The Star City Garden Club is Roanoke’s first garden club that meets at night. The club was started so that people who work during the day but love gardening could meet, learn, and grow together. The goal is to encourage and inspire everyone who likes flowers, plants, and anything else related to gardening.
As a new group, they are happy to see so many eager new members who want to work together with other garden lovers. The club has a mix of workshops, field trips, speakers, and hands-on activities. One goal for the future is to start an outreach program so that they can help the community.
At the end of their first meeting, they had a party where they made bird feeders out of Bundt cakes. This was a great way for the group to start getting to know each other and laughing together. As part of the Festival of Trees at the Hotel Roanoke, members also helped decorate a Christmas tree. This was the first year that the Roanoke Council of Garden Clubs decorated a tree, and their “Birds, Berries, and Blossoms” idea got an honorable mention from the people who voted. The team was happy to help raise money for the United Way of Roanoke Festival of Trees by taking part in this annual event.
The Roanoke Council of Garden Clubs is excited about the new evening club for people who can’t go to any of the daytime clubs. The president of the RCGC, Mary Almond, said, “This group is filling a need in Roanoke, and I’m excited to see the interest and participation so far.”
The Star City Garden Club is making plans for 2023, and Jessica Downs from Gatewood Rose Botanicals was a great guest speaker in February. Gatewood Rose is a store in downtown Roanoke that sells house plants. The group learned a lot about how to take care of plants and how to help them grow.
On March 7, Sarah’s Petals Wedding Florist and Cut Flower Farm will be there. Sarah Sowers is a florist who makes big, beautiful flower arrangements that are inspired by nature and made with cut flowers from her Fincastle farm. She is proud of her “grown, not flown” flowers, which she sells to many of the best florists in Roanoke. All of her flowers are grown in a way that doesn’t harm the environment. She doesn’t use any chemicals, pesticides, fertilizers, or herbicides. Sarah loves doing weddings and corporate events, but you can also buy her flowers every Saturday morning at the downtown Roanoke and Botetourt Farmers Markets.
Those who want to speak at the Star City Garden Club should contact the club’s president, Nancy Hughes. The club meets at The Roanoke Council of Garden Clubs on Colonial Ave. on the first Tuesday of every month at 6:30 p.m. Except for January and July, they meet every month. The annual fee to join this group is $45.00.
Mary Vargas, a local artist who is very happy to be a part of Star City, has offered to make the club’s logo with her beautiful art. Mary’s work can be seen at Black Dog Salvage and many other art shows. Mary has won a lot of awards and been in a lot of exhibitions and books. You can go to www.marypetersonvargas.com to see her site.
