For nearly half of Henderson, Kentucky’s 228-year history, members of the Garden Club have rolled up their sleeves and spruced up public spaces to create a visually vibrant community.
“Whatever the city needs and wants, we try to do it,” says Garden Club president Pam Johnson, a 12-year member. “Not everyone is an avid gardener, but they appreciate gardens.”
Most of the club’s work since its inception on May 1, 1925, is visible in planters and hanging baskets along Downtown streets, the redbud trees lining Elm Street, cherry trees in Central Park, and the stone gateway at Atkinson Park costing $1,500. Members have planted trees and perennials at Redbanks Nursing Home, Henderson Community College, Brain Injury Center, and Audubon Mill Park.
Not all of its projects involve greenery. In 2010, the club saw to the placement of two American flags, two Kentucky flags, and a stone planter with knockout roses and a sign that says “Welcome to Henderson” near the southbound intersection of U.S. 41 and Wolf Hills Road. Former club president Ardith Shannon also touts one of her favorite projects: the dedication of copper frog sculptures, created by South Carolina sculptor Beau Smith, in the Henderson County Public Library’s children’s playground and garden area in 2021.
Among the club’s most notable events are its annual Candlelight Christmas Tours and, this year, a Garden Tour hosting plein air painting club Easel Does It at local residences, with proceeds going toward beautification projects. However, the clubs 54 active members have scaled back other events and focus on promoting love of gardening, protecting native trees and flowers, and encouraging civil planting and beautification. The club also holds regular community events promoting education at the University of Kentucky Extension Office and Expo Center.
“We are a club of many past, present, and future members,” Johnson says.
“I’ve watched the club change,” Shannon adds. “Everything changes with time.”
