Garden Clubs Cultivate Community

Photo courtesy Little Garden Club of Sewickley

It may seem like garden clubs are a thing of the past, and in fact, there have been ebbs and flows in the membership of many clubs. But there is also a wealth of active garden clubs whose activities are widely varied—from sharing resources and hosting informative meetings, plant sales, and other fundraisers to community projects and, yes, gardening.

The Shaler Garden Club has a long history—103 years, to be exact—of helping to beautify the Shaler community, according to Judy Schiffbauer, past president and publicity coordinator. “It began when Herbert Hoover started a wartime effort to grow more food in gardens in 1921,” she said. Over the years, the focus and efforts have changed, but the club has always been dedicated to sharing knowledge and a love of gardening with others, assisting in protecting the natural environment, and using their time and talents to serve the community. With over 70 members from Shaler and surrounding communities, the club hosts numerous activities throughout the year.

“We had our first plant sale in 1953, and it continues to be our number one fundraiser,” Schiffbauer said. The sale takes place in Kiwanis Park in Shaler on the first Saturday in May. “We have a huge following. People start lining up over an hour in advance,” she said. The club hosted its 17th annual garden tour in July, with 100 percent of proceeds benefiting the Shaler Community Library. According to Schiffbauer, the club often works with the library to host programming, distribute free plants during National Garden Club Week, and decorate holiday trees for the library. A favorite is the children’s programming. “We want to inspire children and have activities such as a workshop on building fairy gardens,” Schiffbauer said.

The club also serves as a resource for gaining knowledge through their monthly programs, where they welcome guests such as Bob Mulvihill, the National Aviary ornithologist, who presented “Let’s Talk About Birds.” The club also takes various field trips throughout the year. “There are a multitude of reasons people join a garden club. Many are retired and have talents and abilities they want to use and give back to the community,” Schiffbauer said. “It is also a way to make connections and, of course, to learn about gardening.”

The multitude of activities—some visible and some behind the scenes, according to Schiffbauer—not only serve the community, but allow the club members to “have a lot of fun while we are doing it.”

Ingomar Garden Club members planting around the flagpole at UPMC Passavant

The Sewickley Civic Garden Council (SCGC) is a unique organization that comprises five local garden clubs: Edgeworth Garden Club, Grapevine Garden Club, Little Garden Club, Trowel & Error Garden Club, and the Village Garden Club of Sewickley. The council provides a way for local garden clubs to share and pool resources and work together on major projects to better serve the community. “Our major annual event is May Mart, held on the Saturday before Mother’s Day. This is a community event. Our major biannual event is the Sewickley Garden Tour, which happens next in June 2027,” said Karen Galbraith, past president.

The council, made up of members from each of the clubs, also hosts a biannual lecture, with the next slated for 2026. “For each of these events, members of each of the garden clubs come together to help. We do not have any SCGC members outside of the members of our member clubs. The SCGC Sewickley Garden Tour in particular is our major fundraiser, and it raises funds so that we can support Sewickley Borough’s annual planting of the Broad Street median as well as the planting and maintenance of the hanging baskets throughout Sewickley Village. It also supports our two grant cycles each year, which are open to anyone beautifying a public space in or immediately adjacent to Quaker Valley,” Galbraith explained.

Annie Gensheimer, current president of SCGC, said, “Each garden club schedules their meetings—usually monthly. There is often a speaker that comes to the meetings, or the club members will venture out on a field trip to learn and see things around Pittsburgh.”

Photo courtesy Little Garden Club of Sewickley

Gensheimer belongs to the Little Garden Club, now in its 103rd year. She joined after a friend extended an invitation. “Each club has its own flavor,” she said. Like most clubs, meetings include field trips. “Some of the places my club has visited are The Botanic Garden, Phipps, Tree Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Grows, and Eleven Mile Farm. Speaker topics are unlimited, and club members take on the role of putting together programming for the year with topics ranging from ecology, sustainability, pruning, floral arranging, beekeeping, houseplants, and native plants for your garden,” she said.

The Little Garden Club has also hosted a wide range of speakers and fun projects. “We enjoyed a fun presentation given by a woman who creates elaborate fascinators to be worn at the Kentucky Derby. Everyone enjoys hands-on events where we create wreaths, centerpieces, terrariums, or outdoor planters,” she said.

SCGC is proud to support funding projects to beautify Sewickley, such as recent grant requests for self-watering planters outside of the Sewickley Library and another for kids’ gardens at a local school. “SCGC is a good way for all five of the local garden clubs to hear what other clubs are doing and share ideas amongst each other to take back to our individual clubs,” Gensheimer said.

The Ingomar Garden Club (IGC) was created in 1946 as a philanthropic organization and was federated in 1954, according to Marcia Wielgus, publicity chair. “We currently have 40 members as the club celebrates its 79th year and remains committed to civic improvement, conservation, and the protection of the environment,” she said.

Like the other clubs, Ingomar is involved in many projects, including maintaining the David Council Memorial Park in the Town of McCandless; designing, planting, and maintaining large planters outside of UPMC Passavant Hospital as well as a small garden near the ICU area; and maintaining Edith’s Garden, which includes a Blue Star Marker honoring the military at the Northland Public Library grounds. “We also host horti-therapy sessions throughout the year where the club members work with the residents at the Wexford Health Care Center to create flower arrangements and other projects,” she said. Additionally, IGC funds a college scholarship annually and works with local elementary and high schools to promote youth contests run by National Garden Clubs, Inc.

All of the clubs welcome those interested to attend meetings and learn more about becoming members. “Some people worry that garden clubs are a thing of the past, but we certainly are not,” Schiffbauer said.

For more information:

The Shaler Garden Club:

https://www.shalergardenclub.com/

The Sewickley Gardens Council including all five member clubs: https://www.sewickleygardens.com/

Ingomar Garden Club:

https://www.ingomargardenclub.com/