Textile artist Kathleen Lang was featured as a guest speaker at the township garden club’s monthly meeting on Oct. 18 to discuss eco printing.
Her demonstration – “Botanicals to Prints: Sustainably Moving Towards Zero Waste” – explained what is described as the use of natural dyes in plants to make a print on another surface such as paper or fabric.
“For me, it really is just expressing nature in a way that even the textile itself speaks for itself,” Lang said. “ … I get to go out in nature and gather my materials – not creating any water pollution – and almost zero waste.”
“For me, it was a total no-brainer. Plus, the process is totally magical.”
The club has volunteered for and supported many projects, including gardening at the Community House of Moorestown, garden education at the township library, senior citizen tours and holiday decorating. The club also continues upkeep of the Evelyn K. Seaton Memorial Gazebo and garden at Strawbridge Lake.
“We were founded as a satellite division of the women’s club here in Moorestown,” said President Gina Zegel. “The garden club was founded by three people from the women’s club, and then it grew from there, with members from the women’s club and from the community.”
The club’s 2023 garden walk – “Buzz of the Bees: Song of the Garden” – is scheduled for June 2 and 3. The group will also participate in the 2023 Philadelphia Flower Show in March.
“ … We also have club members who enter individually,” Zegel said. “They put Moorestown Garden Club behind their name because then our club gets points, and the flower show is run such that you can get an award if your club gets a whole bunch of points.”
“We’re always pretty highly regarded when we are participating there,” said D’Arcy DiSpirito, club vice president. “They know that we usually turn in a nice exhibit.”
“The whole point of the exhibits over there really is to make a show and have people enjoy the entertainment,” Zegel explained. “ … We want to have it look really terrific and have people come and either laugh, say how beautiful (it is), or just think, ‘Wow, look at that unusual flower or plant.’
“It’s a challenge to us.”
Another club project is maintaining a community garden on Camden Avenue.
“We have been running it since the 1980s,” Zegel noted. “It’s a township property, but we just recently refurbished it and it’s going to be one of the stops on our garden walk in June.”
The club is also looking for new members.
“We invite all of the community to come to one of our meetings to see what it’s all about, so that they can listen to the speaker and partake in the hospitality, and if they’re interested, we’ll give them a form,” Zegel said.
For more information, visit moorestowngardenclub.com.
