Local Columns

Garden Club celebrates 25 years!

In honor of our 25th anniversary, the Garden Club of Cape Coral is hosting a celebratory luncheon for members and guests at the Palmetto-Pine Country Club on Saturday, May 14.

Did you know that the Garden Club of Cape Coral was the brainchild of Marty Ward and Beverly Ray in 1997? Marty and Beverly invited like-minded friends to form a garden club that would join both the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs and the national organization, National Council of State Garden Clubs – now National Garden Clubs, Inc.

Meetings continued in members' homes, moving briefly to the Italian American Club before landing at Faith Presby-terian and ultimately, the Del Prado Episcopalian Church. Our first president was Sherie Bleiler, who remains an active member of the club.

In 1999, the City Parks and Recreations Department asked the club to plant the large cement planters that are still in the median of Cape Coral Parkway's eastern section and the club continued to maintain these for several years until passing it back to the city in the early 2000s.

The club has a long relationship with Habitat for Humanity and, except 2020, annually designs and installs the landscape at its Women's Build home for a single mother. The club has won several FFGC and Deep South Garden Clubs awards for its work with Habitat.

GCCC maintains three civic gardens, the first of these being the Butterfly Garden at the Cape Coral-Lee County Library. The idea was the brainchild in 2001 of Ginny McCarthy (later president from 2004-2005). The garden has now been recognized by the Butterfly Association of America as a "Certified Butterfly Garden" and also by FFGC and Deep South Garden Clubs.

In 2008 the club began maintaining the Rose Garden at Cape Coral Historical Society - a tribute garden to the original Waltzing Waters gardens of 40,000 roses built by the Rosen Brothers. The Historical Society Garden has been recognized several times with FFGC's and Deep South Garden Clubs' Historical Preservation awards

Many people in the Cape are familiar with "March in the Park" (MIP). The idea for this came from member Donna Conway who suggested the club stage a vendor show with the club also selling plants. The first MIP in 2009 was staged in the Church of the Epiphany parking lot! The show is now a juried garden art and plant sale with multiple vendors staged at Jaycee Park, allowing the club to give annual Marty Ward Merit awards to qualified high-school students.

2015-2019 were eventful years. Our meetings moved brief-ly to the Art League on Cul-tural Park Boule-vard, we won multiple FFGC and Deep South Awards and in 2017 our first National Garden Clubs award – for the PowerPoint presentation "This is your Garden Club" - and we moved again to the Kiwanis building on Santa Barbara Boulevard. In 2019, the club's website redesigned by member Lillian Peterson was recognized by FFGC's De Palma Silik Award and later by a National Garden Clubs award. You'll definitely want to check that out - www.gardenclubofcapecoral.com! We also have a Facebook page showing the beauty and joy of flowers, gardens and the world of nature.

In 2020 a fun Razzle Dazzle Luncheon Fashion Show and silent auction was held at the Yacht Club to raise money for a Blue Star Memorial Marker. The Blue Star Memorial Marker honors the Armed Forces, past, present and future. We wanted the installation of this memorial to coincide with Cape Coral's 50th Anniversary! Please take a trip to the city's beautiful Eco Park and see our monument and garden.

The Garden Club of Cape Coral is proud to celebrate its 25th Anniversary and is thrilled to be a part of our great city!

Sylvia Swartz is Past President of the Garden Club of Cape Coral.