Mill Mountain Garden Club

March 21, 2022

millmountaingc.org/

Our members continue to renew this vow and to support restoring, improving, and protecting the environment.

Walking Down Our Garden Path

The history of Mill Mountain Garden Club (MMGC) over the past 25 years can most successfully be shared by Walking Down Our Garden Path. We invite you to join us!

MMGC’s Wildflower Garden (WFG), which sits atop Mill Mountain, is at the heart of the club’s history. Since the first weed was pulled in 1972, MMGC members have spent thousands of hours cultivating, nurturing, and expanding the garden and our club. In 1978, the WFG received the Garden Club of America’s Founders Fund Award and, in 1988, the Garden Club of Virginia’s Common Wealth Award. In many ways, the strength and purpose of the WFG and MMGC are intertwined with trails, paths, and deep roots.

The entrance to the WFG is the Discovery Trail. This trail branches out into paths and lanes that introduce guests to many areas of interest. The Discovery Trail is a “universal access” pathway, which allows individuals with mobility challenges to navigate the beauty of the garden. The Discovery Trail, the restored cascading pond, the expanded native plant and pollinator collections, and educational features are a result of generous grants and donations made to the Restoration Campaign for the WFG in 2020.

An informative “Welcome” sign greets guests at the trail head. This sign is one of four educational signs placed throughout the garden that were funded by the Garden Club of Virginia’s 2020 Common Wealth Award.

Just off the WFG’s entrance, you can see a grove of five hybridized, blight-resistant American chestnut trees. In 2010, MMGC, in partnership with the American Chestnut Foundation and the City of Roanoke, participated in the Garden Club of America’s Centennial Tree Project. Nuts gathered from these trees have been harvested, sprouted, and planted by the city arborist in other city parks. The club’s hope is that this once magnificent tree, which was destroyed by blight, will one day return to the WFG, the mountains of Virginia, and beyond.

Horticulture is at the heart of the WFG and an integral part of MMGC. Members’ gardens attest to the knowledge and expertise gained from our involvement in GCV and MMGC horticulture shows and workshops. GCV bulb collections have graced our gardens for decades. In 2010, MMGC published a book entitled  Just in Time — To Plant, Grow and Sow, which is filled with helpful advice for local gardeners.

If you follow the lower garden path, you will encounter a breathtaking Pollinator Garden. Coneflower, goldenrod, coleus, and other pollinators attract bees, birds, and butterflies to the garden. Speaking of bees, MMGC’s Conservation Committee was instrumental in Roanoke City obtaining a Bee City designation.

No glass or bottle caps are underfoot as we Walk Down Our Garden Path. MMGC has embraced recycling with a passion and has participated in community recycling of electronics, collected plastics for TREX products, and supported the Roanoke City effort to become the first local government in Virginia to tax disposable plastic bags. The Conservation Committee educates our members through a book club, movie screenings, and monthly tips on the importance of conservation.

The Outdoor Classroom is just up the path on one of the highest points in the garden – a lovely setting for weddings, concerts, graduations, and family reunions, as well as the site of occasional MMGC meetings. The Outdoor Classroom and the Cascading Pond are favorite spots for all to enjoy the beauty of our mountain vistas.

Over the past 25 years, MMGC’s community advocacy and engagement efforts have highlighted our commitment to partnering on projects. Support for Roanoke Valley educational institutions, including North Cross School’s Butterfly Garden and Virginia Western Community College’s Arboretum have created strong ties. Through a generous gift from MMGC past president Elisabeth Carter’s Charitable Lead Trust, MMGC established the Elisabeth “Liz” Reed Carter Educational Annual Scholarship in 2020 to benefit students pursuing degrees or certificates in horticulture, environmental studies, plant science, or forestry. This pathway to education has been enhanced by community forums and programs. In 2006, MMGC’s Conservation Committee presented a panel discussion on clean smokestack legislation; in 2008 we hosted a community forum on threats of development on Mill Mountain. Each year, MMGC members take the path to Richmond for GCV’s Legislative Day. We are honored to be part of a respected voice to advocate for important environmental issues in Virginia.

Our relationship with our sister club, Roanoke Valley Garden Club (RVGC), allows us to make a greater impact upon the community. In 2005, our two clubs joined forces to landscape Habitat for Humanity houses. In step with the Roanoke Council of Garden Clubs, we traveled the path to the Salem Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center and supported the only therapeutic garden in a VA Hospital in the country. In addition, we requested a grant from GCV for the Smith Mountain Lake Parks to purchase supplies for educational programs in their wet lab. We love partnering with RVGC for Historic Garden Week (HGW) each year. There is strength in numbers!

It is difficult to count the awards and ribbons MMGC members have won since 1995 in GCV Lily, Daffodil, and Rose Shows; Fine Arts & Flowers (VMFA); Art Go Bloom (Taubman Museum); and the Miss Virginia Pageant. The photography class has become popular with all members.

A branch of the garden path leads us to the excitement of hosting flower and horticulture shows and major meetings. GCV’s Board of Governors Meeting in 2006 and GCA Zone VII Meeting and Flower Show in 2018 were educational and delightful experiences.

2006 GCV Board of Governors

BOG Photos

The eighty-seventh Board of Governors meeting was hosted by Mill Mountain Garden Club at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center on October 17-19, 2006. The meeting was chaired by Jane Coulter and Patti Palmer.

The Board of Directors met for lunch and board meeting on October 17 at the beautiful home of Kae and Chan Bolling. Presented with a recommendation from the Strategic Planning Committee, the board adopted the GCV mission statement, “The Garden Club of Virginia exists to celebrate the beauty of the land, to conserve the gifts of nature and to challenge future generations to build on this heritage.”

Attendees gathered Tuesday evening for cocktails at the O. Winston Link Museum, followed by Dutch treat dinner at Billy’s Ritz, a popular local restaurant in the city’s historic market area.

President Sally Guy Brown called the meeting to order Wednesday morning and asked Mill Mountain Garden Club president Kay Kelly to introduce Roanoke mayor, Nelson Harris. Kay then provided a preview of events and introduced club historians Jane Butler and Jill Pendleton who recited a poem paying tribute to the 79-year-old club.

Following business, attendees traveled to Hollins University where lunch was served prior to the presentation of the Beale Memorial Garden. The afternoon offered a visit to Mill Mountain Garden Club’s award-winning Wildflower Garden. The awards banquet followed that evening at the Hotel Roanoke.

Thursday morning’s business meeting closed with a choice of three seminars — Development conducted by Ann Sanders and Catherine Whitham; Restoration conducted by Mary Lou Seilheimer; and Online conducted by Nina Mustard.

GCV Awards

The club’s path through the WFG is filled with members who have received awards from GCV over the past 25 years: Horticulture Awards of Merit — 1995, Betty Boxley; 1998, Frances Kincanon; 1999, Carolyn Noland; 2012, Jane Cheadle; 2016, Virginia Vinyard; The de Lacy Gray Medal — 1998, Lucy Ellett.

A new trail to “Get Outside” (adventures and trips) was blazed in 2015. Hiking nearby mountains, kayaking the Roanoke River, paddleboarding in Smith Mountain Lake, bicycling from Alexandria to Mount Vernon, and birding in the WFG are but a few of our many outside activities that provide the opportunity to enjoy one another and the beauty of our natural world.

The past 25 years have been filled with technology pathways. We have developed from a club of “phone trees” to a tech-savvy club. We are connected by email, text, electronic newsletters, educational websites, Instagram and Facebook platforms, Zoom meetings, iPhone technology, and Google Drive. Technology has opened a variety of new garden paths that have allowed MMGC to save money, save time, archive our history, share our documents, communicate with each other, and market our projects to the community.

Much has changed from 1995-2020, but one thing remains the same: MMGC continues to be an inspiration to her members and to cultivate community through educational programs, projects, activities, and civic engagement as it walks the path towards the future.

MMGC history was written by Mill Mountain Garden Club Archive Committee.

MMGC Presidents 1995-2021

1995-1997	Belle Sith
1997-1999	Matilda Badshaw
1999-2001	Patti Palmer
2001-2003	Sarah Belle Parrott
2003-2005	Jan Garrett
2005-2007	Kay Kelly
2007-2009	Jane Coulter
2009-2011	Ann Jennings
2011-2013	Martha Anderson
2013-2015	Fayette Weaver
2015-2017	Janet Frantz
2017-2019	Forrest Moore
2019-2021	Valeta Pitman