History
Our Founding in 1917
A quote from the 1932 Lake Bluff Garden Club Yearbook tells the story of our founding.
“One afternoon in the Spring of 1917, half a dozen garden-minded women of Lake Bluff gathered at the home of Mrs. Maurice Mandeville, and listened to enthusiastic gardeners of the North Shore… Well may you envy us such an auspicious beginning! Their fund of information staggered their listeners, but their actions spoke louder than words. Each brought a basket of plants for distribution… The World War made gardening seem of little importance, but the seed of interest had been sown, and in May 1922, a dozen women were organized into a garden club.”
The Voice of Lake Bluff Garden Club
Early in its history, Lake Bluff Garden Club published a booklet that now provides an illuminating window into its earliest goals. The 1935 booklet emphasized the importance of various wild flowers in the village and encouraged residents to "ENJOY NOT DESTROY". That's a message that's more important than ever!
The garden club put this principle into practice by supporting the conservation of natural areas in Lake Bluff and restoring them with native plants. The club enhanced the gateways into the village with landscaping along Sheridan Road and at the intersection of East Sheridan and Moffett Roads. Members helped purchase trees for Artesian Park and planted tender ephemerals in Lake Bluff's ravines. For decades, the club hosted and competed in Flower & Vegetable Shows, and members held an annual plant sale with ornamental plants and greens from their own gardens. From its earliest days, the club has put its love of gardening and of Lake Bluff to good use.
Working Hard and Having Fun
We have a good time together! These photos are from previous Lake Bluff 4th of July Parades and a summer Lake Bluff Garden Club village planter event. Lake Bluff Garden Club members are wearing traditional club aprons that display pins and badges collected over the years.
