Thomasville Garden Club Council: History and Design

By: Julia Singletary

When the First Baptist Church leaders called Reverend William Harris and his wife Jesse to Thomasville in early 1913, it altered the history of the community in more ways than one. Upon her arrival to Thomasville, Mrs. Harris was most impressed with the white picket fences and variety of flowers she found growing. She quickly became involved in several local organizations and was interested in beautification, gardening, and tree conservation. Legend has Mrs. Harris chaining herself to a tree, some say holding a shotgun, in front of the First Baptist Church, where her husband was the pastor, to save a live oak tree. The once threatened tree still stands today.

(Photo: 1 .Ms. Wm. (Jessie) Harris, 1920, Garden Club and Rose Show Founder)

This was a time of growing interest in gardening and food conservation as a response to World War I. The government invested in placing county extension agents throughout Georgia to educate the communities on growing food at the local level and vegetable gardening was even taught in schools. Victory gardens sprung up all over town.

A canning club was formed as a natural extension of this new emphasis on food self-reliance and Mrs. Harris joined. (Photo: 2. Pebble Hill Plantation Hosts Canning Demonstration in 1918) In addition to her membership in the canning club, Mrs. Harris also chaired the Civic Improvement Committee of the Thomasville Study Class. When a visitor from Boston, MA wrote of the beauty of the roses in Thomasville and herself drawing inspiration from the excellent conditions for growing roses in Thomasville, Mrs. Harris decided to promote rose gardening by buying rose plants from the local nurseries and selling them to the public at wholesale prices at the courthouse. As the newspaper summarized it, “for the purpose of stimulating interest in rose growing and making Thomasville…more than ever, “The City of Roses.”

As a member of both the canning club and the civic improvement club, and possessing great energy, leadership and civic interest, Mrs. Harris heeded the call by the Times Enterprise to form a garden club to promote vegetable gardening. On March 3, 1917, the Home Garden Club was organized. The motto was “Cooperate, Agitate, Educate, Cultivate, Investigate.”

Mrs. Harris had launched a movement that is still vibrant and relevant 109 years later- Thomasville has four garden clubs and more than 150 members today. (Photo: 3. Home Garden Club Formed, Thomasville Times Enterprise, March 7, 1917)

According to the Times Enterprise, the following officers were elected: Mr. Edward R. Jerger, Honorary President; Mrs. Wm Harris, President; Mrs. M.R. Mallette, Vice-President; Mrs. James F. Evans, Corresponding Secretary; Mrs. J.W.L Yates, Recording Secretary. No treasurer was elected as no dues are required for a membership. The purpose of the Home Garden Club was to create a community interest in gardening.

The January 28, 1918 edition of the Atlanta Constitution noted that the Thomasville Garden Club ladies were “wide awake”, noting their efforts to educate the community on gardening and praising their second rose plant sale that Mrs. Harris had begun the prior year. This sale continued into the 1920s. (Photo 4. Atlanta Constitution Jan. 18, 1918)

Against this backdrop, Mrs. Harris learned of entries being accepted at the State Fair in Atlanta. Believing that Thomasville’s farmers grew beautiful fruits and vegetables, she approached the local woman who was the county extension agent at the time for help gathering produce to enter. Mr. Neel of Neel Bros Store, and Mr. Hjort, who had a rose test garden and nursery, accompanied her by train to Atlanta. Daisy Neel helped with the arrangement of fruits, vegetables and flowers in a cart and they entered the contest.

To their amazement, they won first place and a prize of $25.00, which, according to newspaper accounts, happened the next three years in a row. Mrs. Harris saved the initial $25.00 and the subsequent winnings in a newly opened bank account, gave some of the winnings to local charities and used this as seed money for Thomasville’s first flower show.

The First Rose Show

According to the Times Enterprise, as early as 1917 the Garden Club had appointed an executive committee “to interest the club in a vegetable and flower show. All members are urged to take note of this and have something on display.” Ask any of Thomasville’s garden club members and they will agree, this plea is still expressed today!

With the help of local nurserymen and the advice of Mr. Sam Hjort, a local nurseryman who ran a well known rose test garden, and others, Mrs. Harris and the Garden Club sponsored the first Rose Show. It opened April 25, 1922 with roses displayed in the front windows and throughout the Neel Bros department store on Broad Street. (Photo 5. Sam and Nell Hjort Helped Plan the First Rose Show)

The April 25th issue of the Thomasville Times Enterprise declared the show a “Great Success.” (Photo: 6. Times Enterprise Reports on the First Rose Show) People came by train and automobile the flower shows in crowds estimated at 50,000 even in its earliest days. The show outgrew Neel Bros Department store to move to a car dealership the second year. It grew so large that soon after, it needed the space of a tobacco warehouse. In subsequent years, the show was held at Finney General Hospital, the new hangar at the airfield and the exhibition space at fairgrounds. (Photo 7. Thomasville Nurseries P.J Hjort & Sons display in Neel Bros. Front Window )(photo 8 & 9. Roses displayed upstairs at Neel Bros. Department Store in 1922). (Photo 10. Rose Show Visitors in 1949 at Finney General Hospital

Photo 11. The Garden Club’s Float c. 1925)

What has become the Thomasville Rose Show and Festival has been held annually every year with two exceptions: a freeze in 1955 and Covid -19 in 2020. The impact of this first flower show to the Thomasville community is immeasurable. (photo 12: Rose Show Tree Wishing Well 1955-using New York Roses due to local freeze)

While today the Rose Society sponsors the Rose Show and the Garden Clubs sponsor a separate flower show, no one can deny the impact of the Garden Club and that first show has had on the local community. The Rose Show is now a Rose Show and Festival including a Rose Parade, the crowning of a Rose Queen and the addition of related events such as an Orchid Show, community street dance, the Rose City Walk and Run and a host of other activities. Even today, it is still a rite of passage for many children to proudly flaunt their ribbons won in the youth division of the Flower Show, now held at the Garden Center annually in conjunction with the Rose Show and Festival. (Photos 12. Brandt Herndon with the Coveted Soil Diggers Award 13. Ann McKinnon and Jane Delarber Greet Guests at a recent Flower Show, now held at the Garden Center, 14. Thomasville native Raymond Hughs, Internationally recognized Pianist and Conductor plays for the opening day crowd at flower show “Centennial Celebrations” . 15. Picnic on the Garden Center Lawn Opens the Flower Show, 16. Kim Cornish with a young gardener at the Children’s Pollinator Activity, now a part of the Annual Flower Show)

An Era of Growth

In 1926 the first Georgia Pilgrimage began in Thomasville.

In 1928 Thomasville Garden Club was one of the 28 charter members of the Garden Club of Georgia, which formed in Athens, with two delegates from Thomasville traveling to Athens to sign the charter.

The 1930’s saw the formation of the Tree Committee by the City with representation from the Garden Club, whose members were already helping fund the planting of dogwood trees and roses along Thomasville’s streets. Thomasville’s famed Big Oak was enrolled in the Live Oak Society in 1936. Thomasville’s first Camellia Show was held in 1939. (Photo: 17. A Proud Young Camellia Show Winner at the Garden Center, Feb 10, 1956.)

The early 40s were dedicated to the struggle of keeping the flower shows going on a reduced scale during the years of World War II. But by 1948, interest in gardening and the activities of garden clubs was strong. The Thomasville Garden Club incorporated seven garden clubs: Briarcliff, Caprice, Countess Vandal, Killarney Queen, Rambler Rose, Talisman, and Tallyho-all with their own club projects in addition to Council-wide projects. Thomasville also became a bird sanctuary in 1948.

Nocturne Club was added in 1957-58, Carousel was formed in 1961-72 and in 1966-67, Granada was formed.

In 1967 the Happy Workers Garden Club was organized and sponsored a Garden Therapy program at Southwestern State Hospital. This became a council project that served the patients there until the hospital’s closing in 2013 and later resurrected.

And in the 1940’s the first donations for the “dream home” for the Thomasville Garden Club were made. (Photo 18. Countess Vandal Club in 1975, Photo 19. Sketch of the Proposed Garden Center)

The Garden Center becomes a Home for Thomasville’s Garden Clubs

The success of the various clubs that grew out of that first Home Garden Club in 1917 inspired the members to dream and plan for a unifying home for all the clubs.

The members worked raising funds through the late 1940s and ‘50’s. With the help of Mrs. Elisabeth Ireland Poe, who bought and donated a building site on Old Monticello Road, the dream became a reality. (Photo 19. Devereau Woods, the site of the future Garden Center, Photo 20. Sketch of the Proposed Thomasville Garden Center). Construction on the Garden Center began in 1954 and was completed in 1956. (Photo 21. The Garden Center takes Shape, Photo 22: Completed Garden Center.)

The members continued to work diligently to fund construction with bake sales, dinners, raffles, and personal donations as well as, after its opening, renting the Center. In 1962, “Miss Pansy” stepped in and finished paying off the mortgage note for the building. This generous gesture prompted a ceremonial burning of the mortgage note in an orchestrated celebration on the front lawn of the Garden Center. Miss Pansy lit the note on fire for a crowd of well-wishers.

(Photo 23. Miss Pansy burns the mortgage in 1962.)

The Garden Center, designed by local architect Robert Jinright whose wife Betty was a club member, consists of a large assembly hall, recently named Pansy Poe Hall, the Helan Hay Whitney library, a spacious kitchen, and utility room as well as the sitting room named for Elva Scott. The wall paneling in the hall and library is of magnolia wood from trees harvested from Pebble Hill and Melrose Plantations. The other walls have pine paneling. The library is equipped with four large handmade Honduras mahogany cabinets custom made and donated by Mr. and Mrs. John Hay Whitney of Greenwood Plantation contains a collection of volumes on artistic designs, horticulture and examples of Garden Club’s awards and tributes to its founders and benefactors. (photo 24: New Cabinets enhance the Helen Hay Whitney Library c. 1958)

The Garden Center quickly became a vital part of the community playing host to a variety of events including boy scout meetings, Rose Society meetings, Camellia society meetings and Camellia Shows, garden club meetings, joint bridge club luncheons and play days, political events, business leaders’ meetings and of Completed Garden Center course, classes on floral design and flower shows. (Photo 25.High School Girls serving at a Garden Club event c. 1956. Photo 26. Birdwatchers Hold Reception Jan. 1958; Photo 27. DAR Silver Tea and History Exhibit in 1961; Photo 28. Birthday Luncheon for Mrs. A.G. Robinson, shown with Mae Pringle)

In 1966, the Garden Club acquired the property where the Big Oak tree is located jointly with the City of Thomasville. The park features a gazebo donated by Mrs. Otto Carter of Meigs with the stipulation that it be used intact. Today, the tree and the gazebo are in the Elisabeth Ireland Poe Park, which is the site of community gatherings, weddings, and the finish of the annual Rose City Run. The Garden Club also acquired the deed to Magnolia Park in 1984 and leased the land to the city for 50 years. Today, walking trails enhance this park where old growth forest, rare today, are found.

During the late 1950’s and 60’s, The Center featured a gift shop which the members ran. Mrs. Fred (Elva) Scott was appointed chairman of the building in 1956 and held that position and ran the gift shop until her retirement in 1989. (Photo 28. The Gift Shop in the Garden Center was a Source of Revenue and run by Mrs. Scott.) The site of the former gift shop is now a beautiful living room named in her honor, decorated by the Scott family in 1988 and redecorated with a fundraising campaign in 2025. (Photo 29. The Elva Scott Room redecorated in 1988, Photo 30. The Elva Scott Room Today)

The Garden Center added the Nellie Neel Memorial Terrace in 1986 featuring a fountain given in memory of Mrs. George Humphry by her daughters Mrs. Pamela Firman and Mrs. John Butler. (Photo 31: The Cherub completes the Terrace Fountain) In 1989 a local sculptor was commissioned to carve a rose for the g arden center façade in recognition of the significance of the Rose to the garden clubs. Landscaped azalea gardens were added in 1994 by the Briarcliff Club and all club members help maintain the center and its grounds. (Photo 32. Work Day laying Pine Straw 32b, Club Members Spring Clean at a Work Day 2011), 33. Tom Faircloth and Millie Faircloth (r) at a Judge’s Luncheon on the Terrace)

Members celebrated the 50^th Anniversary of the opening of the Garden Center in 2006.

Maintaining the Garden Center has occupied much of the energy of its members and a glance through yearbooks and scrapbooks shows an amazing number of fundraising activities to support the addition of air conditioning, changing the slope of the roof to prevent leaks, replacing heating and air conditioners, and updating bathrooms and the kitchen. The Center is well used and rentals have helped support its operation from the beginning. But a look to the future spurred the launch of an endowment campaign in 2007, chaired by Mrs. C.W. (Ann) McKinnon to help meet the future needs of the Center. The Endowment Campaign reached $150,000 that first year and has continued to grow. This important fund is available for capital expenses associated with the maintenance of the Garden Center, helping to assure its future.

A capital campaign for Garden Center improvements was launched in the fall of 2012 and its committee raised nearly $200,000 to add garden areas to the landscape, design and pave parking lots, make much needed repairs, install historic lighting inspired by the original street lights from downtown Thomasville, and add two front brick and wrought iron features which lead into the renovated grounds. The resulting garden design features a camellia walk featuring historic camellias, a wedding garden, and beautiful areas for entertaining. (Photo 34; Suzanne Finger, Landscape Architect and a member of Killarney Queen, designed the new landscape plan, 35. Sod Goes Down; 36. Supporters including Julia Singletary, Ashley Jones, Charnie Beverly, Suzanne Finger, Leisa Zollar, Karen Leabo, Peggy Rich and Ben Grace help cut the ribbon at the Re-Opening of the Garden in 2013; 37. Connie Middleton with her daughter Molly Green helped give the Camellia Walk in Memory of Una Middleton)

(Photo of the Garden Center)

Through the years, Thomasville’s Garden Club and Garden Center have benefited from its ties to local plantation owners. Some, like the owner of Boxhall Plantation Mrs. Louse Jeans Hines, joined a club and fully participated in all activities. Mrs. Pansy Poe of Pebble Hill was an inactive member of Killarney Queen. Others, like the Whitney family from Greenwood Plantation and the Wades of Millpond Plantation, came to Thomasville for the winter hunting season. They appreciated the goals of the Club and were generous donors without joining. The early days of the Rose Shows reveal extensive involvement from the owners of a number of plantations who sponsored exhibits and lent their support to the club members’ projects. The proximity of the community to this specific generational wealth and lifestyle has been so helpful and appreciated through the years.

Local Members called to State leadership and Washington D.C

Mrs. Lawson (Josie) Neel, a member of Rambler Rose Garden Club, was elected President of the Garden Club of Georgia in 1963-1965 and there were many events at the Garden Center where Thomasville Garden Club members hosted state garden club officials. (photo 38. Josie Neel, shown at right, hosts a Tea at the Garden Center in 1964.) She was an integral part of the local and state garden club and was honored with an appointment as co-chair of the White House Decorating Committee for the inauguration of Georgia’s President Jimmy Carter. Killarney Queen member Mrs. William Fred (Elva) Scott was also appointed to the 12-person committee. Photos of the inaugural ball January 20, 1977 show the ladies enjoying the festivities. (photos-38.Josie Neel and 39. Elva Scott at the Inaugural Ball, January 20, 1977)

Today’s Garden Club

The Thomasville Garden Club in 2026 consists of four clubs; three original clubs Briarcliff, Killarney Queen and Rambler Rose and a fourth club - Lady Banks, formed in 2014-2015, and nearly 200 members. (Photo 40: Briarcliff’s Marge Willis, a veteran designer, led a design workshop for Lady Banks members including Eve Rumble and Debbie Wright) Special projects that have made a lasting impact on the community include the annual flower show, held each April in conjunction with the Rose Festival, and Hospice Flowers, a weekly project that began in 2013 for local hospice patients. Club members assemble simple flower arrangements each Monday for patients of the Hospice of Southwest Georgia. This weekly commitment has continued without interruption since 2013 for an immeasurable impact on patients and their families. Photos: (42. Briarcliff’s Betty Jinright and Rambler Roses Sarah Martha Edwards and Kathleen Scott Honored as Legacy Members at the 2014 Flower Show Luncheon. 43. Pat Johnson, Lucile Burgess, and Margaret Arnold Legacy Members 2014. 44. Members Mary Bonvillian, Sally Sullivan, Jean Stone, Julia Singletary & Jane Delarber load one of the first Hospice Flower patient donations in 2013)

Another important project that has roots in the past is the effort to work with the developmentally disabled. Garden Therapy, begun in conjunction with Southwestern State Hospital, was resurrected in 2024-2025 to serve adults in the local Thomas-Grady service center.

Litter Control, begun with the Keep America Beautiful designation for Thomasville, fundraising luncheons with floral design themes each fall-“Fun Food and Flowers,” and annual Arbor Day celebrations are all ongoing community service projects shared by the four clubs. (Photo 45, Gale Milton of Briarcliff with Jerger Elementary students at Arbor Day) Litter Control began with an agreement with the City of Thomasville to maintain a specific area near Paradise Park. (Photo 46. Litter Control Project begins, showing Marge Willis, Claire Thomas, Janet Feldman, Ann McKinnon & Helan Huddleston meet with a City representative. The Clubs published a 2nd edition of their cookbook “Fun, Food & Flowers” which features recipes and garden and floral design tips. This release helped raise funds for the Capital Campaign for the Garden Center. (Photo 47 Ginny Miller, Eddie Reichert, and Cookbook chair Gladys Muggridge with the new cookbook). Workshops on Floral Design in preparation for the Flower Show helps members prepare to have their designs judged and is a popular event every winter. (Photo 48. Killarney Queen members Janet Webb, Mary Tomlinson and Helan Huddleston demonstrate an exhibition table)

Individually, clubs have their own special projects, from taking flowers to nursing homes to working with high school students or helping the Center for the Arts decorate for their annual Wildlife Arts Festival. (Photo 49: Jimmy Singletary, renowned local florist, is a beloved speaker for Fun, Food & Flowers, shown here with Mary Bonvillian of Killarney Queen, 50. Gale Milton of Briarcliff Club with Jerger Elementary Students at Arbor, Day, held at the Garden Center recently)

In recent years, Arbor Day has illustrated the Garden Club’s special connection to Pebble Hill Plantation and Mrs. Pansy Poe. In 2009, club member Carol Singletary, whose grandparents lived across the street from Thomasville’s Big Oak, planted a seedling she nurtured for years that she started from an acorn harvested from the Big Oak. She had shared acorns with several cousins and asked everyone to try their hand at starting a “Baby Big Oak.” Her seedling thrived and in the company of descendants of her grandparents, the tree was planted on the grounds of Pebble Hill Plantation at Arbor Day in February 2009. The “Baby Big Oak” tree has grown and will be celebrated at the 2026 Arbor Day. (Photo 51: Carol Singletary of Rambler Rose with left Mayor David Lewis and Right Pebble Hill’s Sue White with her seedling Arbor Day 2009 and 52. Baby Big Oak Tree Today at Pebble Hill Plantation 2025, 53, Baby Big Oak Plaque)

Arbor Day sometimes involves children from Jerger Elementary, shown helping plant a tree at the Garden Center with Briarcliff’s Gale Milton)

Thomasville’s Pebble Hill Plantation was also the site of one of only two State Flower Shows held outside Athens, with Callaway Gardens the other host site. The show traveled to Thomasville and Pebble Hill in 2009 with the theme “Among the Pines”. (Photo 55 : Briarcliff’s Marge Willis, chair, with Garden Club of Georgia President Sara Lanier at Pebble Hill in 2009.)

While some things have changed, many things are the same. Gone are the Garden of the Month, Tour of Homes, and monthly fundraising Luncheons. Members of the Thomasville Garden Club communicate differently than their predecessors, realizing the value of social media and text group messages, and their community service projects have changed over the years. Newer projects such as the weekly Hospice Flower Project, Children’s Pollinator activity held with the Flower Show and the new Spring Gala keep members busy and involved. However, the Garden Clubs’ goals are the same: to challenge everyone young and old to garden, enjoy floral design, care for the environment, and appreciate nature and God’s handiwork. In the words of the charter, members hope “to inspire in others a love for the beautiful.”

The 105th Annual Standard Flower Show: A Tribute to Nature’s Artistry

April 24-25, 2026

105th Flower Show will be held on Friday, April 24th, 2026 from 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 25th, 2026 from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Open and Free to the Public

Horticulture entries will be accepted Thursday April 23th, 2026 from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. for youth and adult categories.

On Saturday, April 25th the show opens at 10 a.m. There will also be a children’s butterfly activity on the grounds of the Garden Center, from 10 a.m. until 12 noon with many tables available for hands on activities on butterflies and their contribution to our environment.

The show is sponsored by 1915 South, Ashley Fine Furniture, NTS, TNB, Cardiovasacular Consultants of South Georgia, Olive Ochard Coaching and Consulting, Parker Poe Charitable Trust.

Julia Singletary

A special thank you to Tom Faircloth whose Rose Show research contributed greatly to this account.