History of The Gardeners' Guild of Braintree

It all began at the hockey rink!

The first seeds of The Gardeners' Guild of Braintree were planted at the hockey rink! Three young mothers, Lucille Barton, Peggy McCarthy and Joan Ridge used to sit at Ridge Area in Braintree watching their sons play hockey and wish they could belong to the Braintree Garden Club. They yearned to learn more of gardening, share what they learned with the community and encourage their youngsters to contribute to the community and its beautification. However, the Braintree Garden Club held its meetings during the day and these were young women with children at home. After much planning and dreaming The Gardeners' Guild of Braintree was established – to meet on the first Monday of the month in the evening. Helen McBride, a mentor to them all shared not only her knowledge of gardening and the plants in her garden, but her knowledge of Massachusetts garden clubs with the founding members. Hence, their dreams grew into the bylaws, the goals and ideals. A membership of fifty Braintree women, eager to share and learn adopted the magnolia as their logo – a symbol of perseverance, dignity and the love of nature.

The first meeting held December 1, 1975 at the Thayer Public Library with Lucille Barton as President. Each successive meeting follows the same format, always beginning with invocation, business meeting and an education session or workshop. The sharing of refreshments compliments the social side of the club. The following year, Lucille Barton, again the president began the meeting with special wishes that the members enjoy many years together gardening and sharing knowledge.

Then the first holiday house tour was held on Angela Road at a member's home – strictly for the members' enjoyment. The live Christmas tree was decorated with tussie mussies; refreshments and boutique was held in the basement of the home. Throughout the years, a Christmas house tour and boutique continues to weave red and green threads in the tapestry of life in Braintree. Hundreds of visitors annually schedule the first Sunday in December to view a Braintree home decorated for Christmas and to purchase the fresh greens, wreaths and handcrafted items made by the members just for the boutique.

As the popularity of the organization grew proposed members were added to a waiting list and membership was capped at one hundred members. Active past presidents are exempt from the one hundred member limit. When a new members are welcomed to the club they are presented with a tussie mussie, designed by the founder, Lucille Barton, in remembrance of the decorations from the first house tour.

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