Garden club celebrates 35 years
Originally viewed as rebels, White Hall Garden Club was formed in 1985, and there was resistance to its efforts. Really. The original group’s goal was to add a splash of color and beauty to the small town.
In spite of the controversy, club members planted pansies in whiskey barrels in the park, at the library and at city buildings.
That’s according to founding member Gwen Henry, who — along with Brenda Westall, retired White Hall High School teacher and beauty shop owner — first hatched the garden club idea.
Cathy Walker, one of the group’s 14 charter members, quickly signed up.
In America, it’s estimated that nearly $48 billion is spent annually on gardening, and according to the University of Vermont Extension Department of Plant and Soil Science, it’s the country’s number one hobby.
Henry said she isn’t surprised.
Of course, the garden club is a way to bond and make new friends, but Walker said it’s also about broadening one’s outdoor gardening skills and sharing plant cuttings.
For example, Henry said an older member taught her about pinching the first buds from a pansy so the plant will focus on growth and later produce more flowers.
“I joined because I am not very knowledgeable about plants or growing plants. …
I wanted to learn,” Brenda Doucey said.
Some members, including Walker, continue to clean and take care of the garden beds at White Hall City Hall and switch out blooming plants according to the season to add color.
For instance, Walker said, at City Hall, they still plant pansies for winter and daffodils in the spring.
Members also help each other and people outside the group with landscaping advice, Walker said.
“It’s a great group, and we are still welcoming new members,” Walker said.
PANDEMIC SLOWDOWN
Covid-19 has kept some members home, so White Hall Garden Club recently and quietly celebrated 35 years despite the pandemic.
Also, they decided to change their official garden club shirt from corral to teal, Henry said.
“We usually do something for our anniversary but not this year,” Walker said.
It’s hard not being able to get out and safely visit large public or members’ private gardens, but, Walker added, “We enjoy getting together and talking about the things we will do in the future.”
Henry said, “We always have lovely adventures and we laugh.”
In the past, they’ve traveled to places such as Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs, the annual Jefferson County Home & Garden Show in Pine Bluff and
P. Allen Smith’s Moss Mountain Farm near Little Rock. For now, the dozen or so members have been meeting at the White Hall Museum, 9009 Dollarway Road, with masks and socially distanced, Walker said.
Once, when at Mount Magazine for the annual daffodils, Henry said there were motorcyclists who had stopped there.
The garden club members gathered near the motorcycles and about that time, the riders approached.
The ladies promised they weren’t touching the bikes, but the riders didn’t mind and even asked if they wanted to have their pictures taken. The ladies agreed.
After all, once a rebel, always a rebel.