The club, which was formed June 13, 1929, was created to help educate and promote the knowledge of gardening in the Boone community.
Today, the club is still expanding and reaching beyond educating members - they are working hands-on with the Boone community to make the town a more beautiful place to live.
Dorothy Peter, former president and current secretary and historian of the Boone Garden Club, has been a member for more than 20 years. She said throughout her time with the club she has seen it grow and become even more active.
"We have at least 30 members right now," Peter said. "And we are always happy to have some new members. Just this year I think we have added five or six new people. We are open to anyone who loves gardening."
Although the majority of members are older adults, between the ages of 50-70, Peter said the club would love to bring in some younger members to its ranks.
"We do have some younger people that are interested, but we would certainly like to see a younger group join, that would be nice," Peter said.
Peter added that men should feel equally welcome to come join the group, as a majority of the members are couples, so both men and women are equally represented. However, what makes the Gardening Club such a great asset to Boone is not so much the diversity of the members, but how active they are in the community.
Carolyn Finnestad, member of the garden club for almost 20 years, said that the club is beginning to play a much more active role in the community due to the worsening economy. For example, the club recently started a garden in front of the restrooms by the shelter house. Finnestad said that the city provided the limestone to border the garden, and the club will keep adding the flowers. Additionally, the club continues upkeep on the garden near the band shell at Herman Park.
Additionally, Finnestad said that they have also donated approximately $300 in leftover flowers to the Boone Middle School.
"The city has been very happy that we work for them," Finnestad said. "It helps the budget and they are short-handed."
The main source of income to the club comes from the sales of plants and flowers grown by the members themselves, however when no perennials, or seasonal flowers, are available, Peter said that companies such as Wal-Mart, Hy-Vee, Hilltop Greenhouse, and Lowe-Berry Garden Center provide annuals to be sold. All proceeds are put back into the community.
The money earned not only goes back into making Boone more beautiful, it also helps makes higher education more affordable. Peter said the Garden Club offers scholarships to students attending DMACC and Iowa State that are interested in pursuing a career in horticulture.
The Garden Club has an active summer ahead of it, Peter said, much of which will include trips outside of Boone.
In June, the club will be traveling to Roland to the home of Greg and Sue Olsen, who will teach the group about water gardening. Water gardening involves creating small ponds in a yard or gardening area, not only for the growing of plants such as water lilies, but raising fish as well.
July will include a trip to the home of Nan Ripley, who specializes in hybridizing lilies, which Peter said can increase blooms.
Finally, in August the group will head out to Ames to visit Skycrest Gardens to learn more about water gardening, as well as to visit the Iowa State Horticulture Farms.
Peter reiterated that any new interested parties are free to join in these trips, and if anyone wants to join up, membership is $7 per person, or $10 for a couple,
Finnestad agreed, saying, "We are always interested in new members. The more we have, the more we can do."
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