Everybody’s friend, Jan

Member since 2001.
West End Place Garden Therapy Chair-@ 8 years

Jan found out about Carroll Garden Club through friends at the Methodist Church, including Lura and Carolyn Scott and tried to join even earlier. By the time I came to the club in 2007, Jan was outgoing President. I wasn’t sure what kind of women joined a garden club and was preparing myself to be scrutinized and found lacking, but President Jan couldn’t have been more welcoming and laid back. To spend time with Jan is to quickly learn that she has a wry self-effacing humor and she can be very funny, to whit: “My ‘gardening specialty’ is bumming plants from other gardeners”.

Jan has been working at West End Place with the patrons there on garden therapy crafts for about 8 years now, having taken over for Jackie Smith. She is a master at coming up with ideas that are easy and inexpensive. One can immediately tell that she is well-liked among the patrons and she quickly puts everyone at ease.

To her, being a member of garden club is about learning and being an educator. Get to know plants, trial them in your garden and learn to work with what you have, she says. Along the way, the concepts of beautification and conservation seep into what you do. It’s also about educating the community about issues. And showing off your garden, of course! Jan says she really enjoys visiting gardens. She loves to explore and be inspired!

Jan was an art teacher and her knack for turning junk or cast off furniture into decorative painted masterpieces is legend. Her husband Roger, who is responsible for the sculptural ironwork garden decor gifts to outgoing presidents is a good match. Jan describes herself as drawing her energy from her home base and family. They are lucky to have adjoining lots, so that she can see her children and grandchild often. Some of the garden features Jan has built would be a certain lure to a grandchild such as the small pond with koi and many dappled shady spots to play in under trees.

Jan is trialing various shrubs in long shrub borders and developing new beds in her 4 acre yard where she’s been for about 10 years. She knew things were getting serious when Roger moved his pool and shed to make an area for her to landscape. She’s another one of us who loves to get her hands dirty. She also has a large shared family vegetable garden, with the challenge of rabbits who also want to share…