About Us
Founded with 45 members in 1922 by Mrs. Livingston (Daisy) Farrand, the Ithaca Garden Club has grown in number and is now one of the oldest and largest garden clubs in New York State. The Club has maintained its goal of stimulating interest in gardening, floral arranging, landscaping and enhancing our community’s appreciation for the natural beauty of Ithaca. Our fundraising efforts as a 501(c)(3) organization have created numerous projects benefiting our local community.
Members take great pleasure in learning and sharing with others, as we are enriched and inspired by monthly programs given by fellow members, area experts and members of the Cornell community. Participation is the pride of membership and all members attend club activities and serve on committees.
Ithaca Garden Club Founder, Mrs. Livingston (Daisy) Farrand.
“It was onJuly 25, 1922that Daisy gathered a group of forty-five women, “representative of town and gown,” to found the Ithaca Garden Club in the newly decorated drawing room of the A.D. White House. One wonders if the green paint was dry and if the chintz upholstery was on the chairs yet. Regardless, all in one day, “Plans were made, officers elected, and a constitution adopted.” There is no list of the roughly seventy-five charter members. With few exceptions, such as her campus neighbor Lua Minns, members were the wives or unmarried daughters of Cornell faculty and Ithaca businessmen. Quite naturally, Daisy was elected President. Helen Magill White, a guest in her newly redecorated former home, was elected vice president....dues were set at $5.00. The founding objectives of the club were“to stimulate interest in gardening, flower arranging and landscaping, to cooperate in conservation and to encourage civic beautification.”