If you’re a gardener, you always think of the future.
But it’s doubtful that the 8 women and 2 men who founded the Westport Garden Club back in 1924 could imagine that 94 years later, their organization is still going strong.
Or that the plant sale they started as a little fundraiser will soon celebrate its 90th anniversary.
As the Garden Club has grown, its roots remain strong. Several members have been involved since the 1970s. They’ll be at the plant sale this Friday (May 11), just as they have for the past 40 years.
Marge Silk and Nancy Gault will tend the cash registers. (And Marge can add up your bill without one of those new-fangled calculators.)
Judy Sterling — Nancy’s sister-in-law — has sold tomatoes for more than 25 years.
Dottie Fincher’s floral arrangements get more beautiful every year. That’s saying something: She’s been a Westport Garden Club member since 1971.
Marge Silk, Dottie Fincher and Judy Sterling prepare for the Westport Garden Club’s plant sale. (Photo/Ann Pawlick)
Longevity is also a hallmark of the club’s service to Westport. Funds raised at the plant sale support a variety of local projects.
Several began in the 1940s. One is the Nevada Hitchcock Memorial Garden — named for a club founder — at the corner of Weston Road and Cross Highway.
The Kings Highway Cemetery was restored in 1949. It — and 3 others — remain in the club’s care today.
While the Westport Garden Club is proud of its long history, its mission is forward-thinking. Preserving assets for the future, beautification, conservation and environmental education are their watchwords. Members know that planting flowers and trees ensures a better tomorrow.
The club treasures its longtime members, but embraces new ones. For more information, click here.
(The Westport Garden Club plant sale is this Friday, May 11, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Saugatuck Congregational Church — rain or shine.)
