Donna Donnelly, president of the National Garden Clubs, Inc.
The Garden Club Council of Greater Columbia, an affiliate of the National Garden Clubs, Inc. (NGC) headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri welcomed Donna Donnelly, National Garden Club’s 49th president, to speak to local club members on September 22. Molly Rowe, president of the GCCGC introduced the speaker.
Donnelly is a native of Staten Island, New York. In 2001 she relocated from a bustling borough of New York City (population 440,000) in USDA hardiness zone 6 to a rural pecan farm in Elloree, South Carolina (population 692) in USDA hardiness zone 8. In her new home she came to savor the buttery flavor of fresh-picked pecans and to gaze in wonder at camellias in full bloom in December. However, she misses tulips and lilacs, which need a long cold, dormant period for their flower buds to mature and open in the spring.
Donnelly’s theme for her 2025-2027 presidential tenure is “Plant America for the Next Hundred Years.” One part of the theme urges club members and communities to plant red, white, and blue flower gardens across the country from July 4, 2025 through July 4, 2026 in commemoration and celebration of America’s 250th anniversary. Another initiative is to collaborate with Keep America Beautiful, a national nonprofit focused on beautification and litter prevention in communities. PalmettoPride coordinates Keep South Carolina Beautiful, which is the South Carolina state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful.
Youth gardening is another initiative of NGC. Bob Markey, youth committee coordinator, represented NGC as a sponsor and presenter at the American Horticultural Society’s 33rd National Children and Youth Garden Symposium this July in Hartford, CT.
The NGC publishes a quarterly magazine entitled The National Gardener or TNG in English and Spanish. The magazine features articles of interest to gardeners, environmentalists, floral designers, horticulturists, landscape designers, naturalists, educators, and nature photographers plus details on events, programs, updates, and a new Q&A. The summer 2025 magazine features an article by botanist Patrick McMillan entitled “Frogfruit: the Most Versatile Groundcover You’ve Never Grown.”
Molly Rowe, president of the Garden Club Council of Greater Columbia
In 1945, the NGC adopted The Blue Star Program honoring all men and women who serve in the United States Armed Services and began a Blue Star Highway system that covers thousands of miles across the continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii. Blue Star Memorial Highway markers were placed along the way. The Blue Star was adopted because it had become an icon in World War II and was seen on flags and banners in homes for sons and daughters away at war as well as in churches and businesses. There are at least ten Blue Star markers in Columbia. Often a red, white, and blue memorial garden is planted at the base of the marker.
Local NGC affiliates have a roster of fall garden shows in the Cantey Building at the State Fair between October 8 and 20, including an Ikebana Exhibition, Rose Society Fall Exhibition, and Camellia Fall Show.
For more information on NGC, visit gardenclub.org/about-us.
For information on the Garden Club Council of Greater Columbia, visit www.facebook.com/gccouncilcolumbia.
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