Dedicated to a More Beautiful York
With the goals of protecting native plants and birds, encouraging interest in decorative flower and plant arrangement and promoting home and civic gardening, The Garden Club of York has been working to beautify York since 1922.
Best known for its public planting projects, the Garden Club began one of its signature projects, the Baskets of York event, in the spring of 2000 with just four plant baskets on the square of downtown York.
An annual event, this year there will be more than 250 baskets around the downtown. The Garden Club has been able to sustain and expand the event thanks to the incredible generosity of the Powder Mill Foundation, which was a major contributor to the Garden Club’s endowment fund. Those gifts have continued to support the Baskets of York event since 2008.
Beyond the public plantings, Garden Club members dedicate their time to the community in various ways. Some visit area nursing homes to help residents make flower arrangements for their rooms or for friends. The Club provides all supplies including flowers, greens, vases, clippers and ribbons. Other members help decorate historic homes and firehouses around the city.
To help celebrate the organization’s 100-year anniversary, thanks to the generosity of the Appell family, a picnic was held to commemorate the occasion at the gorgeous Appell estate. To this day, members who attended the picnic speak in awe about the Appell’s extensive gardens.
Mr. Appell was dedicated to making York a better place for everyone in the community. And together, he and his wife, Jody, were champions for beautifying the city. We know he’d be thrilled with how The Garden Club’s programming has expanded thanks to the amazing generosity of the Powder Mill Foundation. The Garden Club of York is so very thankful for the foundation’s continued support of our projects.
Jan Olsen, Garden Club of York President
