Rooted in a Love of Growing Things

The club began as Boynton Beach was transitioning from a small agricultural village into a growing South Florida municipality. It was created to promote home gardening, civic beautification, and conservation — the same missions we carry on today.

The Founding Years

From the start, the club took an active role in improving the community. Rather than focusing solely on flower arranging or private gardens, its members embraced civic projects that shaped the character of the young town — developing a tree canopy across Boynton Beach with shade and ornamental trees, encouraging the beautification of homes and schools, and combining horticulture with civic improvement.

Landmark Community Projects

The Kapok Trees. One of the club's earliest tree-planting efforts placed magnificent Kapok (Ceiba) trees at the old Boynton Beach High School at Seacrest Boulevard and Ocean Avenue. Decades later, one surviving tree was threatened during the Town Square redevelopment. In 2020, the club partnered with other civic organizations to save it — and after a two-year process of root pruning and careful engineering, the roughly 55-foot tree was relocated across the street, preserving one of the city's living historic landmarks.

The Municipal Cemetery. The club worked for years to establish a proper cemetery for the growing community. After extensive volunteer effort by its members, responsibility for the cemetery was officially transferred to the City of Boynton Beach in 1952.

The Public Library. Members assembled a collection of horticulture books that eventually became part of Boynton Beach's first public library — a reminder that the club has always contributed to public education as well as to gardening.

Joining a Larger Movement

In 1953, the club joined the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs, automatically affiliating it with the National Garden Clubs organization. This connected our local club with statewide conservation, education, and beautification initiatives, while allowing it to keep serving the needs closest to home.

Highway Beautification & the Blue Star Memorial

As Federal Highway replaced the old U.S. Route 1, the club took on the landscaping and maintenance of roughly two miles of the roadway. In 1968, it donated Boynton Beach's Blue Star Memorial Marker, honoring members of the U.S. Armed Forces. The memorial has since been renovated, and the club continues to take part in annual Veterans Day ceremonies there.