Many local groups and clubs tend to come and go, so it’s always a notable accomplishment when one of them gets to its 50th anniversary.
The Pembina Garden Club will celebrate its golden jubilee this Thursday with a tea at the Westlock Memorial Hall from 2 to 4 p.m., where they will provide information about the club and also be selling flowers, vegetables and baking as a fundraiser.
Club president Janice Felstad said she was happy the club has reached this significant milestone because of the importance of gardening in not just her life, but those of other club members as well.
“It’s a healthy thing to do, both physically and mentally,” she said.
Having a club where they can share their gardening experiences has been a great benefit for all members, she added, because it gives them an opportunity to share their plants and increase their knowledge about the hobby.
Eleanor Eakin started the club in the spring of 1961, when 40 women gathered at Helen Williams’ home. Subsequent meetings were held at the Pibroch School and the United Church before they settled in the Pibroch Hall, where the meetings are still held every third Thursday of the month.
Audrey Wiese, who is the only original member still involved with the club, said the bulk of her gardening knowledge comes from what she learned over the past 50 years, and she got involved because it seemed like a good place to start.
“We had just built a new house, and it was in the middle of a field,” she said. “My gardening experience up to then was weeding the potatoes.”
Looking at her garden now, one would not think it had ever simply been an empty field; there are more lilies than a person could count, and a plethora of other flowers to boot.
Lilies are Wiese’s personal favourite, she said, because there are such a wide variety of colours and for the most part, they grow very well in the Westlock area.
It hasn’t always been this way, though — gardening has actually changed quite a bit over the years, she said.
New varieties of flowers and trees are able to grow in our climate, after having been bred for hardiness. At the University of Saskatchewan, for example, researchers have developed a wide variety of fruit trees that will survive the harsh Alberta winters.
There have been some negative changes, too, Wiese added.
“There’s a lot more worms now,” she said. “Ever since farmers started growing canola, there are a lot more root worms.”
On top of that, there are fewer products on the market that do a good job of getting rid of those pests, as many have been taken off the shelf for one reason or another.
Regardless, Wiese said, there is still as much to be gained from gardening in today’s world as there ever was, even if people seem to be doing it less.
She gets especially frustrated when she sees people at the food bank, she said, as she wonders why they do not have vegetable gardens to be able to grow some of their own food.
“They watch too much TV,” she said of the current generation. “You can find the time to do what you want to do. I guess things are just different all the way around.”
The benefit of gardening is not just limited to food production, either. Wiese said for her, a lot of the reward comes from having pride in making your yard beautiful.
The decline in gardening as a popular hobby is something Wiese and Felstad both said was reflected in the club’s numbers. At one point it had about 60 members, whereas now it is closer to 20 members, many of whom are of an older generation.
“We’d like to encourage more younger people to come out,” Wiese said.
Felstad, although she has only been a member of the club for less than a decade since she retired, has been gardening for close to 50 years and said she continues to enjoy not just the challenge, but also the pleasure of simply seeing things grow.
“It’s all about the excitement of seeing something blooming, and trying something new,” she said, adding that she has benefited greatly since joining the club.
“You learn quite a lot from the tours and from the other members.”
Admission to the tea is $4, and there will also be flowers, vegetables and baking for sale. Annual club membership costs just $3, and includes access to speakers brought in and the two garden tours the club hosts yearly.
For more information, contact Janice Felstad at 780-954-2280.
