Welcome to the Potomac-Mecklenburg Garden Club!
Join us to learn about gardening and make our community a more beautiful and sustainable place.
Join us to learn about gardening and make our community a more beautiful and sustainable place.
A brief history of the Potomac-Mecklenburg Garden Club. >>
The PMGC usually meets every 4th Wednesday in the afternoon. >>
Learn more about membership in the PMGC. >>
The PMGC contributes to several ongoing projects in the county. >>
The PMGC annual plant sale is the first Saturday in May. >>
• Email: pmgc@pmgardenclub.org
• Find us on Facebook
Potomac-Mecklenburg Garden Club programs cover a wide range of topics — see our 2025/26 programs.
Field trips to local gardens
Holiday greens wreath-making
Flower arranging lessons
Seed starting techniques
Making herbal teas
Gardening 101
Dealing with invasive species
Pollinator garden planning
Professional speakers on garden topics
Beneficial insects
Tours of local garden centers
Best practices for avoiding pathogens
Tours of public gardens at museums and flower farms
Tour Blandy Farm, Glenstone museum, Dumbarton Oaks
Community Giving
The PMGC offers scholarship ($1,500) each year to a graduating highschool senior, details here. In addition, we support community organizations with the proceeds of our club plant sale, for example: the Potomac Valley Audubon, The Nature Conservancy, Shepherdstown Public Library, West Virginia Rivers Coalition, and Shepherdstown parks and public gardens.
The Potomac-Mecklenburg Garden Club was formed when the Potomac Garden Club and the Mecklenburg Garden Club merged into a single entity in October 1992. The Potomac Garden Club was founded and federated in 1933, four years after the formation of the West Virginia Garden Club. The Mecklenburg Garden Club, founded in 1954, was an offspring of the Potomac Garden Club. It was started by young professionals who wanted to meet in the evenings. An early and ongoing cooperative spirit emerged as the two clubs worked toward the mutual goals of the federated garden clubs. The Potomac-Mecklenburg Garden Club became a non-affiliated club in 2016 in response to evolving membership preferences.
The Potomac-Mecklenburg Garden Club continues to thrive and welcomes new members who want to learn about gardening and to make our community a more beautiful and sustainable place. We meet once a month to enjoy that month's program (occasionally a field trip) and meeting each other.
PMGC Executive Committee, 2025-26: Carolyn Thomas, President; Jane Gamble, Vice President; Karen Fitzpatrick, Recording Secretary; Terry Thorson, Corresponding Secretary; Nancy Kautz, Treasurer; Diana Oddenio, President Representative and Recording Sec’y.
PMGC Member Committees:
Spring Plant Sale
The PMGC holds its annual plant sale in May. All profits are used for civic beautification, charitable donations, and student scholarships.
Civic Beautification
Members maintain gardens at the Market Building, Town Run Community Garden on the Shepherd University campus, and help with the Library Habitat Gardens as well as with other projects.
Garden Books for Schools
PMGC purchases and donates garden-themed books to local school libraries. This year, the new Shepherdstown Public Library will be the recipient.
Student Scholarship
Since 2013, the club has awarded a monetary scholarship to a graduating high school senior who is a resident of Jefferson County. The student must plan to pursue a major in horticulture, landscape design, forestry, botany, agriculture, conservation, land management, environmental studies, geology, or a related program. The scholarship is funded by the proceeds from the garden club's annual plant sale and donations.
More information and an application are on the Scholarship page.
May 2 2026 Plant Sale!
Location: Trinity Episcopal Churchyard, 210 West German Street, Shepherdstown
Time: 9am–noon, rain or shine
Cash or check only.
Download the 2026 PMGC Plant Sale flyer.
The PMGC plant sale includes many locally favorite plants at affordable prices. Our annual sale tends to be quite popular, so come early to get the best selection, or come at the end to get in our half-price deals!
The sale features perennials, herbs, natives, and deer-resistant plants and shrubs. We offer gardening advice and plant identification.
All proceeds benefit and support our our ongoing projects, such as our student scholarship fund, garden books, civic beautification, and yearbook printing. This annual fundraiser helps to keep our garden club fiscally healthy and robust.
PMGC Member Committees