Service clubs abounded in the Vicksburg area 25 years ago but that didn’t stop the ladies who wanted to form a garden club.They wanted to do something good for the community, said Bonnie Holmes, one of the original members of the Victorian Garden Club. Holmes, Karen Hammond and Kay Oppliger set a meeting for May 1993 for the club and sent out post cards inviting their friends to join.
This November, the club celebrated its 25th anniversary with a luncheon at Indian Run Golf club with over 30 in attendance. “Education was the membership’s main theme,” said Holmes. “It was also social with anyone who had an interest in gardening welcome to join.”
Nowadays, a lot of the ladies have trouble bending down but they still help weed Liberty Lane West and take care of grooming the grounds of the Historic Village in Vicksburg. They are actively recruiting new members to keep the club going well into the future. For many years the group met at the Depot Museum. They also traveled to visit other gardens in the area and have sponsored a plant sale each spring as a fundraiser.
Other early members included Joyce Green, June Hill, Mary Rodgers and Grace Appell. There is an area in the Historic Village called Grace’s Grove that was planted with shrubs, perennials and trees. It has been nurtured in her name by club members after Grace Appell passed away in 2009.