MANSFIELD, Ohio — Luminarias lined the path to a secret garden, and that was the theme, The Secret Garden, Friday evening as the Buckeye Garden Club celebrated their 75th anniversary.
The luminarias led guests to Kay Hostetler’s back yard where mini lights illuminated trees and foliage; and tea candles hung from branches or glowed inside paper globes or glass holders. Twenty-five women gathered to enjoy the evening of food, wine, and cultivated friendships.
Club President Becky Brewster thanked the members who spent hours preparing for the event, including preparing a history table and decorating. Tina Murphy organized members to create the evening’s lighting, and Dee Dee Cunning prepared the food, which included mini quiches, brie, fruits and fresh vegetables, and a key lime dessert.
“This is the most wonderful group of ladies,” said Cunning, one of the club’s newest members.
“We have a lot of fun in this group,” Elin Drouhard said, “and a lot of education.”
Marilyn Culp added, “That’s what this group is about, education, as well as having fun.”
The Buckeye Garden Club was formed in 1940 with eight charter members with a program focused on gardening, horticulture, floral design and conservation education. The clubs continues to explore those topics, personally and through civic outreach.
There are currently 18 active members, as well as some associate and honorary members. The club tends plantings at Friendly House and Hidden Hollow Camp and decorate for Halloween and Christmas at the estate at Kingwood Center Gardens. After spades and hoes are set aside at Hidden Hollow, club members enjoy a salad lunch—enjoying their actiivties.
A green can is passed at meetings to collect change for Penny Pines. When $68 has been collected, the money is sent to Garden Club of Ohio and 100 pine trees are planted. The club designates Ohio locations for the trees to be planted.
“We also support a Garden Club of Ohio Scholarship, and that goes to an Ohio resident college student who are either studying landscape design or horticulture. We support those kids every year,” Drouhard said.
Drouhard led the committee to present the club’s history at the event and throughout the evening she challenged members with history questions. She asked club members, for example, who the architect was for Hidden Hollow Camp. After someone jested it was Frank Lloyd Wright, the accurate response was given: Tom Zaugg.
That seemed to be the point. The club supports education; they plant and weed civic projects; but they also have fun.
More playful questions, like who tell a great joke, only if it’s written down, seeded the conversation, as did plans for participation in the men’s flower show at Kingwood Center Gardens and decorating for the Pumpkin Glow. It was also leaked that one of the members doesn’t enjoy flower arranging; but she’s a sport and it’s a club policy that members must participate in one judged show a year or pay a $25 penalty.
There are also members who might not know a dahlia from a zinnia when they first join. Margie Cutnaw was one of those.
“I loved looking at flower gardens and I figured joining the club was a way to give me that nudge to really start doing something better,” Cutnaw said. “The main thing it did was cost me big bucks because I had it professionally landscaped, but I still take care of it and plant annuals.”
Cutnaw prepared a special gift for each attendee to the garden party. She made secret garden boxes with miniature door handles and keys.
“As a little momento for everybody, I made these little secret garden boxes,” Cutnaw said. She wrote a poem to adorn the front of the boxes.
“Inside they’re all different, “Cutnaw explained. “I made 30 different scenes inside these boxes.” As a former teacher she said she has a hard time throwing things away. Old calendar pages set the scene inside each box that included miniature foliage, animals and garden tools.
Laughter drifted over the garden party as door prizes were drawn and new friendships were cultivated. The women’s future jests may include the question, who had a hoe in her secret garden?
