Framingham Garden Club, Inc. Celebrates 85 Years of Community Service
Members of the Framingham Garden Club, Inc. celebrated eighty-five years of carrying out their mission of education, conservation and beautification as they relate to design, horticulture and gardening in our community on December 12, 2018.
Just days before the Framingham Garden Club celebration, members had staged their annual Greens Sale to raise scholarship funds. The sale is five days of intense work and community building. The members were eager to celebrate their hard work, not only of the past, but also of the present as they gathered outside Plymouth Church’s Parish Hall where the event was held.
Inside the hall, the club’s floral designers put the finishing touches on unique but related table arrangements executed in white, sage green and silver. A screen was in place for the audio-visual tribute to past and present that was to come, and the microphone at the podium was tested for volume. Caterers managed food, and planners, Suzanne Fioretti, Pat Carr and Pat Towle beamed as they saw their plans come together.
“Ready?” Someone called out.
“Ready!” the response.
Doors opened. “Come in, ladies, but don’t sit!” Bright sweaters, silky scarves and saris surged into the hall.
“Line up in front of the tree! Tallest in the back.” A husband-photographer’s voice directed traffic. The members, including Dorothy Moody, a forty-one year veteran of the club, and others who had joined much more recently, squeezed together. “If you can see me, I can see you,” the photographer directed. His camera clicked. “One more!” No one had to be told to smile.
Sixty-three FGC members are in the photo from that day. Not pictured are collaborators from other Framingham organizations who shared the celebration, including representatives from Framingham Parks & Recreation Department, Framingham History Center, Framingham State University Alumni Association and Pinefield Garden Club. Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts executive officers, Suzanne McCance, Bonnie Rosenthal, Betsy Howard and Ann Webster were honored guests as well.
Nancy Martin, the club’s 46th president, welcomed everyone. Ruth Evans read a gathering poem. GCFM President Suzanne McCance presented the club with a certificate of merit to acknowledge our 85 years. The certificate is signed by Nancy Hargroves, National Garden Club Federation President
Susan Whittaker and Shannon Fitzpatrick provided a riveting audio-visual presentation of highlights from the club’s past. The two worked with club archivist, Gretchen Cumming to prepare the presentation.
They described a 1939 project: “The White Trial Garden…was a plot 32’ x 9’…and included 21 perennials and 10 annuals…the total cost was $11.26 which covered lumber and paint (for a fence).”
Another project they described involved beautification of the Framingham Center Common and the municipal buildings around it between 1961 and 1964. A $200.00 grant from GCFM, supported by Sears Roebuck, funded that project.
Today Framingham Garden Club’s programs continue to expand. Our Beautification Committee has built and maintains three gardens. The club offers senior classes at three Framingham residential facilities. It awards college scholarships to deserving high school seniors, sponsors the third grade program at Garden in the Woods, provides support to Voices Against Violence and the Women’s Shelter, the Seed Library at the Framingham Public Library and Penny Pines.
Our members are creative, award-winning floral designers who have contributed arrangements to standard flower shows, the MFA’s Art in Bloom, Worcester Art Museum’s Flora in Winter, shows at Tower Hill Botanic Garden and the Boston Spring Flower Show. They are avid gardeners, horticulturists, educators, conservationists and volunteers who share their many talents with our city.
We are proud of our club’s past, and relish the opportunities the future offers.
Ruth Evans
