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Article published August 25, 2010
LEADING THE WAY Friendships bloom in garden club
CRANBERRY TWP — Alice Krejdovsky might spend a lot of time engulfed in her duties as president of the Southern Butler County Garden Club, but it's more than flowers and gardening advice that keeps her enthralled in the club. The social atmosphere around the club, she said, is the main draw and one of the biggest reasons why the club's membership continues to grow year after year. The group even gets together in the winter, when the inhospitable environment doesn't allow any garden to grow. The meetings serve another purpose, she said, as the social interaction provides an opportunity to temporarily "get rid of the winter doldrums." But even if their gardens aren't growing, she said, the monthly meetings provide a great opportunity for friendships to flourish. "We're really a close-knit group," she said. "I've met a lot of friends through the group, almost all of my friends since I moved here several years ago. And we're always interested in getting new members. It doesn't matter how old you are or how much you know about gardening." Krejdovsky said the 25-member group includes people of all ages, including retired school teachers and young women with day jobs. What's even better, she said, is that the garden club gives its members a way to give back to the community all while learning, socializing and honing their gardening craft. The group held its second garden tour around southern Butler County in June, a tour that maxed out at about 200 participants. The money raised from the tour goes directly to local libraries and other organizations. She said the tour raised more than $1,500 last year. Although figures aren't available for this year, Krejdovsky said she expects the money collected to be higher than last year, all of which will be given back to the community."I think every community needs something like a garden club," she said. "It helps the community and helps people in the community at the same time." Krejdovsky has been president of the garden club since 2008 and will continue in that role until her term is up in 2012. Her duties include serving as a delegate to state and national gardening conventions, organizing and presiding over the agenda at monthly meetings as well as choosing and lining up speakers for various events throughout the year. In the warmer months, group members take field trips to gardens across the area, plan for the annual garden tour as well as tend to their own gardens. While socializing and donating to the community are great benefits for club members, Krejdovsky added that the collective knowledge of all the gardeners in the club really comes in handy, too. "I was a beginner when I moved here but a lot of people in the club are master gardeners," she said. "If I have a problem or a question, I just send an e-mail out and within 30 minutes I get 10 responses. It's like having your own library where you can rely on the other girls to come up with the answers."
