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Projects
The members of the Grapevine Garden Club are vitally interested in growing and maintaining all manner of plants, and we strive to protect and conserve wild flowers and trees. Birds are a vital part of our urban landscape, and we continue to learn more about their habits and how to protect their environment. We encourage education in all these areas. Our many projects listed below reflect our interests and goals. Some projects are complete, yet still serving our community, and others are a continuing part of the club’s work.
Annual Plant Sale
Each spring the Grapevine Garden Club sponsors a community plant sale to benefit the club's sizable scholarship program and community beautification projects. Many of the native plants are grown and donated to the plant sale from member's gardens. Fun potting parties are a delightful side-project of our plant sale. Digging parties are scheduled from fall on as members get together where there are extra plants to be divided, thinned, and recovered from the compost pile. These pass-along plants are a big part of what our customers look for at our sale every year.
More Plant Sale photos may be viewed online at our Flickr account.
Teaching Trees
In 2002, the Grapevine Garden Club initiated a program to distribute trees to third graders in the Grapevine/Colleyville ISD. The program was designed to teach the joys of planting and caring for a tree as well as the value of trees in our lives and nature. Our members talk to third grade classes about the importance of trees, demonstrate how to plant a tree, and read a book to the class, plus every child receives a red bud tree to plant. This program began with 200 trees and two schools and quickly blossomed into 500 trees and five schools per year. It is now a yearly event in the spirit of Arbor Day. As of 2010, almost 2000 Eastern Redbud trees have been distributed as gifts from the Grapevine Garden Club.
Awarded 1st place in 2010-2011 by Texas Garden Club, Inc. for State and District II.
Butterfly Flutterby
The Grapevine Garden Club assists the City of Grapevine with the annual butterfly festival and parade. Members share information about butterflies with the children and their parents. Our club also offers items for sale. We collect seeds and plants to be given out for starting gardens that attract butterflies, and we really endeavor to find caterpillars at any stage to show to children. This is one of the most enjoyable projects in which we take part.
Awarded 1st place in 2010-2011 by Texas Garden Club, Inc. for State and District II.
More Butterfly Flutterby photos may be viewed online at our Flickr account.
Creating a Backyard Wildlife Habitat and Butterfly Garden
An ongoing project of the club is continuing education about planting a butterfly garden and establishing a bird sanctuary and Backyard Wildlife Habitat with feeders, nesting houses, and plants and insects beneficial to wildlife in the landscape. All this results in members witnessing caterpillars eating their way through greenery planted just for them, then seeing beautiful butterflies emerging. Members learn which insecticides and pesticides to avoid, which landscaping, plant species, and shrubs provide primary feeding, nectar, and nesting sites for native birds, butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds, which beneficial insects we should avoid killing, how to attract bees, bats, reptile, and amphibians, and how to consistently supply water for all wildlife. When these goals are achieved, members can order and install in their yards signs officially certifying their gardens as Wildlife Habitats.
Seed and Plant Exchange
The club members love to share with each other. That’s the fun of gardening. Members are encouraged to bring plant cuttings and harvested seeds from their gardens for the seed and plant exchange table at monthly meetings. Wildflower seeds are very popular, and master gardeners are available to answer members’ planting questions.
Grapevine Botanical Garden Docents
In October, 2011, a docent training session was held at the Grapevine Botanical Gardens. Many members attending this session which included lunch, demonstration of children’s’ games and craft projects for the gardens’ children’s programs, and tours of new and developing sections of the garden. The Gardens, located in Heritage Park, 411 Ball Street in Grapevine, are open daily and include several water features, native and perennial plants and trees, a butterfly and herb garden, plus a bird sanctuary. Grapevine club members serve as trained docents for “Docents in the Garden,” most Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. to answer gardening questions. The club created quick reference cards for docent use during tours which show plant information and photos, plus brochures for visitors. Contact docents@grapevinegardenclub.org to arrange for a tour of the gardens.
Docent training photos may be viewed online at our Flickr account.
Grapevine Parks and Recreation Department (PARD)
Garden club members support the Grapevine PARD throughout the year by holding monthly classes at the Botanical Gardens for young children, which always include a fun horticultural activity and a story. A recent program, “There’s a Flower in My Shoe” helped children use anything for a plant, the more unusual, the more fun. “Adventure Tours” are offered occasionally with educational activities for older children. School children, scout groups, and other groups make arrangements for these tours.
More PARD Children's Programs photos may be viewed online at our Flickr account.
Julie’s Garden
A valued member of the Grapevine Garden Club passed away in 2008. A special section in the Grapevine Botanical Gardens is dedicated to her. Our club helped with the design of this small garden, and members continue to help support and maintain it.
Flowercade
Every spring our members participate in Flowercade, a garden show sponsored by the Fort Worth Garden Club Council. A theme is selected every year with two sections, horticultural and design. Members enter specimens of flower, plants, or potted plants for judging and eagerly vie for the attractive ribbon awards. To enter the horticultural category, all members need do is walk out into their spring gardens and select a flower or branch to enter in the Flowercade show. Preparation of the entry is key, and of course we gather and have fun while doing that. The design section is more challenging, but great fun. The categories consist of large floral designs, table settings, and artistic crafts. The Fort Worth Garden Club Council holds workshops on design with examples of entries.
More Flowercade photos may be viewed online at our Flickr account.
West Texas Street Garden Maintenance
In 2006, the Grapevine Garden Club began to work with the tenants living in apartment units on West Texas Street in Grapevine, Texas. We knew that the gardens needed to be barrier free and easily accessible to the tenants, so after visiting the Housing Authority Office to offer our services, we made a few calls to the elderly residents who lived in the area. We found they were very interested and excited about working with the Grapevine Garden Club.
The first year we worked on the flowerbed by the front door of a 79-year-old resident’s porch. She wanted her shrubs pruned so she could sit outside on her porch and visit with her people going by. Her neighbor asked for help also, and by the following year we were doing more and more landscape work for the residents. We turned over the soil, added compost, thinned and transplanted some of the existing plant material, pruned numerous shrubs, planted perennials and a few annuals, then mulched and watered the beds. One resident wanted a herb garden, and she was able to physically work with us to bring this dream about.
Four years later, some of our good friends on West Texas Street have passed, but others have moved in. Our members enjoy the outings (more than 600 hours total work so far) and the residents always help or offer gardening advice. They will work with us when they are able or supervise when they are not. But everyone enjoys sitting on the porch and visiting on West Texas Street gardening days.
For 2010-2011, this project received Certificate of Commendation from National Garden Clubs as well as 1st place by Texas Garden Club, Inc. for State and District II.
More West Texas Street photos may be viewed online at our Flickr account.
Compost Corral
The club is providing and training docents to help maintain the Compost Corral at the Grapevine Botanical Gardens. The goal of this new exhibit is to educate the public, through demonstrations about conservation and composting to reduce the green waste going into our landfills. The Compost Corral will serve as a teaching tool for local school children, scout groups, club, and civic organizations.
"Plant It Pink" - 2010
Each year the National Garden Club’s president has a theme, and the theme for 2010-2011 was “Plant It Pink” in support of breast cancer awareness. Our club offered a variety of pink-hued spring bulbs for sale to members to help support this campaign. We helped plant items that carry out the pink ribbon shape and theme at the Grapevine Botanical Gardens. For this project, GGC received from National Garden Clubs the Pink Glove Award in recognition of our ongoing volunteer efforts and commitment to the NGS’s program for breast cancer awareness.
Ed and Edith Pewitt Education Center
The Ed and Edith Pewitt Education Center is a permanent outdoor teaching center and gathering place for tours and special events within the Grapevine Botanical Garden. It was built and dedicated in 2007. It provides a place where educators and group leaders teach children and where adults can contemplate nature and appreciate the garden. This pavilion began to be used for classes in the spring of 2008.
Blue Star Memorial By-Way Marker
Grapevine Garden Club members proudly dedicated a Blue Star Memorial By-Way Marker on November 10, 2006. The marker is dedicated in honor of all who have served, are serving, and will serve in the Armed Forces of the United States of America. There are many of these markers in the State of Texas. The Blue Star Memorial By-Way Marker is located in the traffic median at the intersection of Ball Street and Wall Street in Grapevine..
Grapevine Garden Club Cookbooks
Out of the garden and into your kitchen: offering appetizers, beverages, soups, salads, casseroles, meats, side dishes and desserts. We hope you enjoy these delicious recipes from the members of the Grapevine Garden Club. Cookbooks from 1991– present are posted to our publications page.
More Grapevine Garden Club photos may be viewed online at our Flickr account.