As nice as Niceville is, anytime you move, it’s a shock. Maybe some of you will have also left behind established careers and gardens. Both take time to build.

To help myself, I joined a garden club. I’ve made friends, learned how to garden in the sand, and I keep learning. I need all three elements to be happy. I was in the Master Gardeners program in the Seattle area for the same reasons. Here, the program takes in new members every other year. I didn’t want to wait that long to meet other people who also love to grow green plants.

There are two clubs in the Twin Cities that are excellent choices.

The Bluewater Bay Garden Club and the Valparaiso Garden Club each have dedicated members. Both have an impressive array of community service, and work to preserve the environment. Plus, there are fun outings. And here’s another little secret: many gardeners are also very good in the kitchen. We treat each other. Southern hospitality is real. Work off the excess calories in the garden. Come have some fun.

 No matter where you go in the world, people will have different backgrounds. With so much in the world already geared toward dividing people into categories, it makes sense to join a diverse group that focuses on a common thread, a shared interest. We humans are social creatures and need each other. Differences become less important the more we focus on what is important. What denomination? A rose is a rose is a rose. And yes, it smells equally sweet whether you’re Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Jewish, Democrat, or Republican, tall with brown eyes, or short with blue. Let’s focus on those things on which we do agree. There’s the eternal Golden Rule, and earthly life is short. The garden is calling!

Look at what Bluewater Bay’s Garden Club did last year:

Sponsored summer youth camps, visited a wolf refuge, maintained a butterfly garden at a local school, learned about bog gardening and bonsai, researched and installed native plants species in Bluewater, and learned more about wildlife rehabilitation. They also visited beautiful Rosemary Beach as a group outing to see the gorgeous dune lakes.

The BWBGC sponsors several memberships at the Camp Timpoochee 4-H summer camp, helping children learn about the marine life in Choctawhatchee Bay.

Gardeners share success stories, and teach each other what works in this climate. Many in the club are Master Gardeners.

BWBGC members invest in native plants, such as Magnolia trees and oak-leaf hydrangeas, planting them on a strip that runs parallel with Bluewater Boulevard. In this way, they honor the memory of the deceased, celebrate new births, and pay tribute to outgoing presidents.

The Valparaiso Garden Club is a member of the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs, Deep South Region, and National Garden Clubs, Inc.

Like Bluewater Bay, many of its members are Master Gardeners. Valparaiso Garden Club also dedicates trees to the memory of deceased family and club members, at Florida Park. It too, has a butterfly garden. In addition to supporting the Wekiva Youth Camp, VGC raised funds for the Valparaiso Community Library this year, and supports the Heritage Museum through the Saturday in the Park yearly event, in which it holds a flower show and plant sale. It helps Habitat for Humanity, and the Shelter House. Additionally, VGC awards scholarships to deserving students. It started an evening program, Fun with Plants and Flowers, a collaborative monthly event with the Valparaiso Community library. Outings included visiting Tallahassee during Christmas, attending a discussion by author Felder Rushing, and many others.

So, newcomers, at first, you might feel new, but not for too long. Get your hands dirty and play with your new garden friends. In the sand! That’s what it mostly is, here. So be thinking about where to put the compost pile, too.  

The Bluewater Bay Garden Club meets the second Thursday of the month, Sept through May, at the Bluewater Bay Clubhouse, 1950 Bluewater Boulevard.

For more information, contact Joan Bowman at 850-897-1812

The Valparaiso Garden Club meets the second Wednesday of the month, Sept through May, at the George Mitchell Center, next to the Valparaiso Community Library.

For more information, contact Darolyn Weiss at 729-0592.