All over this great land, ladies meet together monthly to share their love of gardening. After years of spending time together one would be hard pressed to distinguish their get togethers from family reunions. They pray together and encourage one another over refreshments and laughter. The ladies of the garden club in every town plan fundraisers, listen intently to guest speakers and work toward the common goals of preserving and protecting the natural world.

Many of the guest speakers travel great distances with little financial benefit to shed new light on some aspect of beautifying the world. Gardeners impact all of us with the bounty of vegetables and ornamental plants they doggedly tend. Amidst heat, insects and sore muscles, they continue doing what they love to do. Along the way the bonds of friendship strengthen, and these ladies in hats grow to feel like family.

Each meeting of the Picayune Garden Club begins with the club prayer: “Help us, O God, to be mindful of the bounties all around us. May we grow with our flowers in gentleness, patience, courage, laughter and religion. As we turn the brown soil and plant our seeds, may we learn goodness through the earth and hope through the faithfulness of the clouds.

“May we be grateful for the privilege of being co-workers with God in the creation of one small flower. Grant that we may know the great joy that comes from sharing our harvest with others.”

Pleasant chatter fills the room as the ladies share bits of their lives in their conversation. Over the years these ladies have become a support and encouragement to one another. Cards never fail to arrive by snail mail when one of the members needs a little pick me up or has suffered a loss.

Tina Pierce said, “I have been a member of the Picayune Garden Club for about nine years. I’ve always liked learning more about gardening, and the ladies are so pleasant. I look forward to coming each month. It’s a great way to make friends with others who share a common interest. The other day I walked outside and noticed one of my lilies. Year after year it reappears and shows off. Who could make something so beautiful? How can anyone deny that God exists?”

Jean Read enjoys gaining knowledge and fellowshipping with the club’s members. She is a past president and has been a member for nine years.

“I am wearing a special hat today. I wore this same hat in 1964 when my late husband, Dick, graduated dental school,” she said.

Gloria Crassons’ hat also brought back many pleasant memories of her dear mother.

“My 91 year old mother wore this hat to a tea she attended each year when she lived at Christwood in Covington,” she said. “I never fail to think of her fondly and miss her when I wear her hat.”

According to club member Pauline Rogers, “I feel very close to God when I’m in my garden.”

Picayune Garden Club members and guests enjoyed a wonderful meal at “The Henry Smith House Bed and Breakfast” in Henleyfield this month. The ladies in hats looked as lovely as the flowers in the gardens they tend.