The Thursday Garden Club of Sudbury – A Short Description and History

The Thursday Garden Club of Sudbury, founded in 1951 and federated in 1959, assumed its name because meetings originally took place in members’ homes on Thursdays. Our goal has been to perpetuate and stimulate interest in horticulture, conservation, flower arranging, and related subjects among members and to design, plant, and maintain beautification projects within Sudbury. We achieve the first goal by inviting experts in gardening related topics to speak at our monthly meetings. We also attend workshops and courses sponsored by the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts. Our members work hard to bring beauty to the town through various civic projects throughout the year within Sudbury.

Early Club activities included plantings at the library, town statues, and other locations. Members attended programs on flower arranging. Many enjoyed making and selling pressed flower stationery. The Club established a scholarship for a graduating high school senior planning to major in horticulture or related fields.

In 1960, the Club inaugurated the annual Antique Show and boutique that was a fundraising event for several decades. For Sudbury’s 350th anniversary parade in 1989, members grew flowers and used them to decorate a float.

The Club established the Children’s Garden at Goodnow Library in 1976. We expanded the garden as part of the addition to the library and we continue to maintain it. Each year we add new plants and accessories, including teak benches, a birdhouse, and a birdbath. In addition, we provide an “arrangement” in the Children’s Library monthly and hold “garden workshops” for children.

Other focal areas include beautifying the town with our daffodil trail; designing, planting, and maintaining Grinnell Park and traffic islands; decorating town center, Goodnow Library, and Hosmer House for the holidays; planting trees and shrubs at Curtis Middle School; and remembering our veterans with plantings at the town war memorials.

Support for our beautification projects and for a scholarship or internship is provided by our fundraisers that have recently included auctions and garden tours.

Today, meetings are still held on Thursdays, usually at the Goodnow Library. We continue to welcome new members each year. Will you be our newest member?