• Federated in 1951
• Membership is currently at 39
• Meetings are held in member's homes on the of each month at

Contact:

Jackie Wynn
1308 Lakewood Drive
Saint Genevieve, Mo 63670
573-483-3269

if you would like to attend a garden club meeting

 

OUR HISTORY

The Molly French Garden Club was organized in 1951 by ladies who were avid gardeners and who were interested in bringing unusual plants to the area. Two of these ladies, Molly French and Paula Crowe, were described as, "The most flower-growing ladies in town." Both of them put a great deal of work into their gardens. "They would dig up some flowers for you right on the spot if you showed an interest in them. Their generosity never ceased." They and other gardeners were encouraged to organize a garden club by Mrs. Charles Bauerle, a Charleston native, and a member of the Cape Girardeau River Hills Garden Club.

These ladies had actually introduced azaleas to the area during the 1940's. They had contacted Mr. Theodore Ochs, a well-known nurseryman from Cape Girardeau, Mo. who was not familiar with azaleas but located a supplier of early blooming azaleas in the South. Although some wild azaleas grew north of us, azaleas had not been grown locally. The grand experiment began. Some varieties thrived and others did not.

Shortly after the club began in 1951, Charter Member, Mrs. Thomas Byrd, suggested planting dogwoods in Charleston. "I had been through Thomasville, Georgia, where dogwoods were lined up all along the streets. I mentioned it to the garden club members and soon we started a dogwood tree promotion in town." Mrs. Frank Bihr, the club's first President, remembers the first dogwood project. "We planted 150 dogwood trees that year but we had to canvas them from door to door asking people to plant them in their yards."

One of the objectives of the club is to, "Encourage civic planting and thus work for the beauty of Charleston." With this goal in mind, in 1953 the club initiated the annual Molly French Garden Club Plant Sale. By having a yearly sale, the residents of Charleston had the opportunity to buy dogwood trees, azaleas, bedding plants and geraniums for their homes. As residents of Charleston took notice of the beautiful display of blooming dogwood trees and azaleas they wanted to include them in their landscaping. "We always have good participation because we sell the plants at a reasonable price." stated Mrs. Bihr. The town eventually became a stunning Spring display of colorful azaleas blooming beneath a canopy of pink and white dogwood trees. The sale over the years has been responsible for the planting of over 2,500 dogwood trees and several thousand azaleas.

After years of garden club sales and promotions to plant dogwood trees and azaleas, the idea of a tour to show off Charleston's hard work was inevitable. The first tour was held in 1969. It was a self-guided but the Molly French Garden Club members were available to show visitors private gardens. An estimated 500 car loads of people visited during the first tour.

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