Announcement

In Bloom: Garden Club’s beautification efforts have spanned more than four decades

Thursday, March 30, 2023

(March 31, 2023) Since 1976, the Ocean Pines Garden Club has played a major role in how the community looks and feels.

The group of volunteers first formed to help plant flowers, shrubs and trees around community signs, buildings and parks, and in the median along Ocean Parkway.

In the more than four decades since, the Garden Club has run a series of elaborate garden tours and collaborated with local artists, and have helped to maintain Ocean Pines parks and the Worcester County Veterans Memorial grounds.

The Garden Club hosts an Arbor Day ceremony each year, and their gifts and donations have included the Civil War era anchor at the Yacht Club in 1995, the gazebo at Pintail Park in 1998, the two stone benches at the community center in 2009, and two plaques for the Gold Star Program of the Veterans Memorial Foundation in 2014.

Current leadership and activities

Co-presidents Ann Shockley and Patti Lookner collaborate with Ocean Pines General Manager John Viola on new projects, and Gail Philippi puts out a robust regular newsletter, cataloging the club’s many activities.

All three helped to plan the garden tours that once doubled as an annual club fundraiser.

“People would let their gardens be used for the tour, and we would advertise it all over the county,” Shockley said. “People could buy tickets and get a map in the morning of all the different properties, and then we usually had a luncheon afterwards with a silent auction. It was a big, big production.”

Shockley said the event was scaled back during the pandemic. It’s no longer ticketed, and now features a handful of member gardens and gardeners.

“Although the Garden Club loved showing off the gardens in Ocean Pines and the funds it raised for the club, we decided that we would rather not continue to take it on,” she said. “It’s still fun to see people’s gardens and what they’ve been doing, so it’s worked out really nicely on a smaller scale.”

Along with the tour, club members collaborate each May to create dozens of floral arrangements, which are then sold for Mother’s Day at the Ocean Pines Farmers & Artisans Market.

“We sell those arrangements on the day before Mother’s Day. It’s been very profitable, and people are excited that we’re there – especially those who forgot to get something for their mother!” Shockley said.

Growing local

All three women said there are unique growing challenges in Ocean Pines, from the saltwater air to the local wildlife out looking for a tasty snack.

“The soil is one of the biggest challenges, but you find things that work here,” Philippi said. “A lot of us are getting really into pollinators and native plants, and maybe moving away from some of the older varieties that we had used.”

She said the climate can be different “year to year, plant to plant, yard to yard,” and there’s a lot of trial and error involved.

“I just read that you don’t plant tomatoes in the same spot every year – which is what I’ve been doing and it’s probably why my tomatoes don’t look that good anymore,” Shockley said. “It’s also the salt air. And right now we’ve been having amazing water, but this summer we’ll probably go through a dry spell.”

Lookner said last year, for the first time, she had to deal with a vole invasion in her garden.

“I lost all my hostas and some coneflowers,” she said. “For years, I would hear people talking about mole and vole problems and would think, ‘Oh that's terrible’ – and then I found out it is terrible. You just never know."

Lookner said many people who move to Ocean Pines look for insights on what works and what doesn’t, and which kinds of challenges they might face in a local garden.

“You can’t guarantee anything, really,” she said. “But you can focus on the natives [plants] – and then you cross your fingers.”

Club activities

Philippi said club activities have included bus trips to tour major gardens and garden centers such as the Hillwood Estate in Washington, D.C., Winterthur in Delaware, and Longwood Gardens and the Philadelphia Flower Show in Pennsylvania. The group also visits many local and regional gardens.

“There’s quite a big educational component to what we do,” she said. “We also have speakers who come in to talk to our members about a number of topics.”

That includes regular appearances by Ginny Rosenkranz, who since 1994 has served as the University of Maryland’s commercial horticulture educator for Wicomico, Worcester and Somerset counties.

Lookner said she’s championed the educational component of Garden Club meetings.

“We really try to focus on learning something about gardening at our meetings,” she said. “That’s why I joined the club – to give to the community and to learn. Because there’s always a lot to learn.”

Shockley said there has also been a big emphasis on conservation and proper environmental practices.

“We have talked a lot about what are good practices in gardening – like recycling and composting – and all those things that we can do to help the earth and ourselves and our community,” she said.

Giving back

Along with the club’s mission statement of stimulating interest in gardening while encouraging friendship within the community, Philippi said there’s an unstated goal of providing community service.

In the past, the club has offered scholarships to local high school students. More recently, the club has given back to the Association in the form of donated plant materials and help with beautification projects.

That has included annual Christmas decorations at the entrances of each neighborhood in Ocean Pines and on street signs along Ocean Parkway. It’s a big task that Lookner said is accomplished with plenty of help from Eddie Wells, Clint Parks, and others from the Ocean Pines Public Works Department.

Each April, the club hosts an Arbor Day ceremony at Pintail Park to honor former club members, friends and relatives who passed away in the previous year, and to plant a tree in their honor. The event is well attended and frequently includes many local political figures.

Shockley said the club also helps to manage Pintail Park.

"Ocean Pines Public Works, with Tony Howard and his crew, are the main caretakers of Pintail Park, but we also lend a hand with clearing gardens, weeding, some light pruning and setting up a watering schedule with volunteers in the summer,” she said.

“This year, our gift is going to be to donate money to do the plantings at the North Gate, and we’re working with John Viola on that,” Shockley continued. “We’re going to help with plant materials, and we’re actually going to go with Tony and the Public Works staff when they go to pick out the plants.”

She said perennials and other plants grown by Garden Club members would be added to the North Gate plantings.

Philippi again emphasized that giving back and community service is a big part of what the club does.

“We love living here and we want our community to be beautiful,” she said. “Giving back just seems like a natural thing – especially for a garden club.”

“Gardeners like to plant stuff, so if we run out of room in our own yards, we start looking for other places to plant things,” Shockley said. “And I know when I drive around and I see something out of place I think, ‘Oh! We need to do something about that.’ But it’s because we all live here and we’re all proud of Ocean Pines.”

Growing new members

Philippi said none of the club’s many projects, programs and charitable endeavors would be possible without the dedication of the club members.

“Everyone works hard and cooperates willingly in making sure our projects are successful,” she said.

“It’s really teamwork that makes our events fun and successful,” Lookner added.

Lookner said the club is always looking for new members.

“We’re a very welcoming group and we’re very friendly,” she said. “So, if you have any interest in gardening, come on over.”

The Ocean Pines Garden Club meets on the second Thursday of each month. Guests and new members are welcome. For more information, contact Shockley at 410-688-1975 or Lookner at 410-973-1243.

For more information or to join the Ocean Pines Garden Club, visit bit.ly/OceanPinesGardenClub or www.facebook.com/groups/oceanpinedgardenclub.