The Garden Club of Alexandria: A Centennial of Caring and Connection
By Hartley Hobson Wensing, Communications Chair, The Garden Club of Alexandria
Alexandria, VA – Growth with Continuity and Change
In 1926, The Garden Club of Alexandria held its first flower show at the Old Town Market (today’s Market Square), awarding $2.50 gold pieces—donated by local businesses—for winning floral arrangements. With just five founding members, the club’s first civic project was planting flowers outside the new wing of Alexandria Hospital at Duke and Washington Streets. This act set the tone for a century of community involvement.
Today, the club includes 40 active and 24 affiliate, sustaining, courtesy, and non-resident members. Though recognition now comes in the form of colored stickers, the spirit of service endures. During the COVID pandemic, members returned to Alexandria Hospital to present a floral flash, supporting healthcare workers in a time of strain.
Sally Guy Brown, a sustaining member and former President of the Garden Club of Virginia, sums up the club’s mission as “bringing friends together to create inspiring flower arrangements, spread beauty to the city and its residents, and take care of the local and statewide environment.”
1920s–1940s: Planting Seeds. Founded in 1925, the club restored the 18th-century garden at Gadsby’s Tavern by 1930 and removed billboards and junk heaps from roadsides approaching the city. During World War II, in cooperation with the American Red Cross, members held plant sales to benefit the British War Relief Fund, decorated Quantico Marine Base with wreaths, and volunteered in hospitals and camps. In 1944, the USO recognized the club for meritorious service. Five years later, Alexandria celebrated the return of Gadsby’s Tavern’s original doorway from the Metropolitan Museum in New York, a gift made possible by member Mrs. Charles Beatty Moore.
1950s–1970s: Historic Garden Week. Each spring, several Old Town homeowners graciously opened their homes and gardens during Historic Garden Week. Launched in 1929 by the Garden Club of Virginia, the tour supports the restoration of historic gardens across the Commonwealth and has funded more than 50 sites, including Mount Vernon and Green Spring Gardens, as well as graduate research fellowships.
In 1955, the Alexandria tour began under the sponsorship of the local club and the Hunting Creek Garden Club. Proceeds grew from $2,100 in 1963 to $76,000 in 2024.
1970s–1990s: Growing Gardens and More. In the 1970s, members helped improve the gardens at the historic Lee-Fendall House. In the ’80s and ’90s, civic projects expanded to include support for public school teachers, outdoor classrooms, recycling efforts, and Christmas flower arrangements for senior residents at Ladray Apartments.
The club also contributed to restoration efforts at the Alexandria Academy, founded by George Washington, and supported research on the Lloyd House garden, now part of the Office of Historic Alexandria.
21st Century: One Garden at a Time. In 2016, the club began revitalizing the Ramsay House garden at the Alexandria Visitor Center. The redesigned space, completed in 2019, features native perennials, shaded seating, and the city’s first outdoor phone charging station. Maintenance continued in partnership with the city until 2024.
Celebrating a Century. To mark its centennial, the club has launched new initiatives: contributing to the Seed Library in Rappahannock County, donating framed photographs to Community Lodgings, and collecting black walnuts for the Potomac Conservancy, whose trees help prevent erosion.
Preparations are now underway for the 93rd Historic Garden Week, with the next Alexandria tour scheduled for April 18, 2026.
Current Club President Ruth Brightbill said of the centennial, “The Garden Club of Alexandria’s century-long legacy is not just a reflection of past achievements—it’s a promise of continued impact as members carry forward a mission of civic beautification, environmental stewardship, and community enrichment for generations. The Club grows more than gardens—it grows connection, pride, and joy.”
