By the Clermont Garden Club
Members of the Clermont Garden Club have been hard at work over the summer months planning for their 18th Garden Walk: “A Harvest of Home Gardens”. The first Garden Walk was held in 2001 and the tradition has continued. This year’s event will take place on Saturday, October 15, 2022 from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, when beautiful private residential gardens can be visited and enjoyed.
The tour begins at the Clermont Garden Club located at 849 West Avenue in Historic Downtown Clermont, FL. Tickets/programs with information and directions to the home gardens will be provided. Advance tickets are $15.00, and tickets sold the day of the Walk are $20.00. If you want to purchase tickets in advance, please call/text Grace Rabano, Ticket Chairman, at 267-241-8557.
This special event is the Club’s main fundraiser for the year. Funds are used for the Club’s goals of educating its members (as well as all community residents) in their relationship to horticulture, conservation, environment, and the art of floral design. We own our Garden Center and support all needs for upkeep of the building and grounds.
The Clermont Garden Club sponsors several students each year to attend Wekiva Youth Camp and SEEK (Save the Earth’s Environment through Knowledge). Wekiva Youth Camp is a residential nature camp for 3rd through 8th graders, with the purpose of instilling a love and respect for the “Real Florida” of our youth, as well as the knowledge of nature, conservation, and the protection of our environment. SEEK is a 4-day conference for 10th, 11th and 12th graders where 70 students from all over Florida attend, to promote student initiative and leadership, to educate about climate change, water quality, and loss of wildlife habitat due to deforestation and development.
The Clermont Garden Club donates to, and supports, the local Junior Garden Club of East Ridge High School. These young students plant and nurture a very large vegetable and ornamental plant garden throughout the school year. The vegetables that are harvested help feed the hungry in different areas of the community.
The Club also donates to ECHO (Education Concerns for Hunger Organization, headquartered at Ft. Myers, FL). ECHO is a global organization that teaches citizens in countries ravaged by hunger how to create and sustain a seed bank, a water supply and current knowledge about horticulture and animals to help feed their families and communities. ECHO has development workers and resources in more than 165 countries.
Clermont Garden Club plans and provides many opportunities for members of the community to participate in a variety of floral design classes, horticulture knowledge, field trips and many other gardening, environmental and conservation events.
ABOUT THE CLERMONT GARDEN CLUB
We celebrated our 70th Anniversary in 2019 as a member of the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs (FFGC). In 1949, CGC was admitted to the FFGC and incorporated in 1953.
The Mildred Amateis Garden Center was built in 1969 at 849 West Avenue on three lots located on Center Lake in Historic Downtown Clermont, FL. In 1970 the Garden Center was dedicated in memory of Mrs. Mildred Amateis, wife of the world-famous sculptor, Edmond Amateis, who came to Clermont from Brewster, New York, in 1953.
The Club became a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization in 2015. In 2016, the three lots where the Garden Center is located were transferred from Lake County (the former owner) to the Clermont Garden Club.
Clermont Garden Club currently has 60 members. We meet the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 9:30 am, September through May (except for scheduled field trips, holidays and end-of-year luncheon). We encourage you to visit us and attend our meetings.
The CGC facility is available to rent for meetings, parties, weddings, etc. by contacting the Club’s rental chairman at www.ClermontGardenClub.com.
We look forward to seeing you on October 15th at the 18th Garden Walk. If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Co-Chair Marilyn Paone, 352-250-9375 or Co-Chair Margaret Piper, 407-421-6225. Visit www.ClermontGardenClub.com.
