The Petersburg Garden Club

March 21, 2022

The Petersburg Garden Club began its involvement with Lee Memorial Park (now Petersburg Legends Historical Park and Nature Sanctuary) in the 1930s when one of its members, Mary Donald Claiborne Holden, was asked to supervise a work relief program funded by the WPA to create jobs for women building a wildflower and bird sanctuary within the park. Unemployed women cleared ravines, built paths and planted honeysuckle roots to control erosion. They labeled plants with both common and botanical names; transplanted more than 365,000 plants, shrubs and trees into the preserve; and constructed bridges and benches in the park. Local artist Bessie Niemeyer Marshall was commissioned in 1937 to paint the Lee Memorial Park flora. Her 238 watercolors and 325 corresponding dried plant specimens were placed in scrapbooks by the club and stored at the Petersburg Public Library, waiting to be rediscovered 50 years later.

When the now fragile scrapbooks were discovered in 1992, the club created the herbarium committee, co-chaired by Betty Steele and Bettie Guthrie, to research and implement the restoration and preservation of the extraordinary collection.

1995-2010

In celebration of its 70th anniversary in 1995, the club offered a limited edition of 500 portfolio sets, each featuring four watercolor prints of wildflowers from the collection. Proceeds from sales of the prints were applied to the ongoing preservation of the collection and restoration of the memorial park, and additional funds were generated from sales of botanical print note cards. The herbarium committee led club efforts to publish With Paintbrush and Shovel: Preserving Virginia’s Wildflowers. Now in its second printing, the fine art book tells the story of Lee Memorial Park; the Wildflower and Bird Sanctuary and the women who created it; and the watercolors and herbarium collection.  The club received the 1998 Common Wealth Award from the Garden Club of Virginia for its dedication to this project and its commitment to see the park of more than 300 acres reopened to the public.

With credit to the hard work of The Petersburg Garden Club, Petersburg Legends Historical Park and Nature Sanctuary is now recognized on the Virginia and the National Registers of Historic Places and, in 2000, the club received the Preservation Alliance of Virginia’s Preservation Award, as well as the Heritage Award from the Historic Petersburg Foundation at its annual meeting.

In 2000, Bettie Guthrie became the club’s first Garden Club of Virginia-accredited artistic design judge.

Guided by PGC president Bettie Guthrie, the club entered into a formal agreement with the City of Petersburg, signing a memorandum of understanding on July 18, 2001, to create the Lee Memorial Park Committee. The public-private partnership made significant strides for the preservation and conservation of Lee Memorial Park. When the committee was granted 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in 2007, it was renamed the Willcox Watershed Conservancy with four members from the club serving on the board.

In February 2005, the Petersburg Garden Club, the Dunn Trust of the Burlington Garden Club and the City of Petersburg partnered to restore the Taft Lawn at Centre Hill Mansion.

The club hosted the 2009 Lily Show, Petersburg: A City Under Siege, and the 2010 Lily Show, All Aboard, at Petersburg’s historic Union Train Station, chaired by Elizabeth Johnson and Suzanne Wright.

2009 Lily Show Photos

2010 Lily Show Photos

In May 2009, the herbarium and watercolor collection was moved to the Special Collections Virginia Room at Richard Bland College Library.

Eight members of the club visited the Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville to see “Rediscovering the Forgotten Garden,” a collaborative exhibit between the Willcox Watershed Conservancy and the Petersburg Garden Club.

Historic Garden Week tours and work with the Willcox Watershed Conservancy have elevated the Petersburg Garden Club’s stature in the community as recognized leaders in conservation, preservation, horticulture, education and beautification.

2010-2020

Under the leadership of PGC president Joan Pollard, the club was recognized as one of the top ten clubs participating in the GCV Annual Fund drive.

The herbarium committee continued to generate interest in the collection with visits to organizations throughout the state. The 2012-2014 Garden Club of Virginia Directory & Handbook and the “Flora of Virginia” exhibit at the Library of Virginia each featured Marshall’s artwork. The club received the 2017 Bessie Bocock Carter Conservation Award, an $8,000 grant to be used to develop demonstration gardens, an herbivore enclosure and to create a plant rescue program with guidelines to provide opportunities for local residents and students to participate in the restoration of this sensitive area within Lee Memorial Park, for use in the conservation and rehabilitation of the 25-acre Wildflower and Bird Sanctuary in historic Lee Memorial Park. The club also received a Cameron Foundation grant for $40,500 with the herbarium committee matching with $40,000 for the rehabilitation of the Wildflower and Bird Sanctuary at Lee Memorial Park. A Rotary grant for $19,910 was received for the kiosk and interpretive signage for the meadow habitat.

Member achievements were recognized. Kay Wray was honored in 2013 with the Horticulture Award of Merit, acknowledged particularly for her superb container gardening; and Jayne Feminella received the Elizabeth Bradley Stull award for best arrangement by a novice at the 2012 GCV Rose Show.

Ongoing community projects included landscape maintenance at Centre Hill, and the Petersburg Preservation Task Force continued to keep Centre Hill open and available for Petersburg’s Historic Garden Week tour. The Cameron Foundation provided a grant to Centre Hill Mansion for window restorations and replacements. Members of the Garden Club of Virginia Restoration Committee visited Centre Hill Mansion to consider the extent of necessary repairs. The club’s annual “Splashes of Spring” raised funds for projects at Centre Hill, and members continued to help Willcox Watershed Conservancy at Lee Memorial Park by participating in cleanup days and other projects.

The club was runner-up for the 2017 GCV Common Wealth Award and received $6,000 for the Lee Park Wildflower and Bird Sanctuary. And PGC president Mary Nelson Thompson announced receipt of a new annual grant from the Thomas Dunn Estate, intended for use in beautifying Petersburg area public lands.

The Bessie Niemeyer Marshall watercolor art prints are currently stored at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Education Center.

The club joined with the City of Petersburg in a consultation capacity to design the landscaping for the two entrances to City Hall Petersburg and was considering other areas to help beautify the city.

In honor of the Garden Club of Virginia Centennial, the club hosted a cocktail reception on Sunday, May 19, 2019, at the Petersburg Country Club. It was announced that two recipients of Dunn Estate grants had completed their projects: (1) an Eagle Scout project to improve the area surrounding the Doughboy Statue on Sycamore Street; and (2) new tree plantings by Bartlett Tree Service at Historic Blandford Cemetery.

No meetings were held after March 2020, due to COVID-19, and the club’s annual fundraiser, “Splashes of Spring,” and the club’s Christmas luncheon were canceled.

Petersburg Garden Club Presidents 1996-2020

1996-1998	Barbara Ragsdale
1998-2000	Angela Barksdale
2000-2002	Bettie Guthrie
2002-2004	Elizabeth Johnson
2004-2006	Alice Martin
2006-2008	Laraine Smith
2008-2010	Sally Seward
2010-2012	Joan Pollard
2012-2014	Jackie Lane
2014-2016	Kay Wray
2016-2018	Mary Nelson Thompson
2018-2019	Virginia Cherry
2019-2022	Kathleen Short