Green thumbs and a kaleidoscope of floral colors were points of celebration May 3 at the Aiken County Historical Museum as dozens of members and friends of the Garden Club of Aiken celebrated the club's 100th anniversary.
Visitors included Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken; Sen. Tom Young, R-Aiken; and U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C.; each congratulating the club and presenting a proclamation or resolution to celebrate the occasion. That included one from Gov. Henry McMaster, describing the club as "dedicated to promoting the love of gardening, increasing the knowledge of horticulture, community service, beautification, and to the protection and preservation of natural resources."
Among the club members in attendance was Krista Lamar, who offered an overview. "We're an active club, and for years, we've been involved with the city, especially working with committees that are involved in planning the parkways," she said.
"We were even involved in the committee that was planning the remediation project at Hitchcock Woods, so I feel like we're just really lucky with our resources, and I think we've done well," she said, also citing involvement with gardening with native plants at Audubon's Silver Bluff Sanctuary.
Linda Murphy, the club's president, noted that the local club is a member of National Garden Clubs and Garden Club of America. Also comprising the current officer corps are Leslee Peth, vice president; Frances Reynolds, treasurer; Janet Harkins, recording secretary; Gail McLain, corresponding secretary; and Joan Kiburz, historian.
"We're very interested in keeping up the beauty of the city," said Mary Barnett, a club member since 1983. She described herself as interested in "all forms of gardens" and noted that she believes she has served over the decades in "every office that the club had."
Displays at the Friday gathering included a variety of items helping to illustrate the club's roots and some of the changes that the decades have brought. The earliest listing, from 1924, was a reference to a March gathering when "'a number of friends' met at Rose Hill, the home of Mrs. Sheffield Phelps, to organize Aiken's first garden club, the Garden Club of Aiken."
The next listing, from May, was of the club's first flower show — an annual tradition that has been maintained for a century. The show has been a fundraiser to help local civic programs.
The club's founder, Claudia Lea Phelps, is the namesake of a garden dedicated to her in 2015 and located on the museum's grounds. Her major milestones included 1930, when she organized Garden Club of South Carolina and was its first president.
Edith Morris's formative influence was also acknowledged, as she donated a collection of more than 200 horticulture books to Garden Club of Aiken, "the oldest being published in Italy in 1578."
Club documents indicate the local club's other original officers were Mrs. Bob Tarrant, vice president; Mrs. W.B. Turner, secretary; and Mrs. Hayne F. Rice, treasurer. Among other charter members were Mrs. Dan Crosland, Mrs. Convers Woolsey, Mrs. J.W. Ashhurst, Mrs. Chris Hahn, Mrs. Thomas Morgan, Mrs. Herbert E. Gyles, Miss Louise P. Ford and Mrs. George Croft.
Completing the list of charter members were Mrs. Frank Henderson, Mrs. W.W. Muckenfuss, Mrs. Ben Wyman, Miss Rena Chafee, Mrs. F.A.M. Tabor, Miss Marianna Ford, Mrs. J.P. McNair and Miss Marion Pellew.
Camellia enthusiasts can also thank the Aiken club for its role in establishing an annual camellia show in 1934 — a production that continued under the club's guidance until Aiken Camellia Society (also established under Phelps' leadership) was established in the 1950s.
