Our organization was founded in 1947, by a small group of avid gardeners, as an independent garden club for the hands-on gardener. At that time their intent was to meet periodically in order to exchange plants & seeds, discuss gardening issues, and establish friendships through gardening social activities.
Today the club has over 50 members with diverse backgrounds, interests, and gardening skill levels. Now, as then, at the heart of the club is the friendship that evolves from the love and rewards of admiring a garden - be it painting or photographing flowers, floral design, and just plain getting your hands into the
dirt!
As our membership has grown, the mission of our club has been formalized to:
- Encourage and develop the interest and
knowledge of the members in all phases of
horticulture and gardening.
- Promote and enhance our natural environment
and participate in the preservation of our native
plants trees, insects and bird life.
Benefits of membership include informative monthly meetings from September through May, held at the Radnor Memorial Library, featuring expert gardeners. We hold an annual Arbor Day Observance at Jenkins Arboretum, decorate the library at holiday time, hold plant exchanges and field trips. The Wayne Senior Center, Wayne Train Station and the Radnor Trail are all beneficiaries of our gardening skills. An annual Plant Sale is a popular event that helps to fund our horticultural community projects. There are fun, social events including an annual Holiday Dinner and a Spring Picnic. We participate in the Memorial Day Parade in Wayne each May.
If you are interested in broadening your knowledge & skills as a gardener, participating in outreach projects that serve the community and cultivating new friendships, you are cordially invited to join or visit The Community Garden Club at Wayne. Please click Contact Us at the top of this page for details. Or click the "Contact Us" button below for a quick link to the Contact form:
a garden ~ a community ~ a planet
An engaging and more detailed article about the founding of the club, written by our club
historian on the occasion of the club's 70th anniversary
The Founding of the Community Garden Club at Wayne
Compiled by Evie Giegerich, Historian
During World War II, families in the United States, to help prevent food shortages, planted Victory Gardens. In
the name of patriotism, the town of Wayne also answered the call.
After the war, many families continued to maintain their gardens. In the spring of 1947, a small group of men and women, interested in gardening, met at the home of Mrs. P.H. Mell. They envisioned an organization that would be open to the public, who might gain in general gardening knowledge, by the interchange of ideas with neighbors, or by listening to experts in the field of gardening.
Open to all without invitation and with minimum dues of $2.00, it was to be truly a community garden club. To determine what interest there might be in a local garden club, a meeting was held on April 8 in the Radnor High School Library Room. There was such enthusiasm for the venture, that a second meeting was scheduled for May.
A treasury, low in funds, was enlarged by the proceeds of the club’s first plant sale. It was an all day affair held at the “Christmas Tree Lot” on the property of the Main Line Diner where a profusion of perennials were sold. It was a huge success.
The summer of 1947 saw monthly meetings, including a June tour of gardens in Wayne. An August meeting formed the club’s first flower show and the distribution of the yearbook. The book, developed by Mrs. Harold Berry, listed the names of the members of the club and presented proposed constitution and bylaws. It also indexed 99 specimen classes for the Fall Flower Show, rules for entry, and the date of the event on September 20 at the Radnor High School Gymnasium.
Cosponsored with the Saturday Club, the Fall Flower Show success far exceeded the hopes of its sponsors. It had 300 flower and vegetable exhibits and attendance of some 500 garden enthusiasts. Mrs. P.H. Mell was one of the top winners, taking 20 points for the Conrad Pyle prize of selected rose bushes and the Kenney Cup for the greatest number of points in the arrangement class.
In October of 1947, the election of the club’s first officers took place at the regular monthly meeting. The election resulted in the choice of Nathan B. Sangree for president; Mrs. P.H.Mell as first vice president; Harold Berry as second vice president; Mrs. Raymond Dahm as recording secretary and Mrs. Dudley C. Graves as corresponding secretary.
December saw the club’s first Christmas Party and the origination of a column in the Suburban titled, “Green Thumb Gossip” written by Margaret Mell. The first column was devoted to suggestions for making Christmas decorations for the home.
Other activities grew in the years to follow. In April 1948, the Garden Club joined with the Saturday Club to sponsor a Spring Garden Show where prizes were awarded to home gardens according to the size of the grounds. During the same month, the Garden Club sponsored with neighboring clubs, the Spring Daffodil Show of The Berwyn Garden Club.
In May, it was decided the Community Garden Club at Wayne would sponsor the planting of the grounds of the Radnor Memorial Library. Other services to the library included decorations at the Christmas Season, vases of fresh flowers twice weekly, the gift of books on horticulture and a yearly subscription to two garden periodicals. The board meetings of the club were held in the assembly room of the library. The monthly meetings were the first Thursday of the month in the Wayne Presbyterian Chapel.
The club took an active part in working with Valley Forge General Hospital, an Army Hospital, by providing therapy for patients through gardening and flower arranging. The club also decorated the hospital at Christmas and provided plants at Easter.
Building on this strong foundation, the Community Garden Club at Wayne has continued for 70 years and has a rich history of being involved in the Wayne Community. The club has remained true to its objectives of encouraging and developing the interest of members in all phases of horticulture and gardening and promoting efforts to preserve our natural environment, especially to preserve our native plants, trees, streams, and bird life. These objectives are as relevant today as they were in 1947.