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In 1967 Johnson City’s most famous and most loved first lady, Lady Bird Johnson, became a charter member of a budding new club. A group of ladies gathered together with one mission, to beautify and serve Johnson City. 41 years later, and the Community Garden Club of Johnson City is not only still meeting – but the group of nature lovers are 70 members strong and spreading like a field of wildflowers after a spring rain.

The dress at those initial meetings was what one would expect at a formal tea party, complete with white gloves. While the objective of the organization is to “encourage interest in all phases of home gardening and promote better horticulture practices, civic beauty and conservation of natural resources,” the Garden Club has developed into an organization that gives back to the community in a huge way.

Over the course of the past 41 years, the group of ladies has stayed true to their roots, and continuously strives towards maintaining and increasing the beauty of Johnson City. They personally provide planters and plants for the downtown area, and Patty Elliott keeps them planted with native flora while rotating watering duties amongst the members. They also provide the landscaping for the Hwy 290/281 intersection and recently donated the planters and plants that now complement the historical Withers and Spaulding Building so well.

Throughout the year, this local band of plant lovers participate in a wide variety of community activities ranging from the recent Wildflower Days event to contributing extensively to the Lights Spectacular affair at Christmas – all with the mission of contributing to Johnson City.

Though these classy ladies enjoy a cup of tea with each other every once in a while, they certainly know how to put their work gloves on when needed. For example, at the Wildflower Days event, they hosted three separate booths; crafts, plants, and chili booth and managed to raise well over $2000. Many of the ladies were ecstatic over raising this much money, because it was actually two to three times the amount they generally profit at an event. Though the weather was a bit warm for their chili booth – they still managed to raise $109 by selling Frito Pies. Their plant booth on the other hand was a bit more successful raking in a whopping $893 – and their quality crafts impressively made well over $1000.

“We had a great weekend at the Wildflower Days event and we hope to participate again next year… we were thoroughly pleased and would like to congratulate the Chamber on organizing and making it such a success!” stated Nancy Talley, a Garden Club member.

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The plants that were sold were placed in pots and donated to the cause by members of the club. The Garden Club members, under the leadership of Joycelyn Carter, actually create their crafts year round with the help of local nursing home residents who look forward to their time with club members. But according to Mrs. Carter, “there is so much more to it than just making crafts.” According to Chelita Riley, Joycelyn “is the crafts lady” who “untiringly supervises and makes these crafts” by packing, loading and then selling them at the various events.

The Garden Club donates the money they earned to several Johnson City area causes such as: the EMS, the Johnson City Library, Friends of LBJ Park, and local scholarships. In times past, they have also made contributions to the Johnson City Volunteer Fire Department and Child Protective Services.

It takes a lot of time and effort to support these community organizations, and these gardeners don’t mind getting a little dirty to do so. They’ve been known to go “dumpster diving” in order to turn aluminum cans into cold, hard cash. According to Nancy Talley, “Ola Matus, a charter member, has headed up the task for as long as we can remember!” She and her husband, Charles, and several Garden Club volunteers, collect, sort, and then deliver up to 500 lbs of cans to a recycling center in Austin at least five times a year. These efforts are rewarded with approximately $1000 a year.

Though these ladies know how to work hard, they also know how to play hard as well. This can be seen in their first meeting of the season, which is always held in September. They host a “White Elephant Sale” live auction where participants bid on member-contributed items. There is no shame in “re-gifting” items from last year’s auction and things can get a bit feisty between a Garden Club lady and her intended purchase. Last year’s White Elephant Sale netted over $1200 for Johnson City organizations.

If you are interested in joining this band of sisters – they’re always willing to welcome a new friend. They have several key projects that could always use a few more local volunteers. For example, in 1991, the Community Garden Club published their first cookbook, “Potluck on the Pedernales,” and also “Potluck on the Pedernales: Second Helping” that they still sell today.

They would like to invite all women in the community to attend their meetings, which are held on the 2nd Thursday of the month at 2 pm. It’s a worthy cause, a fun group of gals – and the seeds this club plants bloom all year round.