Woods Garden  Club
Hedgesville, WV

Monarch Waystation Garden 

The Woods Garden Club was pleased to receive a competitive grant from the Monarch Alliance in 2022 to establish a Monarch Waystation Garden adjacent to the Sports Center.  This year, we are anxious to watch the evolving nature of the garden as it gets more established. Many people in our community, including some children, have helped us plant flowers and bulbs there and it will continue to be an interactive, hands-on project for many.  Several sub-sections of this website have been created to show the progression of this wonderful garden. 

• A look back at our first year with the garden, including Monarch Mania!

• Reliving Pollinator's Picnic - a free fun family event for the community and how to get more information about upcoming family garden events.      

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Over our history, the club has led various community projects, many of which

continue to this day, in one form or another. 

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Mailbox Garden Development

 

We have historically planted and maintained the gardens at the mailbox kiosk on Mt. Lake Road.  There is a marker and tree planted there in recognition of the work of Herb Flister, one of the founding members of the club.  Over the years, various shrubs and perennials were added.  More recently, in 2015 we significantly refurbished these gardens thanks to our ladybug fund-raiser.  In 2018, some of the garden had to be removed because of the kiosk expansion.  The following fall we planted a number of spring flowering bulbs donated to us by Carl Ay of Colonial Farm Nursery.  We will continue to add plants and seasonal items to the gardens each year.   Over the years, a number of volunteers have worked on these gardens, many times overseen by Mary Ahlquist, Master Gardener, and Dorie Tichenor.  Thanks also to past president Judy Tenley for all her work over the years on the  container flower boxes which brighten the area for our community!

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Chestnut Restoration Project

 

In collaboration with the Woods Foundation and PVP, we established an education/ demonstration planting of 100 American Chestnut Trees on the Mountain View Golf Course between the 12th and 15th fairways. Seedlings and seeds were obtained from the American Chestnut Foundation, through the efforts of Dick Will, a part-time resident of the Woods, and Chairman Emeritus of the ACF. Our club is proud of its involvement in reforestation efforts for the American Chestnut, nearly wiped out in the last century due to a fungal blight.  We replanted more seeds in 2019 to replace those trees which perished due to conditions created by the excess rain in 2018.  Regular maintenance of these trees has been taken over by the golf course staff of PVP.  We hope this will become  a self-sustaining orchard for future generations at The Woods.

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Halloween Bag Stuffing for Kids

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The club provides candy and small toys for children in the community at Halloween.  In the past, we supplied candy bags for those housed through Bethany House and EPEC. One year members also donated bedding and towels to meet the critical need at Bethany House, a shelter for women and children in Martinsburg.   Member response to this impromptu drive was wonderful and very much appreciated by the women there.   Despite the pandemic, the club continued with this project each year.  In 2022 we are supporting the Trunk or Treat event at the Woods.  

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Hedgesville Volunteer Fire Company Substation #70

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Together with other clubs, groups, homeowners associations, families and individuals in the Mt. Lake Road greater community, we spearheaded the drive to furnish the living quarters constructed by local contractors. A "housewarming" registry was established at Target and cash donations were also collected.  Cash donations allowed us to purchase large pieces of furniture and other needed items not available on the registry.  All items were installed by club members in early December of 2017. For a full report of the completed project, please send an email to woodsgardenclub@gmail.com. 

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In December of 2019 we were approached to donate toward the refurbishment of a donated vehicle as a brush truck for the Mt. Lake Fire Station.  While Substation 70 originally had a brush truck housed there, it was very old and had stopped running. 

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For several years, our Woods Home Tour fundraiser had generated funds for our community service projects to include the fire station.  In 2018 and 2019, the club put $500 each year into escrow for ambulance support, giving us the ability to donate $1000 for this truck project. Designed to move quickly where other fire apparatus cannot go, brush trucks are built to withstand the abuse of off-road firefighting.  Unfortunately, brush fires do happen in The Woods so we were proud to help in this way.

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The club is continuing its involvement with the station by pushing for rescue and ambulance service and more regular staffing at the station.  More will be discussed at the meetings as plans continue to evolve.  

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Facebook Page

 

Since March 12, 2014, we have been connecting our members, neighbors, and interested gardeners around the world via Facebook.  Posts provide tips, inspiration for easy projects, beautiful photos of nature and moments of peace within one's busy day.  

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Do you follow us on Facebook?  If not find us at www.facebook.com/woodsgardenclub. 

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Holiday Party

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Although our program year ends with our October meeting, we have an annual potluck holiday party, hosted by a member in her/ his home.  Members receive an invitation to attend via email and RSVP's are through Sign Up Genius.  The main course, paper products and drink items are supplied by the club.   A visit from Santa and "white elephant" gift exchanges add to the fun.  Details are sent each November to members via email. 

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