by Charlie Li

Martha Blessing speaks during the group’s May meeting about the fundamentals of flower arranging and the important design elements of color and form (photo by Nancy Lear).

Established in 1998, the Lake Anna Garden Club holds affiliations with the Virginia and National Garden Clubs. The group started when members of other garden clubs wanted to begin a Lake Anna organization. The club was situated within the Piedmont District, with membership in Louisa County and extending outwards to Orange and Spotsylvania counties. There are currently 25 members in the club, and meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month from March through December at the Lake Anna Rescue Station in Bumpass.

“We try to stimulate interest in horticulture and advance in knowledge of all possible areas of horticulture,” said Martha Blessing, the current club president who has been with the club since 2002. “This includes the study and care of flowers, fruits, and vegetables. It also includes the development of creative gardening, flower arrangements, and protection of wildflowers, shrubs, and trees. We encourage our members to bring flower arrangements and educational exhibits and horticultural specimens to our monthly meetings.”

The Lake Anna Garden Club has hosted many activities for its members. These programs have included a field trip to Sandy’s Plants in Mechanicsville, sessions for creating hanging baskets at Buckner Park, a December luncheon, and a bird bath presentation.

“One of the most memorable memories I had, which I just got a lot of joy and pleasure from, was a bird bath presentation we had two to three years ago,” Blessing recalled. “It was really fascinating to see them while they were in the bird bath… Another [activity] was heading out to Sandy’s Plants. That was fun, too, because we were all together riding on a garden cart. Some of our members are older and were able to ride around where they wouldn’t have been able to walk.”

In August, the club was eagerly anticipating an event in which they would craft pinecones into flowers. Additionally, in September they held a presentation focusing on bees and beekeeping. This was followed by another event discussing succulent plants in October. More events are regularly scheduled and adjusted through a newsletter that goes out to new, current, and former members of the club.

The garden club has also helped local parks with putting down mulch, cleaning out weeds, and overall helping with overgrowth cleanup. Along with helping, the club also maintains their own memorial garden in Buckner Park.“The garden is a memorial to Kate Sablehaus, a prior president of the club that passed away during her term,” Blessing explained. “We established this garden in memory of her. As a club, we maintain that garden for the appreciation of the people who come to the park to enjoy the park.”

Nancy Kail, who served as the Lake Anna Garden Club’s former secretary and has been a member since 2002, also loves her time with this group. “We’re trying to keep our corners of the world a little more beautiful,” she said. “For my most memorable moment with the club, it would be hard to single out just one. I like the education of flower arrangements towards the entire group at our meetings, and our field trips are all memorable. The care and maintaining of the memorial garden gives great satisfaction to see that kept and bloom in memory.”

The club boasts a diverse membership primarily consisting of seniors with a passion for horticulture. The club extends a warm invitation to individuals eager to delve into the world of plant cultivation. Embracing both seasoned enthusiasts and newcomers, the club opens its doors to family members, friends, and local residents who are keen on expanding their knowledge. An annual membership fee of $35 allows for the club to fund itself.

“I enjoy hearing what other people are doing in their gardens,” explained Nancy Lear, vice-president of the garden club. “The field trips we go on are a lot of fun and informative, and the speakers we have are all quite qualified. We have presentations on different arrangements for different holidays, and we also have had speakers from different garden clubs around the area. They offer state fair events or flower judging contests and offer educational events such as those.”

“Before last year, we were affiliated with the Fredericksburg Garden Club, responsible for decorating the Old Town area, and that does include the historic grounds,” Lear continued. “Unfortunately, it just got too much for the number of members we had to do it. But for the last several years, we have participated in decorating the store fronts there.”

Blessing explained that the recent pandemic was a challenge the group had to work through. “After COVID, our member count was down low due to people getting sick or moving away,” she said. “At one time, we had 48 members before COVID. Though now we’re starting to get new members in again, with five joining us this year alone.”

Lake Anna Garden Club members have learned that trying to spread knowledge about horticulture to others comes with some difficulties.

“We thought about going into the schools, but there are so many requirements to do something with the classes,” Blessing explained. “So, you really have to get authorization from the school system, and we thought about doing that, because many of us have talked about making tri-fold posters on recycling, composting, and just generally good things for the environment. As we have talked a lot about it, we would need the school’s approval and then a time to go in. None of us have really connected too much with the school, and that’s a bit difficult for us to do now. We are really hoping that we can do something along those lines in the future.”

The Lake Anna Rescue Squad station where the garden club convenes houses a small library. Within this space, members are welcome to explore its collection of books that cover a range of topics including leaf manipulation, foliage, and specific flowers and their care. These books can be both browsed in-person and borrowed for further reading at home.

Blessing emphasized the close-knit community the club has. “We enjoy each other’s company, doing fun things together, and we have a group that regularly maintains the memorial garden,” she said. “Just spending time together during that period and having lunch afterwards allows us to socialize. Those types of activities help keep us united, and we invite people to join us for lunch even if they aren’t gardening. Our gatherings outside of the club are what keep us together, and the December lunch is a time when we all come together at the end of the year.”