CLEVELAND, Ohio — Nearly a century ago, a group of Cleveland businessmen founded what would become the Gardeners of Greater Cleveland, one of the region’s longest-running horticultural organizations.
The club has welcomed women for decades, but its roots as a men’s organization shaped its tradition of evening meetings with spirited dinners and a membership that is a relatively balanced ratio of men and women compared to other longstanding garden clubs. Today, the club continues to adapt in its mission of bringing gardeners together.
As outgoing president Steve McIntosh puts it, “The club is as much about community as it is about gardening.”
That dual purpose has sustained the club through changing gardening trends, shifting demographics, and yes, the pandemic.
McIntosh, a high school agriculture teacher and longtime member, describes the club’s recent challenges. “We had a lot of momentum heading into 2020,” he says. “Then meetings had to look different for two years. We had to reimagine and refocus our mission after Covid.”
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What makes GOGC special?
Many new gardeners begin by reading books (and gardening columns), watching videos, and posting on social media, but eventually you hit a stumbling block and want the kind of hands-on wisdom you can only get from an experienced grower. Enter the garden club.
“There’s so much knowledge in the club,” McIntosh says. “Being able to pick the brains of people who’ve been doing this for decades is invaluable.”
In addition to passionate enthusiasts, many members are active or retired horticulture professionals.
For others, the draw is what McIntosh terms “old-school community connections.”
Younger gardeners may have plenty of social media vibes, but getting together to share a meal and swap tips creates a connection that the club found could not be recreated on Zoom. “I always leave a meeting feeling better than when I came,” McIntosh says.
Member Eddie Lagucki gives a presentation at a recent Gardeners of Greater Cleveland, against the backdrop of another meeting staple: gorgeous Lake Erie sunsets.Courtesy Gardeners of Greater Cleveland
The club also blends traditional horticulture with modern environmental thinking. Members like Dave Tomashefski, Education Specialist at Meadow City Nursery, and Eddie Lagucki, director of grounds at Red Oak Camp, are helping shift the club toward habitat-focused gardening by discussing invasive species, promoting native plants, and seeing gardens not just as decoration but as ecosystems. That focus has energized both longtime and newer members who want their yards, balconies or even container collections to support pollinators and wildlife.
What a club meeting is like
Meetings are held the second Monday of the month, every month from September to May in the penthouse at One Bratenahl Place, where members gather for conversation, dinner, and a speaker. (No club meetings are held June through August because members are too busying gardening.)
A typical evening starts with social time at 5:30 p.m., dinner at 6:15, and a program at 7:15 ranging from member-led presentations to expert guest speakers. Recent topics have included winter sowing, poinsettia care and updates on invasive insects threatening Northeast Ohio’s hemlock stands.
The monthly dinners have become an important part of the club culture, so much so that when a longtime caterer closed, members rallied to find new options and keep the shared-meal tradition alive.
“Surveys showed the meal mattered,” McIntosh says. “It lets working and retired members talk gardening and get to know each other.”
Members at the Gardeners of Greater Cleveland 2024 holiday party.Courtesy Gardeners of Greater Cleveland
The club maintains a friendly, casual atmosphere, with tables arranged to promote conversation, people bringing snacks or beverages to share, and lots of laughter. Long term members have known each other for decades and are like an extended family; most meetings include announcements on how to visit ailing members.
How to get involved
Joining is simple: visit the club’s website at gardenersofgreatercleveland.org and complete the membership form. The dues are a modest $35 per year. GOGC is a member of Garden Club of Ohio, Inc. and National Garden Clubs and is an affiliate members of Holden Forests and Gardens.
The club also hosts several annual events that make great entry points: the winter plant sale (see details below) and spring plant sale, both held at Rockefeller Greenhouse, service projects at area gardens like the Willott Iris Garden, annual college scholarships to high schools students intending to pursue horticulture or environmental studies, and a growing youth gardening grant initiative that recently awarded funds to Olmsted Falls High School and Cleveland’s JFK High School.
These efforts, McIntosh notes, help the club connect with younger audiences and support teachers who want to bring gardening into the classroom.
Legacy organizations everywhere are grappling with how to attract new members without abandoning the traditions that built them. GOGC is confronting that challenge by empowering younger members to take on leadership roles, encouraging one-on-one recruitment, and repeated reminders that “if everybody does just one thing, it makes it easier for the whole group.”
Gardening is, after all, a lifelong learning process. And while you can learn a lot from a TikTok video, you can’t replace a room full of people who care about plants, the environment, and each other.
Thinking about joining? Just come to a meeting, says McIntosh. “It sells itself.” You can also meet members and shop at the club’s annual Holiday Plant Sale at Rockefeller Greenhouse on December 5 and 6 from 10:00 AM-4:00 PM.
If your garden club would like to be featured in a future column, email your club information to me at sbrownstein216@gmail.com.
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