Nottingham Garden Club
at the Sayen Gardens Azalea Festival
Community Driven, Mission Focused
This year’s Azalea Festival at Sayen Gardens on Mother’s Day weekend proved to be another successful event for the Nottingham Garden Club.
The club participates in the event to solicit new members, answer gardening questions, sell plants and promote the club's Garden Tour, June 20.
A steady stream of festivalgoers visited the club’s booth from 10 am to 4 pm.
The club sold nearly 100 potted plants, including rosemary, thyme, lavender and daisies. Each pot included a two-sided card. One side wished mothers a Happy Mother’s Day.
The other promoted the club’s “Gardens on Parade” tour with a QR, or quick response, code linked to the club’s website. Festival attendees used the code to visit the website for more information on the tour and the club itself. Many logged the tour date into their calendars while at the booth. The code was a brilliant idea suggested by club member Lorna.
Funds raised by the tour will help sponsor area children for summer nature camps, which can cost $500 per child.
Jay is the committee chairperson for the club’s participation at the Sayen Gardens Azalea Festival. Committee members are Kelly, Patrish, Eileen and Maureen.
Club members (l to r) are Wendy, Club President Jay, Patrish and Esther. The club sold potted rosemary, thyme, lavender and daisies.
Anatomy of Getting It Done
Organizing a booth at an event and making it successful takes a lot of work and coordination. This is one example of how the club gets it done.
Lorna and Jay purchased 120 potted plants from Timothy's about 10 days before the azalea festival. Lorna cared for them until showtime on Mothers Day.
The morning of the festival, Lorna delivered the plants, and all the supplies that Jay had provided, to the club’s booth at Sayen Gardens since Jay was unable to get there that early.
Elaine B. set everything up at 8am. Jay arrived at 10:15 and then Karen and her husband, Tom, came to help. At 12:30, Wendy, Patrish and Esther joined. It was a good working group. The team started packing at 4pm, just in time before the rain. The club’s free-and-clear funds after the sale were just over $450.
Jay said, “Many thanks for the combined efforts of Lorna, Elaine B., Karen, Tom, Wendy, Patrish, and Esther. This was following our Mission Statement--advertising our club, our Garden Tour and funding our projects.”
Including a QR code card that linked to the club's website was a brilliant idea by Lorna.
This large sign announced the Gardens on Parade tour on June 20. Festivalgoers showed keen interest in it.
Bookmarks with dried flowers made at a previous club meeting were sold as well.
At the height of the Azalea Festival, attendees were practically elbow to elbow.
Flowers near the club's booth seemed to be brighter.
There's something special about white blooms.
