CLEVELAND, Ohio — Northeast Ohio is home to a number of garden clubs that foster residents' love of growing flowers and plants.
We're highlighting these clubs, starting with two in Brecksville: Chippewa Garden Club and Emerald Necklace Garden Club.The idea came about in response to a reader's question last winter: “Can you slice voodoo lily bulbs?”
Let's take a look at what makes up our region.
Chippewa Garden Club
Time: 4th Tuesday of every month at 6:30pm
Meeting location: Brecksville Human Services Center, Activity Room A, 2 Community Drive, Brecksville.
Website: https://www.ChippewaGardenClub.com
About the Club: The Chippewa Garden Club is celebrating 75 years of serving the community by fulfilling the club's mission: “To cultivate beauty through gardening, learn the art of floral design, assist in the conservation of native plants and wildlife, encourage urban beautification, and provide educational opportunities.” Recent club activities have included providing tree saplings to the community for Arbor Day celebrations, maintaining the gardens at Squire Rich Historical Museum in Brecksville, mentoring community and school gardens, donating funds for scholarships, and offering gardening programs for children and seniors.
Read all of Susan Brownstein's gardening columns here.
The biennial Chippewa Garden Club Flower Show, a “gift to the community,” will be held Aug. 10-11 in Brecksville.
CGC hosts a flower show every two years “as a gift to the community to inspire interest in growing and displaying horticulture, creating floral designs and expressing creativity.” The next Chippewa Garden Club Flower Show will be held August 10th and 11th. Hours are Saturday 1pm-5pm and Sunday 12pm-3pm. Location is Brecksville Community Center, One Community Drive, Brecksville.
The club is currently focused on increasing knowledge and use of Ohio's native plants. The club already supports two community gardens that are registered with Monarch Watch as Monarch Way Stations, and the club's mission statement is ” [gardens] Supporting pollinators, including butterflies, is what native gardening is all about.”
Emerald Necklace Garden Club
Meeting time: 9:15am on the second Thursday of every month (no meetings in July and August)
Meeting location: Christ the Redeemer Lutheran Church, 9201 Brecksville Road, Brecksville
Website: www.EmeraldNecklaceGardenClub.org
The Emerald Necklace Garden Club is also based in Brecksville and has been hosting meetings, special events and youth activities for 60 years. The club hosts meetings with speakers on a variety of gardening-related topics, conducts field trips to local public gardens and nurseries, and conducts hands-on projects such as making holiday wreaths. ENGC hosts a spring plant sale and garden fair to raise funds for scholarships and other community service activities.
The senior living facility's annual Holiday Tea is hosted by the Emerald City Garden Club.
ENGC hosts an annual Holiday Tea Party at a senior living facility in Brecksville and decorates the tree at Cleveland Botanical Gardens for the Holiday Festival. The club is very active in the community and hosts many gardening-related crafts for children and adults at area libraries, preschools and family festivals throughout the year.
Both CGC and ENGC are members of the Garden Club of Ohio, Inc. and National Garden Clubs, and are affiliate members of Holden Forests and Gardens. Interested in getting involved? Check out their respective websites and attend meetings. Guests are always welcome.
Emerald City Garden Club members decorate Christmas trees at the annual Holden Forest and Garden Show.
If you missed our previous garden club calls, please email your club information to sbrownstein216@gmail.com.
