Fairfax County supervisors saluted the Garden Club of Fairfax on May 5 for its members’ efforts over the past century.
“Thank you for all you do in our community,” said Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman, who sponsored the centennial resolution while acknowledging that he, unlike club members, lacked a green thumb.
Bierman said one didn’t need gardening talents to appreciate the organization’s impact on Fairfax County.
“You make it a nice place to live, because you make it a beautiful place to live,” he said.
The Garden Club of Fairfax held its first meeting on June 30, 1926, starting with 20 charter members.
The result was “a century of women who believed gardening could strengthen our community,” said club president Robin Walker.
Walker praised past and current club members as preservationists, educators and civic leaders, each representing a bridge “between today and tomorrow.”
“Our members have always shown up to serve,” she said. “We are rooted in history, growing in purpose. When citizens care for their shared garden spaces, communities thrive.”
A number of the club’s earliest members had outsized roles in civic leadership. According to the resolution, they included:
- Kitty Barrett Pozer “served as the town of Fairfax’s volunteer librarian, advocated for the creation of the Fairfax County Public Library system and was the garden editor for The Washington Post for over 30 years.”
- Mrs. Amos Chilcott, who “was active in [the club’s] opposition to billboards,” worked with the highway system to improve roadway plantings, and became the first woman appointed to the Fairfax County Planning Commission in 1938
A number of supervisors praised the club’s efforts supporting various botanical sites throughout Fairfax, including Green Spring Gardens in Lincolnia, River Farm in Fort Hunt and the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Wolf Trap.
Board Chair Jeff McKay said the organization’s efforts not only add to the community’s beauty, but also support individuals’ mental health.
He celebrated “green spaces and gardening as therapy, especially in difficult times.”
