A Landscape Saved: The Garden Club of Virginia at 100

The landscape of the state is enchanting and, when threatened, Garden Club members unite to educate themselves and the public to preserve all that is beautiful in Virginia.  In 2020, the Virginia Museum of History & Culture (VMHC) hosted the exhibition, A Landscape Saved: The Garden Club of Virginia at 100, which explored the history of the Garden Club of Virginia (GCV) from its founding in 1920 to the present and the ways in which it has advocated and acted to save the beauty of our land.

There is no denying that the natural beauty of Virginia is enthralling. As Europeans settled on land that the indigenous people had understood for centuries, they put their signature on the topography. They developed an agricultural economy that molded the future of the state. As the colonists extended their conquest from the Tidewater to the Piedmont and beyond (remember that all land to the west was Virginia), they made adaptations for their needs and what the land required of them. Beginning in the 18th century, artists captured the beauty of Virginia. The landscape paintings featured at the VMHC reveal the variety of terrain and climate that characterizes Virginia’s five distinct physical regions: the Coastal Plain (Tidewater), the Piedmont, the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Valley, and the Appalachian Plateau. 

Tobacco production, while the most valuable economic driver, took a toll on the land in 17th-century Virginia. By the 18th century, agriculture had expanded and the economy rose to depend on iron exportation, coal, and flour, moved by the rivers and then, in the 19th century, the railroad. Automobiles allowed for increased transportation and mobility in the 20th century. Goods and people could be moved more quickly. There were positive and negative consequences to this modern change.

A green arrow sign has been consistently employed to guide visitors to Historic Garden Week sites. The Garden Club members have likewise embraced a green vision, one of conservation and beautification. To the Garden Club members, the view of the landscape was, and remains, extensive. It is an understanding that passionately embraces the natural world and works to preserve clean air and clean water.  

The GCV has lobbied to preserve scenic areas of the state. The early efforts of the GCV with various conservation partners led to land being set aside for national and state parks, to the preservation of the Goshen Pass in Rockbridge County, and the Ball Bill, protecting native plants, being passed. Today the Club monitors environmental threats attributed to climate change, advocates for the continuation of the moratorium on uranium mining, and focuses on responsible land use planning.  

The Club’s East Franklin Street headquarters in Richmond, the Kent-Valentine House, is an example of preservation leadership. In 1971 the house was destined for destruction, a fate met by many old homes in Monroe Ward. The GCV purchased the house, eventually renovating it as its headquarters and launching a revitalization of this neighborhood in downtown Richmond.  

The 48 member clubs that compose the Garden Club of Virginia embody these principles at the local level across the Commonwealth. Club projects have beautified city parks, renovated locally significant gardens, improved wetlands, initiated litter control, and educated youth through nature camps, to name a few. The landscape of the state is enchanting and, when threatened, Garden Club members unite to educate themselves and the public to preserve all that is beautiful in Virginia.  

This article was written by Jeaneatte Cadwallender, while member of the VMHC Board of Trustees and past President of the Garden Club of Virginia, for Virginia History & Culture Magazine, Spring/Summer 2020.