Memory Grove and Garden to be Dedicated May 16
Posted 4/16/2012

In partnership with the City of Gaithersburg, the Neighborhood Garden Club of Gaithersburg-Washington Grove will dedicate a Memory Grove and Garden at Bohrer Park at Summit Hall Farm on Wednesday, May 16 at 10 a.m.  The Neighborhood Garden Club envisioned a tranquil setting surrounded by a grove of trees as a way to honor club members who have passed.  Located in front of Hospice Caring, Inc., the garden will serve as a public spot of rest and relaxation, as well as a memorial for club members who have helped beautify this community for years. 

Members of the club will plant and tend to a perennial garden, which will include hydrangeas, peonies, daffodils, and other flowering plants.  The peonies that will be planted in the garden are descendent from the original “World Famous Schwartz Peony Garden” that graced what is now the parking lot, post office and gas station between City Hall and the railroad tracks.  Established in 1913, the Schwartz garden at one time boasted more than 40,000 plants in 410 varieties.  Plants from the original garden have been preserved and now grow at City Hall and at Seneca Creek State Park.  The peonies at the Memory Grove and Garden will come from those at Seneca Creek.

A brick patio and four benches will complete the idyllic spot.  The Memory Grove and Garden will be available for public use, and will be an ideal setting for family and special occasion photographs.  Memorial bricks on the patio are purchased by the club for its members.  The bricks will be engraved with the club member’s name and years of service. 

As part of an afforestation effort, the City of Gaithersburg will bring the Garden Club’s vision of a Memory Grove to life by planting fifteen indigenous oak, sycamore and hickory trees around the garden.  Those trees, as well as several others at Bohrer Park, will be planted on April 21 by volunteers from Asbury Methodist Village and members of the City’s High School Student Union as part of the Beloved Community program, an outreach and collaboration effort between Asbury Methodist Village, the City of Gaithersburg, and other community organizations.  April 14 – 21 is Green Week in the City of Gaithersburg.

Started in 1931, the Neighborhood Garden Club of Gaithersburg-Washington Grove has a mission of stimulating knowledge and love for gardening, increasing awareness of the natural world, and encouraging civic beautification.  For more information please visit www.gardenclubofgaithersburg-washingtongrove.com.