South Carolina Garden Clubs provide education and beautification for their cities.
Master Gardeners are artists at work. When they add color and texture to a yard or landscape, the result can evoke emotions of joy and completeness. Landscaping is not only big business — it is also therapy for those who love to be outdoors and have made gardening a hobby. A well tended garden can enhance curb appeal for a home, and on a grander scale, beautify parks and recreation areas.
The number of amateur gardeners has grown in the past year while people stayed home and looked for purposeful activities that avoided the risk of the pandemic. The evidence is not only apparent when walking through neighborhoods — a look at the stock market shows the growth of home improvement companies with garden centers.
If you have planted flowers or tended a lawn, then you know there is satisfaction in a manicured design or a transformed dirt pile. What may look like a chore to some can turn into a hobby or a passion for growing things. It can become a source for food and a space for play.
Many cities have garden clubs where members share information and learn how to choose the best products. They socialize and arrange flowers and planters, and the best ones work together on community spaces. Areas that start out as eyesores morph into beautiful trails and gardens.
I joined the Daniel Island Garden Club a couple years ago. Their standout project is a community garden with raised beds behind the Daniel Island Elementary School. The schoolchildren get to participate in planting as part of the school’s curriculum. Several homeowners pay for a plot to plant as they choose, and they often help water and weed neighboring plots. Plants grow year-round in the Lowcountry climate because the savvy gardeners rotate their crops with plants that thrive in each season’s temperatures.
I learned about native plants at the meetings. I have been adding a few plants or shrubs each year to create more color in my canvas. We created Christmas arrangements to deck our halls and we heard lectures from the Urban Garden Director. I really adore going on tours to see other people’s gardens — there are some magnificent landscapes on Daniel Island.
Aiken, Charleston, and other towns have home and garden festivals and fundraisers. This year the Aiken Garden Club has cancelled their event usually held in May. Daniel Island had to cancel the Christmas Home Tour that benefits the library on the Island. Nevertheless, the gardens are still tended and enjoyed by individuals who relish communing with nature.
My mother-in-law was a Master Gardener who helped with the Aiken Garden Club efforts to restore the Dollhouse at Hopelands Gardens. She delighted in taking her granddaughters there, and they found it to be magical.
The website for the Aiken Garden Club Council states, “The purpose of the Aiken Garden Club Council is to educate people about gardens: how to grow plants, the fundamentals of garden design, the availability of local and state public gardens, use of garden products as food and for floral arrangements, establishing and maintaining gardens for wildlife habitats, and nurturing children’s interest in nature.”
“There are eight garden clubs located in the city of Aiken, SC. The Council promotes and facilitates the sharing of knowledge, opportunities, and activities through cooperative efforts among area garden clubs and assists in the formation of new garden clubs. They offer public speakers to local organizations at no cost and provide lectures to the community on topics of interest such as garden design, plant propagation, flower arranging, and wildlife habitat enrichment.”
The Aiken Garden Club Council restored the Dollhouse when Hopelands was given to the City of Aiken in 1970 — members prepped and painted the interior and exterior; paid to have new plumbing, electrical, and roof installed; repaired broken windows; furnished the rooms; planted the historical Aiken camellia garden that surrounds the building; and commissioned the patio garden design and installation. The historic Dollhouse in Hopelands Gardens is open on Sundays from 2 – 5 pm. The Aiken Garden Club plants and maintains the garden area adjacent to the Dollhouse, and opens the building each night during the Christmas in Hopelands festival each December. Aiken Garden Club members are affiliates of the Garden Club of South Carolina, Inc. and National Garden Clubs.
These women and men of Aiken who give their time and resources to beautifying our area are remarkable.
