Olde Berkeley Garden Club has been working with Children’s Home Society since 2024, when we planted low-maintenance perennials on one side of the building and two shallow planters at the front door of their Queen Street location in Martinsburg. CHS provided money for the project, our club took on the labor, and Colonial Farm Nursery graciously added the design plan. (Due to the nature of the agency’s work, we haven’t been able to take photos of any of the children/youth who’ve worked with us.) We initially filled the front planters with budget-friendly seasonal annuals and a few succulents.
To continue our work at CHS, in 2025 and 2026 Olde Berkeley applied for — and received — two small Shenandoah-Potomac Garden Council project awards for $700. CHS now happily welcomes occasions for children under their care to plant the front area with us four times a year. In 2026, we added two planters that allow for materials with larger root systems and provide a more sustainable solution for the entrance. Funds from the small project awards allow our club to change the display with the seasons and to work with vulnerable youth when they are available and it is appropriate for them to participate.
The entrance planters before the seasonal plantings were added.
A club volunteer helps with the planting.
A club member tends the entrance planters.
The planters on both sides of the front door.
