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Garden clubs help beautify community
Sat, Jul 15, 2006
By TAMMY BARTHLETT The Brunswick NewsFresh pears hang to the ground in Carol Smith's yard, waiting to ripen and be picked. On the other side of town, Sherle Beck specializes in planting tropical foliage in her yard.While the women grow different trees and plants, the two share a special bond: they hold high office in garden clubs.Smith is president of the Urbana Garden Club; Beck holds the same title in the Blythe Island Garden Club. The two say there are a lot of misconceptions about garden clubs."This is not about tea and socializing anymore," Smith said. Smith and Beck said their clubs are so much more. They are more about helping neighborhoods and making the Golden Isles more beautiful through beautification, education and conservation. Urbana and Blythe Island garden clubs aren't the only ones in the area. Garden clubs just like Smith's and Beck's can be found all over the Golden Isles, from individual neighborhoods to entire sections of town.Smith and Beck are also part of the Glynn Garden Club Council, an organization where each member helps with various beautification projects."The council has projects we do and our individual clubs have projects that they do," Beck said.Smith said the beautification part of a garden club's motto includes decorating areas with club creations."We put flowers in hospitals and in the libraries," she said.She said the flowers help beautify the community and give garden club members a feeling that they are doing something beneficial for their town.Educating the community about using flowers and arrangements to make an area more beautiful is a mission that has been a learning experience for the women – one learned through trial and error.Garden Clubs also try to involve the younger generation through junior garden clubs."We have several three-generation families in our clubs," Smith said.Another way the clubs help is by teaching ways to conserve the natural beauty of the Golden Isles.Beck said recycling videos are given to schools in hopes of teaching children the importance of doing their part. The statewide program is known as GEORGIA! Keep It Green and Clean.There is also the Garden Club of Georgia, a statewide organization. One of the Golden Isles' own, Sara Lanier, will be the president of the organization this coming term."There are over 14,000 garden club members in the Georgia Garden Club," Smith said. The Georgia Garden Club is the third largest club in the nation, behind Texas and Florida.With so many clubs and members popping up all the time in the Golden Isles, both Smith and Beck believe conserving and beautifying the area should not be a problem."If every community had a club, we could cover the world," Beck said. BREAKOUT:For information on starting your own garden club or to join an existing one, contact:* Sherle Beck at 264-3745 * Carol Smith at 265-0747
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