New Garden Club season full of programs, projects

Posted on October 2, 2018 By Editor Articles

Sonya Petit, Irene Woodworth and Bobby Arnold in front of the centerpiece they created for the Garden Club’s open house.

The Women’s Garden Club of Jacksonville kicked off its 2018-2019 season with an open house, hoping to attract new members and sharing their plans for the year. In the newly repainted ballroom, Garden Circles and other related groups – such as the Budding Gardeners Club, Memorial Park Association and the Jacksonville Arboretum & Gardens – set up displays around the perimeter of the room, while a well-stocked buffet held center court.

The first event kicking off the new program Thursday, Nov. 1 is a Designer of Distinction presentation by John Grady Burns, a floral artist from Natchez, Miss.

New this season is a fashion show, “New Year, New You,” to be held Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019, with fashions presented by Peggy Johnson of The Petunia Patch, which has provided fashions for women in Jacksonville for 46 years.

The annual Flea Market is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 23, and Blooms Galore & More plant sale will be held Friday-Saturday, April 5-6. Monthly events include Fun With Flowers demonstrations, typically on Wednesdays, and the horticulture programs offered by the Men’s Garden Club the first Monday of each month.

The club’s civic project for the year is the Jacksonville Arboretum & Gardens. Proceeds from a variety of events, such as Blooms Galore & More, and the annual Flea Market, will help fund the donation.

Also receiving funds from a Natural Disasters USA Grant, which was sponsored by the Garden Club through the National Garden Clubs, Inc., was Memorial Park Association. The $3,500 grant will be used toward repairs from hurricane damage.

The Garden Club, located at 1005 Riverside Ave., will host the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs District IV Fall Meeting, Friday, Oct. 12. Guest speaker will be Kathy Stark, Lake Shore resident and artist, whose work “The Wilderness of North Florida’s Parks” serves as a tribute and a guide to the great unspoiled stretches of the region.