Volunteers energize Darlington Garden Club
Volunteers with the Darlington Garden Club help keep Darlington looking lovely with all of their hard work and devotion. You can see their extensive efforts everywhere around the square. SUBMITTED PHOTOS
The Darlington Garden Club is in high gear! COVID-19 has curtailed a lot of activities, but gardening outside is not one of them, and the Darlington Garden Club has taken full advantage. The club has found volunteers to lend youthful energy, and with their help, as well as help from the city, the club has: — Designed and planted pots around town for fall. — Begun work on a pollinator garden to enhance the new hiking/rail trail the city proposes to build. — Added to the plantings at the Lamar Highway entrance to town. — Enhanced plantings at the median on Main Street. — Beautified the walkway from Cashua Street to the city parking lot. — Added bulbs, pansies and various flowers to numerous spots around town. — Designed and created 25 centerpieces for the fundraiser that Darlington’s Free Medical Clinic hosted in September. The unlikely volunteers helping around Darlington happen to be Mormon missionaries Linda Beckham, club president, met while volunteering with her son at the new mountain biking trail in Florence. The missionaries were looking for community service, and Beckham encouraged them to help with Darlington projects, leading to several workdays so far. Mayor Curtis Boyd struck up a conversation with them while they planted pots downtown, and found that several were runners, creating an instant bond. Plans for Darlington High students to help with club projects as well are in the works. It’s not all work and no play for club members and their helpers, though. Ever mindful of safety precautions, the club enjoys picnics where members show off culinary skills to volunteers and introduce them to Southern foods. Pimento cheese, egg salad, boiled peanuts and banana pudding, as well as an old-fashioned pound cake have all been hits. Members also enjoyed a field trip to Riverbanks Botanical Garden, outdoor lunch at the Darlington Country Club, and interesting programs via Zoom. Garden Club efforts have not gone unnoticed. Duke Energy recently awarded the club a $2,000 grant to work on a pollinator garden, and over 30 businesses and individuals in Darlington have contributed almost $5,000 to help the club beautify Darlington. If you would like to make a contribution to the club, help on work days, have any suggestions for new beautification projects, or join the club, please contact Linda Beckham, president, Darlington Garden Club, at 843-615-8287 or e-mail lindagremillion@gmail.com. Thanks to the contributors to Darlington Garden Club: Duke Energy RE Goodson Construction Co. Carolina Bank Vaughn Insurance Agency Dedicated Community Bank Goodson’s Pure Chase Oil Company Fastrack Convenience Stores American Legion Post 210 Mike and Gayle Beckham Bill Moore — State Farm Insurance Burt Jordan Company Carolina Food Systems Darlington Family Pharmacy Darlington Kiwanis Club Darlington Lions Club Darlington Veneer Co. (Darlington Plywood) Free Medical Clinic of Darlington County H & S Floors Jay James Palmetto Breathing Solutions Pee Dee Electric Cooperative Darlington Auto Sales/- Palmetto Auto Sales Raceway Automotive SPC Credit Union Taki’s Diner Sharon and Wayne Howle Sandy Beckham Dargan, King & Knight Law Office of Elizabeth York Belk Funeral Home Kistler-Hardee Funeral Home