Projects

The South Haven Garden Club has a number of projects at this Museum. We provide regular upkeep for the National Federated Garden Bench and the Martha Warner Daylily Garden. We also provide financial assistance for the Bailey’s Budding Naturalist program.

It is an especially meaningful to have Club projects at this horticulturally prominent Museum. It is the birthplace and childhood home of America’s “Father of Modern Horticulture” and a founder of the “New Agrarian” philosophy, Liberty Hyde Bailey. It’s wonderful having such an accomplished man come from our small town. Besides being a lovely museum, this is also a National Historic Site, educational outreach center, and culture hub in South Haven.

How can the club members participate?

Club members can do pure gardening here in caring for “our” bench and daylily garden. We do all the normal activities including clean-up of the gardens in spring and fall with watering and dead heading flowers weekly during the growing season.

How many volunteers are needed to do what?:

Need: 2-3 members for garden upkeep
· Skills required: General garden skills
· Time: less than 1 hour per week

The South Haven Garden Club provides plants, shrubs and garden maintenance supplies for our gardens.
Chairperson: Nancy Daugherty
dndaugherty@gmail.com

We also support and help fund the Budding Naturalist summer camp program for children. We do not receive any in-kind donations.
LHBM Liaison: Anne Long
AnneLong60@gmail.com

The South Haven Garden Club maintains the setting and plants surrounding the Blue Star Memorial Monument. This tribute to the Armed Forces of WWII is located on the East side of Lakeview Cemetery, on Blue Star Highway, just south of the police & fire station.

Our Memorial has special meaning to the South Haven Garden Club. In 2003 the discarded remains of the original memorial were found in multiple locations near the woods north of Van Buren State Park. It took over 6 years to recover, repair, relocate, design and install the current Blue Star Memorial. On September 19, 2009, a rededication was held.

How members can participate?

Join this project to maintain the garden surrounding the Blue Star Memorial Monument. This entails an early spring cleanup, planting of annual flowers, fertilizing, mulching and installing new flags in honor of Memorial Day. Every week we weed & dead head plants to keep the garden looking pretty. Keep an eye on rainfall and water as needed. In the fall we plant mums and red tulips and lightly fertilize. We put the garden to bed for the winter with a final cleanup of flowers and shrubs, pruning as needed, etc., and replace flags for winter.

How many volunteers are needed to do what?

2-4 volunteers are needed
All gardening skills.
All club members are encouraged to stop by for a quiet moment to weed and deadhead the garden or just to feel the pride this memorial represents.

The club provides flowers and other gardening materials averaging.

Chairperson: Sandy Fenske
fenske@i2k.com

In 1872 J. Sterling Morton proposed that a special day be set aside for the planting of trees. One hundred and thirty three years later we celebrate this day as Arbor Day on the last Friday of each April.

How members are expected to participate?

Our club participates by purchasing and preparing sapling spruce trees and delivering them to the local 3rd grade elementary school children. We deliver over 160 trees to the students. Students hear a short program on the importance of trees in our lives and in our environment.

How many volunteers are needed?

Needed: 11 to prepare, deliver and speak.

Chairperson: Nancy Bland
blandnancy@comcast.net