In 2024, The Garden Club of Houston is celebrating its 100th anniversary. From our founding as a club, we have remained true to our purposes “to stimulate the knowledge and love of gardening, to share the advantages of association by means of educational meetings, workshops, correspondence, and publications, and to restore, improve and protect the quality of the environment through educational programs, and actions in the fields of conservation, civic improvement and beautification, and historic preservation”. Our club has given thousands of volunteer hours as well as millions of dollars back to the Houston community.
In 1924, seven friends who lived in a new neighborhood sprouting on the prairie just south of downtown Houston formed The Garden Club of Houston. They planned to study horticulture, experiment with new plants, and further the beautification of the City of Houston
From this small beginning grew an institution that has significantly influenced Houston’s public and private landscape. In 1931, The Garden Club of Houston chose beautification of the grounds of the new Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, as its main project. To fund this project, The Garden Club held its first House and Garden Pilgrimage in 1931, opening two private gardens to the public for an admission fee of twenty-five cents.
In February 1932, The Garden Club of America invited The Garden Club of Houston to become a member club, in recognition of successful participation in horticulture and conservation in civic and state projects. It was the first garden club in the southwestern United States to receive this honor.
The Garden Club of Houston held its first Bulb Mart (on the grounds of The Museum of Fine Arts) in the fall of 1942. The Bulb & Plant Mart remains the Garden Club’s annual fundraiser.
Over our 100 years The Garden Club of Houston has worked to foster interest in and knowledge of gardening, enhance the beauty of Houston and Texas, and protect and restore our fragile ecosystem. In addition to its ongoing commitment to the Museum of Fine Arts, the Garden Club’s early years saw it work with the Audubon Society to set aside the Vingt-et-un Island (Chambers County, Texas) as a bird sanctuary to protect the roseate spoonbills; sponsor the Gardens of the French Legation in Austin, Texas, for The Garden Club of America’s Founders Fund Award; plant the grounds of the Autry Hospital; care for the Seaman’s Center at the Port of Houston; and beautify Tranquility Park.
In the past 40 years, The Garden Club of Houston has given significant financial and volunteer support to Houston’s parks and greenspaces, including Armand Bayou Nature Center, Buffalo Bayou Partnership, Hermann Park Conservancy, the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center, Memorial Park, the Texas Medical Center Park, Looscan Library, Bayou Greenways 2020, and the Houston Botanic Garden. In honor of our 2024 Centennial, a major gift was given to Hermann Park Conservancy to fully fund the “Welcome Promenade” in the newly restored Hermann Park.
The Garden Club of Houston continues its annual commitment of volunteers and financial support to its on-going projects, the historic gardens of the Houston Hospice; the Houston Museum of Natural Science; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; MFAH – Rienzi; and Urban Harvest.
In addition to our annual commitments, we are able to award Club funds on a one-time basis to worthwhile civic and community projects whose purposes are within our spectrum of interests. Examples of past projects include funding to implement the creation and preservation of landscapes, public gardens and parks, school and teaching gardens, arboreta, nature centers, educational publications, and educational events.
As we embark on our second century, we remain fully committed to the vision of our founders.