In 1935, the Gates Mills Village Council granted the Gates Mills Garden Club the use of land along the Chagrin River deemed ideal for a native woodland. Paths were laid out and many fine specimens of native trees, shrubs and wildflowers were planted. Throughout the years, club members have tended the Village Arboretum with planting, pruning, weeding and labeling.
Bridge Boxes
The Gates Mills Garden Club decorates the North and South bridges that span the Chagrin River. In late May, members plant colorful flowers in the bridge boxes for summer enjoyment and tend to the flowers all season long. For the winter holidays, the boxes are once again filled with evergreen boughs and cheerful holiday decorations.
Flower Show
The flower show is a biennial event that showcases what we do as gardeners. It is free and open to the public. The show features horticulture specimens, floral designs and educational exhibits. All members of the Club are encouraged to participate in various roles. The entries are professionally judged by flower show judges from the state of Ohio.
Fourth of July Parade Float
The Parade Committee designs and builds the Garden Club’s Independence Day parade float. After the parade theme is announced by the Village Improvement Society in the spring, committee members brainstorm ideas and create a beautiful float in the week preceding the parade.
Garden Tour
The Garden Tour is a biennial event that is the major fundraiser, benefiting horticulture scholarships and the Gates Mills Garden Club’s projects. It showcases several gardens in Gates Mills often including historic landmark homes. The Club members work many months to solicit gardens, organize the myriad details and advertise this special garden tour. The Club is fortunate to have Villagers open their private gardens for the public to enjoy. The next tour will take place in the summer of 2026..
Library and Post Office Flowers
For over half a century the Gates Mills Garden Club has been providing flowers for the Gates Mills branch of the Cuyahoga County Library, and more recently for the Gates Mills Post Office. A different club member brings a floral design or plant every week of the year. Designs are delivered on Monday and maintained during the week to guarantee a lovely display. Many times the display is appropriate for a holiday or celebration.
May Baskets
The May baskets have become a harbinger of spring enjoyed by residents and visitors alike. The flower baskets are a legacy of the Grey Squirrel, a flower shop once housed in a renovated gas station in the heart of the Village. The shop began the practice of hanging baskets of flowers from street signs to welcome spring. This tradition has been continued by the Gates Mills Garden Club after the Grey Squirrel closed in the mid 1960’s. Around the first of May, garden club members arrange the daisy baskets for hanging. The Village Service Department then hangs the baskets from street signs and municipal doors throughout the Village.
Scholarships
The Gates Mills Garden Club is proud to offer its scholarship program to graduating seniors from Gilmour Academy, Hawken High School, Mayfield High School (including Excel TECC, and the Gates Mills Environmental Education Center. The recipients all go on to further their education in horticultural fields of study.
Service Department Luncheon
The Service Department Luncheon is an annual luncheon for Gates Mills Service Department, Town Hall, library and post office staffs to thank them for their service. The Garden Club works with the Community Club to organize the event.
Garden Club Projects
Monarch Butterfly Garden
In 2015, the Gates Mills Garden Club embarked on a comprehensive project to improve the plight of the Monarch butterfly. The project included an educational element, community outreach and construction of a certified habitat. The Club built a certified Monarch Way Station butterfly garden at Esquire’s Cottage, which provides an ideal environment for the Monarch butterfly to flourish. The garden has Swamp and Common Milkweed plants vital for the Monarch butterfly’s larval stages, and perennials bloom all season long, offering butterflies more than 15 different plants to pollinate.
Monthly Programs
Our monthly programs are designed to stimulate interest in gardening and floral design and for preserving and enhancing the natural beauty of our environment. Field trips to special gardens are included in the programming. Garden Club of Ohio programs are optional activities.
Stage Hands
In honor of the Gates Mills Garden Club’s benefactor, Florence Stage, the club has monthly instructional, hands-on gardening activities on its property at Esquire’s Cottage. These optional classes aim to explain and demonstrate gardening skills such as pruning, seed collection, and monthly garden maintenance.
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