To say that members of the garden clubs of Boxford and North Andover have green thumbs would be an understatement.
Besides the hours they put in to their own gardens, they can be seen helping in the gardens of friends and neighbors as well as keeping their hometowns beautiful, maintaining planters, public spaces and historical properties.
Both the Boxford and North Andover clubs have events planned for this spring and have been working hard, cultivating plants from their own gardens to sell at their annual plant sales, the main fundraiser for both organizations.
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Boxford Village Garden Club
If you live in or visit Boxford, you have likely passed by the handiwork of the Boxford Village Garden Club.
"Gardening keeps you young," said Amy Flynn, the club's president. "We're a very active club, but we've had some of our members for 40 years. We're out in the dirt a lot, we're around town."
Besides meeting to swap ideas about their gardens, members host gardening experts as guest speakers, make fresh holiday wreaths each year — with greens taken from their yards — for the Town Hall and other municipal buildings and maintain town-owned garden sites around Boxford, including the 1760 Holyoke-French House.
The garden at Holyoke-French is kept historically accurate, with plants and vegetables of the 18th century.
Garden Club members designed the landscape at the Boxford police station when it was built, and help with the upkeep. They maintain several planters at the Fire Station. Club members have been instrumental in helping decide the changes planned for the Melvin Green in the East Village, including planting more trees and installing a new flagpole.
But members agree that it's the friendships within the club that keeps them coming.
"It's an unbelievable group of women. The support is amazing," said Flynn, who has been a member for 10 years. "We visit (each other) when there's an illness ... We care about our members deeply. You form great friendships."
Elaine Tarbox, who joined in 1979, agreed.
"We love it. Beyond gardening, we care about each other ... we take care of each other," said Tarbox, who re-joined the Boxford club in 1996, after living in Illinois and New Jersey through the 1980s with her family. "There's a lot of people in this club with a lot of expertise, and they share it with new members."
Several of the club's members are master gardeners — a certification from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society gained through courses and volunteering.
Boxford resident Nancy Woolford is a master gardener. After working with computers most of her life, she thought "maybe it would be fun to work with something other than machines," and joined the Boxford club 10 years ago, she said.
"I love it. There's so much to learn, and it's so nice working with living things," Woolford said. "It's fun doing these jobs, and you learn things. We work together, enjoy each other. There's some really nice people in this club."
Celebrating its 70th birthday this year, the Boxford Village Garden Club was started in 1938. The club's 83 members have a motto: "conservation, education and the bettering of horticulture."
The club will celebrate with a luncheon this spring at the Ipswich Country Club.
The Boxford club meets the third Friday of every month at 9:30 a.m. For more information about joining, call Judy McCarey at 978-352-9726.
Coming events
Civic beautification day, May 2 9:30 a.m., open to any local resident. Garden club members will lead a day of civic beautification around town, weeding, mulching and planting at town sites.
Meet up with groups at both East and West libraries, the community center/senior center on Elm Street, the island at the intersection of Middleton and Main Streets, the Melvin Green at the intersection of Topsfield Road and Main and Elm streets, the police station on Spofford Road and Historic Document Center on Washington Street.
Earth Day, Saturday May 3. The garden club and the Boxford Recycling Committee sponsor and organize the townwide litter cleanup and other Earth Day events based at the Town Hall, 7A Spofford Road. Folks that bring in a bag of litter they've collected from streets and parks in Boxford will receive an ice cream treat from Benson's Ice Cream in West Boxford.
Annual plant sale, Saturday, May 17, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., 2 Elm St., East Boxford Village (the yellow house next to the library). Club members will be selling plants from their own gardens, as well as annuals, flowers, organic compost and gardening supplies. "Great gardening advice" is free, Flynn said.
North Andover Garden Club
Sorena Pansovoy was working in her garden one day, and a neighbor stopped by and invited her to join the garden club. Three years later, Pansovoy is the club's vice president.
"It's a good club because you really get to know how to do stuff, you just pick it up through osmosis. Being with other gardeners, identifying plants ... how to prune a rose or when to plant your peas. It's a good way to learn how to garden in a nonthreatening environment, with some members who have been gardening for 50 years," she said. "You're gardening next to people that know what they're doing. You partner yourself up with someone who's experienced, and you learn so much. It's such a real roll-up-your-sleeves club."
The North Andover club helps keep its hometown beautiful, maintaining gardens and planters at the library, town green and other locations. A fresh floral arrangement is provided for the front desk of the Stevens Memorial Library each week by a club member.
Club members also planted and designed the garden at the 1715 Parson Barnard House, keeping to historical plants of the time. The group provides holiday wreaths for all municipal buildings every Christmas.
Most club meetings are at Ashland Farms, an assisted living facility in North Andover, and members often enjoy "garden therapy" with residents there, encouraging them to join club activities and make a planter or flower arrangement to take back to their rooms.
The club has a mix of members, some who have been gardening for a long time and others who are relatively new to town or to the hobby, Pansovoy said.
"It's a very social, very friendly club," she said. "You hear 'garden club' and you think of ladies in white gloves drinking tea. That's not how this club is."
The North Andover Garden Club has about 50 members and is one of the oldest federated garden clubs in the country, organized in 1920 and federated in 1927.
During World War II, the North Andover Garden Club sent flowers to veterans hospitals, planted victory gardens and provided its members' own canned vegetables for the school lunch program.
Martha Salisbury joined in 1971 and says the club is always changing, ever evolving. Friendships are just as important as gardening to its members, she said. She has plants growing in her garden that she swapped with club members 30 years ago.
When Salisbury joined the club, members had to be recommended by a current club member and seconded in writing by another member. After that, you were introduced to the club at a formal tea.
"It was always an afternoon club, meetings were held in member's homes, and you dressed for garden club," said Salisbury. "There were always those of us that dug in the dirt ... it has changed to a very, very active membership of people who do wonderful things. We have amazing programs, a nice variety of things."
"It's hard to wear white gloves when you're digging in the dirt," she said with a chuckle. "It's a very pleasurable club, and most of us are friends outside of the club as well."
The North Andover Garden Club meets on the second Tuesday of the month, September through June. For information about events or membership, e-mail northandovergardenclub@yahoo.com.
Coming events:
r Annual plant sale, May 18, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Stevens Memorial Library, 345 Main St., North Andover. Club members will sell annuals and perennials from their gardens and will dispense great gardening advice. For more information, e-mail northandovergardenclub@yahoo.com
