Petoskey Area Garden Club, Inc.
member
Michigan Garden Clubs, Inc.
National Garden Clubs, Inc.
The Petoskey Area Garden Club was organized in 1934 and federated in 1940, with a current membership of 89. Our parent organization is the National Garden Clubs, the largest non-profit organization of gardeners in the world, comprised of federations in 50 states and the National Capital Area and incorporating 7,183 clubs with over 221,943 members. The state federation represents 200 clubs with over 7,000 members.
The thousands of summer visitors to this area are delighted to see a community filled with colorful flowers; directly, and indirectly, through the efforts of the Petoskey Area Garden Club. The club is dedicated to the goal of promoting interest in gardening and beautifying the city of Petoskey with landscaping projects and annual plantings. The club's early beautification efforts centered around the Dorothy Loveless Beautification contest, a yearly event for local businesses, rewarding local establishments that had done the most to improve their store fronts through live plantings. This contest made everyone aware of the beauty of the community and today the results of this beautification effort are enjoyed by residents and visitors alike as the downtown merchants fill their planters with colorful blooms.
Perhaps the most controversial issue the club was involved in was the dispute over Pennsylvania Park. Located in the heart of Petoskey's business district, the park seemed an appropriate place for a parking lot to some city council members. Club members were determined to save the park and their lobbying efforts won the day. The club was recognized by National Garden Clubs for its dedication to saving the park. The club has planted Hosta along the park's pathways and established flower beds for annual plantings. To commemorate the club's 50th anniversary a Victorian gazebo, reminiscent of the rustic summerhouse that had once stood in the park, was erected.
Other landscaping projects include a Memorial Garden, located on US-31 at the city entrance, along with two large raised beds planted with tulips for springtime color and replanted with summer annuals in June. Colorful bridge boxes at the south entrance and a new garden at the north entrance welcome visitors to Petoskey. The area at the foot of Sunset Park is a popular spot for picnics and here the club has landscaped and maintains a large planting area with trees, shrubs, perennials and another small memorial garden.
Several years ago the Petoskey Area Garden Club was one of a number of local non-profit organizations named as a beneficiary of the Edward and Virginia Sobleskey Trust. This local couple had always been interested in and supportive of the garden club's annual civic beautification efforts. To thank them for their generosity the club worked with Town and Country Cedar Homes to design and have built a cedar gazebo to serve as the centerpiece for the new Educational Gardens in Arlington Park. The dedication on July 10, 2002 was attended by Sobleskey family members and local dignitaries.
The club's civic gardening committee plans the year's planting, choosing a different variety of annuals each year for the large beds, bridge boxes and Pennsylvania Park. A captain and several club members are assigned to each planting area and this team oversees the planting and weekly maintenance of their area. We receive wonderful cooperation from Petoskey's Parks and Recreation Department who prepare our planting beds and help with larger landscape projects.
How are our civic beautification projects funded? In the past the club had relied on bazaars, luncheons and tag days, however in 1986 the decision was made to establish an endowment fund to be called the Public Gardens Fund. This involved incorporation and registration as a Michigan non-profit corporation and application to the Internal Revenue Service for tax exempt status which was granted in 1987. Any gift given to the club is tax deductible to the donor. Area businesses, service clubs and individuals responded to the club's first fund raising efforts and continuing donations are welcome so that interest income will cover the ever rising cost of plants and landscaping efforts. Donations may be sent to:
Petoskey Area Garden Club, P O Box 746, Petoskey, MI 49770-0746
