The Low Maintenance Garden Club

 My own front garden

I moved house a couple of years ago to an area where I didn't know a soul. What to do? To meet new people you are often advised to join a club. As I love to garden a garden club would be just the ticket. So I searched high and low but was unable to find a local garden club. Hmmm

 Rosa Blanc Double de Coubert at the back and Sombreuil in front, both have a divine scent

At that point I could have given up I suppose but I didn't, instead I came up with a cunning plan. I wrote a open letter telling people that I wanted to start a garden club and asking them if they were interested in joining. That open letter was photocopied 200 times and one fine day I put on my walking boots and went into my village looking for pretty front gardens. The reasoning behind that idea was that behind every gorgeous front garden there must live a keen gardener and I wasn't wrong. At every beautiful front garden I popped my letter in the letterbox. Even before I got home the phone was ringing with people wanting to join my garden club to be. Success!

A recent visit of my garden club to a Peony nursery abroad (Belgium)

The first meeting was held at my home with 16 people attending. Later on some more joined and others fell by the way side as they couldn't handle the way this particular garden club was set up. The thing is that I wanted to have fun, extend my horticultural knowledge and visit gardens near and far but I didn't want a traditional club with a chair(wo)man, secretary and treasurer. I'm a free spirit and do not want to be tied down with rubbish like that, especially not when it became clear to me that the others saw me in the role of chairperson. That was so not going to happen. And it didn't.

 As all members of my club are adults I didn't see the need of a nanny aka chairperson and after some persuasion the others agreed. A treasurer we didn't need either as we all pay our own entrance fee and such when visiting a garden, a garden show etc. That left the job of secretary and that we take in turns. We meet twice a year at someone's house and that person will be secretary for a few hours that day.

The letter I wrote asking people to join my garden club

At a meeting we decide together what gardens, garden shows and such to visit in the coming 6 months. Via email the agenda is sent to all members by the temporary secretary. As we have about 20 members and meet twice a year being a temporary secretary boils down to 2 hours of work once every 10 years, something even the laziest of us could manage.

Garden club visiting Laura Dingemans garden

The most important item on our agenda is having fun and we do, lots of it. We swap plants, cuttings, seed, knowledge, give a hand where necessary and we also have a meal together twice yearly and  everybody brings food and drink.

Sometimes when visiting a garden we have a cuppa with cookies or cake and sometimes we go afterwards to one member's house for a glass of wine, something to nibble and a whole lot to talk and laugh about. We have members of all ages from mid thirties to early seventies. As garden clubs go, mine is not bad and wonderfully low maintenance in respect to actual work and pretty high maintenance in all things fun.

Susan taking a breather after a hard day's garden visiting

So if you are tired of dragging unwilling spouse/kids/non-gardening friend with you to an open garden day, why not find kindred spirits in your area and start your own garden club?  It's easy, great fun and you've got the manual right here, so what's keeping you? Get cracking!

copyright 2010 Y.E.W. Heuzen