Peachtree Garden Club (Atlanta, Ga.)

Founded in 1923.

From the description of Records, 1923-1985. (Atlanta History Center). WorldCat record id: 28414748

The Peachtree Garden Club (PGC), Atlanta's first garden club, was founded in 1923 with the mission to stimulate the knowledge and love of gardening among amateurs, and the membership is limited to those who own a garden and take an active interest in its design, management and culture. The Club was invited to join the Garden Club of America (GCA) in 1926 and helped to organize numerous other garden clubs such as the Garden Club of Georgia in 1928. Among the Club's early achievements was the establishment of the Garden Center at Rich's in 1934, the First Atlanta Flower Show in 1934 and subsequently the Atlanta Flower Show Association in 1935, which later became the Southeastern Flower Show in 1988. The Club also established the Dogwood Festival in 1936.

The Club's roadside beautification projects include the Peachtree Beautification Project in 1933-1936. Several other community projects were undertaken, such as Lawson General Hospital garden in 1941 and in 1943 a Victory garden was created at the Egleston Hospital for Children, (now named the Laura Davis Webster Garden). Boxwood and herbs gardens were donated to the Founders' Garden at University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. The PGC has worked on several conservation projects such as developing and maintaining the Swan Woods at the Atlanta History Center, a 10 acre ecological laboratory, beginning in 1967, which received the GCA Founders Fund Award in 1969. The garden became one of the notable Gardens for Peace in 1985.

The PGC has published several important books, including "The Garden History of Georgia", 1933 (PGC commissioned by the GA Bi-Centennial Committee) and the "Architecture of Neel Reid of Georgia" with Cherokee Garden Club in 1973. The PGC established the Neel Reid Scholarship Fund in 1946 for UGA School of Environmental Design and later added the Neel Reid Traveling Fellowship to support students furthering their academic endeavors in Landscape Architecture. Today, the PGC continues to play an active role in community conservation projects and promoting the love of gardening and horticultural knowledge.

From the description of Peachtree Garden Club Records, 1923-2005, undated. (Atlanta History Center). WorldCat record id: 25330688