Community Projects

Since its inception, community service has been a focus of the Club. Over the years, BHGC has provided gardens and landscaping for many public buildings in the city of Alexandria, including the Chinquapin Recreation Center, the Alexandria Olympic Boys’ Club, the Safe House for Battered Women, Senior Citizens Office Building, Ford Ward Park, the National Orthopedic Hospital, the Pope-Leighy House, Lloyd House, the Rose Garden at Westminster Presbyterian Church, and a number of the city’s public schools.

In 1981, the Club purchased an acre of Nassawango Creek Bald Cypress Preserve on the Eastern Shore of Maryland for $500 to honor past NCAGC presidents. In conjunction with Alexandria Council of Garden Club members in the mid 1970s, BHGC helped establish a heritage rose garden at the historic Lee-Fendall House in Old Town, which received many awards at the local, state and national levels, including a national award for civic concern and a Sears grant.

In recent years, the Club has installed and maintained containers with seasonal plantings at Westminster Presbyterian Church, designed and planted a garden near the visitors’ entrance at Inova Alexandria Hospital, and planted flower beds at the Cameron Mills Road fire station. The Club’s memorial bench honors past members who are buried at Ivy Hill Cemetery. The Club maintains the landscaping around the bench. Once a year, the Club creates and distributes individual flower arrangements to elderly residents in skilled nursing facilities, assisted living quarters, or through “Meals on Wheels.” It also provides flower arrangements in support of the TWIG Historic Alexandria Homes Tour, which raises funds for Inova Alexandria Hospital. BHGC weathered the 2020-2021 COVID crisis via on-line meetings and events, including creation of the “Little Buds” program, which provided weekly nature and environmental science programs for our young friends across the United States and Europe.

In addition to local service, BHGC has supported projects at the NCAGC level, many of which support the National Arboretum. Some highlights include supporting Fern Valley, the Friendship Garden, and the NCAGC scholarship fund.

Member Involvement

BHGC members have been enthusiastic supporters and participants at all levels of the National Garden Clubs, Inc. Several members have held office at the District II and NCAGC level, including four Presidents of NCAGC. Members have served at the mid-Atlantic and national levels as well. In 2015, longtime member Joan Boudreau was honored with the Central Atlantic Region’s Perennial Bloom award, an honor recognizing individuals whose continuous support of garden club goals and objectives has made their clubs grow and bloom.

Several Club members have served on the Alexandria Beautification Commission. Others have created flower arrangements for the White House and the State Department Diplomatic Reception rooms. Others have received recognition from various horticulture organizations. Quite a few BHGC members have been certified as Master Gardeners through the Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener program. In 2023, Libby Good spear-headed BHGC’s participation in the pollinator program.