A History of Fauquier and Loudoun Garden Club

The Fauquier and Loudoun Garden Club was founded on November 23, 1915 in the living room of Mrs. Fairfax Harrison, who was elected the first president and included her friends living in Loudoun and Fauquier counties. The first five committees decided upon were roadside planting, exchange of plants, botany, library and seedsmen. The early mission statement was “The purpose of the club is to increase the pleasure of country life by the exchange of ideas and information on gardening subjects”, and this has been the guiding light for our club ever since.

Today the club has fifty active members and 16 associate members and is one of the 200 member clubs of the Garden Club of America and 47 member clubs of Garden Club of Virginia. In 1918 FLGC was invited to join the GCA and in 1920 was invited to join the GCV as a charter member.

Two months after the first meeting, FLGC hosted a public flower show, the first flower show in Virginia. One of the first challenges FLGC undertook was to fight highway advertising. In 1930, certain members removed some unsightly billboards in Loudoun County. These were ladies of charm and strong character with broad vision and high aims!

For many years, the Club was the proud owner of the historic four-arched stone bridge that crosses Goose Creek on Route 50 and has seen history since its construction in 1803. During our ownership, the bottom land surrounding the bridge became a wild life sanctuary; it is crisscrossed by wandering paths with access to the waters of Goose Creek. Click here for more information about the bridge.

As a member of GCV, Fauquier and Loudoun Garden Club takes part in the yearly Historic Garden Week that opens gardens all over Virginia to visitors. Every other year we sponsor a Garden Symposium that raises money for local causes.