Fox Chapel Garden Club Records

About Fox Chapel Garden Club

The Fox Chapel Garden Club (FCGC) was founded June 6, 1931 at the home of Mrs. A. P. Hill, with 26 founding members, for the purpose of having regular meetings to discuss gardening. By 1941, the club had grown to 60 members. In 1933, under the direction of Mrs. Harold Nomer and Mrs. A. P. (Ella) Meyer, and with the support of the Pittsburgh City Council and other neighborhood garden clubs, the FCGC rented a building in Schenley Park for the purpose of disseminating gardening information to the community. In 1935, this institution was formally opened as the first Pittsburgh Civic Garden Center and served 90 local garden clubs.

Over the course of the organization's history, its members have been involved in civic and environmental advocacy, particularly in the areas of conservation and "garden therapy" outreach. In 1948, Mr. Richard Boyles, the first municipal manager of the Borough of Fox Chapel, whose wife Ruth was the Borough's tax assessor and a member of the club, purchased acreage along Squaw Run Road to protect the Trillium plants that grow in the area. The "Trillium Trail" has been maintained by the FCGC since 1949, which uses it as a teaching resource for the local community schools about wildflower cultivation, forestry, and environmental conservation.

Beginning in 1950, the FCGC began a "garden therapy" program at Leech Farm Hospital and the Veterans' Affairs Hospital on Delafield Road to help rehabilitate patients. In 1975, the FCGC opened a garden therapy program at Harmarville Rehabilitation Hospital (later renamed HealthSouth), which lasted for 32 years. In 1996, the club established an outdoor garden at Harmarville for therapists and patients to use.

The club has maintained long-standing memberships with the Garden Club Federation of Pennsylvania (originally as a member of District VII, and later incorporated into District IX) and the National Council of State Garden Clubs, Inc. The club has also organized several events and programs for the Pittsburgh community at large over the years, including flower shows, an annual "Garden Market" sale (also called "May Market"), and holiday auctions. The club has been regionally recognized for its outreach and service, and has been the recipient of multiple awards. It has also received consistent local press coverage, and its two club members, Ruth Boyles and Ruth Scott, have been extensively profiled in the news and by the club.