As spring planting season gets underway the BuxMont Organic Gardeners, prepares for its annual plant swap on May 11 at 7 pm, at the Churchville Nature Center, its monthly meeting location.
The event, which is open to the public, is one of the club’s most anticipated gatherings of the year. Members bring extra vegetable plants grown in their own gardens, everything from tomatoes and broccoli to herbs, offering each other the opportunity to take home new varieties of vegetables.
“We usually bring a wide variety of plants, and everyone gets a chance to walk around and pick what they want,” said Jean Scherfcunningham, acting president of the club. “We always bring extra, and anyone is welcome to come.”
The plant swap reflects the mission that has guided the club since its founding in the late 1990s: promoting organic gardening as a healthier, more sustainable way to grow food. As concerns about pesticides, food quality, and environmental impact continue to grow, Scherfcunningham said more people are becoming interested in organic methods.
“It’s important to use organic gardening because a lot of the pesticides and herbicides are dangerous to our health and to the wildlife,” she said. “We are basically growing the food we eat so it’s healthier.”
That mission was on full display at the club’s April 4 meeting, where members gathered for an educational presentation and discussion on the science behind plant life.
The evening’s featured speaker, Lisa Blum of Temple University’s Ambler campus, presented a program titled “Botanical Blueprint,” focusing on the structure and function of flowers. Her talk explored how plants reproduce and why flowers play a critical role not only in producing food, but in sustaining ecosystems.
“We go buy a flower and see how pretty it is, but that flower isn’t for us; it’s for the plant to reproduce,” Blum said. “Flowers depend on wind, animals, and other parts of nature for everything to happen.”
Blum’s presentation gave attendees a deeper understanding of the biology behind what they grow, reinforcing the idea that successful gardening, organic or otherwise, starts with understanding how plants function.
The club meets about nine times a year, typically on the second Monday of each month at 7:15 p.m., with a break during the winter. Meetings are open to the public and draw members from across Bucks and Montgomery counties, particularly from Northampton Township and surrounding communities.
While many garden clubs focus on ornamental plants, BuxMont has carved out a niche with its emphasis on edible gardening. Most members maintain vegetable gardens, growing crops such as peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, and herbs, along with native plants that support local ecosystems.
For longtime member Zippy Goldberg, that focus is what drew her to the group more than a decade ago.
“I like that this club focuses on growing edibles,” she said. “Everything on the news makes you really think about what you are eating, and by growing food organically I know it’s healthier. It also benefits beneficial insects and animals.”
Goldberg said the club offers both practical and social benefits. “I like the camaraderie of meeting other like-minded gardeners,” she said. “I’ve learned tips and gotten advice from other members, and you can get plants more economically through the plant swaps and seed exchanges.”
Cost savings is another major advantage of organic gardening, according to longtime member Donna Sias, who has been with the club for three decades. By focusing on soil health and composting rather than store-bought chemicals, she said gardeners can produce abundant harvests at little cost.
“To me, growing organically is cheap; you don’t have to buy all those chemicals,” Sias said. “The leaves are free in the neighborhood, so I get free, healthy fertilizer.”
Sias maintains a highly productive garden on a suburban lot, relying on compost primarily made from leaves to enrich her soil. “If you make the soil really good, you can grow a lot,” she said. “It’s so easy to turn that soil when it’s healthy.”
That emphasis on soil health is central to organic gardening. Rather than relying on synthetic fertilizers, gardeners use compost to feed the microorganisms that support plant growth. Scherfcunningham encourages gardeners to take advantage of readily available materials, especially in the fall.
“Don’t throw your leaves out; they are gold for composting,” she said. “Composting is combining the right mix of brown and green plant wastes so they decompose quickly.”
Other organic practices highlighted by the club include crop rotation to prevent soil-borne diseases, cover cropping to protect and enrich the soil, and proper plant spacing to improve airflow and reduce pests. Scherfcunningham noted that gardeners don’t need to aim for perfection to be successful.
“Plants don’t have to be perfect to produce nutritious food,” she said. “You learn what the bad actors are and deal with them when populations are small.”
That kind of practical, experience-based learning is what members like best about this gardening club. They enjoy interacting with organic gardeners who regularly exchange ideas, troubleshoot challenges, and learn from one another. In addition to monthly meetings, the group hosts a seed swap each March and organizes field trips in the summer to local gardens and horticultural sites, including this year’s planned visits to Bryn Athyn Cathedral’s gardens and Calder Gardens in Philadelphia.
For Scherfcunningham, who has been growing native plants for three decades, the club offers something that can be hard to find elsewhere: a supportive community of gardeners committed to learning and growing together.
“It’s nice to be able to talk to others who are planting organic vegetables,” she said. “If someone is having problems, they come here to ask questions.”
As interest in organic gardening continues to grow, the club hopes to welcome new members and expand its reach in the community.
“Come join,” Sias said. “You will learn a lot.”
For those looking to grow their own food, reduce their environmental impact, or simply connect with others who share an interest in gardening, BuxMont Organic Gardeners is offering a place to start.
Visit them on Facebook.at www.facebook.com/groups/778321955533172.
