their communities. The garden clubs are not just spring and summer events, providing winter holiday decorations and learning events for their members.
While the initial inspiration for this article was garden clubs, specifically garden tours, I discovered there is so much more to garden clubs than the pretty gardens and planters we see in our communities and the garden tours they sponsor. These clubs provide scholarships for young people continuing their educations in garden related areas. Their members teach children about gardening and how to grow plants. They provide companionship and joy to our senior citizens and senior gardeners. There are also the independent community gardeners who are active in their communities planting gardens, flower boxes and planters. One of those gardeners uses the garden to support medical research.
There are organizations at the national and state level which support garden clubs. In New York State there is The Federated Garden Clubs of New York State, Inc. which was founded in 1924 and incorporated in 1930. Orange County is part of the Tenth District. According to the Tenth District’s website, member gardening clubs in Orange County include the Artful Gardener’s Club (Port Jervis), the Cornwall Garden Club, The Pine Bush Garden Club, The Garden Lover’s Club (Middletown) and the Warwick Valley Gardeners.
The Garden Lover’s Club of Middletown was one of the first clubs to be established in Orange County. It was established on June 5,1924 and is just three years shy of being one hundred years old! It plants and maintains the gardens at Thrall Park in Middletown, the Herb Gardens at Hill Hold Museum in Montgomery and the gardens at Morrison Hall at SUNY Orange. In addition, for the past 25 years the Club has decorated Morrison Hall to provide beautiful displays for the college’s Open House and Staff parties. In 2019 it won the top National Garden Club Award for its efforts.
The Garden Therapy Committee provides monthly workshops to the local Nursing Homes and Rehab Facilities to help residents create seasonal flower arrangements and crafts. In late November, the members create Holiday and Hanukkah wreaths and table-top arrangements for all nursing homes and long-term care facilities in the Middletown area.
Continuing education for members is provided by monthly presentations from local nurseries, horticulture specialists, and Master Gardener Volunteers. Each year its Horticulture Chair offers a special garden workshop in combination with its Artistic Crafts Chair. This year the Chairs will be focusing on an artful presentation using local mosses. The members also have the opportunities to attend Field Trips throughout the area and sometimes out of state. Plans to visit the NY Botanical Gardens, the John Jay Homestead, Stonecrop Gardens in Cold Spring, Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, NY and the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site in Hyde Park are in the works for this year.
The newest project for the Garden Lovers is a plan to begin a Junior Gardeners Program in conjunction with the Middletown Recreation and Parks Department. This program will work with preschoolers to promote love and respect for nature, flowers, animals and the environment. The Garden Lovers’ also sponsor two students each year to attend Camp DeBruce, a NYS DEC camp that teaches environmental education.
According to its website, the purpose of Warwick Valley Gardeners is “to create a love for and an interest in gardening, horticulture, conserving natural flora, beautifying public grounds, …” as well as working with community leaders and the Tenth District.
As part of its mission, the Warwick Valley Gardeners maintain nine community gardens including the Doc Beers Memorial at Memorial Park, the Flagpole at the Town Hall, the Local Heroes memorial at Warwick Grove, the Pine Island Butterfly Habitat, the Railroad
Green Park, the Village Hall flower beds, the World Trade Center Memorial at Memorial Park, and the Welcome to Warwick signs located at two entrances to the village. In celebration of Arbor Day, it coordinates planting trees with youth and local officials. In November the Club dresses up Railroad Green by designing, creating and installing holiday decorations. Among other projects, it provides a Garden Therapy program at Mount Alverno Assisted Living Facility.
The Club works with the youth in the community by providing a yearly scholarship to a high school student. The 2015 youth project established a naturalized Pollinators Garden the Warwick Village’s historical Woodlands. This Club also works with children from several Town of Warwick elementary schools planting and maintaining gardens.
In addition to this exceptional display of community spirit and love of gardening, Warwick Valley Gardeners sponsor three community events in the year. There is an annual Wine & Cheese Membership Drive, a Harvest Tea, and a Garden Tour. Selections of the gardens for the tour are based on diversity with the emphasis on a sampling of different types of gardens and properties such as a shade garden, pool/pond garden, and small and large gardens. Participants are always sought and there are pre and post tour day celebrations.
The Goshen Garden Club was established in March 1985. Its primary objective is to plant and maintain the landscaping for three monuments in the Village of Goshen: The Orange Blossom monument which honors the civil war soldiers from Orange County; the Henry Wisner Memorial Obelisk which honors the statesman who voted for the Declaration of Independence and the Harriman Fountain in memory of Edward Henry Harriman who was instrumental in developing the Goshen racetrack.
The Club makes and delivers wreaths to eight Goshen organizations: the Harness Museum, the Goshen Library, the Goshen Senior Center, the Goshen Town and Village Halls, the Valley View Nursing Home, the 1841 Courthouse and the Goshen Volunteer Ambulance Corps building.
The interesting aspect of this garden club is that it recognizes the social implications for many of its members that are older. Many of the “normal” activities of a gardening club, such as holiday decorating and garden tours are handled by other community organizations. The club has one workshop a year and two meetings – attendance not required but recommended. The club has an annual fundraiser. The fundraiser include bake sales, flower sales and “Split the Pot” at village concerts.
Additionally, this Club has an annual June picnic at the Orange County Arboretum surrounded by the beauty of the gardens there. They try to visit a different garden every year. When they feel the need to socialize, they have luncheons. In November, they have a “Girl’s Shopping Night” when they go to a local shop and then out to dinner. They end the year with a Christmas party and gift exchange. The camaraderie of fellow gardeners clearly nourishes their souls.
The Community Garden Club of Pine Bush was established in 2006. The purpose of the club is to create an interest and love of gardening, to cooperate with the community in beautifying public grounds and to educate members in horticulture and garden design. Its first endeavor was to create a garden in front of the Town Hall which is on Route 32 and has no sidewalks. For that reason, it is known as a “drive by” garden. Low maintenance was one of the key focuses for this garden and includes a variety of spring flowering bulbs, shrubs, lilies, grasses and other perennials. It is most popular in the fall when the club designs and dresses scarecrows for the garden with all the colorful castoff clothing and accessories they can find.
In addition to the Town Hall garden, The Community Garden Club also mains gardens at Verkeerderkilll Park in Walker Valley, the gardens surrounding the Pine Bush Area Public Library and the Blue Star Memorial Garden at the Crawford Community Center.
With some help from the Pine Bush Community Garden Club and others, independent gardeners Donna and Bernie conceived of and planted, a Garden of Hope on the Town of Crawford’s north park. Donna is a cancer survivor and was involved in the Relay for Hope for many years. Tiles can be purchased to support the garden and research. Although initially limited to supporting cancer research, tiles can now be purchased to support any illness research.
The Cornwall Garden Club was established in 1929, over 90 years ago! In addition to planting flowers in public areas, the Club also plants and maintains container gardens along the main street. It provides garden therapy activities for senior groups in the Cornwall area. In collaboration with the local library, the Club provides gardening books and activities for young people. Every year an environmental or garden related talk is advertised and open to the public. A plant sale is held every May.
Serving the Otisville area is the Country Garden Club. It was established on October 7, 1958. Starting each spring, members plant and maintain twelve flower boxes on Main Street, one flower box in Howells, NY, and a large box at the Veterans Memorial Park. In the winter, these boxes are decorated with evergreens.
In conjunction with the Otisville Village Department of Public Works, the Country Garden Club organizes an Arbor Day ceremony and tree planting at the Veterans Memorial Park. Trees for the ceremony are donated by the residents, the Village of Otisville, and the Club. There is also a program called “Flowers for Friends”. Flowers are planted in pots and distributed to the Senior citizens in the area. Recently, local Brownie and Girl Scout troops have assisted with this endeavor.
Trying to locate the garden clubs in Orange County proved to be a challenge but a rewarding one. I contacted Marie Pulvirent who was listed on the Monroe-Woodbury Garden Club website. Sadly, Marie informed me that the Garden Club had disbanded in 2019. However, undaunted, Marie, either by herself or with the help of approximately seven of her fellow gardeners, have continued several of the former Garden Club’s projects. At the Senior Center in Woodbury-Highland Mills, her gardening band maintains three raised vegetable beds and decorates the front of the building. At the Central Valley Library in conjunction with a library assistant, they run a gardening with young children program. Independently, she plants five garden boxes at the Monroe Millpond Library and plants and maintains the Monroe Veteran’s Garden and the 9/11 garden.
It is notable that in addition to beautifying the municipalities they serve, most of the garden clubs also seek to nurture the senior citizens and youth of their communities. All the garden clubs welcome new members, providing people with joy and companionship.