Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of The Garden Club of Old Greenwich

By Liz Johnson and Jackie Lupo

The Garden Club of Old Greenwich celebrates its centennial in 2024. The Club’s 100th anniversary is a milestone being marked by a busy calendar of events.

The club was founded in 1924 as the “Garden Club of Sound Beach,” but changed its name to The Garden Club of Old Greenwich when the community—and the train station that served it —became “Old Greenwich” in 1931. The name change to “Old Greenwich” was spurred by the efforts of the club’s president at the time, Helen Binney Kitchel.

Over the past century of rapid technological and social change, the club has remained true to its missions of making and improving gardens, and the promotion of community spirit and civic betterment.

Beautifying our town has always been a top priority for the club. Members spend the spring and summer working on many projects, including planting brightly colored flower beds, flowerpots, and containers along both sides of Sound Beach Avenue, Arcadia Road and at the train station.  The work involves all active members and includes groups in charge of weekly watering, weeding and deadheading plants in the village, the flowerpots located on the island in the OG train station parking lot, as well as the Fire Station Garden.

Another group from the Garden Club meets on Wednesday mornings at Greenwich Point to weed and maintain the flower beds in front of Innis Arden Cottage and the snack bar. Since 2007, we have tended the refurbished “butterfly garden” planted with native plants, located near the former Tod mansion site, Members also planted 1000 bulbs in the village and on the Tomac and Lockwood traffic island.   In the past few years, the club has also sponsored a very successful bulb sale with carefully curated collections of bulbs.  And every December, club members gather to decorate the Old Greenwich village planters, using greens cut from members’ own properties, plus ornaments and festive bows for the holidays.

Community outreach has always been very important to the Garden Club of Old Greenwich.  Our very active “Garden Therapy” group has partnered with the Pathways

Fellowship Club in Cos Cob since the 1970’s, and with Hill House in Riverside since the 1990’s.  Pathways offers a day program for adult residents of Greenwich who are dealing with mental illness issues.  The Garden Club of Old Greenwich runs four seasonally themed programs each year incorporating a floral component and finishing each program with a sing-along.  Hill House is a senior housing facility in Riverside at which the club conducts four seasonal programs with multiple options at each program.  For example, over the holidays, participants could make a wreath, floral spray, centerpiece or Christmas tree.  There are usually 15 to 20 participants at the programs.

In the interest of reaching a wider community, the garden club partners with the Perrot Library to present speakers and authors who discuss gardening and environmental subjects. This initiative also includes familiarizing residents with the many nonprofit agencies within Connecticut involved in environmental efforts. Towards that end, we began our series with JoAnn Messina of The Greenwich Tree Conservancy and Dr. Gregory Kramer, Superintendent of Parks and Trees, followed by  Peter Uhry and Nancy Chapin of the Binney Park Advisory Committee.   Our presentations have included such themes as “A Year of Blooming Bulbs” and “The Human Impacts on the Coastal Wetlands of Long Island Sound,” “Wild by Design,” “Why and How We Need to Protect Our Streams” –  to name just a few. The aforementioned presentations may be viewed on the Perrot Library website: perrotlibrary.org.

Club members also work with youth in our community throughout the year by sponsoring gardening workshops at the Perrot Library. Members work with local Scout troops and students at the Old Greenwich Elementary School.

During the 100-year history of the Garden Club of Old Greenwich, there have been many unique events. For example, in the 1930’s, the members, who referred to themselves as “The Mighty 75,” initiated civic projects, planted bulbs and dogwood trees, held annual plant shows, donated books to the Perrot Library and restored the Tomac Burying Ground.

 

In the 1940’s, the Garden Club’s projects supported the World War II effort.  Members planted and canned vegetables from victory gardens.  The club formed three committees: the Red Cross committee, which provided childcare while parents worked at the Red Cross; the War Service Committee, which sold war bonds; and the Hospitality committee, which provided gifts, books, cards and food to servicemen.

In 1946, the Garden Club restored the Seaside Garden at Greenwich Point and planted daffodils, tulips and other plantings. They also added benches, paid for by the interest from War bonds.

In the 1950’s the Garden Club (GCOG)  was focused on adding beauty to the town and improving the environment.  There was a campaign to plant azaleas, dogwood and crabapple trees, and tulip bulbs and the Girl Scouts assisted with an anti-litter campaign at the point.  The club organized a flower display at the Perrot Library to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953.

A variety of interesting programs for its members were offered in the 1960’s including arrangements of fruits and vegetables, a wildflower garden tour, the use of color in flower arranging lectures and a bus trip to the New York Botanical Garden.

In 1974, the club celebrated its 50th  anniversary.  Conservation was a priority and club members focused specifically on dredging, litter, noise, and leaf burning with GCOG members attending hearings at town hall.  Volunteer activities included nature guiding at Bartlett Arboretum, teaching ecology classes in public schools, conducting tours with Scout troops, recycling and anti-litter projects.  There were also many junior activities through collaborations with Girl Scouts and Brownies.

Noteworthy projects in the 1980’s included the hanging gardens at the mansion site at Greenwich Point. These gardens later became the Butterfly Garden.  GCOG members began marching in the Memorial Day parade starting in 1986. The club designed and D’Andrea Nurseries planted the Gateway Garden in 1988.

In 1994, when the club celebrated its 75th Anniversary, membership reached a record number of 101 members. Four award-winning flower shows were held this decade; the club partnered with many organizations. GCOG members participated in the restoration and  landscaping of the Merritt Parkway Welcome Center, tended the historic Tomac Burying Ground, advocated for issues involving beautification of the village of Old Greenwich and worked with Greenwich Green and  Clean on village and Greenwich Point clean-ups.

With the dawn of the new millennium the club revisited past projects in need of restoration including the Butterfly Garden at Greenwich Point and honored past traditions of holding national award-winning Flower Shows open to the public in 2003, 2007 and 2009.  The worldwide pandemic of 2020 did not slow the club down.  Members adapted by hosting membership meetings online and by donning safety masks to continue planting and weeding in the village and Greenwich Point. At a time when the community needed cheering up, over 1,000 planted bulbs burst open in the village for all to enjoy with limited vehicular traffic on Sound Beach Avenue. The public tended their gardens and the club only missed one year of hosting their popular Mother’s Day Plant Sale.

2021 was the most successful plant sale year in the history of the club when the community bought every plant available at the socially distanced safe sale.

The GCOG looks forward to the next 100 years: continuing to bring beauty to our village gardens, environmental awareness and education, and garden-related activities to the young and the elderly of our community.

• Join them on May 11 at the Church of Living Hope, 38 West End Avenue, Old Greenwich, at an interactive exhibit in “Art in the Parking Lot.”

• Mark your calendar for September 25-26 for our exciting flower show featuring the work of expert horticulturists and masterful floral designers.

For information  about the club and to join, please visit the website at Garden Club of Old Greenwich: https://www.gardenclubofoldgreenwich.org