Tidelines
The Seabrook Island Garden Club members gathered on September 8 to begin their new year of monthly meetings with exciting guest speakers, field trips, caring for the environment, hands-on gardening and more. This year, the club has a special celebration to enjoy: the 35th anniversary of the founding of the garden club. In October 1988, a wonderful group of women came together to form the Seabrook Island Garden Club. Since then, the organization has expanded and thrived, recognizing old traditions and creating new ones.
After raffle winners were drawn, the business portion of the meeting was led by President Carol Price. Past president and Historian Karen Nutall led the group in a visual presentation of historic documents relating to our founding members. The club, originally known as the “Marsh Hens Garden Club,” was highly involved in beautifying our island, planting flowers in the common spaces and decorating much of the POA buildings for the holidays.
They were passionate about making the mundane locations extraordinary with their talents in using clippings from much of our island vegetation in their designs. Also impressive was the thorough documentation of their activities. They took many photos, which they printed and arranged thoughtfully in scrapbooks. Current Garden Club members are grateful for this, as the 35th Anniversary Committee has perused and scanned hundreds of images they plan to share at monthly meetings.
In the first Member Spotlight series, Vice President and Anniversary Committee Chair Sally Boudinot prepared a special recognition of long-time member Lee Hurd. As she read through the recorded history of the garden club, Hurd’s name was frequently mentioned. Hurd served as president twice, was instrumental in adopting our bylaws, and served on countless committees. It was Hurd who originally suggested we treat our Seabrook community to an annual event known as our Open House, which we still host to this day. Hurd is also well known for creating a magical garden in the lot beside her home; it’s a place where she encourages neighbors and friends to visit and enjoy the fruits of her labor. Also noteworthy is our current member, Karen Babb, whose mother, Janet, was also an original garden club member.
Garden Club members are looking forward to seeing what the 35th Anniversary committee has up their sleeves, and it is sure to be a fun-filled year ahead. The Seabrook Island Garden Club is still accepting new members. Annual dues are $25, and membership form and instructions can be found at Seabrook Island Garden Club (sigardenclub. blogspot.com) under the “Join Us” tab. The next meeting will be held on Friday, October 13.
