The Joy of Gardening — Together
Candy Puterbaugh
50plus Magazine
The roots of gardening run deep in the Pacific Northwest. As far back as the 1800s, Oregon attracted people from all backgrounds, thanks to its fertile soil, temperate climate, and lush forests. Those settlers were united by a shared passion for working the land and growing gardens and crops.
Today, gardening organizations continue to feed that passion, with education, community events, garden tours, and more. Participating in a garden group or events can add not only to your garden but to your life – through discovery, connection, and the shared love of the land and its bounty.
Personally, joining a garden club 22 years ago did more than help my garden grow. It helped me grow. Digging in the dirt wasn’t in my DNA, but The Portland Garden Club taught me to dig deeper, unearthing a knowledge of horticulture, a love of nature, and wonderful friendships.
What I didn’t know is how deep the 100-year-old club’s roots ran in the community. The group has a history of helping — from donating land to the city in 1926 for a Forest Park entrance to propagating and planting native wildflowers along the Columbia River Gorge in the ‘90s.
Today, it offers monthly meetings with a special speaker free to the public. The warmth and beauty of its JOY fundraiser each December draws a crowd lining around the block. Funds raised provide grants to nonprofits supporting the club’s mission, Another fund provides scholarships to students studying/researching conservation and botany at OSU and PCC.
The club — one of the few Garden Club of America groups with its own clubhouse — has 326 members divided into nine Hort Groups that study horticulture through workshops, field trips, and speakers as they grow together like a family. Club committees run the gamut, from Community Outreach and Conservation to Floral Design and Photography. A colorful monthly publication is chock-full of information.
“All of our club activities align with our mission, ‘To support the knowledge and love of gardening’,” says PGC President Madie Richenstein. “We have a strong and cohesive membership due to our commitment to collaboration.”
According to communications chair Nancy Bolton, “The club is honored to host an upcoming GCA major flower show, ‘Kaleidoscope,’ May 17-18 at the World Forestry Center. The show will feature entries from professional and novice florists, horticulturists, and photographers from around the country. It’s free and open to the public.”
Another member added, “I’ve found that you can learn the rest of your lifetime when you join a garden club!”
Learn more at theportlandgardenclub.org.
Salem Area
In the 1990s, Salem members of the statewide Hardy Plant Society of Oregon wanted to create a group in their immediate area. The result was the Salem Hardy Plant Society (SHPS) — now the largest garden/plant-related group in the Salem area.
“The central Willamette Valley is home to many specialty nurseries, growers and hybridizers, so the local resources to feed their passion for hardy plants were plentiful,” says Jim Fok, SHPS President. “We’ve grown to over 100 households, our members running the gamut from professional nurseries to window-box gardeners and everything in between. The group is large enough to support the programs and still small enough to maintain that hometown feel.”
SHPS promotes enthusiasm for hardy plants — perennial plants and trees hardy enough to survive PNW winters — by bringing in guest speakers during fall/winter months and hosting Open Gardens events, nursery visits and potlucks through spring and summer. The group also organizes a popular annual plant sale in September and supports a local horticulture scholarship at Chemeketa Community College.
“This group is a beautiful way to keep in touch with the gardening community,” says Jim’s life partner, Elaine Jerauld. “We’re like a family. For those who love to garden but no longer can due to age or life changes, they can still enjoy their passion by visiting other gardens. It is healing to be part of the beauty of a garden.”
Learn more at salemhardyplantsociety.org or find them on Facebook.
Eugene Area
Marian Talen has been president of the Willamette Valley Hardy Plant Group in Eugene for seven of the 30 years she’s been a member.
“I joined for the love of gardening and to be around other gardeners,” she says. “They’re so supportive. We have our own gardening family — from beginners to experts.”
The 400-member club of men and women — formed in 1986 by a few Eugene gardeners meeting in their homes — offers monthly informational speaker programs to the public, a newsletter, seminars, workshops, field trips, private garden tours, and a summer picnic and barbecue.
“We share plants, ideas, and solve problems together,” Marian says, “with lots of open garden trips in and out of town. It helps to see other gardens and ask questions. Gardeners have lots of questions! I encourage our members to talk to each other. Our club is casual and friendly. We’re very eager to share advice.”
The upcoming speaker on April 8 is Marietta O’Byrne, owner of the long-established and now closed Northwest Garden Nursery in Eugene. An avid traveler, Marietta will discuss “Travel in southwest Africa and Vietnam: Plants and Wildlife.”
All are welcome at the group’s Annual Hardy Plant Sale, always held on the Saturday before Mother’s Day. The sale features plants from local nurseries, member gardens, and garden-related art.
“I always suggest gardeners join a garden club,” Marian says, “to enjoy the sharing, camaraderie, and doing things together.”
Learn more at thehardyplantgroup.org.