Our Projects
This program year Sussex Gardeners will focus on serving our community while honoring the traditions of our 87 year-old heritage through our Standing and Special Committees and Club projects.
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Civic Beautification
Our committee will work with the Staff at the Historic Zwaanendael Museum in Lewes, DE, to provide décor at the museum for the holiday season and during the Lewes Tulip Festival in the spring. We always include an educational component related to our chosen theme and embracing the town’s Dutch and maritime heritage. In addition, this committee hopes to design, install and maintain a ‘Native Plant Garden’ in existing beds surrounding the Rehoboth Public Library. We will continue to pursue opportunities to broaden our community involvement through civic beautification.
Fundraising
Our Ways & Means committee will consider and make recommenda- tions to the Club regarding fundraising events that would be of interest, manageable for our members, and meet our fundraising goals. As we have done in past years, we will coordinate with the Lewes Historical Society and participate in the fall and spring craft shows and festivals at the Historic Campus. We will look for other fundraising opportunities in Rehoboth and Lewes throughout the year. Once a "fundraising opportunity" is approved by the Board, the Committee will enlist help and support from each club member to ensure its success.
Holiday Projects
Continuing with our holiday traditions, the Sussex Gardeners’ members will meet in early December to assemble and decorate nosegays that are used to adorn the trays of our local ‘Meals on Wheels’ recipients. In conjunction with this project, we will also create and decorate the wreaths made with member donated greens. The completed wreaths are donated to Brandywine Assisted Living Seaside Pointe, the Reho- both Beach Public Library, The Moorings, Lewes, and Troop #7 Police Barracks in Lewes. These holiday projects are a cherished club tradition and an opportunity for members to work together in creating beautiful designs to be shared with our community.
Garden Therapy
Sussex Gardeners continues its longstanding partnerships with Brandywine Senior Living Facility in Rehoboth Beach and The Moorings Lewes facility. Our Club members provide all the materials needed for residents at each facility to create their own seasonal floral arrangement. Garden Therapy will be offered monthly at Brandywine and quarterly at The Moorings from September through June.
For the past 2 years, Sussex Gardeners has created Mother’s Day bouquets for children in residence at the Red Mill Inn, a community homeless shelter, to give to their mothers on Mother’s Day. We plan to make this Mother’s Day project an annual event.
Scholarship
Sussex Gardeners designates a portion of the proceeds from fundraising events for scholarships on the local and state level. The scholarships are awarded to students pursuing degrees in environmental science, horti- culture and related subjects. In the past, we have contributed generously to the DFGC’s scholarship fund and the DFGC’s President’s project. Last year we were able to donate $1000 to DFGC’s scholarship fund.
Environmental
This past spring, we were successful in planting three (3) Dogwood trees on the grounds of The Brandywine Senior Living Facility in Rehoboth. We are open to ideas for new locations for this year. This goal is in support of the A Tree for Every Delawarean Initiative (TEDI). This initiative is part of Delaware’s comprehensive plan to respond to climate change. Why plant trees? Planting and nurturing trees is a nature-based solution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change. We will submit our club’s information to the State’s TEDI Tree Dashboard, to be recorded, mapped and counted towards the total trees planted in Delaware.
Website and Facebook Page
As our 87-year-old club continues to grow, we have become more active on social media. We are building out our Club website, and will continue to share photos, current activities and projects with the public on Facebook. Access at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/www.sussexgardeners.org.
Following the DFGC lead, we will fully develop a user-friendly website and explore ways to further engage online with our members and the garden enthusiasts in our community.
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Awards
Presented by the DFGC June 2024
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4a - Horticulture Garden Therapy 1st
5b - Decoration of Historic Building 1st
5b - Decoration of Historic Building 3rd
7 - Public Education 2nd
10a - Special Achievement 2nd
10b - Special Achievement 2nd
13 - Yearbook 2nd
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Pesident's Award of Excellence 1st
