Manassas Journal Messenger | Nokesville activities listed
The ladies of the Countryside Garden Club are hoping their booth at Nokesville Day will cultivate a few new members.
And for those festivalgoers who might be familiar with the stubborn soils of Prince William, they’re also hoping to share a few gardening tips.
It’s the first time the club of flora enthusiasts is making an official appearance at the annual Nokesville Day, the town’s celebration of food, family fun and music Saturday.
They’ll be one of many vendors selling goods and trying to raise money.
The Countryside Garden Club’s raffle ticket sale ($1 per ticket) will help pay for the year’s activities, including lectures, field trips and craft projects.
Raffle winners will be chosen about twice an hour and will win one of 10 gift baskets with gardening tools, gloves, pruners, wind chimes, books, teacups and hand lotions.
Native annual and perennial plants will also be on sale at their booth on Fitzwater Drive.
“You really have to work a rose garden around here,” said Stephania Powell, who moved here from Pennsylvania and is the garden club’s organizer for Nokesville Day.
“You can get things that aren’t native to the area to grow, you just have to know how to take care of them,” Powell said.
Those are the kinds of tips the gardeners share — besides tasty treats — at their monthly meetings.
“We’re dig-in-the-dirt gardeners,” said Beverly Femino, a Nokesville resident and 15-year club member.
The group maintains gardens at Ben Lomond Historic Site, the Nokesville Neighborhood Library and the Nokesville Post Office.
Normally the club holds its annual fundraiser at a member’s house, but this year they are reaching for more exposure, said gardener Pat Maxwell.
She moved from the Gulf Coast and said being a member has helped her acclimate to the landscape and make close friends.
The club celebrated its 25th anniversary in October and currently has 29 women members, although men are welcome to join in the gardening fun.
More information about the club will be available at the Countryside Garden Club booth near the railroad tracks at Nokesville Day, which runs from about 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.