Garden club’s weeklong celebration brightens Boone County

As part of National Garden Week, Boone County Garden Club members gave away more than 100 bouquets, encouraging recipients to pass along the joy by gifting a second bouquet to someone else.

National Garden Week was June 1-7. Each day of the week, club members chose different ways to spread joy to people by handing out flowers. Aside from hand-delivering the bouquets to local businesses, the club made about 100 bouquets and stationed themselves at the Boone County Public Library branches.

Some places around Boone County that received a visit from the garden club during National Garden Week were Boone Springs Nursing Home, Walton City Building, Panera Bread in Union, Burlington Family Chiropractic, the Union post office, the Boone County Sheriff’s Office and many others.

“We had a little tag that said ‘Enjoy these flowers from the Boone County Garden Club, celebrating National Garden Week,’” Boone County Garden Club member since 2016 and club Treasurer Donna Repenning said.

Also, as part of National Garden Week and the group’s mission for environmental awareness, Corresponding Secretary Glenna Galbraith set up a poster on recycling at the Union library branch.

Galbraith has been involved in the club since 2022. She is a master gardener, a class offered through the Kentucky Extension Offices. Galbraith joined the club with her sister, Donna Gruelle, the vice president.

“We’ve been gardening since we were kids because we grew up on a farm,” Gruelle said. “We participated in all the gardening activities, and sunflowers and stuff like that. It’s sort of ingrained in us.”

The Boone County Garden Club was organized in 1947 and was federated in 1952. Aside from National Garden Week, garden club members stay busy, whether they are making flower arrangements to deliver to hospice patients around Northern Kentucky or keeping up the 30-year tradition of hand-sewing the flowers for the winning blanket at the Jeff Ruby Steaks horse race.

Repenning works largely on the hospice program. Roughly 15 club members make about 60 flower arrangements for nursing home hospice patients, with flowers donated by Kroger. In addition to making the arrangements, members pick up the flowers from six Kroger locations, manage eight routes and deliver them to 34 nursing homes once a month.

“One thing that I’m very proud of is that last year at the Kentucky state convention [for the garden club], we won first prize for the hospice program,” Repenning said.

Repenning works with girls at St. Timothy Catholic School in Union to make cards that attach to the arrangements. Repenning collects old cards to repurpose them, another aspect of the club’s mission.

The volunteers must be registered hospice volunteers and go through training.

“This is all volunteer,” said Boone County Garden Club President Kate King. “It teaches the girls to reuse and repurpose, of course, but then they are volunteering and helping bring joy or happiness to different patients and residents.”

Boone County Garden Club Recording Secretary Barbara Keeling has been involved since 2021. Keeling grew up in Virginia and said her family had a small vegetable garden but had about an acre of flowers like azaleas and rhododendrons. Keeling is also a master gardener.

“I have eight brothers and sisters, so we were the army to care for the yard,” Keeling said. “You would think that my siblings would hate gardening because he made us do it, but every one of us loves it. So, I’ve been gardening a long time.”

For about 30 years, the Boone County Garden Club has made the blanket for the winning horse in the Jeff Ruby Steaks race, held at Turfway Park. Members spend hours hand-sewing the carnations onto the blanket. Ruby pays for the materials and for the club to make the blanket.

The club also works to beautify the county. The group recently received the National Garden Club Plant America Grant for $2,000. They used the funds on a “catio” project at the new Boone County Animal Shelter. The catio is a patio area outside of the animal shelter where the cat room is. There is a screened-in portion for the cats to enjoy the fresh air. The garden club planted perennials there for people to come by and enjoy.

The club wrapped up that project at the end of May.

The garden club also places blue and gold star markers, which are through the national club. The Blue Star Program honors all men and women who serve in the United States Armed Services. Gold Star Families is a nonprofit organization created to support those who have lost a loved one in service to our country through the United States Armed Forces.

King said she is passionate about the marker program as a Navy veteran. On June 10, she was appointed Kentucky’s Blue Star/Gold Star Marker Chair.

A person must be a member of the National Garden Club to place a blue or gold star marker. The club placed a blue star marker at the KY I71 / I75 Boone County Rest Area in 2023. Last July, members placed and dedicated a gold star family marker at the Boone County Courthouse.

“It’s very near and dear to my heart,” King said.

Keeling and King placed wreaths on the markers during National Garden Week.

The group has also worked with Kelly Elementary School in Burlington for their farmer appreciation day. They helped students plant tulips for a farmer in the community who had died, and the school wanted a way to remember him. They made a big J and an S in the area out of the tulips. King said the elementary school reached out to the club to do the tulip garden again this year, but this time to honor veterans.

The club is a nonprofit, and members pay dues, which go toward the club’s budget. Aside from the dues and donations, the club’s biggest fundraiser is the Burlington Baptist Craft Show, held in September. The members repurpose holiday décor and make it into something new to sell at the show.