SOUTHERN PINES GARDEN CLUB
Supporting local horticultural education and beautification projects since 1948.
The object of this club shall be to promote a greater interest in gardening, to exchange horticultural experiences of mutual benefit to its members and the community, to aid in the protection of native plants, trees, and birds, and to encourage and support planning and beautification in the public interest.
SOUTHERN PINES GARDEN CLUB CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE II
PARTNER WITH US
If our community goals resonate with those of your charitable organization, we'd love to hear more about your local projects and explore how we can work together. Use the form below to learn more or to initiate a project funding request.
You can also click this text to be taken to the form directly.
While touring Woodlawn Cemetery, Morris Goins (left) speaks with Bill Ross (right). In the background, they are joined by Peggie Caple, Joyce Jackson and Yolanda Goins (left to right).
Photo credit: Laura Gingerich, courtesy of Pinestraw Magazine, November 2024.
Woodlawn Cemetery Restoration
SPGC Featured Project 2024
SPGC recognizes the tireless dedication of our members who ensure the club's vision is made reality. To fulfill our pledge of support, Club officers and Woodlawn project managers – Cynthia Birdsall and Barbara Walters – provided innumerable hours of stewardship throughout 2023 and 2024. Funding for Woodlawn's landscaping, plant materials and memorial wall was made possible by the community's support of our Annual Home & Garden Tour. We are grateful for your continued generosity and loyalty.
Southern Pines Garden Club
official statement on
NCDOT Traffic Circle Proposal
BACKGROUND
The Southern Pines Garden Club (SPGC) was founded in 1948 by Mrs. Elizabeth "Buffie" Ives with the intent to pursue four objectives: 1. Promote a greater interest in gardening 2. Exchange horticultural experiences of mutual benefit to its members and the community 3. Aid in the protection of native plants, trees, and birds 4. Encourage and support planning and beautification in the public interest. For the past seventy-five years, the club’s commitment to these objectives has remained steadfast. SPGC has contributed time, money, and leadership for numerous projects directly impacting the beauty and appeal of Southern Pines and the surrounding area. The club has a long tradition of fighting to preserve the area’s native trees and historic landscapes, while working to improve neighborhoods and quality of life within the community. Many years ago, SPGC successfully fought to protect the longleaf pines along the length of Midland Road from Southern Pines to Pinehurst after the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NC DOT) announced their plan to cut down the trees as part of the proposal to widen Midland Road.
STATEMENT
The Southern Pines Garden Club (SPGC) supports preserving the magnificent entrance to Pinehurst and the six-acre grove of trees within the existing traffic circle, specifically its iconic longleaf pines. The traffic circle was included in the Village of Pinehurst’s successful nomination as a National Historic Landmark District (only two such districts exist in North Carolina), being described as “the traffic circle at the junction of NC 2, NC 211, and US 15/501... Its circular design continued the historical layout of the village, and it immediately became the primary ornamental gateway to Pinehurst.” There is little debate that the Pinehurst area generates tremendous revenue and recognition for the State of North Carolina. A significant part of its appeal is the landscaping and natural beauty, which should be protected and preserved as a much-valued asset. A critical component of this natural environment is the area’s longleaf pine forest. It is more than a scenic backdrop for challenging tee shots. The longleaf pine is a foundational component of our ecosystem, contributing greatly to North Carolina’s economic wellbeing, and has well-earned its title as our official state tree. According to the National Wildlife Federation, longleaf pines are more resilient to the negative impacts of climate change than other southeastern pines, possessing the ability to withstand severe windstorms, resist pests, tolerate wildfires and drought, and capture carbon pollution from the atmosphere. Continuing to enlarge the gaps in the forest coverage directly threatens the forest’s natural ability to sustain itself and is counter to the goals of numerous state initiatives. For these reasons, the Southern Pines Garden Club believes it is critical to identify a solution for improving traffic flow without sacrificing the elements of the traffic circle which undergird its historical significance, community appeal and positive economic and environmental impact. The current proposal, as presented by the NC DOT, fails the test in each of these areas and is unacceptable. CC: Village of Pinehurst Council Southern Pines Council North Carolina Department of Transportation
Curated for You
OUR HISTORY
The Southern Pines Garden Club was founded in 1948 by Mrs. Elizabeth "Buffie" Ives and her friends with the purpose of giving horticultural support to the restoration of Shaw House, a historic landmark built in 1820. Twenty "knees in the dirt" gardeners, all active members of the Southern Pines community, were asked to join the organization. The club continued to focus on projects that directly enhanced the beauty of the town "wherever needed". An annual garden tour was established at the beginning to help finance the landscaping programs of the club, and included the homes and gardens of owners. With increased revenue from these popular tours, more ambitious plans were achieved. From the first, Alfred B. Yeomans, the distinguished local landscape architect, aided the club with free advice on native plant selection and design. At the newest schools, the town hall, along the railroad tracks and along major town right of ways, trees and flowering plants were installed by club members. This work continued for decades and today these mature trees and shrubs define our exceptional and well-known downtown landscape. When the Weymouth Center was founded in 1977, the Southern Pines Garden Club gave a $500.00 check to the Board specifically to help save the historic flowering cherry trees. In the towns of Southern Pines and Pinehurst, the club organized volunteers to improve the appearance of signs, rights of way, sidewalks and unsightly dumps. Member's voices were heard regularly at town meetings on issues concerning the preservation of trees, improvement of neighborhoods and quality of life. Today's Southern Pines Appearance Commission is the direct descendant of these early collaborative efforts. Presently the Club has 36 members dedicated to continuing the work of its founders. The yearly tour of homes and gardens in April provides funds for scholarships for horticulture students at Sandhills Community College as well as professional lectures and local perseveration and education projects. Among the most recent projects of the club is the replanting of missing dogwoods along major roadways in our area. These original dogwoods were dedicated as a Southern Pines World War II Memorial by Alfred Yeomans and planted by the town. The Southern Pines Garden Club continues this effort with new plantings that will mature as a fitting reminder to those fallen in war. The Southern Pines Garden Club continues to actively underwrite and support the remarkable cultural landscape that is the hallmark of Southern Pines. Written by Andrea Leech, SPGC member
descriptions & details to come
Grant Request
Application
Use this form to begin the application process. Email our club treasurer with any questions or to discuss your proposal.
MEDIA ARCHIVE
Story by Elizabeth N. Sugg
Photos by Mollie Tobias
Ashley Van Camp and Katie Wyatt. Van Camp and Wyatt have been the driving force in developing the new Weymouth Equestrian youth program in collaboration with the Boys & Girls Club of the Sandhills. Photo by Mollie Tobias.
60 Christmas trees ready for their new homes with NMFRC families. Photo courtesy of Cynthia Birdsall
Local Garden Club Donates Christmas Trees and Hams to Families in Need
Operation Christmas Tree, spearheaded by Elizabeth Sugg and Michelle Kaiser, and underwritten by the Southern Pines Garden Club (SPGC) and its members, successfully delivered 60 Christmas trees, decorations, holiday hams and books recently to the Northern Moore Family Resource Center (NMFRC). continue reading...
Local Garden Club Announces Funding to Establish the Area's First Sensory Garden
The Southern Pines Garden has selected the Sandhills Horticultural Gardens as the beneficiary of their 72nd Annual Home & Garden Tour Saturday, April 18, to create the area's first Sensory Garden, a children's garden with plantings specially selected to appeal to each of the five senses. The club has allocated $10,000 of the tour proceeds for this project, and members plan to work closely with the Sandhills Horticultural Gardens to realize their vision. [continue reading...]
Sandhills Horticultural Design II students Thomas Bardroff and Heather Brookfield, whiteboard ideas for the proposed Sensory Garden. The students will work with Jim Westmen, their professor and Sandhills Horticultural Gardens director, to create original designs for the special project. Photo courtesy of Denise Gutschmit
60 Christmas trees ready for their new homes with NMFRC families. Photo courtesy of Cynthia Birdsall
Fownes Cottage Feature Article
PINESTRAW Magazine, Summer 2018
https://www.pinestrawmag.com/long-live-loblolly/
THE PILOT Newspaper, Feb 22, 2018
THE PILOT Newspaper, April 8 2018
FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER, April 7 2018
http://www.fayobserver.com/news/20180407/you-can-take-peek-inside-beautiful-historic-homes
PINESTRAW Magazine, April 2018
http://mooreart.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/A-Tradition-of-Culture-PineStraw-Magazine-2.pdf
project & tour highlights
