Mount Prospect Historical Society

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Garden Club of Mount Prospect – Pandemic Moments

The Garden Club of Mount Prospect is solely sustained by its member volunteers, who remain committed to the club mission:
“… to encourage interest in gardening and horticulture, artistic use of plant materials, civic beauty and conservation of natural resources.”

Who would have thought that our lives could change so drastically in just one short month?
The Garden Club of Mount Prospect met in person on March 11, 2020. Then due to the lockdown for COVID-19, plans for the rest of Spring 2020 were canceled, including the May fundraiser and June road trip. The community plant sale morphed into a front porch plant sale for members.

The advantage of being gardeners did not escape us – we could be outdoors while doing our favorite activity – gardening. So projects across the village continued throughout the summer, including the Green Thumb program where the club recognizes outstanding gardens throughout town. Among the awarding winning front yards in 2020 was this home at 112 S. Owen St.

Gardeners took turns and maintained social distancing while working on the gardens at the Arlene Prchal Butterfly Garden and Mount Prospect Historical Society. A number of gardeners invited fellow club members to a garden walk in July 2020. It was a relief to get out and view some outstanding gardens.
The club made big plans for the 2020-2021 Garden Club year, which runs from September to June – virtual programs in the fall-winter with the hope to return to in-person events in the spring. But the virus persisted, and plans were again postponed. Here are members enjoying a Zoom meeting in April 2021.
For a second year, the annual plant sale was a front porch event, limited to members. The May luncheon was once again cancelled and the road trip postponed. In April 2021 only two members were invited to participate in the village’s annual Arbor Day event (which had been cancelled in 2020). Here are the two members with PAWS, the Mount Prospect Public Works mascot.
Ah, then in June – if you were vaccinated, the masks came off and you could mix and mingle in a crowd. Club members flocked to an impromptu June box lunch in the tent at the Mt. Prospect Golf Club. Here are some of the members at the event.
As the club plotted its return to normalcy in the fall of 2021, it found that it’s longtime meeting space at Friendship Park Conservatory was no longer available. Club President Marieann (Terry) Sieroslawski, with input from board members, worked tirelessly that summer to find a new home at Mount Prospect Village Hall. Here are members enjoying a return to an in-person meeting in October 2021.
And now, in January 2022, as we all face another surge in the virus, the Garden Club will pivot once again to meeting via Zoom with the hope that once again, by spring, we’ll be able to resume in-person activities. Gardeners, after all, are resilient and eternal optimists, believing in continued growth and renewal.