Welcome Members and Guests
Please enjoy your visit to our web page. Guests, if you are interested in becoming a member,
please go to the bottom of this page and click the blue button that says Complete Form.
Once you have submitted your information, our membership chair will contact you,
answer your questions, and explain the simple process for becoming a member.
We welcome your interest, and hope you will find our club stimulating and enjoyable, regardless of your gardening experience.
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Enjoy the Gardening Season!
OUR PURPOSE
To stimulate and further the interest of horticulture, landscape design and flower arranging. We also encourage conservation and protection of all natural resources. It is our objective to promote the Kalamazoo Garden Council and the Michigan Garden Clubs. We have a long tradition as a garden club and the advantages of belonging are both educational and social as well as being part of a larger organization.
A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT
In 2028 Kalamazoo Garden Club will celebrate its 100th anniversary! After 96 years (in 2024) our club is still going strong! We are a welcoming group, diverse in our gardening interests: flower gardeners, native plant enthusiasts, flower arrangers, environmental stewards, veggie growers, tree huggers and overall lifelong learners! We also support many worthwhile causes on our community including scholarships for students interested in horticulture, botany and environmental studies. We lend help and monetary support for projects that beautify and educate our community. And, we have fun in the process! So please come see us- visit our club during one of our monthly meetings to see what we are all about. Come grow with us!
– Sue Conat
OFFICERS
- President: Sue Conat
- 1st Vice-President: Lynne Gerfen
- 2nd Vice-President: Deb Harvey
- Recording Secretary: Rosemary Burke
- Corresponding Secretary: Rosemary Sillars
- Treasurer: Mary Verleger
- Nominations: Cynthia Addison
- Council Director: Jan Keys
MEETINGS
Our meetings are typically held at 12:30 PM on the 2nd Friday of the month. The location varies depending on our program. Typically, a short business meeting is followed by an interesting speaker or a workshop. A seasonal centerpiece and light refreshments are arranged by a host committee and club members enthusiastically share their gardening knowledge and their friendship. There are also a number of special events throughout the year that you can participate in according to your interest and available time. All of these events are terrific opportunities to have fun, meet talented fellow gardeners, increase your knowledge of gardening, and provide valued community service.
Fiscal Year: July through June
Annual club dues also include membership in Michigan Garden Clubs, Inc., and National Garden Clubs, Inc. If you are interested in more information about expenses associated with being a member, please complete the form at the bottom of the page and our membership chair will contact you. Dues and other costs are very reasonable.
COMMITTEES
Standing Committees; Auditor, Communication, Council Director, Finance, Historian, Life Membership, Membership, Nominations, parliamentarian, Program, Social, Ways and Means, Yearbook.
Special Committees: Artistic Design, Boutique Items for Greens Sale, Bows for Greens Sale, Civic Beautification, Council House Sign Garden, Floral Arrangements, Horticulture, Landscape/Design and Nature Study, Hospitality House, Photographers, Schools, Website and Facebook.
Community Activities
- Planting seasonal container gardens at the Hospital Hospitality House.
- Floral arrangements presented to individuals and organizations.
- Annual Spring Plant Sale
- Annual President’s Project
- People’s Choice Award at a local flower show
- Active participants in the Kalamazoo Garden Council Annual Greens Sale
- Active participation in the Kalamazoo Garden Council biennial Standard Flower Show.
- Maintaining the Welcome to Kalamazoo Northside Neighborhood sign planting area.
Upcoming Monthly Meetings
Please contact us using the form at the bottom of this page if you are interested in attending any of the meetings listed below!
June 13 Annual Meeting
July 11, Farrand Hall
August 8, VanderSalm’s
Club Highlights
Above: Our Civic Beautification Committee assures a cheerful welcome to our great city! We recently received a Michigan Garden Clubs First Place Award for Civic Beautification for our work on the Northside Welcome Sign.
Above: Members on a Lavender Farm Tour
CLUB HISTORY
Organized in 1928 — Federated in 1934
In 1928, there were three garden clubs in Kalamazoo, comprised of men and women. The men worked in the garden and the women acted as hostesses. However, women could spade, hoe and rake too, so on June 22, 1928, seven women with a common interest in flower gardening and beautifying the city, banded together and formed a new club created exclusively for women.
This new club was called “The Kalamazoo Unit of the Women’s National Farm and Garden Association”. They met twice a month and dues were $2 a year. The club grew slowly (15 members in 1929) and was the smallest Garden Club in the city through the 20’s and 30’s.
The club was first federated in 1934 and the name was changed several time before finally establishing the name of Kalamazoo Garden Club, in 1950. In 2003, Kalamazoo Garden Club celebrated its 75th birthday with a big garden party.
Early fund raising events included bridge parties; quilt raffles and finally guest day luncheons with popular speakers. Today plant sales and auctions of garden related sales and silent auctions help fund a wide variety of programs and speakers.
The club also plants trees in local parks. Members of the Kalamazoo Garden Club have long been active in beautifying the Kalamazoo community. Currently members work in the garden of Hospital Hospitality House bringing beauty and serenity to those staying there while their family member is in the hospital. Our latest project, begun in Spring of 2021 is the revamping and maintenance of the Welcome to Kalamazoo Northside Neighborhood sign planting area. We are proud to be helping this under-served neighborhood look it’s best!
Find out more about becoming a garden club member by completing the form below.