In November 1941, to promote gardening in the city, a group was formed known as the Waltham Better Gardeners. The first official meeting was held at the State College Field Station on Beaver Street (later renamed the University of Massachusetts - Waltham Field Station and as of March 2022 owned by the city of Waltham). Master gardeners, Mrs. Conrad Jensen and Mr. George Dickey helped coordinate these early sessions. The first few meetings had presenters focus on topics such as the general care of plants, propagating plants and shrubs from cuttings, and the use of chemicals and fertilizers.
In 1943, the group changed its name to the Waltham Better Gardens Club. The late 1940’s saw the club publishing its first yearbook. In 1975-1976, the group’s name was changed to the Waltham Garden Club, as it has been known since. A club newsletter, The Grapevine, was started in 1973 and continues today. Explore more of the club's history by reading the below history booklet, browsing our archived items via the link to the Waltham Garden Club's archive page, or view physical items from our archive at the Waltham Room at the Waltham Public Library.
In 2021, a committee of members was created to review and preserve the vast history of our Club. As a belated 80th anniversary acknowledgement, a booklet summarizing our history was created to share with our membership. The image reflects yearbook covers from our early years. View or download a PDF of the History Booklet below.
WGC History Booklet June 2022 (pdf)
DownloadIn addition to photographs on our About and Community webpages, please have a look at this publication to see more of our activities and the fun we have (and have had). As we continue to learn about and discover items from our Club's history, we will make revisions and update this publication. If you or someone you know, might have Waltham Garden Club images or items from the past, we ask you to please email Waltham Garden Club, so that we can develop a more complete archive of our history. View or download the latest version below.
Illustrated History of Waltham Garden Club Ver 1 Dec 2023 (pdf)
DownloadIn December of 2021 the Waltham Public Library became home to the Waltham Garden Club's archive of materials. Everything from photos to newspaper clippings, scrapbooks and artifacts. A vast collection of items gathered during the more than 80 years the club has been in existence.
We have a hybrid collection which means physical items can be accessed via the Waltham Room at the Waltham Public Library and our digital items, like past Grapevine newsletters and past Yearbooks may be accessed by clicking on the below button. For ease, an instructional page to help navigate the archives can be downloaded below.
Download the below PDF with instructions and links for the Waltham Garden Club archive records at Waltham Public Library
Click on the link above. Then clicking on the Print symbol in the upper right will download a "Guide to the Records of the Waltham Garden Club," which is the Finding Aid in PDF format.