Col. Royer's editorial remains pertinent to the Marietta Gardeners Club as we start the 2014 gardening year.
The Gardener's Corner
Published by :
Marietta Men's Garden Club
April 1971
This is an editorial by Wesley Clare Royer editor of The Gardener's Corner
What is A Garden Club?
A garden club must be an organization of people who are interest in horticulture. Not all will be interested in the same subdivision because the thing that really interests one person may not be what the other likes to grow. But all of them are interested in growing things and this is he common denominator of all member of a Men's Garden Club.
A club cannot just be its officers ans steering committee; if it is, then it is just another run of the mill club. True, the officers and steering committee must lead and guide the club, but the members must take an active part in the club's activities.
Good programs are an essential part of a club, and they tend to hold and attract members. All types of programs on many subjects should be presented so that as much of the field of growing things can be covered. A club that has only good programs is not a good club but only a collection of individuals.
A club should be more than a discussion group - more than an audience- more than a gathering of individuals - it must be a congregation of people who care for one another and for the vital values and purposes for which the club was first organized. It must be concerned with the aspects of community life in which it operates. In all things it does, it should lend its efforts to improve the community life of all individuals.
How can a Men's Garden Club be made to meet these requirements? We must reach out into our community and continue to share ourselves with others. We cannot wait for the community to become interested in us, but we must prove that we are a good community investment deserving the support of the communities in which we live.
A good hard evaluation must be made of the individual member of the club. We must evaluate the changes that have taken place in the individual member. Our present society calls for a high rate of diversity, and many individuals are not willing to commit themselves to a project that will require participation for a full year of service. Many do not have the extra time available for service due to family requirements or to demands of their employment. Many members are willing and able to do something for the club for a short period of time and will do an excellent service during this short period.
Are you one of these members? Do you have something that you would like to do? Is there some one project that your would like for the Marietta Men's Garden Club to accomplish, and would you and are you willing to devote your time and effort towards its completion? If there is, why don't you stand-up and tell the other members what your proposed project is and many others may think it is a good thing too.
LET'S GO - LET'S GROW! is our national slogan and we should adopt it as ours. Lets all get involved and do our "thing", and in doing so we will become a better club than we are now. LETS CONTINUE TO BE THE NUMBER ONE MEN'S GARDEN CLUB IN THE U.S.A.!!
Project: "Grounds of Marietta Educational Garden Center"
From uncultivated ground and tangled undergrowth of a long vacant house to permanently graded and established lawn.
Project Description
Clearing, grading, planting in roughly two stages:
I. Work on half acre surrounding house to enable Garden Council to procure insurance and contractor to start restoration.
II. Grading and planting of complete grounds including other three acres of lawn and parking area.
Work Procedure Area I
1. Weeds and grass cut away from house enabling Garden Council to procure insurance and contractor to begin restoration.
2. Barn raised, its boards delivered to former owners as requested.
3. Removal of three dead trees at front of house; pruning of live trees.
4. Further removal:
a. privet hedge
b. field stone wall ( in path of addition)
c. back porch
5. Burning of trash.
Above work was done under first Chairman Richard Saess, with work parties of varying sizes and the help of Boy Scouts. These boys gained know how while working enthusiastically, thus developing interest in their own home grounds.
Work Procedure Area II
The second chairman, Charles Campbell, is employed by the Cobb Federal Bank who backed him in procuring from local contractors and dealers the use of heavy machinery needed at this point.
1. Diesel tractor with bush-hog worked for four days chewing up brush thick enough to hide tractor.
2. Bulldozer with front-end loader cleaned up mess from operation one.
3. Five rubber tired tractors, work party, plus an employee loaned by the bank further cleaned up to start contouring. This bank employee became so enthused he also gave a Saturday of his own time.
4. Front-end loader and road patrol were loaned by Cobb county in return for 100 loads of fill dirt needed at nearby bridge on county road. Work party with this equipment lowered and sloped the front bank and parking.
5. Four rubber tired tractors and work party sub-soiled, disked, dragged and rolled. Rain came so heavily it prevented machine seeding. Rye grass was hand sown to hold ground for winter. Number 5 project extended over three weekends with some interim work.
6. Spring 1971 - Three tractor trips to cut grass and weeds.
7. An extensive bed of tulips was set on front bank above drive. In late April a colorful display gave enjoyment and inspiration to many viewers.
8. In summer 1971 - supervised laying out of parking area and paving thereof, actual work done by county road equipment.
9. November: Several men worked three full days with three tractors plus hand tools. The completed lawn was dug with sub-soiler, disked, aerated, rolled and planted, this time with an evergreen mixture for a permanent lawn (1,200 pounds of Fescue 31 was used with Crimson Clover sown in a low bank area). Their interest aroused by garden club men, four outside men spent a whole Saturday afternoon and furnished tank truck planter which pressure-sprayed a mixture of seed, fertilizer and water. This was a very efficient operation. Both the Men's Garden club and the womens clubs are indebted to the contractor and his men who gave so generously of time and equipment. One hundred and fifty man hours of work were done in the one month of November.
The lawn, now a lush green, slopes gracefully in every direction from the restored house, the culmination and goal of five years of united effort. The men consider highly worthwhile the hundreds of man hours of work (up to 1,500 hours a year for five years) given to this project.
During this time the Men's Garden Club won two national awards for this garden project.
As we stroll the grounds and enjoy the building, we should remember all the work the Men's Garden Club did on the grounds and be proud of the heritage of this club.