social events

Beyond cultivating beautiful gardens, the Andover Garden Club is a vibrant community where friendships blossom. We believe that sharing the joy of gardening makes the experience even more rewarding. Our diverse calendar of activities, from tranquil environmental hikes to creative flower-arranging workshops, and exclusive tours of members' gardens, provides a natural setting for connecting with fellow plant lovers. Through our guided field trips, seasonal events like holiday wreath making, and pot-luck luncheons, you'll find a supportive network to exchange ideas, share successes, and get inspired. Come join us and discover a community that nurtures both your passion for gardening and your desire for connection.

Social Time at our General Meetings

The Andover Garden Club’s General Meetings are held at 10 a.m. in South Church, Andover on the first Tuesday of the month from October through May. Each meeting starts out with coffee, tea and breakfast fare, set out on buffet tables by members of our hospitality committee. This is the time when club members meet, catch up on the latest happenings, and admire the buffet table’s floral arrangement, prepared by an AGC member each month.

Environmental Hikes on Town-Owned Land

Periodically throughout the year, the civic beautification and horticulture co-chairs lead walks on Town-owned land. This activity aims to introduce AGC members to beautiful areas of town with which they may not be familiar and to promote awareness of the importance of environmental stewardship.  These hikes also give us the opportunity to better know one another. We have walked Deer Jump, Bakers Meadow, West Parish Meadow, Den Rock, and the Sakowich and Shawsheen Reservations.

Floral Arranging Workshops

Floral Arranging workshops are held at the South Church, each with a different theme. Sometimes members are asked to bring in twigs or branches from their winter gardens, other times members may be asked to bring in fruit from their refrigerators, and oftentimes the workshop organizers bring in specialized flowers from local nurseries. Once constructed, each arrangement is critiqued by club experts who run this program.

Tours of Members Gardens

The Andover Garden Club has many talented members who love to share their gardens with other Club members. These beautiful gardens are oftentimes included in MA Garden Tour Events throughout the Merrimack Valley. But our personal tours are so much better: no crowds, more intimate, and frequently ending with a delicious snack.

Directors Special guided field trips

Every year in June, the Andover Garden Club hosts a garden tour, followed by lunch, at locations within a short drive from Andover. Open to both members and guests, the participants pay an entrance fee (unless the tour is free) as well as pay for lunch. The AGC Directors spend many months researching local gardens to determine which ones are worthy for this highly anticipated end-of-season Club activity. Precise dates and locations are usually finalized in late April and announced at the May general meeting. Recent past examples of these Directors Special events are: a tour of the gardens at the Clock Barn, a tour of Bedrock Gardens, and a tour of the grounds at the Encore Boston Harbor Hotel & Casino.

Seasonal Activities

The Andover Garden Club oftentimes features events marking a particular season of the year. For example, in the past we have made winter holiday wreaths using evergreen branches and boughs from our Club members winter gardens.

Annual Bread and Soup Party

Always a Club favorite, our program committee selects one monthly meeting where a luncheon of gourmet baked breads and delicious crock-pot soups follow the month’s scheduled program. Our Club members are not only experts in the garden but also quite accomplished in the kitchen!

Luncheons

Our May general meeting tops off the year by introducing new AGC members, presenting new AGC officers, and enjoying a catered luncheon afterwards.