Grow & Show Garden Club Touches the Community in Many Ways
To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.
Creative ladies who enjoy gardening, flowers, and nature started the local Grow & Show Garden Club sixty-one years ago. As part of the Ohio Association of Garden Clubs, their purpose is to stimulate knowledge and love of gardening among members, increase their interest in knowing, growing, and sharing, and to promote protection of our environment.
One of their first projects was a flower show downtown. Area residents have fond memories of the beautiful Guernsey County Fair booths and the Christmas wreaths they used to display.
Today they enjoy decorating for many occasions. Just recently they took part in the Scarecrow on Parade Decorating Contest at the Great Guernsey Trail. They built a ten-foot-tall scarecrow with grasses for the skirt, a wreath collar, and a hat decorated with plants and flowers. After the contest, they moved the scarecrow to the Guernsey County Senior Center so it could still brighten someone’s day
One project at this season of the year is decorating the Downtown Branch of the Guernsey County Library for Christmas with a Victorian touch to honor the popular Dickens Victorian Village. The library display continues through November and December.
The tree is decorated with handmade Victorian angels. Marti Reed’s grandmother made the doilies and the club members turned them into angels. Marti’s grandmother always took her to the library so she thought it fitting her doilies would end up there. Large wreaths hang above two fireplaces and the mantles are covered with greenery and touches of the holiday. The 12 Days of Christmas vignettes appear in the windows.
Next time you visit the library, take time to appreciate the work involved in creating a holiday venue.
But that’s only one season of decorations for the group at the library. Another time they enjoy decorating is at Easter. At that time, they have stuffed animals and an Easter egg tree. Fluffy yellow chicks and bunnies of all sizes rest on the shelves and windowsills.
The first week of December, Grow & Show holds a Gingerbread House workshop for their members at Crossroads Library. Wonder if their gingerbread houses have plants or flowers around them.
Members take time to visit Cardinal Place each month where they take candy and treat bags to the residents while visiting them. They hope to expand this to other care facilities in the future.
The garden club plants and helps maintain trees that are dedicated in someone’s memory or just to honor someone special. There are two gardens where they plant trees. One is Shafer Park in East Cambridge while the other is a donated park at the corner of Beatty Ave and Clark St.
They hold one public meeting related to gardening each year at the Cambridge Senior Center. This year the topic will be Gardening for Pollinators. Light hors d’oeuvres and a selection of desserts will be available. Reservations must be made for this March 26 meeting. Cost is $15.
Every year in May, they hold a Mother’s Day Garden Sale the Saturday before Mother’s Day where you can find some beautiful plants or flowers for mom. This year the event will be on May 10 at the Cambridge City Park Big Pavilion from 8-12.
Purchasing a couple hanging baskets to beautify downtown Cambridge is one of their projects. Some of their members also participate in watering the baskets throughout the summer months.
Much work has been done on the Great Guernsey Trail by members. They have contributed benches, trees, and flowers as well as helped with the Butterfly Garden. Plans are now being made for another display of plants there.
As you can tell, their community is very important to the members and many projects revolve around the beautification of Cambridge.
Grow & Show Garden Club meets the fourth Wednesday of each month at Crossroads Library at 1:00. Programs are always garden-related. A couple of times a year, the group visits a member’s garden. Some of them include waterfalls surrounded by plants, while others might have plants inside or a garden or orchard for their own food. Perhaps they might also visit a greenhouse or apple orchard. New members are always welcome so if you have an interest in gardening, stop by for a meeting..
These busy ladies know how to have fun while making the world a more beautiful place!
Gypsy Road Trip 