The 1990s

In June 1990 a meeting was called to assess the DGC status and its future.  Despite several good programs offered in the preceding months, attendance at meetings had been very low and interest seemed generally lacking.  At the meeting, remaining members were encouraged to enlist new members over the summer.  In October, with some difficulty, a full slate of officers was selected and a program year agreed upon that included the Holiday Bazaar, maintenance of Dickeyville common areas, and “adoption” of the garden beds at the Carrie Murray Center.  No spring flower sale occurred in 1991 – for a variety of reasons, including no one to chair the event.  Later that year, a Holiday House Tour presented by the Baltimore City League of Women Voters featured 9 homes in Dickeyville.   

An April 1993 letter to residents stated that the club had met only sporadically over the past few years.  Six residents outlined decisions made to continue the Garden Club, which, they suggested, would pursue four services to the community:  maintain and beautify public areas of the village; hold property under conservation easement; promote knowledge of gardening, flower arranging and related topics; and support environmental conservation causes. 

For the next few years the club efforts focused on maintaining Dickeyville common spaces and the Carrie Murray Center’s flower beds, hosting a community-wide (fall) potluck dinner with speaker, and holding its Holiday Bazaar, changed to a Pancake Breakfast and Greens Sale in 1995.  During this time, the club continued to receive a portion of the DCA’s dues (in 1994, for example, the club received $7 of the DCA’s $15 household assessment) and there is no indication that the DCA or residents were separately assessed to cover maintenance expenses. 

Membership no longer followed a formal process of nominating, seconding and voting, but rather was encouraged throughout the village by simply asking that all residents join and pay their dues.  Membership moved back up to the high 20s/low30s and included men as well as women. 

Some excitement was generated in 1995 by plans to landscape the Tucker Lane frontage of the Jones property.  Residents donated funds and time to the effort, which was also supported by grant funds.  Toward the end of the decade however, interest again had waned.  Two 1999 meetings meant to “regenerate” the club were fairly well attended

The 2000s

Until mid-decade the club continued to have outside speakers periodically to address meetings, hold “potluck” dinners with entertainment, and maintain the areas by the village entrance signs - no longer employing outside help, but instead having members do the weeding and planting.  The club, which had not received subsidies from either the community association or residents for maintenance work for many years, reached agreement with the Dickeyville Community Association in 2007 that the association was responsible for maintenance. 

After much work, efforts to have the Jones property reassessed by the State of Maryland paid off in 2002, thus ensuring that the tax bill, when it finally arrived 15 years after purchase, would be somewhat reasonable. In 2007, the club turned ownership of the Jones property over to the community association, which now had its nonprofit status and could function as conservator of the land. 

Program efforts focused on Dickeyville exclusively.  A small grant in 2002 from the Parks and People Foundation (P&PF) allowed planting of native trees and shrubs at the end of Tucker Lane.  Subsequent grants by P&PF and by the Baltimore Community Foundation (BCF) allowed residents to begin creating an expanded riparian buffer along the Gwynns Falls. 

With the garden club’s help, the village remained on “public view” through several events.  Once again the Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage featured Dickeyville in May 2003, with 23 homes or gardens on view. The Kalidascope Program of Roland Park Country featured a Dickeyville garden walk in 2007.  Gardens of Dickeyville were featured in a multi-page article in the May/June 2008 issue of Style Magazine. 

With grant assistance from the Dickeyville Community Association, in 2007 the club engaged landscape architect Shari Depasquale, Stone Hill Design, to create a master landscaping plan for the common spaces of the community.  After numerous meetings with residents, the plan was presented and approved at a January 2008 Association meeting.  Shortly thereafter, the club obtained new grants from both P&PF and BCF to begin implementation of the master plan. In 2010 the garden club received Baltimore Heritage’s first “Historic Neighborhoods” award.

Throughout the decade the club continued its annual pancake breakfast and greens sale – still its major fundraiser, and added a fall cookoff and bonfire – a thank you to the village of Dickeyville.

Moving into its eighth decade, club membership fluctuates around 25; club program efforts involve many other residents; and garden club events involve just about the entire village.