There’s an abundance of flower power in Sewickley.
Members of the Village Garden Club of Sewickley have promoted horticulture camaraderie, service and dedication to the Sewickley community since 1927.
But don’t look for stodgy, elderly ladies clutching their pearls and sipping tea at the monthly meetings held September through June.
“I thought it was a bunch of little old ladies who didn’t have anything better to do,” said member Martha Smith, a resident of Aleppo for more than 30 years.
Smith resides in an area governed by HOA guidelines and has to hang her plants from the deck or grow them in pots. Having a gardening outlet beyond her home is rewarding, she said.
“I try to do whatever I can to help the Earth for our children, for their future,” said the avid conservationist, who attends national meetings in Washington, D.C., on behalf of the club.
All levels of green thumbs are encouraged to join.
“You don’t feel intimidated and we’re all learning,” Smith said.
The group of 72 mostly female members — three men have joined, but more are welcome — share a love of gardening, creating floral arrangements, practicing conservation, photographing gardens, socializing and participating in garden shows.
Dennis Zeitler of Edgeworth is one of the male members. Retired from the safety industry, he joined the club two years ago.
“I don’t claim to have a green thumb, but, growing up in East Brady in Clarion County, my dad had a huge garden and lots of pretty flowers,” Zeitler said. “I like wildflowers — to cut them and arrange them. I like it to look eclectic and fun. I figured, what the heck, and I would join.”
Zeitler, a former chief financial officer, described the ladies as hard workers and friendly.
He serves as treasurer of the club and on its board.
Village Garden Club is one of only three Western Pennsylvania garden clubs affiliated with the Garden Club of America. The other is the Garden Club of Allegheny County and the Carrie T. Watson Garden Club in Erie.
The Sewickley club joined in 1961. Its Garden and History Design Committee uses photography and research to spotlight gardens of note in the area.
The committee partners with the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Gardens to document gardens.
To date, Village Garden Club of Sewickley has submitted four gardens to these archives.
The nonprofit club paid for the construction of Sewickley Public Library’s terrace in 2000 and maintains its landscaping and flowers.
Members raised more than $40,000 through donations and a Village Garden Club tour that featured five private kitchens.
The Village Garden Club also is a member of the Sewickley Civic Garden Council.
Other Sewickley-area organizations supported by the Village Garden Club include the Allegheny Land Trust, Fern Hollow Nature Center, Osborne Elementary gARTen Club, Penguin Bookshop, Sewickley Heights Borough Park, the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Sewickley Valley YMCA.
Horticultural highlights
The Village Garden Club, founded in 1927, continues its commitment to gardens, conservation and promoting the general beauty of the community and nature.
During the 1930s, projects included plantings at the hospital, providing fresh flowers in the library and promoting vegetable gardens for people who were unemployed during the Great Depression. The club provided seeds, fertilizer and gardening advice.
The garden outreach resulted in the creation of 50 gardens in the Sewickley area.
In 1979, the club completed a revitalization of Wolcott Park, created in honor of a former member, the late Mary Wolcott.
Six-year member Peg Baycer has garnered quite the flower following.
Baycer loves to grow her signature heirloom tomatoes and perennials.
Her Sewickley home features a stone wall out front — once covered with invasive ivy that has long since been eradicated and replaced with 80 feet of colorful and interesting perennials.
“It’s a showstopper on Thorn Street. I label everything, too, and it’s on the route to the elementary school, and everyone asks me about it,” Baycer said of her public flower bed. “I try and plant weird things like caterpillar plants or a plant that looks like eggs.”
Baycer decided to join the Village Garden Club after a member noticed her creative flower bed.
“I like being a member because of how we get together for the community,” Baycer said.
Missy Sanfilippo of Edgeworth is a former club president and member of 29 years.
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Her mother recruited her into the club while Sanfilippo was working full time in the engineering profession.
“I would take personal time from work and show up at the garden club in a suit,” Sanfilippo recalled. “It’s changed dramatically since then — from the silver tea urns — but what remains is friendships, learning and excellent speakers. As we grow and change with the times, getting different members is the core.”
Lynn Sopp, the current club president, emphasized the organization’s conservation components.
“We want to reach the community and have them understand our love of gardening and help them learn what they can grow in the Sewickley area,” Sopp said. “It’s important for us to conserve our natural resources and do what we can to support our area with native plants and eliminate invasive plants.”
The club embraces four core principles: conservation, horticulture, photography and flower arranging.
Karen Galbraith of Edgeworth is a newer member and president-elect set to begin her term in June.
She is pleased to see more milkweed in the community.
“People are including more milkweed, and the monarch population has improved,” Galbraith said.
The club has worked hard to reduce invasive English ivy and Japanese barberry.
Deer munching on native plants is an ongoing issue faced by horticulturists in Sewickley.
“One of our problems in this area is that we have a lot of deer and the deer eat beneficial plants,” Sopp said.
Monthly meetings often are held in members’ gardens, and a workshop after a recent meeting focused on using alternatives to oasis (wet Styrofoam) because it’s not good for the environment.
“We were encouraged to try alternatives (to regular floral foam) to flower-arranging — using reusable and new products made from biodegradable materials. In our workshop, we used chicken wire that can be reused,” Sopp said.
Sewickley newcomer Nadia Sud joined the club last year after relocating from Australia.
She said the opportunity to join proved serendipitous.
“I was walking down Broad Street one day and saw a bunch of people planting on Broad Street,” Sud said. “They invited me to join them, and they were so kind, helpful and friendly.”
Sud is originally from India and has lived internationally in large, urban cities. Having a large yard to cultivate and tend to is a new, but welcome, experience, she said.
She is looking to plant flowers in two areas on her property and said the guest speakers at club meetings have been very educational.
“They are all helping me, and they’re all such veterans at gardening and so passionate about it. They’re just lovely,” Sud said.
Baycer organizes club programs and guest speakers and noted the ages of most members range from 40 to 90.
To adapt to the changing work environment, the club hosts two evening meetings annually and schedules workshops on weekends.
“We have a newer member who is 35. We want to encourage younger members to join the club,” Baycer said.
Annual dues are $140 with a portion of the dues benefiting the Garden Club of America.
To join, click here.