OKEECHOBEE — Today’s garden clubs are not your grandmother’s club — getting together in someone’s home to sip tea and talk about plants.  Garden Clubs are still here but evolved, relevant, and vibrant in Okeechobee County. 

Historically, in 1891, a physician in Athens, Georgia, named Dr. Edwin Dorset Newton, who had a keen interest in horticulture, suggested to 12 ladies to meet to educate themselves, with his guidance, on the study of plants.  This became the first garden club, known as the Garden Club of Athens.  Back then, ladies were known to form clubs with others with similar interests to learn about music, poetry, gardening, etc., so ladies' clubs, including garden clubs, thrived.

As interest in garden clubs grew, they realized the benefits of forming state federations of garden clubs which would address environmental and beautification projects such as groundwater issues and the preservation of greenspaces.

The FFGC (Florida Fedderation of Garden Clubs) will be celebrating its 100th birthday this year. Today, there are 200 clubs and approximately 14,000 members which make up 12 Districts in Florida.  Okeechobee,  Okeechobee County are part of the 10^th District in the state which includes 12 Garden Clubs:  Garden Club of Indian River County, Garden Club of Stuart, Rio Lindo Garden Club, Piper’s Landing Garden Club, Jupiter/Tequesta Garden Club, West Palm Beach Garden Club, Wellington Garden Club, Boynton Beach Garden Club, and Boca Raton Garden Club.    Each Club has its own individual by-laws, officers and operations.

The mission for all clubs and FFGC is to promote the love of gardening, floral and landscape design and civic and environmental responsibility by providing education, resources and networking opportunities for our members, youth and the community.

The clubs in District 10 have always been very active.  They are responsible for and have collaborated on extensive tree plantings, beautifying schools and civic buildings and providing scholarships to college students.  The Garden Clubs offer public events, including flower shows, Home & Garden Tours, plant sales and community outreach programs for the elderly and for children with special needs. District 10 supports the residential Wekiva Youth Camp near Altamonte Springs, sponsored by FFGC, for children to have an authentic Florida experience.

Each club has speaker-based meetings with experts presenting programs such as reforestation, safe organic pesticides, and the benefits of native plants.  Club members learn about topics ranging from eco-art to helping our pollinators.  Members also participate in workshops on horticulture, landscape design and floral design, etc.  

If you love the environment, gardens and horticulture; are interested in the art of floral design and want to learn more about joining a garden club in District X please join us on Tuesday, May 14 at 10:30 a.m. in the Okeechobee Library as we discuss starting a garden club in the city of Okeechobee. 

Contact Maria Wolfe at tcacad_registrar@yahoo.com to reserve your spot.    You can also follow us on Facebook (Ffgc Districtx) or go to www.ffgc.org to learn all about the benefits of membership in the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs.  By the way…you can enjoy a garden club if you live in a condo or home.  There is something for everyone!