ADRIAN — Since 1926, the Adrian Garden Club has worked to beautify the city of Adrian by creating both public and private garden spaces. This year marks the 100-year anniversary of the group’s efforts to make Adrian a more beautiful place to live.
To honor the 100-year anniversary, the Adrian Garden Club is planning a Centennial Celebration Party at the Stubnitz Environmental Education Center at Adrian’s Heritage Park in August. The club will host all of the chapters of the Michigan Garden Clubs Inc. District IIA, the district to which they belong.
Another part of the anniversary-year celebration is a display of archival newspaper clippings and club handbooks at the Lenawee Historical Museum. The first club handbook was published in 1930, four years after the club organized, and listed Mrs. H.W, Lamb as the president. In 1931, the garden club was federated as a charter member of Michigan Garden Clubs. It is currently a member of National Garden Clubs as well.
Cheryl Clymer Lynch is the current president of the club, which has 30 members. She is hoping to bring more members into the group. There are no real criteria for joining the club, she said.
“We take anybody from beginner to advanced gardener,” she said. “We’ve had people gardening forever and we have people that are just getting into it.”
The Adrian Garden Club works “to provide leadership, education and resources and network opportunities for its members to promote the love of gardening, floral and landscape design, civics and environmental responsibility.”
The Adrian Garden Club is “community oriented,” Lynch said. The club maintains gardens at Monument Park in Adrian, the Lenawee County Fairgrounds, the Lenawee Historical Museum, and a tree at the Comstock Park holiday tree display, as well as Christmas trees at the Adrian District Library and the Lenawee District Library.
Another project is the “Garden of the Month” program, in which an outstanding garden is chosen for recognition by the club. The “Garden of the Month” is nominated based on how attractive it is and is chosen by club members.
One of the bigger projects of the Adrian Garden Club is a $2,000 scholarship that is awarded each year to a graduating senior from Lenawee County who is going on to study horticulture, biology, floral or landscape design or another field related to the environment. The winner is chosen by club members based on applications.
Funds for the scholarship originally came from the proceeds of The Tulip Tea, a fundraising event that was held from 1947 to 2006. In 2007, the club moved to holding an annual plant sale and yard sale to raise funds the scholarship. The sale is held the Friday and Saturday before Mother’s Day. The plants and seeds for the sale come from the gardens of the club members themselves, and contributions come from a local greenhouse and nursery.
The Adrian Garden Club meets on the third Tuesday of the month from March to November. Each meeting features a program that is related to gardening. The programs this year include speakers on Botanical Beverages, Beekeeping 101 and Hidden Lake Gardens. Also included is a member garden tour in July as well as a Kiwanis Trail Walk in September. The trail walk will be led by Janet Salzewedel, a retired biology professor from Adrian College and will focus on identifying native plant species that grow along the trail.
Special events in June include assisting with the Michigan Garden Clubs State Conference in Ann Arbor and a bus tour that includes the Royal Oak Farmers Market and the Meadowbrook Estate in Rochester. The club also participates in the Michigan Garden Clubs Fall Conference and the Civitan Fourth of July Parade.
In order to increase membership and raise awareness of the group, the club has developed a logo and printed T-shirts and brochures.
Lynch said that she became a member of the group after working for years with a schedule that would not allow her to attend the meetings. Although the group is based in Adrian, members come from towns throughout Lenawee County that might not have a gardening club, including Hudson, Britton and Onsted.
The Adrian Garden Club meets from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. every third Tuesday of the month from March through November. A holiday luncheon is held in December. Planning meetings are held in January and February. The club meets at the Adrian District Library, located at 143 E. Maumee St. in Adrian. Dues for the club are $15 a year for a regular membership or $20 for an associate membership. More information is available on Facebook by searching for Adrian Garden Club.
