Niwot Garden Club growing love for gardening

The Niwot Garden Club is an informal group of enthusiastic gardeners who share a love for gardening, flowers, and trees. The club's mission is to enhance the beauty of their yards and the community, promote sustainable gardening practices, and provide educational opportunities related to horticulture.

Members enjoy getting down and dirty with the earth, planting and weeding, feeding, watering, and nurturing plant life. In the evenings, they often indulge in a leisurely "walkabout," perhaps with a glass of wine, admiring the garden's canvas of vibrant and subtle flowers, accompanied by bumblebees, honey bees, swallowtails, and monarch butterflies.

The club, established by Ruth Conklin in 1938, is a testament to the community's enduring commitment to gardening. After a successful run of approximately half a century, the club disbanded in the 1980s, only to be resurrected in 2019 with Pat Murphy as a stakeholder, carrying forward the legacy of its founders.

In a Left Hand Valley Courier article from May 2019, Pat Murphy recalled, "The Niwot Garden Club did a lot of good for the community. The club started with a group of women who were very knowledgeable and serious about gardening. Most members had specific roles and duties, and the club was organized. The founders built the original gazebo, the replica of which remains at Whistle Stop Park today." In addition, there remains a scrapbook that the club members put together which resides at the Longmont Museum.

Joining the Niwot Garden Club opens the door to numerous benefits. With no annual dues, members gather monthly during the gardening season to share their knowledge and appreciate the beauty of local gardens. These in-person or virtual meetings provide valuable information exchanges, ensuring members feel valued and engaged in the club's activities.

For example, during member Cindy Wolcott's garden tour this past July 3, it was shared that one inch of rain is required per month for the healthy growth of trees. Less than this requires supplemental watering. Additionally, one can contact the Colorado State University extension office https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/yard-garden/ at the fairgrounds and request a meeting with an arborist at a minimal charge. Members' expertise is also shared, from battling weeds and grasshoppers to propagating new roses.

The club does not have a website to keep the club's maintenance to a minimum and to avoid annual membership dues.

If you want to join the Niwot Garden Club, email [email protected] with your first and last name, mailing address, phone number, email address, a photo of yourself, and a short paragraph about yourself and your garden(s).