On May 28, 1915, neighbors of Mrs. Anne Higginson Spicer received post cards inviting them to her home “for a cup of tea and to form a garden club.” Neighbors who responded to the invitation and thus became charter members of the first garden club in Kenilworth were: Mrs.C.K. Blackwood, Mrs.Charles R. Bull, Mrs. William B. Fitch, Mrs. Edward D. Parmalee, Mrs. Edward J. Phelps, Mrs. James H. Prentiss, Mrs. Grant Ridgway, Mrs. Arthur W. Ruf, Mrs. Victor C. Sanborn, Mrs. V.K. Spicer, Mrs. Emanuel F. Snydacke, and Mrs. Rufus B. Stolp.
According to the original rules, “Any member not brave enough to wheel a barrow of manure down Kenilworth Avenue, if need be, was not worthy of membership.” In addition, discussion of “dress, disease, ... and children” was strictly taboo. Known as “dirt gardeners”, they cultivated, weeded, transplanted, and raised their own plants. After more than a century, the members of KGC are still digging in the dirt!
Our founder, Anne Higginson Spicer.
In 1923 KGC was invited to join The Garden Club of America (GCA), and a whole new chapter began with a heightened awareness of state and national issues concerning conservation and beautification, in addition to strengthening skills and love of Floral Design, Horticulture, and in years to follow, Photography and Botanical Arts.
Fannie Ware donated the funding to plant the Charles A. Ware Memorial Garden at the northeast corner of Kenilworth Avenue and Warwick Road in 1938. The garden was subsequently moved across the street to the northwest corner of Kenilworth Avenue and Warwick Road in 1980. KGC members have maintained the garden in conjunction with the Kenilworth Park District since its inception. For more information about Ware garden, click here.
Magnolia Garden at the corner of Kenilworth Avenue and Richmond Road was gifted to the Village of Kenilworth in 1994 by the family of Fred D. Sauter, whose wife was an active member of KGC. KGC still maintains the pots and plants in this small garden.
Kenilworth Garden has always participated in outreach projects. In 1974 KGC received the GCA Founders Fund grant for the installation of the Buehler Enabling Garden at the Chicago Botanic Garden. In 2012 major funding was given to JourneyCare in Glenview to fund a flower repurposing room. In 2018 KGC won a GCA Founders Fund $30,000 grant to plant a therapeutic garden at Misericordia in Chicago. On a smaller scale, we contributed countless floral arrangements for residents of retirement homes, patients at local hospitals and hospices.
From 1980 until 2017, Kenilworth Garden Club participated in the triennial Show of Summer held at the Chicago Botanic Garden along with the six Chicago area GCA Clubs: The Garden Club of Barrington, Garden Club of Evanston, Garden Guild of Winnetka, Lake Forest Garden Club, and the Winnetka Garden Club. As of 2017, the show was one of the eight major flower shows in The Garden Club of America. Show of Summer allowed the public to view the results of members’ competition in the areas of flower arranging, horticulture, botanical arts, and photography. More than 100 GCA members, representing dozens of GCA clubs around the country, competed in each Show of Summer. Exhibits were judged and awards were presented. Show of Summer also sought to educate the public about environmental issues. The six Chicago-area GCA Clubs voted to put the show on hiatus for the foreseeable future due to major increases in production costs.
Raising funds to support KGC’s outreach initiatives has always been a part of KGC activity. Events from the English Garden Fair in 1930, Holiday Walk in 1952, and Mrs. Gardener Takes a Trip in 1963, to Poetic Gardens in 1999, Harvest Moon in 2003, and An Evening by the Lake in 2006 all generated needed proceeds.
At this point in history, KGC loves our annual Spring lecture luncheons! We have featured nationally recognized speakers, such as: The Metropolitan Museum’s Chris Giftos; Rancho La Puerta’s Chef Bill Waverin; Cleveland florist Don Vanderbrook; London florist Kenneth Turner; Reverend William McMillan from Dublin, Ireland; Paula Pryke of London; Sybil Brooke Sylvester of Birmingham, Alabama; James Farmer, a Southern Living editor; Newport insider Betty Bearden Pardee; author, editor and television host and commentator Frances Schultz; landscape architect Mario Nievera; White House florist Laura Dowling; and Eric Haskell, Professor Emeritus of French Studies & Interdisciplinary Humanities Scripps College. In 2023, our speaker will be Ellen Ecker Ogden, a well-known kitchen garden designer and author from Vermont.
As members of KGC we currently meet on a monthly basis in the pursuit of new skills and new knowledge reflecting the topics mentioned in our mission statement.