About Kent Garden Club
Kent Garden Club members share a love of horticulture, design, civic beautification, and friendship. There are opportunities for gardeners of every kind, from beginning gardeners to Advanced Master Gardeners. A related interest of many of our members is floral design. We offer classes on basics to beginners; and, for experienced designers, a specialization in competitive Flower Show design entries. Also, as a member of Kent Garden Club, you have an option to further your education through the National Garden Clubs’ schools in Landscape Design Study, Environmental Study, Gardening Study and Flower Shows. These schools are available in Michigan and across the country. KGC has a long history of community projects and civic beautification and is planning several new, exciting projects. We would love your help! Kent Garden Club is a non-profit organization with 110 years of community involvement. We are active year round, meeting the second Wednesday of the month at 12:30 in the afternoon for snacks during our social period followed by a short business meeting and educational program. Our dues are $25 per year. Most of our club meetings are held in the lower level classroom at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, 1000 East Beltline NE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49525. You need not be a member of the gardens to attend a KGC meeting, but why not plan a day to visit both? The club supports land conservancy, education, and environmental responsibility. Proceeds from our fundraisers, in part, are given to benefit many local organizations such as Frederik Meijer Gardens, the U.S. Forest Service, Loda Lake Wildlife Sanctuary, West Michigan Environmental Action Council, Blandford Nature Center, Land Conservancy of West Michigan, Friends of Grand Rapids Parks, and our Grand Rapids Public Museum. At a state level, we support Michigan Garden Clubs’ College Scholarship Program. At a national level, we support National Garden Clubs by donating funds to their Pollinator Program and to their Penny Pines Project. The latter provides education and replanting of damaged trees within our National Forests. We proudly support our military and their families through projects such as the care of the Blue Star Highway Memorial site and a Memorial Garden planned on a site at the newly constructed Grand Rapids Home for Veterans. Contact us at kentgardenclub1913@gmail.com for more information and accept our invitation to attend a meeting as our guest.
Cherry Walk – Blooming on the Grand
Since the initial planting of the nine Kwanzan cherry trees, this project has grown to be known as “Blooming on the Grand”. In 2018 three more Kwanzan trees were added to the walkways of the Grand Rapids Public Museum to total 12 on that property. That same year a local Grand Rapids philanthropist joined in our project to finish the year with 20 total cherry trees planted along the banks of the Grand River. Fall 2019 saw 16 Kwanzan cherry trees planted in Leonard NW and Canal Parks. This project reveals that by working with a community leader and the City of Grand Rapids Parks Management, what began as a dream of our club has indeed become a reality of which we are enormously proud.