HISTORY OF THE
SEABROOK ISLAND GARDEN CLUB
In the spring of 1988, some
avid gardeners who were newly settled here on our beautiful barrier island came
to realize their need to become more knowledgeable about the southern flora
that prospered in this environment, as well as the effect of the soil and
climate on their plant choices. Some of
their favorites from northern gardens could be enjoyed but coming to grips with
the munching deer population presented a whole new set of issues that had to be
solved. While strolling on the beach or chatting over coffee, they began to
exchange their newfound ideas and realized others might enjoy the opportunity
to share the mutual interest they had always had in gardening. So, under the
inspired leadership of Lynn Smith, Barbara Marin, Bea Lanier, and Laura Erlich,
a group of approximately eighteen garden enthusiasts organized into an official
garden club and thus began the inaugural season in 1988–1989.
At first, they met quite
informally in each other’s homes. Lynn
Smith’s understanding of Japanese flower arranging, Mavis Howe’s experience
arranging flowers for the Washington Cathedral in DC, and the creative use of
natural material from everyone’s gardens were some of the aspects that made
that first year’s program so memorable.
Laura Erlich felt a special name was in order and “Marsh Hens” was
proposed and accepted. However, the next
year when it was established that a Marsh Hen was not real, it was agreed that
the group’s name would officially become The Seabrook Island Garden Club.
This group of women, with
their love of flowers and mutual interest in our island’s environment, began
their second year confronted with the damage of Hurricane Hugo. Seabrook Island suffered extensive tree and
plant damage, but fortunately did not suffer the devastation to buildings that
Charleston experienced. During this time as cleanup continued, membership grew
and dues were established. Programs were
expanded and it became apparent that meetings needed to take place in the POA
Oyster Catcher Community Center. A
grateful former member recalled, “The coffee pot now had a home and did not
need to be carried from house to house.”
Once the long cleanup from Hugo was accomplished, members started
focusing not only on improving the Garden Club programs, but on promoting ideas
to enhance the Island and the community.
With the help and the advice
of David Kynoski, SIPOA’s head of Operations and Maintenance at that time, the
Garden Club had two stands of Cyprus trees planted near Lake Osprey and a
Savannah Holly planted on Baywood Drive.
Through the years, the projects of supplying specimen trees were
continued as a way to enhance the Island.
Responsibility for decorating the POA Community Center and indoor
Christmas tree was also assumed by the Garden Club. Early tasks included
holiday lights hung on a large Holly tree in the first island as one enters the
canopy on Seabrook Island Road as well as lights and decorations for the Gate
House.
Around this time, Betty
Blandford’s promotion of planting wildflowers, which has been a longstanding project,
came into being. At first, Betty, with the help from some of her Garden Club
members, dug, raked, and seeded a patch by Lake Osprey. Soon, John Wells, head of O&M, suggested
planting cosmos on the large meadow by the present Palmetto Lake. During the
first year Sidi Limehouse was engaged to plough and plant. The flowers bloomed
and the deer had a feast. The next year,
through Sidi’s research, a cosmos variety that was somewhat deer resistant was
planted and we had the pleasure of enjoying the blossoming field.
In the next few years, the
membership grew quickly as programs improved to include informational and
educational lectures, workshops, trips, and social events culminating in an end
of the year Pot Luck Supper. When an invitation to join the Charleston
Federation of Garden Clubs was offered, there were strong feelings among the
members to stay independent. However, we
did have representation on The Charleston Garden Club Council. During this period, support for projects that
enhanced the beautification of Seabrook remained very popular, but efforts to
include any outreach projects were strongly discouraged by some of the members.
During the 1992–1993 year,
President Janet Babb formed a committee of Ann Kent, Lee Hurd, and Shirley
Bissett to write the By-laws for the Garden Club. They were presented and accepted by the
membership which had grown to 75. The important objectives of the Garden Club
were now stated, as well as the governing organization and responsibilities
established. The all-important Program,
Hospitality, and Membership Committees have always been a part of the
organization while others have come and gone, been replaced or renamed
depending on need and interest of the members.
The number of active committees grew as members realized the need to
share the working responsibilities of making their Garden Club worthwhile and
fun. Also new for the 1992–1993 season
was the printing of a yearly Membership booklet, sometimes referred to as the
Directory which still continues to this day. To have the year’s programs, the
names of officers and committee chairs, the contact information of members, and
a copy of the By-laws at hand proved to be helpful to many. The choice of
covers, poems, and messages from the President has given the Directory a
special flavor each year.
In December 1993, under the
chairmanship of Lee Hurd, the first Holiday Open House for all Seabrook Island
residents was hosted. At the time, tensions on the island were high due to the
proposed Seabrook Club buyout. The
Garden Club felt there was a need to enable people to come together, encourage
neighborliness, and extend friendship to the whole Community. The tradition of a Holiday Open House for
everyone to enjoy was born and remains one of the Holiday affairs anticipated
by many.
Projects to beautify our
island continued, but a strong feeling among some remained that the Garden Club
should become involved in supporting outreach projects in the field of
horticulture. Sometime during the 1995–1996 year, Gert Simon brought the issue before the membership in the form of a
motion to earmark $300 in our budget for outreach projects and after much
discussion it passed. One of our first
gifts was enhancing a Habitat House with a new tree. In 1998, through Trident Tech’s scholarship
program, a scholarship was offered to a resident of Johns Island who was
interested in the study of horticulture. We offered $300 for each semester of
their first year to help with books and fees.
Our first recipient was Marge Puckhaber who, with her husband, own and
operate Greenjeans Landscaping. To this
day we continue to honor our commitment to support candidates with our
scholarships. The Philanthropic Committee has continued its support of Habitat
by having trees planted near newly built houses, as well as landscaping the
area under the Taylor Place sign on Bohicket Road. In 2006, we supported a Haut Gap Plant Growth
Study project, as well as the development of the Mount Zion Elementary School’s
children’s garden project. Another project
by this committee was working with the St. Johns Public Library to choose,
purchase, and donate books on the topic of gardening for both adults and
children in 2005 and again 2007.
As we all know the strength
and success of any organization are its programs and our record is rich and
varied. Throughout the years, master gardeners and professional horticulturists
provided a wealth of information about suitable plants that survive the soil
and climate of the islands. Information
was shared via slide presentations or by lecture with fresh specimens at hand
and always added great value to our programs.
The hands-on meetings were especially enjoyed with added delight of
taking home a product of one’s efforts whether it was a perfectly decorated
container for your deck or a beautiful arrangement for your next dinner
party. Raffles also added a little spice
and excitement to these meetings.
Touring gardens has always
been a favorite program, in particular, some right here on our very own
Seabrook. Ronnie Burt’s spectacular fern
garden, Janet Sbihli’s beautiful lake side garden, Lee Hurd’s natural wooded
garden, and Don Smith’s garden of palmettos and bushes overlooking the marsh
are just a few we were able to visit.
Trips by carpool or bus allowed us to venture further off Island to see
the Charleston Rose tour, small private gardens in the surrounding areas, and
plantations with historical gardens. Two
of the most interesting trips off Island included The Riverbank Botanical
Gardens and the City of Charleston Greenhouses. Over the years longer day trips
were offered to see the cypress gardens at Mepkin Abbey, Brookgreen Gardens
near Pawley’s Island, as well as tours of homes and gardens in nearby Beaufort
and Savannah. We were fortunate to have our member, Edith Mills, offer her
travel and organizational experience to plan two memorable overnight bus trips:
Atlanta, Georgia for the “Atlanta Flower Show” and Charlotte, North Carolina
for the “NC Flower Show.”
Around the year 2000, John
Wells asked several organizations to offer suggestions to improve the
appearance of the island. The Garden
Club felt the area around the Gate House was critical and offered ideas from
the Beautification Committee under the chair of Donna Humphrey. The need for some landscaping skills on the
POA staff was quickly apparent and the hiring of Patrick Sanders, was welcomed.
In fact, Patrick, who had some landscape design training, was able to improve
his skills with the assistance of one of our scholarship awards. Over the next few
years, it was apparent the POA had their own ideas and so the Garden Club
decided to give John Wells and his team a gift of $500 to cover the costs.
Eventually, the Operations and Maintenance committee of the POA, under the
direction of John Wells, took sole responsibility of the landscape around the
Gate House.
Membership continued to
blossom and a celebratory luncheon was held in March 1998 to mark the 10th
Anniversary at the Church of Our Savior Fellowship room. Ann Kent shared the
following remembrance, “The guest speakers were Emily Whaley and her daughter,
Marty Whaley Adams, who sat at a table in front of the members and just talked
to each other and to us – it was wonderful.” The topic was Growing Up Gardening.
During the next decade the
Garden Club began to face some problems. Membership began to slowly dwindle,
meeting attendance decreased, and people seemed less willing to volunteer for
committees. Effort was made to increase attendance by including informative
gardening, as well as by offering bigger, more extensive trips. Fortunately,
the larger projects we were committed to stayed intact, namely our financial
support to many organizations including the Conservancy, the Hebron Retirement
Center, the Charleston Horticultural Society, and the Plant Taxonomy at the
College of Charleston. Other important
projects such as the cost of printing the Seabrook Island Environment and
Planting Pamphlets for inclusion in Newcomers Folders, the Earth Day Program,
and the Bluebird Nesting boxes remained as well.
The Seabrook Island Garden
Club 20th Anniversary Luncheon was held at The Island House. Dot Bostock and
Charlotte Moran welcomed members and Lee Hurd introduced the guest speaker,
Gayle Newcomb, from the Chelsea Flower Show.
Our Philanthropy Committee continues to actively work to find worthwhile projects for us to support and fund. The main thrust of the group to support our scholarship for a deserving student studying landscaping at Trident Technical College has expanded to offer a scholarship for an entire semester to cover tuition for one student. We increased our yearly Garden Club dues to accomplish this goal.
Since our 20th anniversary five years ago, we have experienced many changes. Our membership swelled to well over one hundred members and we established a dual presidency that has become a two-year commitment. We moved from the Oyster Catcher Community Center to The Lake House upon its completion in August 2009. Along with the move to our state-of-the-art facility came new issues for the Garden Club. By tradition, we always hosted the Holiday Open House in December and decorated a tree; however, with a new beautiful lobby in The Lake House, a large tree was centrally located for all to see and trimming the tree provided a new set of obstacles. Our handmade ornaments, used for the small tree, were no longer suitable and we met the challenge by creating a lovely new theme using large ornaments perfect for Seabrook Island. The Open House became and continues to be a must attend event for the Seabrook Community during the holidays.
In 2009, Presidents Maryann Bannwart and Adelaide Wallinger reached out to the Kiawah Island Garden Club president to create a link between the two clubs. We hosted their garden club for a meeting at our beautiful new facility, including a tour of The Lake House. In return, at the Kiawah Island Garden Club meeting, we were treated to a champagne breakfast and enjoyed a slide show of many of the members’ gardens.
When we celebrated our 25th Anniversary we entered
a new era in communicating to our members. We posted our minutes, notices, and
updates on our informative Garden Club message center ably run by Sue
Eckenrode. However, some things never
change. Seabrook Island is still a
community committed to maintaining the lush semi- tropical surrounding filled
with plants, trees, and flowers in harmony with nature. We still face the
greatest challenge in gardening on Seabrook, namely that there are no deer
proof plants.
We will be celebrating our 30th
anniversary with a luncheon at the Island House. The last five years of the Garden Club have
been exciting, with lots of wonderful programs and dedicated volunteers.
We welcomed Patricia Schaeffer who helped us to appreciate the fantastic
dolphins that populate our seas; attended a wonderful workshop with Martha
LeHane where we learned to create charming valentine centerpieces; were
entertained by Jenks Farmer, teacher, nurseryman, garden designer and author,
from his beautiful organic Lily Farm; enjoyed featuring Louise and Sidi from
Rosebank Farms; were awed by the beautiful creations of Sue Lord; were
appreciative of the beautiful flower photographs of Stan Ullner, who generously
donated them to the Club to raffle off at a future meeting; and discovered
what was the best loved cuisine of our dear deer!
With the leadership of Lisa Cermak and Carol Miller, we revised
our Bylaws, clarifying them to reflect the role of each officer and
committee. We returned to the protocol of a single president, with our
vice president in line to become the following year’s leader. Marsha Bird, following Martha LeHane as
Program Chair, brought us lively and sophisticated speakers who enhanced our
understanding of the world of gardening.
Under Presidents Cermak, Miller, Terry Fansler, Kathy Chamberlain
and Carol Ullner we continued to donate money for a scholarship to Trident Tech
and added additional philanthropic donations to the Angel Oak Foundation, the
Green Space Conservancy and the Frierson Elementary School garden among others.
Our traditional Holiday Open House available to all residents of Seabrook
Island and friends, has been a special time to join together as a community and
celebrate, enjoying the delightful food supplied by the Garden Club
members. The Charleston Bench donated by the Club leads walkers to one of
the interesting trails next to the Lake House, and a tree near the trail was a
thank you to all the volunteers who have dedicated their time and efforts to
support the Garden Club.
As we enter our thirty-first year, we are inspired to bring the
Club into the future and attract new members by introducing some new and
exciting programs. Recently, it was decided to include programs revolving
around home decorating and design to our vision as well. The Club has unofficially
added Home to our title, making us the new Home and Garden Club. Some of
the suggestions under discussion include a home focus for alternating programs;
an occasional joint meeting with the Kiawah Garden Club; decorators and
designers bringing us new ideas to make our homes more beautiful; visits to
Seabrook gardens; and appraisals of members’ antiques. The Island is
awash with new homes and older homes being renovated. This is an ideal
time to entice former, current and prospective members to take this adventure
with us as we experience excitement, education and comradery. We will always be the Garden Club
where you don’t always have to put your hands in dirt!
May 2018
2018-2019 Garden Club
Beginning the thirty-third year of the Garden Club, we've truly come a long way. This is the year that challenged the traditional club operation as the global health crisis turned everything upside down. Although our successful and enjoyable 2019-2020 season (when the Club would have commemorated thirty-two years) was abruptly interrupted in the spring, the Club proceeded to elect new officers and, with the encouragement of our members, we got down to the work of adapting and advancing the Club.
We immediately surveyed the membership to determine how to go forward, and we implemented best practice rules for safe social interactions. Our monthly in-person meetings were suspended, but we continued our meetings with virtual conferencing technology. An internet blog was launched to enhance communications and share relevant information. Rather than issue a static printed annual Member Directory, we issued the directory in digital flip-book and PDF formats to suit individual member preferences for data access. Dedicated and enthusiastic members stepped forward to chair our committees, and we've seen a steady stream of returning and new members as we've gotten the word out that we are taking the Club in a new direction.
We developed a tagline for this year, The 2020-21 Seabrook Island Garden Club: More for Your Membership. This reflects the Club's focus on developing programs and activities throughout the year that offer every member engagement, participation, learning, and entertainment—according to their interests and personal comfort level. Our members' feedback and ideas are important to our vitality, and we are happy you've decided to come along this year. Our Club thrives!
Fall 2020
2020-2021 Garden Club
SEABROOK ISLAND GARDEN CLUB PRESIDENTS
1988 – Lynn
Smith
1989 – Lynn Smith
1990 – Barbara Marin
1991 – Barbara Marin
1992 – Janet Babb
1993 – Linda Vancini
1994 – Aileen Hock
1995 – Dorothy Diesing
1996 – June Beerman
1997 – Barbara Grimes
1998 – Jean (Robnett) Holman
1999 – Dorothy Diesing and Barbara Grimes
2000 – Lee Hurd
2001 – Joan Altemus
2002 – Lee Hurd
2003 – Janet Sbihli
2004 – Joan Leclerc and Betsy Turner
2005 – Betsy Turner
2006 – Nancy Keyser and Cindy Willis
2007 – Dot Bostock and Charlotte Moran
2008 – Adelaide Wallinger and Sherry Smith
2009 – Adelaide Wallinger and Maryann Bannwart
2010 – Maryann Bannwart and Karen Sewell
2011 – Karen Sewell and Rita Tyler
2012 – Rita Tyler and Lisa Cermak
2013 – Lisa Cermak and Carol Miller
2014 – Carol Miller
2015 – Terry Fansler
2016 – Kathy Chamberlain
2017 – Carol Ullner
2018 – Christine Dennis
2019 – Ann Zielinski
2020 – Dianne Thompson Cain
2021 – Karen Nuttall
2022 – Karen Nuttall
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