Hosta and daffodil demonstration garden at Adams Ricci Park.
You could hear a pin drop at the latest meeting of the Penn-Cumberland Garden Club (PCGC) as speaker Sandy Lockerman shared her knowledge about the secret lives of hummingbirds.
Lockerman is the only bander of hummingbirds in this part of the state, and both she and her husband have devised a special “trap” to temporarily capture the birds to band them for migration studies.
The room at the Mechanicsburg Brethren in Christ Church was filled to capacity as dozens of club members gathered for their monthly meeting and to hear more about Lockerman’s research.
“We’re going to need a bigger room soon,” remarked Sheri Goff, who wears several club hats—youth activities chair, chair of photography and yearbook editor.
After the talk ended, members formed a long line leading to the kitchen, where a large spread, prepared by members, awaited. Choices included a selection of soups, tea sandwiches made with cucumber, cream cheese and dill and a variety of rich and delicious desserts.
After lunch, members caught up with one another and some even pulled out their purses to purchase pressed flower jewelry that was carefully displayed on a long table.
Goff is part of the 117-member strong organization that encompasses York, Lancaster, Harrisburg and the West Shore. Their mission is dedicated to the promotion of gardening, floral and landscape design, community beautification and preservation of trees, plants, birdlife and natural resources.
Goff, who lives in Camp Hill, learned about the nonprofit group after seeing an advertisement in the newspaper in 2013 and has been a member ever since.
“I walked in off the street,” she said. “You don’t have to know anyone to join.”
Lynn Garrett learned about the PCGC through word of mouth.
“I was invited by a woman I had known at Highmark before I retired,” said the Shiremanstown resident.
Members in attendance that day offered a variety of reasons for joining—from the desire to socialize with those who share a passion for gardening to an interest in community beautification and even floral design, which is what attracted current PCGC President Kay Yniguez.
“I became involved because I was interested in a club that taught floral design, and it turns out that they had a floral designer’s guild,” she said.
According to Goff, the club is affiliated with the Garden Club Federation of Pennsylvania and the National Garden Club (NGC), which prepares members for participation in flower show judging and other activities.
“This is just one of four schools offered nationwide by the NGC,” Goff said. “The others are landscape design, gardening and environmental.”
The garden club also has a scholarship fund that awards $1,000 to a high school senior with a related major, such as horticulture, floriculture, landscape architecture and others.
Beautification projects are an important part of the club’s mission, as well.
“We have 17 civic beautification sites in four communities throughout the area that are maintained by our club,” said Goff, whose project is caring for the landscape at the New Cumberland Library.
Additional beautification projects include design, planting and maintaining gardens and containers at the Camp Hill Borough building, Adams-Ricci Park in East Pennsboro Township and New Hope Ministries in Mechanicsburg, to name a few. The club also oversees the operation of 129 raised-bed garden plots at Ames Community Garden in Shiremanstown.
Annual dues are $30 and include a newsletter, which is published five times a year. Goff said that the membership cost is more than worth it for the joy that the organization brings to so many people in the community, both members and non-members.
“For me, the value of the club is the affiliation with state and local organizations, but also learning from fellow members about growing flowers, sharing plants with each other, trading seeds and working in the community to beautify public spaces,” she said.
For more information on the Penn-Cumberland Garden Club, visit www.penncumberlandgardenclub.org.
Upcoming Events
Penn-Cumberland Garden Club will hold its annual plant sale at the Historic Frankenberger Tavern in Mechanicsburg at 217 E. Main Street on May 20 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Among the items for sale will be annuals, perennials, seedlings, herbs, bulbs, shrubs, trees, gardening books and magazines, garden tools, baked goods and more. Proceeds support civic beautification, Natural Disasters USA and Global Partners Running Water.
Also, mark your calendars for PCGC’s annual holiday market and luncheon. This is the 54th year for the event, which is open to the public and held at the Penn Harris in Camp Hill on the Monday after Thanksgiving, starting at 9 a.m.
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