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By Elsie Towler

Buckingham Garden Club

The Buckingham Dillwyn Garden Club marked its 90th anniversary with a celebration June 10. Ninety years — that’s a lot of flowers!  In the case of the Buckingham Dillwyn Garden Club, 90 years represents a lot of service to the community.

The Dillwyn Garden and Improvement Club was formed in 1932 with the purpose “to promote the love of gardening; to protect and promote the growth of our native trees; flowers and birds; to encourage civic plantings and civic beauty; and to stimulate the study of the culture and arrangement of flowers.” The club joined the Virginia Federation of Garden Clubs in 1933. By the last quarter of the 20th century, the club’s name became Dillwyn Garden Club. In 2000, the club name changed again to the current Buckingham Dillwyn Garden Club. Even though the name has changed, the purpose of the club has remained rooted in service to the community. 

Recent community projects the BDGC has undertaken include landscaping Habitat for Humanity Homes, landscape plantings at the highway entrances to Buckingham County, landscape plantings and maintenance at Curdsville Community Center, decorating the Buckingham Arts Center at Christmas, assisting residents at a nursing home in making arrangements for their rooms, and participation in the Trex plastic recycling program. In addition to service projects, the BDGC has provided educational programs for members so that the members can become more effective gardeners.

Let’s not forget the flowers! Buckingham Dillwyn Garden Club celebrates National Garden Clubs Week by having members create and display flower arrangements in the Buckingham County Public Library. This year members were challenged to create arrangements based on books with a color in the title. Resulting arrangements were varied and colorful. BDGC members have created floral arrangements inspired by artworks.  The arrangements were featured at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond. BDGC has helped Buckingham 4-H members create arrangements to enter into competition at the Five County Fair. The club has also given away many packets of flower seeds so the recipients could begin their own flower gardens.

Members of the Buckingham Dillwyn Garden Club say they look forward to continued involvement in, and service to Buckingham County. Anyone is welcome to join, they say, with membership meetings held the second Monday of the month, March through November. 

(Photos courtesy of Sharon Andrews And Kay Carter)