Mark your calendars for The Garden Club of Old Greenwich’s much anticipated Annual Plant Sale Fundraiser next Saturday, May 10 from 9:00 am to 1:00pm at Living Hope Community Church, 38 West End Ave in Old Greenwich.
This Plant Sale arrives at the perfect time for garden lovers to get to stock up for gardening and to find a special gift for mom. Every purchase supports the GCOG’s community programs.
Shoppers will find a wide selection of annuals, herbs, vegetables, new and gently used garden tools, and Mothers’ Day baskets designed by award winning floral artists. The centerpiece of the sale is “Members’ Own Perennials,” beloved plants cultivated in the gardens of GCOG members.
“We like to think of ourselves as a special place to buy special plants,” club member Ros Brady said. “Members’ Own Perennials are grown by our members, so people who come to the sale know that they’re getting locally grown plants that are healthy. You won’t see this anywhere else!”
GCOG’s passionate members work year-round on beautifying, improving and maintaining projects throughout Old Greenwich. In fall and winter, members plant bulbs and decorate the planters in the village for the holidays. This spring, the town will be ablaze with the 1000 tulips the club planted last fall.
In the spring and summer club members work hard planting, maintaining and watering the beds and planters in the village, traffic islands on Tomac and Lockwood and Tomac and Shore, the Butterfly Garden at Greenwich Point, and the Gateway Garden. A dedicated group meets weekly to weed the gardens in front of Innis Arden Cottage and the snack bar at Greenwich Point.
The club has a long tradition of civic betterment and community outreach is very important to the members of the Garden Club of Old Greenwich. The Garden Therapy Group partners with Pathways and Hill House offering four seasonally themed programs a year incorporating a floral component and finishing each session with a sing along.
The Garden club also partners with the Perrot Library to present speakers and authors who discuss gardening and environmental subjects and children’s workshops.
Also at the Perrot Library, a significant collaborative achievement is the Nancy Altznauer Memorial Seed Library first launched in 2024. A seed library is a place that anyone can come to and get seeds to plant in their garden. It’s a great start for beginner gardeners as it provides easily accessible seeds that one can try growing. It creates a community of gardeners. Seed libraries also foster biodiversity and help the environment.
This February, for the first time, four members of the Garden Club of Old Greenwich, Wendy MacDonald, Wendy Yu, Martina Doshan and Monica Meskers, were honored with award winning entries at the state Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut annual flower show. “Signs of Spring,” a National Garden Club Standard Flower Show, which was held at the 43rd Annual Connecticut Flower & Garden Show at the Connecticut Convention Center, in Hartford, CT
The Garden Club of Old Greenwich holds monthly meetings featuring horticulture, design and photography, and guest speakers. Members participate in Flower shows in the Memorial Day Parade.
In 2024, the Garden Club of Old Greenwich celebrated its 100th anniversary! Founded in October of 1924, The Garden Club of Old Greenwich spent all of 2024 celebrating the rich history of our garden club and honoring the women, past and present, who promote our purpose to stimulate an interest in the cultivation of plants, flowers and the making and improving of gardens to promote community and civic betterment.
Now, celebrating its 101 st year, the Garden Club of Old Greenwich’s members are eager to take part in the plant sale which is a tradition that goes back to the 1950s. The entire membership of 60 is expected to take part. Come to the sale, take home some beautiful plants and contribute to our community.