STARKVILLE – Starkville Town and Country Garden Club kicked off National Garden Week with Starkville Mayor Spruill signing a proclamation designating June 7-13 as National Garden Week in Starkville.
“Gardening has such great benefits, and it is something you can enjoy throughout your lifetime. I would encourage everyone to grow flowers or vegetables, even if in containers. There’s such a sense of accomplishment in the process and end result,” said Garden Club President Lynne Strickland. “In addition to the National Garden Week proclamation, we created an educational display featuring multiple benefits of gardening along with photos and a description of how the work of our committees enhance and beautify our community, conserve the environment, and educate children and adults on a wide array of gardening topics.”
The proclamation acknowledges the importance of gardening and the numerous contributions of gardeners and local garden clubs by nurturing the beauty and resources of the earth through the planting of seeds, caring for plants, growing produce and flowers, preserving the environment, and advocating for and protecting all creatures, large and small.
“National Garden Week always takes place the first week of June. Thus, this year we will celebrate it June 7-13,” said Sassy Mauldin, president of The Garden Clubs of Mississippi Inc. “Garden clubs across the country take the opportunity to encourage pride in their communities, to interest new members, and to work with other groups to be a part of these efforts.”
Some of the activities the garden club has planned for National Garden Week include:
■ Coontail Farm Tour – Garden club members toured Coontail Farm on June 1 in Aberdeen, Mississippi, which is owned by Bobby and Martha Watkins. The garden club had to tour the farm before National Garden Week because Bobby and Martha were going out of the country. Bobby is a certified tree farmer and a recipient of the Mississippi Forestry Association’s Tree Farmer of the Year award. His farm is also known for its wildflower fields and sustainable gardening techniques.
■ Presentation on Wildflowers – Bobby Watkins of Coontail Farm presented “Wildflower Meadows” at the Starkville Library on June 2 at 1 p.m. Participants learned how to create a wildflower field like he has done on his farm.
■ An Educational Display – A trifold educational display has been prepared and installed at the Starkville Library to inform the public about the various activities of the Starkville Town and Country Garden Club using The Garden Clubs of Mississippi’s statewide theme, “Sow, Grow, Educate & Show.” The display offers informational handouts about the garden club and its involvement in the community and with the Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum’s pollinator garden. Individuals can also register to win two hibiscus plants donated by Oktibbeha County Co-op and a beautiful container filled with gardening items donated by Twigs Nursery. The raffle drawing will be on Sunday at the Starkville Community Market.
■ Book Donation – The garden club is donating *“Wonderfully Wil,”* a children’s book, to the Starkville Library’s children’s section, and the book will be read by a garden club member at 10 a.m. at the Starkville Public Library.
■ Booth at the Starkville Community Market** – The garden club will have a booth on Saturday at the Starkville Community Market featuring the display items from the library exhibit, and garden club members will be giving away free seed packets donated by East Mississippi Lumber Company and Oktibbeha County Co-op.
■ National Garden Week Signs Displayed – Ten printed 18-by-24-inch signs will be displayed around town during the week to create awareness of National Garden Week.
Ways you and your family can celebrate National Garden Week include:
■ Purchasing seeds, plants or trees and planting them in a pot or in your yard or garden.
■ Researching and creating a plan for your yard or garden.
■ Creating or purchasing a flower arrangement and taking it to someone who is sick or cannot get out much.
■ Visiting the Starkville Community Market on Saturday morning in Fire Station Park and purchasing locally grown produce, including some from Junior Garden Club members.
■ Counting the number and type of butterflies or birds in your yard.
■ Visiting the certified pollinator garden at the Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum.
■ Visiting the Veterans Memorial Rose Garden at Mississippi State University, located at the Highway 182 entrance to the R. Rodney Foil Plant Science Research Facility.
■ Watching one of the many gardening shows with your family and grandkids on TV or social media.
The goal of National Garden Week is to celebrate gardening, the positive impacts gardening has on creating a more beautiful home or outdoor environment, improving physical and mental health, and how gardening brings people and the community together.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 39 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
