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By Jesse Klein
Punxsutawney Phil may have scrambled out of his hole
on Feb. 2 and found his shadow made legendary as an omen that we should
anticipate another six weeks of winter, but that did not dampen the
spirits of the historic and highly active Mickleton Garden Club.
Despite the dreary deluge that lasted throughout Feb.
11, the 62 member club held their monthly meeting at the Episcopal Church
in Clarksboro, excited to discuss upcoming events.
Dressed almost predominantly in red as an early nod
to Valentine’s Day, the group noshed on snacks and discussed their
upcoming road trip to Hershey Gardens on June 4. The 23 acre botanical
garden boasts nearly 7,000 roses, as well as theme gardens, an outdoor
Butterfly House and a spectacular Children’s Garden.
Club Member and trip organizer Jeanne Quinnette
described the events for that outing: an exploration of the gardens, lunch
in the Hershey Hotel, a trolley ride, a tour of the Great American
Chocolate Factory, and a stop off at the Market Place Gift Shop. The cost
of the trip is just $78 and includes bus transportation tours and lunch.
The trip is not limited to members and Jeanne
encourages all those interested to come along. There is capacity for 78,
and already she has 20 members signed up, but the group encourages anyone
that loves to see the beauty of nature to join them on this special trip.
To sign up for the trip call Jeanne at (856)
853-8168.
These club members are certainly no shrinking violets
when it comes to road trips. Over the years they have visited gardens all
over the area. Last year it was Meadowbrook Farms in Pennsylvania. And in
years previous they have journeyed to New York City to visit The Cloisters
and to Duke Gardens in Somerville, New Jersey. And every Christmas a group
of members make sure to make a pilgrimage to Longwood Gardens in Kennett
Square, Pennsylvania to enjoy the remarkable holiday décor foliage and
flowers.
In fact, the Mickleton Garden Club won second place
in 1980 at the second annual Longwood Garden Christmas Tree competition.
The theme was A Nutcracker Fantasy and the Mickelton Garden Club chose to
recreate the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. The tree they decorated was
replete with 800 handmade ornaments including Sugar Plum fairies dressed
in pink taffeta, miniature soldiers, and taffies.
They completed their work of art with garlands of
popcorn and cranberries. In their review judges described the tree as both
“elegant and striking.”
But the rosetta stone of the club’s annual activity
revolves around their own homegrown flower show now in its 63rd year. The
club blossomed back in 1941 due to the efforts of a few local women
committed to beautifying the area. They met in the home of Louise Kohler
in what is now known as the Otto Botto House.
The original purpose of the club was to encourage the
community to beautify the surroundings. And at one time the club even sold
dogwood trees and and red bud trees, many of which still grace the
landscape today.
The original committee selected in 1941 included
Katherine Heritage, Mary Heritage, Dorothy Peaslee, Peral Polk and
Geraldine Ward. In 1942 the Mickelton Garden Club elected its first
President Olive Carter and over the last 63 years has awarded that
position to 31 different members.
And while the group is made up of mostly women, they
encourage men to join. The club has two current male garden enthusiasts,
Frank Toman of Mickelton, a certified master gardener, and day lily
enthusiast, and Patrick Hall of Deptford.
In 2006 Hall held a presentation regarding how to
earn the distinction for having your home garden recognized as a Wildlife
Habitat. The certification awarded by the national wildlife federation
encourages garden enthusiasts to build habitats that allow them to watch
wildlife such as songbirds, butterflies, and frogs.
The federation believes that replacing basic grass
lawns with native flowers, shrubs, and trees increases not only curb
appeal but will attract wildlife. Essentially in the words from the Field
of Dreams, “build it and they will come.”
The Federation also subscribe to the notion that
gardening is a contagious and beautiful hobby, and that by sharing the
love of the art can beautify an entire neighborhood.
Certainly gardening is an art that can be created and
enjoyed by both genders. In fact many of the most famous quotes that are
related to the beauty and art of gardening are those from the mouths of
famous men such as Hans Christian Anderson who stated, “Living is just not
enough. One must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower.”
Renowned impressionist Claude Monet often utilized
gardens as a source of inspiration. “More than anything I must have
floweres always, always.” he said.
The long term history of this club is fascinating as
it dates back more than 60 years and its loyal following of more than 60
current members can attest to the fact that it provides not just an
education on flowers and horticultural but an enjoyable monthly get
together. Virtually every member I spoke to said that they had made
lifelong friends and enjoyed the club for its camaraderie and gentle
atmosphere and that the meeting occupies a bright spot on their monthly
calendar.
As a first hand visitor I must say that attendance
come rain or come shine was amazing as at least 40 plus members were at
the February meeting in spite of the nasty weather.
When started in the 1940’s the group had just 14
members and it met in the Little Red School House. In 1977 when the rent
at the schoolhouse became prohibitive the Mickelton Garden Club moved to
the Episcopal Church on Kings Highway and has been there ever since.
Along the way members have joined the Mickleton Club
from all over Southern Jersey including Swedesboro, Paulsboro, Clarksboro,
Mickleton, Mount Royal, Woolwich, Mullica Hill, Woodbury, Woodbury
Heights, Gibbstown, Thorofare, Sewell, Mantua, Pitman, Wenonah, Glassboro,
Evesham, Audubon, Medford, and Williamstown.. This group of growers
encourages anyone interested in friendship and flowers to join and the
cost of membership is a mere $10 a year.
The Club’s main event is the annual flower show
planned for May 14. The show is their primary fundraiser with proceeds
going to fund scholarships to students at the Bankbridge Regional School
who are interested in learning about horticulture. Many of the scholarship
recipients have taken their love of gardening beyond the classroom by
participating in internships, flower shows and employment in the
horticultural industry.
Submissions to the show are not limited to members
and the club highly encourages anyone with a love of art and gardening to
submit an entry. This year’s theme is “Gems in my Garden”.
The criterion for submission is quite
straightforward. Flowers must be fresh but do not have to come from your
own garden. They may be accessorized with non-plant decoration.
In the horticultural class, stems, plants, tree
branches and even single flowers are accepted. The plants or trees should
have been in the possession of the submitter for at least three months
prior to the show.
The theme that focuses on gems requests that
submissions have a primary color scheme of a gemstone be it diamond,
emerald, ruby or any other precious or semiprecious stone. They may be
accessorized by gold or silver or anything else that complements the
primary gemstone color.
The judges are recruited from outside and not members
of the Mickleton Club. Again amateurs are encouraged to submit. For more
detailed information on submission criteria and design classes call club
member Mary Bennett at (856) 467-0510.
The meeting that I was able to attend afforded me the
opportunity to not only witness the warmth and friendship of the group but
get a chance to see how each member enjoys passing on advice from how to
avoid gardening woes to solving pesky problems. I enjoyed listening to a
question and answer session led by a panel of five members fondly
nicknamed the “soon to be famous” gardening gurus. The panel included
Anita Sundberg, Joyce Magazu, Joan Almond, Shirley Robinson and Charlotte
Hughes, who shared their advice on everything from rhododendrons to root
rot, and different strategies for ridding your garden from weeds.
Anita Sundberg, who handles the history for the club,
was kind enough to lend me a recent yearbook outlining recent events and
holding pictures of the magnificent gardens of many of the members.
Sundberg who has been a member since she moved to the area nearly 15 years
ago, has a majestic setting behind her home in Mullica Hill.
She has also gone to great effort to put together
yearbooks that depict the events of the club each year from group
excursions, to flower show submissions, and demonstrations from members
that are given at some of the monthly meetings.
Two years ago President Diane Suiter and member Joan
Almond both won wards at the prestigious Philadelphia Flower Show.
Suiter’s entry, created with friend Tammy Feuer, was in the small niche
class themed “Green with Envy”.
Their submission featuring Serrano peppers took first
place. Almond won a first place in the horticultural division with her
amaryllis.
So as you can see there is so much to learn and enjoy
by getting to know our own local experts. Guests are always welcome at the
Mickleton Garden Club’s monthly meetings which are held the second
Wednesday of every month at the Episcopal Parish Hall in Clarksboro.
And who knows you may be able to live up to the
ancient Chinese Proverb that states, “He who plants a garden, plants
happiness. If you want to be happy for a lifetime, plant a garden.”
The Mickleton Club left me walking away once again
assured that even though we are growing houses where are farm fields used
to be, that with individuals like these living in our community, we will
still be able to maintain the honor as being known as the Garden State.
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