A Brief History of the
Cape Elizabeth Garden Club

After WWII garden clubs became a popular way to bind communities together and a means of beautifying new developments. The Osewantha Garden Club of South Portland had many members from Cape Elizabeth who also belonged to informal neighborhood groups in town. On February 4th, 1948 several members of the neighborhood groups expressed a desire to have a townwide organization in Cape Elizabeth. Members of three of these informal neighborhood groups met to determine a mission for the group and presented a slate of officers. On April 7th, 1948, “The Cape Elizabeth Garden Club” became a member of the Garden Club Federation of Maine with Mrs. Harlan Knight as president. Three more neighborhood groups joined in 1948 and by 1949 there were nine groups listed. The names of these original groups were: Pond Cove, Two Lights, Tall Oaks, Shore Acres, Knollwood, Rand Hill, Purpoodock, Queen Acres, and Elizabeth Park. Officers, minutes, and dues were kept at the neighborhood level. However, many times several of the groups would come together for combined efforts for one of the activities as noted in their original mission.

Over the years as neighborhoods changed, the neighborhood groups changed names and their individual roles lessened until 2001 when there remained a total 115 members and 5 groups.  At that time on November 12, 2001 there was a discussion around the possibility of consolidation. On May 15, 2002, the consolidation was approved by vote with Betty Montpelier as president and dues were set at $20 per year.  According to past president Nancy Hunter, the next president, Hilda Lewis, was instrumental in helping the club to implement activities that met the guidelines of the Garden Club Federation of Maine.  

Cape Elizabeth Garden Club has a rich history of civic engagement. Originally the neighborhood groups were responsible for the holiday decorations in their respective neighborhoods and, after town wide consolidation, the club continued to provide the wreaths for numerous public buildings and currently provides wreaths for the Spurwink Meeting House. Past records show that the neighborhood clubs donated books on gardening for adults and children to the town library and planted trees in memory of deceased members. In the 1960s, CEGC was instrumental in convincing the town to keep the entire (recently decommissioned) Fort Williams as a park instead of allowing half of the park to be developed as housing. In 1997 the club was awarded money through the  National Garden Clubs to install plantings at the Keepers Garden and the circle by the Portland Head Lighthouse. The  plantings were specifically chosen to withstand the high winds and rough oceanside climate. In 1998, the town of Cape Elizabeth awarded a plaque to the club to commemorate their civic achievements. CEGC continued to maintain the Keepers Garden until Covid 19 (2020) and  parking problems caused the club to discontinue maintenance of this garden. In 1964 the club installed a garden at the then library site and continued to contribute to garden maintenance at the library over the years. In the 2000s Nancy Atwell created and was awarded funds through the National Garden Clubs to install widely admired gardens at the Thomas Memorial Library (TML) that residents comment on to this day. Although those gardens are no longer in existence since the last TML renovation, the club is currently working to renovate the garden bordering the Joan Benoit statue that was hidden behind overgrown shrubbery and is hoping to participate in the future installation of native plantings at the current library.  

During the neighborhood club years, the various clubs met at members' homes and this continued at the leadership level after consolidation. Eventually the club began to meet at St. Bartholomew’s Church and next transitioned to the Community Center. The club often invited members of the public to attend presentations in keeping with the mission of educating the public on best practices in horticulture. In 2018, the club began meeting at the library and invited the public to all meetings in keeping with library guidelines. These meetings were very popular once Covid restrictions were lifted, as people resumed and enjoyed meeting in public, initially with masks and seating at a distance. Currently the club is transitioning to meeting at the Lions Club with the intent to invigorate committees such as civic beautification and horticulture and to create a stronger sense of community among club members as we share resources. 

Historically a plant sale and also publication of a cookbook were successful means for funding club activities and, eventually, a scholarship for a Cape Elizabeth High School senior intending to pursue studies in horticulture or a related field. The cookbook was reprinted three times and was a popular item at the lighthouse gift shop. The plant sale was held at the IGA parking lot and on various members properties. In 2017 the winter moth became a problem in Cape Elizabeth and the club was asked to suspend plant sales as the larvae was spread through the soil. In 2018, the club began the highly successful fall bulb sale that continues to this day.