Raleigh Garden Club of North Carolina, Inc.

One of the first garden clubs founded in North Carolina, the Raleigh Garden Club has helped members develop their gardening and design skills for more than 85 years. It's then used its collective green thumb to beautify the city we live in through outreach programs and education. Organized in 1925, the club is one of the five founding groups of the Garden Club of North Carolina. It was established as a philanthropic and educational association for its members.

Raleigh Garden Club programs reflect the many aspects of gardening (e.g. flower arranging, horticulture, organic and wildlife habitat gardening). We offer educational programs at our monthly meetings and support study groups within our organization.

In past years noteworthy projects are the creation and maintenance of the Chapel Garden at Dorothea Dix Hospital and the Martha Franck Fragrance Garden at the Governor Morehead School for the Blind. The Fragrance Garden is designed to appeal to the sense of smell, touch, and sound. Construction began in 2000 and continues with the addition of new sections. Annual contributions are made to the Garden Club of North Carolina to support the Daniel Boone Native Gardens in Boone, the Elizabethan Garden in Manteo, and The North Carolina Nature Conservancy.

From east to west and north to south, the organization's beautification efforts have touched nearly every part of the city. Past projects include planting azaleas and installing an irrigation system at Fred Fletcher Park, planting cherry trees at Pullen Park, donating startup funds in 1968 for the Rose Garden at Raleigh Little Theater, and providing thousands of dollars to Raleigh Parks and Recreation to plant trees and shrubs in city parts. In 2000, the group received the Fred Fletcher Volunteer Award from the city for its years of contributions. The club was later recognized for its memorial planting of 40 "Freedom Trees" at Fletcher Park following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The Raleigh Garden Club has landscaped and planted yards for habitat for Humanity and offers garden therapy to the elderly in various Raleigh locations each year. A junior garden club that the group co-sponsors brings horticulture education to a local elementary school.

State Capitol visitors and staff have enjoyed the fruits of the club's labor every holiday season for the last three decades. The group decorates the historic Capital building with fresh greenery and flowers from members' own gardens using flower arranging and horticulture skills learned through the organization's educational programs.

The club provides scholarships and funds for work-study programs in horticulture. It also supports a variety of gardening organizations, including the NC Nature Conservancy, the JC Raulston Arboretum, and the NC Botanical Garden.

From the early years of one century to those of another, the Raleigh Garden Club has provided the knowledge, funds, and sweat equity to help beautify and enrich Raleigh's natural landscape for generations to enjoy far into the future.

Founder Susan Iden, a reporter for the Raleigh Times wrote in her column Over the Garden Wall in 1925:

Twenty-one women organized the Raleigh Garden Club with the avowedaim of discussing garden problems, drawing all garden lovers close in ties of friendship and mutual interests, serving its members with stimulating programs, inspiring and encouraging new gardeners and serving the city effectively in support of community efforst of planting and beautifying streets and parts; fostering that friendly rivalry between old and new gardeners to enhance the city's beauty.